this is bbc news. the headlines at 11:00pm: the eu says it won't renegotiate britain's brexit deal, despite the vote at westminster for changes to the so—called irish border backstop. the withdrawal agreement remains the best and only deal possible. the european union said so in november. we said so in december. back at westminster, the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has held talks with theresa may on brexit and says there had been a constructive exchange of views. serious, exploratory on the issues, and i set out the labour case for a comprehensive customs union with the european union, in order to protect jobs in this country. two seat cushions have washed up on the french coast, possibly from the plane that disappeared over the channel carrying the footballer emiliano sala. and a big freeze hits the us, with arctic conditions sending temperatures down as low as —30 celsius.

in sport, a missed opportunity for premier league leaders liverpool, as they drop two points at home to leicester. and at 11:30pm, we will be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, political editor of the new statesman stephen bush and conservative commentator tim montgomerie. stay with us for that. european leaders have reacted with a flat no to the idea of reopening negotations over the controversial irish backstop, despite last night's vote in parliament. the prime minister, however, has said there are several possible alternatives to the backstop and she intends to go back to brussels for talks. the president of the european commission, jean—claude juncker, said he would listen to what she had to say,

but insisted the irish backstop was part and parcel of the brexit deal and would not be changed. in today's main developments, the eu's chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier, told meps in brussels that the backstop was completely non—negotiable and is part and parcel of the brexit deal. tonight the prime minister spoke on the phone to donald tusk, the president of the european council. the call was described by officials as open and frank. back at westminster, theresa may and jeremy corbyn met for the first time to discuss brexit. sources say there was a useful exchange of views and the pair agreed to meet again soon. let's get more on the day's events from our political editor laura kuenssberg. a different kind of meeting in his diary — the labour leader off to see his biggest rival. the prime minister leaving not to wrangle conservatives, but to talk to him. reporter: will the eu

make any changes? tea and biscuits served behind closed doors in her private office in parliament. but, after an hour of talks, did the labour leader and the prime minister find any common ground? serious, exploratory on the issues, and i set out the labour case for a comprehensive customs union with the european union, in order to protectjobs in this country, and trade. the cabinet has already promised to redraft the arrangements for northern ireland. ministers will consider if the backstop, that insurance policy against a hard border, could have a time limit, or if the uk could leave when it likes, or that technology could be found to manage the

border instead. but even though she won the vote last night... questions to the prime minister. the problem — the prime minister well knows that the eu has said no to all that before. the majority in this house voted to maintain the commitment to no hard border between northern ireland and ireland, to leave the european union with a deal, and to set out to the european union what it will take to ensure that this house can support a deal. that is a change to the backstop. that means there is, at least for now, a different mood here. tory backbenchers more used to tearing each other apart over brexit for once backing her, if she can get brussels to budge. tell the european union there is a majority in this house for that deal, and i would ask my colleagues to give the prime minister space. they're not going to crumble tomorrow. we're going to have to hold our nerve, and we can be successful. remember, the prime minister only narrowly got this place on side last night because she made a promise that she would get part of her brexit deal changed. but wanting something to happen and making it happen are very different things.

and, as far as the eu's top brass are concerned, at least in public, all 28 countries shook hands on the agreement, including the so—called backstop. so a deal is a deal, for now. the withdrawal agreement remains the best and only deal possible. the european union said so in november. we said so in december. the withdrawal agreement will not be renegotiated. with the so called backstop to protect the‘s border the most, no surprise ireland are concerned. protect the's border the most, no surprise ireland are concerned. we are being essentially asked, as is the eu, to replace legal certainty, having negotiated that over two yea rs, having negotiated that over two years, around british red lines, and to replace it with the hope of

something that has yet to be proven. listening to that, it is hard to imagine there is any mood to give the prime minister what she wants fast. but if there is to be a deal, one side or the other, in the end, will have to give. this evening, the president of the european council, donald tusk, reaffirmed the eu position after speaking to theresa may, stating that the brexit withdrawal agreement was not open for renegotiation. their conversation was described as open and frank. our europe editor katya adler is in brussels with the latest. faced with new uk demands for changes to the brexit deal, europe is presenting a united front, though privately, they are worried here. eu leaders have agreed to reject calls for changes to the irish backstop, but they also want to avoid a no—deal brexit. and time, as we know, is running out. translation: it's more important than ever that europe remains

calm, united and determined. i'm an optimist by nature. i will work day and night to make an agreement with the uk happen, and if it can't, to ensure that all measures are in place in the eu to cope with a no—deal brexit. as eu and uk lawmakers prepare to stare each other down, the eu's chief negotiater emphasised again today why he believes the text on the irish backstop must not be touched. translation: the backstop is not dogma. it's a solution, found in negotiations with the uk, not against the uk, for the unique situation that exists on the island of ireland. frustration here is palpable, with divisions in the uk parliament and the prime minister's negotiating style. is that the way you

can solve a problem of a magnitude? is that the way to do that? is that the way you do that? that is, every day changing your opinion? so much passion, so much engagement here in the european parliament in the brexit debate today, but crucially, no—one here has any power to change anything at this stage. the only ones who can bend or amend the withdrawal agreement, including the backstop on the irish border, are the leaders of the 27 eu countries, and right now, they are stonewalling the prime minister. there are no plans to hastily schedule a summit of eu leaders at this stage. angela merkel sent out her spokesman to talk to the cameras today about the "what's next", rather than appearing herself. he said theresa may should go and see jean—claude juncker, a man who at this stage has little power to help her. and assumptions the eu will give in at the 11th hour are strongly

dismissed here, because the backstop text, as it stands, is also designed to protect the eu's single market after brexit. yes, it's true that the eu can declare things impossible and then at the last minute change its mind, but it's usually to protect the integrity of the european union. accommodating the demands of the hard brexiteers, like theresa may would like us to do, would mean seriously putting at risk the integrity of the single market. whatever happens with brexit in the future, the eu hopes for close ties with the uk. but these next days and weeks are likely to be tough. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. well, a little earlier, i talked to damian grammaticas in brussels and alex forsyth in westminster about the major developments on brexit during the day. damian told me about the frosty telephone conversation that had taken place between theresa may and the european council president, donald tusk. that's right, clive.

diplomatic code, when people say open and frank, what do they mean? well, they mean, ithink frank, what do they mean? well, they mean, i think we can say, at least a robust exchange of views, and direct. we know that donald tusk can be very direct, and we know that he apparently... all we have been told that apparently he said that the eu could not keep guessing what the uk wa nted could not keep guessing what the uk wanted as a solution. it is up to the uk now to provide that, it will be up to the uk to come forward with new ideas and ones that secure a majority in parliament. so that is what he, the message that he delivered, and it was delivered as well, as you heard that, in the european parliament today. michel barnier, jean—claude juncker, all saying they don't know what the uk wa nts. saying they don't know what the uk wants. he said he is ready to discuss or look at alternatives, mr juncker ears, but they don't know

what they are. shaw, 0k, thank you for that. let's talk to alex now in westminster. so the suggestion is that they were badtempered talks between mr tusk and mrs may this evening, but there is still this firm believed, certainly among many conservative mps, that the eu will at some point crack. yes, well, the perspective from westminster and the perspective from westminster and the perspective from westminster and the perspective from inside number ten is obviously different from that we are hearing from brussels at the moment, and the reason is this. numberten moment, and the reason is this. number ten believes that parliament proved with its vote last night that there is something it can rally behind. numberten thinks there is something it can rally behind. number ten thinks this offers clarity to the situation. it is effectively parliament saying, look, if you make changes to that backstop, then we will get behind the prime minister's deal, and that is why theresa may feels like she is able to reopen the conversations with brussels. because from her perspective there is now a clear position. what you are

hearing from brussels and the eu, as damien was explaining that, is that they don't believe there is still that clarity because there hasn't been any specified detail about what alternative arrangements to that backstop maybe. so what we will see over the course of the next few days asa over the course of the next few days as a continued round of telephone diplomacy from theresa may, trying to have conversations with her eu counterparts, whether they are open and frank or badtempered, who knows, but trying to see whether maybe some scope, and at the same time continuing this twin track approach where she is having conversations with mps including jeremy corbyn to see what consensus can with mps including jeremy corbyn to see what consensus can be built and crucially can hold here at westminster. so she is still trying to find a way out. the real pressure in all of this is time. she has imposed upon herself two week deadline to bring something before parliament, so time is running short to find a way through this still very difficult situation. an underwater search for the plane carrying the footballer emiliano sala will take place after debris was found on a french beach. the plane disappeared with sala and pilot david ibbotson on board last week. but, due to weather and sea conditions, an underwater search is not expected to start until the end of the week, and could take up to three days,

as our correspondent jon donnison reports. could this french beach hold the clues to the missing plane carrying emiliano sala and his pilot, david ibbotson? these unverified photos taken by a woman who was taking a walk are thought to show one of two seat cushions which investigators believe came from the aircraft. the small plane disappeared nine days ago, en route from nantes to cardiff. sala had onlyjust signed for cardiff city. radar contact was lost near the island of alderney. the cushions were found washed up near surtainville, in normandy, around 35 miles east of guernsey. earlier this week, emiliano sala's family, who have hired a private search company, arrived in the channel islands from argentina and took a flight over the area where their son disappeared. the air accident investigation branch called off its official search last week, but has now

relaunched its hunt for the plane and will focus on a priority area narrowed down to four square nautical miles. the debris itself won't help out that much, in terms of where the plane went down. the currents in this region are incredibly complex, some of the fastest—flowing currents in the world. and actually, the debris from the known last position of the aircraft could have gone around the tip of cherbourg, into the bay of seine or, as it has done, down in towards st—malo. at last night's cardiff match at arsenal, there were more tributes. but, more than a week after emiliano sala and his pilot disappeared, investigators believe there is virtually no chance they are still alive. jon donnison, bbc news. parts of the united states have been hit by a deadly blast of polar air which meteorologists say will bring a once—in—a—generation deep freeze. the arctic air is gripping the midwest and eastern states and temperatures have dropped to —40 celsius in some places. hundreds of schools, businesses and government agencies

have closed and thousands of flights have been grounded. richard galpin reports. chicago early this morning. a beautiful sight, but today it's as cold as the arctic. the big freeze here and across the midwest, the worst in a generation. more than ten states have been hit by this extreme weather. and on the roads, it's proving to be lethal. holy (bleep). cars are in the other pick—ups. there's people hurt. for those caught out in the punishing cold there are many other dangers. frostbite setting in within ten minutes. if you don't need to be outside at this time, don't go outside. the temperatures today are not to be taken lightly, these are actually a public health risk. in some areas, people who have ventured out have been told by the authorities not to take deep

breaths and to minimise talking. breathing in extremely cold air can cause medical problems. and all this the result of the polar vortex, a blast of cold air which has arrived over a large area of the united states. essentially, arctic air has broken away from the very far north and drifted far south into the midwest, with temperatures down to —30 degrees at night. on top of that there is a wind, the wind chills are down to —50 which is incredibly dangerous. frostbite in minutes. while some children were still going to school yesterday, in chicago, 360,000 students have now been told to stay at home. and to keep the trains running railway staff have been setting fire to the tracks to stop the metal contracting. experts believe this extreme weather could affect the area for weeks, with big swings in

temperature. forecasters are predicting by the weekend it could be 10 degrees here in chicago, and this, the experts say is consistent with climate change. the headlines on bbc news: the head of the european commission says a renegotiation of theresa may's brexit deal will not happen, despite a mandate from the commons for changes to provisions on the so—called irish backstop. meanwhile the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has met the prime minister for brexit talks described as a useful exchange of views. two cushions that have washed up on the french coast are thought to belong to the plane carrying the premier league footballer emiliano sala, which went missing over the channel. councils in england are drastically overspending on their budgets

for supporting children and young people with special needs. according to figures obtained by the bbc, councils across england have overspent by more than £321; million this year. in december 2018, the government announced an extra £250 million for councils over the next two years, on top of an annual budget for high needs of £6 billion. but the number of children and young people receiving support is growing. more than 14% of pupils in english schools have some sort of special need. many councils say they expect to slip further into the red in the coming financial year. 0ur education editor branwen jeffreys reports from dorset. i'll check for hens... six—year—old malachi hasn't been in school since last september. his dad, alexander, has had to take unpaid time off work. malachi faces extra challenges, including epilepsy and autism. but, as yet, no special school place has been found,

even though a care plan sets out legally what this little boy needs. malachi struggles every single day of his life, because he's not getting the provisions and the support that he needs, so i think the impact is immeasurable. i think he feels rejected, because he can't understand why he can't go to school like every other child. they're not the only family in this desperate situation. dorset one of many councils that seriously struggle with demand. this could help with future costs. some are old and some of are new. some are sad... charlie is in a new special ‘pod' added to a mainstream primary school. it gives him a balance that allows him to cope. it's quite exciting. i'm quite happy. i normally like going into other classes, but i do like being here in the

pod. a sensory room is one way they help children with autism, better for charlie, but the council has a problem now. so, why is there such pressure on special needs budgets across england? well, it's partly because children who get a care plan at this age could still have the legal right to support until the age of 25. in dorset, this conservative councillor says they are running out of options. it is a multi—million pound problem. up until now, it really has been a case of drawing on reserves and measures to offset it, and reorganising budgets in order to be able to cope with it, but there is a breaking point and dorset is not alone as an authority in recognising that day of reckoning will be coming very, very soon. what groom are we going to be giving him today, 0scar? we are going to give him a full groom. at 17, 0scar‘s now an apprentice, thanks to help at

school for his autism. support his mum told me he still needs as 0scar becomes an adult. it would be incredibly sad to support a young person until they're 16 and then say, "that's it!", because life goes on beyond 16 and i think some of the most critical period is 16 and beyond. in my career, my education doesn't stop. i still have to do all sorts of written exams, even if it's just stuff to help with starting a business or whatever you want to do, i think it's so important because i need that much of england faces the same challenge as dorset. the government says it's listening — £250 million extra over two years. none of that will stop the costs from rising. a teenager who tried to attack a motorist with a large knife has been jailed after appealjudges overturned his lenient sentence. joshua gardner, who was filmed using the weapon in a croydon street, originally received a two—year suspended sentence. he has now been jailed for 3.5 years. an investigation has started into three cases of blood infection at the princess royal maternity

hospital in glasgow. two premature babies have died and a third is in a stable condition after the infection was found at the hospital's neonatal unit. it's emerged in legal documents that barclays bank is moving more than $200 billion worth of assets, that's about 15% of its total, from the uk to dublin. the bank says it is making the changes because it cannot wait any longer to implement its brexit contingency plan. the number of barclays staff in the irish capital will double. the venezuelan president, nicolas maduro, has dismissed calls for new elections, but says he is open to international mediation to resolve the political crisis in the country. there has been another day of anti—government protests today, called for byjuan guaido, the leader of the opposition, who last week declared himself interim president after doubts about the legitimacy of maduro's election. president trump has offered mr guaido his support, and the us has imposed some sanctions on venezuela.

0ur correspondent 0rla guerin reports from caracas. a student leader stands alone, pleading for a better venezuela. "it's what we all deserve," he says. "think about that when you go home tonight." the security forces remain impassive. they are likely to decide the future here. and for now, it seems they are standing with president nicolas maduro. but the opposition has its foot soldiers, young activists who feel a renewed sense of hope. well, the students have brought their protest to the edge of the highway. the opposition wants to keep up the momentum. it says it wants peaceful demonstrations and peaceful change but there is a real sense here that this is a critical moment for venezuela and everyone is aware of the risk of more bloodshed.

larger protests are planned for saturday. the young activists we met believe their time has come. we were born in a dictatorship. we lived all our lives in a situation that gets every time worse, and this is the year that we feel we actually have an actual backing, international support. everything is colliding, so students are here to support the change in venezuela. the embattled president, nicolas maduro, popped up on state television. and he made sure to bring some friends. the message here — i'm going nowhere. but he said he was willing to talk to the opposition for the sake of peace. and in a facebook address, a warning for donald trump — hands off our oil. supporters of the president also on the move today, doing a drive—by outside a children's hospital. drowning out a protest by parents of sick

children. two sides of the divide on display in caracas. but some were determined to be heard today, like romelo cabrera, a journalism student who had joined the protest on his walking frame. "i'm here for the same reasons as everyone else," he told me. "we feel bad for our country. it's painful to see what's going on. my sister and my cousin had to flee. i want them back, i want everyone to come back to a free venezuela." the students ended their demonstration with the national anthem. "glory to the brave," it says. "down with the chains." this is a nation poised at a crossroads.

0rla guerin, bbc news, caracas. we heard earlier about the extreme weather hitting parts of the united states. while we've not seen temperatures that low in the uk, there is more snow on the way. large parts of the uk are set for flurries on what could be one of the coldest night of the winter so far. earlier, manchester and liverpool airports were closed temporarily because of snow and ice, and hundreds of schools shut their doors across the north west of england. schools in scotland and wales were also affected. 0ur correspondent judith moritz reports waking up to a white out around 6:00 this morning, drivers were onlyjust getting over the m62, roads across the northwest became increasingly difficult. in many places, the rush hour slowed down to a near halt. there was more disruption at the airports, at manchester, both runways were closed. passengers venting their frustrations. we've been here now on the runway for almost five hours at

manchester. still no signs of movement, or if we're going to get going today. it's not a good situation. tractors were used to clear the snow, and by mid—morning, one of the runways had reopened, but there have been diversions and delays. with the roads so treacherous, there was little work for school crossing patrols. more than 200 schools closed in north west england. pupils told to stay home, and their parents to make childcare plans. i'm trying tojuggle being a mum, and working today, so yeah, it's quite hard. you weren't supposed to be off today, you've had to take the day? i had to take that day off, yeah, so, yeah, i'm going to work tonight when the kids have gone to bed. that's when i'm going to make up my time. the uk's population of snowmen increased today, as children took advantage of the time at home. and this weather presenter had a bus men's holiday. the bbc forecaster, simon king,

not wanting to miss the fun. from the air, lancashire looked incredibly beautiful, but there are many in the region hoping that the conditions return back to normal as soon as possible. judith moritz reporting for us. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, stephen bush, who's the political editor of the new statesman, and conservative commentator, tim montgomerie. that's coming up just after the headlines at 11:30pm. now, it's time for the weather with ben rich. hello there. this is the forecast where we look at the weather for the next week to ten days. i will look further ahead in a moment. but we have to focus on some potentially troublesome whether in the short term first of all. cold air gripping the british isles. this swirls of winds here is an area of low pressure sliding into the cold air and that brings the potential for some snow. and that brings the potential for some snow. not only snow in the

forecast, some ice and freezing fog, a combination that could give us travel disruption over the next couple of day. we are starting thursday on a very cold night. a widespread frost, some freezing fog patches here and there. and also the potential for some patches here and there. and also the potentialfor some ice. but patches here and there. and also the potential for some ice. but for patches here and there. and also the potentialfor some ice. but for most it is not about looking day. some spells of crisp winter sunshine. however into the south—west we start to strengthen the wind. getting quite windy in the south—west. and this frontal system into the picture, rain initially, but snow likely, especially the high ground for the seth delmer south—west of england and wales. and into thursday evening we push the rain, sleet and increasingly snow north eastwards, into london, the midlands, east wales, ten to 15 centimetres in south—east wales. elsewhere in this is we are likely to see a few centimetres of snow. and while that is going on in the south, wintry showers are likely to develop across north—east england, there will be some also pushing into

north—west scotland. temperatures into friday morning, below freezing in northern areas and close to freezing further south. there is likely to be significant ice to take us into friday morning. the first aerial snowfall will fizzle away but there could be more snow showers pushing into southern coastal counties. some moving across northern england and plenty of showers moving in across north—west scotland. and those temperatures still struggling, 3—6d. as we get on into the weekend the area of low pressure responsible for the unsettled weather will start to move away eastwards, leaving us in a fairly chilly north or north—easterly wind by taking most of the rain and snow away. there will be wintry showers for pembrokeshire, cornwall, northern and eastern coastal areas as well. generally, a lot of sunshine as well, temperatures still struggling. sunday's forecast is somewhat messy. it looks like we will bring an atla ntic it looks like we will bring an atlantic frontal system in from the west, bumping into cold air, so there could be some snow in places. we will firm up on the details on

that and keep you posted. temperatures on the low side although something mark showing its hand in the south—west which sets us up hand in the south—west which sets us upfor hand in the south—west which sets us up for the weather during next week. we start to bring more of our weather in from the atlantic. various frontal systems