house fire on tuesday. politicians a house fire on tuesday. politicians from belfast and dublin have met to try to break the brexit deadlock over the issue of the irish border. the pm meets her counterpart tonight in dublin. and the star of stage and screen, albert finney, has died. at the age of 82. in a moment, it will be time for sports day, but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. we will get the latest from washington afterjess bezos was blackmailed. and we will

be taking a first look at their front pages. that is all a head on bbc news. now, it is time for sports day. hello and welcome to sportsday. from gala rugby club, netherdale ahead of week two of the six nations. it is here in scotland where ireland visit tomorrow hoping to get their campaign back on track. we will be in the the england camp as they prepare to take on france at twickenham on sunday. and i'm holly hamilton. i'll be bringing you the rest of today's sport, including the latest on the equine flu crisis as three more cases are confirmed at stables in cheshire. this welcome to the heart of the

scottish borders. the home seller gala rugby club. it has launched the careers of numerous british and irish lions and many scottish internationals. that includes this man. the current head coach of scotland. what a weekend we have in store and what an opening weekend it was with england producing that victory over ireland in dublin last weekend. a match which we will be reflecting on. but can scotland inflict a second defeat in a row on their grand slam champions. they have waited two decades for a title. scotland's stronghold has

been battled and often broken. —— battered and broken. but those days are past now. a force in the north is rising once again. a new hope at the helm. a team that plays without fear. now the competition takes a step up as the irish come to town, still licking their wounds after a dublin demolition. the champions are back and they have got a point to prove. pressure will come within their own group to improve from last week. they were disappointed with the loss and how they played. but we we re the loss and how they played. but we were expecting an excellent performance going into this game whether they had won our last at the weekend. grand slam and a famous win over the all blacks, it looked as though all roads were leading to japan. now they have thrown off course. the focus now on the here and now. you want to change the championship going to scotland again such a tough team. we have to build

oui’ such a tough team. we have to build our way into their game. we can't be chasing things and trying to get insta nt chasing things and trying to get instant results. you have got to earn whatever you get up there because they give so little away. scotland's tournament started in style. murrayfield were believing once again until three italian tries in seven minutes confirmed that was room for improvement. this weekend's fixture is one steeped in history. both sides have cold on experience. a scottish win on saturday would be their eighth in a row at home in the six nations, a first for 44 years. but records for the murrayfield faithful aren't as important as trophies. however, if the scots can top of the irish, then their credentials as serious title challengers really will be

confirmed. it will indeed. they are certainly building. what setting we have in the clubhouse. you can see the 46 scottish internationals on the 46 scottish internationals on the walls here who have represented this club and then gone on to play for their country. if that does not galvanise them scottish spirit ahead ofa galvanise them scottish spirit ahead of a big weekend, i don't know what will. looking at some of these shirts, at least the kind you want in your day? a long time ago. they area bit in your day? a long time ago. they are a bit looser. we didn't have the same bodies the guys have now. it was not to do with skill than size in the old days. they can win tomorrow, you will get a sense they are building something under townsend. there is more depth now. i am really looking forward to the game tomorrow. it is notjust about ireland. the backlash to scotland

will face after they were hijacked in dublin. you have got scotland there who didn't finish well in the last 15 minutes. the way they are looking to play and the fact that we put our triple try scorer on the bench, there is a bit of depth. there is expectation with scotland as well tomorrow. we will be with the england and welsh caps in a moment. as far as scotland are concerned, do you think this is a time to lay down a real marker, a statement of intent? in a year of the world cup. definitely. when you look at where we are at the moment, there is genuine expectation with scotland. we love being the underdog. now the players more or less expect to win. it is all about

winning. when you look at the nine and ten, it will be a really good tussle between murray and sexton. that will be a crucial battle. good time to play ireland, do you think? it is always a good time to play ireland. it is a long weekend. there 85 minutes tomorrow will be crucial. the battle on the ground, they are very good. we will have to be smarter in the way we play. i am predicting a scotland victory by three points. ever the optimist. great to talk to you. thank you for that. let's talk wales now. they had to overturn a 16 point deficit to ove i’co m e to overturn a 16 point deficit to overcome france in paris in their opening victory. warren gatland and his team staying in france to replicate the type of so i —— type

of scenario they will have in france. they spent the week in nice preparing for their match at the weekend. dafydd pritchard joined the side there. wales made a dramatic start to the six nations with their remarkable comeback win over france. hours after the final whistle in paris, they were on their way peace in the south of france. this is a training camp with a difference for wales, who have swapped the cold of cardiff for the mediterranean sunshine as they prepare for saturday's's match in italy. get a bit of recovery in on saturday, have a walk around and catch the other games, that was nice. we started getting into the work this morning. it has been a good couple of days. chilling out but getting into some good decent

training in. getting in some vitamin d which was a bit of a shock to the system. it is a lot warmer than home. one of the reasons for training here is to recreate that tour mentality they will need at this year's world cup. that could mean two months away injapan. it brea ks mean two months away injapan. it breaks up the journey from france to italy as well. where they will go for a second win. we can't rest on oui’ for a second win. we can't rest on our laurels. we have got areas we can improve on from last friday. hopefully the conditions will be a little bit more favourable. really looking forward to it. the opening triumph in france was wales' tenth victory in a row. their longest winning run since 1999. you have to go back to 1910 since they last recorded 11 winds in succession. confidence is causing to the squad at the moment and in surroundings like these, you can be sure that wales will travel to rome in high spirits. they will indeed. a little colder

here in gala this evening. what of england? the head coach admitting he thought his side were bullied in the opening weekend. interesting to hear what sir clive woodward had to say. he felt that that was the best performance that england have produced under eddie jones's performance that england have produced under eddiejones's ten year. is the pressure on or off? christians can tell us. he has been with the squad this week. despite the weather, there is a feel—good vibe in the england camp. the england players buoyed by that win over island. he has tinkered with his back three. chris ashton making his first six nations down since 2013. it is a sign of england's strength in depth and

eddiejones targets the last 20 minutes and are tiring french defence. jack was brilliant last week but we feel... the last minutes of the game will be super important. the tradition of france has to fade a little in the last 20 minutes. jack is our busiest winger and best player for that period of time. jack is our busiest winger and best player for that period of timelj jack is our busiest winger and best player for that period of time. i am at the england team base. it is such at the england team base. it is such a different dynamic now for england. in dublin they were the underdogs with nobody really backing them. now they are at home and they are the favourites and no one is giving fans a chance. eddie jones favourites and no one is giving fans a chance. eddiejones thinks it will be business as usual but... we saw the build—up to ireland match was a menace. we see this week that it is about building on that momentum. eddiejones trying to set the tone.

there is no room for complacency. they brought in bristol to do a full on trading special yesterday. it was not a full match. —— a full training session. replicating how france will play and areas of the breakdown where jones play and areas of the breakdown wherejones thinks that england can still improve. the message in the camp this week is this team can get better, it was not the peak in dublin. changes in the france side highlights the uncertainty of how they will play. yes, they do not know what is coming. first—half outstanding, second—half disaster. they have changed again this week. if england are successful on sunday,

it will be because they are thinking they know how to eat france. —— beat france. this is the home of english by france. this is the home of english rugby and we will set the tempo, thatis rugby and we will set the tempo, that is the message coming out of the camp. it will be fascinating to see if they can achieve that against a brutally physical french side but lacks the cohesion of the england side. good to see you. 3pm sunday at twickenham, england v france. there is doubt that one as heavy favourites, england. absolutely. we will wait to see if they can keep that run going. confirmation of the weekend's fixtures. england against france on sunday. italy against wales tomorrow afternoon in rome. scotland up against ireland, the first of their six nations men's matches tomorrow

at 2:15pm. we will be back here a little later on. we will be looking ahead to the women's 6—nation. it could be a winner takes all with england against france in doncaster. both sides putting 50 plus points on the board in their opening matches. it could be the decider. for now, i will hand you back to holly who is in the studio in salford. thank you. three more cases of equine flu today. all meetings have been cancelled in britain until wednesday at the earliest. let's get more from lizzie. the problem is clearly escalating. crucially, one of those three new

cases has been running at a race because this week and that is why there are more horses in lockdown, more trainers who are having to quarantine their horses. 174 yards are now affected. any horses that ran atany are now affected. any horses that ran at any of the tracks whether positive horses ran, could develop lea n positive horses ran, could develop lean develop symptoms. this has been going on for several weeks across europe. now it is racehorses that are testing positive. they have been vaccinated against this virus so it is clearly not a strain that we are used to. i have spoken to the animal health trust. they are talking to suppliers to see they have enough to deal with the problem. here is the editor of the racing post. at the

current time, it is a manageable point. we are talking about a loss of millions every day if you consider the prize money last, the media rights from bookmakers, and tv broadcasters. you have small businesses, trainers, farriers, jockeys who are all without a livelihood right now. of course the concern now is chuck them. that is what is everybody is asking. it is the biggest, most lucrative festival. will it happen? it is impossible to say now. the more positive tests that are received, the more chances there are of this having an implication on cheltenham. all the races we are losing leading up all the races we are losing leading up to this and it is notjust about chapman. it all revolves around cheltenham. these horses are missing

out on their preparation runs. we need these positive tests to cease and then there is a good chance of cheltenham going on. but the mother that we get, the more chance there is of it being affected. thank you very much for your insight. russian para—athletes will be allowed to compete at the 2020 olympics under the russian flag if they meet specific requirements. earlier, the international pa ralympic committee announced the 29—month suspension enforced in 2016 will be lifted by march 15th. ade adedoyin has more. ata at a news conference here in germany, andrew parsons the ipc president said all but one of the criteria set out by his task force had been implemented. the mclaren report uncovered evidence of systematic doping in russia. they we re systematic doping in russia. they were faced with two options. continue with the indefinite ban or

find a solution. they chose the latter. he said that decision was unanimous. of the 13 voting members, six were para— athletes who competed in... it was the best solution for wet and he feels that the russian paralympic committee wet and he feels that the russian pa ralympic committee has wet and he feels that the russian paralympic committee has shown fundamental change in the last two yea rs. fundamental change in the last two years. i respect their opinion and of course we are compromising on a specific criteria but we think that the other 69 point criteria that have been met and the 3.5 years of close monitoring, will address those concerns. if they have accepted the 70 criteria then it will be ok, let's move forward. now we have decided to include some additional criteria which allows us to closely monitor them for the next 3.5 years. we have reserved the right at any moment to revoke that statement.

today's development means russian athletes can compete in the world championship this year under the national flag if they are dear to the strict addition set out by the ipc. they will be able to do so as well at tokyo 2020. unlike in rio andjung well at tokyo 2020. unlike in rio and jung chang but they had set compete under... tennis, and great britain are back in action in the fed cup this evening to determine who will top group a to progress to saturday's play—off. katie boulter is on court facing dalma galfi — our tennis correspondent russell fuller is there... it isa it is a little stressful. she is playing well number 311. she has a fantastic weekend so far. —— fantastic weekend so far. —— fantastic competition so far. in the end, in the seven set... it has just

gone into the tie—break. she will be hoping that she will be able to close this match out. johanna konta is very much favourite in the second match. she is playing a more inexperienced component. if they manage to win, they will take on serbia on saturday which will decide which country survives that we can qualify for the next stage of the competition. reporting from bath. thank you very much. let's have a look at some of the other stories around today. ben stokes has been named in the 12 man squad for the final test match against the west indies tomorrow. he had been in doubt after suffering a bruised heel but will feature along with mark wood and keaton jennings. wicketkeeper ben foa kes has has been dropped. ten teenage football players have died in a fire at a youth training

ground belonging to one of brazil's top football teams, flamengo. it's not known what caused the blaze at a dormitory, which was only recently built. sam ward scored a hat—trick as great britain's men made it two wins from two in hockey‘s fih pro league. they beat new zealand 6—2 in christchurch to go top of their group. but mark hager‘s first match as coach of the great britain women's team ended in defeat. the olympic champions lost 5—1 to his former side, new zealand. and tomorrow's football focus sees gary linekerjoined by manchester city's vincent kompany and huge city fan noel gallagher. in a special interview to mark his testimonial year and tenth season at city, vincent met noel to discuss football, oasis and a decade of drama at the etihad stadium. here's a quick look. over those ten years, the

highlights, there has been some amazing moments. you have named it. that is the moment that defines so much for this club. the aguero moment. i have to thank that squad. he isa moment. i have to thank that squad. he is a hero and i play with him every day. i see him with all his flaws but i just every day. i see him with all his flaws but ijust take a step back and... what floors? he has got plenty. it must be great to work with your heroes. speaking of which, let's go back tojohn watson. john, we have some six nations action there this evening. yes, we do indeed. the scotland under 20s and the ireland under 20 side are warming up for their matches. it is the women's

tournament that we are going to concentrate on now. we have a potential winner takes all in the women's tournament this year. france and england winning theirfirst round matches. this really could be a title decider. it is worth pointing out that france come into this as the raining six nations champions. it was england, of course, that held that title the year before last. it is setup beautifully heading into sunday's match in doncaster between the two sides. we can talk to danielle waterman, a former world cup winner with england back in 2014. great to have you on the programme. it is a match that needs no introduction. have you on the programme. it is a match that needs no introductionm definitely lives up to le crunch. both teams have moved forward and

probably france has the edge this a lot has been made now weekend. a lot has been made now about the full—time professional contracts that have been handed out to be england players. france don't have that luxury being part—time. presumably, they had to go back to work this week before playing their next match. that could leave them at a significant disadvantage. potentially. but i think a lot of them are supported by their clubs, so they will have made choices in the build—up to this tournament to allow them to have extra time off to recover because this is their game of the tournament. it is indeed. france come into it with form, don't they? as far as england are concerned, yourself came into the england team when you are relatively young. there is an interesting blend of youth and experience in the squad at the moment which simon middleton has put together. yes, some of the young girls in the outside backs. i think the difference that the french

has got around then nine, she is a excellent player and seems to set them alight. what were the strategy be getting into this for england? france has an attacking flair, where they try to contain it? - will. they try to contain it? they will. they need to look at the penalty count. wales kicked to the corners and gota count. wales kicked to the corners and got a few tries from driving line—outs. that will be critical for england. the french fly half wasn't great off the tee so it will be interesting to see whether they pull ina interesting to see whether they pull in a different goalkicker for their french side. england need to focus on themselves. they have got some oun -la ers andl oun -la ers and i am sure talented young players and i am sure they will look to use the speed that they will look to use the speed that they have got on the edge. danielle waterman, great to talk to you on the programme. thank you. the remainder of the match is taking

place at the weekend in the women's's six nations. england three france 12:45pm. tonight it is scotla nd france 12:45pm. tonight it is scotland against ireland getting in and around a little over half an hour's time also. let's concentrate on matters here in what will be a big weekend. i am joined matters here in what will be a big weekend. iamjoined by matters here in what will be a big weekend. i am joined by peter dods who is team manager here at gala. you are well placed to talk about townsend and his impact on the club. i was coach down here when he first came into the team. a17—year—old guy then. the talent oozed out of him. he ran circles around people. i think he was a coach's nightmare

because you are telling him what to do and he would do the opposite. he ruled the roost himself. we see his picture on the wall as a british and irish lion and now the only head coach of scotland to have come through this rugby club. yes, he is. this club at gala are very proud of what he has achieved through his playing career and now his role as a national coach. he is very young to bea national coach. he is very young to be a coach at that level but i am sure he is going to do well in the future. i'm sure he will do. peter, thank you for your thoughts tonight. sorry we dragged you outside. just a reminder that you can follow all of the results from the weekend's matches to come tomorrow at 6:30pm and again at 7:30pm. for now, that

is all from a wet and windy gala. thank you for your company tonight. we will see you soon. goodbye. good evening. the wet weather will persist in the north and west of scotland, northern ireland in particular, whilst it clears from the south. this is tom eric. for all parts —— for all parts, we will bear the brunt. a little bit of wintriness over the hills in the north but it is a relatively mild for the most of us. winds might bring disruption. they will persist through the course of saturday, particularly scotland and northern ireland, northern england. easing further south. it looks a lot drier. there will be showers but most of

the rain will be in the north and later in the south. sunday, there is the potential for very wet weather across southern areas, wintriness over the hills, lots of showers in the north and it will start to feel colder. that is it for now. donald tusk‘s comments annoyed many this week. join us later on news watch. this is bbc news.

the headlines at 7. the daily telegraph will publish more allegations against billionaire sir philip green tonight — after he dropped an injuction against the paper. sir philip denies allegations of sexual and racial abuse. these gagging orders are being used to cover up allegations of sexual misconduct and racial abuse by wealthy, powerful name. —— men. the family of the footballer, emiliano sala, say they can now mourn, after his body was recovered from the english channel. after the death of four children in a house fire in stafford, two people are arrested, on suspicion of manslaughter by gross negligence. theresa may meets her irish counterpart shortly in dublin as she seeks changes to the