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tv   BBC News at Nine  BBC News  March 22, 2019 9:00am-10:01am GMT

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hello, it's friday, it's ten o'clock, i'm joanna gosling brexit is not happening a week today but the new deadline you're watching bbc news at 9am, for theresa may to get her deal with me, annita mcveigh. the headlines. through parliament looms. the eu agrees to delay brexit if the withdrawal agreement is beyond the 29th of march, after late—night talks in brussels. passed by the house of commons next week, the european council agreed to an extension until the 22nd of may. all options will remain open, and the cliff—edge date will be delayed. in the second scenario, theresa may, who's due back if the withdrawal agreement is not approved by the house of commons in downing street shortly, urged mps next week, the european council to back her deal, but she also offered them an olive branch, agreed to an extension after her earlier speech until the 20th april, sparked an angry reaction. 12th, 12th of april! last night, i expressed my laughter. frustration, and i know that mps are frustrated too. they have difficultjobs to do. while expecting the uk i hope we can all agree we are now to indicate the way forward. at the moment of decision. iamat i am at the european council in
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brussels where eu leaders are returning for the second day of the summit, after those hours of wrangling late into the evening, but with a determination not to let brexit disrupt all their other urgent business. one week on from the deadly mosque attacks in christchurch, new zealand, falls silent, to remember the 50 victims. and a humiliating day for scottish football. they're thrashed 3—0 by kazakhstan, a country ranked 77 places below them. good morning, and welcome to the bbc news at 9am. a delay to brexit has been agreed by eu leaders after talks dragged on late into the night in brussels. they backed postponing the uk's departure until the 22nd of may
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if mps back theresa may's deal, or until the 12th of april if they don't. it is the second day of the european council but there is a morning after feel here, and one of the eu leaders is absent, theresa may who has texted to her colleagues to say she has gone back home to london, working on a deal. that is the upshot after eight hours of discussion and debate about what sort of extension, if any, to present to theresa may. the leaders here came up with a decision, ultimately creating two specific dates to work from, one in april, one in may. two different dates for different scenarios. let us take you through the key dates once again for your diary.
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march 29th has been brexit day practically forever, it feels like. not any more, rub it out of your diary. the dates that matter are as follows. if mps pass theresa may's deal next week, britain will leave the eu on 22nd may. if her deal is not approved, as many here and many in westminster fear, then, april 12 becomes the new deadline. at that stage, mps will have to come up with an alternative plan. that could mean a longer extension, it could mean leaving with no deal at all, or it could mean revoking article 50, that is to say, cancelling brexit altogether. so what does that mean in terms of the mood music? many eu leaders here feel it has taken a little bit of heat out of next week, march 29, that has dissipated, so perhaps it makes it easier. it means if there
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isa no makes it easier. it means if there is a no vote, they do not need to rush back to sit around a table as they are doing now, on another crisis summit. what they are doing here, as donald tusk, the president of the european council, and his collea g u es of the european council, and his colleagues gather around the table, they want to get on with the business they were meant to start yesterday and never got around to, talking about china and the eu, relationships between those power blocs in world affairs. but hanging over it all, let us not hide from it, sits there and stays there, it has just been kicked hide from it, sits there and stays there, it hasjust been kicked down there, it hasjust been kicked down the road a little bit further. here's our political correspondent chris mason. you know it's rather late when the prime minister offers this greeting at the end of a long evening. good morning. yes, agreeing a delay to brexit had itself been delayed, but at gone midnight, it was eventually signed off, and the prime minister said... i hope we can all agree we are now at the moment of decision, and i will make every effort
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to ensure that we are able to leave with a deal and move our country forward. we now know, if the british parliament agrees to it, brexit will not happen a week today, as planned, with the eu saying that if the uk doesn't want to sign up to the withdrawal agreement, it has until april the 12th to work out what it does want. what this means in practice is that, until that date, all options will remain open, and the cliff—edge date will be delayed. the uk government will still have a choice of a deal, no deal, a long extension, or revoking article 50. revoking article 50 means cancelling the brexit process, an idea that's attracted more than two million signatures on parliament's own website. but the government has
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flatly rejected the idea. for the prime minister this morning, a series of dilemmas have been postponed, but not resolved. there are still no easy answers for her. chris mason, bbc news. no easy answers on either side of the channel. let us start in brussels. with me now is our brussels correspondent adam fleming. one important view is how they perceived theresa may, her confidence, her ability to convince them that there is a plan hit and she can get it through? this is more complicated, last night, there were lots of briefings, it wasn't difficult to find someone to tell you this back theresa may's performance had not been great, she had been unconvincing in how she would get this deal through parliament next week if it does go to parliament, and what she would do
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if the deal failed for a third time. lots of member states saying that informed the debate afterwards. but speak to others with a more nuanced view and they say, was theresa may ever going to lay out a study in a i’ooiti ever going to lay out a study in a room with 27 people prepared to leak it instantly so her opponents would rip it apart? and is it a personal failing of the prime minister or a reflection of the arithmetic in parliament and the difficult situation? it is a british political problem rather than a personality problem. calculation clinicians are being made here about creating that april the 12th date on the basis her vote does not pass, because that is in a way creating a window, in a way taking a little bit of heat from next week, and making sure this lot don't have to come again next week. one other thing they were worried about last night was the prospect of
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an emergency summit next week on wednesday or thursday, the day before a potential no—deal brexit. eu leaders were unhappy of the idea of coming back, to meet in absolute crisis, the fact they would have to shoulder the burden, the crisis, the fact they would have to shoulderthe burden, the blame crisis, the fact they would have to shoulder the burden, the blame and responsibility for that, that was something they wanted to avoid which is why they rethought how this extension could work. the 12th of april date has become a date, not plucked from the air, if the uk participates in the european parliament elections, it needs to make a decision by 12th april which is where that date came from, that is where that date came from, that is the point at which the uk will have to decide if it wants a longer extension and stay in the eu beyond 22nd may, if it does that, it will have to hold those elections.
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thank you very much indeed. decisions, decisions, and frankly most of them will have to be made in westminster. our poltical correspondent ben wright is in westminster. i wonder what the immediate response has been to this extension, and the way in which theresa may has been perceived? she returns to westminster today, i think, damaged at the end of a torrid couple of days for her. across the tory party there is anger at how she has handled this, her tone, tactics, approach. it feels she is in difficulty in terms of her leadership of the tory party, putting it mildly. she needs to wrestle back control over this process and number 10 and parliament will be relieved there has been a reprieve. it felt 2a hours ago we could be heading quickly towards the
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buffers next friday and a potential no deal begs it if this deal were voted down again, and if the eu as it seemed possible was not prepared to countenance an extension. so there will be a delay. number 10 will try to get the deal through again next week, we believe. the chances of that going to have not increased, they have gone down since she made her statement on wednesday night. it is very hard to see how the numbers are there to get it through, in which case we will move quickly on to a two week process of whittling down the alternative options down to one, before april 12. no mean feat considering this is something which, for two years, parliament and the government haven't been able to work out, they will need to do it in two weeks. she was a little more emollient last night in terms of what she had to say about parliament, mps, saying, i
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understand they are frustrated like me, trying to row back from what felt like a very straightforward laying of the blame in her address to the british people. that will make the difference? it was a long way from an apology but there was certainly the hint of regret i think in her words last night. the prime minster was conceding she had got it wrong, her comments in downing street were seen to be so toxic by so many mps in various corners of the commons, she had to speak to them and respond. the tone was emollient. she was describing her own frustration and saying she understood why other mps we re saying she understood why other mps were frustrated. the question is weather that new tone extends to a significantly different approach. if this deal goes down, the parameter will have to do something she has refused to do so far, —— the prime
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minister. to reach across the house of commons, possibly start to rub out some of her very thick red lines, to find a consensus around the future relationship that can command a majority in the house of commons. that could involve really angering her brexiteers who feel the wind isn't their sales, they are heading towards a no deal bedsit. the house of commons will have potentially much more control and a bigger say over the next few weeks —— a no—deal brexit. that could swing brags it towards a softer version that can command a majority. theresa may has wanted to keep her party together at all costs and may find that becomes almost impossible over the next few weeks if the uk will come up with a way of ensuring there is a brags it compromise by
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april 12 —— brexit. but people are breathing a small sigh of relief that there is a breathing space. every day counts, every movement is being watched carefully. let us hear what emmanuel macron had to say. translation: the responsibility is on the british side and this is one of the great achievements of this day. we confirmed the fact the european elections need to be held within a clear framework. we must not fall into the trap of telling the british what is their responsibility. we have made decisions and responsibilities clear from the beginning. we respect the british vote, we have negotiated an agreement for two years and gave deadlines. it is up to the british political system to finally provide a clear answer.
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emmanuel macron. in our brussels studio now is karel lannoo from the centre for european policy studies. i wonder a few get a real sense of clarity emerging from an eu perspective? the april 12 deadline isa perspective? the april 12 deadline is a very real deadline, something kicks in after that. indeed, it is very close, i don't think there any clarity emerging in brussels or in europe, that is something the eu should be concerned about. how will this translate in the european elections we have at the european elections we have at the end of may, an important consideration for these two dates. we saw on wednesday, elections in the netherlands, which gave rise to a new party which did not exist, a strong eurosceptic party. we may
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think like emanuel and it is a british response ability but we had to see how the european public at large perceives what is going on. i would warn for the eu to play hardball. if there is a hard bread that the cost for the eu is high as well. as well for the contribution from the uk for trade, european citizens in the uk. i wonder what is being played and weather they are playing it too hard. we can imagine what will happen if theresa may does not get her bill through in parliament, will she step down? what will we see them in the uk? will we need another summit in brussels to belong even more? there is a reality that, come what make, very soon, courtesy of the european elections, there will be a changing of the guard here, across the piece. how much do you think that could influence any further
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discussions and negotiations? how important have the individuals at the front of this, the likes of michel barnier, jean—claude juncker, donald tusk, those holding it together? they had been very influential but over the last few days they have realised what if this does not get through, what does it mean for europe, for people like michel barnier who wanted eventually to become president of the commission? that will play out in elections and possibly in a negative way. it is in the interests of the eu overall, extremely important, we find a deal. we do not know exactly what is being discussed in the european council, weather european leaders have some other concessions at hand for the coming three weeks to make sure we had this deal approved. thank you very much indeed.
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realistically, if there is any sigh of relief for the moment, it is a very little one. it will bridge for a further few days before, as most of the eu leaders seem to feel here, theresa may's deal is voted down once again in westminster, we assume that will be next week. as for the leaders, they are gathering again, getting on with their own business, talking about eu— china relations in particular, and getting on to climate change. no theresa may for any of that, they fully appreciate why, she is back in westminster already trying to do that deal. the headlines on bbc news. the eu agrees to delay brexit beyond the 29th of march, after late—night talks in brussels.
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theresa may urged mps to back her deal but she also offered them an olive branch, after her earlier speech sparked an angry reaction. one week on from the deadly mosque attacks in christchurch, new zealand falls silent to remember the fifty victims. the headlines make grim reading for scotla nd the headlines make grim reading for scotland under —— after one of their worst defeat in history. better news for northern ireland with a winning start, beating estonia in belfast at windsor park. tonight, england take on the czech republic at wembley but will be missing marcus rashford up front. heading back to the world number one spot for the first time in a decade, one more win is needed for ronnie o'sullivan. all the stories for you at 9:40am.
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well, as we've been hearing, theresa may has told mps to end the uncertainty over brexit by passing her withdrawal agreement now that she's secured more time from the european union. she says she will "work hard to build support to get her deal through". but how likely is it that she will succeed? we can speak now to conservative mp chris philp who is vice chairman for policy of the party. he is at westminster. good morning. a breathing space, not much. despite the promised and saying she will try to build support for her deal, do you feel that the debate has moved beyond that deal? what we need to concentrate on are the options that are tangibly available now. it seems there are one of three or four things that could happen. one is that we leave with no deal. one is that we have a very long extension while maybe there is possibly a second
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referendum or a move to a single market 2.0. we unilaterally provoke article 50, or past the deal as negotiated. as i consider those options, i think passing the deal is negotiated is the best one to go for. it delivers the result of the referendum, believe the eu, but we do it in an orderly fashion that protects jobs and keeps a trade with europe flowing. as people, although some people do not like the deal for different reasons, you have to consider the available options. the evidence suggests that isn't going to happen, it has already been defeated heavily twice. what do you think is the next a realistic prospect? a lot of those options have been defeated heavily already, the second referendum option defeated by an even bigger margin than the deal, the idea of living with no deal has been defeated, the labour party proposal has been defeated, a
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customs union has been defeated. at one time or another pretty much all of those options have been voted down by parliament. what we need to down by parliament. what we need to do is focus hard on what we are going to do. parliament collectively has to choose an option, and doing the deal is the best one. it is not perfect. as theresa may said, i hope we can agree we are at the moment of decision. if a deal does not pass, will conservatives and other mps from other parties start to move behind another proposition? lucy powell said this morning about a common market 2.0 outside the eu, but part of an economic area. would that be something you can potentially back? no, norway plus as it used to be called means being in the single market, you have to follow all of the rules including on the city of london, you are in the customs union
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effectively to any free trade deals the eu does we are bound to follow, but equally we can't do any free trade deals of our own. unlimited free movement of people would continue, and we would keep making budget contributions to the eu close to the current levels, plus we would have the effective jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. all those would remain. but crucially we would have no seat at the table, no veto over trade deals, no vote on a single market rules. it is a considerably worse position than remaining in the eu. i do not think that option is a fly at all. the other option is a no—deal exit on the 12th of april. i do not find that appealing because it would disrupt trade. the other option is to revoke article 50, cancel the whole thing. would you go for any of those options? rather than reach that
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point? iam not point? i am not sure i would. i boated positively already for the deal as it stands, i have made my choice, voting for something positive which parliament has failed to do. i know the deal has flaws which have been well debated but in life and politics, perfection is never available, you had to compromise. the deal does deliver. i would not want, i would the deal does deliver. i would not want, iwould not the deal does deliver. i would not want, i would not back provoking article 50, and i would not support common market 2.0 either. good to get your thoughts this morning. the conservative mp and former conservative party chairman grant shapps joins us from hatfield in hertfordshire this morning. good morning. chatting to your party colleague, it is clear as it has ever been that it will be difficult to get enough people to coalesce around one plan. even though the
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time left is very short. a little bit of breathing space, is it enough to make a change? unlikely but it is just possible. obviously, the prime minister has a number of hurdles to get across, the speaker allowing the vote, we assume he will. the dup coming on board. it may be they can be convinced which will bring quite a few of my collea g u es will bring quite a few of my colleagues over. there is a remaining issue concerning lots of us remaining issue concerning lots of us which is, if we end up with the same negotiating team who messed up the withdrawal agreement, negotiating the future agreement, that would be completely unacceptable, i have said that directly to the prime minister and i am hoping she will take that on board because, for me and probably up board because, for me and probably up to 15 colleagues, that really is a big concern. we don't want to end up a big concern. we don't want to end up with the same problems. let us develop that, a problem for
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theresa may in the immediate days is all along she has talked about her deal or no deal, her deal and a possibility of no bedsit in the for many people wanted. —— —— brexit. from what you have said, do you want to see her set —— step aside? if it gets through, the entire negotiating team needs to change. if it does not get through, then there are some stark choices, either we leave with no deal, or there is a long extension. i do not think this idea of taking article 50 of the table, although i know 2 million people have signed that petition, thatis people have signed that petition, that is likely to pass parliament. actually, the big problem, one of the reasons theresa may's deal still stand a chance, is that every other
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direction may just not stand a chance, is that every other direction mayjust not have a parliamentary majority. i have had this conversation with those trying to pass legislation or rules to allow parliamentarians to take control, that are coming up. but talking to oliver letwin for example, there is no majority for any outcome in parliament. that does not bode well. therefore, the prime minister's deal is still in play but only she can convince colleagues over the backstop and future negotiating team. and if meaningful votes three is not passed,is and if meaningful votes three is not passed, is it time for theresa may to step aside and for somebody else to step aside and for somebody else to try to direct this process? backin to try to direct this process? back in 2017, i suggested that theresa may may not now be the right person, or then, to negotiate this
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deal, because we had lost that majority in the election. colleagues did not agree at the time but i think they do now. what happens in the future is hard to guess. thank you for your time this morning. it is 9:27am. in new zealand, thousands of people have observed two minutes‘ silence in memory of the 50 victims of last friday's mass shootings at mosques in christchurch. special ceremonies and prayer services took place across the country to mark a week on from the killings. a mass funeral for 30 of the dead is also taking place today. our news correspondent phil mercer is with us now from christchurch. another hugely sombre day in what has been an incredibly difficult week for the country. tell us about the messages from the imam at the mosque where there was the greatest loss of life?
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this imam survived the attack on the al—noor mosque a week ago. giving a very powerful sermon in front of not just muslim worshippers, but thousands of other people, non—muslims, who had come along in an act of solidarity, including the new zealand prime ministerjacinda ardern, the imam saying, when the gunman came into the masked seven days ago, he could see the hatred and rage in his eyes. he praised the resilience, the compassion and the love that new zealand has shown towards the muslim community during this time. he said that the country was broken hearted, but not broken. he also consulted the idea of islamophobia, saying that there was this irrational fear of islam around the world. he said that his phobia
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kills, and he said that sort of hate speech, that ideology, needed to be stamped out. some very powerful words on a poignant day. after a lot of discussion this week in new zealand about gun control, what will happen next on that front? 24 what will happen next on that front? 2a hours ago, jacinda ardern said all of the weapons used in the attack a week ago would be banned. so, that means there is a military style assault rifles, there is rifles will be banned by around april 11, in about three weeks. in the interim, there are measures put in place to stop people stockpiling the weapons that will be proscribed. gun owners will be compensated. there will be a buy—back scheme. the police association in new zealand also saying in a second round of gun reform that the prime minister has
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promised, there needs to be a register of all guns, and all of their owners. so, certainly, there is overwhelming support here in new zealand for these stricter gun controls, there will be parts of the gun lobby that will be very unhappy. some arguing that will be very unhappy. some are arguing the laws —— but you do get a sense critics of gun reform are swimming against the tide. thank you for that. in a moment the weather but first let's join joanna gosling for details of what's coming up on the victoria derbyshire programme at ten. good morning. how easy is it to be environmentally friendly? we look at how our students got on in there sustainably challenge, covering everything from fashion, plastics and transport to food, energy and water, how easy was it for them to
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reduce their impact on the environment? all the details after 10am. now, it's time for a look at the weather. we have got a lot of cloud around across the country but there are some areas where the cloud has broken up. the skies across carnal are blue at the moment, for much of england and wales it is great and murky, low cloud there are some strong and gusty winds, 70 miles an hour gusts in the north—west. the weather front will ease away from scotland and northern ireland into northern england and north wales into the afternoon. towards the south and east, cloudy but dry. 1a degrees or so. we will
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keep the line of cloud and if you spot of drizzle along the south coast. some southern counties pretty murky falsetto. sunny spells elsewhere but as we head through the weekend, mostly dry, and sunshine through sunday. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines. the eu agrees to delay brexit beyond the 29th of march, after late night talks in brussels. all options will remain open and the cliff edge date will be delayed. theresa may, who's due back in downing street shortly, urged mps to back her deal but she also offered them an olive branch, after her earlier speech sparked an angry reaction. last night, i expressed my frustration, and i know that mps are frustrated too. they have difficultjobs to do. i hope we can all agree we are now
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at the moment of decision. one week on from the deadly mosque attacks in christchurch, new zealand falls silent to remember the 50 victims. and over here, as police investigate a sledgehammer attack on five mosques in birmingham, we'll be asking adil parker, from the birmingham council of mosques, how the community is reacting. theresa may will over the coming days resume efforts to persuade mps to support her withdrawal deal after the eu agreed to postpone brexit. speaking at a news conference in brussels last night after the talks, the president of the european council, donald tusk, explained what had been decided. our decisions envisage two scenarios. in the first scenario,
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with the drill agreement, if it is passed by the house of commons, next week, the european council agreed to an extension until the 22nd of may. in the second scenario, if the withdrawal agreement is not approved by the house of commons next week, the european council agreed to a next—day chin until the 20th of april —— agrees to an extension until the 20th of april, 12, 12th of april! laughter where we are expecting the uk to indicate a way forward. what this means in practice is that up till this date, all options will remain open. and the cliff edge date will be delayed. prime minister theresa may then reiterated her wish that mps approve the withdrawal agreement and that britain left the eu smoothly. while the decision today underlines
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is the importance of commons passing a brexit deal next week so we can bring an end to the uncertainty and leave in a smooth and orderly manner. tomorrow morning i will be returning to the uk and working hard to build support for getting the deal through. i know mps on all sides of the debate had passionate views and i respect those different positions. last night i expressed my frustration and i know that mps are frustrated too. they have difficult jobs to do. i hope we can all agree we are now at the moment of decision. and i will make every effort to ensure that we are able to leave with a deal and move our country forward. and this morning, there's been reaction coming out of brussels. the prime minister of luxembourg xavier bettel says the best outcome would be for the uk to stay in the eu. we had president macron put the odds
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her passing the deal next week as low as 5%, what are your odds? 50-50. what is the best possible outcome now for you? along extension, or what? the best possible outcome would be for new referendum and to stay. my colleague, david eades is in brussels this morning. a long and late night, is there much further reaction this morning as to what has been going on there? yes, you just heard from the luxembourg prime minister there and indeed most of the leaders as they came through had to deal once again with questions about brexit which some of them batted off, prepared to be a little bit more expensive and broadly sympathetic, i would say. but they are very keen to get on with the business at hand for them. issues like eu china relations which is very high up on the agenda for this summit, they didn't get anywhere near it yesterday. they
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know they've got to get on with it. let's focus on brexit as we're bound to do. we do have it new dates. when donald tusk, the president of the european council gets them wrong, what chance have we got? one chance we have is chris morris, put us back into line. march 20 night is out of my diary, i can ease back next friday but what do i have to focus on? lot depends on what happens in the house of commons. if a third meaningful vote is held in the house of commons next week and if it passes, to two big ifs, there will be something happening on the may 22, that will be the deadline. if there is no agreement, 12th of april is the date
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because the 11th of april is the la st because the 11th of april is the last date that the uk could legislate to take part in the eu elections. they want to take a strong and strict interpretation of the law in the eu, saying they cannot have a situation where the eu is still a member state and not taking part in the election. don't forget, theresa may had asked for june 30 as an extension because there was a school of thought that said because the new parliament does not meet until the beginning of july, the 30th ofjune would be ok. but the eu has decided to go safety first, protect its own interests, and why not? we have just seen all of the leaders gathering without theresa may for their summit events today. it feels like they are saying, we will try and deal with you as best we can, we don't want you as best we can, we don't want you to leave with no deal but our interests have to take first president. the election has proved to bea president. the election has proved to be a good tool because this is a
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ha rd to be a good tool because this is a hard place, a real deadline, not like march 29. it is, march 29 was created simply because theresa may triggered our critical 50 on march 29 two years ago. the elections are set in stone, they will take part in the end of may. —— they will happen in the end of may. other countries agreed yesterday that the risk of allowing the uk to stay in the eu without taking part in those elections were too great, not least of all sorts of reasons for example if you are poland, they have a1 million polls living in the uk, and will they be deprived of their right to vote even though their country was still in the eu and the country they are resident in is still in the eu? we can look in terms of common sense, getting something in place which provide an opportunity to move towards the ultimate whatever decision. how much do you think this is also about the eu making very
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clear, we have done everything we can, you cannot blame us if there is no—deal brexit. can, you cannot blame us if there is no-deal brexit. i think that was key. they did not want to be in a position where the uk could point the finger and say, you forced us out ina the finger and say, you forced us out in a sense. the april 12 deadline is not very long after the march deadline but it saying, your decision. if you decide you want to ta ke decision. if you decide you want to take part in the european elections, a longer extension is available. it was notable that theresa may, early this morning after midnight, she was pressed a couple of times, we know that your best option is get your deal through, but if it came down to leaving with no deal or a longer extension and taking part in those elections, which is your priority? she said again, i don't want to take pa rt she said again, i don't want to take part in the elections what she did not come down firmly on one side of the other. there is a sense of ambiguity which will have to be resolved one way or another, in
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parliament, in government, before the 12th of april. ambiguity is simply the way this world works. for all that we now read the runes of what this means, how it will affect westminster, there is a truth out there that still nothing is clear, nothing is decided. how does that knock on to the business going on right around the european union? big business as well. joining me now from rotterdam is the bbc‘s anna holligan. she is assessing what they are trying to do with all of this mess. exactly. we are actually on a tour of the port right now. the dutch strategy from the start has been hoped for the best, prepare for the west. what we are witnessing here is their contingency plans. parking spaces, they are building more than 700 extra parking spaces. there is a
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buffer zone, they've hired hundreds of extra customs officers. there are more than 3000 trucks going between this port and the uk every single day and their assessment is that about ten to 15% of them will not have their customs declarations in order by the time they reach the port. so the realfear order by the time they reach the port. so the real fear is we will see trucks backed up unless they have this special space reserved. no one is more familiar with these preparations then the manager of the report, marks, an extra two weeks to prepare, a sense of relief that they could be more time to get things ready? definitely relief, if it's going well and it will be actually the 12th of april. however, we are still preparing for the 29th of march to have everything in order and we think that we can manage that. what's your greatest fear, if the uk leaves the eu without a deal?
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especially in the middle and longer term, that they trade volumes will be influenced. and influence negatively for us. we think that we could lose around 30 to 40% of the total trade volumes between the uk and rotterdam, depending, of course, ona and rotterdam, depending, of course, on a free—trade agreement or whether we go back to wto rules. we are continuing now to a warehouse where they are in preparation for brexit and we will bring you more during the day from here in rotterdam. great pictures of the challenges facing the whole of europe. businesses, politicians and people. with me now is tony connelly, the europe editorfor rte. the irish perspective is hugely important and there must be a lot of nerves are wrangling when they hear the likes of emanuel macron of france saying, if they don't vote it
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through, it would seem to be heading towards a no deal. yes, this day last week we were confronted with an ideal situation would be catastrophic for the irish economy and raise major problems at the irish border. we have this paradoxical scenario which is the backstop which was the main strategy of the irish government to avoid a ha rd of the irish government to avoid a hard border, that could have potentially contributed to this stalemate. so lee over at yesterday we re stalemate. so lee over at yesterday were saying, we need to cut the uk some slack. —— the irish taoiseach said that. but this is now about the extension, there has not been a mention of the backstop for a week. does it also show you that there is a general view that this deal is not getting through so it's about looking beyond that and it could be
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the backstop is not the issue once this hurdle is overcome or, frankly, creates a roadblock? the imperative for the eu at this summit was to set up for the eu at this summit was to set upa for the eu at this summit was to set up a sequence of events where if there was going to be a no—deal brexit, they would not be held responsible and the whole impetus of this would be handed back to the uk. and i suppose they have managed to create some manoeuvrability for theresa may, or if not theresa may, then the house of commons. that deadline is still coming down the tracks and we know how quickly time passesin tracks and we know how quickly time passes in the brexit process. this isa passes in the brexit process. this is a holding pattern but a lot of danger ahead. we mentioned cutting some slack was the expression used by the irish covenant, do you think that he would be able to leave here thinking, we did do that much, the taoiseach? yes, this sets up the house of commons to look at stark choices, they either adopt the
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withdrawal agreement which looks unlikely or they try to come together over cross party lines to establish some kind of stuff to brexit, or they had to no deal. those are three fairly —— some kind of softer brexit. or they have no deal and those are the three choices. it's just deal and those are the three choices. it'sjust the dates deal and those are the three choices. it's just the dates which have changed. one person was conspicuous by her absence here on day two, theresa may, she has texted her colleagues here, she has headed straight back to london, her work does not stop. sport now. and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre now. good morning. kazakstan have only won four games in the last decade but they were far too good for scotland in the opening euro 2020 qualifier, on one of the worst days in scottish footballing history. kazakstan are ranked 77 places below alex mcleish‘s side, in the world rankings, but they managed to score twice inside the opening ten minutes.
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and things got worse after the break as scotland conceded a third. alex mcleish refused to be drawn on speculation about his future with san marino up next on sunday, when he will be looking for a much better performance. it is never finished until it is finished. we bounced back from a poor performance in the israel game in israel, and that is what we must do after this game. now, we have all the players to come back, there are obviously players who will be more experienced who have got two come back. here's some of the reaction on socia media. let's have a look at a couple of the comments on twitter. chris sutton, former celtic striker. and craig burley. ..
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northern ireland had a much more positive start to their euro 2020 qualifying campaign, with a 2—0 win over estonia at windsor park. the home side to be patient before early in the second half, niall mcginn got the final touch to make it1—0. steven davis added the second from the penalty spot after the referee decided george saville, was fouled in the box. michael o'neill‘s men play their second qualifier against belarus on sunday. now the papers this morning are dominated by declan rice's apology for an apparent pro ira social media message he made back in 2015 when he was an ireland youth player. the 20 year old west ham midfielder pledged his allegiance to england earlier this month and is expected to make against the czech republic in a euro 2020 qualifier this evening. the times says that rice has apologised over the tweet and reports that rice has described the comments as "naive". the mail also looks ahead to england's match against the czech republic this
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evening, when it expects young borussia dortmund starjadon sancho to make his first competitive start. the mirror says england manager gareth southgate has appealed to fans to forgive rice for his social media message. it also claims scotland's next opponents san marino one of the world's lowest ranked sides, will "smell blood" after the scots dismal 3—0 defeat to kazakhstan. chelsea ladies have won the first leg of their last eight champions league tie, against paris st germain. hannah blundell got chelsea's first. watch this for a strike. erin cuthbert, scored the second and it finished 2—0. the second leg is in paris next wednesday. but this was rather shocking. class a drugs, and weapons, including knives and knuckle—dusters, were found on a coach, carrying psg fans to last night's game. one man was arrested. the remaining passengers were escorted from the area by police. there were also reports of vandalism at the stadium and disorder at waterloo and wimbledon stations.
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jo konta is through to the second round of the miami open after a straight sets win over jessica pegula and dan evans is also through in the men's draw. he lostjust two games, in beating tunisian malekjaziri. evans remember was only playing in the first round, because he was a "lucky loser" earlier in the week. british number two cameron norrie was knocked out, though. ronnie o'sullivan is edging his way back to the world number one spot for the first time in a decade. he beatjudd trump last night in snooker‘s tour championship, in llandudno, with the very last black in the last frame. o'sullivan rolled it in having won five of the last six frames to clinch a 10—9 victory. if he wins the final against either neil robertson or mark allen, he'll be top dog again. now, as we've heard, it wasn't a great day for scotland's footballers but how about this from golfer russell knox last night? here he is in the first round, of the valspar championship in florida. he was stuggling at this point but watch this. an albatross, so he found the hole
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with just his second shot. he finished the day on four under par along with england's luke donald. just one shot off the lead. another golf story doing well on social media is one involving a big cat. strolling along behind mel read, at the lpga event in arizona. it's a bob cat, bobbing along and not at all bothered by the action just a few metres away. in the lead, not a feline, but a celine. france's celine boutier leads the lpga event, by one shot. just before we go, a reminder that you can hear commentary on england's opening euro 2020 qualifier this evening. all the action's on radio five live with the match kicking off at 7.45. and don't forget you can get all the build—up to the match and a comprehensive round up of all of today's sports stories on sportsday at 6.30pm on the bbc news channel. that's all the sport for now. more from the bbc sport centre at 1115.
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counterterrorism investigations are under way in counterterrorism investigations are underway in birmingham. here, counter—terrorism investigations are under way in birmingham, after windows were smashed at five mosques in city. sledgehammers were used in the attacks, which detectives are treating as coordinated. the home secretary, sajid javid, has called the vandalism ‘hateful‘, saying it had absolutely no place in society. with us now is adil parker, from the birmingham council of mosques. thank you for your time today. obviously today, one week on from the terror attacks on the two new zealand mosques, everybody attending mosques in birmingham will be very much remembering those victims and their prayers. how worried as the community in birmingham after the september attacks? good morning to you. yes, it has not been, it is about a week since we have been coming to terms with these very sad treatment of our brothers and sisters down in new zealand. and this entire episode from yesterday
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has taken us back. we are appalled, to be honest. i have been saying this since yesterday, we are beyond shock and surprise. we were expecting something like this to happen once we heard about what happened in new zealand. we do have regular bigots who come out of the woodwork and do things like these to our community. is the extra security around the mosques at present? yes, the police authorities have been very vigilant, they have been around most of the mosques, they were around the mosques overnight as well. so a big thumbs up to the police authorities in the west midlands. nonetheless are some members of the community perhaps worried about attending mosques at the moment? our community, though defiant, are feeling a bit of anxious. they are fearful, they are feeling vulnerable over what happened. we hope that should not
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put people off coming to mosques because they are places of worship. we hope that in 2019 in a country like the united kingdom, we should be not fearful of coming to propagate our worshipful rights. have you had any messages of support or solidarity from outside the muslim community? after what happened last week on friday in new zealand, we have had a lot of support from people across the anglican church, catholic church, the sikh and hindu community, the local synagogue, we have had a lot of support pouring in since last week. thank you very much for talking to us, as police continue their investigations there. now let's have a quick look at some
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of the most—read and most—watched stories on bbc online. brexit featuring very heavily. number one, theresa may having mps have a clear choice, as the news emerged late last night in brussels that brexit was being delayed. numberfive, that brexit was being delayed. number five, the council accepted tradition hits 2 million signatures, —— the cancel brexit petition is now over 2 million signatures, two million 7000, it has been the highest over 2 million signatures, two million 7000, it has been the rate of signatures ever which is causing the website to sometimes crash. the papers are heavily dominated by brexit. at the most watched, number one is donald tusk saying... cannot
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load media! it is donald tusk saying that hell is still empty, a reference to the comment last month when he said that there was a special place in hell to people who voted brexit without a plan. if you think there was a lot of trouble here, the canadian prime minister has had to apologise for eating chocolate! it was during a long session in parliament, he was caught eating a chocolate bar, he was reminded he could only sip water. a lot of cloud at the moment across the uk. some mild conditions for many of us but that will change over the next 2a hours. this is the scene in lowestoft, lots of cloud there. some breaks in the cloud developing across southern some breaks in the cloud developing
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across southern areas. some breaks in the cloud developing across southern areas. weather front, this cold front across the far north and west, as it moves south and west it will bring some rain and introduce some cool air. quite gusty in the north and west, gusts up to 70 mild miles an hour. the rain will move south—east but replaced by some sunny spots and some showers. it will break up gradually as it moves south eastwards, the rain. brighter spells across the south but mostly cloudy this afternoon. temperatures are still 13 to 13 to 16 degrees, more chilly in the north. the band of cloud and rain is southwards. further north turning chilly. two to three degrees. showers could turn wintry of higher ground in scotland.
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behind the cold front, colder air is starting to filter its way in. this cold front will stick around through southern areas during saturday. there will be legacy of cloud, a few spots of rain with that cloud. further north, there will be some sunshine. a fine day expected for many of us on saturday, sunny spells, much brighter compared to the last few days. a few showers in the last few days. a few showers in the west of scotland, blustery conditions. maximum temperatures, nine to 13 degrees. feeling cooler for much of england and wales compared to the last two days. through saturday night, clear spells, it will turn quite chilly. a local ground forced into sunday morning. a more chilly night into sunday morning but plenty of blue skies and sunshine across most parts of england and wales. still cloud across the far south of england and still some showers coming in on the blustery wind across scotland. some
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wintry of a higher ground. still some sunny wintry of a higher ground. still some sunny spells in between. maximum temperature is getting to 9013 celsius. —— 9—13dc.
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