today at 5pm, 3 report into last month's ethiopian airlines crash, finds the pilots were not to blame. all 157 on board died when the aircraft nosedived soon after take—off. the aircraft nosedived soon after ta ke—off. the report aircraft nosedived soon after take—off. the report says the crew performed in the right way. the crew performed in the right way. the crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer, but was not able to control the aircraft. the findings will put pressure on the manufacturer boeing, we'll be talking to an aviation expert. the other main stories on bbc news at 5pm... moore talks today between labour and the government to try to find a brexit compromise. i know that there are different proposals being moved

around, andi are different proposals being moved around, and i sincerely hope that jeremy corbyn has entered into those talks honestly and that the prime minister can arrive at a consensus. the german chancellor is in dublin for talks with the irish prime minister about the brexit deadlock and the possibility of a no—deal brexit. the setting is now suspended and no photographs, please. meanwhile in the commons, rain has stopped play. all is suspended for the day because of a leak in the roof. also today, figures in scotla nd roof. also today, figures in scotland show a dramatic improvement in cervical cancer rates following the routine vaccination of schoolgirls. and the dangers of a bad diet. scientists say globally it isa bad diet. scientists say globally it is a bigger killer than smoking.

it is 5pm. our main story is the first official report into the crash ofa first official report into the crash of a boeing passenger plane in ethiopia last month. the report says the pilots followed all the correct procedures, but they still couldn't control the plane. the preliminary report, by the ethiopian government, says the plane repeatedly nosedived before it crashed, killing all 157 people on board. it was the second crash of a boeing 737 max aircraft in five months. boeing has grounded all planes of this type, the 737 max 8, since the disaster. there was a previous crash in indonesia last year. our transport correspondent tom burridge has the latest. two crashes in five months, and 346 dead. boeing's reputation is on the line after more evidence today that a new anti—stall system

on the 737 max 8 malfunctioned on each occasion, repeatedly putting both planes into a nosedive from which the pilots could not recover. today, the investigation team into the crash last month in ethiopia said the pilots followed procedures issued by boeing after the previous crash in indonesia but they were still not able to regain control of the plane. the crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer but was not able to control the aircraft. and recommendations from the investigation clearly suggesting the plane's new automatic anti—stall mechanism pushed the plane's nose repeatedly down. repeatedly and commanded aircraft nose down conditions are noticed in this preliminary investigation. it is recommended that the aircraft flight control system related to flight control ability shall be

reviewed by the manufacturer. draw your attention to this gauge here... this simulator is what a 737 looks like before it was modified to create the max, the type of plane which crashed on both occasions. captain chris brady, with 18 years of experience flying 737s, is showing us how the max's anti—stall system would work. that is the stall warning to tell you the aircraft is about to stall... he questions whether the new mechanism was properly thought through by boeing and us regulators at the faa. there needs to be a separate investigation into how boeing and the faa between them managed to certify an aircraft with such a catastrophic single point of failure. boeing faces lawsuits, multiple investigations and uncomfortable questions about how this aircraft was deemed safe to fly. we were fairly confident that their recommendations for the first accident would have solved the second accident if you like, but in this case

it is still completely open. they say they followed the recommended procedures from boeing but the plane still crashed so the boeing position actually at the moment is very awkward. boeing will review today's report and is already working to make the max safer and says safety is always its top priority. but the 737 max remains grounded worldwide and the reputational damage is still playing out. let's talk to john strickland, thank you for coming in. we heard, very awkward for boeing, that is an understatement. absolutely. if anything, we have only had a verbal report, the official report has not been published, it throws out more questions than answers, it indicates pilots have struggled to control the aircraft, they seem to have followed procedure is only recently been recommended following the lion air crash but still could not get it resolved. we are nowhere near having

ita resolved. we are nowhere near having it a full understanding of this incident. what would you say to viewers about the potential options 110w viewers about the potential options now as they try to look at what might be at fault here? they have to look at all the data, the flight data recorders, which look at what the pilots by saying, what the systems were reporting, similarities with the lion air accident last year, which is only had a preliminary report. they have to go beyond it and get every single detail they can. work in progress. thatin detail they can. work in progress. that in itself was looking for approvalfrom the that in itself was looking for approval from the faa, that in itself was looking for approvalfrom the faa, the us regulatory authority and it was nothing to do directly with the ethiopian accident or whether there appear to be similarities, so the process , appear to be similarities, so the process, if that is approved, is to fit it to aircraft and undertake some pilot training. the aircraft will certainly be grounded while

that happens but then we have to move on to this accident and look at what happened, is it exactly a carbon cocky or is it something different, —— carbon copy. carbon cocky or is it something different, -- carbon copy. i'm sure lots of viewers will be hearing, softwa re lots of viewers will be hearing, software upgrade, thinking 0k, lots of viewers will be hearing, software upgrade, thinking ok, that doesn't feel like a fundamental design fault or some proper fundamentalfault design fault or some proper fundamental fault with the design of the aircraft, because they are two very different options, aren't they? given what we know about this, and we know it is limited, would you expect this to be much bigger than a softwa re expect this to be much bigger than a software upgrade? it is simply not possible to say. work that has been done already and the optimism expressed by boeing, even doing flight expressed by boeing, even doing flight tests, the ceo of boeing himself went up himself with his own boeing pilots and perform simulations of what the software is designed to deal with and it all worked perfectly, ithink designed to deal with and it all

worked perfectly, i think the challenge we are seeing today is that the pilot evidently themselves followed what they had been briefed to do based on the experience of lion air and still could not get control. so we have to find out what additionalfactors control. so we have to find out what additional factors contributed to that and does it give us a clue about training needs or will the softwa re about training needs or will the software actually is, is the upgrade going to be the right thing to rectify the problem, and can cruise use it to successfully overcome any problems? a final point about boeing itself, and the importance it would attach to the company was mac sales and performance in future, which is very extensive, where does this leave boeing now? it is a significant challenge. more tangibly claims from relations are people who have lost their lives in the incident, the aircrafts are grounded, at the moment they are

still producing aircraft, up to 60 months. if this grounding extends, there are already pictures around of a small number of aircraft parked outside boeing's buildings in seattle, there are questions about the production itself, what it means for boeing and its sub supplies, and as airlines move on to the summer flying programme they are expected to have more of these aircraft. if they don't, it leaves them with a bigger hole. ryanair will take delivery of some of these. they will have to look for other capacity, which is already at a premium in the summer, if you need to draft in another aircraft at short notice, it is hard to do ordinarily but it will be headaches for airlines as well as boeing and at the moment this is still a big question, we don't know how long this will last, i don't think it will be as short as we perhaps hoped originally. we will talk about the end of may. i think it will go on beyond that. some airlines already looking for the capacity at least until mid—summer.

thank you for talking to us. it is nine minutes past five. negotiating teams from the government and labour have met again today to try to find a way forward on brexit. last night, mps passed the backbench bill byjust one vote which instructs the prime minister to ask for a further delay to avoid living without a deal on the 12th of april. from westminster, our political correspond alex forsyth has the latest for us. things look a little bleak in westminster. yesterday, the prime minister met the labour leader for what they called constructive talks. today, their teams are meeting again to try to find a compromise. we have been discussing labour's alternative plan and issues such as confirmatory votes, we had discussions yesterday, we will continue them today. labour's leadership is under pressure from within the party to

push for another public vote. have you allowed labour to decide the future of brexit? meanwhile, the government is having to defend itself from tories furious at the talks with labour. as everybody is aware, parliament is not supporting the prime minister's deal, so the prime minister is trying to find what deal the parliamentary mps will support, and that's what she's focused on. that is absolutely logical to do that. we have to leave the european union. the eyes to the right 313, the nose to the left 312. last night, mps concerned a compromise may not be found, voted to stop the uk living without a deal in place. if the house of lords agrees today, a new law will force the government to ask the eu to extend the whole process. but for brexiteers, further delay, possibly taking part in elections to the european parliament is unacceptable. were brexit to be delayed so that we

ta ke were brexit to be delayed so that we take part in the european elections, that would be a betrayal of the referendum result and inflect untold damage of a repetition of the conservative party. theresa may had planned to ask the eu for a short extension, to give herself more time to try to get an exit deal through parliament, but if this bill is approved today, it would give mps a say over how long any delay should be. and there is no agreement on that. an extension has got to be long enough for two things in my view, it has to be long enough apartment to come to a decision on any deal and get a majority in parliament that deal and then it's got be long enough to put that deal back to the people. that's not a universal view here, but then little is. the eu has made clear any extension must must have a purpose, another long day of brexit wrangling lays ahead. the way forward remains uncertain. alex forsyth, bbc news, westminster.

there have been further talks between the government and labour today — but no news yet of what progress has been made. the shadow brexit secretary keir starmer didn't give anything away as he left. we are told those talks broke up in the last few minutes. has there been any significant progress, following the talks today? we have had further discussions with the government, and discussions are 110w the government, and discussions are now going to continue. thank you very much. i think it is fair to say there was not much being said they are. but discussions have just ended and that was sir keir starmer emerging from the cabinet office in whitehall. let's go straight to westminster and talk to our chief political correspondent. where are we today? that was all obviously happening behind closed doors, as you said, so pretty unclear whether any progress has been made or not. lots of speculation about which side is going to be prepared to compromise, downing street making it very clear this is all pretty urgent and they will have to be compromises on both sides, and speculation about whether a customs union might be one way

forward. meanwhile, of course, absolute anger among some of the tory party that the prime minister has even decided to try to go down this route, trying to really get labour votes. now, this is all ahead, of course, of this emergency eu summit next week. there is anger among some of the tory party, but amongst others they feel this is the right way to go. this was amber rudd earlier. well, the prime minister told the house when she put the withdrawal agreement to the third vote last week that if this vote didn't get three then we would have to find another way, and that wayward be likely to be a softer brexit, and thatis likely to be a softer brexit, and that is exactly where we are here 110w. that is exactly where we are here now. the point is we have to find a majority in the house to deliver this. we also want to leave the european union, and the best way to do that is to work with other mp5 across the house to find where that majority is. and i sincerely hope thatjeremy majority is. and i sincerely hope that jeremy corbyn is majority is. and i sincerely hope thatjeremy corbyn is being open and honest about his engagement with the prime minister, because that is supposed to be the labour party position, as well, that they want us

to leave. and if we do this together, hopefully we can get ahead and dojust together, hopefully we can get ahead and do just that. so the question is how long they give this part of the process, because you will remember the prime minister said she would try to get a deal withjeremy corbyn. if minister said she would try to get a deal with jeremy corbyn. if that failed, she would then abide by another round of votes, where mps vote on all the various brexit options, try to come to some conclusion. now that is looking a little bit unlikely now. there is a possibility she goes to the summit on wednesday without a plan that has been fully formulated. that would suggest there would then be a long delay to brexit. it is unlikely the eu would grant her a short extension to article 50 it was unclear exactly what would be going on. here in the commons it has been a slightly bizarre day, because they had to pack up early, the reason being there was a flood of water coming down through the ceiling. this was the moment when the house of commons had to pack up. i have got to suspend the sitting, and when we come back, the bells

will ring two minutes before we restart. so the setting is now suspended, and no photographs, please. and at the end there, you can actually hear the water coming through the ceiling. now, the repairs are ongoing, i am told it is still leaking, not as badly as it was, that it means that after a pretty long and fractious week, mps have left early for the weekend. where you could hear the water very clearly. let's get more on the actual process taking place in parliament, certainly in the house of lords will stop with me as nicki da costa, senior counsel of the cicero group, and former director of legislative affairs at number ten. nice to see you again. let's talk about the legislative process going on in parliament right now. notably in the house of lords, to do with this new piece of legislation. now, what is the state of play with that and what is it meant to achieve?

according to those promoting it, it is meant to achieve that the prime minister would be forced to bring forward a motion setting how long she would be having an motion for. the whole aim of that is to influence the emergency council happening on wednesday 10th of april. now what is happening right 110w april. now what is happening right now is there is sort of a fight going on in the lords, because if that bill doesn't receive death receive royal assent on monday it will not do a lot of good. we know the prime minister will seek an extension so it does seem a little bit futile. if it doesn't pass on house of lords, it is still a bit possible obviously for the prime minister has up to a request for extension? 0h, absolutely, and there are concerns on both sides of the house and from commentators actually that the bill is a little bit flawed. for example, it doesn't say what would happen if for example an extension was refused, or what the

prime minister would need to do if they proposed something with conditions, so quite a lot of exclusions on the bill thatjust aren't addressed. so why are they persisting with the bill if the prime minister is expected to do that in any case? i will be a bit pejorative here, but i think mps would probably want to show they are taking action and doing something, therefore this is the plan they have formulated. they also don't know a lot about the lords, so they can be quite dismissive and think they can whack three things through, whereas the lords have procedures that would allow things to be slowed down. do you think this could get through? absolutely, the bill could get to royal assent, i think probably it won't be until tuesday. royal assent, i think probably it won't be untiltuesday. given royal assent, i think probably it won't be until tuesday. given where we are with the talks between conservative and labour, what position do you expect mrs may to be in? i know this is tough, when she gets to that european, the urgent european summit next week? do you think she will have something to propose or not? what are the latest

signals? i think we just have to judge this by what is possible. there was a lot of talk today, some of the gossip, would there be a joint statement this afternoon? that has not happened, i don't think it is likely until the week. one of the practical impact of the leak in the commons is actually no motion, as i understand it, has been tabled for monday for mps to debate, so even if jeremy corbyn and the prime minister have come to a conclusion it probably won't be tuesday until the mps themselves could take a view, so at best there might be a plan but it will probably more be leaning towards a lengthy extension, i would have thought. what would happen if the prime minister turned up in the summit next week with nothing agreed formally, but with the prospect, she says, have some kind of agreement? would that be enough of the eu or not to approve an extension, or would they simply add some rather stringent conditions, notably, in terms of the timescale itself, because the prime minister herself she doesn't want a long delay? what

would you expect her response to be if she turns up and says, look, we've got the makings of an agreement but we haven't actually got something signed quite yet? my expectation and i would caveat i don't have the relationships in the eu to verify this, but my expectation is if she is laying out a process by which to come to a consensus that might be enough, however i think they would be pushing towards a lengthy extension and commitment to the european parliamentary elections. that opens up parliamentary elections. that opens upa parliamentary elections. that opens up a completely new story. due to see you, former director of legislative affairs at number ten. at 20 past five let's talk to our ireland correspondent chris page, in dublin for us. chris, a lots been going on, not least the meeting between the taoiseach and the german chancellor. can you give us an update on that? yes, chancellor merkel arrived here, about two hours ago. she has been in talks with the taoiseach layover at, we are

expecting a news conference from her in the next half hour. before that formal summit, just to underline the border issue and what could happen if the european union leaves without a deal, the two leaders met with people from north of the border, from northern ireland, and from others living near the border on the southern side. it was a chance for those people to tell the german chancellor, the taoiseach, firstly about their memories of the conflict in northern ireland, the difficulties they foresee happening, if there was a return to a hard border and the potential impact on business if there were any checks on goods as they passed across that frontier. the stents you got from some of those people who came out of the meeting was they said things like chancellor merkel understood what they were saying because she was from a country which of course was from a country which of course was divided in two until almost 30 years ago, that she understands the symbolic and practical significance of borders, so they felt she was listening and their message

connected with her. nonetheless, a pretty big question remains, and thatisif pretty big question remains, and that is if there is a no—deal brexit, that would complicate even further this issue that has vexed the entire brexit process, in a situation where you have the uk outside the eu, outside the customs union, the single market, how do you keep the border between northern ireland and the irish republic invisible, free—flowing, as it is at the moment? the irish government so far has said it hasn't put in place any specific plans for infrastructure for checkpoints on that border, even if there is a no—deal brexit, but layover verratti has said as recently as yesterday in the irish parliament that government is being asked reasonable questions about what would happen in those circumstances, how you square that circle. so i think the talks today will have focused on the practicalities of how you on the one hand protect the eu single market and how on the other you protect the good friday peace agreement, keep that border open. it is far from an easy issue to resolve. many thanks once again for the

update. just to underline what is coming up, because the german chancellor angela merkel and the taoiseach layover at, they are due to give a news conference, there is the scene in —— lead over radtke. we think it is 5:30pm or thereabouts, and when they appear we will bring that to you live as soon as it happens. 23 minutes per side. —— past five. scientists say bad eating habits are a bigger risk to the uk's health than smoking. nearly one in seven deaths in the uk is related to a poor diet , according to analysis published in the lancet , with links to heart disease, cancer and diabetes. salt is one of the biggest factors in shortening life, as our correspondent richard galpin reports. these are the types of food that the researchers say all of us here in britain and around the world should be eating much more. fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts and whole grains — vital, they say, to maintain good health and prevent heart attacks, strokes, type two

diabetes and cancers. eating less healthy food instead — like processed meat, which has a lot of salt in it — is, the researchers say, causing millions of deaths around the world. the study, published in the lancet today, says 3 million people died in 2017 from eating too much salt. another 3 million deaths were attributed to not having enough whole grains in the diet, and a further 2 million people died because they'd not been eating enough fruit. having more of the good stuff, like fruit and vegetables, like wholegrain bread and brown pasta and rice for example, can have a real impact on our health. if you want to have some of the things that we know we're not supposed to have, you can have them once in a while in small amounts. it's not about cutting them out completely, perhaps focusing on the good stuff is what we need to do more of. the researchers say people around the world are eating way below

the recommended amounts of healthy food and are calling for campaigns to change people's diets. but will people here heed the advice? sometimes i work late shifts and then i find it more difficult because you just go for ready meals. it's difficult then, but otherwise if you are cooking at home it's easy. i've just come out of mcdonald's over here, so you know i stray a bit. he'll have bacon butties for lunch. i'll have a salmon sandwich with cucumber but he likes the fatty, yeah — but he's 0k. persuading people to improve their diet is not easy, but by highlighting the millions of deaths every year caused by not eating enough healthy food, this study certainly gives pause for thought. richard galpin, bbc news. a quick update for you on the brexit talks, because the labour leader's office has just put out this statement, saying that today both

sets of negotiating teams met for four and sets of negotiating teams met for fourand a sets of negotiating teams met for four and a half hours in the cabinet office for detailed, technical discussions. that is the statement. these talks are continuing and the teams are planning to meet again. so very sparse detail, really, butjust a kind of reference to the timescale, 11.5 hours of talks in the cabinet office, we saw sir keir starmer emerging just a short while ago. for detailed technical discussions, no detail around the precise technical nature of what is going on, but we assume it is to do with the conditions that labour would attach to backing any deal the prime minister puts forward, these talks are continuing and the teams are planning to meet again. we have no statement from downing street on what happened on those talks today, ifi what happened on those talks today, if i get it to you i will bring it to you straightaway. the time is 26 minutes past five. the research,

which studied scotland and has been published in the british medical journal shows a 90% reduction in cervical abnormalities since the hpv immunisation programme began in the uka immunisation programme began in the uk a decade ago. our scotland correspondent lorna gordon has more details. lauren mcadam discovered she had cervical cancer in her early 30s. doctors had noticed changes in the cells in her cervix when she went for a routine smear. the hpv vaccine fights the infection which is linked to most cervical cancer cases. laura says she wishes it had been available to her. definitely, i would take it in a heartbeat. if it's going to stop anybody going through what i went through, then it's worth doing it. the hpv vaccine is routinely offered to all school—age girls in scotland. the uptake has been high, about 90%. researchers looking at the first smear tests of those receiving the vaccine found a 90% reduction in precancerous cervical abnormalities, and say this confirms that the vaccination programme is translating into the prevention of cervical cancer. this vaccine has exceeded our expectations in that respect. i think in 20—30 years' time,

we will look back and see, if the uptake stays nice and high, that we've potentially eliminated cervical cancer. across the uk, 840 women died of cervical cancer in 2016. it's one of the most common cancers in women under 35. but hpv is also linked to other cancers, including those of the head and neck, and later this year the hpv vaccine will be routinely offered notjust to girls but to all school—age boys in scotland too. as part of her treatment for cervical cancer, laura had to have a hysterectomy, and lymph nodes removed. she still has a scan every six months. because of what happened to her, she feels strongly that anyone eligible for the vaccine should take up the offer, and urges women to always go for their smear tests, as a smear test saved her life.

lorna gordon, bbc news. another update for you on the brexit talks. we have heard from labour, so this is the statement that has come from downing street in the past couple of minutes. the government and the opposition hope to meet again tomorrow, say number ten, for further work to find a way forward to deliver on the referendum, mindful of the need they say, to make progress ahead of the forthcoming european council, that's the summit meeting that is taking place next wednesday. so downing street just confirming place next wednesday. so downing streetjust confirming talks took place but they are hoping again to meet tomorrow to make progress before that summit next week. 29 minutes past five, let'sjoin before that summit next week. 29 minutes past five, let's join chris for the weather. for some of us todayit for the weather. for some of us today it has been really cold, for others absolutely freezing. we have seen some hills know today across parts of wales and the west midlands as well. it has been very chilly

indeed. as we go on through this evening and overnight, what will happen is we will see a band of rain pushing its way northwards. that will bring some wet weather at the moment across parts of cheshire, merseyside, greater manchester, and from there we will see the rain eventually moving its way to northern ireland, so turning right here overnight to stop there will be some further rain pushing into wales and south—west england as well later on, so turning quite wet here. across these western areas, given all the cloud and rain around, it doesn't get too cold, temperatures down to between five and seven, with some clearer skies further east, quite a chilly night, a few patches of frostbitten rural parts to start the day on friday. friday, an east—west split, western area c rain, the wettest across northern ireland, though there will be another pulse of rain pushing to wales and south—west england, further north and east would you go, the drier the weather gets the scotla nd the drier the weather gets the scotland a nice day, 1a celsius in edinburgh, pretty good for the time of year, 1a as well in london, close to what we would normally expect this time of year. the weather slowly improving, slowly getting

less cold for the next few days. this is bbc news. the headlines: a report into last months ethiopian airlines crash which killed 157 people has found that the pilots we re people has found that the pilots were not to blame. the crew performed all the procedures repeatedly provided by the manufacturer, but was not able to control their craft. there have been four and a half hours of talks between labour and the government to try to find a way forward on brexit and in the past three minutes, downing street said the talks were detailed and productive and the two sides ought to meet again tomorrow. angler merkel is in dublin today for talks with the taoiseach about the brexit deadlock and the possibility ofa brexit deadlock and the possibility of a no—deal brexit.

the dangers of a bad diet. scientists say that globally it is a bigger killer than smoking. and figures in scotland show the dramatic improvement in cervical cancer rates following the routine vaccination of schoolgirls. good evening. favourite buveur d'air, the two—time cheltenham champion hurdle winner, was beaten in the aintree hurdle by supasundae, who's trained byjessica harrington and ridden by robbie power. the main event on saturday is, of course, the grand national. the a0 runners have been confirmed today and they include last year's winner tiger roll, who is the favourite. scott brown, rangers manager steven gerard and ryan can't have all been hit with scottish fa disciplinary charges over the fiery old firm

derby. brown has been charged with improper conduct after he celebrated by the rangers fans, which caused the scuffle between the two sides at the final whistle. gerrard has accepted a one match touchline ban, apparently for comments he made to the referee after the game. he'll be in the stands at motherwell and ryan kent has had a two match ban upheld after rangers appealled. kent shoved scott brown to the floor at celtic park but it was unpunished at the time. both clubs have also been cited for a full time confrontation. liverpool are top of the table for agents feeds for the second year in the row. according to figures released by the fa, they paid agents nearly £44 million in the two transfer windows this season. premier league clubs spent a combined £261 million on agent fees, that's 50 million more than a year before, an increase of nearly 25%. just as in last year's list, chelsea, manchester city and manchester united complete the top four. wolves have today confirmed the record £30 million signing of jimenez. the mexican has been on loan

from benfica this season, scoring 15 goals. he's helped them to seventh in the table, they're also in the fa cup semi—finals where they face watford on sunday. we saw it last week harry kane go to buckingham palace to pick up his mbe but to date gareth southgate picked up but to date gareth southgate picked up his obe. also for services to football after guiding england to the world cup semi finals last summer. they play in the inaugral nations league finals in the summer and have made a perfect start to euro 2020 qualifying. this comes on the day that england have moved up to 11th in the fifa world rankings. it's lovely that you can plot that progress so we've talked about trying to become the number one team in the world, and that has to be our aim. to go from 15th to fourth might have been easier than the next step and there are some teams that are behind us that will be working extra ha rd to behind us that will be working extra hard to bridge that gap as well. we are working and enjoying the journey and we have to keep on doing it.

raheem sterling and his current club manchester united have arranged for peoples from his old school to come and see him. 550 students from the ark elvin academy in london will be at the game between city and brighton at wembley on saturday. ticket and transport costs are being provided for the pupils to get to and from the match. some have also met sterling at city's training complex in manchester today. conor mcgregor‘s latest retirement could be short lived, just like his last one. he said he was quitting ufcjust nine last one. he said he was quitting ufc just nine days last one. he said he was quitting ufcjust nine days ago. mcgregor has recently been exchanging a string of insults on social media with long time rival khabib nurmagomedov. the ufc have condemned mcgregeor for making islamophobic comments. but the former two weight champion has posted the following.

what do you make of that? and saudi arabia's first female formula 1 racing driver will make her debut at brands hatch this weekend. reema juffali will drive for defending champions double r racing alongside louis foster and sebastian alvarez. she made her competitive racing debut in october 2018 — just months after saudi arabia lifted a ban on female drivers. she says it's a "great thing" to represent her country. that's all the sport for now. you can find more on all those stories on the bbc sport website. as we know, chancellor merkel is in dublin today having talks with the taoiseach and they are talking about the possibility and possible implications indeed of eight no—deal brexit. the chancellor has been leading part of the campaign in the

eu to avoid eight no—deal brexit. the news conference now after the talks is about to get under way so let'sjoin them. chancellor angela, once again i want to extend a very warm welcome to you and your team to dublin. as we all know, we meet regularly at european council meetings and summits, but it was a very good opportunity for us to have a discussion one to one and also with our teams, which we haven't really had the chance to do since i was last in berlin and i know that the job of being taoiseach isa know that the job of being taoiseach is a really busyjob and every hour counts, and i can only imagine that being chancellor of germany must mean you are seven times as busy as iam, soi mean you are seven times as busy as iam, so i really mean you are seven times as busy as i am, so i really appreciate that you've taken half a day out of your schedule to come to dublin and talk to us at such an important time for the future of ireland and the future of the european union. we had a very

extensive discussion across a wide range of issues but of course the major focus was brexit, range of issues but of course the majorfocus was brexit, and range of issues but of course the major focus was brexit, and the chancellor has been a very strong ally of ireland throughout these negotiations and i'm really pleased to be able to restate our gratitude to be able to restate our gratitude to her in person today. before we formally met, we had an opportunity to meet with and hear directly from the people for whom the border is a very real and live issue. people from communities across the border, businesspeople, farmers and some of those whose have been profoundly affected by the troubles. i want to thank all of them for giving their time today to explain why this issue is such a fundamental one that transcends economic considerations, and for sharing their stories for us all. the chancellor, this is very timely as we prepare for a meeting of the european council next week. we provided extra time for the uk to

enable it to provide and find a majority for a way forward. we said that if the uk had not ratified the withdrawal agreement it should come forward with a clear plan for a way forward with a clear plan for a way forward by next week we leave the european union on the 12th of april with no deal. this has now come to what none of us want to see. matters continue to play out in london and i think we need to be patient and understanding of the predicament that they are in, but of course any further extension must require and must have a credible and realistic way forward. the eu side have said that the withdrawal agreement is closed and it is not up for renegotiation and i believe that is now understood. it is a fair and balanced outcome after two years of negotiations agreed by 28 governments. however, we have also also said that should the united kingdom change its red lines that we would be prepared to amend the political declaration on the future

relationship to reflect that. both ireland and germany want to have a future relationship with the united kingdom, which is close and, offensive and as deep as possible. we would like to have the withdrawal agreement ratified so that we can have negotiations on a new economic and security partnership without further delay. however, there is very little time left and we need to prepare ourselves for all outcomes. with that in mind, we discussed planning at european and domestic level for no deal, including how we could work together to meet our twin objectives of protecting the good friday agreement on which peace in ireland is based and also protecting the integrity of the european single market and the customs union, on which our economic model is founded. and i welcome the chancellor's continued understanding and support for the challenges we face and if it arises, it will be a shared challenge for ireland and the economic union. on brexit, we

welcome the chance to look to the future and in the coming months it isa time future and in the coming months it is a time of renewal for the european union with the parliament elections, new commission to be appointed and ambitious discussions on the future of europe and our strategic agenda, including trade relationships with the united states and the situation in ukraine. ireland and germany are of one mind, that we want to deliver and ensure that we want to deliver and ensure that europe continues to integrate, continues to produce prosperity for our people, continues to put the challenges of citizens first, engage positively with our neighbourhood and tackle ambitiously and urgently issues such as climate change, migration and international development. we also had a brief opportunity to take stock of bilateral relations between ireland and germany, which are very good and indeed are flourishing. as you know, later this year we will open a new consulate in the city of frankfurt in addition to our embassy in berlin as part of our initiative to double

the impact of ireland's global footprint. modern chancellor, thank you once again for your visit and for the partnership and friendship that germany has always shown for us and we are very much looking forward to more cooperation. thank you very much. ladies and gentlemen, i am delighted to be here and thank you for receiving me here in ireland. i would like to thank first and foremost, obviously, the taoiseach, my colleague leo and thank you very much for receiving me in this mansion that has a very proud tradition. i thought that this was a very important one because after all we have travelled a long way, is 27 member states of the european union we have worked together very closely over a very long time. now we have

worked together as 27 and i wanted to demonstrate the my visit that evenif to demonstrate the my visit that even if we now head into a crucial phase when britain is leaving the european union, we want to continue to stand together as 27. we want to see each other's side, we want to understand the arguments of the other side and ireland is in a very special way affected by britain leaving the european union because as the taoiseach quite rightly said, both the good friday agreement will have two continue to be implement it and the integrity of the single market also needs to be insured, so every step of the way we will stand together, we will walk together. so, today was a very important experience for me. thank you very much for making it possible, taoiseach. people were invited to discuss with us in a very moving way what it means for their specific situation, for their specific life to live on those sides of what used to live on those sides of what used to be the border. coming from a

country which for many years was divided with a wall for 34 years behind the iron curtain sol divided with a wall for 34 years behind the iron curtain so i know what it means once borders for, and one needs to do everything in order to bring about peaceful cooperation because after all, a heavy death toll has been taken here throughout the troubles and what i've heard here will encourage me further to explore ways and means to continue to ensure this peaceful coexistence that you have worked for so hard. we have a withdrawal agreement which we feel strikes a fair balance, is a good compromise. unfortunately there is withdrawal agreement so far has not met with a majority in the house of commons. we do believe that that isa of commons. we do believe that that is a precondition or it could be a prerequisite for the period of transition which will follow where we hope that we will, in a calm and

collected way, define the future relationship between the united kingdom and the european union. we, andl kingdom and the european union. we, and i can say this for germany and we agree completely with ireland, wa nt we agree completely with ireland, want good and constructive relations. theresa may said that we leave the european union but we remain europeans. we have a lot of common ground for example in the economic area but also in defence and security issues in foreign policy. there is a lot of common ground there and we wish to bring this to bear fully. so, we do hope that the intensive discussions that are ongoing in london will lead to a situation by next wednesday where we will have a special council meeting where a minister theresa may will have to us on the basis of which we can continue to talk. we want to stand together as 27 until the very la st stand together as 27 until the very last hour. i can say this for the german side, we will do everything

in orderto german side, we will do everything in order to prevent a no—deal brexit, britain crashing out of the european union, but we have to do this together with britain and with their position that they will present to us. we also said that this period of brexit is further completed by the fact that we shall have european elections this year. we have to prepare for those elections and we both are part of the same family of parties in the european union. we have worked together very closely. we talked about bilateral relations and here i can only confirm what the taoiseach previously said. this is indeed an excellent relationship. productively, economically but also other societies have very close bonds and at this particularly difficult time which we live through and you live through with britain leaving the european union, has i think it a lot of interest yet again and has fuelled interest yet again

to get to know ireland better and i am confident that we are on a firm basis of further positive development and bilaterally, the fa ct development and bilaterally, the fact that you are establishing a new consulate in frankfurt is after all a clear illustration of this. questions. we are going to start off with rte. is it possible to protect the integrity of the single market and make a commitment that anything resembling a border can be ruled out on the island of ireland? and taoiseach, what assurances were you able to offer the chancellor that ireland is working out a plan to protect the integrity of that plan? let me say, we will simply have to be able to do this. we have to be successful and we hope for a solution that we can agree together with britain, but we simply have to be successful and i trust i have

heard you have the same saying as as in germany, where there's a will there's a way and we are working with theirs. we are very good partners indeed. we are putting everything into finding a good ending, a solution, and we will find this together. we all still hope for an orderly brexit. i was able to ensure the chancellor of our twin objectives to first protect the good friday agreement and everything that flows from that and everything that flows from that and also to uphold the integrity of the common market, the single market and the customs union, which is something that we wanted to do. we made a decision as a country almost 20 years ago that our future is at the heart of europe and we will be in the single market, the customs union. our prosperity and jobs are based on that and we don't want it undermined in any way. we don't want ireland to become the back door to

the single market in the event of a ha rd the single market in the event of a hard brexit. what we want to achieve the free movement of people north and south, frictionless trade, no quotas and no checks. i know the ways they can be achieved. either the uk remaining in the year and went back european union, which they decided not to do, eight norway plus model, which they are closely aligned with the customs union and single market. there is also the backstop. if they are rejected, it puts us in a difficult position. there are things that can be done remotely such as the levying but the checks have to be done physically somewhere, and that would involved physical check somewhere. we are in talks about that. it involves the cooperation of the united kingdom where even in the event of a no deal, they would honour their agreement is in the good friday agreement and the political declaration of december 2017.

madam chancellor, taoiseach, both of you, do you believe that the decision that the house of commons took last night that there will be a bill that avoids a no deal situation, is that actually a basis for further extension? and do you hope that this will actually increase the hopes for a deal? well, obviously, we are following events in great britain with great interest and what they are discussing. that's a very interesting decision by the house of commons, but we will also have to wait and see what happens now. there are variations we shall see next wednesday. we shall have a european council meeting and we will see by then what the british prime minister will tell us. i can only say that as isaid we will tell us. i can only say that as i said we are following this with great interest and we hope that this

will open up possibilities of an orderly brexit, an orderly exit of britain. i think the decision of the house of commons on a number of occasions now to vote against a no deal outcome, to vote against a no deal outcome, to say very clearly that they don't wa nt to to say very clearly that they don't want to leave without a deal is significant. because parliament is sovereign, parliament expresses the will of the british people, which is that they don't want to leave without a deal. i think that's significant. i think that was very helpful, and makes an orderly brexit much more likely. the difficulty that we have as heads of government in our respective countries and heads of government across 27 member states is that ultimately governments negotiate with governments negotiate with governments and we have seen 12 different options and rejected them all. there is a reason why we came up all. there is a reason why we came up with the withdrawal agreement and thatis up with the withdrawal agreement and that is because we went through all those options as well over the last two years and came up with our

withdrawal agreement, imperfect as it is, it is one which gives us what we need in the european union and ireland and doesn't breach any of the prime minister's red lines in her mansion house and lancaster house. there is a reason why the withdrawal agreement was born and the backstop so i hope at a certain point the house of commons might come around to that. the irish times. thank you. chancellor, what will happen next week if the united kingdom has not ratified the withdrawal agreement, and what conditions should be attached to an extension, if that is what theresa may asks for next week? and to the taoiseach, if i may, you've consistently said that there are twin objectives to keep an open border and protect the single market but as of the end of next week,

those two objectives may be in conflict with one another. do you have a plan yet just over a week away from the time that it may be required? well, over the past few days we have seen that there is quite a lot of movement, even in the british internal debate there was quite a lot of movement. so, as of today, i am not in a position to answer speculative questions. it is an important message, as the taoiseach hasjust outlined. there is a vast majority in the house of commons that wants to avoid disorderly brexit. without a deal. this is my starting point. we have to wait and see what happens. we cannot speculate today. i think we need to respect the debates that are ongoing in britain right now. to be very frank, we have a clear

plan if the withdrawal agreement is ratified. we know exactly what we will do and we will be in a transition phase and beginning negotiations on the future relationship and we know already what our priorities are and that is where we want to get to. we know what we will do in the event of an extension. in the event of a no deal where the uk crashes out without an agreement, it's not possible, quite frankly, to have a clear plan because there are so many different contingencies and hypotheticals and a lot of it depends on what the uk decides to do, whether it will uphold its commitments in the good friday agreement, whether it will uphold its commitments under the political declaration of 2017. so, unfortunately, with so many unknowable is, it is not possible to have a clear plan but we are working on options and the contingencies, with always in mind those twin objectives. we are working on a

commitment to do all we can to avoid a hard border on ireland but also our commitment to protecting the integrity of the common market. the taoiseach and the chancellor of germany giving a joint press conference following talks today. what i would like to do now is get some response to that and, indeed, a ta ke some response to that and, indeed, a take on the position in ireland. we will speak to the chief executive of the european movement ireland, working to develop the connection between ireland and the rest of europe. shejoins us between ireland and the rest of europe. she joins us from the border. thank you forjoining us. the taoiseach very clear that if theresa may asks for an extension next week, there needs to be a credible and realistic reason for it. how hopeful are you that is what is going to happen? well, i'm always hopeful. i am a bit ofan well, i'm always hopeful. i am a bit of an optimist. however, i think the very warm words expressed there by the taoiseach and the chancellor

have underlined and reinforced how the eu is willing to grant an extension, will be flexible and cannot allow any extension to continue uncertainty and disruption because what we need is clarity, we need a clear way forward and we need progress on the negotiated and agreed withdrawal agreement to prevent that disorderly crash out brexit that would have such a dangerous and potentially catastrophic impact on the island of ireland and particularly in the border region where i am at the moment. when the chancellor was speaking she said she wouldn't leave any stone unturned, is the kind of thing she was saying. she wanted to prevent a no—deal brexit at any cost, simply because of the damage it would inflict, certainly on ireland and other parts of the eu. do you take the view that if the chancellor of germany is against a no—deal brexit, the chances of it

happening are pretty much nil? i think it's fair to say it's not just the chancellor of germany that against a no deal backs it, it is the entire eu. the chancellor reinforced the unity of the other 27 member states. i also think the house of commons and the british government are also against a no—deal brexit. what is needed now, we are coming up to i suppose extra time in the last minute of the rugby match and we need to find a way forward. westminster perhaps needs to find a consensus and that cross— party to find a consensus and that cross—party consensus approach that we are seeing finally came to pass and develop, but that remains that the clock is ticking and i think that challenges there. we have seen a strong element of support and solidarity with over the last number of years. it hasn't wavered and not will it be as we come down to the

final hours. everyone is hopefulfor the least worst outcome and to mitigate potentially damaging impacts of brexit, because notjust the irish uk border as the taoiseach and the chancellor outlined, it is the eu's external border, and how do we cope with the challenges and the objectives of maintaining and upholding the good friday agreement, which guarantees peace on the island of ireland and also protecting the integrity of the eu single market and customs union, which are so vital to ensure the effective functioning of the economy, both north and south. good to talk to you. thank you for joining us today. and the news conference, as we have seen the german chancellor and the taoiseach has just german chancellor and the taoiseach hasjust come to german chancellor and the taoiseach has just come to an end. the bbc news at six is coming up. here is the weather forecast. there has been a bit of snow around.

some of the temperatures struggling. here is some of the snow we've had in shropshire. turning increasingly wet in northern ireland and further wet in northern ireland and further wet weather coming into wales and south—west england overnight but clearer skies across northern and eastern parts of the uk, where we will have some of the lowest temperatures, potentially enough for a nip of frost. looking at the weather picture for tomorrow, the area of low pressure has drifted south—west so increasingly hour winds are going to be coming up from spain and france. they have had some cool weather as well but nevertheless with southerly winds we are not going to see those temperatures rising on friday. raina around for western areas but otherwise it is a mainly dry picture with increasing amounts of sunshine orfurther north. with increasing amounts of sunshine or further north. scotland should be a decent day and 14 celsius in edinburgh, pretty mild for this time of year. 14 in london is about right. underneath the cloud, temperatures similar in many cases

to those of today. tonight at six... the ethiopian airlines crash — the pilots were not to blame, according to investigators. 157 people were killed in the crash last month. a preliminary report says boeing — the makers of the plane — have to review their flight—control technology. the crew performed all the procedures repeatedly, provided by the manufacturer, but was not able to control the aircraft. we'll be asking what these findings mean for boeing. also tonight: brexit diplomacy — the german chancellor, angela merkel, visits dublin. the irish border issue on the agenda. back home, the new mothers recovering from severe psychosis, and the outreach workers helping them.