tonight at ten, the queen agrees to harry and meghan‘s plans to step back from being senior royals and to split their time between the uk and canada. the queen admitted she "would have preferred" the couple to stay on as full—time working royals but was "entirely supportive" of their plans. during the day, william and harry denied the latest reports about the breakdown of their relationship. we'll have the latest from sandringham. we will have more details from the queen at‘s statement as she has asked for a final decision is in the coming days. we'll have more from sandringham and we'll be looking at the potential changes ahead for the royal family. also tonight... boris johnson visits stormont to meet members of the newly—restored northern ireland assembly after three years of political deadlock there.

the airline flybe asks the government for help with its tax arrangements to prevent the compa ny‘s collapse. the impact of storm brendan causing problems in many western parts of the united kingdom. when you bring me out, can you introduce me asjoker? and joker leads the pack in the oscar nominations with 11 nominations but three other films also receive ten nominations each. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news... a man is banned from watching cricket in new zealand for two years after he racially abused england'sjofra archer during a test match. good evening. the queen has announced a "period of transition",

in which the duke and duchess of sussex will divide their time between canada and the uk. her majesty, who hosted talks at sandringham today, said she was "entirely supportive" of harry and meghan‘s desire for a new role but she admitted she "would have preferred them" to stay on as full—time working royals. the talks took place as harry and his brother william issued a joint statement, denying claims that their relationship had been damaged by bullying on william's part — claims they said were "offensive and potentially harmful". our royal correspondent nick witchell has the latest from sandringham. within the seclusion of sandringham house, a family meeting, chaired by the queen and attended by the prince of wales and his two sons, prince william, duke of cambridge, and prince harry, duke of sussex, to discuss how to accommodate the sussexes‘ wish to step away from the royal family. after the talks, the queen issued a statement in which she said...

she went on to say that there would now be a period of transition in which the sussexes would spend time in canada and the uk. whatever the precise reasons for the sussexes‘ disenchantment, it's clear from the statement that the royal family is determined to find practical solutions. many details are still to be worked out. on finance, the statement simply says the sussexes don't wish to rely on public funds. and security is one of the complex matters still to be resolved. before today's talks began, william and harry had come together to denounce a newspaper story which suggested the sussexes felt they had been pushed away by the "bullying attitude of william." the story was false, offensive and potentially harmful, the brothers said. today's talks and tonight's

statement from the queen have emphasised the family's understanding and sympathy for harry. people who know him believe his loyalties must be in turmoil. i think harry will be hugely conflicted at the moment. he loves his wife. he wants to protect his wife, and she, it would seem, is very unhappy living here in our royalfamily. on the other hand, he was born into the royal family. he has served it. he has served the queen and country in a military setting. he expected to spend his whole life working for the royal firm. and while harry may be conflicted, it appears meghan feels wounded by criticism which, in some cases she believes, has been racially motivated. however, the home secretary believes this is mistaken. i'm not in that category at all where i believe there is racism, at all. you know, i think we live in a great

country, a great society, full of opportunity, where people of any background can get on in life. as the talks ended and members of the royal family left sandringham tonight, it is clear that there is more work to be done, but the queen says in her statement that she wants final decisions about the sussexes to be reached in the coming days. nicholas witchell, bbc news, sandringham. after a difficult year for the royal family — a bumpy year in the queen's own words, how significant is tonight's development? and what does it tell us about the changing role of the monarchy in today's society? my colleague reeta chakrabarti has this assessment. i should warn you it contains some flashing images. how quickly things have changed since the first time they were seen together. in just the autumn of 2017, harry's whirlwind courtship of meghan markle fascinated and beguiled the british public. but that has all now gone, replaced by talk of a royal crisis, of family schisms, and even of a threat to the monarchy.

and the throne passes to king edward viii's younger brother... the royal family has faced major threats before. the last century alone brought the abdication of the king, edward viii. then, 60 years later, harry's mother, diana, died in a car crash, her sons made to walk behind her coffin. last year, prince andrew stepped down from his royal duties after a bbc interview about his links with a convicted paedophile. all moments which tested the monarchy‘s resilience. but harry and meghan‘s decision to step back as senior royals is unprecedented in this era. i think this is a huge moment for the royalfamily and royal historians in the future will look back and see this as the beginning of the change for the firm. this, to me, is the royalfamily being brought in line with the european royalties. the majority of european royal families, siblings of the king, siblings of the king to be, what they do is they are usually ordinary, to a degree, people.

they have careers. i think that is a model we are moving towards. why has this happened? despite smiles for the cameras, reports suggest frustration on harry's part at the constraints of his position. the intensity of the spotlight on them and media treatment of meghan, who is mixed race, infuriated the couple. harry lashed out at the press, accusing it of hounding his wife as it had his mother, and meghan launched legal action against one newspaper. at their wedding less than two years ago, it all seemed so different. harry and meghan embodied a new modern spirit of multiculturalism and progressive values. reporting then on the public celebration at windsor, i was struck by the diversity of the crowd — more mixed than most royal events. one commentator says the fact the couple is unconventional makes them good ambassadors. she is not playing the game. harry never played it. you've got these two rebels.

what more beautiful signal could you send out to the world that this is a modern nation, that you've got these two royals who are doing something else. they aren't harming anybody. what that something will be it's still unclear. harry was caught on microphone last year recommending meghan to a disney executive for voice—overs. was he being serious? who knows? but the royal family will slowly have to adapt to the sussexes‘ new hybrid life. reeta chakrabarti, bbc news. let's speak to nicholas witchell who's in sandringham. the queen's statement said today that she has asked for final decisions in the coming days. what is your understanding of the timescale? i think some of the details will take time to work through but the queen has said she wa nts through but the queen has said she wants decisions within a matter of days. the discussions today among

other things i think sought to dispel any notion there is not a major place for the sussexes in the royalfamily going major place for the sussexes in the royal family going forward if they choose to take it. the queen said that discussions were very constructive. her statement sought to convey a real empathy on her part and the rest of the family for the sussexes, harry in particular, for the situation in which they find themselves. as the queen said, they would have prepared them to remain full—time members of the royal family but she said the state respect and understand their wish and entirely our support of their wish to create a new life. they remaina wish to create a new life. they remain a valued part of my family. on some of the details there is a shortage of detail at the moment on things like funding, the division of work between public and private work, on the rules of the game for private fee earning and on security but we now enter this transition period, a cooling off period almost, for both sides to see what will work best as they feel their way towards an accommodation which suits both

sides. nick, many thanks again. nicholas witchell, our royal correspondent, with the latest from sandringham. the prime minister borisjohnson and his irish counterpart, the taioseach leo varadkar, visited belfast today to mark the restoration of devolved government to northern ireland. speaking at stormont — the home of the northern ireland assembly — the prime minister praised all sides for putting aside their differences and striking a deal after three years of political deadlock. part of the deal was the promise of significant extra funding for northern ireland — as our ireland correspondent emma vardy reports. and a warning her report contains some flashing images. high winds greet the prime minister in a place that's had to weather many storms. northern ireland's new power—sharing government, between sinn fein and the democratic unionists, marks the end of three years of fighting, division and decay. with an irreverent nod to tony blair before the good friday agreement, borisjohnson gave this new political venture his enthusiastic support.

never mind the hand of history on my shoulder. i see the hand of history, no, i see the hand of the future! i see the hand of the future beckoning us all forward. dublin also played a major role in brokering the agreement. the irish prime minister, leo varadkar, also came to endorse the new deal, which includes promises of perhaps billions of more cash from the british government coming northern ireland's way. the money will end strikes by health workers over pay and help plug a major shortfall in school budgets, as well as contribute towards new infrastructure. there's also commitments to reduce waiting lists at hospitals, which are the longest in the uk. liz only has sight in one eye, and is one of thousands of people told they face years waiting for cataract operations. hopefully, they will get the national health service back up and running. but northern ireland already has the highest public spending

per person in the uk, at around £11,500 per head, compared with the uk average ofjust 9,500, and yet northern ireland's public services are under severe strain. last year, more than 100,000 people in northern ireland had been waiting more than a year to see a consultant. in england, it was far less, atjust over 1,000. the prime minister's visit marks a new era, but there's a whole raft of problems for stormont to address after such a long time away, and no exact answer for its new leaders about how much the british government is willing to pay. we have stepped up to the plate, in relation to the political agreement. he put forward an agreement, he asked us to sign up to it, we have all signed up to it and come into a multiparty executive. therefore, it is now incumbent upon the prime minister to step up to the plate in relation to financial resources. although famous for its past, northern ireland is looking to the future. today, same—sex marriage is legal for the first time.

but a dark history still clouds politics here. high levels of poverty and a legacy of the troubles place a heavy burden, and for years huge sums have been spent helping northern ireland find its way. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. the government is considering a plan to change the tax rules for all domestic flight operators. it comes as flybe, which is europe's largest regional airline, is thought to be on the brink of collapse — unless it can defer some of its multi—million pound tax—bill. flybe is the uk's biggest regional carrier, with a network of 139 routes, serving eight countries. the airline carries eight million passengers a year. if the business collapses, more than 2,300 jobs will be at risk. all of its flights are currently running as normal. our business editor, simonjack, is at its headquarters in exeter. what is your view on whether the

government will step in here?“ what is your view on whether the government will step in here? if you had asked me that question about three months ago, i would have said the chances of that were zero. but remember, this is a government that has put regional connectivity right near the top of the political agenda. what we knew a few hours ago is flybe a saying please can we defer this airport duty bill for a few months, a few years, in order to get us through the lean winter months? the problem is that you can't do itjust months? the problem is that you can't do it just for one months? the problem is that you can't do itjust for one company without running into state aid rules. i understand there will be a series of meetings to buy between the department for transport, the treasury and the business department, to look at if they can twea k department, to look at if they can tweak the tax rules for all domestic flights. that way helping flybe out and not falling foul of those rules because as i say, they put regional connectivity at the heart of it. these routes are vitals to areas like this. the ten flights you can see behind me, seven are run by

flybe. the taxi driver on the way he could reel off the departure and arrival times of all the flybe roots and i'm willing to bet people in newquay and southampton can do the same. the big government pushed ma to look at ways of creative solutions to help flybe and also get that objective of regional connectivity, which the collapse of this airline would do nothing to promote. thank you, simon. simon jack, with the latest on flybe from exeter. in the race for the labour leadership, the first stage of nominations has closed and there are five candidates left, including emily thornberry, who secured the support of 22 labour mps and meps with a just a few minutes to spare before the deadline. the others in contention arejess phillips, sir kier starmer, lisa nandy and rebecca long bailey. our political editor laura kuenssberg has been talking to labour party members in the seat of bury north, which labour lost at the recent general election. who will they choose?

after being battered at the election, labour members have another big vote, but this time a vote of their own. we've got to get this right. we've got to get this leadership election right. we need to get back in there and show people some heart. we need to win. we've had... we've had nearly 15 years of a conservative government. but who could build a labour government? way ahead among mps is sir keir starmer, the shadow brexit secretary. wigan mp lisa nandy is in the race. because if we do not change course as a labour movement, we will die and we will deserve to. along with the shadow foreign secretary emily thornberry, who just made it onto the ballot, with the same level of backing as backbencherjess phillips. and i think i have a chance to cut through with people and to get the country to feel that they can trust politicians again. closest to jeremy corbyn, though, is the front bencher rebecca long—bailey.

so, what's needed ? we've got to move into a position where we can win elections, because otherwise, we'lljust become an irrelevance, a pressure group. we do need to get somebody in the leadership who can unite the party, because it has been terribly divided. even down at local level. i'm not a big jeremy corbyn fan, but there are a lot of people out there who supported him and want his policies to continue. one direction is if we keep the status quo as we are, the electorate have stamped their foot and said, "listen, you need to listen to what we're saying." so, you're moving out? they all know the pain of defeat. we've got about a month left tojust wind everything up. labour lost by just 105 votes here in bury north. the former mp is adamant the next leader has to pass muster in marginal seats like this. "the labour party loves a good loser", somebody said that to me in a bid to console me

following the election result. i think we need to be more brutal in our assessment of what matters to the electorate. i think we need to be more brutal in our assessment of win—ability, of whether somebody can win and whether or not the person who is elected our leader is seen as a credible prime minister. n0 consensus among his activists on who. it would be lisa nandy for me. it would be a really poor reflection on the labour party if in 2020 or 2025, by the next election, that we'll have never had a female leader. what is it you like about rebecca long—bailey? it is the policies. it is entirely the policies. she knows her stuff about how to make policies work. keir is steady and sensible, and i know sensible isn't terribly appealing but i think it's what we need. you know, we've had some pretty mad ideas and a lot of disappointments, really. disappointments all too often have

been labour's predicament. choosing a new leader and deputy is a chance, at least, to start to change the mood. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, bury. it's almost a week since iran retaliated after its senior general, qasem soleimani, was killed by an american drone strike. iran fired dozens of missiles at air bases housing us and coalition forces in iraq. one of bases hit was in irbil — and the other at al asad — where our correspondent quentin somerville was the only british journalist to be taken by the american—led coalition to witness the damage. the united states embassy in baghdad and a coalition chinnock on a mission — to project american resilience in iraq. the embassy below was under siege and its bases under attack but the message to the assembled press pack is america is still a commanding presence here.

and that's despite this. god damn! new footage, filmed by a us airman, of iran's attack on american and coalition forces on al asad airbase. bleep another one, another one! the attack lasted two hours. the reason the american—led coalition has brought us here today is because it wants to show that iran wasn't messing around. this is the crater from one of five missile barrages. look at the enormous blast that must have come from here, enough to force over these concrete barriers. on the other side is a tiny bunker, a concrete bunker. inside was a us contractor, he was there throughout this attack. these blast walls probably saved his life. america is under pressure in iraq these days, so this counts as a success. advanced warning meant the troops were hunkered down in bunkers — no—one died.

it's rare for the us, with all its firepower, to be attacked face—on with conventional forces here. it was very loud, very loud explosions. just bright white lights. so the shelter that we have, like it's open, so it outside, so you can still see and you literally see the whole sky light up and then a few seconds later, then you'll hear that tremendous boom. iraq is now a more dangerous place. it was qasem soleimani's assassination which triggered this attack. foreign troops emerged unscathed, but the same can't be said for their mission. iraq now wants its foreign guests to leave. relations between the us and iraq are now a tangled mess. baghdad says they have a year to clear up and get out. america says it's staying

put, and all the while, iran watches and waits. on al asad airbase, this time they say they were lucky, but america may not see the next attack coming. quentin sommerville, bbc news, al asad airbase, western iraq. let's take a look at some of today's other news. the uk's economy grew byjust 0.1% in the three months to november — the weakest rate for more than seven years. according to the office for national statistics, growth was slightly stronger in september and october, but it fell by 0.3% in november. the former pope benedict has warned against allowing married men to become catholic priests. his successor — pope francis — is considering a request to relax the rules on celibacy. bishops in south america say the change is needed to cope with a shortage of priests. people who manage their cholesterol levels with a daily statin could replace them with a new injection.

the health secretary matt hancock says the injection, which is being offered to nhs patients in england, could save up to 30,000 lives over the next decade. storm brendan has swept into parts of the uk, hitting northern ireland and scotland with winds of nearly 90 miles an hour. there are weather warnings of high winds across much of scotland, with some schools shut and delays to road, rail, ferries and flights. the storm is moving across the rest of the uk this evening, as our correspondent danny savage reports. as storm brendan swept in from the atlantic, it was ireland which bore the brunt. the weather was described as wild — an apt description for the conditions in greyabbey. this is warrenpoint in county down. the cars were stranded in floodwater, but this was one bus driver determined to get through. oh, god! in carrickfergus, just

outside belfast, there was more severe flooding as the sea over—topped defences. there were also power cuts to many homes in the region. on the other side of the irish sea, there was damage, too. this is gwynedd in north wales, where a tree came down on a vehicle. luckily, nobody was hurt. the concern overnight is that spring tides could bring some flooding to coastlines around the northern part of the uk but storm brendan is also just a prelude for more windy weather, with another warning in place for all of england and wales from midday tomorrow. in scotland, schools on the western isles were closed and bus services cancelled. ferries were also disrupted. and what would a 21st—century storm be without a lost trampoline? this one ended up on a motorway near limerick. danny savage, bbc news, cumbria. thejoker leads the pack in this year's oscar nominations. the film has 11 nominations

including best picture, best director and best actor. but the british war film 1917 runs it a close second with ten nominations, including best director for sir sam mendes. other among the nominations include sir anthony hopkins, cynthia erivo and florence pugh. our arts editor, will gompertz, looks at who the winners could be. to bring laughter and joy to the world... the oscar nominations are in, and, perhaps unsurprisingly for an awards season being critisied for a lack of diversity, the four leading contenders all tell white male stories. thejoker, a batman origin story, is out in front with 11 nominations. and then there are three films with ten nods each. sam mendes' world war i epic, 1917. martin scorsese's mafia saga, the irishman. and quentin tarantino's once upon a time in hollywood, about a fading star and his stunt double. so, who is going to win what? ok, larushka, let's get

straight down to it and deal with best actress, who's going to win? well, interestingly, black british actress cynthia erivo is nominated for harriet. she was shut out of all the nominations for the baftas last week. will she win? i don't think she will, i think renee zellweger‘s got this sewn up forjudy, where she has this amazing tra nsformative performance asjudy garland. ok, next up, best actor. i think it has to be joaquin phoenix for the joker. you know, i think you're right, but it would be lovely to seejonathan price win, wouldn't it? aw, a brit in there! your authority comes from the fact that you will suffer and die in the job. so, moving on to best supporting actress, who would you like to win? florence pugh. not enough to earn a living or to support my family. rising young british star, love her in little women. i'm with that, but who's going to win? laura dern, it's got to be laura dern. she's having a fantastic award season for marriage story. ..call, text, communicate in any way shape or form. and then we have best supporting actor, which is like a dog fight between big hitters. we've gotjoe pesci and al pacino fighting it out over

the same film, the irishman. i know, then you've got tom hanks for a beautiful day in the neighborhood, but i think brad pitt is going to win for once upon a time in hollywood. are you an actor? no, i'm a stuntman. let's move behind the camera to best director, which, once again, like the golden globes, like the baftas, is another all—male line—up. yes, i was very disappointed about that. though i was cheered to see a korean film in there in the running, for director bong joon—ho, his film parasite is there. though i think it's going to be 1917, sam mendes. he hasn't won since american beauty, his debut film in 1999. and so to best film, the line—up of ten, including little women by greta gerwig, so she does get a mention, although not among the best directors. who do you think should win, and who do you think will win? well, i'd love little women to win, but i think tarantino's once upon a time in hollywood, just because hollywood loves movies about itself! laruska ivan—zadeh speaking to our arts editor, will gompertz there. that's all from me. now on bbc one, time

for the news where you are. have a very good night. hello and welcome to sportsday. the headlines tonight. he could barely have done more. two league titles in two seasons but barcelona have sacked their manager. suspended and then sacked. the men who led the houston astros to their only world series title are punished for cheating. and stephen maguire comes back from the brink to make the quarter finals of the masters.

hello and welcome to sportsday. hello again. he won league titles in both his seasons with the club. and they're top of the table today. yet for barcelona that isn't enough. the spanish club have sacked ernesto valverde after two and a half years that brought domestic success. but, tellingly, two devastating champions league defeats. valverde replaced luis enrique at the camp nou in may 2017. it appeared to be an immediate success. barca went unbeaten in the league until the penultimate game of the season. the title was secured and the copa del rey. another title followed the next season but doubts always have always remained about whether he provides the kind of football for which the club is famous. key losses in consecutive seasons in europe are almost remembered more than his successes. first to roma, and then at liverpool having had sizeable leads in both ties. it was thought the defeat

at anfield would prove costly. but valverde hung on to hisjob for a season in which convincing displays have been rare. and that was until today. barcelona have replaced valverde with the former real betis coach quique setien. who's signed a two and a half year deal. ernest macia is from radio catalunya. faber was in control, the players are taking decisions that were affected by the coach. days off for example an physical conditioning was not good, and we saw the team play well in certain moments but then there was a drop in too many occasions as we saw and the super cup in saudi arabia where barcelona was able to play well for 60, 70 minutes but then losing everything. so the poor physical condition was key and of course there were the two big disappointments in the champions league to rome and also some