this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. the headlines... the prime minister, rishi sunak, will meet the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, on monday as he tries to secure a new brexit deal for northern ireland. a joint statement said they would work towards finding a solution. at least 59 people have died after a boat carrying migrants sinks near the coast of southern italy. i pray for every one of them, for the missing and the other surviving migrants. the israeli government and the palestinian authority say they will take immediate steps to end a deadly upsurge in violence this year. coming up in sport, we will tell you

how manchester united won the league cup. and how france crossed scotland's six nations grand slam hopes in paris. —— crushed scotland's six nations grand slam hopes in paris. the president of the european commission ursula von der leyen will arrive in the uk tomorrow for face to face talks with prime minister rishi sunak, to discuss an imminent deal for trade in northern ireland. it all revolves around the post—brexit trading arrangements for northern ireland. the irish taoisoech leo varadkarsaid...

earlier, the deputy prime minister dominic raab began to outline what might be in the deal, including the right for politicians in northern ireland to have a say over any new eu rules that affect them. with more here's our political correspondent iain watson. what better way to flag that an agreement with the eu is coming closer? the eu commission president ursula von der leyen will meet the prime minister tomorrow in london for the talks that could seal a deal. there is no deal done until the whole deal is done. but i think we've made progress. and what's emerging is exactly what the deal could involve. post—brexit, to keep an open border on the island of ireland, some eu rules continue to apply in northern ireland, and goods coming from great britain are subject to checks. this is what unionists call a border in the irish sea. under the proposed deal it's likely goods travelling from great britain to northern ireland and remaining there would no longer be subject to checks. these would only apply to goods going via northern ireland to the irish republic and therefore to the eu. and people in northern ireland

would get a say over any future eu rules that might affect them. if there are any new rules that would apply in relation to northern ireland, it must be right that there is a northern irish democratic check on that. and again, that would mark a significant shift. i know this may seem hard to believe but getting a deal with the eu could be the easier of the prime minister's tasks. more importantly he has to win over northern ireland's biggest unionist party, the dup. they are warning about deal will deepen divisions they are warning a bad deal will deepen divisions and if they don't like the detail of what rishi sunak has negotiated then they won't rejoin a power—sharing government in northern ireland. and some of the prime minister's colleagues here in westminster are telling me that could make all his talks with the eu futile. this government minister and prominent brexiteer seemed on board for a deal. reporter: do others in your party support him as well? _ but the prime minister can't count on the support of some other

long—standing eurosceptics. we're not stupid. what we want is a situation where eu law is expunged from northern ireland so it is treated on the same basis as england, scotland and wales. the government is keeping us in the dark as to whether mps will get a vote on the deal, but if they do, labour is signalling potential support for the prime minister. if he's able to pull off a deal, we will support it because we think it will be an improvement on what we've got at the moment. let's look at the detail in the coming days but all credit to rishi sunak if he does that. a deal with the eu might ease some of the economic pressures on businesses and communities in northern ireland but it won't necessarily solve the prime minister's political problems. iain watson, bbc news. iain is with me now. it is very complex, we have a global audience with us. in terms of the key reaction to any potential deal,

we are looking at the dup in northern ireland. why is that? quite siml the northern ireland. why is that? quite simply they are _ northern ireland. why is that? quite simply they are the _ northern ireland. why is that? qt ta: simply they are the largest unionist party in northern ireland and the most sceptical about the deal reached with the eu initially which puts, as they would see it, a border in the irish sea, goods being checked. it looks like that'll be eased but that's not necessarily going to be enough to win over. the cause of the scepticism they will go through any deal with a fine tooth comb and will not give a thumbs up toa comb and will not give a thumbs up to a deal in advance and stop it's a high wire act for rishi sunak because even if he reaches an agreement with ursula von der leyen and the eu commission, that might help training arrangements with northern ireland but it doesn't solve the political problem because that's a lack of power sharing in northern ireland. the institute that goes back to the good friday agreement 25 years ago. where unionist and nationalist parties share power. the unionists might not severally give the thumbs up to the

detail of the new deal coming tomorrow. they may make rishi sunak sweat for a period of time while they get lawyers involved and see if they get lawyers involved and see if the big things that he is promising to keep a trade flow to give them a greater say over any future eu laws, to see if that is really delivered right to the depths of the text. if they don't like it then in effect he will have done half the job. they don't like it then in effect he will have done half thejob. he they don't like it then in effect he will have done half the job. he will have got the eu on board, power—sharing will not be restored to northern ireland, which is potentially embarrassing because the american presidentjoe biden would like to visit on the 25th anniversary of the good friday agreement later this year. that's cominu agreement later this year. that's coming up _ agreement later this year. that's coming up very — agreement later this year. that's coming up very soon. _ agreement later this year. that's coming up very soon. in - agreement later this year. that's coming up very soon. in terms i agreement later this year. that's coming up very soon. in terms ofj agreement later this year. that's - coming up very soon. in terms of the objections of the dup, where are they likely to hinge and what price might they extract in order to back it? i might they extract in order to back it? 4' , ., , , ., it? i think the problem the dup had amonust it? i think the problem the dup had amongst many _ it? i think the problem the dup had amongst many others _ it? i think the problem the dup had amongst many others was - it? i think the problem the dup had amongst many others was not - it? i think the problem the dup had amongst many others was notjustl it? i think the problem the dup had i amongst many others was notjust the trading arrangements, but they were effectively saying the act of union which brought ireland as a whole at once upon a time in the 1800s into the united kingdom, said that everyone in the united kingdom

should be treated on an equal footing. they are saying people in northern ireland are subjected to eu laws despite brexit which the dup supported, and in effect they want far less of a say by the eu over anything happening in northern ireland. the question then is, will they accept some safe from the eu or will it have to be in the words of one of them, and expunging of the eu from northern ireland. so there is an internal debate among democratic unionists. but the dup got on board to help rishi sunak�*s predecessor theresa may over brexit, where she couldn't get a majority in the house of commons, and in return they got around £2 billion to help with northern ireland. we know currently in northern ireland there is a big funding gap. perhaps the uk government might be able to perhaps ease some of their concerns if they also say that if they go back into power sharing then quite a lot of resources will follow suit. iain watson, thank _ resources will follow suit. iain

watson, thank you. _ resources will follow suit. iain watson, thank you. we can get more and less from brussels and our europe correspondentjessica parker. does it look too you'd like a deal will be announced? 0bviously does it look too you'd like a deal will be announced? obviously we don't know as yet but all the choreography signals look pretty positive. i choreography signals look pretty ositive. ~ . choreography signals look pretty ositive. ~' ., ., ., ., positive. i think there are a lot of clues. positive. i think there are a lot of clues- clue _ positive. i think there are a lot of clues. clue number— positive. i think there are a lot of clues. clue number one - positive. i think there are a lot of clues. clue number one is - positive. i think there are a lot of clues. clue number one is that i positive. i think there are a lot of| clues. clue number one is that we have known through sources for a little while now that the plan was for ursula von der leyen to head to the uk to do the final sign off moment. she is now heading to the uk and will be in berkshire tomorrow to meet the prime minister rishi sunak, and as well we have been building towards this now, we have been hearing from multiple people who have knowledge of the talks that they were slowly getting there. downing street all the while have said no final deal is done. the statement tonight doesn't say a final deal is done but it would be pretty strange if ursula von der leyen, the european commission president, a real eu chief, was to go all the way to the united kingdom to meet with rishi sunak to talk

about the northern ireland protocol at this stage and not announce a deal. that's where my money would be at the moment. of course until it happens we can't be sure and its brexit, things can fall apart at the last moment. but as you say, the choreography is all being laid out and pointing towards that. fin choreography is all being laid out and pointing towards that. on the choreography. — and pointing towards that. on the choreography. you _ and pointing towards that. on the choreography, you have - and pointing towards that. on the choreography, you have made i and pointing towards that. on the i choreography, you have made mention of the fact that windsor was mentioned as a location. there has been a bit of disquiet about that for obvious reasons.— been a bit of disquiet about that for obvious reasons. yeah, so, this is a bit of — for obvious reasons. yeah, so, this is a bit of a — for obvious reasons. yeah, so, this is a bit of a strange _ for obvious reasons. yeah, so, this is a bit of a strange one. _ for obvious reasons. yeah, so, this is a bit of a strange one. sky i for obvious reasons. yeah, so, this is a bit of a strange one. sky news| is a bit of a strange one. sky news broke a story on friday that there had been a plan for ursula von der leyen to meet with the king on saturday. and there was suggestions therefore that this could risk, if she also came to the uk to potentially sign off a deal on the northern ireland protocol, this could risk dragging the king into politics, and got some quite contentious politics at that. the government were insisting it was a separate thing, not remotely involved in negotiations, and the visit didn't go ahead. now what we

are told is we know ursula von der leyen will be going to berkshire, and in berkshire is windsor, and briefly on her publicly available calendar, although the entry has been altered, is that the meeting with rishi sunak tomorrow will be in windsor and that will again raise questions as to whether she might meet the king. we have had no confirmation of that being the case. we also heard suggestions that the deal itself could be called the windsor agreement. again, we don't know if that's going to happen but suns signs seem to be pointing to that as a possibility. her diary entry has been altered but there is no indication to believe that the actual final destination has no indication to believe that the actualfinal destination has been altered. actual final destination has been altered. ., , , actual final destination has been altered. , ., altered. people might be looking and thinkin: , altered. people might be looking and thinking. why — altered. people might be looking and thinking. why on _ altered. people might be looking and thinking, why on earth _ altered. people might be looking and thinking, why on earth are _ altered. people might be looking and thinking, why on earth are we - altered. people might be looking and thinking, why on earth are we still i thinking, why on earth are we still talking about brexit, we thought the deals were done? what practical difference on a wider front across the eu would any deal—maker? i difference on a wider front across the eu would any deal-maker? i think that's really important. _ the eu would any deal-maker? i think that's really important. obviously i that's really important. obviously this is a hugely important issue for the united kingdom and northern

ireland, not to mention the republic of ireland as well which for obvious reasons, sharing a land border with northern ireland, have been following this very closely. but if rishi sunak can successfully pull off a deal, may be winning over the democratic unionist party, you can see power—sharing restored instalment and that would be greeted notjust in the unique united kingdom but in the eu and the united states that takes an interest in this as well. it could be seen as a reset moment for relations will stop the northern ireland protocol dispute has soured the relationship after brexit which was already something of a bitter divorce. there are things that can come from that. the most obvious thing people watching out for is uk access to the science and research team called horizon which has effectively been blocked because of this dispute and it has led to huge unhappiness in a research sector and with universities. people will be watching to see if the uk is let

back into the horizon scheme and if rishi sunak wants to build some other kind of arrangements and working with the eu going forward. but i think he has a political balance to strike. the other final thing i would mention is, if rishi sunak can't get a deal on the northern ireland protocol he will be under a lot of pressure from his own backbenchers to move ahead with another wind protocol bill, this very controversial piece of legislation which could have disapplied parts of the mutually agreed original treaty. then you would be in the land of the eu relaunching legal action, warnings of a possible trade war, so those are some of the possible considerations he has in his mind. jessica parker, thank you. we will bring you much more on this over the next few hours to see if a deal emerges and there is much more online as well. at least 59 people have drowned after their boat broke up

in rough seas and sank off the southern coast of italy — including a number of children. the boat was said to be overloaded with close to 150 people. it's thought the vessel left izmir in eastern turkey three days ago. those who did survive came ashore near the town of crotone on the calabrian coast and are being helped by the red cross. jon donnison has the latest. 0vernight, another tragedy in the mediterranean. by daylight, this was all that was left of the migrant boat that broke up in rough seas just off the calabrian coast. rescue workers struggled in the conditions to recover bodies from the water. it's thought around 150 people were on board. dozens, including a baby, are known to have drowned. we cannot have, unfortunately, a definite number at the moment, so we are still waiting for developments in this sense. what we are doing right now is to take care of the survivors. and around 80 people were brought ashore alive, among them migrants from iran,

pakistan and afghanistan. despite the dangers, italy is one of the main landing points for people trying to reach europe in small boats. almost 12,000 migrants have already arrived by sea in italy this year. in 2022 more than 105,000 successfully made the crossing, with over 1300 dead or missing. although high, those numbers are way down on the 2016 peak when there were over 180,000 arrivals by sea. the government blames people traffickers and has pledged to stop the boats. at the vatican, pope francis expressed his sorrow for the latest loss of lives, which he said included many children. he said he was praying for the dead, the missing and those who survived. and those survivors, like hundreds of thousands before them, face an uncertain future. under the white sheets behind them, those who didn't make it.

jon donnison, bbc news. the israeli government and the palestinian authority say they will take immediate steps to end a deadly upsurge in violence this year. it comes as two israelis were shot dead in the occupied west bank. the israeli army said a palestinian gunman opened fire at an israeli—owned car and then fled the scene. earlier i spoke to our middle east correspondent. yolande knell, about what else came out of the talks injordan. this is said to be the first time in years we have had israeli and palestinian security chiefs sit down together for a meeting of this kind. what reallyjumped out at me from the statement that then came out was this line that they affirmed their commitment to previous agreements between them and their commitment to a just and lasting peace. to put that in perspective, there have not been direct peace

talks between the sides for nearly a decade now and there are no sign of those resuming. on top of that, we have all these anxieties at the moment about an escalation, particularly in the run—up to the islamic holy month of ramadan which begins in late march. israel made a commitment here to stop settlement building announcements for four months, and say they would not announce any new settlements being authorised for another six months. that's very important given some of the recent contentious announcements there have been from this israeli government. settlements are widely seen as illegal under international law, although israel disagrees. the palestinians, we understand they are committed not to take action against israel at international bodies, particularly the united nations, but what was really not made clear, and it's a key point, is what both sides will do

to stop further violence and what the challenge really became very clear during this summit as we had those two israelis settlers were fatally shot. what we have seen since is that actually in response, the israeli military is looking for the gunman. there have been attacks byjewish settlers on palestinian properties, setting them alight in that area. in terms of the background to all of this, we have seen this increased violence. we have seen a political change in israel too. is it possible to work out why things have spiked like this? i mean, we know that when this government came into being, it said the far right ministers in particular are very committed to coming down with an iron fist in response to what they describe as palestinian terrorism but in the past year there has been an increase in israeli military

activity in the occupied west bank in particular since there was a series of deadly attacks by palestinians on israelis nearly a year ago. there have been these search and arrest raids that have gone on in a near—nightly basis. but then we had since the start of this year two very deadly raids by the israeli military, when it said it was going after wanted palestinians, men who had carried out previous attacks and planning new ones. that was in bothjenin refugee camp, killing ten, and the city of nablus where 11 were killed which has pushed up tensions. what we saw after thatjenin raid was one of the most deadly attacks by palestinians on israelis in years with seven people killed outside a synagogue in an east

jerusalem settlement. all of this is washing round in the background. let's return now to our top story this hour — that meeting tomorrow between rishi sunak and the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen. i'm joined now by mark devenport, a former bbc northern ireland correspondent who covered the good friday agreement when it was signed in 1998. he joins us from belfast. much less esteemed but i remember being there as well, an extraordinary moment, and in a way does that anniversary that's coming up does that anniversary that's coming up this year, in a matter of weeks, add to the pressure on all sides to get a deal?— get a deal? what is going on in relation to _ get a deal? what is going on in relation to the _ get a deal? what is going on in relation to the current - relation to the current negotiations, because the hope from both london, brussels and washington will be that there will be some very seniorforeign politicians will be that there will be some very senior foreign politicians visiting in april in order to celebrate that 25th anniversary. of course it would be a major embarrassment that at the

time they do this there is no northern ireland assembly up and running, which was the democratic institution which was set up by the good friday agreement. that has been the situation here for the last year. there is a bit of pressure related to that anniversary to try to get a deal but there is absolutely no guarantee that the democratic unionists will pay any attention to that pressure. they will want to look at the detail of this deal and see if it actually fits their bottom line. and this deal and see if it actually fits their bottom line. and what will they be _ fits their bottom line. and what will they be looking _ fits their bottom line. and what will they be looking for - fits their bottom line. and what will they be looking for if i fits their bottom line. and what will they be looking for if there | fits their bottom line. and what l will they be looking for if there is a deal? i will they be looking for if there is a deal? ., , will they be looking for if there is a deal? ~' , ., .,, a deal? i think they are most concerned — a deal? i think they are most concerned about _ a deal? i think they are most concerned about the - a deal? i think they are most concerned about the politics | a deal? i think they are most i concerned about the politics of the deal rather than the economics. i think businesses and consumers here will of course welcome any kind of extra flexibility which reduces checks on goods moving between great britain and northern ireland. there have been concerns that sectors of the economy here have been very negatively affected by this, even medicines potentially could have been affected in terms of the supply

of medicines to northern ireland, so there will be a general welcome for anything that reduces the bureaucracy and paperwork involved. but i think the democratic unionists will really hone in on the politics of any deal. their concern and the concern of the unionists has been that this has made northern ireland less british than other parts of the uk, has eroded their british identity. so they will look at the extent to which eu law applies in northern ireland but not across the rest of the uk and what kind of democratic checks are brought into effect at stormont that allow the people of northern ireland to have a say over the laws that govern them. there has been a bit of speculation as to how that can be eased, hasn't there? do you have any details or any ideas that have been publicly floated on the thought process there? . , floated on the thought process there? ., , ., , , ., there? certainly if it was up to unionists _ there? certainly if it was up to unionists they _ there? certainly if it was up to unionists they wouldn't - there? certainly if it was up to unionists they wouldn't want l there? certainly if it was up to i unionists they wouldn't want any kind of eu rules —— they would want

any kind of eu rules to be purely voluntary and applied to businesses who were then sending goods on to the irish public and the eu and that would be for the businesses to undertake. but it doesn't look like that'll be the approach because the protocol effectively applied eu rules to goods in northern ireland. i think whilst that remains it'll be a big problem for some unionists. we will also have to have a quick look, a detailed look, at the democratic checks that will be put in place at stormont. the unionist didn't like them because it didn't necessarily require unionists to consent to them and instead operated on the basis of and instead operated on the basis of a majority of votes at stormont and if that is still the case then they might have a problem. in most cases it wouldn't be a problem but here in northern ireland because of the balance of the peace process most sensitive issues previously required a majority of both unionists and nationalists, but that wasn't applied to this trade protocol. in

terms of how things might play out over the next 2a hours beyond, do you expect the dup will take some time to look at any deal and could there be a financial price for their support potentially?— there be a financial price for their support potentially? almost every eace deal support potentially? almost every peace deal or _ support potentially? almost every peace deal or political _ support potentially? almost every peace deal or political deal - support potentially? almost every peace deal or political deal we i support potentially? almost every. peace deal or political deal we have had in northern ireland has been accompanied by an economic package. i would imagine the dup would want to use whatever leverage they have got to ensure that element is included, but the most important thing as far as they are concerned will be the politics. they will be looking over their shoulder at other unionists who may take an even more hardline view of this. so to that extent i think they will not come up with a quick decision. they could even be looking to put off any kind of decision until after some local government elections we have here in the middle of may. mark government elections we have here in the middle of may.— the middle of may. mark devenport, thank ou the middle of may. mark devenport, thank you for— the middle of may. mark devenport, thank you for your _ the middle of may. mark devenport, thank you for your time _ the middle of may. mark devenport, thank you for your time and - the middle of may. mark devenport, thank you for your time and i'm i the middle of may. mark devenport, thank you for your time and i'm sure we will hearfrom thank you for your time and i'm sure we will hear from you a lot more in the next 2a hours.

plans have been unveiled by the uk government to improve standards in social housing following the grenfell tower disaster and the death of two—year—old awaab ishak, who was exposed to mould at his family home in rochdale. it wants managers in social housing organisations to have a professional qualification, with landlords given time limits to fix problems orface fines, as jon donnison reports. awaab ishak was just two years old when he died in december 2020. the cause, a respiratory condition brought on by mould and damp in his family's rented flat in rochdale. awaab's father had complained to their housing association for years, but nothing had been done. earlier this year, the housing secretary, michael gove, pledged to introduce what's being called awaab's law, saying people living in social housing were being inexcusably let down. under the new legislation, landlords will have to investigate and fix mould and damp within strict time limits. today, mr gove is announcing additional new rules that will mean social housing managers will have

to get a professional qualification in housing. it's thought it will apply to around 25,000 people working in social housing across the country. any landlords who don't comply could be fined by the regulator. i think this is going to increase professionalism in the sector. it's something that i've spoken personally to the secretary of state about when i first met with him, and i think it's going to positively, positively impact the sector in general. this should have happened a0 years ago. it should have happened when social housing was first introduced. i think the government could go even further with extending the requirement to be qualified when working in housing, right down to housing officers. the measures will be included in the new social housing bill, which is due to resume its passage through parliament later this week. jon donnison, bbc news. stay with us, i will be back in 30

minutes with a full programme and with the headlines. that weekend brought us a fair amount good evening. the weekend brought us a fair amount of dry settled weather and whilst some of us saw some showers around, particularly in the east with quite a cool easterly breeze for some in other areas there was plenty of sunshine. this was the picture as the sun was just about to set in dudley a little bit earlier on. now, as we head through the coming week, the weather really isn't changing in a hurry. looking mainly dry for most places. some sunshine, fair amounts of cloud around and night time frosts, too. but here's the reason for all this settled weather. big area of high pressure, keeping the weather fronts at bay. it's very unsettled further south down towards the mediterranean. storm juliet bringing some disruptive weather there. but here, well, we've still got the breeze just rotating around that high pressure. so bringing a bit more cloud across parts of northern and eastern england. it'll drift its way south overnight and could just bring one or two rogue showers for some central areas. mostly frost free, i think,

by dawn, at least where you've got that cloud. but it could be quite a cold start to monday morning for the south west of england, for instance, parts of scotland minus four or minus five first thing monday here. quite a bit of cloud, as you can see, drifting its way westwards across england and wales. could bring just one or two light showers. we've got lighter winds and probably more sunshine further north for scotland. certainly northern ireland also seeing some sunny spells, too. top temperatures between about 7 to 10 degrees on monday. and that really is quite typical for where we should be by the end of february. and then it is going to feel colder, though, during monday afternoon. again, we've got quite a brisk breeze blowing in, particularly for eastern england and through the english channel. so the channel islands, look at that, feeling only around about three degrees. then as we move through monday evening and overnight into tuesday, most of us dry, winds easing for a time. but just cast your eye towards the southeast and you can see these blue colours, a line of perhaps more persistent showery rain just starting to form early tuesday, affecting the far south east of england. elsewhere, another cold night, certainly a touch of frost for many of us. could be the odd misty patch in the north as well.

during tuesday, there's that showery rain likely to affect parts of perhaps kent, essex, sussex and the london region down towards the channel isles, where there'll still be a little bit of a breeze blowing on tuesday. further north, he could catch one or two showers, especially for parts of northeast england. the best of the brightness once again will be for scotland and northern ireland as well. further ahead, it does look mostly settled. quite a good deal of dry weather, perhaps a little bit of showery rain across northern areas. best of the sunshine likely towards the west.

this is bbc news. the headlines: the prime minister, rishi sunak will meet with european commission president ursula von der leyen on monday as he tries to secure a new brexit deal for northern ireland. at least 59 people have died — after a boat carrying migrants sinks near the coast of southern italy. 0ne local official has suggested as many as 150 people had been onboard. the israeli government and the palestinian authority say they will take immediate steps to end a deadly upsurge in violence this year. it comes as two israelis were shot dead in the occupied west bank. early results have started to come in in nigeria's most competitive elections in decades. official results from the south—western ekiti state show a clear victory for ruling party

candidate bola tinubu in one of his strongholds.