i am going to be seeing the taoiseach leo varadkar tomorrow and then returning to the eu council on thursdayve negotiated is a deal that honours the referendum and is the best deal available and indeed the only deal available. the backstop which is the issue that parliament has raised, the backstop is a necessary guarantee for the people of northern ireland and whatever outcome you want, whatever relationship with europe in the future, there is no deal available that does not have the backstop within it. we do not want the backstop to be used and if it is we want to make sure it is just temporary. let's speak to our europe correspondent damien grammaticas. is there any sense from officials there that they are willing to help trying to extract something that might get this brexit deal approved? i think the answer is that they do understand the position that she's in. they have always been sensitive to the politics back in the uk. on whether they want to help, yes they do. donald tusk since his meeting earlier with theresa may has said along anne frank discussion with the prime minister and cl

eu. mr. speaker at this council i reflect the concerns of this house over the northern ireland backstop. i i explain this church as we already agreed with the eu were insufficient for this house and went to go further ensuring we never want to use this backstop and if it is used it must be a temporary arrangement. some of the resulting exchanges of this council were rebuffed but i make no apology. i make -- [shouting] i make no apology for standing up for the inches of this house and the interest -- and inches of our whole united kingdom. in response, the eu 27 published a series of conclusions. they make clear it is there and i quote, firm determination to work favors on a subsequent agreement but establishes by the 31st of december 2020 alternative arrangements so that the backstop will not need to be triggered. the house will forgive me but i think this bears repeating. the backstop will not need to be triggered. the underlying the backstop would nevertheless, to be triggered it would apply temporarily. they said in this event the eu would use its best endeavors to negotiate and conclu

by stating that the eu stands ready to embark on preparations the withdrawaler agreement to ensure that withdrawal. mr. speaker, in this conclusions in the statement to the council and in the private meetings with me, my fellow eu leaders could not have been more clear. they did not want to use this backstop. the what to agree the best possible future relationship with us. there is no props to keep us in the backstop indeed, president macron said on friday quote, , e can clarify and reassure. the backstop is not our objective is not a durable solution and nobody is trying to lock the uk into the backstop. as former conclusions from european council, these commitments have legal status and should be welcomed. they go further than the eu is ever done previously in trying to address the concerns of this house. and, of course, they fit on top of the commitments we have negotiated in relation to the backstop, including enjoying the customs aliment uk wide, foci to legally committed to using best endeavors to of our new relationship in place before the end of the documentation. , but it's a new relationship is a ready we can choose to extend the application. instead o

you saw at the eu council meeting on friday, hostilities on all sides have got increasingly frosty. to theresa may but it's nothing compared to what her own mps do —— you saw. may but it's nothing compared to what her own mps do -- you saw. the daily mail has its nhs story. volunteer army? this is like other newspapers saying people are fed up of brexit. they want a campaign to get people to volunteer in hospitals, they say they have 23,000 readers who have signed up, very successful, great news. they're saying the nhs wants to increase that number even more, doubling the numberof that number even more, doubling the number of volunteers working in our hospitals doing all sorts ofjobs, helping the nurses and doctors, running errands, talking to the patient's. they make the point in this article, it's very valid, volunteers of a certain age, my generation, get a lot from it themselves —— patients. gives them something to do, give them a purpose, doing something good, hats off to them for doing that, a good campaign. the younger volunteers, you learn very important life skills doing it

that meeting of the eu council is expected to take place on thursday this week but the council's leader draft deal, or the backstop. crucially, the prime minister has refused to say when the mps would now be able to vote on her deal, saying it would depend how long any new talks with the eu last. some mps have asked for the vote to be held before christmas, but mrs may says the final deadline for the vote is 21 january. and she said the government was committed to delivering a brexit deal before the deadline for the uk's departure date from the eu, which is the 29 march next year. here's our deputy political editorjon pienaar more on what might happen next. well, theresa may has retreated, listened to cabinet colleagues and advisers urging her to delay the vote on her brexit plan. why? that's easy. the signs were that she was, and maybe still is, facing a crushing defeat in the commons, a lethal combination of tory brexiteers who say her deal could leave the uk locked into eu rules, along with the dup, who also hate the idea of northern ireland being tied even closer than mainland brita

steven: the eurozone financial reforms that were taken up by the eu council.hat was on the table there were things like a common budget for these 19 nations that share a common currency but not the common fiscal policy. a common finance minister. deposit insurance. these were all seen as important policy that could such strengthen the eurozone. there was this great window that was seen with the election of macron and this franco-german engine to drive this policy. they strengthens the bailout fund. but all of this other stuff got tabled. there was a huge debate between northern and southern european nations about what they want the eurozone to look like. ben: that is what happens to boring stories. janelle: so much for a closer europe. i think that is big g as well. ben: in the u.s., the partial government shutdown is set to continue into next year. over 300,000 workers face unpaid leave, which is why it the owner of a burger joint in washington is trying to do his bit to ease the pain. reporter: hot juicy burgers of melted cheese. could they be the answer to

eu stands ready to embark on preparations immediately after a withdrawal agreement to ensure negotiations can start as soon as possible after the u.k.'s withdrawal. and theironclusions statements at the councilheir private meetings with me, my fellow eu leaders could not have been clearer. they do not want to use this backstop. they want to agree the best possible future relationship with us. there is no plot to keep us in the backstop. indeed, president macron said on friday "we can clarify and reassure the backstop is not our objective. a durable solution, and nobody is trying to knock the u.k. into the backstop." at formal conclusion with european council, these commitments have legal status and should be welcomed. they go further than the eu has ever done previously in trying to address the concerns of this house. they sit on top of the commitments we have already negotiated in relation to the backstop, including ensuring the customs element is u.k. wide, that both sides are legally committed to using best endeavors to have a deal in place before the end of the of limitation period, but can choose to extend the of limitation per that's the implementation -- to use the implementation peri

there's an eu council meeting on december isth—ilith.omething specific and see if she could get a slightly different deal and bring that back and try again. do you know what that slight tweak would be? what will she ask for, what will she get? perhaps that's more of a point. what she will get i think is a no from the eu. they made it very clear that they don't want to reopen this. hannah might be right and that it might give us more of a political declaration. the problem for brexiteers is that they objected that it is non—binding anyway. the eu could say anyything and brexiteers would not believe it. the only thing that will work as far as they can be concerned is something on the backstop, but we have already seen how hard it is to get movement on that. it is hard to say what would be enough for the people who don't let this agreement. one question for you tim, with your historian hat on, if we all live to be 100 and look back on this particular period of time, what will history say about it? to be honest, i think that depends on wheth

there is a eu council meeting. and ask about the meaningful vote that has been deferred and the date in that vote is announced in the normal way to be discussed in the usual way. i tell members on the other side when we had a meaningful vote we had it in the referendum in 2016. if he wants a meaningful date i will give them one. 29 march, 2019, when we leave the european union. >> absolutely unacceptable. this house agreed to a program motion, 5 days of debate, this house agreed when the vote was going to take place. the government tried to unilaterally pool that and deny this house, deny this house the chance of a vote on this crucial matter. the prime minister and government were found in contempt of parliament. her behavior is contemptuous of this parliament. mister speaker, the prime minister's appalling behavior needs to be held to account by this house and the people of this country are more and more concerned about ongoing chaos at the center of the government. when she made her lancaster -- >> order, order,

the chair of the meeting, the eu council president donald tusk, has just sent out invitations to leaders making sure it will happen and mrs may is mentioned by name in the invitation, so they are still expecting her to turn up as prime minister here tomorrow. the eu does not want to get involved in the domestic political situation, so do not expect anyone to say anything specific any time soon although, privately, i have been told the eu sees the situation as this, that the whole cabinet signed up to the deal, so it is not theresa may's brexit deal, it is the uk government's brexit deal. and in the dim and distant past of yesterday, when we we re distant past of yesterday, when we were talking about theresa may trying to get these legal guarantees about when the irish backstop would be used if it was ever triggered, i have been told there has not been enough time to get any official legal text on paper in time for it to be unveiled at the summit tomorrow and it is unlikely anything along those lines will even be ready in time for christmas. but, who knows, even that may seem like age and

eu. mr speaker, at this council i faithfully and firmly reflected the concerns of this house over the northernof our whole united kingdom. the council made clear in their resolutions it was their "firm and determination to work speedily and determination to work speedily and establish this by 2020, alternative arrangements, so that the backstop will not need to be triggered. " the backstop will not need to be triggered." i think this bears repeating. the backstop will not need to be triggered. the underlined that if it were nevertheless to be triggered it would apply temporarily. they said that in this event you would use its best endeavours to negotiate and conclude expeditiously a subsequent agreement that would replace the backstop, and they gave a new assurance in relation to the future partnership with the uk to make it even less likely the backstop would ever be needed, by stating that the eu stands ready to embark on preparations immediately after signature of the withdrawal agreement to ensure that negotiations can start as soon as possible after the uk's withdrawal. mr speaker, possib

it's not clearfrom my vantage point that they will have time to do that ahead of the european council this week. eut, have let it to the fact that they will have to discuss brexit. so far, no doubt has been proposed by the british side. theresa may has been making love or correct and angle before coming to brussels this —— theresa may has been meeting mark ripped and angela merkel. theresa may cannot deliver promises to parliament. i suspect that to reason me is somehow playing for time. let that cook for a while. we've seen that cook for a while. we've seen that there will not be another vote, potentially before the 21st of january. i think that's what her strategy could be at the moment, is of high—risk one. strategy could be at the moment, is of high-risk one. one of the issues you can maybe shed some light on. to what extent can mrs may get something in these next few days, including in dublin tomorrow, which is legally enforceable. something that she can say, it's baked into this agreement in some kind of way thatis this agreement in some kind of way that is legally enforceable. do you think t

discussions with a number of people yesterday and i have made progress, but there of course is an eu council meeting and there are further discussions to be held. the meaningful vote is being deferred, and the business motion will be agreed and discussed in a usual way, but whatever he says, i will tell members on the other side when we have had a meaningful vote. we had it in the referendum in 2016, and if he wants a meaningful date i will give him. the 29th of march 2019 when we leave the european union. >> totally and absolutely unacceptable in this house and in where! this house -- this house agreed a program motion, and this house agreed the five days of debate, and this house agreed when the vote was going to take place. the government tried to unilaterally pull that and deny this house the chance of a vote on this crucial matter. the prime minister and the government have already found to be incontempt of parliament. mr. speaker, the parliament says this appalling behavior needs to be held to account by this house and the people of this country are more and more concerned about the on

we know she has been talking to significant figures, donald tusk, the eu council president, jean—claudeit's always the case that when you have got someone like the prime minister, who is a tough, determined, indefatigable negotiator, that if there is more that can be secured in order to provide mps and the public with reassurance that this is the right deal, then there is no one better placed to get those additional concessions or changes. and concessions, do you think, on the divorce deal, the withdrawal agreement? because this is the treaty that has been agreed, do you think that could really be reopened? i think one worry that i have is that some people of course want us to reopen the withdrawal agreement. you touched earlier on what emmanuel macron said. one of the worries i have is that if we do attempt a fundamental reopening or renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement, the european union countries who recognise how uncomfortable the backstop is for them may change the withdrawal agreement in a way that may not necessarily be to our advantage. but doesn't the withdrawal agreement

the eu council and commission at a summit in brussels on the first and second of june publicly expressed concern about human rights abuses in china, but didn't call for the release of political prisoners, including citizens of the eu, or the repeal of abuse of laws. this is all from a report i believe from human rights watch. in june, the italian police detained and later released the same ethnic uigher n fwrvegsgo,y briefly retained him, even though he had been invited to be there. on issue after issue, you can see around the world that even nations that long have been committed to democracy and human rights when it comes to china, are either being quiet, looking the other way or to the point where they can't speak out. so that's why it's so important for the united states to be forceful about it. because no one else can or wants to. when others do want to, you're concerned that we don't join them. as an example, there were 15 western ambassadors in beijing spearheaded by canada. they reportedly sent a letter to the xi jinping communist party chief. he's seeking a meeting and expressing

if you think about it, she now goes to the eu council and she asks for a better deal, will her authority promise to them that whatever deal they offered to her she can get through parliament, no matter how many people vote for her to be prime minister, they are not going to vote for her to get this deal through. what happens then? what sort of authority is she left that even if she does not leave office? i suspect these are questions we will come to tonight, and we will see what the margin is. thank you. and we will talk a little more, later. earliertoday, the prime minister emerging in downing street pledging to fight for the leadership with everything she had. speaking outside number ten this morning. there is flashed the geography coming up. let us remind ourselves of what the prime minister said. there will now be able on my leadership of the conservative party, i will contest that with everything i have got. i have served the conservative party as activist, counsellor, np, home secretary, and now as prime minister. i stood to be read because i believe in the conservative vision for

when i go to the eu council tomorrow -- the european council tomorrow, i will be seeking that will wageoncerns member of parliament have on that issue. while delivering brexit is important, we also need to focus on the other issues that people feel vital to them. we came intoat politics to deal with. building a stronger economy, delivering first-class public services, building the homes families need. we know it to the people who put us here, and put their priorities first. here is our renewed mission. delivering the brexit that the people voted for, bringing the country back together, and building a country that truly works for everyone. how are you getting your brexit deal through? caroline: that was theresa may. a question being thrown to the direction of her, can you get your brexit deal through? that's the key question. we are back to where we started as you mentioned, romaine. today was a sideshow. she managed to put off the issue within her own party, but the main issue is now whether the vote she can get through -- both can get through parliament. romaine: she has to try to extr

the eu council commission in brussels expressed concern about human rights abuses in china but didn't call for the release of political prisoners, including their own citizens, citizens of the eu or even the row peepeal abusive laws. this is all from a report from human rights watch. in june italian police briefly detained and later released the same ethnic uighur ngo representative who had been invited to speak at the italian senate, and they briefly detained him, even though he had been invited to be there. again, it's not clear whether the chinese requested that. on issue after issue it appears to us you can see around the world that even nations that long have been committed to democracy and human rights, when it comes to china, are either being quiet, looking the other way are frankly now leveraged to the point where they cannot speak out. so that's why it's so important for the united states to be forceful about it because no one else can or wants to. and when others do want to, you're concerned when we don't join them. earlier this month there were 15 western ambassadors in bei

she goes back to the eu council where she will try to make further progress to sweeten the deal.at is progress she needs if she's going to get it through parliament. 117 people don't back her leadership. it doesn't translate directly to people that don't back the brexit deal but an amount can be inferred from that. one possible bargaining tool is the risk of no deal. we will get that on march 29 if nothing else is agreed. the eu doesn't want to see that happen. the summit of conclusions, eu leaders saying that they will explore. toneghtly conciliatory there. they will not fear too far from what is already being agreed. tone there. the north irish party is currently popping -- propping up the government. she needs to get it through parliament she so desperately needs right now. shery: we saw the biggest gain in more than a month. really, brexit headlines have been rattling the u.k. market for the last few days. sebastian: they really have. and if you look at the pound, you see that big dip in the last three days. and something that has been going on for a long time. they are reall

i did travel to europe yesterday and meet a number of heads of government at the commission and eu council. tot is because i've listened concerns made in this house and have taken those concerns to one i metd no yesterday is any doubt about the strength of concern in this house on the issue with the ration of the backstop. -- the duration of the backstop. honorable general and couldn't care less what i bring back from brussels. couldn't care less what i bring back from brussels. what ever comes back from brussels, he will vote against it. all he wants to do is create chaos in our economy. damage and create division in our society and damage to our economy. that is the labour party, jeremy corbyn. >> jeremy corbyn. >> it is clear, mr. speaker, nothing has changed. she needed any clarification, mr. speaker, about the temporary nature of the backstop, she could have just asked her itorney general, who said indoors indefinitely. as prime minister may recalls, when she left on her journey, we were about to start day four of a five-day debate on the deal. since the prime minister has not achieve

brexit — and kent county council has issued an appeal to government for extra money and support to help prevent "chaos" at its ports and roads if there's a no deal withdrawal from the euems transporting bodies to mortuaries. with me now is the conservative leader of kent county council, paul carter. he joins us from maidstone. pretty apocalyptic warnings. learning from what has occurred in kent were now has been serious and significant destruction out of the box. plans are that we set out in our work paper are trying to avoid much disruption which has happened in the past. to do that, the government has invested in a scheme which keeps the m20, the main link road done for the port of dover to the folkestone. this is a good move. we also need a government to help us with additional investment to other signage and the development of some additional holding areas. one of them being at the former airport. most importantly, to make sure that we've the powers to direct straight movements with the drivers of the hgvs to direct them. to stop them going down the highways and byways of kent. many of those robes are unsuitable, and has caused chaos in the past. many did allude t

she's holding talks with the eu council's president, donald tusk, and the irish prime minister, leo varadkar talking about the political assurances and illegal assurances she would like to hear from the other leaders of the 27 remaining member state leaders. she wants legal assurances. whether she will get that is something com pletely she will get that is something completely different, because the withdrawal agreement is a legally binding agreement and the mood music hear from various different leaders is that they will not renegotiate that particular deal, that is where the backstop is, which is the contentious deal. she has arrived here in the european council and said that she wants those legal and political assurances. she will sit down with the other 27 leaders. she will discuss her concerns, have the potential to ask questions about them and then she will sit down to dinner with them this evening, then she is no longer invited to the discussions afterwards. that is when the leaders will sit down and amongst themselves discuss what phrase of language they can use to give her some kind

discussions with a number of people yesterday and have made some progress, but of course there is an eu councilbe announced in the normal way and the business motion will be agreed and discussed in the usual way. i will tell members on the other side when we have had a meaningful vote, we had it in the referendum in 2016. and if he wants a meaningful date, iwill give referendum in 2016. and if he wants a meaningful date, i will give him one. 29th of march, 2019, when we leave the european union. it is totally a nd leave the european union. it is totally and absolutely unacceptable totally and absolutely unacceptable to this house or anyone. this house a agreed a programme motion. this house agreed five days of debate. this house agreed when the vote was going to take place. the government tried to unilaterally pull that and deny this house the chance of a vote on this crucial matter. the prime minister and her government have already been found to be in contempt of parliament. her behaviour today is just contemptuous of this parliament and of this process. mr speaker, the prime minister‘s appal

of kent county council have appealed to the government today for extra money and support to help prevent "chaos" at its ports and on its roads, if there's a "no deal" withdrawal from the eu council has warned of six months of disruption at dover port. our correspondent simonjones, who's spent the day there, says officials are bracing themselves in the event of a "no deal". the port of dover is big business. it handles 17% of the uk's trading goods. and it said if you were to line up all the lorries that passed through the boring single day, it would stretch from here as far as sta nsted would stretch from here as far as stansted airport. would stretch from here as far as sta nsted airport. that would stretch from here as far as stansted airport. that is a distance of around 100 miles. there have been warnings that if france decide to significantly increase the checks on lorries heading over the channel, then that could lead to big problems on the roads around kent. and further afield potentially. what is new today is this morning from the government that potentially problems at dover could last for up to six months. the government is stressing this is a worse case scenar

is there trying to meet eu leaders to get support and then meeting with the heads of the eu commission and council later on today to try to get some legally binding reassuran e reassurances that the back stop agreement with ireland and northern ireland which is part of the uk, will not remain a permanent sticking point that the two sides have to negotiate over in the future. it is likely the assurances will be brought to the house of parliament. a lot of this is political theater. speaking of the political theater, we have the leader of the opposition having been granted an emergency debate in the house of commons by the speakers because the opposition parties are actually furious they are robbed of the opportunity of voting down theresa may's deal. they were not consulted on the last-minute change on the parliament timetable and they say that shows contempt. that could precipitate a general election which is what the labor opposition party wants. christine. >> dramatic and complicated. thank you, nina. >>> another mess in france. french students blocking classes and activities today at 170 high s

eu will be preparing to offer. yesterday we heard from the president of the european commission and european council that the eu iser get to the finish line. the european union does not want to see the u.k. crash out. i think in terms of possible concessions, we need to make it very clear difference between the legally binding withdrawal agreement that includes the backstop and future relationship, which is more of a promise of the future relationship. the future political declaration much more likely to see tweaks than the withdrawal agreement. the rest of the agreement almost is not matter, right -- does not matter, right? the only thing that matters is the irish backstop, which will remain in place indefinitely if they could not just cannot find a solution -- if they cannot find a solution to the border. what other concessions can she get better meaningful? get better meaningful -- that are meaningful? maria: the backstop started a year ago. the european commission and european leaders have said for a long time that this had to be binding, legal, and ready to go brexitxit date -- by day. now we are hearing ther

eu stands ready to embark on preparation immediately after the withdrawal agreement sold negotiations can start as possible without the withdrawal. mr. speaker, in his conclusions of statements of the council and their private meetings with me my fellow eu leaders cannot have been clearer. they do not want to use this backstop and they want to agree the best possible future relationship with us and there is no plot to keep us in the backstop. indeed, president mccrone said on friday quote, we can clarify and reassure in the backstop is not our objective and not a durable solution and no one is trying to lock the uk into the backstop. as formal conclusions for my european council these committees have legal status and in trying to address the concerns of this house and they get on top of the commitment the parties negotiated in relation to the backstop and including ensuring the customs of the uk why and both sides are legally committed to using best endeavors to have new relationships in place before the end of the information. but it's a new relationship is not ready can choose the implementation. instead of the backstop coming into but it's a backstop comes in we can use alternative arra

indication what the prime minister reported back to parliament or in any of the reports coming from the eu councilnything substantive that would come back from brussels, that would change people's minds, who said they weren't going to support the agreement. i understand why theresa may wants to see if she can get some further concessions or clarifications, that will mean more mps are likely to support the agreement, i am mps are likely to support the agreement, iam not mps are likely to support the agreement, i am not sure we are going to get there, by which point mps will have had two weeks away from this place, being not being discussed, and we will three weeks further to brexit happening on 29th march, i would like to have seen a vote this week, i understand why it is not but i worry that time is ticking away very quickly now. 0bviously ticking away very quickly now. obviously there are some who will be saying the alternative to theresa may's deal is no deal, is it looking more like that is going to be the stark choice that you and others are going to face when you come back in january? i am ce

eu. almost two thirds of councils in england didn't prosecute a single driver for misusing a disabled parkinggures from the department of transport. during that time more than four thousand blue badges were stolen. the organisation representing local authorities said tough decisions had to be made about enforcing the system when resources were limited. john mcmanus reports. they're a lifeline for around 2.4 million motorists who have some form of disability. blue badges allow holders to park free of charge in pay—and—display bays, and for up to three hours on yellow lines. that makes them potentially very valuable, and the number of badges reported as stolen rose to more than 4,000 last year. yet data from the department for transport shows that most councils in england, including middlesbrough, nottingham and shropshire, failed to take action against a single motorist for misusing the permits over the last 12 months. of those that did, the largest number of prosecutions were in three boroughs — hammersmith & fulham, and newham in london, and leeds. the body representing english local authori

that brexit deal is the eu's final offer, they say, but they know too the prime minister needs their help. tonight, donald tusk, the european councila special brexit summit of eu leaders this thursday. to negotiate — no, he says. to facilitate the ratification of the deal in the uk. the decision to delay the brexit vote in parliament, while dramatic in the uk, actually changes little here in the eu. of course eu leaders want the vote to pass and what to avoid an no—deal brexit so they're open to hearing from the prime minister what she needs from them, up to a point. reassurances on the backstop — that, they can provide. renegotiation, absolutely not, is the view here tonight. the eu is well aware the main sticking point is the irish border guarantee known as the backstop. something the eu shows no sign of backing away from. the deal‘s the deal, it's taken two years to put together. it is a fair deal for both sides. it protects from an irish perspective and british perspective peaceful relationships on the island of ireland. critics in the uk do not like the backstop because it keeps the uk tied to eu customs regulations, prevents

that brexit deal is the eu's final offer, they say, but they know too the prime minister needs their help. tonight, donald tusk, the european councild a special brexit summit of eu leaders this thursday. to negotiate? no, he says. to facilitate the ratification of the deal in the uk. the decision to delay the brexit vote in parliament, while dramatic in the uk, actually changes little here in the eu. of course eu leaders want the vote to pass and what to avoid an no—deal brexit so they're open to hearing from the prime minister what she needs from them, up to a point. reassurances on the backstop — that, they can provide. renegotiation, absolutely not, is the view here tonight. the eu is well aware the main sticking point is the irish border guarantee known as the backstop. something the eu shows no sign of backing away from. the deal‘s the deal, it's taken two years to put together. it is a fair deal for both sides. it protects from an irish perspective and british perspective peaceful relationships on the island of ireland. critics in the uk do not like the backstop because it keeps the uk tied to eu customs regulations and preve

that brexit deal is the eu final offer, they say but they know that the prime minister needs their help. tonight donald tusk the european council of eu leaders this thursday to negotiate, no, he said. to facilitate the ratification of the deal in the uk. the decision to delay the brexit vote in parliament while dramatic in the uk actually changes little here in the eu. of course eu leaders want the vote to pass and what to avoid an no—deal brexit so they're open to hearing from the prime minister what she needs from them, up to a point. reassurances on the backstop, that they can provide. re—negotiation, absolutely not that is the you here tonight. the eu is well aware the main sticking point is the irish border guarantee known as the backstop. something that the eu shows no sign of backing away from. the deal is the deal and it has taken the deal is the deal and it has ta ke n two the deal is the deal and it has ta ken two years to the deal is the deal and it has taken two years to put together. it isafairer taken two years to put together. it is a fairer dealfor taken two years to put together. it is a fairer deal for both si

when theresa may comes to the european council, she is going to brief the eu leaders what it is she wantsthen they can discuss what they can offer her. it is probably not what she wants. to head tooing sweden, where the u.n. secretary-general is speaking. >> thank you for the complete support to make it happen and also the special community that has been here to support these talks. your input has been valuable. all, i would like to extendnd my gratitude to you, distinguished members of the delegation. thank you for coming g here to discuss a better future for yemen. ist we have achieved so far an important step for the people of yemen and i thank you. thethe conflict in yemen has ben going on for 40 years now. four devastating years. it is the worst humanitarian crisis. needthan 24 million people some form of assistance or protection, some 20 million people are food insecure and 10 million of these people do not know where they will obtain their next meal. todayhe parties to hear have the possibility to change this, you have the future of yemen in your hands. we have a precious opportuni

he scheduled to address the un security council on thursday. the euent said chinese aid is responsible for massive increase in debt among african nations. , whosetrian chancellor country holds the rotating presidency of the european union, added there should be healthy competition between africa, chinese, and european countries. that's companies. global news, 24 hours a day on air and on tictoc on twitter, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am mark crumpton. this is bloomberg. emerging markets, once again the top choice for investors according to a bank of america merrill lynch survey of fund managers in december. here to talk about the challenges and opportunities in a post selloff environment is robin brooks, managing director and chief economist at the institute for international finance and former economist at the imf. great to have you back on the show. since the volatility has picked up in the u.s., starting in is nicelyber, e.m. outperforming. the ratio from em stocks to s&p's back to its highest le

what does this mean for the eu and her stance in negotiations >> we heard from the president of the european councile eu 27 want to help theresa may, but the question is how. that's the question we all have. how is the eu 27 going to help theresa may when they said the deal will not be reopened. the backstop will remain the same we've heard the latest developments from london on the ground here there's been no reaction as of yet. there may be some comments around lunch time. at 12:00, that's when the european commission has its daily briefing the feeling here in brussels is they want to get on. they want to move on with the brexit process i fear, i suspect, i should say, that the official line later today will be that what's happening in the uk is a matter for uk politicians to resolve and this side is willing to help the current prime minister of course let's wait for that critical vote later this evening to see whether or not the prime minister, theresa may, will be coming back to brussels tomorrow for the brexit summit. >> the other big question that people are asking is what this means for the t

in response, the president of the european council says the eu will not renegotiate the deal and stressesning out. the majority of english voters cast ballots -- british voters cast ballots to leave the eu back in june of 2016. and now almost 18 months later, britain's leaders can still not agree on how to leave. with me, richard quest. she put this vote off today. >> yep. >> because she knows she'll lose. >> it was a racing certainty she was going to lose. she didn't have the votes. not only was all the opposition parties going to gang up on her and vote against those that she needs, but many of her own, her own back ventures of her own party. and unlike the u.s., where it is not unusual for members of the house to vote against their own party, in the uk, in the british parliament, if it's a three-line whip, you're voting as the government dictates. and they wouldn't do it. so she was going to lose. here's the real problem, brooke. she's lost or she's now got this flimsy deal that she's got to go back to europe and say, we need to change something, so that we can get this through my own

eu has announced some further assurances on the irish border backstop. our brussels reporter, adam fleming, told us more just now. there is a document floating around brussels tonight which is the draft council the document the eu leaders will sign up to tomorrow night after the brexit bit of their summit, which will take place here in brussels after dinner thursday, tomorrow. now, this draft is floating around and it's got a few very, very interesting things in it. what those things are is that it amounts to these are the assurances the eu is planning to give to theresa may, so that she can take them back to the house of commons and try and persuade mps that the withdrawal agreement isn't not that bad after all. it's all about the northern irish backstop, remember that backup plan, that insurance policy for avoiding a hard border between northern ireland and ireland. that would see the whole of the uk staying in a sort of customs union with the whole of the eu and lots of rules and regulations still applying to northern ireland. many of the brexiteers‘ fears, and many other mps‘ and parliament's fears, is that that backstop, the uk will never be able to escape from it, it will be the end st

eu is clear, as i am, that if we are going to be with the deal, this is it. but my discussions with colleagues today have shown that further clarification and discussion following the council'sonclusions is possible. >> further clarification, but no renegotiation. that was the message from all eu leaders. >> we have made very clear that we want to deal and we already have an agreement from november that is on the table and negotiated. >> and then there was some business as usual. macron announced and then later signed off on a watered-down version of his flagship idea, a eurozone budget. >> this mandate, together with the results obtained by our finance ministers, allow a huge step toward a genuine convergence and a real banking and -- union and pooling our finances. >> macron called this a summit of results. but he was surely not referring to the praxis -- brexit talks. phil: a fourth victim of the strasbourg has died. a tragic end to a frantic 48 hours for the city. the christmas markets where the attack took place has reopened. macron visited to pay his respects. he said authorities are trying to clarify why the suspect, who had been on a terrorist watch list, was not sto

council donald tusk. we will get a statement from eu leaders within the next hour after theresa may has finished with thision on the backstop. my the european union on the backstop. my understanding so far is the european leaders might discuss the idea of reassurances but as for renegotiation, so far they're saying thatis renegotiation, so far they're saying that is out of the question. thank you, gavin. the latest arts in brussels, as gavin was saying, right at the heart of the matter, will there be some reassurances around this northern ireland backstop which will go far enough to satisfy laws of the conservative mps and indeed the ulster unionist party too? the signs are so far, talking to sammy wilson and others, they want something much more than that but thatis something much more than that but that is really the core of the debates today. the debate has been going on for over two hours. the prime mac has been on herfeet going on for over two hours. the prime mac has been on her feet for two hours, taking questions, cancelling the vote tomorrow, a big turnaround for this government. let's bring you

it is a blow to the eu institutions, because the european council, which represents the member statesthat you have to have a system whereby the other member states are system whereby the other member states a re involved system whereby the other member states are involved in this process is otherwise a departing country could use a frivolous application to leave, withdraw it and put it back over and over again and cause great uncertainty, and a departing country could use this tactic leads to extra ct could use this tactic leads to extract concessions out of the eu by threatening to leave. in the words of one of the lawyers last week, he said at the risk of opening pandora's box, but it looks like the ecj pandora's box, but it looks like the ec] is willing to open up. thank you, adam fleming in brussels. i'm nowjoined by catherine barnard, a professor in european union law and employment law at the university of cambridge. professor, good morning and thanks for taking the time to talk to us. how likely do you think it is that the ec] judges will follow what the attorney general or the

eu. the department for transport says almost two—thirds of councils in england didn't prosecute anyone in past year for misusing a disabled parking permit. there are widespread concerns about the credibility of the parliamentary elections in bangladesh, which the governing party won by a landslide. now on bbc news victoria derbyshire looks back on some of the memorable moments from her programme in 2018, from exposing the problems patients with hernia mesh implants have been facing, to an interview with two women who were affected by victoria's own breast cancer story. welcome to our programme. over the next 30 minutes, we will bring you some of the exclusive interviews and original stories with roger over the last 12 months. since 2016 this programme has been exposing the complications with people who had bad to know and hernia mesh implants. in august this year be repealed as many as 170,000 people in england alone could be suffering from complications relating to hernia mesh surgery. we heard from some who said the pain was so excruciating they had even contemplated suicide. you go, wo