its success the belfast agreement in 1998. its su ccess was the belfast agreement in 1998.e for all the people of northern ireland. it enshrined the principle that it is the birthright of all the people of northern ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as irish or british or both, as they may so choose. and it enshrined the consent principle, that it will always and only be for the people of northern ireland to decide what their constitutional future should be, ireland to decide what their constitutionalfuture should be, and that the uk government is solemnly committed to supporting their democratic wishes. these principles are the bedrock of peace and stability in northern ireland, and they will forever be honoured by the united kingdom government. a fundamental belief in the union of great britain and northern ireland as part of my political heritage as as part of my political heritage as a conservative and unionists, and that will never change. but the unionism i believe it is one that respects absolutely the central mass of irish identities of those people in n

i come from of belfast family. my pa rents were come from of belfast family.ot remotely connected to show business. i did not anything, anything, about how you could even get anywhere near to what was going on behind that screen. we went to the pictures a lot as a family. iam went to the pictures a lot as a family. i am 58, i started going to the pictures in the 50s to pictures like the sound of music, chitty chitty bang bang, those kinds of movies with the family. the beatles films i remember were a big impact. my films i remember were a big impact. my film education were seeing often a black—and—white movies on a saturday morning, saturday afternoon and that is why it knew about charlie chaplin, buster keaton, laurel and hardy. to be anywhere near them professionally, you might as well been talking about going to venus. it was not until i started doing some school plays that somebody said i could be an act. what! what do you do? that everything is called drama schools, idid not everything is called drama schools, i did not know anything about those. what con

hejoins us now from a wet belfast. thank you for being with us. that there would be no hardboard and that she was working towards frictionless trade on the island of ireland really did go a long way to alleviate the concerns of the business community here in northern ireland. but you know that she said two parliamentarians, particular on the right of her own party that she is seeking alternative arrangements. when it comes to the backstop... that must give you pause for concern? the thing is, it took 18 months to negotiate a backstop. the way that we are looking at it is that if there are eternal server arrangements that we need to see them and we need to see them now. if there are alternative arrangements, which we haven't seen so far, we need to make sure that they do more than the backstop does because at the end of the day, it is an insurance policy, that make sure that we in northern ireland have access to both the eu and great british markets. the dup leader said just there that great britain is our greatest trading partner and that is absen

also this hour, monkeying around at belfast zoo...isitors were surprised to find a chimpanzee wandering outside its enclosure after it managed to make a ladder out of branches to escape its pen. and in rugby — england romp to victory against france in the six nations match at twickenham. company bosses could face prison sentences of up to seven years amid new government plans to tackle mismanagement of employee pension schemes. ministers say the original plans of a maximum two year prison sentence have been toughened up after a public consultation — but some say meeting the standard of proof required in the criminal law could be problematic. our business correspondent rob young reports. when the construction giant karelian colla pse when the construction giant karelian collapse last year, the pension pot had a black all of hundreds of millions of pounds as did the bhs pension fund when he went into administration in 2016. bankrupt kodak's uk scheme had an even bigger deficit when photographers switched from cameras to smartphones. the

john pienaar, bbc news, belfast.rd the prime minster is heading to brussels on thursday, let's talk to our europe editor, katya adler, who's there for us tonight. what kind of reception do you think the prime minister will receive? they say they are in listening mode and she will be meeting jean—claude juncker and donald tusk, the man who represents all 27 eu leaders in brussels. but don't hold your breath for a big breakthrough. the prime minister comes here hoping to persuade eu leaders for changes on the backstop guarantee over the irish border. but they need more fundamental persuasion and that is if they can trust the prime minister. its sound harsh but eu leaders were taken aback about is putting it politely, when after the prime minister signed from the brexit deal in november, which included what the eu considers big concessions for the uk inside the backstop, now she turns around and says it's not good enough. eu leaders understand theresa may is under pressure in her party and parliament, but they believe s

john pienaar, bbc news, belfast.en aged between three and eight have died in a fire at their home in stafford, in the west midlands. their mother managed to jump from a first—floor window with a younger child and her partner. the local fire and crime commissioner paid tribute to the emergency services, and described what happened as heartbreaking. sima kotecha reports. windows shattered, the inside of the house blackened by the fire that ripped through the upstairs. it happened close to 3:00am in the highfields area of stafford. eyewitnesses say it sounded like an explosion. four children were killed. from left to right, six—year—old keegan unitt, four—year—old tilly rose unitt, three—year—old olly unitt, and eight—year—old riley holt. well, firefighters were faced with very difficult conditions inside the property, due to the severity of the fire. our fire investigation team are currently working with colleagues from west midlands fire service and staffordshire police in order to find out how the fire started and sp

and devon and dorset and belfast, quite low lying.through saturday, less of the case from the north. the strength of the gusts, we won't be out of the woods regarding the strength of the winds into sunday. saturday is mild, then this area of low pressure throwing the weather front back at us bringing more wet weather overnight into the first pa rt weather overnight into the first part of sandy across southern parts, the flow behind the more northerly feature is from the north. sunday will eventually be for many of us a cooler and chillier the with still quite enough the civil breeze but not as strong as friday or saturday and is going to be six or 7 degrees. once those weather features and leave at the skies were clear and send it into monday will be chilly with monday looking more settled with monday looking more settled with plenty of sunshine but on the cold side. this is bbc news — our latest headlines. tributes to the oscar—nominated actor albert finney, who's died aged 82 after a short illness. a high courtjudge allows the billi

i think from that same kid who was with that family in belfast, i felt there was...om a very class ridden country, and i don't care for art reinforcing those kinds of barriers. that's not to say that you dilute complex art to try and make it populist, nor that you try and make pretentious commercial work — but that you approach them all seriously, in as much as you would like to make a great, popular comedy the best it possibly it can be, or a so—called highfalutin shakespeare play or mozart opera the best that it can be in its different way. has your personal vision ever been compromised when you have made a big budget film? well... audience laughs. you've got to be careful about the vision thing, you know. it's just... if someone writes a cheque for 120 squillion dollars, and these big movies cost a lot of money, i was in one of the harry potter films and i remember going on to the set and got given the crew list, which was an interesting document, to see how many names. they were something like 1500 names on the crew of harry potter, it was the biggest collection

and dublin and belfast, it is the irish question. the prime minister will travel to belfast.re is the border, on land or within the irish sea? in this hour, richard haass. the stock market is within 7% of new record highs. good morning, everyone, live from new york, i'm tom keene. nejra cehic in london. we are focused on the state of the union. the prime minister travels to belfast. how will she be greeted? going to have to get people onside for her state , no real answer on how she will get support. the backstop still be key issue. tom: let us get to first word news. viviana: this morning, new legal problems for president trump. federal prosecutors in new york have subpoenaed documents from the president's inaugural committee. that group raising a record $107 million. donors and potential foreign contributions are drawing scrutiny. the committee says it plans to cooperate. in paris, a fire killed at least eight people and injured 31 others. residents seeking safety on the roof or climbing out of their windows to escape. the building is located in the 16th district. the prose

also this hour — monkeying around at belfast zoo... surprised to find a chimpanzee wandering outside its enclosure after it managed to make a ladder out of branches to escape its pen. and in rugby — england romp to victory against france in the six nations match at twickenham. and at 10:30 and again at 11:30 at the papers with our reviewers yasmin alibhai—brown and lynn faulds wood — stay with us for that. the historical costume drama, the favourite, has lived up to its name at the baftas this evening, where it collected a string of awards, but missed out to roma in the best film catagory. olivia colman won the leading actress bafta for her portrayal of queen anne, her co—star rachel weisz, was named best supporting actress. rami malek won the leading actor prize for bohemian rhapsody, but richard e grant lost out on the best supporting actor prize to mahershala ali. my colleague martine croxall has been following the ceremony at the royal albert hall with the film criticjason solomons. 7-4 7—4 was the score, seven for the favourite, f

that is officially why the irish taoiseach came to belfast. part of the brexit deal took centre stage. the decision that we have made as the european union is that the withdrawal agreement and the backstop are not up for negotiation, but we can talk about the joint political declaration and what changes might be made to that. but theresa may's partners in government are demanding more than ireland is willing to give. the important thing is that the backstop is the problem in the withdrawal agreement for most people in the house of commons who voted against it by an overwhelming majority and it is that that has got to be addressed. well, the dup are on the wrong side of the argument. the dup are actively working against citizens here in the north. the dup are saddling up with the tories. so, no sign of any quick resolution here. ticket to dublin, please. next up for leo varadkar is on down to dublin. the shuttle diplomacy continues. this train calls at dublin connolly... from belfast to dublin, you would hardly know you are crossing or become a

noel phillips, bbc news, belfast.. the music store chain has been bought by the canadian retailer, doug putman, who calls the company an iconic heritage brand and has promised to keep 100 outlets open. he says he's confident about the brand's future. we took over, you know, 80 stores in canada, almost, you know, two—and—a—half years ago, and they're doing strong, doing well, profitable. we see hmv continuing on in the uk for a long time. we believe that it's a chain that's going to be around, the customers love it, we get amazing support, which is great, so i think this is a very long road ahead. mps are to debate how much councils in england will have to spend in the next financial year, after local authorities complained of a £3 billion funding gap. ministers say councils have been given an extra £1.6 billion, but town halls argue that funding for local services is running out fast. jessica parker reports. buses, children's centres, libraries, lollipop men and women — some of the services that local councils have cu

catherine morrison, bbc news line, belfast.

prime minister has been here in belfast for the past two days meeting business leaders community leaders and today politicians to try to get a sense of what they will accept in relation to her plans to go back to brussels a renegotiate elements of the withdrawal agreement but in many ways the big action on wednesday has been in brussels where the irish to have a rocker has been meeting the president of the european council donald tusk such is the level of exasperate in brussels that less than two months from deadline day it seems the previous two years of negotiations have been in vain there was some extremely undiplomatic language from donald tusk which really belies the frustration that he's feeling let's have a listen at the shock and i have spoken about the necessary actions in case of no deal. i know that you will also be discussing this shocking with the european commission. by the way and i've been wondering what that special place. in her looks like for those who promoted heat without even a catchall for plan how to carly it safely now those incendiary comments have quite predict

thank you, emma vardy and belfast.politics at queeen's university in belfast, he isa he is a professor of european politics. when theresa may addresses business leaders it will be eight of audience, because the business community had backed her existing backstop plan and, if you like, sided with her rather than the dup. now it seems the prime minister is listening, first and foremost, to the dup? i think parliamentary arithmetic mean she has to, but i think she will have a very tough time with business, because they supported theresa may when the withdrawal agreement was announced in november and they have been quite vocal since in supporting the idea of the ultimate backstop arrangement, what is on offer, is 0k. the backstop is something which could come into force in the future. there is a fair amount of time chewing when it would come into force, in which you might be able to conclude the type of arrangement which could satisfy the dup. at times i think there was a sense that the backstop would come in almost immedi

but back in belfast, xanax is notjust being abused on the streets. can't remember what happened. i was told days after that i put two prison officers in hospital. i ended up with an extra two years in prison. 24—year—old kyle has now stopped using xa nax. his wake—up call came last year when he overdosed on heroin. you put your life at risk for a tablet that could have potentially killed you? yes. was it worth it? at the time, yes, but as i look back at it, no. but for many, it's a struggle. a habit hard to kick. illegally obtained drugs like xanax are costing lives in the city and across the uk. do you want help? yes, i've tried to get help. i've been on programmes. i've been to see people help with drug addictions. i probably won't see 25. ifi if ijudge stop. —— if i do not stop. i will be lucky if i see 23. let's speak to elizabeth burton phillips, who lost her son to heroin addiction in 2004 and set up the charity drug fam, which has a helpline to help families affected by substance abuse. her son to heroin addiction in 2004 and set up the charit

john pienaar, bbc news, belfast.to clare rice from the school of law at queen's university belfast, who's an expert on brexit. she joins us now from our belfast studio. good evening to you. what did you make of what the prime minister had to say? nothing overly surprising. i think we we re nothing overly surprising. i think we were all very aware that she came with a very friendly audience. audience of largely business leaders here in northern ireland and they have been very supportive of the withdrawal agreement and the idea of the backstop as it is shaped currently within that agreement. so in many ways, she was speaking to a favourable audience with people that we re favourable audience with people that were already on her side and really her task today was to offer those reassu ra nces her task today was to offer those reassurances that despite the ongoing talks that are coming on at the moment with regard to try to twea k the moment with regard to try to tweak and somehow reconfigure the backstop, that actually

wet for belfast come up for glasgow committee be the irish he is well. —— what for belfast, for glasgow and the weekend, could be as high as 18 degrees. how about that? i'm sharanjit leyl in singapore — the headlines... is the end near for islamic state's last syrian stronghold ? as fighting continues, donald trump calls on world leaders to take back is members and put them on trial. we go inside venezuela, as the standoff over humanitarian aid continues — and visit a town where the lack of food and medicine is claiming lives. i'm kasia madera in london. also in the programme... is this a me too moment for medicine in australia? the problems facing female surgeons — that could be forcing them out of the operating theatre. and preparing to make its asian debut, the multi—award winning musical, matilda, is opening in singapore.

special place in hell, we will clarify that, may gets nowhere in northern ireland with a picture in belfastthen westminster, with 50 days until brexit, mps sent home at 3:26pm because there is nothing to do, it is an empty house of commons. just in time for the school run as you pointed out. the one yesterday, donald tusk, president of the eu council, had a really unfortunate comment with this special place in hell. it was a tweet. he was also saying it in his press conference. i watched the press conference. he didn't say for all brexiteers, he said those who didn't have a plan. it just wasn't helpful. said those who didn't have a plan. itjust wasn't helpful. not at all. she is meeting him today. she is meeting with jean—claude juncker today. they are going to be very tough and they are going to say you can't open the withdrawal agreement. we can't renegotiate the backstop. lee of rate the prime minister of ireland, very bright eyed and bushy tailed —— leo brad cavill to the eu parliament stands behind him. the council stands behind him, the commission stands behind him —— leo varadkar. sh

belfast and backstop all the way.heresa may was riding high among her party after backing the so—called amendment which called for the government to find alternative arrangements to the backstop and a week later we find that theresa may went to belfast today and ruled out any situation that could allow a ha rd any situation that could allow a hard irish border and essentially committing to the backstop. the conservative party to put it mildly could be summarised by one cabinet special adviser who has alleged to have chanted during a rugby match during england and island you can shove your backstop up your... are we allowed to say such weights on the bbc? we can find theresa may reigniting the split and in the absence of the so—called alternative arrangements, very unclear how she is going to get her party back on side. we are told that she will request the re—opening of the withdrawal agreement to tweak the backstop but we do not think it will go down very well. the sources according to the guardian suggesting they di

catherine morrison, bbc news line, belfast. best supporting actor has been announced at the buffers and it is gone to maharsha ali in green book. people were thinking that richard e grant might win for can you ever forgive me? . but in the end, maharshala ali has won the award for best supporting actor for green book. now the weather, with green book. now the weather, with green book. —— with tomasz. the weather starting to calm down across the uk now after a few days of windy weather. maybe some wintry showers in the scottish hills. but by the time we get to around about five, six in the morning most parts of the uk dry, pretty clear, and it'll be a cold night with a touch frost possible, and down to minus four degrees outside of town in scotland. early in the morning could be some showers around lincolnshire and east anglia but by the tameka too late morning, sunshine all round. a little lazy gci’oss sunshine all round. a little lazy across some of these north—western areas of the uk, belfast, maybe glasgow as well. still pre

our ireland correspondent chris page is in belfast.l to stress these are not negotiations. the european union carries out brexit negotiations so these are discussions. they are officially being built more about the political crisis in northern ireland, the lack of government at stormont. there is no doubt that because brexit is the main issue which impacts on everything else which impacts on everything else which is going on politically in ireland, brexit has been high on the agenda in these discussions. one thing the overt care was asked about was the latest labour party proposals, the proposals from jeremy corbyn, britain remaining in a permanent customs union. he said the proposal were interesting. the dup with a first party to meet with the irish prime minister afterwards and they said those talks were wide—ranging and good but when it came to the labour plan, the leader of the dup in westminster suggested it was not the way forward. on the labour party proposal, i read with interest whatjeremy corbyn has now belatedly come up with

and a little monkeying around at belfast zoo — visitors were surprised to find a chimpanzee wanderingnclosure after it managed to make a ladder out of branches to escape its pen. now dateline london. with carrie gracie. a state of the union address at last, but what did it tell us about president trump s next two years and plans on fighting for four more? and seven weeks to go till b day. is anyone going to blink and if so, who? with me today: polly toynbee, columnist for the guardian newspaper american writer and broadcaster jef mcallister, agnes poirier of weekly french news magazine marianne. and stefanie bolzen of german daily newspaper die welt. to fire and fury, locked and loaded we can now add greatness or gridlock?and revenge, resistance and retribution or co—operation, compromise and the common good. beyond the president s passion for alliteration, what did we learn from the state of the union? well, i think we learned that he actually does have speech writers. they must have been relieved that he read it. finally, it was competently done, it was a little too long, especially

earlier today in belfast, theresa may sought to reassure people.g the backstop and reopening the withdrawal agreement creates real anxieties here in northern ireland and ireland because it is here that the consequences of whatever is agreed will most be felt. i recognise also that for the majority of voters in northern ireland, voted to remain, and that many will feel that once again decisions taken in westminster having a profound and in many cases unwarranted impact in northern ireland and ireland. sol am determined to work towards a solution that can command broader support from across the community in northern ireland. here's the bbc‘s ireland correspondent emma va rdy. to what extent did the prime minister... go ahead. theresa may is having to negotiate her way through a difficult set of circumstances in northern ireland. on the one hand, many in the business community were supporting the withdrawal agreement in its originalform, supporting the backstop as it was, saying that as a guarantee that would help them continue trading, much as they d

the prime minister of the united kingdom is in belfast. back. this is the london mayor sadiq khan. days and there are 51 she is playing a risky game of poker. support the negotiations or the amended deal, we could leave with no deal, which would be catastrophic. many parliamentarians are saying , get an extension that avoids a panic of us possibly leaving the e.u. without any deal. remainer,ain are, -- the mayor of london. , how arety of no deal they talking about no deal in brussels and belfast and london? , it: as sadiq khan said seems increasingly likely we will need an extension, just for the fact that there is so much legislation to get to that cannot get done before the 29th of march. happen byuld accident, the clock is ticking down and we could crash out of the e.u. tom: we have a brexit countdown clock, thank you for inventing that for us. there is 51 days to go. what are you looking at? what is the path to get through this week? is fairly quiet in the u.k. for parliamentary reporters. theresa may is doing her tour of ireland and t

one issue that has bubbled up between the belfast and dublin access and all the conversations betweenhern ireland is this question of a possible, or warning of, a possible irish reunification. do you think that is realistic or another project fear? i thing it is further along the line but i do think it has brought ireland closer together in a sense in that they understand that any question of a hard border is absolutely catastrophic for both northern ireland, the poorest region in the uk, and for ireland, which would suffer hugely economically if that were a hard border. theoretically, it brings it closer, but we are miles from that. they cannot even agree in northern ireland on having a parliament at all. they have disbanded themselves. we're not close to that. the real issue is this fantasy... you know, the european union has borders. it has borders because it is a single market and therefore has to have tariffs against people who are not in it. this was always an important border and we somehow dismissed it. the brexiteers who sold this idea kind of said, "ireland is a minor issue,

our correspondent, chi chi izundu, reports from belfast.ade you feel like a different person, as if, like, you know, all your problems were gone. it made me psychotic and stuff and then it made me not be able to control my anger. 20—year—old paul lives in belfast. that's not his real name, but he's trying to rebuild his life, so wants to stay anonymous. it was a friend who introduced him to a fake xanax at the age of 17. one night, i took 56 of them and then didn't wake up. 56?! didn't wake up until the sunday, that was the friday, didn't wake up until the sunday. xanax is the brand name for the drug alprazolam, a highly—addictive tranquilizer used to treat anxiety. you can't get it on the nhs, but you can get a private prescription for it. the vast majority of counterfeits that are dealt on the streets, bought on the dark web or social media sites can cost as little as 65p per pill. 2015 in northern ireland, we had one death where alprazolam was linked to the death, with other drugs. in 2016, there were 16 deaths. 2017, we had 26 deaths an

our correspondent chi chi izundu, reports from belfast.our problems were gone. it made me psychotic and stuff and then it made me not be able to control my anger. 20—year—old paul lives in belfast. that's not his real name, but he's trying to rebuild his life, so wants to stay anonymous. it was a friend who introduced him to a fake xanax at the age of 17. one night, i took 56 of them and then didn't wake up. 56?! didn't wake up until the sunday, that was the friday, didn't wake up until the sunday. xanax is the brand name for the drug alprazolam, a highly—addictive tranquilizer used to treat anxiety. you can't get it on the nhs, but you can get a private prescription for it. the vast majority of counterfeits that are dealt on the streets, bought on the dark web or social media sites can cost as little as 65p a pill. 2015 in northern ireland, we had one death where alprazolam was linked to the death, with other drugs. in 2016, there were 16 deaths. 2017, we had 26 deaths and 2018, it's looking like that might double. that's an indication of

our correspondent chi chi izundu reports from belfast.n, as if, like, you know, all your problems were gone. it made me psychotic and stuff and then it made me not be able to control my anger. 20—year—old paul lives in belfast. that's not his real name, but he's trying to rebuild his life, so wants to stay anonymous. it was a friend who introduced him to a fake xanax at the age of 17. one night, i took 56 of them and then didn't wake up. 56?! didn't wake up until the sunday, that was the friday, didn't wake up till the sunday. xanax is the brand name for the drug alprazolam, a highly—addictive tranquilizer used to treat anxiety. —— tranquiliser. you can't get it on the nhs, but you can get a private prescription for it. the vast majority of counterfeits that are dealt on the streets, bought on the dark web or social media sites can cost as little as 65p a pill. 2015 in northern ireland, we had one death where alprazolam was linked to the death, with other drugs. in 2016, there were 16 deaths. 2017, we had 26 deaths and 2018, it's looking

around the backstop proposal to avoid a hard border and we weren't expecting any specifics here in belfast that was one intriguing part of the speech though where you know as you said in the in the introduction it's either get rid of the backstop or make a legally binding change to it and what promise to may said was i am not proposing to persuade people to accept a deal that does not include an insurance policy what parliament has said is that they believe there should be changes made now that is a very firm way of saying the backstop is here to stay she just wants a reform to it what we don't yet know is exactly what form that reform will take the big problem that she has is that the european union stands on all of this and sabine way and who is the deputy chief negotiator for the european union has said as follows we looked at every border on this earth every border the e.u. has with a third country and there is simply no way you can do away with checks and controls and i think that sentiment the difficulty of putting these ambitions into practical reality was borne out here in the audi

extend the presidential term to six years prime minister may try to reassure business leaders in belfast that there will be no hard border across ireland after breck's its. dance and. bringing in the glare of the big chinese communities around the world celebrate the most important holiday. weekend in venezuela where self declared interim leader. has been meeting national assembly members in the capital caracas he's calling for the safe passage of humanitarian aid into the country u.s. trucks carrying food and medical supplies have left bogota bound for the colombia venezuela border but delivering the aid would require the cooperation of the military which has remained loyal to president nicolas maduro stories about bo has the latest from caracas. we're here outside of a national assembly where you are makers with hwang while you go inside are discussing how to get humanitarian aid into the country we know that this week some medicines and food will start to arrive to the city of kabul that's right next to the border between colombia and venezuela what's not clear yet is how that aid is

prime minister may tries to reassure old business leaders in belfast that there will be no hard forder across the island off to breaks it and a once in a century rainfall causes catastrophic flooding across the australian state of queensland. we begin this hour in venezuela where the self declared intermedia. meeting national assembly members in the capital caracas is been calling for the safe passage of humanitarian aid into the country u.s. trucks carrying food and medical supplies have left bogota bound for the colombia venezuela but it's unclear how the aid will arrive without the cooperation of the military which has remained loyal to embattled president nicolas maduro. joins us live now from caracas and tell us stories of what is hoping to achieve in his meeting today. as you said we're here at the national assembly where members of the opposition is meeting and they're discussing how to proceed on the few monita. renay that's supposed to be arriving here to win a spoiler from countries like the united states and other parts of the world and how it is going to be brought here als

mps we re speech in belfast yesterday. it was open—ended and did not have an end point. it would be unclear if it could get out. in terms of renegotiating that and particularly any time limit on the backstop, the irish government, the irish prime list is in brussels today, has a lwa ys list is in brussels today, has always said that is not going to be possible. he said a backstop that does not have a definite end point is just not does not have a definite end point isjust not going does not have a definite end point is just not going to work in his view. we can expect that to be one of the items discussed between theresa may and the northern ireland parties today. sinn fein have done a very quick news conference behind me. they have just gone very quick news conference behind me. they havejust gone into very quick news conference behind me. they have just gone into the building at stormont in which the talks of the prime minister is going to ta ke talks of the prime minister is going to take place. also today, the primary

could actually leave the bloc prime minister theresa may she has been visiting belfast though and paul brennan is there for us we're fifty one days away now from britain leaving the european union at the least that's what the march the twenty ninth deadline remains in place says three some may the u.k. prime minister's been here in belfast for the past two days meeting business leaders community leaders and today politicians to try to get a sense of what they will accept in relation to her plans to go back to brussels or renegotiate elements of the withdrawal agreement but in many ways the big action on wednesday has been in brussels where the other is to have a right because been meeting the president of the european council donald tusk such is the level of exasperate in brussels that less than two months from deadline day it seems the previous two years of negotiations have been in vain there was some extremely undiplomatic language from donald tusk which really belies the frustration that he's feeling let's have a listen at the shock and i have spoken about the necessary actions in

that is officially why the irish taoiseach came to belfast.he most controversial part of the brexit deal took centre stage. the decision that we have made as the european union is that the withdrawal agreement and the backstop are not up for negotiation, but we can talk about the joint political declaration and what changes might be made to that. but theresa may's partners in government are demanding more than ireland is willing to give. the important thing is that the backstop is the problem in the withdrawal agreement for most people in the house of commons who voted against it by an overwhelming majority and it is that that has got to be addressed. well, the dup are on the wrong side of the argument. the dup are actively working against citizens here in the north. the dup are saddling up with the tories. so, no sign of any quick resolution here. ticket to dublin, please. next up for leo varadkar is on down to dublin. the shuttle diplomacy continues. this train calls at dublin connolly... from belfast to dublin, you would hardly know you are

belfast perhaps hazy skies later on in the day.as well. the weather fronts here are being diverted to the north butjust about protecting the very far north of scotla nd protecting the very far north of scotland here, maybe northern ireland, so maybe one or two splits and spots of rain and a fresh breeze but for the majority of the uk on tuesday we are anticipating a lot of bright weather, dry weather at the very least with temperatures rising, 12 in london, double figures as far north as aberdeen as well, 10 celsius. then on wednesday, i promised you that milder air from the south—west. it is starting to arrive, engulfing much of the british isles, moving into southern parts of scandinavia as well, and then we start to see a southerly developing and those temperatures will rise, we could see highs after 13 or 1a degrees at some point during the week. not a drop of rain in sight for many parts of the uk. that is it from me. goodbye. welcome to the royal albert hall in london. this is where the bafta film awards have been taking plac

visitors got more than they bargained for at belfast zoo. by making an improvised ladder from a large branch, propped up against a wall. the council which runs the zoo, said the apes were now back in their home. this is the second escape by animals at the zoo in as many months. injanuary, a red panda went missing overnight before being discovered in a nearby garden. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hello. well, the end of last week was pretty stormy. gale force winds across the uk. this week, steady waters around the uk. high pressure is building, the winds will be light for most of us. we have sunshine and frosty mornings on the way as well. monday will be no different. very decent weather on the way. this is the big picture across the continent right now. this high pressure is starting to build across spain, portugal and into france. it's nudging into the uk and soon it will engulf the whole of europe. at the moment, it is still pretty chilly because the winds are blowing out of the north—north—west, however, the milder air yo

finally, visitors got more than they bargained for at belfast zoo earlier today... they really are the closest to us in the line of evolution. the council, which runs the zoo, said the apes were now back in their enclosure.

belfast perhaps hazy skies a little bit later in the day.ure continues to build from tuesday to wednesday, and it starts to extend into parts of central europe as well. the weather fronts here are being diverted to the north, just about affecting the very far north west of scotland, maybe northern ireland. one or two spits and spots of rain and a fresh breeze but for the majority of the uk on tuesday, we are anticipating a lot of bright weather, dry weather at the very least, with temperatures rising, i2 the very least, with temperatures rising, 12 in london, double figures as far north as aberdeen, io celsius. then on wednesday, i promised you that milder air from the south—west, here it is, starting to arrive, engulfing much of the british isles, moving into southern parts of scandinavia as well, and then we see a southerly developing. those temperatures will rise, high is up to 13 or 14 degrees at some point during the week. not a drop of rain in sight for many parts of the uk. hello. this is bbc news. we'll be taking a look at tomorrow m

to prevent a hard border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland while on a visit to belfast today mayor reassured the people of northern ireland that she remains firmly committed to honoring that goal despite seeking concessions on her deal firm e.u. leaders let's take a listen now to some of what she had to say earlier on so i'm here today to affirm my commitment and that of the united kingdom government to all of the people of northern ireland of every background and tradition. to affirm my commitment to the belfast good friday agreement to its successes some downed trees agreement in the storm of house agreement under the principles they enjoy which is absolute and to confer a commitment to delivering a bricks it's that ensure no return to a halt border between northern ireland and od and which is unshakeable british or permanent stir theresa may speaking there a short while ago on except we shift our focus to the u.s. where president donald trump is set to deliver his state of the union speech later today is expected to challenge democrats to approve funding for the wall

but the prime minister has to wind her way through, and the arguments start and end in belfast.brexit deal because they hate a nugget of it, the backstop. where, if there was no big trade deal done in time, northern ireland would stay much more closely tied to the eu. the prime minister has promised she will get a change, and the allies she needs in parliament demand it. the backstop needs to be replaced, and that is her mandate, and that's what i expect her to take to brussels. but on the other side of the deep divide here, others angrily adamant the backstop has to stay. the british prime minister has come here empty—handed, with the same old rhetoric, with no plan, no credibility and, frankly, no honour. but with all those rival tribes around the continent, opening up a path to agreement in brussels seems far away. the prime minister will be the one walking into this tomorrow. at a time of hot tempers, it's cool compromise that is needed if she's to find a way through belfast, the demands of the brexiteers, and brussels. and remember, theresa may has promised a reluctant parl

but the prime minister has to wind her way through, and the arguments start and end in belfast.brexit deal because they hate a nugget of it, the backstop. where, if there was no big trade deal done in time, northern ireland would stay much more closely tied to the eu. the prime minister has promised she will get a change, and the allies she needs in parliament demand it. the backstop needs to be replaced, and that is her mandate, and that's what i expect her to take to brussels. but on the other side of the deep divide here, others angrily adamant the backstop has to stay. the british prime minister has come here empty—handed, with the same old rhetoric, with no plan, no credibility and, frankly, no honour. but with all those rival tribes around the continent, opening up a path to agreement in brussels seems far away. the prime minister will be the one walking into all this tomorrow. at a time of hot tempers, it's cool compromise that is needed if she's to find a way through belfast, the demands of the brexiteers, and brussels. and remember, theresa may has promised a reluctant

and monkeying around at belfast zoo, visitors were surprised to find a chimpanzee wandering outside itssure after it managed to make a ladder out of branches to escape its pen. coming up on dateline — the president's state of the union address and what it tells us about trump's next two years and his plans for fighting for another term in office — that's at 11:30. theresa may will attempt to head off further turmoil over brexit this week, by urging parliament to give her more time to achieve changes to the plan to avoid a hard irish border. she's expected to promise mps that they'll be given another vote on brexit, if she's unable to recommend a fresh deal by the end of the month. joining me now is our political correspondent, tom barton. what more do we know about the government's brexiter plans? we know that there are fewer than 50 days to go until brexit, and this week ministers will head off around europe speaking to eu officials and european politicians to try to solve those ongoing disagreements with the prime minister's deal. there is a key parliamentary moment on thursday with m

finally, visitors got more than they bargained for at belfast zoo earlier today... escape. the council, which runs the zoo, said the apes were now back in their enclosure. but this is the second escape attempt by animals at the zoo in as many months. injanuary, a red panda went missing overnight before being discovered in a nearby garden. now it's time for a look at the weather. the week ahead looks much quieter. still u nsettled the week ahead looks much quieter. still unsettled for some of us. persistent rain across east anglia... all tied in with the frontal system clearing eastwards. this system across the far north of scotla nd this system across the far north of scotland draping its way across northern ireland, rain, wintry weather, strong and gusty winds. slowly sinking southwards of the night. sleet and snow over the hills of scotland. patchy rain across southern england, all clearing away, increasingly clear skies leading to icy stretches across parts of scotla nd icy stretches across parts of scotland and northern ireland. temperatures widely at or below f

and monkeying around at belfast zoo — visitors were surprised to find a chimpanzee wandering outside after it managed to make a ladder out of branches to escape its pen. coming up on inside out — west midlands — tackling prostitution, surviving the high street downturn and upsales in raw milk — that's at 10:30. company executives who mismanage their employees‘ pension scheme, could be jailed for up to seven years, under a new law being planned by the government. the proposals are intended to avoid a repeat of what happened when the retailer bhs collapsed. monika plaha has this report. bhs collapsed in 2016 with a huge hole in its pension fund. its boss, sir philip green, had sold the company for £1 a year earlier. the pensions regulator said he had done that to avoid liability for the company's pension scheme. after much criticism from the public and those in parliament, he agreed to hand over 363 million to the fund. the government says it wants to avoid similar cases happening in the future. writing in today's sunday telegraph, the work and pensions secretary amber rudd says... pla

and before we go, visitors got more than they bargained for at belfast zoo earlier today.hich runs the zoo — said the apes were now back in their enclosure. but this is the second escape attempt by animals at the zoo in as many months. injanuary, a red panda went missing overnight before being discovered in a nearby garden. now it's time for a look at the weather with alina. cheer us up. sunshine and showers here. mixed picture. wet and windy in places. elsewhere sunshine and showers. messy picture. frontal system working eastwards. heavy rain across 0rkney and northern highlands and stretching round to northern ireland. bringing wintry conditions over higher ground. squally wins for western and southern coasts. the wind reaching 40—50 mph. still some showers and western areas but in between spells of sunshine to end the day. colder feelings a particularly were exposed to the wind. temperatures not much higher than six or seven. sleet and snow parts of scotland down into wales, south—west england. transient... by the end of the net, clear skies, icy stretches for scotla nd

into the afternoon, leaving sunny skies, but in northern ireland staying breezy, but not cold, 11 in belfastest spot today could reach around 17 celsius, eight or 9 degrees above normalfor celsius, eight or 9 degrees above normal for the celsius, eight or 9 degrees above normalfor the stage of celsius, eight or 9 degrees above normal for the stage of february. clear skies overnight, cloudy weather for scotland and northern ireland, a bit of rain around, milder across the north and west, giving cloudy skies, but in the south temperatures in the countryside dipping down to minus four or even colder, so a chilly start on monday. some rain for the western and northern isles, highland scotland, but away from that plenty of sunshine once the mist and fog has lifted, and noticeably sunnier weather in northern ireland, reaching 18 degrees tomorrow afternoon. that is your hello, this is bbc news with ben brown. the headlines: labour's deputy leader, tom watson, warnsjeremy corbyn he has to act urgently if the party is to stay together. there is almost a crisis for the soul of the labour party now, an

visitors got more than they bargained for at belfast zoo. a large branch, propped up against a wall. the end of last week was stormy. high pressure is building and the winds will be light for most of us. we have sunshine and frosty mornings on the way as well. monday will be no different. very decent weather runway. this is the big picture. it is starting to build across spain, portugal and france. it will soon engulf the whole of europe. at the moment, it is still pretty chilly because the winds are blowing out of the north— north—west but the mild airyou can see the north— north—west but the mild air you can see here will be reaching out shores by about wednesday. this is what it looks like, early hours of monday morning. a couple of showers affecting northern parts of england and scotla nd northern parts of england and scotland and on the whole, clear. across most of the uk and there will bea across most of the uk and there will be a frost. the coldest of the weather, as you would expect, across scotland. 0utside weather, as you would exp