the dup's or sinn fein's?oster's ability to run her party. that is what i said — perhaps issue of personality... crosstalk. you could say that sinn fein, you know, shouldn't maybe make such a thing of it and everything else, but it is important that the irish language act is important, but here's the thing — to go back to what you say, the dup want direct rule because they can then tell the tory government at westminster what to do. sinn fein, i think, see in brexit the best chance they've had in a generation to push the united ireland agenda in all... so there are much bigger forces in play than the question of the irish... crosstalk. there is also the big issue of ireland because ireland and brexit... if the irish don't get what they need to get from these things in northern ireland. come back to that in a moment's instance but i want to pick with polly‘s point for a second, because you were saying maybe neither side actually want to be ruling right now in this devolved assembly, but where does that leave th

the dup or sinn fein?ises questions about arlene foster's ability to run her party. that is what i said, perhaps the personality issue. you can also say that sinn fein, but you know, they shouldn't maybe make such a thing of it and everything else but it is important that the irish language act is important that this is the thing, to go back to what you say, the dup want direct rule because they can then tell the tory government at westminster what to do, with a direct rule, but sinn feini do, with a direct rule, but sinn fein i think c in brexit the best chance they've had in a generation to push the united ireland agenda in all... said there are much bigger forces in play than the irish... also the big issue of ireland because ireland and brexit... if the irish don't get what they need to get. from these things in northern ireland. come back to that in a second but i want to pick a pollie's point because you say maybe neither side actually want to be ruling right now in devolved assembly but where does t

is the dup sinn fein? dup because it raises questions about arlene foster's ability to lead her party. that is why i say personalities coming here. but you could say that sinn fein maybe should not make such a big thing of it and everything else. but the irish language act is important. but here's the thing, to go back to what you say, the dup want to direct rule because they can then tell the tory government at westminster what to do in that direct rule. sinn fein see in brexit the best chance they have had ina in brexit the best chance they have had in a generation to push the agenda of united are in. there are much biggerforces agenda of united are in. there are much bigger forces and agenda of united are in. there are much biggerforces and play. agenda of united are in. there are much bigger forces and play. also the big issue of ireland, because ireland and brexit. if the irish don't get what they need to get from these things in northern ireland... we will come back to that in the moment, but i want

in ireland, sinn fein has a new leaderfor the first time in sa years.d by mary lou mcdonald at a specially convened party conference in dublin. 0ur ireland correspondent, chris page, has been at the conference in dublin. more than 2,000 sinn fein leaders have enthusiastically endorsed the new leader, mary lou mcdonald, in her home city, dublin. she's the only person who put her name forward to succeed gerry adams as leader of sinn fein, no surprise that she has been installed as leader of the party, the second biggest in northern ireland and the third biggest in the irish republic. now, gerry adams had the longest career of any major party leader in britain, or ireland, an extremely divisive politician. he was a peacemaker to his supporters, but he was at least an apologist for ira violence to his enemies, although he was never a member of that organisation himself. mary lou mcdonald in her speech said that it was time for fresh ideas and bold thinking. the ambition of the party is to be in government on both sides of the border, but whether they get ba

this is sinn fein.ly that at this juncture what is required now is political will to make that happen. this is now a decisive phase of the process. this is the week for decision time. we made it very clear when we came into this round of talks that we did so on the basis that we would have delivery, that there was clarity on the key outstanding issues, and that we would not enter into an endless meandering process, because ultimately, for a deal to happen, the parties have you want a deal to happen. we don't believe that there is anything now insurmountable left to resolve. there are matters of clarity and some detail, and we have said very clearly to the government that we expect all parties supported, encouraged by the two governments, facilitated by the two governments, facilitated by the two governments, to demonstrate leadership that is required now, to demonstrate the requisite political will and to move forward in that spirit. we also took the opportunity to speak to both governments on a number

is it the dup‘s fuld or sinn fein's?se it raises questions about arlene foster's inability to lead her party. you can also say sinn fein should not maybe make such a thing of it and everything else, but it is important that the irish language act be important... but he was the thing, to go back to what you say, the dup one direct rule because they can then tell the tory government at westminster what to do because they have direct rule. sinn feinl because they have direct rule. sinn fein i think c in brexit the best chance they have had in a generation to push the united ireland agenda. so there are much bigger forces to push the united ireland agenda. so there are much biggerforces in play than the question of the irish language act. also a big issue of ireland because ireland and brexit. .. also a big issue of ireland because ireland and brexit... if the irish do not get what they need to get, from these things in northern ireland, they can just... ijust want ireland, they can just... i just want to pick up with the po

and the new leader sinn fein is coming from the base here in dublin.is a member of the irish parliament here and has been for seven years, perhaps not particularly outside ireland has a very high profile in the irish republican army has become known for some very robust polymer trip performances and combative exchanges with prime minister leo varadkar. will we see a change in approach? i think we are certainly seeing a symbolic transition moment fishing pain, as we've got people who have had connections with the ira, although gerry adams has always denied being in that organisation, moving away from the senior positions in the party and being replaced by a new generation of leaders who had no connection with the troubles in northern ireland. mcdonald is among that generation, shejoined sinn fein during the peace process. as regard the party's attitude to the past, i don't think they will turn around and start deciding the ira campaign, i think they will continue to defend what they will continue to defend what the ira did sit there may be a change in e

well, mary lou mcdonald has just been formally confirmed as the new president of sinn fein. behind me and her speech is being punctured by pretty thunderous applause. this is her home city, she might not be particularly well known outside island but she has had a high—profile in the irish parliament since she was elected to its seven yea rs since she was elected to its seven years ago, and knows a prize that it is she who has taken over from gerry adams after 3a years, mr rudd is, the man who led the republican movement from violence to peace. mary lou mcdonald was the only person who put her name forward in this contest, and the membership here, about 2000 of them, have been enthusiastically endorsing her, as it is quite clear, as you can see. there has also been another leadership change in sinn fein this afternoon, mary mcdonald had been the vice president and so the new vice president is the party's leader north of the irish border, michelle o'neill. north of the irish border, michelle 0'neill. in her speech she spoke about the talks which are ongoing to restore devoluti

this negotiation has been held in private, in secret between the dup and sinn fein.ll not let the public know what is going on. now we have failure. once again, the public have failure. once again, the public have been let down. the health services in crisis, an economy that is failing and we are left by the government again. you fear that direct rule from london is coming. do you think the dublin government should have some involvement in running northern ireland? the good friday agreement is underpinned by the idea that both communities here, both nationalities you have to be respected. the idea that we could have the dup and the tory party running northern ireland is against all of those agreements. the irish government has to have a strong and real role in any decisions being made. the british government need not think they can ring in budget to make decisions you about the irish government's involvement. the key sticking point has been this all important issue of an irish language act. basically, nationalist parties once and you lot to protect their irish langua

but sinn fein clearly very angry.forward. so that was michelle 0'neill on behalf of sinn fein. president zuma of south africa says efforts by the country's governing anc to eject him from power are unfair. the party has threatened mr zuma with a parliamentary motion of no confidence tomorrow if he refuses to step down today, following persistent allegations of corruption. earlier police raided properties belonging to the wealthy gupta family — who are close to mr zuma — and three people were arrested. lets get more from our correspondent pumza fihlani who's in pretoria. what is the latest on the position ofjacob what is the latest on the position of jacob zuma and what is the latest on the position ofjacob zuma and how do you what is the latest on the position of jacob zuma and how do you assess the next 2a hours? of jacob zuma and how do you assess the next 24 hours? it has been the most awkward few hours here in south africa. we have a front row seat in that very public fight. but it is more serious because what hap

but sinn fein say the dup are to blame for the collapse of the talks.mber of days where people were either briefed or discussing the fact there potentially was a deal on the table. i'm saying confidently we had an accommodation with the dup and they have failed to close on that accommodation. action! the most difficult disagreement to resolve has been over the irish language. nationalists want a new law to protect and promote it. unionists want a wider piece of legislation including cultural elements which are more important to them. valentine's day brought a demonstration at stormont about another sticking point in the talks. sinn fein want to legalise same—sex marriage in northern ireland. the dup don't. there have been no ministers in place here for more than a year now. that means civil servants have, in effect, been running northern ireland, but they don't have the power to make any major decisions. the westminster government acknowledges the uncertainty is affecting public services and can't continue. we need to consider practical steps. in the co

but sinn fein say the dup are to blame for the collapse of the talks.ast number of days where people were either briefed or were discussing the fact that there potentially was a deal on the table. i'm saying confidently that we had an accommodation with the dup and the dup leadership have failed to close on that accommodation. action! the most difficult disagreement to resolve has been over the irish language. nationalists want a new law to protect and promote it. unionists want a wider piece of legislation including cultural elements which are more important to them. valentine's day brought a demonstration at stormont about another sticking point in the talks, sinn fein want to legalise same—sex marriage in northern ireland. the dup don't. there have been no ministers in place here for more than a year now. that means civil servants have, in effect, been running northern ireland, but they don't have the power to make any major decisions. the westminster government acknowledges the uncertainty is affecting public services and can can't continue. we need

sinn fein has said that is exactly what they want. having the taoiseach and they want., they are both saying they are encouraging the parties to reach an agreement and emphasising the importance of reaching an agreement. the dup has said this morning that there is still work to be done. while there is optimism that a deal is possible, the fact that the optimism is geared up the fact that the optimism is geared up toward a deal being done today, i think that is far—fetched. it is more likely that we are likely to see a deal this week rather than today. thank you. london city airport has been closed for the day, affecting almost 20,000 passengers, after a second world war bomb was found nearby. all flights have been cancelled or rerouted to other airports and local residents have been asked to evacuate. the bomb was discovered by divers in the river thames. the metropolitan police estimate that, depending on the tides, the operation should be over by tomorrow morning. kensington palace has announced more details of the wedding of prince harry and meghan markle at windsor

the dup and sinn fein shared power up to 13 months ago, when sinn fein knocked out of a bitter row.art of the week, the prime minister and the taoiseach came here, because at that like there were some sort of resolution in the air, but as the hours and the days went by, it seemed pretty clear that resolution was not going to come. there are still bitter divisions between the two parties, namely on the irish language. now the dup leader arlene foster ruled out any hope of an agreement, and a quote from her this afternoon, she has said unionists will not countenance a stand—alone 01’ will not countenance a stand—alone or freestanding irish language act. and sinn fein‘s insistence on that means that we have reached an impasse. she then goes on to say there is no prospect of an executive being formed. so that means there is no deal, and there is no power—sharing executive going to be reformed here in the nearfuture. this is what the dup and sinn fein had to say. as a result of our inability at the stage to reform an executive i think it is incumbent on her majesty's government to step i

the president of sinn fein, mary lou mcdonald, accused the government of having no plan for restoring political stalemate, but the dup‘s arlene foster said the time had now come for ministers at westminster to set a budget and make decisions about public spending. i believe, whether intentionally or not, theresa may is actually facilitating the dup blocking advancement and resolution on these core issues. we're concerned about the fact that we have this instability, that we don't have proper governance in northern ireland and it's incumbent upon the uk government to come forward and to fill that gap. 0ur ireland correspondent, chris page, is at stormont. where do we stand after today's talks, chris? well, huw, the parties at the centre of the stormont stalemate have continued to trade blows even on the other side of the irish sea. sinn fein's criticism of the government was particularly strong, i thought. the government was particularly strong, ithought. this the government was particularly strong, i thought. this was mary lou mcdonald's first trip to london since she took over from g

sinn fein have made much in recent years of what they call the equality agenda, but their position on don't officially support any unrestricted access. the nationalist sdlp, sister party of labour, remains staunchly pro—life. in october, the supreme court heard an appeal from the northern ireland human rights commission against the country's abortion laws. that judgment is expected within the next month. the most recent northern ireland life and times survey suggests that abortion is is another area in which politicians are out of step with public opinion. ask people whether abortion should be given in the case of serious fatal abnormality, or in the case of rape or incest, and significant majorities are in favour. but ask if a woman should be able to have an abortion on demand and the balance tips significantly. fully 60% of people are opposed in this instance. 0verall, catholics are more likely than protestants to oppose abortion. for sinn fein, i think that what we see is a changing relationship of the citizens of ireland with the catholic church, so over the past 20 years, you see

sinn fein may be relu cta nt to northern ireland. the irish premier. it could drag on for a few more days but there is a sense both sides are moving towards some form of agreement. listening to arlene foster over the weekend, she was seeing progress had been made. the deputy in dublin stressed this week was a decisive move forward. there was a decisive move forward. there was a decisive move forward. there was a clear warning from the head of the civil service in northern ireland that unless there was an agreement, he suggested by february eight, then he would have to set the budget for the forthcoming year. that means a whole raft of decisions which may be regarded as political decisions, such as reform plans for the nhs, simply will not be taken. all the big debate —— spending decisions will be on ice for another year. that will focus minds and sinn fein and the dup so that both sides really do have to get some sort of agreement nailed down quickly. give us agreement nailed down quickly. give us your thoughts, there are lots of det

sinn fein say they wa nt negotiations. sinn fein say they want a stand—alone irish language act.stion, the mp for enfield has called for a review into this. a lot of it, it‘s felt, is due to anxiety and mental health. xanax is an anti—anxiety prescription drugs not available on the nhs but available in the united states. the teenager i spoke to has taken it and said many of his peers struggle with stress and pressures. being realistic, it used as a high and when taken with other substances can be extremely dangerous. there is another issue on popular culture in some parts. a sense of glamorisation really. in america, youtube, instagram site, you‘ve got rappers using sound pound wrap, talking about drug use. —— sound cloud. little pete died after taking a suspected overdose of fentanyl and xanax. he suspected overdose of fentanyl and xa nax. he posted suspected overdose of fentanyl and xanax. he posted a video on instagram of him taking a tablet which appears to be xanax. it is a very serious. how has the government reacted ? very serious. how has the government reacted? the gover

sinn fein want to legalise that, in northern ireland, and the dup don't.. both parties very same firmly blaming each other. bradley has only beenin blaming each other. bradley has only been in thejob blaming each other. bradley has only been in the job for a fuel use, and said that the government now has to consider practical steps, but that may well mean is that a budget for the northern ireland in the next financial year will have to be passed at westminster, rather than at stormont. just briefly on that point, at the risk of sounding like groundhog day, are we actually closer now to a return to direct rule? well, the british and irish governments have been very latin to mention those two words. they maintain that power—sharing is the only way forward. the reality is that the longer that stormont is in this period of limbo, and civil serva nts this period of limbo, and civil servants aren't effectively working, we are going to have to find some sort of alternator to run this. to try and keep public services running efficiently. chris, becky is a much for

sinn fein wa nt government here or not.e athletes in the winter lyrics today to stop amy fuller said she was lucky to be in one piece after the snow style final. she had a nasty fall and could eventually only finish 70. —— 17th. away from the winter olympics, ireland‘s robbie henshaw has been ruled out of the rest of the six nations after dislocating his shoulder scoring in ireland‘s win over italy on saturday first of more just after half past four. the leadership of south africa‘s ruling anc is meeting to decide on the future of president zuma. he has remained in office despite repeated calls for him to stand down amid allegations of corruption. the new anc leader, cyril ramaposa, has issued an ultimatum, that mr zuma must stand down, or be forced out. pumza fihlani has been following the story in pretoria. some rumours a while ago that he may already have gone, but at the moment no change. yes, correct, some rumours that a deal has been struck and that the african national congress decided to recall him but that was foll

gerry adams‘ 34—year leadership of sinn fein came to an on saturday, as mary lou mcdonald formally tookes in dublin, it was time for the party to embrace fresh thinking and bold ideas. she also said she wants to secure, and win, a referendum on irish unity. our ireland correspondent chris page, has been at the conference. are the issues that mary lou mcdonald touched on in her speech, international issues, the middle east, catalonia, climate change will stop she said it would be important in the years to come. also, more specific to politics here on the complex northern ireland. she paid tribute to her former leaders. complex northern ireland. she paid tribute to herformer leaders. she put the emphasis on achieving at some point in the future united ireland. she is prepared engage with unionist is, she said, to try to persuade them but many unionists still feel extremely suspicious of sinn fein given the legacy of the past and in terms of building relationships with them, that will be an uphill struggle fault mary lou mcdonald. —— for mary lou mcdonald. however, maybe sinn fein will be

sinn fein said mr kelly then drove off to attend a meeting.ow in the hands of his solicitor and that he would be making no further comment at this time. it's not clear if the other cars parked next to mr kelly were also clamped. before his political role, gerry kelly was a senior member of the ira. five years ago, he was at the centre of another controversy, when he was carried on the bonnet of a police land rover. during an incident in his constituency. both he and the police driver were warned about their conduct. today, his political opponents say he must explain his latest actions. when people are elected to the assembly, we sign a pledge of office to comply with a code of conduct that no one should be above the law. so that's why we need these facts to be established as quickly as possible. the police say they are investigating a report of criminal damage to a wheel clamp. at least two people have been killed and 70 injured in a rail crash in the us state of south carolina. a passenger train travelling between new york and miami collided

at the years, republicans tried to achieve that through bombs and bullets with sinn fein being seen asams always denied being in the paramilitary organisation but security sources believe he was a senior ira man. during more than three decades of sinn fein president, he led the republican movement away from violence and into the peace process. mary lou mcdonald is a very different background. she in an affluent suburb of dublin and has no direct experience of the northern ireland conflict were not particularly well known outside ireland, she has had a leading role in the irish parliament for several yea rs in the irish parliament for several years and has become known for robust performances. she was the only candidate to put her name forward to succeed gerry adams and has already indicated she will do things her way. i won't feel gerry's shoes. but the news is that i brought my own. she will be installed as leader as a crucial four at a special party conference today but her first major challenge will be in belfast were talks to restore the devolved government are expected to reach a

sinn fein say he then drove off to attend a meeting.king no further comment at this time. it is not clear if the other cars parked next to mr kelly were also clamped. before his political role, gerry kelly was a senior member of the ira. five years ago he was at the centre of another controversy when he was carried on the bonnet avei police land rover during an incident in his constituency —— of a police. he was warned about his conduct. today, his political opponents say he must explain his latest actions. when people are elected to the assembly with an a pledge of office to comply with the code of conduct and no one should be above the law. that is why we need the facts established as quickly as possible. the police say they are investigating a report of criminal damage to a wheel clamp. a deck officer from a wightlink ferry has been praised for his heroism afterjumping off his ship to save a drowning man. the dramatic rescue happened late last night in portsmouth harbour. today the young man who was pulled out of the water phoned his

sinn fein and the dup blame each other. the sticking point was an argument over official recognition of the irish language. now, let's be clear, that part of the uk is ungoverned right now and that it happens to be the same part that is at the most fraught border of the whole brexit argument is one massive headache for the british government. and making it all the more difficult is the fact that the uk government is sustained in parliament by the dup. two questions: how did we get here, and what happens now? here's matthew thompson. a year is a long time in politics, and seldom in the 13 months that storm has stood empty has the prospect for devolved government in northern ireland seem bleaker. today the dup pulled the plug on the latest round of talks, but crucially, for the first time, they appeared to call for the imposition of direct rule. as a result of our inability at this stage to reform an executive, it is incumbent upon her majesty's government to step in and come forward with a budget and start taking some key de

sinn fein's gerry kelly is reported to the police after he was filmed removing a wheel clamp from his car. sports day will be here in half an hour with highlights with england's game in rome. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the home secretary, amber rudd, says the uk will continue to seek a bespoke deal on leaving the european union and she insisted that differences between cabinet ministers over brexit policy have been exaggerated. a cabinet committee will meet this week to discuss the government's approach to negotiations. here's our political correspondent, susana mendonca. watching the dragons in action on a trip to china last week, the prime minister was all too aware that her backbenchers at home were fanning the flames of division over xebgt. some brexiteer have been painting a picture of disunity on the government's front bench. now one leading member of the cabinet has pushed back. i have a surprise for the brexiteers, which is the committee that meets to help make these decisions is nor united than they think. we meet for discussions, i think we will arrive at someth

sinn fein have said yes, he did remove this clamp and he headed off to a meeting afterwards.is issue is with his solicitors and they will not be making any further comment. they are not commenting on the apparent paradox of somebody who is committed to upholding law and order taking the law into his own hands? no, they have left it, saying it is a matter for his solicitors to deal with. meanwhile, the matter has been reported to the police services of northern ireland. the clamping company has reported criminal damage to one of their clamps and mr kelly has been facing criticism from his political rivals. unionists have been saying nobody should be above the law and one leader is saying mr kelly should consider his position unionist leader is saying mr kelly should consider his position as a public representative. mps have warned against cutting the number of royal marines to save money. reports have suggested that the government has been considering axing the jobs of up to 2000 marines, as well as the royal navy's two amphibious assault ships, daniela relph has this report.

sinn fein's statement.ay and suggesting that there might be a way back to resume some of the talks, but clearly very angry as they believes the dup caused the colla pse to as they believes the dup caused the collapse to happen. and in the circumstances that they did. it is very contentious politically. angelina jolie, jennifer lawrence, daniel day—lewis, and gary 0ldman are among the stars attending this weekend's baftas. the film awards ceremony will be hosted by joanna lumley and it takes place at the royal albert hall in london. the shape of water leads this year's nominations, with 12 in total. however, the most notable film missing from the nominations is the post , starring meryl streep and tom hanks. joining me now is amanda berry, chief executive of the bafta. good to have you with us. lovely to be here. it's a fantastic prospect, when you look at the range of quality. before we get into talking about stars and films and a little about stars and films and a little about the event, with joanna hostin

northern ireland has been without a functioning administration for over a year after the dup/sinn fein—ledn a row over a controversial green energy scheme. over the past weeks, the political parties, particularly the dup and sinn fein, have engaged in discussions on the key issues, which remain to be resolved. they have done so with continuous support of the uk government accordance with the three—stranded approach, the irish government. those discussions were built on the progress that was made in previous talks to introduce further gaps between them and accommodation between the parties, mr speaker, is yet to be reached, but there is no doubt as to the parties‘ collective commitment to restore the devolution. i firmly believe that agreement in the coming days, while not certain, is achievable, and and this remains my focus. every party in northern ireland says they want a deal but that significant gaps remain. could she outline to the house what those gaps actually are and what she is doing to try to resolve them and bring people together? mr speaker, can i gently say to the honourable g

a sinn fein spokesman said mr kelly's solicitor was dealing with the matter.to announce plans to make it an offence under electoral law to intimidate parliamentary candidates and their campaigners. in a speech later this week, mrs may will say recent cases of politicians being abused — in the street and online — risked "toxifying" public debate. two people have died and 50 people are thought to be injured after two trains collided in south carolina. the amtrak train 91 operating between new york and miami collided with a csx freight train at around 2:35am in cayce, south carolina. the lead engine derailed, as well as some passenger cars. there were 8 crew members and approximately 139 passengers on board. at this time all passengers are off the train. that's very important to put out there. unfortunately there we re put out there. unfortunately there were two fatalities as a result of this collision. we are working with the coroner ‘s office here, very closely with that. at this time we have transported about seven patients with various injuries to the local a

but negotiations between the democratic unionists and sinn fein have stalled several times in recent power sharing executive collapsed more than a year ago. here's our ireland correspondent chris page. his report contains some flash photography. the prime minister began her visit to belfast at a place which was recently the scene of an unexpected victory, hundreds ofjobs had been under threat at the aircraft manufacturer bombardier. they are safe now after the firm won a trade dispute against boeing in the us. but mrs may came here looking to help find another breakthrough. northern ireland has been without a devolved government for 13 months. several rounds of negotiations have failed to break the deadlock between the democratic unionist party and sinn fein. mrs may and the irish prime minister leo varadkar told the parties they were committed to bringing back devolution. after the meetings, stormont politicians struck a positive note. good progress has been made, we will continue to work to look for more progress. and it's about finding an accommodation that recognises the need to

the dup and sinn fein have been working hard to close the remaining gaps, but i would like to recognisehe contribution of other parties here in northern ireland. what i am clear about is that we are all fully committed to doing all we can to support this process , doing all we can to support this process, and as far as westminster is concerned, we stand ready to legislate for the re—establishment ofan legislate for the re—establishment of an executive as soon as possible after an agreement. let's go back 110w after an agreement. let's go back now to our top story. as we've been hearing, the deputy chief executive of 0xfam, penny lawrence, has resigned amid criticism of the charity's handling of a sex scandal involving former employees in haiti in 2011. following a meeting with the charity, the secretary of state for international development, penny mordaunt, said 0xfam assured her they were co—operating fully with authorities in countries where abuse had been reported. ms mordaunt said... 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale is here. is that effectively the end of the matter for t

sinn fein say the dup are to blame for the collapse of the talks.he course of the last number of days were people were either briefed or were discussing the fact that there potentially was a deal on the table. i'm saying confidently that we had an accommodation with the dup and the dup leadership have failed to close on that accommodation. the most difficult disagreement to resolve has been over the irish language. nationalists want a new law to protect and promote it. unionists want a wider piece of legislation including cultural elements which are more important to them. valentine's day brought a demonstration at stormont about another sticking point in the talks, sinn fein want to legalise same—sex marriage in northern ireland. the dup don't. there have been no ministers in place here for more than a year now. that means civil servants have been running northern ireland, but they don't have the power to make any major decisions. the westminster government acknowledges the uncertainty is affecting public services and can can't continue. we need to

a sinn fein spokesman said mr kelly's solicitor was dealing with the matter.ill compete for the first time today. the all—women's team will take on sweden in a friendly match before the start of the winter olympics next week. north korea's participation is being seen as a show of reconciliation with the south. here's our seoul correspondent laura bicker with more... this is the first time the public will get a chance to see the south korean inter—korean hockey team play. it's caused a lot of controversy here in south korea. there was a feeling certainly among a lot of young people that the south korean government had jeopardised this women's hockey team's chances at its own olympics and they were using these players as a political pawn to try to encourage north korea to take part in talks to reduce its nuclear weapons programme. so there was certainly a feeling that the south korean government had not consulted on this, had not spoken to the women's hockey players before deciding onajoint team. we're told that the team would work on a roster, that everyone wou

gerry kelly is a former senior ira man who has been a leading sinn fein politician for many years.s gym on friday morning to find his car had been clamped. he was parked in a clearly marked restricted area. what happened next unfolded on these videos posted on social media. they show mr kerry on his knees next to the car, putting up his knees next to the car, putting up the chain is attaching the clamp. next to him on the ground were a pairof next to him on the ground were a pair of bolt cutters which he a p pa re ntly pair of bolt cutters which he apparently used to cut through the chains. he removed the clamp and the issueis chains. he removed the clamp and the issue is in the hands of his solicitors. they criminal damage complaint has been made to the police and he faces criticism from political opponents, who say nobody should be above the law in these matters. 0ne unionist leader has said he should now consider his position as a public representative. thank you, john campbell. at least two people have been killed and 70 injured in a rail crash in the us state of south carolina

the differences that exist between dup and sinn fein are not insurmountable and we are hopeful they willking point has been whether there should be a new law to protect and promote the irish language. for speakers, new law to protect and promote the irish language. forspeakers, irish is about identity and culture and history and they believe it needs legal recognition. it needs equality and to be on the same level of the languages in scotland and wales. it needs to be on an equal footing. languages in scotland and wales. it needs to be on an equal footingm unionist areas there is suspicion and even hostility towards the idea. here on the shankill road in west belfast, people are strongly opposed. this is a british country, not an irish country. i think it is terrible. the irish language has been a sensitive and symbolic issue in this long political crisis but there are other differences between there are other differences between the parties, notably sinn fein want to legalise same—sex marriage and the dup do not. there are disagreements over how the unsolved killings from the troubles s

a sinn fein spokesman said mr kelly's solicitor was dealing with the matter.nt thomas bach has described the decision to overturn the lifetime bans of 28 russian athletes found guilty of doping as "extremely disappointing". on thursday, the court of arbitration for sport upheld the athletes‘ appeals, saying there was insufficient evidence they had benefited from a system of state—sponsored doping at the 2014 winter games, which were held in russia. speaking at a press conference, mr bach said the ioc will look to overturn the decision. we unfortunately only know about the reasons from the very few sentences in a press release. it has so far the panel was not able to deliver a reason for the decision. which we are eagerly awaiting. we have asked to speed this procedure up. we have been told that this could be the end of february. which is extremely unsatisfactory situation. a joint north and south korea 0lympic ice hockey team has played its first and only practice match together as one team, ahead of the winter olympics. the squad played sweden in an friendly

involved in talks on reconvening northern islands devolved government which broke down a year ago sinn fein which said power with the union is do you what's movement on issues such as irish language rights. i mean really facing us as the war is was over there is no my her hanging in the way. we don't have to agree on the past the reason i'm seeing the historical narratives . we will see how we agree that the past is never again he says other things we can agree to disagree like mcdonald the party's new deputy leader michel o'neill represents a younger generation of activists hoping to get shin fein into government on both sides of the border. this conference represents not just a handover of power but a move towards a more modern ois policy by sinn fein it comes at a time when there are real challenges for it's both in northern ireland and here in the irish republic how do we become the party that is seen by those people who are in full time employment and average wages those people are part of a point of poll wages and also in a polite how do we present ourselves as the champion of their n

and we saw the vice president of sinn fein in that clip.s and the other previous partners in government, the dup, has spent a large amount of time trying to find a solution to the current impasse. despite months of work, painstaking work that took a lot of effort, i believed we had an accommodation that would have led to the resolution and kim —— halted the impasse. however, the dup leader last week said very firmly they would not support the deal which they had indeed negotiated with ourselves in good faith will stop that leaves us in a very difficult political situation and be here today to talk to the leader of the opposition, jeremy corbyn... we also had a series of meetings with the british government, british secretary of state, karen bradley, and theresa may, the prime minister. on the back of those conversations, we set out how we see the current situation. disappointed would be a mild word, to say the british government do not have a plan for the way forward. what we have is pandering to this situation, whether people have not had

and the dup and sinn fein have been working very hard to close the remaining gaps. the contribution of other parties here in northern ireland too. what i am clear about is that we are all fully committed to doing everything we can to support this process, and as far as westminster is concerned, we stand ready to legislate for the re—establishment of an executive as soon as possible after an agreement. the headlines on bbc news... 0xfam's deputy chief executive penny lawrence resigns over the sex scandal involving aid workers in haiti. talks in belfast to restore devolved government end without agreement, but irish political leaders and theresa may say progress has been made. the three britons killed in a helicopter crash in the grand canyon have been named. three other britons and the pilot were injured when the helicopter went down. sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh ferris. good evening. we will start with a match that will prove crucial for antonio conte. they have lost the last two matches 75th in the table, coming up to 20

sinn fein leader mary lou mcdonald has again warned direct rule is not an option for northern irelandevolved government 13 months after it collapsed but instead was updating mps about the collapse of those negotiations between the dup in sinn fein. that has meant she had major decisions to make. the civil serva nts major decisions to make. the civil servants have effectively been running the stormont departments for a yearand running the stormont departments for a year and they have said they need a year and they have said they need a budget for the next financial year just a few weeks from now. she indicated that she did intend to bring forward a budget for northern ireland in westminster. things in northern ireland cannot simply remain in a state of limbo. a number of challenging decisions will have to be taken. ultimately the government has responsibility to ensure good governance and the continued delivery of public services. in particular as the head of the northern ireland civil service has made clear, there needs to be certainty and clarity about a budget for northern ireland f

sinn fein wants to be in power at stormont and in dublin.hrew bombs and bullets, seem to be the political wing of the ira. mr adams has always denied being in the organisation, but security forces believe that he was. he then led the republican movement into the peace process. marylou mcdonald is from a very different background, she grew up very different background, she grew up in an affluent suburb of dublin, and has no direct experience of the northern ireland conflict. although not particularly well known in the —— outside of ireland, she has become known for her robust performances. she has already indicated that she will do things her way. i would fill gerry -- i would fill gerry's shoes. but i will bring my own. talks to restore the devolved government arithmetic to reach a crunch point, next week. the church of england is facing criticism over the way it deals with allegations of sexual abuse, after it emerged more than 3000 safeguarding issues were investigated in 2016. a group of abuse survivors have been holding a silent protest

looking for another win, talks to restore power—sharing between the democratic unionist party and sinn feinhs after the devolved government collapsed. critical stage 13 months after the devolved government collapsedlj believe devolved government collapsed.” believe there is the basis of an agreement here and i believe that it should be possible to see an executive up and running here in northern ireland very soon. she was joined in the negotiations by the irish sea coast, —— the irish leader. we are hopeful the two parties will come to an agreement this week. the main sticking point has been whether there should be a new law to protect and promote the irish language. for speakers of the tongue, irish is about identity, culture and history and they believe it needs legal recognition. as the deadlock has continued, the irish border has become a significant matter in the brexit negotiations. that's one of the reasons why parties say they want devolution bag and a deal sounds doable. theresa may left with the stormont stalemate still unresolved but the mood certainly improved. events in the nex