on monday, some members of the northern ireland assembly returned to stormont in a last—ditch attemptinster to liberalise abortion laws from coming into force. bbc news ireland correspondent chris page takes up the story. well, northern ireland has been without a devolved government for more than 1,000 days now. the power—sharing administration made up of the democratic unionist party and sinn fein collapsed back in january of 2017. and despite several rounds of negotiations, it still hasn't been restored. so, on monday, the stormont assembly sat for the first time in two and a half years, it was triggered by a recall petition signed by members of the dup and politicians from two other unionist parties, and they wanted to debate a piece of legislation, a private member's bill which would block the change in northern ireland's abortion regime, which was coming about as a result of legislation passed in westminster injuly. but things in the assembly chamber didn't actually get that far. the first item of business was the election of a new speaker. under stormont‘s voting rules, well, an

the second thing they have concerns about is the idea of a consent mechanism for the stormont assembly arrangements ever coming into force in the first place and then every four years you would have this big moment of uncertainty where maybe the stormont assembly could decide unilaterally to pull out of them. so if there is to be a deal soon or them. so if there is to be a deal soon or in the medium term, the uk will have to address the customs bit and the northern ireland assembly bit. the eu says the solution to the customs bit is for northern ireland to stay in the customs union for a bit, the original backstop, but they are prepared to do some work on that consent mechanism. but it cannot be a unilateral veto for the stormont assembly, so those of the two areas where there is work required. but what the uk is clearly trying to do, rather than make tweaks to the deal and address those two parts of it, is to get the eu to make a big political decision to relax its para meters political decision to relax its parameters on what it wants out of this brexit deal. and presumably thatis th

the stormont assembly hasn't met for more than two years.rned that any customs deal that affected northern ireland had to have not only the agreement of the stormont assembly, but also the consent of nationalist and unionist communities. all i really wanted to hear from you today is that the terms of the belfast agreement, which everyone seems to want to defend, will be the terms on which consent for opting into arrangements which diminish the powers of the northern ireland assembly, which will treat northern ireland differently to a certain extent than the rest of the united kingdom, that that consent be sought on the basis of the agreement. well, as i've underscored and i think the best reference back is to what the prime minister himself wrote, and what the prime minister himself wrote was of our commitment to finding solutions which are compatible with the belfast good friday agreement and the prime minister has been very consistent on that. but stephen barclay rejected a suggestion that brexit could be further delayed. if it does look l

and this assembly, stormont, is not even in place.ce, so it is a little bit difficult to make a proposal that is depending from the consent from the authority that doesn't even exist. the eu council president has also tweeted this afternoon. donald tusk said that he had spoken to both london and dublin. he tweeted to say "today i had two phone calls on #brexit, first with dublin then with london. my message to taoiseach leo varadkar: we stand fully behind ireland. my message to pm borisjohnson: we remain open but still unconvinced." so they died and the scepticism is very clear there. we'll speak to chris page in dublin in a moment about those comments from the taoiseach. first though, damian grammaticas in brussels. when they say words like unconvinced, diplomatic speak, what does that mean in day—to—day language? does not mean it does stand a chance? i think it means pretty much that, actually. i think it means that what you're hearing in parliament, all this talk about there being a majority or potentially a majority of mps ignores

the stormont assembly convenes for the first time in nearly three years to debate the liberalisationf abortion in northern ireland. and the victims conned out of large sums of money by fraudsters who call to say you've a problem with your computer now british and indian police crack down on two call centres. coming up in the sport later in the hour on bbc news, an injury blow for wales — flankerjosh navidi will miss the rest of the rugby world cup with a torn hamstring. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one o'clock. boris johnson will shortly try to bring his brexit deal before the commons, after his attempt to win the support of mps was derailed on saturday. downing street insists that mps must be allowed "a straight up and down vote" on the plan. but the decision on whether to allow what is called a meaningful vote on whether mps indicate whether they support the deal will be up to the speakerjohn bercow and it's thought he may reject it on the ground the motion was already debated on saturday. later today the government will also bring forward legislation to implement

what he proposed was that the stormont assembly could have a vote on whether these arrangements evere first place, so that would probably happen next summer, and that would probably happen next summer, and every that would probably happen next summer, and every four years after that the stormont assembly would have an opportunity to either renew the arrangement or decide to move out of them and then have what the rest of the uk, what arrangement it was in with the eu. the eu is not opposed to the idea of beefing up the role of the northern irish political institutions and the people of northern ireland but it was opposed to the idea that boris johnson put forward. of the eu did not like firstly the idea that the actual voting mechanism, because they felt it would give the dup in particular a veto, and they did not like the idea that the stormont assembly could stop the arrangements coming in the first place, feeling that was the wrong way round and if there was a deal, it has to happen. and they did not like the idea of like clockwork every four years, this period of uncertainty when

not it‘s a double majority, or whether it could potentially be a simple majority within the stormont assembly are that seems to be what steve barkley and borisjohnson are suggesting might be the way around this. clearly, the dup are not happy. they don‘t appear to be happy, and it does seem at the moment that they basically come as you suggested at the beginning, that eu saying, well, we think we‘ve got at least in private and civil our ducks in a i’ow. private and civil our ducks in a row. the issue now is on the side command particularly the issues under those kinds of points with the dup, and we know that it is supposed to bea dup, and we know that it is supposed to be a session in the house of commons on saturday, and without those dp votes, it seems highly unlikely that boris johnson would get any deal through parliament. don‘t forget, also, we are talking about the broad outlines. there are still technical and legal details, which people will want to go through in 28 capitals right across europe, because this is a big change for everybody. and i think one of the difficulties has been th

the stormont assembly will sit for the first time in almost three years today to discuss the decriminalisationvernment collapsed in 2017. here's our ireland correspondent chris page. it isa it is a sensitive and personal issue but abortion law in northern ireland which is much more restrict than the rest of the uk has generated huge demonstrations. westminster has passed legislation which means terminations will be decriminalised if devolution isn't fully restored today. protesters here oppose the changes —— protesters who oppose it so changes —— protesters who oppose it so the democratic unionist party has led a move to recall the assembly was not campaigners believe it will send a valuable message. let's bring this back to the assembly and let area this back to the assembly and let are a lot —— local elected representatives discuss this because they are our local boys and let them speak because westminster shouldn't be speaking for us. butjust holding a sitting in assembly doesn't mean the abortion law will stop. that will only happen if they decide to appoint ministers and go back into gove

, the role of the stormont assembly, the shape of the future trade agreement. talks have been constructive, but there still remainsa numberof constructive, but there still remains a number of significant issues to resolve. the eu chief negotiator michel barnier will spend much of the day updating his bosses. this money, it was the european commission, this afternoon, diplomats from the other eu countries, who are sticking to their red lines. is the french foreign minister explained, these are safeguards in case the uk tries to become an economic rival. i spoke to the prime minister by phone this morning, and i have been in contact as well but the european commission, and i do think we are making progress but there are issues yet to be resolved, and hopefully that can be done today, allowing us to ratify the agreement at european council tomorrow. sources in brussels at say the political action is not really here, it is in london, where they say the government needs to make some choices about what it is going to do, and work out if enough mps will vote for a rev

a simple majority vote at the still—suspended stormont assembly could decide to tear up the plan andame as the rest of the uk. the dup think it's better to have a majority of both them and nationalists which would allow them to in effect have a veto. in the commons, the numbers must surely make boris johnson's head spin. to win a vote, he needs 320 votes. if the dup's ten mps won't back him, some of his 287 tories would likely rebel too. so the pm needs votes from among labour mps and some former tory independents. and there's another big complication — remain parties like the lib dems and snp could soonjoin mps on both sides in a big push for another brexit referendum. and ifjeremy corbyn tells labour to back a so—called people's vote, it could make the government's job a lot harder. now on bbc news, sport today. ‘s ‘s hello and thanks for your company on sport today. i'm ben croucher. coming up: as tributes pour in for patrick day, we'll ask if boxing can be made any safer. australia namejordan petaia for their rugby world cup quarter—final with england. it'll be just his third int

it looks like the brits have dropped their plan to give the stormont assembly an upfront veto on anyrangements coming into force in northern ireland, and that would come as a pleasant surprise to the eu, because they thought that wasn't a very good idea. but the british say they are still pursuing some kind of mechanism to make sure that the people of northern ireland have a say over how these arrangements affect them. thank you very much, adam. stay with us for more on the state opening of parliament and the queen's speech in a bbc news specialfrom 10am. and you can follow all of today's political developments on the bbc news channel and bbc news online. kurds in northern syria say the country's government has agreed to send soldiers to stop the turkish invasion of their territory. state media is also claiming the syrian army has been deployed along the border to help the kurdish—led syrian democratic forces. it follows the us decision to pull all its remaining troops from the area to avoid them being caught between opposing armies. our correspondent martin patience joins us now fro

the stormont assembly is an even sitting at the moment, so cannot be about to play its role?ons, will bring his address to the commons live and the questions that follow on from that. he was also talking and his conference speech yesterday about technical solutions to the issue of the border between northern ireland and the republic of ireland, and how technology was evolving all the time, a suggestion that the uk were saying that a does not have all the a nswer to saying that a does not have all the answer to the technological puzzle yet, but looking for some good faith from the eu side that those solutions might emerge over the next two years. —— next few years. we can find out about the lib dems position now, spokesperson for the liberal democrats on a brexit. in contrast to boris johnson? get democrats on a brexit. in contrast to borisjohnson? get brexit done, the lib dems want to ditch brexit, what do you do today as you sit in the and listen to what he has to say, are you to listen? i think what we need to do today is to point out that what the prime minister is proposi

what customs checks there could be on the island of ireland, the role of the stormont assembly, the shapeture trade agreement. talks have been constructive but there are still remain a number of significant issues to resolve. the eu chief negotiator, michel barnier, will spend much of today updating his bosses. this morning, it was the european commission, this afternoon diplomats from the other eu countries, who are sticking to their red lines. as the french foreign minister explained, those are protecting the single market and the irish border, and safeguards in case the uk tries to become a ruthless economic rival. i spoke to the prime minister by phone this morning and i've been in contact as well with the european commission and i do think we are making progress but there are issues yet to be resolved and hopefully that can be done today, allowing us to ratify the agreement at the european council tomorrow. sources in brussels say the political action isn't really here, it's in london where, they say, the government needs to make some choices about what it's going to do and work out

they said we would not accept it if there is a power of veto by the stormont assembly.is lack of guarantees from the uk about implementing checks. one of the key issuesis implementing checks. one of the key issues is the fact that they do not wa nt to issues is the fact that they do not want to have a hard fodder between northern ireland and the republic of ireland and, therefore, the uk government has tried to find a way around it where the will not be a physical checkpoint. they say technology can solve the problem but without physical infrastructures, it is not possible and this unravels the good friday agreement. it stops everything from going forward last time and it feels not making too much progress this time either. thank you for now. you are back later with some interesting stories to get our teeth into including femmetech. it's 30 years since the tumultuous events of 1989, when the berlin wall fell, the iron curtain lifted and the soviet empire began to crumble. this week our moscow correspondent, steve rosenberg, brings us a special series of reports on how r

under that plan, northern ireland would continue to follow some eu single market rules, if the stormont assemblyees, but would also leave the customs union. so there would be customs checks on the island of ireland, but not, says mrjohnson, at the border. ahead of its unveiling, downing street said this was his final offer. but when he came to the commons on thursday, he struck a noticeably less combative tone. he admitted his plan was a compromise, although he did say that if the eu rejected it, the uk was ready to leave at the end of this month. this government's objective has always been to leave with a deal, and these constructive and reasonable proposals show our seriousness of purpose. they do not deliver everything we would've wished, they do represent a compromise. but to remain a prisoner of existing positions is to become a cause of deadlock rather than breakthrough. and so we have made a genuine attempt to bridge the chasm, to reconcile the apparently irreconcilable and to go the extra mile as time runs short. i do not, for one moment, resile from the fact that we have shown great fle

it gave stormont a vote on whether these arrangements should continue. but the assemblyf years, since power—sharing collapsed — a symbol itself of northern ireland's irreconcilable divides. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. some business leaders have expressed their "guarded relief" at news of a deal — and the response of the financial markets has been broadly positive. our economics editor faisal islam is at the annual international monetary fund meeting in washington. let's talk about business reaction and reaction in the financial markets to the news, what is your assessment of that? in a place like this with finance ministers and bankers, there's a sense of relief that one of the clouds on the world economy be lifting, but the economic destination implied by the papers signed in brussels is importantly different from the direction of travel we saw a year ago and that is because boris johnson travel we saw a year ago and that is because borisjohnson wants the full freedom to sign trade deals with the likes of the us but that has an implication in terms of a more distant

concerned about the british plan to give sole power to trigger or leave the arrangement to the stormont assembly, and they're worried about making a pledge to never introduce checks on the european side of the irish border without guarantees of the checks the uk would carry out on goods arriving in northern ireland stop being there will be an enormous infrastructure created, not on the border but in ireland, northern ireland, in britain, customs infrastructure, and that will increase dramatically the chance for smuggling... the risk for smuggling, the risk also for criminal activities. so we don't see it as a serious alternative for the backstop. if there is no progress by the end of next week, the eu's focus will shift to an internal discussion about what to do if there's a request to extend the brexit process beyond the 31st of october. leading democrats in the us have again accused president trump of betraying his oath of office, after he publicly called on china to investigate his possible election rival, joe biden. mr trump also repeated his demand that ukraine look into business dealings b

minister's offer would see northern ireland continuing to follow some eu single market rules — if the stormont assemblyand customs checks on the island of ireland. striking a less combative tone than previously, he admitted his plan was a compromise but he said if the eu rejected it the uk was ready to leave at the end of this month. this government's objective has always been to leave with the deal, and these constructive and reasonable proposal show our seriousness of purpose. they do not deliver everything we would have wished, they do represent a compromise, but to remain a prisoner of existing positions is to become a cause of deadlock rather than breakthrough. and so we have made a genuine attempt to bridge the chasm and reconciled the apparently irreconcilable and to go the extra mile as time runs short. i do not for one moment resile from the fact that we have shown great flexibility in the interest of reaching an accommodation with our european friends and achieving the resolution for which we all yearn. if our european neighbours choose not to show a corresponding willingness to reach a deal,

the stormont assembly has not sat since january 2017, when power—sharing between the two biggest partiesate to provide authority for expenditure in northern ireland. legislating on northern ireland budgetary matters in westminster is not a set that my or my ministerial colleagues one step nor is someone i wish to take again. i am determined to restore the put go institution set out in the 1998 agreement and its successes at the earliest also opportunity. one of the questions with any budgetary process ought to be an account of value for money. but there is in fact almost no capacity to have any form of scrutiny of the efficiency of the spend that this budget creates. that is unacceptable. it's unacceptable, i got to say to members from northern ireland, to the taxpayers of northern ireland just as much as it is to the taxpayers anywhere else in the united kingdom. the dup laid the blame for the failure to get the assembly up and running again squarely at the door of sinn fein. i will say to the minister and to the secretary of state that in the next parliament, we cannot continue with th

sanitary and for manufactured goods for four years unless and until by majority vote of the stormont assemblyreland elects to remain in alignment. otherwise, for the vast majority of the northern irish economy, of course, northern ireland exits with the rest of the uk whole and entire. it is quite clear that whatever he says about northern ireland being in the uk customs union, de facto the european union customs code applies in northern ireland if the protocol comes into place, which requires exit declarations from northern ireland... yes, it does. the brexit secretary said opposite yesterday and was corrected by hmrc. there are no checks, gb and i, there will light touch measures to ensure there is no illegal trade... illegal trade... illegal trade in endangered animal species, in endangered animal species and banned firearms. not everybody will be happy with what the prime minister is putting forward but all communities should be happy that nobody is talking about a coach and horses being driven through the good friday agreement, and there are no communities particularly at the border who

change, following legislation from westminster, made a late attempt to block it, recalling the stormont assembly nearly three years. but a bad—tempered debate followed by walkouts failed, and so the abortion law, and legalisation on same—sex marriage, will go ahead. our ireland correspondent emma vardy has the story. our bodies, our lives, our right to decide. their call has been heard. at midnight tonight, a law passed by mps in westminster will take effect, overturning northern ireland's near total ban on abortion and legalising same—sex marriage. finally our rights and our health care are being brought into the 21st century. this has been a long time coming. thousands of women in northern ireland have campaigned for this change. abortion has been illegal even in cases of rape. denise was unable to terminate her pregnancy after she was told her baby had a fatal condition and was likely to die in the womb. when you get that news, it hits you like a bus, you just can't believe what you're hearing. i was too sick to travel, which left me with the experience of being trapped in northern ireland an

also tonight, the stormont assembly is up and running but only for a matter of minutes.nd the foreign secretary updates the commons on the case of harry dunn, the teenager killed in an accident involving an american diplomat‘s wife. i can reassure the house that representations have been made to the us government at every level of the administration. but first — there was an historic moments toward the end of the day's business. second reading, what day? tomorrow. the withdrawal bill will finally be debated but will it get through by october the 31st? more on that later. but cast your mind back to saturday, or ‘super saturday', as we knew it for a while. an historic sitting of the commons where borisjohnson wanted mps to back his new brexit divorce deal. but instead of a straightforward yes or no vote, mps decided to withhold their approval until the legislation implementing the agreement had been through parliament. the prime minister wanted to hold another meaningful vote on monday, but the speaker, john bercow had other ideas. today's motion is in substance the same a

without a stormont assembly working effectively, trying to co nstru ct assembly working effectively,onstruct a mechanism whereby you can have a regular check in with the people in northern ireland to see that they still consent to having this differentiation between some uk rules and some eu rules, in order to try and have a frictionless relationship on the border with the whole island of ireland, is going to be really difficult. and trying to find something where you don't aggravate the dup at all, where there could be a difference that allows a border down the irish sea for some good standards, for example, is a real challenge. and the real challenge for the newspapers overnight to try and put a headline on something that isn't quite finalised, but is obviously nearly there. and so we've got the phrase the knife edge, that phrase on several the headlines. the other thing is when the eu ambassadors of some of the member states were briefed, apparently they were not shown the draft of the legal text. this is the other thing we don't know, is whether they will be a full text for the l

unless and until by a majority vote of the stormont assembly, northern ireland elects to remain in alignmente vast majority of the northern irish economy, of course northern ireland exits with the rest of the uk whole and entire, able to do free—trade deals from the outset, able to participate in all the other benefits of brexit. and i hope that that point will commend itself to the right honourable lady. i will give way with pleasure to my right honourable friend. iam honourable friend. i am grateful to the prime minister. cani i am grateful to the prime minister. can i congratulate the prime minister on getting us to this critical point in the long brexit buses. clause 36, parliamentary sovereignty. can i invite the prime minister to explain the uk will retain its own sovereign capability as outlined in the political declaration, and not be committed to any eu mission, military initiative u nless we any eu mission, military initiative unless we do so voluntarily? iam very unless we do so voluntarily? i am very grateful to my right honourable friend. he alludes to out very important chains

it gives stormont a vote on whether these arrangements should continue. but the assemblynce power—sharing collapsed — a symbol itself of northern ireland's irreconcilable divides. emma vardy, bbc news, belfast. let's speak to our political correspondent, nick eardley, who's in westminster. as with most things to do with these brexit negotiations, you take one step forward there is always another to follow and that is in westminster. boris johnson said last weekend we could see a pathway to a deal. he has gotten most of the way along the path that there is perhaps the biggest obstacle to come, the obstacle that theresa may could not negotiate. how to get a deal agreed with the eu through parliament. spending the day in westminster chatting to mps, it seems not clear at the moment whether or not he will be able to do with. and i don't know if anyone in number 10 yet knows whether they have the numbers to get this over the line or not. some key groups that borisjohnson will work on when he is back in westminster tomorrow, he will leave that eu council summit early and return

the stormont assembly will give its consent to the arrangements continuing or not every bore or eightt's northern irish partners, the dup. they have been in and out of downing street in recent days. but the eu had this reassurance from boris johnson. translation: ican translation: i can only imagine that giving that a prime minister told prime minister juncker that he was able to approve the deal that we had reached that he has faith in his ability to convince a majority of mps in the house of commons. people in the deal goes to parliament, though, it has to decide by them. eu leaders, at their summit this afternoon. a formality, yes. but a massive relief, too.|j this afternoon. a formality, yes. but a massive relief, too. ijust got the news, yes, that they found a deal and that is good. very encouraging news, of course, that there is an agreement. now they have to study the details. they secondly they have at the uk and i hope that this time there can be a majority in the house of commons. because that is the problem for the moment. my understanding is that the issue is now to get a

and a big new concept that both sides are been at pains to point out, the idea of giving the stormont assemblysent, is a new concept and that is what has changed the dial in this place. should we tell people where we are? if you don't know where we are, you may have seen as standing in here on the news but late at night... this building. it comes in different colours. . anyway, is building. it comes in different coloursl anyway, is not a cosmetic shot it is where the eu summit have been held. we have spent hundreds of hours here. and this is what it is like to spend hundreds of hours here. this is what the pressroom looks like at peak press room —— time little of the day up here is what i like to call the balcony of fame because it is where famous presenters do their broadcasting. security is tight here which means going in and out is a total problem which means that smokers are confined to this smokers prison. congratulations. gratulation. good to see you and congratulations. is it finally time for champagne? finally? this is the press conference. we have a spokesman, michel barnier and then

what customs checks there could be on the island of ireland, the role of the stormont assembly, the shapegreement. talks have been constructive but there are still remain a number of significant issues to resolve. the eu chief negotiator, michel barnier, will spend much of today updating his bosses. this morning, it was the european commission, this afternoon diplomats from the other eu countries, who are sticking to their red lines. as the french foreign minister explained, those are protecting the single market and the irish border, and safeguards in case the uk tries to become a ruthless economic rival. i spoke to the prime minister by phone this morning and i've been in contact as well with the european commission and i do think we are making progress but there are issues yet to be resolved and hopefully that can be done today, allowing us to ratify the agreement at the european council tomorrow. sources in brussels say the political action isn't really here, it's in london where, they say, the government needs to make some choices about what it's going to do and work out if enough mp

it has prompted stormont to assemble for the first time in three years.oming up one afternoon live, lizzie with all the sport. hello, simon. we have squad news for the rugby world cup semifinals this weekend, there is good news for england but bad news for wales. 0k, back to you later. and we have the whether with matt taylor. thanks, simon, half term week for some of you and some of you would appreciate something drier but rain will never be too far away from the forecast and i will tell you where that will be in around half an hour's time. good afternoon from westminster, where borisjohnson will this afternoon try again to get the backing of mps for his brexit deal with the european union, after he abandoned his bid to secure parliamentary approval during a special sitting on saturday. the government is demanding mps have a straight up and down vote on the agreement. but the decision on whether to allow what's called a meaningful vote, when mps indicate whether they support the deal, will be up to the speaker, john bercow. and it's thought he may reject

and the stormont assembly would also have a veto and assembly would also have a veto and a decision onbout that either. those are the four areas that michel barnier, the chief negotiator, and his team will be probing in the next few days. we have our negotiator, we have barnier, the eu negotiator. what about meetings between eu leaders and boris johnson? is about meetings between eu leaders and borisjohnson? is that on the cards, and is it going to help? the only time the eu leaders will meet formally, altogether, all 28 of them, plus donald tusk and juncker, will be at the end. they say that is not a place to make negotiations, thatis not a place to make negotiations, that is not where you make big decisions. the negotiations happen at lower level. so you either have officials like david frost, the prime minister's chief europe adviser, or steve barclay, the brexit secretary, who negotiates with barnier. and eu leaders will sign off on a package, the easy bit. lovely to hear from you, but i am demoting you back to deputy editor. one of the stories we have been paying attention to over

and years about the stormont lock, it was called, how can they give some kind of say to the stormont assemblyrry on with it. what about the issue of checks? this has been the problem all along, of course. if you have northern ireland and ireland in different economic zones, then you need to have some kind of checks. that is what they are trying to get round. there will be additional checks from goods moving from great britain to northern ireland but the uk would not apply checks entering northern ireland from ireland. interesting also, they talk about a new dealfor northern ireland, that‘s financial commitments to help them manage these changes. so, the other issue about the customs union... northern ireland, these proposals say, would leave the eu customs union along with the rest of the uk. that has been a huge issue, particularly, of course, for the dup, who do not want to be treated differently from the rest of the uk, but under these proposals they, of course, will have to follow eu rules on goods. but we will all leave the customs union together, so they‘re saying they would be no new c

some members of the northern irish assembly will gather at stormont for the first time in nearly threers to debate the liberalisation of abortion laws which become law tonight. two people are arrested after an fa cup tie was abandoned on saturday, amid reports of racist abuse against the haringey team. two indian—based call centres, thought to have defrauded thousands of british victims in a computer security scam, are put out of business following an international police operation. this man on the phone kept saying, "oh, my god, oh, my god, this is really serious". and he was just increasing my level of anxiety to the point where i was in total panic. the tears flow for andy murray as he wins his first singles title since career—saving hip surgery. he won the european open in antwerp. good morning and welcome to the bbc news at nine. the government will push again today for mps to vote on borisjohnson‘s brexit deal. it comes after a bruising weekend for the prime minister, in which he was forced to ask the eu for an extension to his planned leaving date of october 31st. let's take a q

without the stormont assembly, there is no consent without the assembly.ern irish politicians to make sure that they do come back to consider this will be immense. i think that the dup certainly, who have indicated their support for this plan, are entirely conscious of that. these assembly has to come back anyway, there are so has to come back anyway, there are so many has to come back anyway, there are so many reasons has to come back anyway, there are so many reasons it should, but this is yet another one, which adds to the pressure. thank you so much for joining us. damian grammaticas is in brussels for us. you just heard for some grim payday talking about growing support in parliament. —— from sir graham brady. i think it is worth pointing out that it looks like from here that the uk parliament is making this a mistake it made back when all the... back in the same position when graham brady's amendment was passed. it might look like it has support in the uk, but can it pass your? back then it was passed, but it was not something it was going to fly in

and to ensure the people of northern ireland are onside with this arrangement, the stormont assemblyn ireland‘s future relationship with the eu. but the assembly is currently suspended. the european commission said they will ‘examine the proposals objectively‘, but they have firmly rejected similar proposals in the past. let‘s cross to chris mason in westminster. yes, good evening to you. it is worth taking a step back amidst all of this detail to remind ourselves how this tangle around the northern ireland border has emerged. brexit isa ireland border has emerged. brexit is a project also the difference, allowing the uk to go its own way relative to the european union and that means there is a difference between borders, but crucially that board between northern ireland and the republic that will become the frontier between the uk and european union after brexit. it is written down in the good friday peace agreement that it should remain open, so how do you keep it open while respecting the fact that the uk is going to go its own way after brexit? plan one was that northern ireland

long, has confirmed that her party's representatives will not attend tomorrow's recall of the stormont assemblyonist, will attend a sitting at stormont to demonstrate opposition to the decriminalisation of abortion in northern ireland at midnight. the move will be largely symbolic as the assembly cannot fulfil its functions without a power—sharing executive in place, which collapsed 2.5 years ago. parliamentary elections in switzerland have seen a big rise in support for green parties. first projections show a combined vote for switzerland's two green parties of around 20%, making the greens a major player in swiss politics. the right—wing swiss people's party, which has been the most successful in switzerland for over two decades, saw its hold on power weakened. imogen foulkes reports from berne. climate change was the single most important factor in these elections because the swiss can see its effects with their own eyes, they can see their glaciers melting. their alpine communities are threatened by rock and mud slides. today voters took those concerns to the ballot box and many of them vot

it gave stormont a vote on whether these arrangements should continue. but the assembly director for the federation of small business, thank you for speaking to us tonight. tell us what you think of this deal. there's some people that say that for businesses in northern ireland, you have an advantage here by having access to both of those markets. we have always looked at the situation pragmatically. in terms of the vote of brexit, it was a metaphor we had to do and focusing on how we can make this a good situation for northern ireland's economy, small businesses and make sure we can get an advantage. and actually, although this deal is not perfect, we are cautiously welcoming it because it does allow northern ireland companies to trade north—south and east—west and it may give us the advantage in terms the bringing in companies, you're encouraged by the fact that we do that, and they can be checks and administrations at the port, but being a part of the regulations of the eu, that was going to happen a nyway the eu, that was going to happen anyway in the port. so for us

stormont. the assembly there will meet for the first time in two and a half years to debate the change in law today chris page. it's a sensitive, emotive and personal issue, but abortion law in northern ireland, which is much more restrictive than the rest of the uk, has generated huge demonstrations. westminster has passed legislation which means terminations will be decriminalised if devolution isn't fully restored today. protesters who oppose the changes have pressured politicians to bring back stormont, so the democratic unionist party has led a move to recall the devolved assembly. campaigners believe it will send a valuable message. let's bring this back to the floor of the assembly, let our elected local representatives discussed this, because they are our voice, and let us speak because westminster shouldn't be speaking for us. butjust holding a sitting of the assembly doesn't mean the change in abortion law will be stopped. that will only happen if the parties agreed to settle all their differences, appoint ministers and go back into government together. there's no prospect of such a big b

the stormont assembly, northern ireland political body, would have a review mechanism every four or eightew mechanism every four or eight years on whether these arrangements should continue or not, that is an exit mechanism from these arrangements that the eu was not willing to contemplate before, contemplating them now, to reassure the dup. what the eu will not give them is one of its big demands, upfront vote veto on these arrangements ever coming into force at all in the first place. that is something the eu is not prepared to offer. where the wriggle room on that is, i don't know. how quickly this can be done, as well, reading german chancellor angler merkel, she says, we don't know where we will be at the end of the two—day summit, but she took the opportunity to talk about that they will always support peace in northern ireland, they will not allow a return to any violence or hatred, she said that after the dup statement. so, we are trying to see exactly how far the eu might go when it comes to the dup, and, will borisjohnson continue to try to court them. he has a choice this morni

change, following legislation from westminster, made a late attempt to block it, recalling the stormont assemblytempered debate followed by walk—outs failed, and so the abortion law, and legalisation on same—sex marriage, will go ahead. our ireland correspondent, emma vardy, has the story. our bodies, our lives, our right to decide. their call has been heard. at midnight tonight, a law passed by mps in westminster will take effect, overturning northern ireland's near total ban on abortion and legalising same—sex marriage. finally our rights and our health care are being brought into the 21st century. this has been a long time coming. thousands of women in northern ireland have campaigned for this change. abortion has been illegal even in cases of rape. denise was unable to terminate her pregnancy after she was told her baby had a fatal condition and was likely to die in the womb. when you get that news, it hits you like a bus, you just can't believe what you're hearing. i was too sick to travel, which left me with the experience of being trapped in northern ireland and in the vulnerable state of

a simple majority vote at the still—suspended stormont assembly could decide to tear up the plan ands, the numbers must surely make boris johnson's head spin. to win a vote, he needs 320 votes. if the dup's ten mps won't back him, some of his 287 tories would likely rebel too. so the pm needs votes from among labour mps and some former tory independents. and there's another big complication. remain parties like the lib dems and snp could soonjoin mps on both sides in a big push for another brexit referendum. and ifjeremy corbyn tells labour to back a so—called people's vote, it could make the government's job a lot harder. let's return to the other big story in the programme — turkey and the us have agreed a five day cease—fire. that's after turkish president recep tayyip erdogan met with the us vice president mike pence earlier in ankara. mike pence earlier in ankara. also at the meeting, the us secretary of state. there is a great deal of work to do in the region, but this effort tonight accepts the conditions for the successful resolution of this particular piece which created an

checks between northern ireland and england, scotland and wales, not happy at the thought of the stormont assemblyn the new arrangements until four years after they actually kick in. it is about fundamental unionist principles, talk about parison goods regulations and customs, but ultimately it points towards deeper issues like nationality and identity. 0ther pliskova parties will point out that the dup do not speakfor the will point out that the dup do not speak for the majority in that the dup want brexit to happen but many in ireland —— northern ireland voted to remain. sinn fein do have seven mps but they do not take their seats in the house of commons, but sinn fein's position is that this deal is the least worst option. we will of course be keeping you up to date with what's happening here in westminster during the programme. you can also following the event in the commons on the bbc news channel throughout the day, and there is a bbc news special programme on bbc one at 1:15pm. violence between protestors and riot police in the spanish city of barcelona has continued overnight, in the fifth

unionist parties, who oppose the liberalisation, triggered the recall of the stormont assembly — butges failed. the first same—sex weddings could now take place as soon as february next year. the government is analysing plans to give electric cars special green licence plates to encourage more people to switch to zero emission vehicles. ministers say the scheme could encourage more people to make the switch from petrol or diesel by allowing perks to be offered, like access to bus lanes. and finally, japan's emperor naruhito has formally proclaimed his ascension to the throne in an elaborate ceremony. the emperor, who is 59, officially began his reign in may after the abdication of his father, the then—emperor akihito. but, after a series of traditional rituals inside the imperial palace in tokyo, his ascension has now been formalised. that's a summary of our main news so far. back to you, victoria. this year in a tv first we broadcast live from a specialist eating disorders project in halifax. after that programme, lots of you got in touch to tell us about the problems older women ha

after four years — in 2025 — the papers says the stormont assembly would have a role in deciding thehat. we can now go live to the conservative party conference in manchester, our assistant political editor, norman smith is there. our assistant political editor, does our assistant political editor, this sound like every versioning does this sound like every versioning of what was said between the eu, the government and the dup? this is what the british government regards as its big compromise is that northern ireland would stay in the single market, abide by eu regulations. but, and this is the big ask from the british government, would leave the customs union and be a separate customs territory with its own customs check. if you listen to everything the eu has been saying, when the scene there is much chance of this getting liftoff, added to which the language mr johnson has ramped it up, take it or leave it, my way or no way, doesn't sound like the sound of language that will encourage a conciliatory response from the eu. i think most people are a little bit pessimistic about the p

also the stormont assembly having a say they are not happy about.ly. let's speak to our political correspondent, iain watson, who's in westminster. iain, how big is the task ahead for the government? despite all of the positivity, still dissenting voices in the eu? some are very sceptical about what boris johnson has put forward. the president of the european council donald tusk said he was unconvinced. 0thers donald tusk said he was unconvinced. others have said the ideas put forward would not remotely lead to a deal. the task of the chief negotiator david frost is in brussels today and he has to do two things. first generally to try to convince those people in russell's thing borisjohnson convince those people in russell's thing boris johnson is convince those people in russell's thing borisjohnson is simply engaged in trying to shift the blame for a no—dealfrom britain to brussels, to convince them that borisjohnson is really serious about seeking a deal and secondly, to suggest that perhaps there be room for compromise and manoeuvring, for examp