and i chaired the uk and brazil joint economic and the uk and i chaired the uk and braziljoint economice for britain. there is optimism outside in the rest of the world in contrast to some of the pessimism that we get here in the uk. allie renison, head of europe & trade policy at the institute of directorsjoins us. our people and you pessimistic —— are people on duty press mr? —— on julie pessimistic? those countries won't be pessimistic because they are not involved in the same way. what can the uk do in terms of starting trade talks question —— trade talks? terms of starting trade talks question -- trade talks? legally you can't breach the treaties at the moment which are reserved for eu commission competences, that has been suspended in the transition, after the withdrawal agreement last week that says the uk can on a case—by—case basis begin negotiations, although it has to clear it with the eu. if the uk doesn't have a set —— sufficient landing zone, it will be not easy to see how much can be done with these other countries. someone says, why can't the uk do a trade deal with germ

for either the uk or the eu. provide the best way forward for eitherthe uk orthe eu. rd for either the uk or the eu. but before i turn to what a new and better model might look like, i want to be straight with people because the reality is that we all need to face up reality is that we all need to face up to some hard facts. we are leaving the single market. life is going to be different. in certain ways our access to each other's markets will be less than it is now. how could the eu structure of rights and obligations be sustained if the uk orany and obligations be sustained if the uk or any country were allowed to enjoy all the benefits without all of the obligations? so we need to strike a new balance but we will not acce pt strike a new balance but we will not accept the rights of canada and the obligations of norway. the second ha rd fa ct obligations of norway. the second hard fact is that even after we have left the jurisdiction of the european court of justice, left the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice, eu law and the decisions of the ecj will conti

the uk always put a brake on this. aking the role of the uk, suddenly we notice that the dutch become hesitant of being an engine. in the past, they were an engine for european integration. but now they put the brake on integration. that could be a threat to. thank you for talking to us. a quick, brief thought. first of all, the message here seems to be that they are preparing for the worse and hoping for the best when it comes to brexit. i have this comeback from greece and italy. really interesting. mps are talking about saying they are not sure whether brexit will actually happen, still. here in northern europe, that is not the message. they are starting to prepare for it and they are anxious about it. gavin lee, globetrotting. thank you very much. in a moment, we have the business use. first, a look at the headlines. with exactly one year to go until britain leads the eu, theresa may visits all for uk nations, are doomed to make the nations, are doomed to make the nation strong and united up to brexit. police say se

eu citizens arriving in the uk before december 2020 will have the same rights as those here now, as will living in the eu. the uk will be able to negotiate trade deals during the transition period. but not yet agreed is the issue of the border with northern ireland. our europe editor katya adler has more. in the quest to resolve relations after brexit today was a big moment between the eu and uk. an historic handshake to seal a deal, not the final brexit deal but the long—awaited agreement on transition to ease the uk from leaving the eu to life on the outside. the eu and uk's chief brexit negotiators were visibly relieved, they had been under pressure from business. businesses need not delay investment decisions or rush through plans based on guesses about the future, instead they now have certainty about the terms that will apply after withdrawal. certainty, not quite. an oft repeated phrase at ago she nations is... nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. the transition deal is part of the uk's complex moved to all withdrawal agreements from the eu. areas highlighted in green ind

they are not in the uk, the republic of ireland. if the uk, the republic of ireland.uk. we should control every person that comes into the uk. does anyone disagree? on the opportunity of brexit, the whole of the european economic union is short of seasonal labour. one of the opportunities you mention of a world market is that we could set up a seasonal working scheme that brought seasonal workers in from outside the european union. so there can be benefits to not being in the eu. we will be pressing government to look at this, because even within the european union, there are now non—eu worker schemes in places like poland, portugal and spain to address that issue. as long as we are in this process, we are slightly hamstrung. this is not immigration, this is seasonal work. let's hear from the doctor in the corner. i am a surgical trainee in central london. as a doctor, i am concerned about the negative impact that brexit will have on our national health service. we all know the nhs is overstretched. we haven't got enough staff or enough money coming in. with brexit, w

and the uk is not alone. assessment that russia was to blame extremely seriously. what is absolutely clear is that solidarity with the united kingdom and our extreme concern about what has happened, that is really unacceptable. but in moscow, the defiance continued. as president putin began his fourth term of office, his spokesman said the uk must prove russia's role in the poisoning of mr skripal or apologise. as for russia's diplomats in london, well, some of these officials and their families will be heading home tomorrow — 23 in all, with a similar number of british diplomats leaving moscow shortly. tomorrow, the national security council will meet to decide britain's next steps and there is a live debate within government — should they retaliate and escalate, or simply do nothing? should they kick more russian diplomats out of the embassy here or should they find new ways of penalising russia ? the question is, what further diplomatic price is the government prepared to pay? james langdale, bbc news. glob

in the uk. the minicab service, uber, suspends all tests of self—driving cars after a woman in arizona is killed in a collision. doctors take a major step towards curing macular degeneration, the most common form of blindness in the uk. and, following a suspected drink—driving crash, the itv presenter, ant mcpartlin, goes back into treatment and steps down from his television work. coming up on sports day on bbc news, britain's winter pa ralympian coming up on sports day on bbc news, britain's winter paralympian ‘s have returned home having reached their pregames target of seven medals. good evening. britain and the european union have reached broad agreement on a transition period after brexit. but there are still important issues to be resolved. in today's documents, highlighted in green is what's been agreed. in yellow, what's close to agreement. and in white, the parts still being negotiated. agreed so far is that eu citizens arriving in the uk before december 2020 will have the same rights a

and the uk is not alone. e attack and issued a joint statement expressing unqualified solidarity with the uk, saying they took its assessment that russia was to blame extremely seriously. what is absolutely clear is that solidarity with the united kingdom and our extreme concern about what has happened, that is really unacceptable. but in moscow, the defiance continued. as president putin began his fourth term of office, his spokesman said the uk must prove russia's role in the poisoning of mr skripal or apologise. as for russia's diplomats in london, well, some of these officials and their families will be heading home tomorrow — 23 in all, with a similar number of british diplomats leaving moscow shortly. tomorrow, the national security council will meet to decide britain's next steps and there is a live debate within government — should they retaliate and escalate, or simply do nothing? should they kick more russian diplomats out of the embassy here or should they find new ways of penalising russia ? the qu

the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: poisoned at home — uk police reveal a deadly nerve agent was on the former spy‘s frontr. one year to go until brexit. as theresa may embarks on a whirlwind uk tour, we ask: what's agreed? and what's not? laying the foundations — officials from north and south korea meet to discuss denuclearisation ahead of next month's historic summit. it helped build the spitfire — but can it fight off the biggest hostile takeover bid britain has seen for a decade? shareholders will decide the fate of engineering giant gkn today. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. lent ends today for the roman catholic church so we're asking — did you give something up? is it a good time of reflection? tell us your story — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. it could be a major development in the investigation into the poisoning of the russian double agent sergei skripal, and his daughter in the english city of salisbury. police have identified the highest concentration of the nerve agent u

continue to travel chaos around the uk. e latest in wales? it is continuing to snow here. the wind is quite biting. this road behind me is looking quite well compared to many of the others i have travelled across in the city today. hardly any cars venturing out today. hardly any cars venturing out today it seems the public has heeded from warnings of the emergency services. thousands of schools have been closed across the country. i mentioned the emergency services. the ambulance service in wales have asked any volunteers and staff with suitably insured 4x4 vehicles to help to bring staff into work survey can help deal with any emergencies that do arrive. police have also said that if anyone does need to call the emergency services they should only do so if it is a genuinely life threatening emergency. you mentioned the travel chaos across the country. in wales, cardiff airport is shut. the majority of train services across the country have also been postponed, as have bus services. the roads across the country have also bee

will power we get back from brussels be fairly spread around the uk? it and won't let go. we are absolutely committed to ensuring there is no hard border. how will the border between northern and southern ireland work when we leave? the answer will not be found in a barn in bangor, that quandry could upset the whole process. and what are the real chances of the eu accepting the prime minister's plan for trade? will there be different rules for different parts of the economy? whether that is for this factory in wales or worcester or westminster, her rivals don't believe she has the answers yet. today is perhaps the end of part one. the decisions that the prime minister makes in the next 12 months will have an impact, notjust for her, but for all of us for many years to come. you have made a big promise on the nhs. some of your colleagues believe the extra cash could come from the so—called brexit dividend. do you believe there will be a brexit dividend or might there have to be tax rises for the nhs? that is what some people are calling for. of course,

the uk hopes an ambitious eu and uk trade deal will solve the problem. bu; 9.453?oms union and parts of the single market. ireland's deputy prime minister was in brussels today to press his case. what ireland has always asked for was that we would essentially have an insurance mechanism, so that i and others can say to people in northern ireland and in ireland, that, "look, we are not to have any border infrastructure on this island again." so, a lot done, but more to do for the eu's brexit chief. good news today? as you see, spring has sprung with the thaw spreading even to these often frosty brexit negotiations. progress on transition today was hailed in there as a big step forward, but it's not all good news for the government. it's clear now, there won't be a final trade deal between the eu and the uk at the end of these brexit talks. the transition will be used to hammer out more details. and to get this far, the uk has had to make some pretty big concessions. like fishing. far from taking back control after brexit as promised by the government, eu quotas will

we've been gauging reaction around the uk about what lies ahead. nd leave voters about their hopes for the future. i'm very sorry about that is the story about the salisbury poisoning incident, involving the former russian spy and his daughter, we we re russian spy and his daughter, we were told earlier that the daughter is no longer in a critical condition but surrogate is still in —— the father is in a critical condition in hospital still. i want to talk to you about the practice process today, vicky young will be telling us today, vicky young will be telling us about views in bolton in good register in a new minutes. now to our brexit correspondent in westminster. what is your view today on the kind of thing that to raise a has been doing up and down the country with one year to go and the kind of high stakes that we are still playing for? what is interesting about today is the government has chosen this as a key symbolic moment on the brexit process when she can make a big statement about keeping the uk together in its own union and going out in

once the uk leaves the eu these powers will be heading to the uk. but where will they go? sh governments claim that westminster might try to grab them. the cabinet office minister david lidington tried to reassure the doubters. the vast majority of power is returning, will start off in edinburgh, cardiff and belfast, and not whitehall. let there be no doubt, this will be a very big change to the eu withdrawal bill that is before parliament and a significant step forward in these negotiations. but both the welsh and scottish governments think that's not good enough, and responded by introducing continuity bills, in effect making sure those responsibilities go directly to them, not westminster. bad weather cancelled the st david's day debate in the commons. but we thought we'd stage our own. first i asked plaid cymru's westminster leader, liz saville roberts, why she thought westminster would hold on to the powers and not pass them on. why would the governmentjust not allow these powers to go straight to cardiff for edinburgh? if we are equals, with the nations of the uk, we

international experts arrive in the uk to assess the newsa g e nts arrive in the uk to assess the newsagentsand and mcpartlin is arrested on suspicion of drink—driving following incident yesterday. businesses welcomed the news of a transitional brexit deal being agreed. the value of the pound has risen and sterling is back above $1 40. shares in betting companies like ladbrokes and wiliam hill are up sharply this morning after the gambling commission recommended that the amount you can bet on electronic casino games, such as roulette and blackjack be no more than £30 campaigners had been hoping they would demand the maximum be cut to just £2. melrose industries is still trying to buy the engineering firm gkn and every week it seems to put more on the table. last week it offered another billion pounds. today it's said it will invest £1bn in gkn's pension fund, which could, i repeat, could answer some of the criticisms of the bid made by the pensions watchdog and mp5. hello, lots coming up in the business news this afternoon. as we've been hearing, brexit negotiators michel barnier and david d

people from the uk mainland could travel to the isles to receive help to commit suicide. and the huffington post has been covering the case of six—year—old, alfie dingley, who suffers with a rare form of epilepsy. he and his mother presented a petition to the uk government calling for him to be granted a special licence to use medical cannabis, which is illegal in the uk. the latest on this story is that alfie's parents are saying that they've now been granted permission to treat him with medicinal cannabis oil. so, let's begin. with me isjustin urquhart stewart, director of seven investment management. are you a facebook user?” are you a facebook user? i am on it, but i do not. my daughter is pushing me towards it. but not really. are you concerned? it is interesting. those thinking about using it, they have some idea their data, information, is being used. people who think it through, they say it is being sold on and they have to make money somewhere. being sold on and they have to make money somewhere. but no one is seeing what is happening. i want to know what is happ

around the uk, the military has been drafted in to help.n scotland, getting hospital staff to work. theresa may sounds a note of pragmatism as she outlines her plans for brexit. finally, we both need to face the fa ct finally, we both need to face the fact that this is a negotiation, and neither of us can have exactly what we want. but i am confident that we can reach agreement. a man is convicted of attempted murder after trying to run over a muslim woman — the court hears that she was targeted because she was wearing a headscarf. too much air time, too much fear and not enough on other big news. did the bbc go snow blind after this week's whether? good evening and welcome to bbc news. snow and freezing temperatures have caused disruption once again over most of the uk — as two storms — storm emma and the beast from the east — collided over britain. thousands of schools remained closed today, while icy roads led to accidents and long hold—ups crashes. train services and flights were also badly hit once more. the m62 across the pennines is

with exactly one year before the uk is due to leave the european union, theresa may is touring the ukng to make brexit a "success for everybody". the prime minister has told the bbc that leaving the eu will mean there's extra money available to spend on the nhs and schools. she said she's confident of securing a deal that is good for all parts of the uk and that there's a bright future ahead. our political correspondent chris mason reports. on days like today, heavy with symbolism, politicians like to indulge in their own grand gestures. so the prime minister's hurtling around the country, championing one you knew, the uk, a year before we leave another, the eu. at breakfast time, ata leave another, the eu. at breakfast time, at a weaver‘s imer, by monday morning, a toddler group in newcastle, and an appointment with oui’ newcastle, and an appointment with our political editor laura kuenssberg. of course when we leave the european union, we are no longer going to be spending vast sums of money year in and year out, sending up money year in and year out, sending up money to the europea

so the uk will retaliate. e united kingdom will now expel 23 russian diplomats who have been identified as undeclared intelligence officers. they have just one week to leave. this was notjust an act of attempted murder in salisbury, norjust an act against the uk. it is an affront to the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons, and it is an affront to the rules—based system on which we and our international partners depend. so, 23 diplomats suspected of being spies have seven days to leave, all high—level contact between the uk and russia is also being suspended, and no minister or member of the royal family will go to the world cup. and some russian state assets could be frozen with possible new laws to crack down on hostile states. blade anger displayed in westminster that this is happening in british streets. —— anger displayed. anger displayed in westminster that this is happening on british streets. in dorset today, the lorry that removed the skripals‘ car, seized. in salisbury, the bench where father an

and the uk's share of the total catch cannot be changed, protecting the interests of the uk. s central to sat standing up for a rules—based international order. when it comes to foreign policy and defence collaboration, we have set out a plan for collaboration, we have set out a planforan collaboration, we have set out a plan for an ambitious partnership, one that goes beyond the relationship the european union has with any other third country. i know this desire is shared by our eu partners. the deal we have reached today in visit is asked moving to that partnership at the soonest is the moment and in the intervening period our valued cooperation will continue. however, as is the case today, there may be occasions when our vital national palsy means we cannot agree with the eu decision. in those cases, the uk can choose not to apply it. securing the cementation period with his key flex abilities is a major achievement and if it was all we achieved this december i would be proud of my team. but in addition we have made rapid progress across the wider agreement reaching agreeme

the uk believe russia was to blame. p the evidence. —— set out the evidence. based on the positive identification of this chemical agent by world leading experts at the defence science and technology laboratory, given in the past that russia has reproduced this agent and still would be capable of doing so, russia positive record of conducting state—sponsored assassinations and our assessment that russia views some defectors as legitimate targets for assassinations. the government has concluded that it is highly likely that russia was responsible for the act against sergei and yulia skripal. jeremy corbyn began by condemning the attack and calling for continued dialogue not for the cutting off of all content. but his later comments on party funding provoked heckling from conservatives and disagreement from his own side. we are all familiar with the way huge fortunes often acquired in the most dubious circumstances in russia sometimes connected with criminal elements have ended up sheltering in london and trying to buy pol

politically, a good deal for the uk to have got it but looking at the content, you see the uk has giventhe transition are basically in most areas the terms set out by the eu. what it tells you is that in this negotiation, actually, the balance of power lies with the eu. simon, thank you very much. we have got our correspondent in brussels updating us throughout the next few days. let's move to washington now where the white house is expected to announce billions of dollars of tariffs on imported chinese goods later today. it would be the latest move by the trump administration to penalise foreign imports after it targeted steel and aluminum with hefty tariffs earlier this month, raising fears of a global trade war. the bbc‘s kim gittleson in washington reports. here is something you will be hearing a lot about in the coming days, section 301, part of the 1974 us trade law that the trump administration will invoke when it levies terrorists against imported chinese goods, possibly as soon as thursday. it states that if a country is deemed to be a threat to us intellectual property, the us

and the uk. the positive results that they obtained contained new chemical agent which for some reason in the west are classified as nova chalk has been confirmed and reflected in more than 200 open sources of nato countries and we do have the records to that and we stand ready to provide you with them. >> the identification per se of the toxic substance used in the incident was carried out in a scientific center of the ministry of defense. this is the place which was the basis for the development of chemical weapons including the chemical weapons of this kind. the most probable source origin of this chemical of countries have since the end of the '90s been carrying out intensive research on these kinds of weapons, including the uk. we are not chemists here. let me just quote the opinion of a professional chemist. for the british specialist to be perfectly confident in stating that this gas is a novichok kind of gas and that any of the kind, they need to have what we call control standard. in orde

but he said that in the uk the impact of this disinformation had been minimal.there is no evidence the outcome of the referendum has been affected. if you look at the scale of activity, on the evidence that we have so far seen, there is no evidence of an impact on the overall result, not least because the margin was over a million votes in the scale of the impact that we have evidence for as much more. matt hancock also said he'd commissioned independent research on the effects of fake news and disinformation. he was then asked what more social media platforms should do to stop foreign intervention in elections, particularly when it's sometimes impossible to trace the person responsible for a post. there are some ways that we have tackled that and some of them using the law and some not. in not using the law and some not. in not using the law, when daesh were using twitter aggressively, we set up uk against daesh and a series of twitter accounts which make the argument in the opposite direction in that campaign was very successful. owners of dogs with behavioura

after the long winter, moscow is melting. but in ukelations, you can feel the chill. has sparked anger with theresa may. and is destroying international relationship. of course, it's the end of her career. it's a show. that was a political show. and this is not... it's not serious, it's not for the serious politician. while mrs may was announcing sanctions. former russian agent alexander litvinenko in 2006. moscow refuses to extradite him. to decide whether it can keep its uk licence. what do you think the chances are of rt being censored in the uk? if rt is censored in the uk. today to moscow. that the west is against russia. the territory vladimir putin annexed from ukraine. uk sanctions may help the kremlin leader rally support. tonight, moscow is showing no signs of buckling under british pressure. russia is promising retaliation soon. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. and he was also director for russia at the national security council. at the national security council. asked him what impact such expulsions can have. i think it's

investigation carried out by the uk authorities. the international community cannot shrug its shoulders on this crime as if nothing happened. united nations, this council, and all members should cooperate with the united kingdom as it further investigates this gruesome act. the perpetrators should be brought to justice. i would now refer to french president of the council. >> the representative of the united kingdom asked for the floor to make a further statement. have you the floor, please. >> thank you, mr. president. my russian colleague asked some questions and i thought i would answer. he asked why did we come to the united nations security council. isn't the security council where countries come when there has been threat to international peace and security. when there's been an unlawful attack on them? he asked if we work with russia here. of course we will work with russia here. we believe in the united nations andity secure ut council. we believe in the international rules based system. we want this council to work together

the uk is there to support our friends around there to support our friends around the european continentthere in estonia, 800 uk troops near there in estonia, 800 uk troops near the border with russia, helping to give security and a sense of confidence there in the baltics. we are strongly protective and defensive of what is happening in the western balkans. as the prime minister has said, the uk remains unconditionally committed, irrespective of our relationship with the european union, to european security. would you consider hitting the russians when it hurts, for example with money? we live under the rule of low in this country. not up the rule of low in this country. not up to politicians to go after that person take their wealth away. that is how he tenderly behaves. that is a sort of thing you expect to see in russia. it's up to the national crime agency to identify people whose wealth may have been acquired through gross corruption, theft from the russian state agency, that could be taken away with unexplained wealth orders. the statute as they in our new lows we have in force. w

once the uk leaves the eu these powers will be heading to the uk. but where will they go? e welsh and scottish governments claim that westminster might try to grab them. the cabinet office minister david lidington tried to reassure the doubters. the vast majority of powers returning from brussels will start off in edinburgh, cardiff and belfast are not in whitehall. let me be in no doubt that this would mean a very big change to the eu (withdrawal) bill that is before parliament and a significant step forward in these negotiations. isi is i asked liz saddle roberts why she thought westminster would hold onto the powers are not pass them on. i could turn the question back. why would the public not allow these powers to go straight to cardiff for edinburgh? if we are equals as nations in the uk, we should build to discuss that within parliament and come to an agreement together according to our proper needs and not expecting these to be held back in london before they get passed on to us. iam i am delighted to say i am joined in the studio now by stephen doughty and by conser

what difference would it make when the uk is not at that table? l be upon us fairly soon? it has always been the american view that the eu is better with the uk at the table but that is not going to be the case going forward and we have seen that even in this case, where the uk is seen to be exiting over the process of a couple of years, the eu nonetheless stands up on principle on something here that it views as significant in dealing with russia. that is a major thing and i think russia will take notice. you have been at the table at nato with many of the same countries. you mentioned recalling the eu ambassador from russia. do you also expect some of these countries, at least, to expel russian spies? that is one of the things that we are being told could well happen. i do expect that, i don't expect that to be uniform, for every single eu country to act exactly the same way. but i do expect a number of eu countries to make some expulsions in solidarity with the uk, some larger and some smaller. they are doing so anticipating that russia will rea

the uk financial services hub is an engine that powers the real economy, not just in the uk, but rightsupporting businesses, save rs asset too, supporting businesses, savers and citizens across the european union. serving the whole of our continent and the world beyond. and not just serving our continent and the world beyond. and notjust serving europe but powered by the talent of hundreds of thousands of europeans who work in it. it is an asset unparalleled in its history, scale, complexity, agility, and connectivity to the economies of europe and the world. a global public good as the imf described it. eu passporting did not create the city of london. nor did some smart regulatory fix or government incentive. it is a combination of intangibles, language, legal system, time zone, culture, networks, risk appetite, regulatory approach all blending together to create an ecosystem, and immensely potent combination of factors. impossible to replicate all perhaps even to map. of course, having such a significant financial services industry brings to the uk huge benefits. but it is not cost

of poles living in the uk. se will prevail and we will find an appropriate solution for both parties. we will miss, for many reasons, the united kingdom's presence in the european union and i think that this is very possible also to find compromise between the uk and the eu. we, the eu, we will give up something and the uk will give up another thing. so you think there will be a bending of those red lines on both sides. there will be a bending of those red lines. on the eu side as well? on the eu and the uk, yeah. on show and in public, eu countries have been strictly in step with one another over brexit, until now. national interests in trade talks will surely strain that unity, to what the uk hopes will be its advantage. katya adler, bbc news, warsaw. football, and england have taken on italy in a friendly at wembley tonight ahead of this summer's world cup. our sports correspondent, natalie pirks, was watching. the first home game of the year for england was the last chance to impress before russia. italy fai

if it issued if the uk asks for that and asks the uk as a whole to take sanctions. there has always been a debate amongst the eu countries about the efficacy of these sanctions, whether they really provide perfect —— pressure, some countries with closer relations to russia have been less convinced about that. but the uk and many other countries have said that this was an important instrument of pressure to bring to bear on russia, and it has to be important to maintain. and all these countries have stood behind that position, despite the internal debates about it. but i think what we will see is that for now, the uk will have to ta ke that for now, the uk will have to take the lead on this with rhetorical backing from the eu side. but whether the uk can convince other countries to expand their sanctions, some countries have those targeting russia, particularly on those accused of human rights abuses, i think more than perhaps... thank you very much. time for a look at the weather with phil avery. it has been one of those days across many western parts of the britis

defence and security contracts dominate trade with the uk. britons but in neighbouring yemen, saudi led air strikes on who the rebels have been blamed for mounting civilian casualties, which prompted a question in parliament this morning over whether with a poor human rights record, saudi arabia is a suitable ally. as she makes her arms sales pitch, will see also call the crown prince to stop the shocking abuse of human rights in saudi arabia? the link that we have with saudi arabia is historic, it is an important want it i will be raising concerns about human rights with the crown prince when i meet him. back home, the crown prince is rapidly modernising his country. he has lifted the ban on women driving from june. cinemas public entertainment are being reintroduced and a new mega city built. he is also aiming to diversify the economy away from oil, which means attracting british investment. and with brexit looming, the government here is looking to boost its with it biggest trading partner. the crown prince is no democratic top slot at 200

in the fourth test it must show that the uk is a modern democracy. h test says that the union, the uk must come together and that's interesting because a year ago the prime minister was saying that the country was uniting behind brexit and now she seems to be acknowledging divisions. it doesn't sound very pokey, it is a bit woolly. the prime minister is keeping some things up her sleeve, i think we will see the fruits of cabinet discussions on how we will define the uk's economic relationship with the eu when we are out of the european union. we can look now at what theresa may wants to do. she wants to break the relationship into three baskets. number one, the uk would be fully aligned with eu rules in some areas for example cars. in the second basket, you'd have the same goals, but different rules, things like environmental standards. in the third basket, different goals and different rules, we'd be on our own. things like the insurance market. i'm told there was quite a pointed discussion in cabinet this morning about the first basket. there was ev

storm emma meets the beast from the east and wreaks chaos across the uk. at least 3,500 drivers were stranded on the m62 across the pennines, some managed to get to shelter. we landed in manchester airport about two o'clock yesterday, and we have been trying to get home since then, just going round in circles around the m62. cars were at a standstill in the south—west of england too, with drivers stranded overnight. passengers were forced to sleep on a train stuck in the new forest. other routes are closed tonight. around the uk the military has been drafted in to help, in scotland, getting hospital staff to work. our other main story on the programme tonight: theresa may sounds a note of pragmatism as she outlines her plans for brexit. finally we both need to face the fa ct finally we both need to face the fact that this is a negotiation and neither of us can have exactly what we want. but i am confident that we can reach agreement. and coming up in sportsday on bbc news, can katarina johnson—thompson bring home a gold medal from the world indoor athletics

is the uk being backed into a corner over the irish border? we have the details of the european union's controversial brexit proposal. a huge turnout for sridevi's funeral. a lot of people turned out for one of the bollywood actresses who is seen as of the bollywood actresses who is seen as one of the bollywood actresses who is seen as one of the most influential over time. life or my studios in london and singapore. this is bbc world news. it is newsday. hello, it is midnight here in london. eight in the morning in singapore and 7pm in washington where one president trump's longest—serving aides... hope hanks has resigned. the announcement came a day after the 29—year—old was questioned by the house intelligence committee investing western meddling in the 360 and intelligent. here is our... she was the fourth person to fill the role in just 13 she was the fourth person to fill the role injust 13 months of this presidency so far. it gives you a sense of this ever—changing cast of the white house. hope hicks herself went beyond that in some way

frosty negotiations. but it is not all good news for the government. and uk at the end of these brexitpretty big concessions. like fishing. in uk waters. the transition period isn't totally in the bag yet. at the end of the week. katya adler, bbc news, brussels. for the uk to leave the eu. countdown starts in just nine days' time. time. most of the eu's conditions to get that. that. rights, the eu will continue to decide those. decide those. so in many areas the uk has had to come from ice. uk has had to come from ice. the customs union, if a better solution can't be found. solution can't be found. brexit happens and this agreement has to be in place. director of demos and kevin schofield, editor of politics home. sergei skripal, and his daughter. evening. likely the investigation could take many months. here's our diplomatic correspondent james landale. of salisbury, to the village of durrington. sergei, were attacked with nerve agent. from russia, a process that officials say could take some weeks. but tangible, joined—up action. that at an eu level. tackling cyber together. sharing

contrasting temperatures again north and south across the uk. igh pressure blocking things off across scandinavia and around it we pick up an easterly wind. there will be a significant windchill as well, especially across england and wales, where we'll have the strongest of the wind. perhaps not too many snow showers, actually, on saturday. there could be some on friday night, but most places will be dry on saturday. you will notice, however, the temperatures significantly lower. remember 12 or 13, perhaps, across the south on friday. four or five at best, and further north one or two celsius. that area of high pressure still around the northern part of the uk on saturday. stronger winds to the south. we could get as spell of snow overnight and especially near channel, the southernmost counties of england. that pulls through and then we'll probably find a few more snow showers, again more likely across england and wales. most of scotland and northern ireland will be dry and it is not quite as windy here but it's still going to be cold on sunday,

what is the situation? all ukis operating severely reduced schedules. this is expected to be the worst day for flight cancellations of the week. take edinburgh airport, all ryanair and easyj et edinburgh airport, all ryanair and easyjet flights have been cancelled today out of that output. other airports outside of the uk are closed, making the situation worst. dublin, geneva is another because of poor weather. around 50,000 brits are expected to be stranded, unable to get back into the uk. airports like heathrow have done all they can to try to get as many planes in here as possible in a safe fashion. they have been de—icing the runways and all airlines have been de—icing their planes as well. over 1000 lorry loads of snow was carted off this runway yesterday alone. they are combining flights to get as many people to where they need to go, but saying just check with your airline before you make thatjourney, to make sure it is not a wasted one. good advice, victoria. thank you. phil mackie is in worcester. just on

what the eu has left undefined is what happens with the rest of the uk. at could apply to northern ireland, but it could also apply to the rest of the uk as well. the issue is that the uk‘s of red lines which the government has set out is it wants to leave the customs union and the single market at the end of this transition period, so therefore, there is a big problem. do you draw a line down the irish sea, what you do, not acceptable to some parties in northern ireland but have a different arrangement to the rest were uk, those difficult political issues for the uk to confront. and that issue has been put to one side because the stage in the withdrawal text will be drawn up over the next few months, so a crunch is still coming. experian much. i am going to westminster. the reaction today and where you see the fault lines potentially in what we have had? a number of fault lines had been seized on by reading brexit supporters, fisheries policies after we leave the eu. unhappiness that basically freedom of movement continues during the transition period. bu

and the uk economy is so based on the services, i think tariffs is almost a side issue.rder with ireland, because we will not raise any tariffs? so the european union, it is up to you if you put up barriers. a loss of this boils down to the conformity of customs checks which must still be undertaken regardless of whether or not tariffs are in place. why not? well look on the fight on sanitary standards. if the uk had a separate regime going for that after brexit, that jack would still need to be there. if you reduced and it does not solve the problem of the irish border in that regard. thomas goal —— thomas cole, thank you very much. some other news 110w... taxi hailing company uber has suspended all tests of self—driving cars, after a woman in arizona was killed in a collision. she was crossing the road with a bicycle when she was struck by the vehicle which was running in ‘autonomous mode', although there was an operator at the wheel. it is the first time a pedestrian has died in an accident involving a self—driving car. a group of us retail giants including walmart, t

european law will still have an effect in the uk. ing the single market will have an impact on the economy. no take it or leave it approach on the irish border. and making binding commitments to remain in step with the eu in some areas. david davis, can i ask you going to have to use all your renowned skills asa diplomat to sell these hard facts to your fellow brexiteers? i don't think so. the simple fact is, go ask boris, ask the other brexiteers in cabinet if you like. what the centre of this is is parliament will always have a say. today the rules come down through the european parliament, doesn't really have a proper say, this time i'll have a say, and they will exercise that say in the knowledge and the consequent is one way or another. will it give us access or not. that is what every country will do, that's what will deliver the best outcome for britain in the long run. lest any brexit supporter fear that today marks betrayal, the prime minister warned the eu that it, too, needs to hard fa cts . herfundamental vision for brexit

a theme in the uk as well. we are hitting the lower income brackets above proportion. story also linked, problems with uk retail, a major headline saying up to 200000 more high st storejobs major headline saying up to 200000 more high st store jobs tipped to be axed by 2020. it is the same topic. particularly in the uk, real income falling, high inflation which means you hit those income brackets even more. it will hit the retail space, a natural chain of events. thank you forjoining us this morning giving us your expertise. a busy programme. thank you for your comments today on streaming. we will see you again tomorrow, goodbye. we currently have two severe red warnings in force issued by the met office. we do not see these warnings so frequently. the areas, across central scotland, tayside and fife come one runs out at 10am. we have a brand—new one the south wales, somerset and devon, starting at 3pm and ending at 2am tomorrow come it is the snow and the wind means there will be blizzards. there is an amber warning across the northern, eastern and southern scotland,

it wasn'tjust out of solidarity with the uk. the eu 27 are very worried in a wider way about russia. salisbury, though, felt very close to home for them. they want to make sure there is a close security deal with the uk after brexit, despite talk of cherry picking and so on. joey! quick! cherry picking!” talk of cherry picking and so on. joey! quick! cherry picking! i like to say it is pronounced by our friends abroad as sherry picking. a key moment for me was when i was talking to the secret squirrel contacts talking to the secret squirrel co nta cts we talking to the secret squirrel contacts we like to talk about. he said to me, i'm actually not going to speak to you on this evening, because i don't want brexit negotiations to happen through you oi’ negotiations to happen through you or your colleague, laura. that was interesting. because the two sites weren't talking. they weren't communicating. they didn't want to communicate through us. —— two sides. they obsessively looked at what each other is saying. and our tweets. and p

you know, it wasn't just out of solidarity with the uk, of course. orried in a wider way about russia. salisbury, though, felt very close to home for them. and as we know, they want to make sure that there is a close security deal with the uk after brexit despite all talk of cherry picking and so on. joey, joey, joey! quick! all: cherry picking! or as i like to say, as it is pronounced by some abroad, "sherry picking. " a key moment for me was speaking to — um, the secret squirrel contacts, we like to talk about, and he said to me, i am actually not to speak to you on this evening, katya, because don't want the brexit negotiations to happen through you or your colleague, laura, and that was really interesting, i mean, that was interesting. because the two sides wern't talking. they were not communicating. they didn't want to communicate through us, if you like. and that is fascinating. yes, there were certainly moments where it people were — well, you know, we can't go there, because that could influence negotiations. the two sides — they might not wa

i think the uk can be useful in both. and the northwest as it were of the country and there is a war going on which we think has gone on for too long. it is the primary conflict that is been going on for too long. it is claiming -- a humanitarian catastrophe unfolding. the uk can play a very important role i believe in encouraging moves towards a political solution. i think what is necessary is the to assist in the bombardment of saudi arabia and start using iranian made missiles to attack cities. it also requires some understanding that will have to be a political solution in which the houthis will have a role in yemen and the iranians are specifically excluded from exercising military or political power in that country. and in which the security of saudi arabia is protected. it is in that area that the solution is to be found. in the uk, we are heavily engaged in network. it is a priority for us. the committee has asked about similar priorities. miss smith and you have mentioned two. libya and yemen are areas we really w

the uk giving up ground and getting nothing back? ut hadn't even had its tummy tickled. now, the question then is what is the end state? many of us can swallow a good deal that is unsatisfactory in the transition, if it leads to a proper brexit in the end. ok, let me look at the northern ireland border question that nick just raised. theresa may is prepared to stand by what you already didn't like in december, in other words, if there is no deal, then the uk will remain fully aligned on those, particularly on those three things, in the eu's understanding on everything, fully aligned with eu rules supporting north—south cooperation. in other words, if there;s no deal, we all remain aligned in the eu. what that is saying is that we would stay in the eu, we'd still be in the customs union and single market at least to those parts that are related to the belfast agreement. does that make no deal less attractive to you? no, because no deal still means no deal. bear in mind... not if she says it goes back to what was signed in december? the