i'm saying confidently that we had an accommodation with the dup and the dup leadership have failed to close on that accommodation. action! the most difficult disagreement to resolve has been over the irish language. nationalists want a new law to protect and promote it. unionists want a wider piece of legislation including cultural elements which are more important to them. valentine's day brought a demonstration at stormont about another sticking point in the talks, sinn fein want to legalise same—sex marriage in northern ireland. the dup don't. there have been no ministers in place here for more than a year now. that means civil servants have, in effect, been running northern ireland, but they don't have the power to make any major decisions. the westminster government acknowledges the uncertainty is affecting public services and can can't continue. we need to consider practical steps. in the continued absence of an executive, other challenging decisions will have to be taken by the uk government. the dup have said ministers should be appointed in london to take on stormont‘s po

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

i say confidently we had an accommodation with the dup and —— the dup leadership have failed to close, accommodation. the response of sinn fein led to the collapse of the negotiations in northern ireland. sinn fein squarely blaming the dup for the collapse of the negotiations which means there is no prospect according to the dup of any resolution or any return to devolved government in northern ireland for the time being. but sinn fein clearly very angry. they say they're not making unreasonable requests and people can come back tomorrow with their own proposals to try to move things forward. so that was michelle o'neill things forward. so that was michelle 0'neill on behalf of sinn fein. president zuma of south africa says efforts by the country's governing anc to eject him from power are unfair. the party has threatened mr zuma with a parliamentary motion of no confidence tomorrow if he refuses to step down today, following persistent allegations of corruption. earlier police raided properties belonging to the wealthy gupta family — who are close to mr zuma — and three people we

sinn fein blamed the dup per what happened, saying they had reached an accommodation with the dup leadership that they had failed to close the deal. i'm joined by a leader of one of the other parties, colum eastwood, from the sdlp. what are your thoughts on what has happened today? it is a serious and real crisis for our institutions, for the good friday agreement. we have had 13 months with the government. the two political parties have been negotiating for that length of time and this is anotherfailure. we that length of time and this is another failure. we are that length of time and this is anotherfailure. we are heading that length of time and this is another failure. we are heading for direct rule from london and that has to be resisted at all costs. those of us here who don't support the dup can't have them calling the shots over aggreko —— for the british government to make decisions here in northern ireland. how much is your party, the sdlp, been involved in these because the asians? this negotiation has been held in private, in secret between the dup and sinn fein. they will no

and of dup supporters, almost exactly as many oppose of dup supporters, almost exactly as many oppose as support same—sex marriage. people use in northern island of same—sex marriage are conditioned more by age than necessarily religion these days. and with a new generation coming through, chances are that at some point same—sex marriage will be allowed in northern ireland. as symbols of that new generation go, it's hard to look past the sunflower bar in central belfast. at the height of the troubles, it was the scene of a loyalist terror attack that left three people dead. now it's a trendy bar that attract a younger, more progressive crowd. these issues are incredibly important to students... these young people voice frustration with a political system that they feel isn't working for them. people, for a variety of reasons, continue to vote on a sort of community affiliation basis rather than particular social issues, so it isn't effective to necessarily say to people that they should vote for this particular party because they will bring abortion reform or marriage equality.

the dup failed to close on that deal, on the accommodation which we had found, so the dup leadership had failed to come forward and close on theissues failed to come forward and close on the issues where we did find an accommodation. so these issues are not going to go away. myself and marylou mcdonald are against with both governments and the art to do that, and tomorrow we will set out a more fulsome response in relation to from here. there has been no executive here, no government since january last year and all decisions have been taken by civil servants. any big spending decisions, they simply haven't been taken at all. westminster passed a budget for northern ireland just to keep the wheels turning here but day—to—day politics have been in a limbo. with no prospect of a deal to restore the power—sharing executive, the northern ireland secretary has said, in her words, there are challenging decisions to be made. over the past few weeks, both parties have conducted discussion seriously and in good faith. while substantive process towards an agreement has been made, it appea

they must do what the dup says because the dup is propping up the main government. we must remember about the dup that two thirds of its members are these extreme free presbyterians, the paisley founded cult, and... cult is a bit strong language. i tend to refer to religions in general as cults. it is the largest party in northern ireland. it is the largest party that only 0.6% of people in northern ireland are actually free presbyterians, so they do represent something very extreme. in the same sense that sinn fein does not really represent nationalist views either. we have ended up with the two most extreme parties who do not represent in all polls what people actually feel and where they stand. it is a misrepresentation of the real state of being in northern ireland. interesting, and what is interesting, vincent, in the african angle, is that cyril ramaphosa and we we re angle, is that cyril ramaphosa and we were talking about a month ago first played a role in bringing sides together and inspecting ira arms dumps. so is there a role for outsiders at this point?

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

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

i'm saying confidently that we had an accommodation with the dup and the dup leadership have failed to close on that accommodation. the most difficult disagreement to resolve has been over the irish language. nationalists want a new law to protect and promote it. unionists want a wider piece of legislation including cultural elements which are more important to them. valentine's day brought a demonstration at stormont about another sticking point in the talks, sinn fein want to legalise same—sex marriage in northern ireland. the dup don't. there have been no ministers in place here for more than a year now. that means civil servants have been running northern ireland, but they don't have the power to make any major decisions. the westminster government acknowledges the uncertainty is affecting public services and can can't continue. we need to consider practical steps. in the continued absence of an executive other challenging decisions will have to be taken by the uk government. the dup have said ministers should be appointed in london to take on stormont‘s powers. a fix for the b

and of course without the agreement of the dup, there will be no agreement. so despite the fact that they say they are despite the fact that they say they a re close despite the fact that they say they are close to agreement and there is nothing insurmountable, as they go back into their offices there in stormont, we are not at the point where there is a formal agreement in place and of course if we get any more updates for you there from stormont we will bring them to you as soon as we can. 0ur stormont we will bring them to you as soon as we can. our main story is the scandal that is engulfing 0xfam because of allegations of sexual misconduct against some of its aid workers in haiti and some in chad. we have had the deputy chief executive resigning today, saying that she takes responsibility because it happened while she was responsible for this area. i'm joined now by the labour mp for hove, peter kyle, who is also a former aid worker. sorry to keep you waiting. we had to go to that opted there in belfast. what do you think of the way that 0xfa m what do y

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

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

i agree with joanne, it indicates what an arm lock the dup has the conservative government in. they can do whatever they like, they'll still get their billion pounds to be part of the tory voting system. and they can really play hardball over the irish language. they say the unionist community is horrified by the idea britishness would be hollowed out if you got irish street signs and gave it equal respect given to the english language. they are able to ta ke english language. they are able to take a hardline stance on this. the british government can't do a thing. the metro, jean—claude juncker againstjohnson. sounds like a tennis match at wimbledon. boxing match. more like boxing. boris johnson might have hoped the speech he made today would have made a bigger splash on the front pages. it was very widely trailed so it's been covered all the day—to—day. in a nutshell, this was borisjohnson making a positive liberal outraging speech about brexit. at the same time accusing junker of wanting to set upa time accusing junker of wanting to set up a european superstate. he sai

caused the colla pse to as they believes the dup caused the collapse to happen. and in the circumstances that they did. it is very contentious politically. angelina jolie, jennifer lawrence, daniel day—lewis, and gary 0ldman are among the stars attending this weekend's baftas. the film awards ceremony will be hosted by joanna lumley and it takes place at the royal albert hall in london. the shape of water leads this year's nominations, with 12 in total. however, the most notable film missing from the nominations is the post , starring meryl streep and tom hanks. joining me now is amanda berry, chief executive of the bafta. good to have you with us. lovely to be here. it's a fantastic prospect, when you look at the range of quality. before we get into talking about stars and films and a little about stars and films and a little about the event, with joanna hosting... i can't wait. that's something for lots of people. it is a big change and statement as well. is that what it's meant to be? she gave the most amazing speech at the television was last year when she

for viewers outside of the uk and maybe even outside of europe, the dup being the democratic unionist party in northern ireland, which is helping to support theresa may's government to get a majority to get those through parliament right now. and the issue, this issue of the border between northern ireland and ireland is one of these issues that has been very difficult to come up with answers on, that are approved by all the parties involved. the dup were in support of brexit but what they don't want to see is anything that creates a regulatory alignment, this was the deal that was done in december, between the north and the south. they want to have more of an alignment between the rest of the uk, and northern ireland. and this isa uk, and northern ireland. and this is a tripwire for this entire conversation. if this is to happen tomorrow, as is widely reported, this could have a huge impact on what theresa may has to try and think about next to get her head around, and in the meantime labour leaderjeremy corbyn has set out his stall, and this adds to the pressure on her because he is

but for the dup, the eu to stop that hard border reappearing. but forthe dup, of course as a result of this confidence and supply arrangement with theresa may's government, they don't want northern ireland to be treated any differently to the rest of the uk. that is utterly bizarre to me, they say they don't want a ha rd to me, they say they don't want a hard border but they are in favour of brexit and what appears to be a pretty ha rd of brexit and what appears to be a pretty hard brexit. you think, how can those two things go together? it doesn't make any sense to me, their position. hopefully there are lawyers that can work this stuff out and it would be some kind of fudge, wouldn't it? one of the that i keep hearing from brexiteers is that technology will solve this problem and we will have very advanced capabilities so even if there are different regulations between the two countries, a computer can check through to make sure everything is fine. what about all the people... i don't understand it, the people who cross over every day who work

prime minister's questions, where emily thornberry attacks the government and the dup for not backing votes at 16. they are not the coalition of chaos, mr speaker, they're the coalition of cavemen! but david lidington says that labour put up the age for doing all sorts of things. raised the age to buy fireworks to 18, and raised the age for using a sunbed to 18! but first, after two days of debate and 190 speakers, the eu withdrawal bill cleared its first parliamentary hurdle in the house of lords. the bill translates eu law into uk domestic law to avoid a legal black hole opening up after brexit. it's already been through the commons, so now it was down to peers to have their say, and the government could have been left in no doubt it was going to have a fight on its hands. a labour former transport secretary lord adonis proposed a rare vote to regret the bill, in effect calling for a second referendum. the interest of the public

some indications the dup and sinn fein we re indications the dup and sinn fein were on course for a deal. the prime minister theresa may, the irish prime minister leo varadkar, visited belfast on monday said they thought the basis for an agreement was there. the mood music changed slightly, it seemed there were difficulties over the key sticking points between the northern ireland parties, whether there should be a new law to protect and promote the irish language. in the last half—hour arlene foster the leader of the democratic unionist party has effectively called time on this current phase of negotiations which has been going on now for several weeks. mrs foster has said the discussions the dup have been having with sinn fein have been u nsuccessful, with sinn fein have been unsuccessful, significant gaps remain, and she says in the view of the dup there is no current prospect of the negotiations leading to a power—sharing executive being formed. it begs the question, now what happens? the government in london have been very reluctant to put in direct rule ministers, based in west

theresa may has a gossamer majority, so she has to do a deal with labour leaders and the dup and so on. this is so important for the future of our country. that is for one approach eu conservative, who said they would vote for their conscience over the party interest. if she was to make ita party interest. if she was to make it a confidence issue, she would play chicken with her mps, asking if they were going to vote down, if they were going to vote down, if they did that they would bring the conservative government down. we will be hearing from on friday. we will be hearing from on friday. we will see how she responds. do you see this as essentially a political move byjeremy corbyn, seizing the opportunity to make life more difficult? i see nothing wrong with that. he is the opposition leader. for a long time, the criticism we had, or that we have heard quite a lot, aboutjeremy had, or that we have heard quite a lot, about jeremy corbyn had, or that we have heard quite a lot, aboutjeremy corbyn is he is not interested in taking power and doing anything. he is always talking the big ta

first, in a spirited intervention by one dup mp, echoing of the words of his father during the troubles. does the minister agree with me that it is about time the government demonstrated a no surrender attitude to the european bureaucrats who try to blackmail us, and stand up to the eu and let's get on with leaving the eu! well, that plea came moments before the start of prime minister's questions during which the chair of the brexit committee raised the matter again. the prime minister will be aware that all free trade agreements involve some customs checks and therefore infrastructure at frontiers which would be completely incompatible with maintaining an open border between northern ireland and the republic. as the cabinet subcommittee is finally getting around to discussing this, could the prime minister explain to the house why she is so opposed to the uk remaining any customs with the eu when not only would this be betterfor the british economy, but what also helped to ensure that that border remains as it is today which is what all of us want? the united kingdom is leaving the eu

. 0nce except, of course, the conservative party and the dup. once again, it joined opposition to change. they are not the coalition of chaos, they are not the coalition of chaos, they are the coalition of caveman. why doesn't the minister realise the lesson that we women toured his predecessor ‘s 100 years ago, when change is right it cannot be resisted for ever and this is a change whose time has come. mr speaker, i think my advice to the right honourable lady is to wean herself off the habit of watching older versions of the flintstones on the relevant cartoon channel. the situation we have with the national voting age at 18 is one that is followed by 26 out of the 27 other members of the european union, by the united states, canada, new zealand, and australia. unless she is going to denounce all of those countries as somehow inadequate to her own particular standards, then, quite honestly, mr speaker, she ought to grow up and treat this subject with a greater degree of seriousness. yes, was visited way different subject altogether. brexit.

in northern ireland, the leader of the dup says there's "no current prospect" of a deal to restore power—sharing. and the official seal of approval for team gb's skeleton competition skinsuits. and coming up on sportsday on bbc news: curling is back at the winter olympics as team gb's men's and women's teams secure victory in their opening match. good evening. a man has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of a0 years, for kidnapping, raping and murdering his 20—year—old neice, celine dookhran. mujahid arshid, who is 33, was also found guilty of kidnapping, raping and attempting to murder a second woman, who can't be named. the pair were attacked at a house in kingston upon thames in south london last summer. in south west london last summer. a second man was found not guilty of kidnap. our home affairs correspondent june kelly reports. it contains some distressing details. celine dookhran was 20 years old. she worked in a bank and had a boyfriend. she also had a jealous uncle, who was a savage sexual predator. he kidnapped celine and then raped and murdered her. mujahid arshid a

the dup never embraced those commitments and agreements. the disrespect of irish identity is clear and asked ten years. they know what the —— may no longer wanted the government to look after certain sections of society. we had arrogance shown towards some sections of society and particularly towards irish national identity that did not make a good government. it isafar did not make a good government. it is a far cry from the good friday agreement and the peace agreement that was so hard won. what we have set out to do in the past 13, 1a months is to find a way forward. we wa nt to months is to find a way forward. we want to be in government and picked government departments. we want to fight the fight against brexit, which the majority of people in northern ireland voted against. we wa nt to northern ireland voted against. we want to fight austerity. despite the challenges, we still want to be in government but we can‘t make it work if we don‘t have a partner to work with us. i using the attacker today‘s talks, no progress at all

tonight, we'll ask the dup what next for northern ireland after those power—sharing talks collapse. and, new trouble for oxfam as another big name ambassador halts his association with the charity. join me now on bbc two. that's newsnight with evan. here on bbc one it's time for the news where you are. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm hugh woozencroft. it's a ‘fab five‘ for liverpool in the champions league as sadio mane inspires them to victory over porto in the last 16. there‘s another happy red as the ‘flying tomato‘ shaun white takes his third halfpipe gold at the winter olympics. chris froome says he should be allowed to compete as he returns to cycling for the first time since an adverse drugs test. well, plenty to come but if you‘re a liverpool fan and you cancelled that valentine‘s day dinner in order to watch the football tonight, congratulations, you clearly made the right decision. and it was a case of ‘p.s i love you‘ asjurgen klopp‘s side wrote home with a huge 5—0 win away at porto... side wrote home with a huge 5—0 win away at porto. my d

the dup though still blame sinn fein for the deadlock and they expect westminster to pass a budget for northern ireland in the coming weeks. the government still saying tonight that it regards devolution as the only way forward, but if there was any hope that political relationships here would start to heal after last week's negotiations break down. if anything, there are signs that divisions are deepening. chris, many thanks again for latest thoughts there at stormont. chris page our ireland correspondent. for the third time, the high court has ruled that ministers must to do more to deal with air pollution in towns and cities in england and wales. it said existing plans were unlawful because they won't bring pollution levels within legal limits in the "shortest possible time." ministers will now have to introduce new measures in a further 33 towns and cities. 0ur science editor, david shukman, reports. the air we breathe. in dozens of places, it's dirtier than the law allows. for years, an environmental group has challenged the government to do more, and today the high court ordered

has been very clear on that for that we've talked about with the good friday agreement, but also the dup would not countenance it, and they provide the prime minister with her majority in parliament. so that's not going to happen. boris johnson suggesting that trade would not be affected by a hard border if there was one. that word if that he uses there was one. that word if that he usesis there was one. that word if that he uses is what the telegraph have clearly grabbed onto. it's him saying that it might actually happen, and his words are quite interesting. so, what will happen, who knows, but it's not good timing. tomorrow the eu will put out their d raft tomorrow the eu will put out their draft recommendation for the withdrawal next stage and what is good to happen with ireland. from the stories coming tonight, it looks as though they are playing a tough game too. they are not going to go with a prime minister's preferred options and they are saying the northern ireland needs to stay in some sort of customs agreement. it's a mess. and as we've already seen, opposition mps suggesting

the dup has said this morning that there is still work to be done. while there is optimism that a deal is possible, the fact that the optimism is geared up the fact that the optimism is geared up toward a deal being done today, i think that is far—fetched. it is more likely that we are likely to see a deal this week rather than today. thank you. london city airport has been closed for the day, affecting almost 20,000 passengers, after a second world war bomb was found nearby. all flights have been cancelled or rerouted to other airports and local residents have been asked to evacuate. the bomb was discovered by divers in the river thames. the metropolitan police estimate that, depending on the tides, the operation should be over by tomorrow morning. kensington palace has announced more details of the wedding of prince harry and meghan markle at windsor castle. the service, in st george's chapel, will begin at midday on may the 19th, avoiding a clash with the fa cup final. here's our royal correspondent nicholas witchell. they are said to be closely

the dup leader has said there will be no deal... bringing the irish language to be on par an official language here. there would be no deal on her watch. she said the fundamentally want a stand—alone bill on the irish language. —— sinn fein said. that is where they cannot meet. there may be some sort of compromise here where there may be a number of different bills put together and that might end up giving both sides what they want. this is difficult. the idea is there will be some sort of deal but a deal todayis will be some sort of deal but a deal today is looking less likely. the dup will have difficulty selling that to the wider party. perhaps it is more appropriate to talk about a deal later this week rather than today. the headlines. oxfam is summoned to a meeting with the government over allegations that some of its staff use prostitutes in haiti. its funding could be in doubt. becky dobson is named as one of three britons who died in a crash over the grand canyon. theresa may has been meeting workers in belfast. her vi

the dup leader arlene foster has been urging the government to set a budget and take key decisions about the region's infrastructure. sinn fein leader mary lou mcdonald has again warned direct rule is not an option for northern ireland. we can cross now to stormont and our ireland correspondent chris page. we heard in the house of commons this afternoon from karen bradley the northern ireland secretary. she had hoped to go back this week to talk about the restoration of devolved government 13 months after it collapsed but instead was updating mps about the collapse of those negotiations between the dup in sinn fein. that has meant she had major decisions to make. the civil serva nts major decisions to make. the civil servants have effectively been running the stormont departments for a yearand running the stormont departments for a year and they have said they need a year and they have said they need a budget for the next financial year just a few weeks from now. she indicated that she did intend to bring forward a budget for northern ireland in westminster. things in northern ireland ca

, she is under pressure from the dup, she is under pressure from the dup, she is under pressure from her own brexit years who are adamant that nothing should be done to threaten the integrity of the uk orto be done to threaten the integrity of the uk or to succumb to the authority of the european court of justice, so we do seem to be heading for a very significant confrontation over the northern ireland border. so if she can't give ground what is the tentative? the hope must be that both sides lawyers can engage in a bit of linguistic gymnastics to somehow mash the two arguments and avoid a confrontation but we're reaching the point where it seems to be increasingly hard to resort to that sort of ambiguity because we do need firm decisions on what will happen to the border once we quit the eu. the british government hope is that all of this can be avoided by a broader trade package, in which we continue to have seamless access to the single market. the noises from brussels are, that is not on, that's called cherry picking. a second option the british covered have floated is having am

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

he does have his supporters here, though, the dup have pointed out there are already different taxes and excise duties on other side of the border and pathology is used to monitor payments in that regard. downing street has said that the foreign secretary was not actually proposing a new technological fix secretary was not actually proposing a new technologicalfix but secretary was not actually proposing a new technological fix but instead was simply trying to illustrate how easy the movement of people would be over the border in comparison to the movement of people around the city of london. and maybe the reason they have said that is because the government actually released a position paper last august in which it appeared to rule out any new installation of cameras on the border, saying there would be no physical infrastructure and at the time officials said that would include the kind of cctv and numberplate recognition cameras which are so important for the congestion charge to be collected in london. joining me is the political editor of the irish times, pat leahy. thank you ve

the dup and sinn fein have been working hard to close the remaining gaps, but i would like to recognise the contribution of other parties here in northern ireland. what i am clear about is that we are all fully committed to doing all we can to support this process , doing all we can to support this process, and as far as westminster is concerned, we stand ready to legislate for the re—establishment ofan legislate for the re—establishment of an executive as soon as possible after an agreement. let's go back 110w after an agreement. let's go back now to our top story. as we've been hearing, the deputy chief executive of 0xfam, penny lawrence, has resigned amid criticism of the charity's handling of a sex scandal involving former employees in haiti in 2011. following a meeting with the charity, the secretary of state for international development, penny mordaunt, said 0xfam assured her they were co—operating fully with authorities in countries where abuse had been reported. ms mordaunt said... 0ur diplomatic correspondent james landale is here. is that effectively the end of the matt

they have been out of power there along with the dup since the power—sharing executive collapsed just over 13 months ago. mary lou mcdonald now ta kes months ago. mary lou mcdonald now takes over as leader of the party, which is the second—largest in northern ireland and the third largest in the irish were just their ambition is to be in government on both sides of the border. they're perhaps unique in that they operate in two differentjurisdictions. mary lou mcdonald will be hoping to put some of the more controversial aspects of sinn fein‘s pastor, the linked with the ira, in the background and focus more on the name of being in government in stormont and in dublin. the next irish general election is not due until 2021, but because the prime minister leo varadkar leads a minority government, there could be an election later on this year perhaps even, so that will be the next major test for mary lou mcdonald, as she leads a party into her first election as leader here in the irish republic. the headlines on bbc news... the head of oxfam denies a cover up over claims that haiti ai

other differences between the parties, notably sinn fein want to legalise same—sex marriage and the dup do not. there are disagreements over how the unsolved killings from the troubles should be investigated. the irish border is a significant matter in the brexit negotiations, which is one reason parties say they want devolution back. it is about finding an accommodation that recognises the need to respect all languages and cultures in northern ireland. the issues have been difficult but they we re never issues have been difficult but they were never beyond resolution. what were never beyond resolution. what we want is to finalise a deal. theresa may left with the stormont situation still unresolved but the mood improved. events in the next few days will determine whether power—sharing returns. the united nations says it is gravely concerned about the escalating violence in the democratic republic of congo, with thousands fleeing the northeast of the country, because of the continuing conflict between ethnic groups. the humanitarian situation across the country has drastically worsene

the dup failed to close on that deal, and on the accommodation, which we have found. this is outside source live from the bbc newsroom. our top story... south africa's political crisis comes to a head — president zuma in the last few minutes says he is resigning. other stories from around the bbc. the danish royalfamily has announced that prince henrik, the husband of queen margrethe, has died. he was 83 and had been suffering from dementia. prince henrik married princess margrethe in 1967 and they had two sons. a group of 15 latin american nations have criticised venezuela's president nicolas maduro for his decision to call a presidential election. the ‘lima group' of nations says that with so many political prisoners, elections cannot be free nor fair. more on bbc mundo. a usjudge has thrown out a copyright case against taylor swift over her use of the phrase "haters gonna hate". songwriters sean hall and nathan butler argued that her single shake it off stole from their song — playas gon' play. thejudge said the phrase is too banal. the development has finall

put forward because he knows it is important to keep the conservative party ‘s allies on board, the dup of northern ireland, they need them for a majority. that's one reason why they are doing this but at the european commission, the idea of a ha rd european commission, the idea of a hard border between the north and the south island is not acceptable. it is squaring the circle at some stage, and michel barnier the from european commission is making this clear, the british government need to come forward with what he would regard as realistic negotiating positions. when they see this in brussels, i know when i hearfrom people in brussels, they don't regard it as being realistic. and the peace process plays into this. we will hear from john major, the former prime minister here, about the fact that all of this could undermine the good friday agreement? you need to remember the fragility of northern ireland, to people who are journalists of my generation, the 19805 is not that long ago. although ireland has come a long way in terms of healing, some of the elements of the fractures between

i can't see how that will play with northern ireland and the dup because it would put a border between... we thought we had sorted this out the other week! as michel barnier says, the clock is ticking. the telegraph has a fantastic picture on its front page. this is another one of the stories we've been discussing, the opening of those winter olympics with the combined north and south korean team. we've got mike pence, the vice president of the united states and behind him the sister of kim jong—un. that's all she is known as is his sister. she's a despot in harrowing right! —— in her own right. that's the sister smiling beatifically. mike pence ignored this dinner that certain north korean dignitaries were invited to and so had he. he's not talking to them. it's a slightly childish way... it looks as though he's a bit embarrassed by the whole thing is. because i'm so obsessed with the weather at the moment because it's freezing, i've been watching and the journalists apparently have heat packs but in the ceremony some of the performers as well as the athletes, some in shorts, on

dup source says agreement is unlikely to date. the last administration led by the parties collapsed more than a year ago. south africa's governing party the anc says the fate of president zuma will be decided within 24—hour us. zuma will be decided within 24—hour us. there is mounting pressure for him to stand down following allegations of corruption. speaking ata allegations of corruption. speaking at a rally in cape town the leader of the anc, cyrano poser said the key aim of any transition of power was to unite south africans. tenzing tim pallas has announced more details of the wedding of rins harry and meghan markle at windsor castle on the 19th of may. the service in st george's chapel starts at midday, and means it's unlikely to clash with the fa cup final. it's been confirmed the archbishop of canterbury were married couple and the dean of windsor will conduct the service, 800 guests will be there and the newlyweds will undertake a short carriage procession around windsor at 1pm. that's a summary of the latest bbc news

theresa may has a gossamer majority, so she has to do a deal with labour leaders and the dup and so on. this is so important for the future of

the government's working majority with the dup. the number of labour rebels who will support the government on brexit, who add to that majority. then you can calculate how many tory rebels then need to be to make customs union happen. let's go through those. at the risk of trying to outbid you of all people on numbers. the government's effective working majority with the help of the dup and house of commons is 13. it's widely assumed there are seven labour brexit rebels, in other words they will vote down the line with the government on brexit, which effectively gives the government a majority of 27. you must double the 7. that means you then need 1a tory rebels to overturn that. although when the government was defeated in december on that dominic grieve amendment on a future vote he managed to muster 12 conservative mps. very finely balanced. one of the techniques we've heard that the government may adopt is to say, you are notjust voting on customs union, you are voting on the future of the government. a confidence motion. does

the dup, obviously in conference with the conservatives. arlene foster said in december that any form of regulatory divergence between northern ireland and the rest of uk was unacceptable. this is going to be a big problem. and if you remember, she kicked up a bit of a stink to theresa may, which set back this issue of them finding agreement over its. also, rosalind andi agreement over its. also, rosalind and i were talking about eight twitter comments enda kenny from a viewer. talking about how maybe theresa may should take on the rambling border... —— a twitter comment came in from a viewer. lots of roads keep crossing over, was the points. and there are farmers would land on both sides and there are people that work on one side and on the other across over every single day. jeremy, thank you for your tweet. let's look at the times. embattled universities face limits on powers. they're really under the spotlight at the moment. and with good reason. all these vice chancellors arnie crazy 6—figure salaries. there is reason to think th

between the crisis too, notably sinn fein wanting to legalise same—sex marriage in northern ireland, the dup, they don't, and there are disagreements about how the killings in the troubles should be investigated. as the deadlock continues the irish border has become a significant matter in the brexit negotiations, that's one of the reasons why parties say they wa nt the reasons why parties say they want devolution bag and a deal sounds doable. it's about finding an accommodation that recognises the need to respect all languages and all need to respect all languages and a ll cultures need to respect all languages and all cultures in northern ireland. the issues have been difficult in some respects but they were never beyond resolution so what we want i'iow beyond resolution so what we want now is to finalise a deal. theresa may left with the stormont stalemate still unresolved but the mood improved. events over the next few days will terminal where the power—sharing returns. chris page, bbc news, belfast. relatives and friends have been paying tribute to three british tourists who were kill

and we haven't heard about it for awhile because the dup are keeping their powder dry until the next time they are asked to agree with the cabinet 01’ are asked to agree with the cabinet or government about something. as tony said, this is not a huge the money but it an interesting figure, we need these faces to come up, it is what we have been lacking, they have boris, mr gove, jacob rees—mogg, leader in waiting if you read certain editorials. ifeel rees—mogg, leader in waiting if you read certain editorials. i feel it is up to the remainers to find somebody suitably high profile and dynamic and it could be an 87—year—old millionaire. dynamic and it could be an 87-year-old millionaire. there was gina miller with her legal challenge. why are you smiling?|j find challenge. why are you smiling?” find the idea isjacob rees—mogg being promised both hilarious and terrifying! a year ago i would have said no but these days who knows? i don't think he would command the support of the majority of the parliament who party. he might have supporters but there are more than 300 tory

has been very clear on that for that we've talked about with the good friday agreement, but also the dup would not countenance it, and they provide the prime minister with her majority in parliament. so that's not going to happen. boris johnson suggesting that trade would not be affected by a hard border if there was one. that word if that he uses there was one. that word if that he usesis there was one. that word if that he uses is what the telegraph have clearly grabbed onto. it's him saying that it might actually happen, and his words are quite interesting. so, what will happen, who knows, but it's not good timing. tomorrow the eu will put out their d raft tomorrow the eu will put out their draft recommendation for the withdrawal next stage and what is good to happen with ireland. from the stories coming tonight, it looks as though they are playing a tough game too. they are not going to go with a prime minister's preferred