afternoon ben, it could go head to head with strictly come dancing under the terms of the new broadcast package. more details coming up. louise has all the weather — with snow showers in many some parts? yes, plenty in the north and west, significant snow could threaten on sunday. more details in half an hour. hello everyone — this is afternoon live. let's get the latest from brussels with david eades. thank you. when it happened, my goodness that happened fast, talks to the matt done suddenly theresa may was in brussels talking with jean—claude juncker the president of the european commission and the deal was done. that was spread from dublin to belfast, everywhere you looked, everyone had some sense of agreement that this would be good enough forjean—claude juncker to announce that sufficient progress has now been made on three keyissues progress has now been made on three key issues of this brexit divorce to allow for future trade steel discussions to begin. it has been a tortuous project so far and will get more challenging still but on what has been a breathtaking last few hours at fleming has this report. back to brussels to give it another go. the prime minister's early morning mission to steer brexit talks off divorce issues and on to the future. theresa may and her team would not have taken a flight in the middle of the night to arrive here in the dark if they feared a repeat of monday when they came to brussels thinking a deal was done and it wasn't. overjuice and pastries, the two sides agreed a 15—page list of promises. david davis' face — proof that it has taken an exhausting series of talks to get the eu to say this. the commission has just formally decided to recommend to the european council that sufficient progress has now been made on the strict terms of the divorce. what is the biggest compromise the other side has made to get you to this was a question, actually, of coming together and working together for a report and agreements that were in the best interests of all sides. here's what the negotiators have actually negotiated. to guarantee the rights of eu citizens staying in the uk, the european court of justice will still have a role for eight years after brexit, although it might affect just a handful of cases. the uk has finalised an agreement in principle about its financial obligations, that could end up being between £35 and £39 billion, according to officials. both sides restated a commitment to know hard border on the island of ireland. northern irish politicians will get a say on any proposals that could affect northern ireland's relationship with the rest of the uk. then the prime minister dashed off to see the man who will chair next week's summit of eu leaders, his message to them, progress, yes but not time to start celebrating. let us remember that the most difficult challenge is still ahead. we all know that breaking up is hard... but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder. in other words, the eu's chief negotiator now has to haggle over a transition period and a possible trade deal. are you going to be celebrating, mr barnier? no. cracking open the champagne? we are still workng. no. still more work to do. 0k. no champagne? all of this will be approved by the 27eu countries here in brussels a week today. in the new year to start not even coffee? with me is the correspondent for the german newspaper die zeit. in these three key areas are you in a position to say that the uk is winning or the eu? how do you perceive it? my perception is that the government has had to give up a lot of illusions. when you see the divorce bill to be paid, the european court of justice divorce bill to be paid, the european court ofjustice accepted and on the northern ireland issue, i think the eu will get what it wants, basically a border between the uk and europe. where would you say that leaves the british minister? in a difficult position because she has to make it clear that this is the beginning of the end of illusions. i would say what is a breakthrough is the end of the time we could have illusions. now it needs to be said that if you want to leave the eu you are outside the market and outside the customs union and if you want that you need a border. one thing we have learned time and time again with any negotiation, we always have crisis all the time within the eu, it's fine to make a deal but it still has to be sold at home. if theresa may is perceived to have sold out on a weak deal there will be no deal. yes but from the point of view of the european union they feel it is strong regarding brexit but it has other problems like the catalonian problem and russia so brexit is one of many problems and they want to get on with this. i think they feel pretty strongly towards the united kingdom so even if the government in london is not capable of getting a solution, european union will stick to its position, more than that it cannot do. interesting that you mention some of these other problems, within germany there is no government established, can angela merkel paulette off, she is the spiritual leader in some ways of the eu and yet this has been done without. yes, and now she has to form a government but remember all 27 countries have been united on this brexit is you, it is surprising how united they are committed took them four minutes to get this deal, so even if angela merkel is not in the government effectively at the moment i think an brexit the eu is still united. thank you very much. one thing that the prime minister of the irish republic said, was this isjust prime minister of the irish republic said, was this is just the end prime minister of the irish republic said, was this isjust the end of the beginning. i think no one is under any illusions, despite a clear sense of relief in brussels, that there is harder and tougher still to come. the trade relations discussion will be intense and extremely difficult, and all the issues, all those agreed even here today in the last few hours, they still light on that table, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, we have a very long way still to go. back to london. david, thank you very much. theresa may heralded the deal as "hard won" and in everybody‘s interests. it's also being seen as politically crucial for her and her negotiating team. the senior cabinet brexiteer michael gove described it as a significant personal political achievement for the prime minister. the shadow brexit secretary, labour's keir starmer, welcomed the fact that talks can now move on — but stressed this point should have been reached weeks ago. chris mason reports now on the political reaction to today's agreement, and thorny issues that still lie ahead. striding towards an agreement. but any negotiating about anything involves compromise, and this is no different. so while both of them were wearing smiles and exchanging handshakes this morning, at about the time many of us were crawling out of bed, what were the big political hitters over here making of it? this agreement is a significant political achievement for the prime minister. it helps to guarantee the rights of eu citizens in the uk. it will be uk courts that safeguard those rights. of course, they will have regard for eu law and in a limited number of cases for a limited period of time, they can if they wish to, if there is a point of law that is ambiguous, go to the european courts ofjustice for help to resolve the issue. but this is a time limited and very specific exception, and it is uk courts in the driving seat. i am very pleased to see this deal. the prime minister has put a great deal of personal effort into it, including staying up all night to finalise it. and it is clear that it is also being broadly welcomed by our eu partners, even if many of them remain profoundly upset that we are leaving the eu. so they saw both sides of the conservative divide rowing in behind the prime minister. that is one big reason why, if you tilt your ear, you can probably hear the huge sighs of relief coming from downing street. but remember, this isjust the beginning of this negotiating process. what is to come, the discussion about the future relationship with the eu will be more complicate, in all likelihood. that is why opposition parties are keeping up the pressure on the prime minister. this is the point we had hoped to get to two months ago. what the prime minister needs to do is to focus on transitional measures immediately. that work should have started in october. it now needs to start straightaway. a few conservative mps privately are grumbling about the deal. they see it as a compromise too far. this man, who you might recognise agrees with them. amazing, the british prime ministerflying through the middle of the night, to meet unelected bureaucrats who pat her on the head, and say you have met all of our demands, we can move on to the next stage. it is a humiliation. for the prime minister, the progress she hoped for has been made. but it merely marks the end of a beginning of a negotiation far, farfrom done. chris mason, bbc news at westminster. our chief political correspondent vicki young is in westminsterfor us. for theresa may the week started disastrously but i suppose it has endedin disastrously but i suppose it has ended in the victory of sorts. last night downing street or staff having their christmas party, which involved karaoke singing all we are told the prime minister didn'tjoin in but she will be far more pleased than she was at the beginning of the week. it really was a humiliating moment when she had to take that call from the dup and come back from brussels with no deal. people were talking about how precarious her position and the position of the government was at that point so it was very important to be able to move forward. it's interesting that the dup say they are still not happy but she is going to go forward anyway, some see that also reasserting her authority over them. as far as the brexiteers in her cabinet go, they seem pretty happy to a cce pt cabinet go, they seem pretty happy to accept some compromises and it is worth adding ourselves that they talked about not having to pay a penny to the eu at one point, now we are talking about a payment of £35 billion, talking about the european court ofjustice having some kind of role although it will be limited but it does seem that they are willing to a cce pt it does seem that they are willing to accept those compromises. i think thatis to accept those compromises. i think that is because they want to move forward , that is because they want to move forward, they want a free—trade arrangement, the deal, if they don't get it who knows what will happen. it's important to make the point that this is the preliminary round. we are not yet into the main thing. and that will be an issue of course. and that will be an issue of course. a lot of these difficult questions about the irish border, they've all been knocked ahead to stage two, if you like and none have that has been resolved even within theresa may's gun cabinet. yet i think she will feel relieved that she is getting to christmas and this progress has happened, the last time she had good news was a long time ago so i think she will deserve a little bit of a celebration. thank you vicki young, our political correspondent. during hours of discussions and phone calls, theresa may secured agreement on the issue of the irish border, from both the irish prime minister and the democratic unionists, whose earlier objections had prevented a deal being struck. our ireland correspondent chris buckler reports now on the impact of the border question in these talks. negotiating the way through this first phase of brexit talks has been difficult. and ireland's border roads have at times looked like the issue where people could get stuck. today, a way forward has been found. and the changes in the document recognise the dup's concerns about what dublin wanted, that northern ireland would be tied to the eu's trading rules, even if the rest of the uk was not. but it is worth noting that the unionists are warning of a little caution. there are still matters there that we would have liked to have seen clarified. we ran out of time, essentially, we think we needed to go back again and talk about those matters but the prime minister decided to go to brussels in relation to this text and she says she has done that the national interest. the dup were worried that if northern ireland and great britain ended up having different rules and regulations... it could lead to barriers to trade within the uk. today's agreement rules that out. and it says that businesses here will still have unfettered access to the united kingdom's own internal markets, effectively dismissing the idea of a border in the irish sea. and the irish government says it is satisfied that there will be no customs posts at the land border. there is no question of us trying to exploit brexit as a means to moving towards a united ireland without consent. we don't want to see a border in the irish sea, any more than we want there to be a border between newry and dundalk, and others. we want to build bridges, not borders. the words of the deal are being studied closely. they are open to interpretation. there was enough in them to satisfy both the dup and the irish government but there is still the potential for disagreement about what the text actually means, and certainly this document does not solve all of the problems posed by this island's border. removing the final blockage to trade talks is a significant moment. but the irish border always has the potential to cause division. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. let's discuss this question of the irish border. joining me now from dublin is neale richmond — the brexit spokesman for fine gael, the party in government. thank you forjoining us. when it comes to the irish question as part of these talks the deal is a load of fudge, is it not, the cannes has been kicked way down the road. the irish government has been clear throughout that we need written assurances that they will be no return to a border on the island of ireland. we've got bad and there's enoughin ireland. we've got bad and there's enough in this document to ensure that both from customs and regulatory point of view the whole island of ireland will be kept together but there's also acceptance together but there's also acceptance to make sure northern ireland is kept together with the rest of the uk. we think this is a good hard one document that will have something for everyone and is pleasing for all sides of this debate. the democratic unionists who were so worried earlier this week and effectively kibosh to the deal, they seem to have reluctantly supported this although not wholeheartedly. they seem to have agreed to a lot of it, not all of it, is that your understanding. no, we understand that paragraph 49 was putting to enable the government to get the agreement from the dup. now we move on to phase two, belatedly but happily and i think is a good starting point to start at the beginning. having read it several times, what is not clear is how you will still avoid a hard border because it says the agreement, in the absence of a later agreement on trade deal the uk will ensure full alignment with the rules of the customs union and the single market while upholding the good friday agreement. how will that happen if it comes to that? if it is ensuring thatis it comes to that? if it is ensuring that is alignment which is something the irish government sought throughout, there will be no customs posts on the border which would create the hard border. will that effectively mean that the whole of the uk has to stay in the customs union and the single market? there's scope within this agreement are there to be an alignment for the uk with the whole of the eu, which we wa nted with the whole of the eu, which we wanted from the outset, unless the trade talks can nail the stone into specific details are certain areas, thatis specific details are certain areas, that is still to come but it does mean that there will be alignment for the whole of the uk and the eu which we believe will be ideal but we need to move on to phase two. alignment is a vague word and people who supported brexit are worried that means continuing to stay in the customs union and the single market through the back door. we recognise that it through the back door. we recognise thatitis through the back door. we recognise that it is the will of the people of the uk to leave the customs union and the single market, a regrettable decision we think that respected. it needs to be ensured that both from a regulatory and customs point of view there is no need to create divisions between the united kingdom and the entire eu unless week can get trade negotiations were we look at specific areas to make sure that this will work. neale richmond, thank you forjoining us, brexit spokesman for fine gael, thank you. and a reminder that if you want more detail on today's more detail on today's brexit agreement — the bbc‘s reality check team has been examining some of the key lines in today's document. just go to bbc dot co dot uk forward slash reality check. breaking news, in the last few months the palestinian authority has confirmed that a protester has been shot dead in gaza by the israeli army. the first person to be killed in the clashes that have followed president trump's controversial decision to recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel. let's show you live pictures, these are of clashes between protesters and security forces in bethlehem, following friday prayers. security has been stepped up after the militant group hamas called for a day of rage. this is the first death in these protests since president trump announced that controversial us decision to recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel. these are pictures coming into us from bethlehem, a palestinian shot dead in gaza by the israeli army, according to the health ministry the first person to die since the clashes with the announcement by the president of the united states, this 30—year—old man was killed in clashes along the israeli— gaza border. the latest on the reaction in the middle east from our correspondentjohn thomason. it has been built by palestinians as a day of rage, in the west bank city of bethlehem clashes have already erupted, israeli soldiers with tear gas, palestinians throwing rocks. so far the violence has been in a relatively small scale. the question is, whether it will escalate. around two muslim's old city israeli security has been wrapped up. palestinians gathered for friday prayers but there are fears that as soon as they are over there could be more clashes. extra police, undercover units, will respond on the outskirts of the city to any incidents or protests. how heavily israel responds could determine whether these protests gather momentum. but for these palestinians by declaring jerusalem as the capital of israel donald trump has crossed a line. when the american president makes this kind of decision he reviles all other leaders and regimes cooperating with him. it was in mackie is also pushing the region towards violence. jerusalem belongs to all muslims, it is in our hearts and in the hearts of all muslims, it does not belong to trump orto of all muslims, it does not belong to trump or to the jewish people. that was not the message the president was giving last night. that was not the message the president was giving last nightlj know for a fact there are a lot of happy people in this room. as he celebrated holiday of hanukkah a week early, you knew he came bearing gifts. we wish you a very happy hanukkah andi gifts. we wish you a very happy hanukkah and i think this one will go down as especially special. but as violence in and around jerusalem escalates further a decision that supporters of trump regard as bold will be seen by many as reckless. john donnison, bbc news. our correspondent tom bateman has told us correspondent tom bateman has told us what the atmosphere is like. jerusalem is often a flash point when it comes to controversies, to these contested issues, we watched as midday prayers took place and people walked out from one of the holy sites through the gates weather often protests and they simply walked away. in one of the other gates there were hundreds of people there, they were chanting and flags we re there, they were chanting and flags were held and there were some minor confrontations with police but otherwise things were on a smaller scale, at least injerusalem than we have seen in previous crises. further afield in the occupied west bankin further afield in the occupied west bank in bethlehem and hebron there have been clashes, as there have also been in gaza, the palestinian red crescent reports ioo also been in gaza, the palestinian red crescent reports 100 people injured, although most of these injuries are not set to be serious. all of this as a potential diplomatic crisis continues between the palestinian leadership and the united states with only ten days now untilmike united states with only ten days now until mike pence, the vice president of the usa, is due to visit the region. that was tom bateman reporting. an up—to—date on the weather, and the snow showers bringing about school closures in some areas. the number of schools closed because of snow has now reached 172 across wales. flinch, denbighshire and wrexham have the most closures but schools in mid wales and south wales are also affected. that's the latest on school closures in wales. these we re on school closures in wales. these were scenes for drivers in north wales this morning. you can see that yellow weather warnings telling people to be aware we pursued across much of scotland, northern ireland, wales and north—west england. in shropshire residents woke to a wider blanket of snow, dozens of schools in the county have been closed for the day. and meanwhile on the isle of man, all schools on the island have been closed and there is continuing travel disruption. we'll be getting more and the weather prospects with louise and a couple of moments. wild fires in southern california are stretching firefighting services to the limit, firefighters are working around the clock, so far 200,000 people have been forced to flee from their homes. overnight new wild flyers broke out in san diego county. james cook reports from california. an epic battle continues, they've been fighting this battle all week, still it devours forest and brush and has destroyed more than 340 buildings. yet again tonight this place is burning with intense ferocity. which means a bottle because this property very very close to the fire. —— this means a battle. these firefighters have been working hard for the past few days, they are exhausted but they are back to try to stop this fire from burning these properties. the fire is now churning towards the pacific ocean where communities as far north as santa barbara are preparing for evacuations. to the south a new blaze exploded fast in san diego county, blowing up gas tax under comes and forcing pupils to flee from schools. for those of you currently not impacted by the fire they need to prepare as if they are impacted, where were they go, where there is gay groups, what is the communication with their family. what will they do with their pets —— where are the escape routes. we don't ask people to think about these things continuously but tonight is one of those nights, todayis tonight is one of those nights, today is one of those fires were privileged to be ready. in exclusive suburb of los angeles bel air the situation has improved, and full of homes destroyed, many more saved. decision lionel richie and socialite paris hilton are among those forced to flee their mansions. —— the musician lionel richie. every firefighting aircraft in the united states has been summoned to california and they are making a big difference. with resources stretched to the limits firefighters from neighbouring states have arrived to help. there will be needed, the extreme weather is forecast to continue into the weekend. james cook, bbc news, california. from fires to snow, let's get the latest weather as promised. quite a lot of snow and more on sunday? the met office has issued an amber warning, one rank above yellow. yellow means be aware and amber means be prepared to there's sure to be major disruption. we could see 20 centimetres of snow fall early on sunday morning across wales, northern england and the midlands. how long will this cold snap last? it's a tricky one. there's a little bit of milder air threatening by the end of the day on sunday but them the cold weather is set to return and for the month of december it looks quite cold. yesterday simon andi looks quite cold. yesterday simon and i talked about the chances of a white christmas. that's the problem, a couple of weeks before christmas everybody wants snow on christmas day. snow is hard to forecast. very tricky for us because we are a tiny island. the front that arrives on sunday to cause this amber weather warning, behind is mild airs and temperatures of between ten and ii and the airabove temperatures of between ten and ii and the air above it is only around two or three degrees. so that's the difficulty. the boundary between the cold airand difficulty. the boundary between the cold air and the mild air and whether snow will lie. i'll tell you about it and the difficulties in a moment. let's get back to the snow we have at the moment. this is one weather watcher‘s picture from worcester. this is actually a weather watcher jailers picture from worcester. in actual fact the weather story has been a real contrast across the country, because plenty of frequent showers in scotland and northern ireland and north—west england and wales, but further east, some glorious sunshine. however, snow levels are totting up now, at least 11 centimetres have been recorded in parts of northern ireland. i will up ta ke parts of northern ireland. i will up take this as we go through the afternoon. but take a look at the east here. beautiful sunshine, although bitterly cold. as we go through the evening rush—hour, we will still keep the threat of showers and there could be some tricky driving conditions across the midlands, wales and up into the north of england. further snow showers for the isle of man and into northern ireland and also affecting the north and west coast of scotland. some blustery winds which will be driving some of these snow showers around. even as they start to ease overnight, there will be some icy stretches. so, as we go to the start of saturday, temperatures below freezing, cold and frosty start. but hopefully some lovely sunshine to look out for on saturday. lighter winds. the temperatures will struggle but there will be fewer showers, a. of showers may be down through the cheshire 93p- may be down through the cheshire gap. and some in the far north of scotland. then it starts to get quite interesting. as i was saying to ben, it's cold. but this cold there has been with us for a couple of days, spilling down through the arctic. had taken a look at these yellow tones, mild air coming in of the atlantic, a frontal system with a lot of moisture. that will be moving north—eastwards, it will bump into the cold air and that will be the trigger point for the snow. so, be prepared for some disruption on sunday morning. north wales across to the south—east of england could see 20 centimetres of snow. that will continue to drift north and east and behind it, what a difference, 9—ioii degrees. the cold air continues up into the north. so, one more time, this orange blob here, for want of a better word, that's the amber weather warning — be prepared for disruption in the early half of sunday. this is bbc news — our latest headlines... the brexit negotiations are expected to move onto discussions about trade, after theresa may reached a deal with the european union. it includes a settlement which the bbc understands will involve the uk paying a divorce bill of up to £40 billion. getting to this point has required give and take on both sides, and i believe that the joint report being published is in the best interests of the whole of the uk. it has been reported that israeli forces have killed a palestinian on the gaza strip following donald trump's recognition of jerusalem strip following donald trump's recognition ofjerusalem as the capital of israel. a number of new wildfires have started in southern california, stretching firefighters to the limit. nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and a state of emergency has been declared. sport now on afternoon live. premier league football going saturday night prime—time? premier league football going saturday night prime-time? in deed. it seems that live top—flight games will go head—to—head with the likes of strictly come dancing and the ecks factor on a saturday night. it has been announced that there will be eight games played in a new 7.45 slot on saturday evenings under a new digitalfrom the slot on saturday evenings under a new digital from the start of the 2019 season. the premier league is keen to give their viewers to watch games at times when they see fit. it will also mirror the likes of spain and italy. but will it hamper fans in terms of travel, but also the traditional widespread family appeal of lots of those saturday night programmes. i ken sio fight for the remote control in our house definitely! and some other changes? yes, the premier league have encouraged the likes of google and amazon and facebook to bid for some of their games, because they say that those live packages will be, as they say, available for exploitation ona they say, available for exploitation on a technology neutral basis. essentially, they're open to new platforms. again it is an encouragement for on demand providers like netflix. the bottom line is that there will be more live games, so you can expect the more than £5 billion which was spent last time around to increase for the following three year period. one match which gets televised every year is the merseyside derby, and that takes place on sunday. jurgen klopp facing another team managed by sam allardyce. we meet on sunday, i've played him in three different clubs already and i'm only briefly as here. and at each club he did the job. so, obviously, he's very successful, and we know what we will get, but that doesn't make it easier, to be honest, because all sam alla rdyce teams easier, to be honest, because all sam allardyce teams are difficult to play, that's no secret. the quarterfinals of showing folder are under way in york. we can take a look at our live pictures now, as stephen maguire takes onjoe perry. so far, maguire has made a very good start in deed in york. 3—0 up and it is first to six. five—time champion ronnie o'sullivan is one of only two sides left in the competition, and he has started even better. just two frames away from victory already. you can keep up to date with all of the action in york on bbc two or on the action in york on bbc two or on the bbc sport website. england spinner moeen ali says the team still believes they can turn the ashes series around, despite trailing 2—0 after their big defeat in adelaide. ali didn't bowl as much as he would have liked because of a finger injury. but he does expect to recover in time for the third test in perth, which starts next thursday. as a finger spinner, it is the one thing that i really need to be 100%. i ripped it in the first game and since then it's not been easy. it's been difficult to bowl and stuff. but the last game was much better, ijust didn't bowl as well. hopefully another five or six days, no bowling, hopefully i'll be all right. england's charley hull has shot herself into contention after about three of golf‘s dubai ladies classic. she's just three shots off the lid off and found arm of the netherlands going into the final round. lowri davies and flore ntyna final round. lowri davies and florentyna parker are just one shot further back. that's the sport for now. i will be back with more in the next hour. more on our top story — and the uk and the european union have reached a deal on some key brexit sticking points, which opens the way for talks to move on to a future trade relationship. after months of at times ill—tempered negotiations, the european commission said "sufficient progress" had been made on key issues. the agreement reached today is certainly a big moment in the negotiations, allowing things to move forward as long as the other 27 member states agree to it next week. but it is worth emphasising it is only an agreement that sufficient progress has been made on issues relating to withdraw, citizens rights, the future of the irish border and the financial settlement death it emphasises, as theresa may says, that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. so, what are the more contentious elements within it? danny on the irish border, the hope is expressed that a future free—trade deal will make many of the current concerns melt away. if that doesn't happen, the agreement says that the uk will maintain full alignment, eu single market and customs rules which govern trade across its border. how exactly that will be doing isn't clear, and it is likely to prove controversial. one thing which isn't on offer is partial membership of the single market and the customs union. the deal protecting the rights of eu citizens in the uk and uk citizens elsewhere in europe will apply to anyone who takes up residency before the day the uk leaves the eu. in other words, people arriving over the next year and more will still qualify. there will also be a role for the european court ofjustice for the european court ofjustice for at least eight years after exit. that compromise will upset some brexiteers. and on the financial settlement, the divorce bill, a set of principles for the method of working out the bill has been agreed. it will be paid in euros, but some of the detail, including the schedule for payments, still has to be negotiated. estimates of the total steel range depending on who you talk to, from about 40—45 billion euros. but this is only phase one. talks about the nature of a future relationship between the uk and the eu haven't yet started. the next priority will be to agree upon the terms of transition period after brexit that buys everyone a little more time. the eu insists that the transition itself should take place under all existing eu rules and regulations, including new laws passed in those two years — and that won't please everyone at western —— at westminster. joining me now from westminster is conservative peer baroness ros altmann. some people are saying this paves the way for a softer brexit perhaps - i think the way for a softer brexit perhaps — i think you at one stage threatened to resign from the conservative party if there were two ha rd conservative party if there were two hard a brexit? absolutely. i'm delighted to see that we are at least able to move to a realistic next step. about time, too. we're now eight months since having triggered article 50 and we've only just got to first base. there's a hell of a long way to go. but what i think is good news this week is that the hard, extreme brexiteers have perhaps had a bit of a reality check. in what sense? well, we were told for so long that this was all going to be so easy, the eu needs as more than we need them, we can have our cake more than we need them, we can have ourcake and more than we need them, we can have our cake and eat it and we can leave but still stay somehow, with no problems. what we've discovered this week is that unfortunately, the people who have been extreme levers, as it were, hadn't really thought this through. they didn't seem to have thought carefully enough about the precious peace that we've achieved on the island of ireland, i hadn't perhaps taken enough notice of the fact that northern ireland is a critical part of the united kingdom, and the british people didn't vote to break up the united kingdom. and also, now, what we're seeing is the beginnings of perhaps a journey, where people who thought leaving was some kind of wonderful paradise come into the real world, recognise how difficult this is, how complex it is, and actually perhaps start to appreciate some of the advantages, such as peace and prosperity in many parts of the united kingdom, that have been achieved. you see it as coming into the real world — there are people who voted leave who will see this perhaps as a betrayal. nigel farage has been saying it's a humiliation. for example, the whole idea that the european court of justice, for example, the whole idea that the european court ofjustice, the ecj, will still have a role in citizens rights for eight years after brexit — people who voted leave won't expecting that? to be honest i think most people who voted leave weren't thinking about the european court of justice at all. many of them were probably thinking that we would all have another £350 million a week and we would be free to do wonderful trade deals around the world and still have all of the benefits of being in the eu without any of the costs. and clearly the eu has got problems and clearly many people do we must reflect that, are not happy being in the eu and voted to leave the eu. but when we see what the indications of that are, and this week has started perhaps to bring it home, coupled with the fact that parliament has been told, quite shockingly, that the government itself has not actually looked properly at the costs implied for the country of actually leaving the eu, what it will mean for different vital sectors of our economy, and if they haven't been able to actually ascertain what it costs to leave, then we need to urgently do some work, so that the british people know that the government itself understands what we're doing and can lead us on a good path. baroness altmann, very good to talk to you, as ever. we can also speak to helena rowless, head of the brussels office of the law society. what do you think is the significance of this? some people were saying this is supposed to be the easy part and now, there is only about a year to hammer out a trade deal, which is potentially far more complicated? first of all, thank you very much for having me here today. there is of course a great significance in the deal which has been achieved today, because it's the first deal which has been achieved. quite often these deals, in order to get to the ultimate stage, you need to go through the first stages first. but of course, that doesn't mean that there isn't a lot still to be done. still very much the hard work remains. especially in making a trade deal that is beneficial for the uk. what sort of trade deal do you envisage? clearly we'rejust the uk. what sort of trade deal do you envisage? clearly we're just at the very beginning of starting negotiations on that, but what kind of deal do you see as possible? of course that is for the political circles to be deciding. but i can talk on behalf of all of the law societies in england, wales, scotland and northern ireland. we are interested in a deal which keeps legal certainty, which keeps good services flowing, which are important for the uk economy, but also protects the interests of consumers also protects the interests of consumers and citizens and allows people to continue with their trade. the citizens' part has now been partially solved, but what we need now is to focus on the trade issues. people are saying potentially a canada people are saying potentially a ca na da style people are saying potentially a canada style trade deal — what would that mean do you think from the uk's point of view? canada deal, that is a misnomer, because it is a comprehensive trade deal. comparing eight canada—style deal with what is the current internal market, there are huge differences which need to be analysed. one of the crucial issues, of course, in canada style deal compared to what we have currently with the eu, the internal market, is that it only allows sectoral opening. this means that certain sectors are included or not included. sub not comprehensive as a trade steel? it's not really that comprehensive. for example, legal service are not included in canada agreement, which would be important for us! we'll see what happens next. a review has found that a teenager who had a history of anorexia and died weeks after leaving for university was failed by every nhs organisation that should have cared for her. the parliamentary and health service ombudsman says the death of 18—year—old averil hart could, and should, have been prevented. this report by our health correspondent catherine burns. averil hart was 19. her family say she was beautiful, witty and intelligent. but she also had anorexia, and she spent 11 months in hospital in cambridge before being discharged to start university in norwich. she didn't survive her first term. it is inconceivable that somebody who is healthy can go to a freshers do and enjoy all the things in week one and be dead ten weeks later, literally starve to death. while she was at university, averil was seen by four different nhs organisations — all of them failed her in some way. she was put under the care of a newly qualified psychologist who had no experience with anorexia. her gp didn't monitor her properly. even when she was critically ill, two acute trusts didn't give her the care she needed. next week will be the fifth anniversary of her death. her dad has not stopped pushing for answers, and now the ombudsman report highlights a long series of missed opportunities to save her life. it says her death was avoidable, and that her story isn't unique. the key to it is recognising that something has gone wrong, being open and honest about it, investigating and learning, so we don't keep recycling the same mistakes. and i'm afraid we are still at an early stage still at an early stage of doing that in the health service. the report says there needs to be urgent national attention on treatment for eating disorders. it has made a list of recommendations, including training forjunior doctors, improved communication between organisations and more honest investigations. until i can physically see those changes and i can ensure they are happening, i'm sorry, but i don't have faith in the service changing itself. the department of health says that cases like averil‘s have changed the way that the nhs treats eating disorders, and that it's investing £150 million so nobody has to go through the same ordeal. nick hart says he isn't angry but he can't feel optimistic either. now, five years on, he can start grieving for his daughter. #to # to make you feel my love... this is bbc news — our latest headlines. theresa may has reached a deal with the european union on the crucial issues which had been stalling the brexit negotiations. in the last hour or so, the palestinian authorities have said that a second man has been shot dead on the gaza strip. in california there is a state of emergency, as wildfires destroy 500 buildings and 200,000 residents have been evacuated. here are your business headlines. shortlived excitement — the pound jumps on news of the brexit breakthrough, and then falls back. and we'll be talking about this more in a moment. uk manufacturing is doing well — output went up again for the sixth month in a row in october, thanks to record car production. factories have notched up their longest run of growth for more than 20 years. 260 firms have been named by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage — among them sports direct, primark and two recruitment agencies which supplied it with staff. in total, 16,000 workers were affected, and they are owed £1.7 million in back pay. british airways is shutting its defined benefit pension scheme. it's being replaced by a new "flexible" benefits programme, under which members can choose cash instead of a pension. so, let's kick off with brexit — what is the business community making of the deal which theresa may has finally struck? think it's best descriptive as a qualified success. they are really eager to get onto the negotiations that touch on trade. trade last year between the uk and the eu came in at about £540 billion. so you can see there is a lot at stake here. as we all know, the one thing that businesses really crave is certain to. we've been talking about this to business leaders throughout the day, and this is what they had to say. now, of course, the hard work starts — that is developing agreement for the long term relationship between the eu and the uk. and in the meantime, bringing great clarity to transition, so that this is a chance to get contingency planning suspended it should we are running out of time, and the further we get into that discussion about what those transitional agreements will be, the easier it will be for them to release those contingency plans. i would say it's going to be vitally important that the business community, and manufacturing in particular, is involved in those discussions with government to make sure that that detail is right when we go forward into the transitional agreements. in order for businesses to suspend or delay the most severe contingency plans, we need to get agreement on that transition deal pretty soon. early in the new year, certainly. that's the sort of time by which businesses will need to know, otherwise they will start putting in some of those plans, even as far as moving some operations, offices, or starting subsidiaries. clearly the government does not want that, so they should be very pushing very ha rd to that, so they should be very pushing very hard to get that transition deal as soon as possible. now, jobs news from the united states ? now, jobs news from the united states? that's right. the most powerful economy in the world, some really good news. it turns out they've created more jobs than expected last month. that figure coming in at 228,000. lots of people taking this as a sign of a strengthening economy. we can get more on this from new york with samira hussain, who joins more on this from new york with samira hussain, whojoins us from the new york stock exchange. good news — how is it being received over there? so, if i look news — how is it being received over there? so, if! look up news — how is it being received over there? so, if i look up over to the big board, we see that it is all green, a sign that of course this is really good news for the us economy. they added more jobs than expected. they added more jobs than expected. they were only expecting some 200,000 jobs, and today we are hearing reports that they're adding some 228,000 jobs. the other weather rate is going to stay the same at 4.196, rate is going to stay the same at 4.1%, but there is still one problem that continues to persist, and that is the problem of wage growth. we're not seeing wages going up fast enough, and so that is something which certainly people at the federal reserve are going to be looking at. if! canjust federal reserve are going to be looking at. if i can just speak to you with out that guy getting in the way! in terms of interest rates, what are we thinking? jobs growth and yet week wages growth — what are we thinking in terms of interest rates ? we thinking in terms of interest rates? the federal reserve is going to be meeting next week, and, you know, we're seeing month after month of increases in terms of how many jobs are being added to the us economy. if you look at gdp, it continues to grow as well. so, really, there are some people out there who are already writing that these are clear signs that the us economy doesn't need any help any more, and we can start easing ourselves away from that accommodating monetary policy. and that's where the federal reserve comes in. we already saw that we we re comes in. we already saw that we were 30 much likely going to see a rate rise next week. and i think this particularjobs rate rise next week. and i think this particular jobs report rate rise next week. and i think this particularjobs report is probably going to further that. thanks forjoining us from new york, samira hussain. and let's have the market numbers as well. as you can see, a fairly causative day on the fudge. not a massive reaction to today's announcement. we've also seen a positive reaction across europe as well. —— positive day. i wa nt to europe as well. —— positive day. i want to tell you about some of the uk companies. we've seen barclays, we don't have it up there but believe me... we always believe you, why wouldn't we tested the house—builder, they have wowed the market with some pretty impressive results, so they are leaping. but as we say it is all very positive. lots of green! thank you very much indeed. breaking news for you just coming into us, and more reaction to that brexit agreement. the sinn fein president gerry adam is giving a qualified welcome to the brexit deal, saying in dublin, while the communique recognises the unique circumstances surrounding the issue of the peace process, the good friday agreement and the border, it does not address many areas of concern for many citizens. so, that's the reaction from gerry adams to that brexit deal. also let me just tell you what's happening in the democratic republic of congo. we're getting reports that a large number of united nations peacekeepers have been killed and wounded in an attack in eastern congo. we will bring you more on that as it comes to us. let's get a look at the weather. we know there is lots of snow around. yes, some amazing weather watcher pictures have been sent in today. yes, it is beautiful but it is bitterly cold out there. the showers have been coming in from the north and west throughout the morning into the afternoon. little change, really. favoured spots have been scotland and northern ireland and down towards the midlands, east anglia and the south—east of england. parts of wales as well. so far, we've got totals at about seven—11 centimetres. there will be further snow showers this evening, and that might make for some tricky driving conditions for your evening commute by the end of friday. taking a look ina by the end of friday. taking a look in a little more detail — there could be some flurries in oxfordshire, but stretching back up into wales, there will be some widespread showers through the evening. the same, too, for the isle of man and for northern ireland. so, a cold evening to come which tricky driving conditions with snow or icy stretches on the roads. most of these showers should die back awards these showers should die back awards the coasts as we go through the night. there will also be the last rain, sleet and snow on the coasts and with temperatures falling away, some icy stretches first thing in the morning tomorrow. kohl staff or all of us tomorrow. but there will be some sunshine, and with lighter winds, perhaps a slightly better day for being out and about. in terms of temperatures, don't expect too much. the cold air that has been with us, staying for saturday, but on sunday it gets quite interesting. this yellow is moisture, and it's mild airand it'sa yellow is moisture, and it's mild air and it's a weather front that's moving through. as it hits the cold air, the moisture could turn to snow. and we are expecting some significant snow on sunday morning. so much so, the met office has issued an amber weather warning — be prepared for disruption. you could see as much as 10—20 centimetres of snow, which could cause some issues. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm ben brown. today at three: a breakthrough on brexit — britain and the eu strike a last minute deal to move talks on to the next phase. getting to this point has required give and take on both sides and i believe thejoint report that is being published is in the best interests of the whole of the uk. i believe we have now made the breakthrough we need. today's result is of course a compromise. the prime minister says there'll be no hard border with ireland and it's thought britain's divorce bill will be between £35 and £40 billion. palestinian officials say two people have now been shot dead by the israeli army in clashes in gaza, the first deaths since president trump recognised jerusalem as the capital of israel. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. and premier league football going prime—time? and premier league football going prime-time? it is indeed. top-flight football could be going head—to—head with the likes of strictly come dancing under the terms of a new broadcast package. more details at 3.30. definitely a fight for the remote control. and louise has all the weather. snow showers in some parts? the only fighting with the weather at the moment is snowballs. showers to the north and west, but there's the potential for more heavy snow on across north wales, the north of england and the midlands. more details coming up. let it snow, let it snow, let it snow — a blanket of arctic weather brings an early white christmas for some. hello, everyone — this is afternoon live. a deal has been agreed in the brexit talks, allowing the negotiations to move on to the next crucial stage — trade and transition. after a long night of phone diplomacy and an early morning dash to brussels, theresa may secured agreement with the irish prime minister and the democratic unionists, whose objections on the issue of the irish border had prevented a deal being struck on monday. our correspondent adam fleming reports from brussels. some of the key agreement included divorce bill, which is worth between £35 billion and £39 billion. that is the bbc‘s latest understanding. eu citizens in the uk and uk citizens living within the european union will have their rights to live, work and study protected. according to mrs may, there will be no hard border between northern ireland and the republic. our correspondent adam fleming reports from brussels. back to brussels to give it another go. the prime minister's early morning mission to steer brexit talks off divorce issues and on to the future. theresa may and her team would not have taken a flight in the middle of the night to arrive here in the dark if they feared a repeat of monday when they came to brussels thinking a deal was done and it wasn't. overjuice and pastries, the two sides agreed a 15—page list of promises. david davis' face — proof that it has taken an exhausting series of talks to get the eu to say this. the commission has just formally decided to recommend to the european council that sufficient progress has now been made on the strict terms of the divorce. what is the biggest compromise the other side has made to get you to this point today? this was a question, actually, of coming together and working together for a report and agreements that were in the best interests of all sides. here's what the negotiators have actually negotiated. to guarantee the rights of eu citizens staying in the uk, the european court ofjustice will still have a role for eight years after brexit, although it might affectjust a handful of cases. the uk has finalised an agreement in principle about its financial obligations. that could end up being between £35 and £39 billion, according to officials. both sides restated a commitment to no hard border on the island of ireland. northern irish politicians will get a say on any proposals that could affect northern ireland's relationship with the rest of the uk. then the prime minister dashed off to see the man who will chair next week's summit of eu leaders. his message to them, progress, yes, but not time to start celebrating. let us remember that the most difficult challenge is still ahead. we all know that breaking up is hard... but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder. in other words, the eu's chief negotiator now has to haggle over a transition period and a possible trade deal. are you going to be celebrating, mr barnier? no. cracking open the champagne? we are still workng. no. still more work to do. 0k. and roughly a year to get it all done. theresa may heralded the deal as "hard won" and in everybody‘s interests. it's also being seen as politically crucial the senior cabinet brexiteer michael gove described it as a significant personal political achievement for the prime minister. the shadow brexit secretary, labour's keir starmer, welcomed the fact that talks can now move on — but stressed that this point should have been reached weeks ago. chris mason reports. striding towards an agreement. but any negotiation about anything involves compromise, and this is no different. so while both of them were wearing smiles and exchanging handshakes this morning at about the time many of us were crawling out of bed, what were the big political hitters over here making of it? this agreement is a significant political achievement for the prime minister. it will be uk courts that safeguard those rights. of course, they will have regard for eu law and in a limited number of cases for a limited period of time, they can if they wish to, if there's a point of law that is ambiguous, go to the european court ofjustice for help to resolve the issue. but this is a time limited and very specific exception, and it is uk courts in the driving seat. i am very pleased to see this deal. the prime minister has put a great deal of personal effort into it, including staying up all night to finalise it. and it is clear that it is also being broadly welcomed by our eu partners, even if many of them remain profoundly upset that we are leaving the eu. so there you saw both sides of the conservative divide rowing in behind the prime minister. that is one big reason why, if you tilt your ear towards the nearest window, you can probably hear the huge sighs of relief coming from downing street. but remember, this isjust the beginning of this negotiating process. what's to come, the discussion about the future relationship with the eu, will be even more complicated, in all likelihood. that is why opposition parties are keeping up the pressure on the prime minister. this is the point we had hoped to get to two months ago. what the prime minister needs to do is to focus on transitional measures immediately. that work should have started in october. it now needs to start straight away. a few conservative mps privately are grumbling about the deal. they see it as a compromise too far. this man, who you might recognise, agrees with them. amazing, the british prime minister flying through the middle of the night to meet unelected bureaucrats who pat her on the head, and say you have met all of our demands, we can move on to the next stage. it's a humiliation. as the prime minister returned home, she can chalk up a success. the progress she hoped for has been made. but it merely marks the end of a beginning of a negotiation far, farfrom done. chris mason, bbc news at westminster. i can speak now to the conservative mp dominic raab. your fellow leave campaigner nigel farage called this a humiliation. what's new? the reality is, we are a third of the way through a two—year negotiation and this was a positive step. we have agreement on settling the rights of eu nationals in the uk and expats abroad. were talking about real people's lives. we have unlocked the door to talking about trade talks, important for business confidence and investors. and we have increased our level of agreement on principles around the thorny issues. there will be no hard border with northern ireland. it is an important step forward. there is an important step forward. there is a lot of hard graft to go, but it vindicates the prime minister's strategy of striving for a win—win deal which is now within our sites. let's go through the different elements. you mentioned northern ireland and the need to avoid a hard border. but it says in the absence ofa border. but it says in the absence of a trade deal, the uk will ensure full alignment with the rules of the customs union. what does that mean? are we going to stay in the customs union to make that possible? no, and the prime minister has medicare that we are coming out of the customs union and the single market. to do otherwise would not be consistent with leaving the eu. so what is full alignment? first of all, no hard border and we will preserve the common travel area and i will be no disruption of the internal market within the united kingdom. if there is no agreement, we would make sure... full alignment effectively means that for example on some regulatory aspects or you agree on the ends, but you have discretion as to the means. that is the fallback position. but you are going to have northern ireland in the eu. there is no deal until we have the whole deal. but this formulation and allows us to move forward, and we have always said you can't get down to brass tacks on the northern ireland issue until you deal with the wider issue of trade. so you are effectively admitting that you have kicked the can wear down the road on the irish border question? not at all. we were not the ones who wanted to segment the negotiations. that was the eu. contrary to some of the pessimists and those forecasting that the talks would collapse, we are going to move on to talk about the wider future partnership deal — trade, customs, immigration. that allows us to get into detail on northern ireland. let's talk about citizens' rights. the ecj, which the brexiteers hate, is going to continue to have a role on eu citizens in the uk for eight years after withdrawal. that is a big pill to swallow. not really, when you look at what we are talking about. firstly, it is important to settle the status of uk nationals here and ex pats the status of uk nationals here and expats abroad. the human impact is important. we will reflect the reciprocal arrangements in uk law. it will be subsided by uk courts —— it will be decided by uk courts. if there is a difference of opinion, there is a difference of opinion, the uk courts may voluntarily referred to the ecj for a limited period of eight years on a limited set of principles. i don't think that cuts across any of the key red lines that people like me feel need to be respected, those who campaign to be respected, those who campaign to leave the eu. there will be flexibility needed on both sides. this unlocks the door to moving onto trade talks and making sure we get that win—win deal. trade talks and making sure we get that win-win deal. well, there is flexibility and then there is caving in. let's also talk about the divorce bill, up to £40 billion. i remember boris johnson saying divorce bill, up to £40 billion. i remember borisjohnson saying the eu could go whistle if they thought they were going to get tens of billions of pounds out of the uk. you can try and knock down the deal and you would have criticised whatever outcome it was. and you would have criticised whatever outcome it waslj and you would have criticised whatever outcome it was. i am not knocking the deal. you said it was caving in. we have always said we would pay our dues. we are also getting back the capital early that we have put into the european investment bank. if we end up with 40 billion, that is less than half of some of the wilder suggestions being put around. crucially, it gives the eu a greater stake in making sure we get that win—win trade deal which is in both sides' interest. there was a lot of tough talking on the pro—brexit side from a lot of conservative mps. and on a lot of those positions, your government has shifted hugely. no, i think we have made compromises and there has been flexibility. box on there has been flexibility. box on the eu side, they had argued that we had to settle the final bill before we moved onto trade talks. we haven't done that. but we have narrowed the bones of contention, increased the parameters of agreement and now we are going to talk about the whole relationship moving forward with a win—win deal. when people see the whole package, thatis when people see the whole package, that is the way to judge it. we are only a third of the way through these talks. but today is an important step forward and it vindicates the prime minister's strategy. dominic raab, thank you. let's get the thoughts of our chief political correspondent vicki young in westminster. dominic raab was saying it was a win—win deal that theresa may has struck in brussels. theresa may has struck in brussels. theresa may has struck in brussels. theresa may and the government will be pleased. if you look at the position they were in on monday after the humiliation of having to come back from brussels with nothing on the table, her position and that of the government were looking precarious. the idea that so long after the referendum, we were in a position where we hadn't even moved on to talk about the wider future relationship was a massive problem. so they have found a number of compromises. if you compare some of the things, for example the money, compare that to what borisjohnson was saying. the fact that any money will be handed over is of course a compromise. on the other hand, it is not as much as some thought and if it is done over a number of years, the fact that we pay £1 billion net a year anyway, than in those terms, it doesn't seem so bad. but there are certainly some conservative eurosceptics who think this is a com promise too far. they are willing to put up with it if, and it is a big if, at the end of this there is a generous free trade agreement. but we are not there yet. for those on the remain side, they are relieved because they feel that all the talk of walking away by christmas with no deal, going it alone, that at least now has pushed away. what about the opposition? the labour party have said they want to keep as many options on the table as possible. they think it has been wrong so far for the government to say we should be out of the customs union, out of the single market. they think that isa the single market. they think that is a bad strategic error. until i see more of it, no. this could have been done some time ago. the referendum took place in 2016. we are now at the end of 2017 and this is the first time there has been any sign of any movement to go on to phase two of the negotiations. our position is to maintain a trade relationship with europe which gives us relationship with europe which gives us tariff free access because a great manyjobs us tariff free access because a great many jobs on us tariff free access because a great manyjobs on both sides of the channel rely on a supply chain with europe to britain and likewise from britain to europe. we want to maintain those jobs. nobody who voted in the referendum voted to lose theirjob. the next issue in the talks will be the implementation period, that will be a two—year period, that will be a two—year period during which things will stay the same. that is what the business community have been asking for. then there is the question of the long term relationship. we have not yet had a clear sense from the government of exactly what she will be aiming for. many of those questions have been kicked into the second phase. they will need to be answered, and that time is getting closer. vicki young, thank you. during hours of discussions and phone calls, theresa may secured agreement on the issue of the irish borderfrom both the irish prime minister and the democratic unionists, whose earlier objections had prevented a deal being struck. our ireland correspondent chris buckler reports now on the impact of the border question in these talks. negotiating the way through this first phase of brexit talks has been difficult. and ireland's border roads have at times looked like the issue where people could get stuck. today, a way forward has been found. and the changes in the document recognise the dup's concerns about what dublin wanted, that northern ireland would be tied to the eu's trading rules, even if the rest of the uk was not. but it is worth noting that the unionists are warning of a little caution. there are still matters there that we would have liked to have seen clarified. we ran out of time, essentially. we think that we needed to go back again and talk about those matters, but the prime minister decided to go to brussels in relation to this text and she says she has done that in the national interest. the dup were worried that if northern ireland and great britain ended up having different rules and regulations, it could lead to barriers to trade within the uk. today's agreement rules that out. and it says that businesses here will still have unfettered access to the united kingdom's own internal markets, effectively dismissing the idea of a border in the irish sea. and the irish government says it's satisfied that there will be no customs posts at the land border. there is no question of us trying to exploit brexit as a means of moving towards a united ireland without consent. we don't want to see a border in the irish sea any more than we want there to be a border between newry and dundalk, or between letterkerry and derry. we want to build bridges, not borders. the words of the deal are being studied closely. they are open to interpretation. there was enough in them to satisfy both the dup and the irish government but there is still the potential for disagreement about what the text actually means, and certainly this document does not solve all of the problems posed by this island's border. removing the final blockage to trade talks is a significant moment. but the irish border always has the potential to cause division. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. our correspondent chris page is in belfast. iam glad i am glad to see it has stopped snowing for you. so chris buckler was saying the words of this agreement are open to interpretation on both sides. i suppose another way of looking at it is that it has all been fudged? you could say that. amidst all the metaphors about the snowy weather today, people have used the word fudged as well. the people in northern ireland and people in northern ireland and people in northern ireland and people in the street, anyone with a sta ke people in the street, anyone with a stake in brexit, which is most if not all people, with it being such a big issue for this part of the uk because of that land border, are well aware of the negotiations that have taken place over years to keep the peace process on track and the importance of semantics and language. they are applying the same principles to this deal. many people are now pouring over the text, looking particularly at this phrase, full alignment, and what that could mean. but as the phrase at the centre of this. as chris said, the debate as to what it means is under way. the text says that if there is no trade deal, the uk will fully aligned with the rules of the eu single market and customs union which are necessary to support co—operation between northern ireland and the irish republic as outlined in the good friday peace agreement which ended the troubles in the 1990s. but there is even a difference of opinion as to exactly what rules would need to be followed to support that north—south co—operation. if there was no trade deal, the uk would have to continue to follow eu rules on trade and agriculture to keep trade across the border flowing freely as envisaged in the deal. but there will be plenty more discussion about that. the democratic unionist party have made it clear that their support for this deal is not unequivocal. arlene foster, the dup leader, spoke with theresa may overnight and said she caution the prime minister against going ahead with the deal as it presently stood. but she respected the prime minister's decision was up to theresa may. but the dup have also been clear that they are satisfied that this deal does prevent what they had been worried about, which was the possibility of about, which was the possibility of a border in the irish sea or customs checks between northern ireland and the rest of the uk. the dup have said they were looking for a guarantee that that would not happen, and now they seem satisfied. crisp page, thank you. —— chris page. well, the prime minister's deal was hard won. we've been talking to people in nottingham to get an idea of what people think of how the negotiations have been going and what's been agreed. i think we should give them an ultimatum. we've given them money. they've had more out of us that we've had out of them. we should give them an ultimatum and say "this is what we're doing", not "what do you want us to do?" i think there's confusion. obviously, it's a massive undertaking for the government. i think we ought to just leave them to get on with it and tell us the truth. we need to know the truth at each important stage of the process. like anything to do with the government, it takes too long and they need to sort things out, for the benefit of everybody, so we know where we stand. i feel sorry for people who work here or from abroad and the other way round. my vet is from spain. he doesn't know whether he's coming or going. people need to know. i've got a european passport and when i come out of the eu, what happens about my passport? what do i do? i'm a british citizen, but i was born in the caribbean. so it complicates things, for people like me, anyway. we can't underestimate how complex these negotiations are, and we have to trust in the government and the eu to make the right decisions. it looks like it's total chaos. they can't seem to get to the end of the negotiation. when they get to one point, then another thing comes up. so it looks never—ending. it has been difficult. we've got a deal of sorts on the go, and we're entering phase two. so yeah, it's taken a long time, but it was always going to. and although they've said the more difficult stuff is ahead, hopefully now that we've got the first stage out of the way, it will go smoother than people think... i hope. those were the views of the citizens of nottingham on the brexit deal. and a reminder that if you want more detail on today's brexit agreement, the bbc‘s reality check team has been examining some of the key lines in today's document. just go to bbc.co.uk/realitycheck. in the past hour, the palestinian authorities say one man have been shot dead by the israeli army in anti—trump protests near the gaza border. an earlier report of a second man being killed has now been discredited by the health ministry. security had been stepped up after the militant group hamas called for a day of rage in response to president trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel. our correspondent jon donnison reports. it has been billed by palestinians as a day of rage. in the west bank city of bethlehem, clashes have already erupted, israeli soldiers with tear gas, palestinians throwing rocks. so far, the violence has been in a relatively small scale. the question is whether it will escalate. around jerusalem's old city, israeli security has been wrapped up. extra police, undercover units will respond on the outskirts of the city to any incidents or illegal protests. how heavily israel responds could determine whether these protests gather momentum. but for palestinians, in declaring jerusalem as the capital of israel, donald trump has crossed a line. donald trump has crossed a red line. translation: when the american president makes this kind of decision, he reviles all other leaders and regimes who are cooperating with him. he is also pushing the region towards violence. jerusalem belongs to all muslims, it is in our hearts and in the hearts of all muslims, it does not belong to trump or to the jews. that was not the message the president was giving last night. i know for a fact that there are a lot of happy people in this room. as he celebrated thejewish holiday of hanukkah a week early, this year he knows that with his intervention onjerusalem, this year he knows that with his intervention on jerusalem, he this year he knows that with his intervention onjerusalem, he has come bearing gifts. we wish you a very happy hanukkah and i think this one will go down as especially special. but if violence in and around jerusalem escalates further, a decision that supporters of trump regard as bold will be seen by many as reckless. jon donnison, bbc news. a short time ago, we heard from our middle east correspondent yolande kneu middle east correspondent yolande knell who brought us the latest on the ground as those tensions rise. inside the old city, we have seen some confrontations between israeli police and palestinians coming out from friday prayers at the al aqsa mosque. here at damascus gate, the mood is still pretty tense, and you can see there's much bigger israeli security presence than you would normally find. but at the same time, there were no new restrictions security—wise that were placed on palestinians going to pray today. the call for protests after friday prayers is a reminder that for palestinians, what happens tojerusalem is notjust a political issue. they don'tjust want occupied eastjerusalem as the capital of their future state. this is also a religious issue. it's very sensitive. the al aqsa mosque compound is the third holiest place for muslims. but at the same time, temple mount, which is whatjews call the same site, is the holiest place forjews. and when we've spoken to israelis close to the western wall, they've told us that mr trump's recognition of israeli sovereignty overjerusalem corrects what they see as an historic injustice. heavy snowfall is causing disruption in parts of scotland, northern ireland, north wales and northern england. this is what one bus had to contend with in wales, where over 170 schools are currently closed. these were the scenes for drivers in north wales this morning. in orkney, a coastguard helicopter has been deployed to help restore power. so quite a lot of chaos in many parts of the country. on the isle of man, all schools have been closed and there is continuing travel disruption. let's get the latest forecast, with louise lear. good afternoon. plenty of snow showers through scotland and northern ireland, running down through wales and into the north midlands. they will continue overnight tonight at they come a little more isolated and the winds will be lighter. it will be a cold start to saturday morning. on saturday the winds will be lighter and eventually the frost will lift and eventually the frost will lift and there will be some decent sunshine. the showers just confined, really, to the far north of scotland and one or two through the irish sea down into the cheshire gap. elsewhere it's going to be dry, sunny day but bitterly cold. moving through to sunday there is the potential for some disruptive snow as this weather front & to the cold air. on the leading edge, we could see some significant snowfall. this is bbc news — our latest headlines... brexit negotiations can move on to discussions about trade, after theresa may reached a deal with the european union. it includes a settlement which the bbc understands will involve the uk paying a divorce bill of up to £40 billion. getting to this point has required give and take on both sides, and i believe that the joint report being published is in the best interests of the whole of the uk. palestinian authorities say two people have been shot dead palestinian authorities say one person has been shot dead by the israeli army in gaza — the first fatalities in the clashes that have followed president trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel. a number of new wildfires have started in southern california, stretching emergency services to the limit. nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and a state of emergency has been declared. sport now on afternoon live, with hugh. and big news about televised football, it's going to be coming to saturday night? it is, plenty of arguments over that remote control, top—flight games going head—to—head with the likes of strictly come dancing and x factor on a saturday evening, because the premier league has announced that eight games will be played in a new 7.45pm slot on saturdays from the start of the 2019 season. the premier league are clearly keen to give viewers the opportunity to watch the games how and when they see fit. but we have had a statement from the football supporters federation, whose chief executive says, we do not want to see more live games on tv, because this makes life increasingly difficult for a way fans in particular. unfortunately, an ofcom ruling dictated that more games would be broadcast, but the clubs must do more with their huge tv reve nu es to must do more with their huge tv revenues to make things easier for travelling supporters. so, it's clearly not to everyone's liking. yeah, for fans coming clearly not to everyone's liking. yeah, forfans coming back late on a saturday night, that is going to be tough. any other changes? the premier league have also encouraged the likes of google and amazon to bid for these games. they say it will be what they call exploitation ona will be what they call exploitation on a technology neutral basis. essentially they don't care how people show the games, they are open to new platforms. and also an encouragement for on demand providers, for near live matches, from people like netflix. we can be sure that the £5 billion plus for the last deal will even increase for the last deal will even increase for the next three year period. and two of the biggest games are coming this weekend. plenty of fans will be watching as the top two go head—to—head, manchester city taking on their local rivals united, whose boss jose mourinho on their local rivals united, whose bossjose mourinho says he is missing out on a lot of the build—up about the match in the city. missing out on a lot of the build—up about the match in the citylj missing out on a lot of the build—up about the match in the city. i live about the match in the city. i live a little bit separated from society, i don't feel it so much. it's about the training ground and the hotel, and my day off after cska moscow, i went home. so, i really don't have that communication. but i don't need that communication. but i don't need that to know that the derby is something specialfor that to know that the derby is something special for the people. for us, in the end, it's something special for the people. for us, in the end, its three points. difficult to contain his excitement there! the first merseyside derby of the season takes place on sunday. i'm sure the two managers will be a little bit more excited about it. contrasting fortu nes excited about it. contrasting fortunes for both so far. high—flying liverpool and jurgen kl°pp, high—flying liverpool and jurgen klopp, well, still wary of facing an everton side which is led by sam alla rdyce. everton side which is led by sam allardyce. we meet on sunday, i have played him in three different clubs already and i am only two years here. and at each club he did the job. so, obviously he's very successful. and we know what we will get, if you want. that doesn't make it easier, to be honest. because all sam alla rdyce teams it easier, to be honest. because all sam allardyce teams are difficult to play, that's no secret. the quarterfinals of the uk snooker championship are under way in york. five—time champion ronnie o'sullivan is one of only two seeds left in the competition and he's playing martin gould. these are live pictures from bbc two. ronnie o'sullivan with a commanding 5—0 lead, just one frame away from a place in the last four. is also the clear favourite with the bookies. but a little bit of a resurgence in the sixth frame from martin gould. stephen maguire also made a good start in his quarterfinal, going 5—1 ahead againstjoe perry. quarterfinal, going 5—1 ahead against joe perry. that quarterfinal, going 5—1 ahead againstjoe perry. that one is available on the red button and also on the bbc sport website. england's charley hull has shot herself into contention after round three of golf‘s dubai ladies classic. she furnished on nine under par, just three shots off the lead of and vandamme of the netherlands going into tomorrow's final round. laura davies and florentyna parker are just one shot behind. that's the sport for now. gavin will have more for you in the next hour if let's return now to the deal that's finally been struck in the brexit negotiations. chris morris from our reality check team has been scrutinising the small print — and explaining why the agreement is being described as such a big moment. a breakthrough which allows the process to move forward, as long as the other 27 member states approve it next week. but it is worth emphasising it is only an agreement that sufficient progress has been made on issues relating to withdraw, citizens' rights, the future of the irish border and the financial settlement. it emphasises, as theresa may says, that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. so, what are the more contentious elements within it? well, on the irish border, the hope is expressed that a future free—trade deal will make many of the current concerns melt away. if that doesn't happen, the agreement says that the uk will maintain full alignment, with eu single market and customs rules which govern trade across its border. how exactly that will be doing isn't clear, and it is likely to prove controversial. one thing which isn't on offer is partial membership of the single market and the customs union. the deal protecting the rights of eu citizens in the uk and uk citizens elsewhere in europe will apply to anyone who takes up residency before the day the uk leaves the eu. in other words, people arriving over the next year and more will still qualify. there will also be a role for the european court ofjustice for at least eight years after exit. that compromise will upset some brexiteers. and on the financial settlement, the divorce bill, a set of principles for the method of working out the bill has been agreed. it will be paid in euros, but some of the detail, including the schedule for payments, still has to be negotiated. estimates of the total still range depending on who you talk to, from about 40—45 billion euros. but this is only phase one. talks about the nature of a future relationship between the uk and the eu haven't yet started. the next priority will be to agree upon the terms of a transition period after brexit that buys everyone a little more time. the eu insists that the transition itself should take place under all existing eu rules and regulations, including new laws passed in those two years — and that won't please everyone at westminster. let's just focus in on one of the key sticking points, what has been, theissue key sticking points, what has been, the issue of the irish border. the dup have finally managed to agree on the following wording in today's agreement. it is worth taking you through that wording. it says that the united kingdom remains committed to protecting north—south co—operation... it is those words full alignment which proving quite controversial and open to different interpretations. i have been speaking to the, so experts man of vinegar ale, the party in government in ireland, and he said the irish government is happy with the agreement. the irish government has been quite clear that we needed detailed written assurances that there would be no return to a border on the island of ireland — we've got that within this document. and there has been enough put in this document to ensure that from a customs point of view and from a regulator we point of view, the whole island of ireland will be kept together. and also that it will be kept together with the rest of the united kingdom, northern ireland. we think this document will have something for eve ryo ne document will have something for everyone and is pleasing for all sides in this debate. the democratic unionists, who were so worried earlier on in the week, and effectively kibosh to the deal going through earlier on in the week, they seem to have reluctantly supported this but not wholeheartedly, they've agreed to unlock it but not all of it- agreed to unlock it but not all of it—is agreed to unlock it but not all of it — is that your understanding? agreed to unlock it but not all of it - is that your understanding? no. our understanding is that there was an additional paragraph put in, i think it is paragraph 49, which allowed the conservative government to get the agreement from the dup. ultimately this isn't the final say on this matter. we now happily but belatedly move on to phase two and i think this is a good starting point. having read it several times, what is not clear is, how you will still avoid a hardboard, because it says, in the absence of a later agreement ona in the absence of a later agreement on a trade deal, the uk will ensure full alignment with the rules of the customs union and the single market, upholding the good friday agreement. so, how is that going to happen if it does come to that? well, if there's ensuring alignment, which is something the irish government has been seeking, that will make sure there is no need for customs posts on the border with ireland, and therefore we won't need any of the infrastructure which comes with that which will create the hardboard. but would that effectively mean the whole of the uk has to stay in the customs union and the single market? there's scope within this draft agreement for there to be an alignment for the whole of the united kingdom with the entire european union, something we wanted from the outset, unless through the trade talks which will now follow, it can be nailed down into specific detailfor it can be nailed down into specific detail for certain areas. but at this stage it does have the backstop that there is entire alignment from the entire of the uk with the european union, which we believe with the —— would be the ideal situation. but what does alignment mean? it is a very vague word and people who supported brexit are worried that it means continuing to stay in the customs union and the single market through the back door? no, absolutely we agree that it means for the uk to leave the customs union and the single market. it isa customs union and the single market. it is a regrettable decision but we do respect it. ultimately with the alignment, it means they are able to leave both of those models but from a customs point of view and a regulatory point of view, there is no need to create diversions unless in the trade details we can look at specific areas to make sure that this can work. that was neil richmond, the brexit spokesman speaking to me from dublin are able 14 united nations peacekeepers from tanzania have been killed in an attack in the democratic republic of congo. a un official said that at least 50 more peacekeepers were injured in the fighting, which took place late on thursday. a report that five congolese soldiers have also been killed... the un has not said who carried out the attack. a number of new wildfires have started in southern california, stretching emergency services to the limit. nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and a state of emergency has been declared. overnight, new wildfires broke out in san diego county. james cook reports from california. for california tellechea epic battle continues. they've been fighting this blaze in the mountains north of los angeles all week. yet again tonight, displays is burning with an intense ferocity, and that means battle, because there is property down here very, very close to the fire. and these firefighters have been working very, very hard for the past few days. they're exhausted but they're back here again now to try to stop this fire from burning these properties. the fire is now churning toward the pacific ocean, where communities as far north as santa barbara are preparing for evacuations. to the south, a new blaze exploded fast in san diego county, blowing up gas tanks under homes and forcing pupils to flee from their schools. to those who have not been currently impacted by the fire, they need to prepare as if they are going to be impacted by the fire — where are they going to go, what is there communication with theirfamily? what what is there communication with their family? what are they go to do with their pets? often we don't ask able to think about these things continuously, but tonight is one of those nights that people need to be ready level in the exclusive los angeles suburb of bel air steely situation has improved. a handful of homes has been destroyed but many more were saved. the musician lionel richie and the socialite paris hilton were among those forced to flee their mansions. every firefighting aircraft in the united states has been summoned to california, and they‘ re states has been summoned to california, and they're making a big difference. with resources stretched to the limit, firefighters from neighbouring states have arrived in california to help. they will be needed. the extreme weather is forecast to continue into the weekend. in a moment, the business news. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. a breakthrough on brexit — britain and the eu strike a last minute deal to move talks on to the next phase. the prime minister says there will be no hard border with ireland — and it's thought britain's divorce bill will be between £35—40 billion. palestinian officials say a man has been shot dead by the israeli army in clashes in gaza — it's the first death since president trump recognised jerusalem as the capital of israel. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. shortlived excitement — the pound jumps on news of the brexit breakthrough, and then falls back. we'll have more on this in a moment. uk manufacturing is doing well — output went up again for the sixth month in a row in october, thanks to record car production. factories have notched up their longest run of growth for more than 20 years. 260 firms have been named by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage — among them sports direct, primark — in total 16,000 workers were affected, and they are owed £1.7 million in back pay. british airways is shutting its defined benefit pension scheme. it's being replaced by a new "flexible" benefits programme — under which members can choose cash instead of a pension. egon, i know a lot of the business community have been worried by the uncertainty over brexit — what have they made of the agreement that has been struck in brussels by the prime minister? yeah, there is uncertainty. it is really a case of two cheers for the negotiators. trade is the crux of this for businesses, obviously,. last year trade between the eu and britain came to about £540 billion. sub there is a lot at stake here. essentially over things like what sort of terrorist they will have to pay, what the precise rights of eu workers here will be... —— what sort of tariffs... and what kind of regulatory framework will be governing their businesses. that's what's occupying their mind, as you would expect. we have been speaking to business leaders delay and this is what they have had to say. now, of course, the hard work starts. that is developing agreement for the long term relationship between the eu and the uk. and in the meantime, bringing great clarity to transition, so that businesses can suspend any contingency planning. we are running out of time, so they will continue to make those plans, and the further we get into that discussion about what those transitional agreements will be, the easier it will be for them to release those contingency plans. i would say it's going to be vitally important that the business community and manufacturing in particular is involved in those discussions with government to get those points, to make sure that detail is right when we go forward into the transition agreement. in order for businesses to suspend, to delay, the most severe contingency plans, we need to get agreement on that transition deal pretty soon. early in the new year, certainly the end of the first quarter of next year. that's the sort of time by which businesses will need to know, otherwise they will start adding in some of those plans, even as far as moving some operations, offices, or starting subsidiaries. clearly we don't want that, the government doesn't want that, so they should be pushing very hard in their talks with the eu to get that transition deal as soon as possible. joining us now is yael selfin, chief economist, at kpmg in the uk. thanks forjoining us. one thing which strikes me is that there is a lot of relief about the fact that we've overcome this hurdle, but we still don't have a clear sense of what the government here in the uk wa nts for what the government here in the uk wants for relations with the eu? yes, absolutely. so, for businesses this is still definitely difficult times, with quite a lot of uncertainty for them. obviously, times, with quite a lot of uncertainty forthem. obviously, it isa uncertainty forthem. obviously, it is a bit ofa uncertainty forthem. obviously, it is a bit of a relief that we have reached that milestone. the time that was required... but obviously they still need to prefer quite a few contingency plans. -- to propel. do you think there is an element in which businesses have been frightened by the politics of all of this? well, there is definitely uncertainty and concerned that business interests may not be at the forefront of the negotiations at times, and other interests exist, or potentially distractions, when the different options are considered. so, what does the government need to do to nail down certainty for business? well, it is tricky for the government, because obviously, when you negotiate, sometimes you can't show all your cards and you can't have everything early, and quite a lot of things will tend to be agreed at the end. so in that sense the government is slightly limited, but what they can do is definitely take the business voice on board, understand what business actually needs, and the different businesses, because different sectors and businesses will need different things, and try and prioritise what is really important for the uk economy in these negotiations. so, do you think that many businesses will now be putting a pause on their contingency plans for when we leave the eu? it is unlikely and probably unwise for them to pause their plans, because ultimately we are going to leave the eu, it is just a question of when and how. so, plans need to be made, and probably for quite a lot of businesses, they need to start making them very quickly, if they haven't already. and some action will need to be made, and indeed we see some of our clients taking actions already, because they really have to. yael selfin, thank you very much indeed. and you have also got some news on the state of public transport in this country? indeed, it is not particularly pleasing news, i don't know if you come in by public transport. yes, the bus, the chewed. apparently about a fifth of us around the country cannot get to work using public transport alone. and also a p pa re ntly public transport alone. and also apparently 1.5 million people need to use three forms of public transport to make it into work. stephenjoseph is the boss of the better transport company, and this is what he had to say.|j better transport company, and this is what he had to say. i think ultimately it is a government problem, because government controls a lot of what goes on in transport to do with the railways, and also in terms of funding. also what we've seenis terms of funding. also what we've seen isa terms of funding. also what we've seen is a loss of bus services and bus fares going up by something like twice the rate of inflation over the la st twice the rate of inflation over the last 20 years. so, we've seen the disappearance of whole bus networks, and therefore transport deserts appearing. and we've also seen rail fares going up significantly as well above inflation. with another rise due in the new year. we've been saying that the government needs to look at ways of on hooking people from car dependence, giving people real choice in how they get around, and particularly funding public transport better, in the way that other european countries do. stephen joseph, from the campaign for better transport. has the brexiter deal had an impact on the markets? it has had an impact on the markets? it has had a moderate impact. the ftse making fairly healthy gains, but nothing sensational. the euro, the pound, rather, did bounce up against the euro, but that has fallen back again. the home—builders berkeley have been thrilling the markets with stellar results. the sports company being caught up in the scandal over not paying the minimum wage. but investors starting to regain confidence there as well. very interesting. firefighters spent an hour freeing an internet prankster who cemented his head inside a microwave oven at a house in wolverhampton. friends managed to feed an air tube into the 22—year—old's mouth to help him breathe. they had poured ready—mixed cement around his head, protected by a plastic bag, to try to form a mould. the oven wasn't plugged in. west midlands fire service says the call out might have prevented them from helping someone else in genuine need. time for a look at the weather. here's louise lear. there has been a real west east divide in our weather today. out to the west, a wintry flavour. some of the west, a wintry flavour. some of the snow showers quite frequent and heavy and they have caused some disruption. blown in by strong, gusty winds across scotland and northern ireland and down across the irish seat into the north midlands and parts of wales. in fact we've seen as much as 11 centimetres of snow recorded so far across parts of northern ireland. by contrast, further is, you're wondering what all the fuss is about. as you can see from this weather watcher's picture, a beautiful afternoon. pretty cold but lots of sunshine. still the risk of some snow showers through the midlands and across wales for this evening's rush—hour. perhaps not as frequent as they have been, those showers, in northern ireland. still plenty of showers across the north and west coasts of scotla nd across the north and west coasts of scotland as well. through the evening, the snow showers will continue but the winds will fall light and the showers may welljust ease up a little as we go through the night. it's going to be a cold night and the night. it's going to be a cold nightand a the night. it's going to be a cold night and a frosty start to saturday morning. there could be shaun brisley stretches first thing on the roads. saturday morning starting off bitterly cold but it will be a quiet start to the day. the showers will bea start to the day. the showers will be a little bit more isolated i suspect on saturday, but still the risk of some more snow showers. we're still under the influence of this cold air spilling down from the arctic. but all the time, mild, moist air is trying to push in from the atlantic, and this weather front is the dividing line, and when it bumps into that cold air, on the leading edge there is the potential during the early hours of sunday morning for some significant disruptive snow. the met office has issued an amber weather warning. we're going to see the potential for 10—20cm of snow as that system pushes its way across the pennines and the north your horse. —— and to the north. hello, you're watching afternoon live — i'm ben brown. today at four: a breakthrough on brexit — britain and the eu strike a last minute deal to move talks on to the next phase. getting to this point has required give and take on both sides and i believe thejoint report being published is in the best interests of the whole of the uk. i believe we have now made the breakthrough we need. today's result is of course a compromise. theresa may says there will be no ha rd theresa may says there will be no hard border with northern ireland. labour'sjeremy corbyn said not enough progress was being made. the referendum took place in 2016. we are now at the end of 2017, and this is the first time there has been any sign of any movement to go on to phase two of the negotiations. we will get the latest political reaction across the afternoon and hearing how to do's breakthrough has been received by the public. we should give them an ultimatum. we give them money. they have had more of us than we have had out of them. we can't underestimate how complex these negotiations are, and i think we have to trust the government and the eu to make the right decisions. palestinian officials say a protester has been shot dead by the israeli army in clashes in gaza, the first death since president trump recognised jerusalem as the capital of israel. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport with gavin ramjaun. premier league football coming to prime—time tv? premier league football coming to prime-time tv? indeed. the money to show premier league matches is set to go up again. more matches will be on offer. details of what's at stake in the next hour. hello, everyone. this is afternoon live. i'm ben brown. a deal has been agreed in the brexit talks, allowing the negotiations to move on to the next crucial stage — trade and transition. after a long night of phone diplomacy and an early morning dash to brussels, theresa may secured agreement with the irish prime minister and the democratic unionists, whose objections on the issue of the irish border had prevented a deal being struck on monday. some of the key agreements included the divorce bill, which is worth between £35 billion and £39 billion. that is the bbc‘s latest understanding. eu citizens in the uk and uk citizens living within the european union will have their rights to live, work and study protected. according to mrs may, there will be no hard border between northern ireland and the republic. our correspondent adam fleming reports from brussels. back to brussels to give it another go. the prime minister's early morning mission to steer brexit talks off divorce issues and on to the future. theresa may and her team would not have taken a flight in the middle of the night to arrive here in the dark if they feared a repeat of monday when they came to brussels thinking a deal was done and it wasn't. overjuice and pastries, the two sides agreed a 15—page list of promises. david davis' face — proof that it has taken an exhausting series of talks to get the eu to say this. the commission has just formally decided to recommend to the european council that sufficient progress has now been made on the strict terms of the divorce. what is the biggest compromise the other side has made to get you to this point today? this was a question, actually, of coming together and working together for a report and agreements that were in the best interests of all sides. here's what the negotiators have actually negotiated. to guarantee the rights of eu citizens staying in the uk, the european court ofjustice will still have a role for eight years after brexit, although it might affectjust a handful of cases. the uk has finalised an agreement in principle about its financial obligations. that could end up being between £35 and £39 billion, according to officials. both sides restated a commitment to no hard border on the island of ireland. northern irish politicians will get a say on any proposals that could affect northern ireland's relationship with the rest of the uk. then the prime minister dashed off to see the man who will chair next week's summit of eu leaders. his message to them — progress, yes, but not time to start celebrating. let us remember that the most difficult challenge is still ahead. we all know that breaking up is hard... but breaking up and building a new relation is much harder. in other words, the eu's chief negotiator now has to haggle over a transition period and a possible trade deal. are you going to be celebrating, mr barnier? no. cracking open the champagne? we are still workng. no. still more work to do. 0k. and roughly a year to get it all done. not even coffee? theresa may heralded the deal as "hard won" and in everybody‘s interests. it's also being seen as politically crucial for her and her negotiating team. the senior cabinet brexiteer michael gove described it as a significant personal political achievement for the prime minister. the shadow brexit secretary, labour's keir starmer, welcomed the fact that talks can now move on — but stressed that this point should have been reached weeks ago. chris mason reports. striding towards an agreement. but any negotiation about anything involves compromise, and this is no different. so while both of them were wearing smiles and exchanging handshakes this morning at about the time many of us were crawling out of bed, what were the big political hitters over here making of it? this agreement is a significant political achievement for the prime minister. it helps to guarantee the rights of eu citizens in the uk. it will be uk courts that safeguard those rights. of course, they will have regard for eu law and in a limited number of cases for a limited period of time, they can if they wish to, if there's a point of law that is ambiguous, go to the european court ofjustice for help to resolve the issue. but this is a time limited and very specific exception, and it is uk courts in the driving seat. i'm very pleased to see this deal. the prime minister has put a great deal of personal effort into it, including staying up all night to finalise it. and it is clear that it is also being broadly welcomed by our eu partners, even if many of them remain profoundly upset that we are leaving the eu. so there you saw both sides of the conservative divide rowing in behind the prime minister. that is one big reason why, if you tilt your ear towards the nearest window, you can probably hear the huge sighs of relief coming from downing street. but remember, this isjust the beginning of this negotiating process. what's to come, the discussion about the future relationship with the eu, will be even more complicated, in all likelihood. that is why opposition parties are keeping up the pressure on the prime minister. this is the point we had hoped to get to two months ago. what the prime minister needs to do is to focus on transitional measures immediately. that work should have started in october. it now needs to start straight away. a few conservative mps privately are grumbling about the deal. they see it as a compromise too far. this man, who you might recognise, agrees with them. amazing, isn't it? the british prime minister flies through the middle of the night to meet unelected bureaucrats who pat her on the head, and say you have met all of our demands, we can move on to the next stage. it's a humiliation. as the prime minister returned home, she can chalk up a success. the progress she hoped for has been made. but it merely marks the end of a beginning of a negotiation far, farfrom done. chris mason, bbc news at westminster. let's talk to our political correspondent eleanor garnier. on monday, it looked like disasterfor the prime minister and her brexit talks and by the end of the week, we have a victory for her? let's be in no doubt that if theresa may had not got this deal done, she would have beenin got this deal done, she would have been in deep political trouble. as you say, look back to the beginning of the week and theresa may had travelled to brussels to sign the deal off, only for the dup to pull the plug on the whole thing. it was humiliating for the prime minister and it left her and her government ina and it left her and her government in a precarious position. it led to a week of intense negotiations and that flight overnight back to brussels, this time to get it sorted. so yes, we have now made the journey of five days and what a difference those days have made. on the whole, most seem to be happy. but privately, some brexiteers are not pleased with the size of the bill and the role of the european court ofjustice. but there have been compromises and that is why we have heard the likes of the go—go van boris johnson coming have heard the likes of the go—go van borisjohnson coming out and congratulating theresa may. if we look at the money, at one stage, art brexiteers were saying we shouldn't pay a penny. now they are saying we might pay up to £39 billion. so there has been a compromise there. but those brexiteers are pleased that we are now going to move on to talking about a trade deal. and they will be pleased if we get that free trade deal with the european union. for the remain side, they are pleased because those concerns about the uk walking away without any deal seemed to have gone for the moment. as for the opposition, jeremy corbyn was asked earlier if you shared others' opinions that today marked the big breakthrough. until i see more of it, no. this could have been done some time ago. the referendum took place in 2016. we're now at the end of 2017 and this is the first time there has been any sign of any movement to go on to phase two of the negotiations. our determination is to maintain a trade relationship with europe which gives us tariff free access, because a great manyjobs on both sides of the channel rely on a supply chain with europe to britain and likewise from britain to europe. we want to maintain those jobs. nobody who voted in the referendum voted to lose theirjob. we should remember that there is still a long way to go. nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, so if the second phase of the talks ru ns so if the second phase of the talks runs into trouble, that raises the prospect that all of this could unravel. that is not the intention of either side, but it does show how much further the negotiations have to go and how much harder the second phase wilby. let's talk to the conservative mp anna soubry. as somebody who campaigned against brexit, what do you think of this deal? also people were suggesting that the idea of no deal has receded. you say i have been campaigning against brexit. that's right, and then we had the result of the referendum and 52% of people who voted, voted for us to leave and i have accepted and respect that referendum result. my argument has a lwa ys referendum result. my argument has always been about getting the best deal that is available to secure the benefits of the single market and the customs union. i would like us to stay in both of them. i am not much bothered about what people call it, what the technicalities of any names might be. i am interested in what it means for businesses and therefore the good people of this country. i think we have made a big step forward and we are seeing the end of the idea that there will be any higher brexit, thankfully. they said there would be no hard border in northern ireland, deal or no deal. and we will begin to see a movement towards a different way of looking at this. david davis said a year ago, he was determined he was going to get a deal that conveyed the same benefits of the single market and the customs union, and i think david has begun to achieve that, thanks to the leadership of the pm. i don't think anybody should be under any illusions that theresa may has put her mark on this. she has stood up and has not been found to be wanting. when you say this paves the way for a soft brexit, what do you mean? i don't do guided say that. well, you implied that. are you saying that in order to avoid a hard border, we will have to stay in the customs union and the single market? not at all. one of the things that has come out of this week is that for a lot of people, they have realised that there are all sorts of options available. we we re all sorts of options available. we were talking earlier in the week about regulatory alignment. that is what ukraine have. i don't want us to be ukraine, but that could be the sort of arrangement we have, where we are de facto in the single market, de facto in the customs union. most importantly, goods are moving without barriers and tariffs. why would the eu allow that? they don't want to encourage other countries to leave the eu. so if the uk leads with all the benefits of being in the eu, why would they allow that? forgive me, this is the su btlety of allow that? forgive me, this is the subtlety of the approach that you quys subtlety of the approach that you guys have to understand, rather than using bland headlines. look at what the ukraine has. it has this regulatory alignment, meaning goods can regulatory alignment, meaning goods ca n flow regulatory alignment, meaning goods can flow freely without tariffs. for them, it is a step into the eu, but it might be something we could look at as it might be something we could look atasa it might be something we could look at as a step out as we have left the european union. these are the sorts of things we need to explore. most importantly, we can be more confident that we will not get the dreadful hard brexit that would have been so damaging for our economy. there are many people who voted leave who are now saying that efta, the european free trade agreement, which norway has, could be the solution. canada has also been mentioned. that is one of the options available. the reason why the canadian deal is not attractive for british business is that it excludes services, which make up 80% of our economy. but today the eu has signed an arrangement with japan, andi signed an arrangement with japan, and i believe somewhere over 90% of all the business between the eu and japan is now on a free—trade basis. in my opinion, we are obviously not going to get the benefits that we get through our membership of the european union. we have had the debate and people like me lost the argument. we are leaving the european union and it is possible for british business to get the same benefits out of our membership of the customs union by technically not being in it. that is what matters, getting the best thing for british business. that is the best thing for british people, not just business. that is the best thing for british people, notjust for growth, but thejobs, wages british people, notjust for growth, but the jobs, wages and public services. you only get those with a strong economy. good work today by the p:m.. anna soubry, thank you. during hours of discussions and phone calls, theresa may secured agreement on the issue of the irish borderfrom both the irish prime minister and the democratic unionists, whose earlier objections had prevented a deal being struck. our ireland correspondent chris buckler reports now on the impact of the border question in these talks. negotiating the way through this first phase of brexit talks has been difficult. and ireland's border roads have at times looked like the issue where people could get stuck. today, a way forward has been found. and the changes in the document recognise the dup's concerns about what dublin wanted, that northern ireland would be tied to the eu's trading rules, even if the rest of the uk was not. but it is worth noting that the unionists are warning of a little caution. there are still matters there that we would have liked to have seen clarified. we ran out of time, essentially. we think that we needed to go back again and talk about those matters, but the prime minister decided to go to brussels in relation to this text and she says she has done that in the national interest. the dup were worried that if northern ireland and great britain ended up having different rules and regulations, it could lead to barriers to trade within the uk. today's agreement rules that out. and it says that businesses here will still have unfettered access to the united kingdom's own internal markets, effectively dismissing the idea of a border in the irish sea. and the irish government says it's satisfied that there will be no customs posts at the land border. there is no question of us trying to exploit brexit as a means of moving towards a united ireland without consent. we don't want to see a border in the irish sea any more than we want there to be a border between newry and dundalk, or between letterkenny and derry. we want to build bridges, not borders. the words of the deal are being studied closely. they are open to interpretation. there was enough in them to satisfy both the dup and the irish government but there is still the potential for disagreement about what the text actually means, and certainly this document does not solve all of the problems posed by this island's border. removing the final blockage to trade talks is a significant moment. but the irish border always has the potential to cause division. chris buckler, bbc news, belfast. and let's speak to chris in belfast. and let's speak to chris in belfast. a lot of people are saying this agreement in effectjust kicks the whole issue of the irish border down the road. it isjust a load of fudge. yeah, it sets it up for the next age of negotiations. i have been pouring through this document today, trying to work out what the agreement says. what struck me from reading paragraphs 49 and 50, to be technical, is that you can read them however you want. i have already had people tell me that this is definitely about what the uk's wilby doing, where as others say that definitely applies just to northern ireland, not the rest of the uk. these agreements are deliberately written in such a way as to be as vague as possible to allow people to read what they want into it in order to get past this first stage of negotiations and into the next stage. that means the irish border will have to be sorted out in the next stage. a less generous way of talking about this would be that you are storing up trouble for the future. you have to stalk this issue out. ultimately, the uk government has been right from the start in saying you cannot sort out the border unless you talk about trade, and we can't do that till we get to phase two. the question of customs and trade will be discussed then. but this is not going to go away. what you saw today from the dup was a clear statement from arlene foster that they were not particularly happy about theresa may going to brussels today. they wanted to wait and sought other things out. there is still a lot to be discussed and there is still a danger of the conservative government getting trapped between the irish government and the dup over this crucial issue. chris, thanks for braving the snow in belfast! d hilary benn, chairman of the brexit committee —— let's talk to hilary benn in leeds. what is your reading of this agreement? some people are saying it means that no deal is less of a possibility, and are also say that a soft brexit is now more likely. i hope both of those things are true. we have to welcome the fact that the talks are now going to move onto stage two. there are 11 months to go in the negotiation. we have taken all of this time to get to the age of stage one. we need to talk about trade access for our services and industries, as anna soubry was saying earlier. 80% of our economy depends on services, then there is also cooperation on defence and terrorism and foreign policy. there isa terrorism and foreign policy. there is a list as long as your arm of questions that have to be addressed and an agreement has been reached to allow that to happen. the other thing i would say about the irish border, which was the matter that was holding it up, we were in armagh yesterday with the select committee, looking at some lines on a road which marks the changeover from northern ireland to the republic, and there is nothing to see. that is the whole point. goods and people and vehicles move freely back and forth between northern ireland and the republic, and people want to keep it that way and there can be no going back. that is what the good friday agreement achieved. the most significant thing about the agreement is those words, full alignment. what is clearly laid out various, as a fallback, if trade talks don't deal with the problem, andi talks don't deal with the problem, and i agree that until you have got to phase two, it is hard to find a final solution to the problem of the border, albeit it was created by the government's decision to leave the customs union and the single market, that commitment to full alignment between the uk and the european union is a markerfor whether government wants to go. but what does full alignment mean? if you have northern ireland not in the eu and the republic in the eu, that can only mean that the uk has to stay in the customs union and the single market but doesn't it? it is a very interesting question. to take those two things off the table, as the government has done, i think is a mistake. keir starmer has said we should leave all the options on the table until we get through the transition and the talks sought out the final arrangement. if we want to get a good deal covering trade, but crucially, services, the eu will be interested in what our regulatory system is in the uk. they are concerned that we might gain some competitive advantage because of our freedom from the rules, then used to sell into their market through the door that we will be asking them to leave propped open for us. if the government is prepared to talk about full alignment, that is a strong indication that it is looking at aligning itself with the rules of the european union, and maybe that will give us a better deal than might otherwise be the case. people like nigel farage are saying this is a humiliation, that we havejust effectively given away too much, £40 billion in the divorce bill, the european court of justice billion in the divorce bill, the european court ofjustice still having a role for another eight yea rs having a role for another eight years and so on. what would you say to that? i would say that a lot of things was that during the referendum campaign that were not possible to achieve. this is the moment when the choices that people have made result in consequences, and the government has realised that there are trade—offs we have to make asa there are trade—offs we have to make as a country in our economic interests, the future of the economy and jobs and security. that is why i a nswered and jobs and security. that is why i answered your first question by saying that if this means we have a softer brexit and if it ensures that there is no prospect of us leaving with no deal, which would be a disaster for the british economy, this definitely represents progress. but there is a long way to go and we don't know what kind of partnership the government wants with the european union. now the doors open, they will have to tell michel barnier the next time he sits down opposite david davis. good to talk to you. hilary benn, chairman of the brexit committee. and a reminder that if you want more detail on today's brexit agreement, the bbc‘s reality check team has been examining some of the key lines in today's document. just go to bbc.co.uk/realitycheck. now, let's bring you some breaking news that is coming in to us from california. we are hearing that president donald trump has declared a state of emergency in california because of those raging wildfires that have so far destroyed hundreds of buildings, forced thousands from their homes. mr trump ordered the release of federal assistance to bolster the local response to the wildfires in california. that is according to the white house in a statement today. the palestinian authorities say one man have been shot dead by the israeli army in anti—trump protests near the gaza border. a second man is in a critical condition. security had been stepped up after the militant group hamas called for a day of rage in response to president trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel. our correspondent jon donnison reports. it has been billed by palestinians as a day of rage. by by late morning, clashes had erupted in the west bank city of bethlehem, israeli soldiers firing tear gas at palestinian youths hurling rocks. in gaza, one palestinian was killed by israelis opening fire. thousands descended onjerusalem's israelis opening fire. thousands descended on jerusalem's old israelis opening fire. thousands descended onjerusalem's old city and the al aqsa kos compound. so far, the violence has been in a relatively small scale. the question is whether it will escalate. but there is no doubt for now the palestinians feel that in declaring jerusalem israel's capital, donald trump has crossed a red line. translation: when the american president makes this kind of decision, he reveals all other leaders and regimes who are cooperating with him. he is also pushing the region towards violence. jerusalem belongs to all muslims. jerusalem is in our hearts and in the hearts of all muslims. it does not belong to trump or to the jews. but that was not the message the president was giving last night. well, i know for a fact that there are a lot of happy people in this room. as he celebrated thejewish holiday of hanukkah a week early, this year he knows that with his intervention onjerusalem, he has come bearing gifts. we wish you a very happy hanukkah, and i think this one will go down as especially special. in recent years, palestinian protests have often lost momentum. but if the violence escalates further, a decision that supporters of trump regard as bold will be seen by many as reckless. jon donnison, bbc news. heavy snowfall is causing disruption across the united kingdom, with weather warnings issued across much of scotland, northern ireland, wales and the north—west of england. this is what one bus had to contend with in wales. and in wales also, more than 170 schools are currently closed. this is the scene in aberdeenshire a little bit earlier on. and in orkney, a coastguard helicopter was used to help restore power. and meanwhile, on the isle of man, all schools have been closed, and there is continuing travel disruption. well, our correspondent is in bromsgrove for us. i like the outfit! you're looking very cool in the snow! what is it like there, dare i ask? well, it is cold and is no way, as you can see behind me. i think we have got sevencm or eightcm. because it is quite an isolated issue, the snow showers have been coming through the cheshire gap, places like shrewsbury, telford, wolverhampton, wa lsa ll, shrewsbury, telford, wolverhampton, walsall, kidderminster, bromsgrove, have been quite badly affected, 350 schools have been shot, around 900 homes are without power. a lot of them around bridgnorth in shropshire. but if you travel maybe 20 minutes away from here there's very little snow at all. so, it's been affecting the same areas, hitting showers repeatedly during the day, we just had a really big one and there is another one due in about half an hour time. i think a lot of people are concerned about what may be to come, especially on sunday and monday, where we've got a warning for snow over a much wider area, though not necessarily hear. clearly today, it has caused problems in particular areas, but outside that very narrowband it hasn't caused big issues. i'vejust been looking at the local bbc news website and they've been reminding people that perhaps things have changed quite significantly. 100 yea rs changed quite significantly. 100 years ago there were reports that people were being fined and locked up people were being fined and locked upfor people were being fined and locked up for not clearing the paths outside their homes — imagine if they did that now! and just one word of warning, those ladies behind you i think of warning, those ladies behind you ithink are of warning, those ladies behind you i think are preparing snowballs, so you might want to watch your back!|j you might want to watch your back!” did notice that! they've gone the other way! be careful out there, phil! louise haston at the latest forecast for us. and more snow on the way? there is more significant snow, actually, in comparison to today. we have got an amber warning, which means you prepared for disruption. that's sunday. that is affecting wales, northern england and the midlands. sunday morning could be pretty tricky! it is a good job it isn't the rush—hour on monday morning. what about this cold snap, how long is it going to go on for? well, it gets a little bit milder down to the south—west on sunday, then the cold snap returns. so, if you're struggling to get into that christmas, wintry spirit, i think the next few days might help you a little bit. lots of scenes like this across the country. one reason why these showers have been consistent in pretty similar areas, with snow depth as as 11cm, and i suspect that we'll be going up... that is in northern ireland. but the showers have been banding together and fairly organised lines of showers, which means they've been persistent. with the nature of the showers, they're very hit and miss. it has been a glorious but cold day across much of eastern england. those showers will be continuing for the early evening rush—hour, and that could make for some tricky driving conditions. those showers will be there throughout this evening, so allow a little bit of extra time for your journey. central allow a little bit of extra time for yourjourney. central and allow a little bit of extra time for your journey. central and southern areas of scotland, you've had a glorious day. you keep the clear skies as well, as does much of eastern england. temperatures will be falling away and it's going to be a cold, frosty night. ice could be a problem first thing on saturday morning, but saturday will be a quieter day. if you wrap up warm, it really will be a very nice day indeed.jump really will be a very nice day indeed.jume running really will be a very nice day indeed. jump x running down through the cheshire gap again, but it is cold. temperatures in the north struggling to get much above freezing. this cold air that's sitting across us at the moment is trying to be pushed out of the way by mild, moist air coming in from the south—west. this is the troublemaker, because this weather front, as it bumps into the cold air common we could see further significant snow. that's why the met office issued this warning. as much as 10—20 centimetres falling during the early hours of sunday. and that is going to cause some disruption. you will need to keep watching the weather forecast, because there you will need to keep watching the weatherforecast, because there is you will need to keep watching the weather forecast, because there is a the potential for that to be a weather forecast, because there is a the potentialfor that to be a bit further north or further south. behind it, milder. a touch of milder air tries to come in by the end of the day on sunday, but gale force was gas on exposed coasts. scotland and northern ireland, a quiet day on sunday but stays disappointingly cold here. more from me in half an hour time. after months of negotiation, the brexit talks look set to move onto the next stage. as eu leaders meet to decide weather they are ready to ta ke to decide weather they are ready to take the next crucial step forward, we'll discuss what happens next. join us for coverage of the eu summit starting thursday on the bbc news channel. this is bbc news — our latest headlines... brexit negotiations can move on to discussions about trade — after theresa may reached a deal with the european union. the bbc understands the settlement involves the uk paying a divorce bill of between £35 billion and £39 billion. getting to this point has required give and take on both sides, and i believe that the joint report being published is in the best interests of the whole of the uk. palestinian authorities say one person has been shot dead by the israeli army in gaza — the first fatality in the clashes that have followed president trump's decision to recognisejerusalem as the capital of israel. and president trump has declared a state of emergency in california after wildfires forced thousands of people to flee from their homes. sport now on afternoon live, with gavin ra mjaun. yes — saturday night tv. normally a staple of talent shows like strictly and x factor, is about to get a feast of football talent. premier league games are set to go head to head with them on primetime from 2019 as part of the new 7.45 slot on saturdays, which are being offered up in the new broadcast package. eight games are to be shown in the time slot over the season — no doubt news to delight the diehard fans, but not everyone's happy. the football supporters federation said in a statement earlier they don't want to see more games on live tv — as it makes life difficult for away fans. they say clubs must do more with their huge tv revenues to make things easier for travelling supporters. and other changes being planned as well by the premier league? that's right. the premier league has seen the money for rights to broadcast games increase over £2 billion since the last round of rights. the increase will tempt new players from new media hubs like amazon and facebook and google to think about bidding. the premier league also have encouraged the likes of google, amazon and facebook to bid for live games — saying the live packages will be available for "exploitation on a technology neutral basis" — essentially they are open to new platforms. there will be rights sold for "near—live" matches — again, an encouragement for on—demand providers like netflix. the bottom line is there will be more live games, so expect the 5 billion plus spent last time around to increase for the next three—year period. two of the biggest games come on derby day on sunday. the top two go head to head, manchester city taking on their rivals united, whose bossjose mourinho says he's missing out on a lot of the build—up and excitement about the match in the city. i live a little bit separated from society, i don't feel it so much. it's about the training ground and the hotel, and my day off after cska moscow, i went home. so, i really don't have that communication. but i don't need that to know that a derby is something special for the people. for us, in the end, it's three points. the quarter finals of snooker‘s uk championship are underway in york. five—time champion ronnie o'sullivan, one of only two seeds left in the competition, is in action against martin gould. these are pictures from bbc two of what's happening right now. o'sullivan leading 5—3, he's just a frame away from the final four. he had been 5—1 in front of. so that is an exciting match. ronnie is now the clear favourite with the bookies to claim a his sixth uk title. on the other table, former winner stephen maguire also made a very good start, going 5—1 ahead againstjoe perry. and stephen maguire has now won that match. that's all the sport for now. now on afternoon live, let's go nationwide, and see what's happening around the country in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. we will be speaking to mary rhodes, who's in coventry, a city in celebration after it was announced as the uk's city of culture for 2021 last night. and from tunbridge wells, we'll be hearing from south—east's colin campbell, who has done an investigation into counterfeit goods being openly sold on facebook. first though to coventry, where i suspect there were a few sore heads this morning, mary? i would imagine so, ben, iwould imagine so, ben, a i would imagine so, ben, a few sore heads after the partying. i did spot a few people in coventry with a spring in their step jacket that might have been no way of trying to battle off the cold. i'm told the celebrations went along into the night last night, both in hull, where the announcement was made live on bbc one, and also here in coventry, where the news was met by a mix of delight and also quite a bit of surprise. fantastic news for the city. such a huge opportunity to make such a massive difference. it's so exciting, who knows what the next few years have to hold? it's fantastic, and this is for the people of coventry, and it is for all the arts organisations and all the people who live and work here and all who have worked so hard over the last two years. i'm so happy. i was born in coventry, 57 years ago. my was born in coventry, 57 years ago. my children are coventry kids are. i'm a product of coventry, i love the city and i am so happy we did it. some great responses there. what exactly it. some great responses there. what exa ctly d oes it. some great responses there. what exactly does the city have planned, mary? there's still a lot of detail to go through until 2021, but when you think of coventry and culture, you're probably more likely to think of these beautiful cathedral ruins and the new cathedral public rather than a ring road. this concrete, a masterpiece of civil engineering, or actually a concrete nightmare, surprisingly it has formed quite a centrepiece of the cultural bid, because it is going to form a two—mile poem, something i'm told thejudges were two—mile poem, something i'm told the judges were particularly impressed by. and shakespeare will be performed by the royal shakespeare company in the cathedral, the full works of shakespeare. and one of the bid team, laura mcmillan, told us a little bit more about what to expect. our bid has been about youth and diversity and community. our bid could not happen anywhere else but cove ntry. could not happen anywhere else but coventry. 3021 will be incredibly special for us. we're going to doing huge programme of events, including the build—up and we can't wait for everybody to be sent to coventry! 92 look forward to hear in coventry, and, of course, with birmingham not far away, hoping to be the host city for the commonwealth games in 2022, it isa for the commonwealth games in 2022, it is a fantastic time to be in the west midlands — especially if it warms up a little! mary, thank you very much. and colin campbell, you have been doing an investigation into counterfeit goods being sold on facebook — how widespread is this problem? well, ben, we've discovered that the sale of counterfeit goods is effectively flooded facebook. we're not talking about individuals selling the odd item, we're talking about large—scale dealers effectively setting up shop on facebook and selling a range of fake and replica goods. most people will know facebook as a social networking site to stay into with your family and friends. but over the last few yea rs and friends. but over the last few years it has but come —— it has become an increasingly popular place to sell things. some people are even offering a home delivery service of fa ke offering a home delivery service of fake goods to your front door. this isa fake goods to your front door. this is a selection of the goods that we bought, a pair of fake nike trainers which look like the real thing. and a fake which look like the real thing. and afake pairof which look like the real thing. and a fake pair of boots. we bought a range of fake designer clothing, fred perry, stone island. a fake nike tracksuit. even some counterfeit aftershave and a fake gucci wallet, which is plastic. trading standards say these goods are not well made and that you are effectively wasting your money by buying it. we bought a fake handbag, it came with a michael coulson purse. as soon as i try —— tried to open it up, it bust open. footy embarrassingly to hand that over to your wife or girlfriend on christmas day! what are the police saying about all of this? the police are urging people not to buy counterfeit or replica goods. they say you are effectively funding serious. they say the people who are making it overseas are effectively working in this will conditions, and they say the people selling it here in the uk are not robin hood characters, they are not robin hood characters, they are criminals who are cashing in on are criminals who are cashing in on a demand for counterfeit goods. there's a lot wrong with fake goods. we need to do away with this image that they don't do anyone any harm — they really do. fake goods are produced en masse and shipped in by criminal networks and sold by criminals. in that chain of production, the people making those goods abroad are unregulated workers who have no employment rights, will not be treated fairly. the shipping of counterfeit goods from one continent to another isn't done by the odd market trader or a del boy who will do you a good deal. it is done by criminal networks who are making a large amount of money from this. and colin, have facebook had anything to say about this? ben, trading standards are critical of facebook, they say they're not doing enough to combat the rapidly goods which are appearing on the site. they say they're not acting quickly enough to take them down and in some insta nces enough to take them down and in some instances they say they're not acting at all. one of the dealers we secretly filmed told us that he was able to continue operating for six months before his site was closed down. and when it was closed down, he said he simply "the one and was able to continue. we have gone to facebook to seek a response and they have told us they are now investigating the sellers and have already closed one of them down. thank you very much indeed. colin campbell into ridgewell is and in coventry, mary rhodes. thank you to both of you. and if you would like to see more on any of those stories, you can access them via the bbc iplayer. 14 united nations peacekeepers from tanzania have been killed in an attack in the democratic republic of congo. a un official said that at least 50 more peacekeepers were injured in the fighting which took place in the north kivu province late on thursday. there are reports that five congolese soldiers have also been killed. the un has not said who carried out the attack. but it is suspected that it was a rebel group from neighbouring uganda. ina rebel group from neighbouring uganda. in a moment we're going to have the latest business news. joe lynam has just stepped have the latest business news. joe lynam hasjust stepped in. first, a look at the headlines on afternoon live. a breakthrough on brexit — britain and the eu strike a last minute deal to move talks on to the next phase. the prime minister says there will be no hard border with ireland — and it's thought britain's divorce bill will be between £35 billion and £39 billion. palestinian officials say a man has been shot dead by the israeli army in clashes in gaza — it's the first death since president trump recognised jerusalem as the capital of israel. here's your business headlines on afternoon live. shortlived excitement — the pound jumps on news of the brexit breakthrough, and then falls back. we'll have more on this in a moment. uk manufacturing is doing well — output went up again for the sixth month in a row in october, thanks to record car production. factories have notched up their longest run of growth for more than 20 years. 260 firms have been named by the government for failing to pay the minimum wage — among them sports direct and primark — in total 16,000 workers were affected, and they are owed £1.7 million in back pay. british airways is shutting its defined benefit pension scheme. it's being replaced by a new "flexible" benefits programme — under which members can choose cash instead of a pension. so, the brexit deal is the big story of the day — what has been the reaction in the business community? i hinted at it in the headlines. basically the pound soared, not exactly soaring but as currencies 90, exactly soaring but as currencies go, it went up a fair bit when the news was confirmed early this morning sylvain, you buy on the rumourand morning sylvain, you buy on the rumour and you sell on the fact. so, when the fact emerged, the markets retreated a little bit. john inverdale:, the ftse-100 ridges mainly made up of giant companies who own most of their money in dollars and euros, the fudge went down when the news happened, and then when sterling went down, the fudge went up. so they've both kind of ended the day roughly where they started it. that's what happens! and more specifically we got good news on manufacturing but not such good news on construction? be manufacturing was boosted by a weak pound. it was up 0.1% in october. as i hinted pound. it was up 0.1% in october. as ihinted in pound. it was up 0.1% in october. as i hinted in the headlines, that's the best run for manufacturing, six straight months, for 20 years. but the construction sector was off by 1.796 the construction sector was off by 1.7% over the last —month that's a serious drop, with the huge amount of uncertainty. the trade deficit - thatis of uncertainty. the trade deficit - that is down slightly but still pretty awful? yeah, this is the difference between what we export and what we import. basically, the imports grew in the three months to the end of october. the difference between them, by £800 million. joining us now from the city is kallum pickering, senior uk economist, at berenberg bank. let's start with the roller—coaster day on the markets — which matters most to, the value of sterling or the health of certain sectors? the health sector sectors always matters but it should really be one and the same thing. keep in mind why sterling fell after the brexit vote, the markets reducing their long—term expectations for the uk economy and that would be reflected in poorer sector output. so, the little upward surge on the pound should in the next few months be reflected in stronger sector data. those expectations should become self—fulfilling. expectations should become self-fulfilling. we have seen that, haven't we? myself and ben were talking about really strong manufacturing data because of this week pound, so you can basically export better because your pound goes further — in terms of the construction industry, though, would you say that people are just holding off on building new projects until they know the colour of the, as it were? that is the difference between manufacturing and construction. that is the story of the year. manufacturing is doing well because of the more competitive sterling and also because the global cycle is turning up. but the uk in a way has missed out on the party this year, and you can see that in sectors like construction, which requires confidence in the long run. when there's lots of uncertainty over the economy, those sorts of investments that put on pause. so, the lowered chance of a hard brexit because of the success between theresa may and donald tusk today means that construction should pick up again into next year. let's move on to the trade deficit — it is still huge, falling a bit, given that austerity has been parked to a certain extent in the budget, where a do you think that's going to go, the trade deficit figures, do you think we're going to start exporting a lot more if the pound stays weak and the deficit will come down rapidly, or we will be importing a lot more and that will cause problems? remember, the benefits from trade come from what you import, not what you export. the stuff you export you don't want, it is the stuff you import which you want to. a rich country like the uk should want to aim fora country like the uk should want to aim for a small but consistent trade deficit over time. that's the privilege of being a fast—growing, advanced economy. certainly if the government slows its austerity down and the mystic economy cannot produce enough to service the existing demand and then the extra demand from the slow down in austerity, that means the uk will begin to import more. so in a way, less austerity means more imports, more austerity would mean less imports. but i'm not sure if faster austerity would be the best thing for the economy right now. that was kallu m for the economy right now. that was kallum pickering from berenberg bank joining us from the city if i know you stepped in at the last moment so, double thank you! what a great understudy, if that's what he was! what have the markets been doing?” think this will tell the story of the day. ftse—100 is up 1%. it was down at the start of the day because of this relationship with sterling. most of the companies on ftse—100 are giant companies earning in dollars and euros, so that's good for them when the pound is weaker. when it strengthens, it is less good for them. i showed you the dax, because the eu signed a deal with japan, a tentative deal, a massive trade deal, and that will be very, very good for german exporters if thatis very good for german exporters if that is completed next year. and last but least, the pound versus the dollar, which had been about 1.35 about eight hours ago. what a co mfrey about eight hours ago. what a comfrey hence if business round—up! that's what we try to do. and you neverfail! that's what we try to do. and you never fail! i do fail sometimes. oh, do you? 0k! let's skip over that! let's get more now on the brexit negotiations — and we've been hearing from nicola sturgeon. i think this is the minimum that had to happen this side of the new year. the fact that it has involved total capitulation by the uk government and all their red lines suggests that it should have happened a long time ago instead of allowing valuable negotiating time to be wasted, but nobody should be any under illusions — this has been the supposedly easy part of the brexit negotiations. moving into the trade talks will be much, much tougher and involve much more context issues. my view is that the least damaging option for the uk is to remain within the single market and the customs union, and given that the uk government appears to have been capitulating in all it's red lines up until now, i hope that us common sense position starts to prevail. that was nicola sturgeon on the brexit deal. let's have a look at the weather, with louise lear. good afternoon. there has been a west east divide in our weather today. out to the west, a wintry flavoursome of the snow showers quite frequent and heavy and they have caused some disruption. strong gusty winds across scotland and down across the irish sea into the north midlands and parts of wales. in fact we've seen as much as 11cm of snow recorded so far across parts of northern ireland. by contrast, further east, you're wondering what all the fuss is about. as you can see from this weather watcher's picture, a beautiful afternoon, although very cold. into the early evening rush—hour, still the risk of those snow showers across the midlands and wales. and stretching up midlands and wales. and stretching up into the isle of man. the showers will not be as frequent as they have beenin will not be as frequent as they have been in northern ireland but still plenty across the north and west facing coasts of scotland as well. as we go through the evening, the snow showers will continue, but the winds will gradually fall light and the showers may welljust use often little as we go through the night. it's going to be a cold night, a frosty start to saturday morning. there could be some icy stretches first team tomorrow on the roads. we start off bitterly cold on saturday. but it will be a slightly quieter day. the showers will be a little more isolated i suspect on saturday. but still the risk of some snow showers to come. it's going to be a cold day, temperatures barely above freezing in the north. we're still under this influence of cold air spilling down from the arctic. but all the time, mild, moist air is trying to push in from the atlantic, and this weather front is the dividing line. and when it bumps into that cold air on the leading edge, there is the potential on sunday morning early for some significant snow. the met office has issued an amber weather warning. be prepared for some disruption. we're going to see the potential for up to 20cm of snowfall is that system pushes its way across the pennines and the north york moors. milder and wetter to the south. today at five: a night of negotiations lead to a breakthrough in the brexit talks. britain and the eu strike a last—minute deal, which means talks can move on to the next phase. getting to this point has required give and take on both sides and i believe the joint report being published as in the best interests of the whole of the uk.” published as in the best interests of the whole of the uk. i believe we have now made the breakthrough we need. today's result is of course a compromise. there will be no hard border with ireland, and it's thought britain's divorce bill will be between 35 and 40 billion pounds. i'll be talking to the former head of the world trade organisation about the difficult trade talks ahead. the other main stories on bbc news at five: