prime minister rishi sunak is aiming to finalise a deal with brussels on post brexit northern ireland trade rules early this week some speculate as soon as tomorrow. government officials held talks with their counterparts in brussels on sunday in a bid to overcome some of the detail that is currrently unpallatable to some politicians in northern ireland. the so called northern ireland protocol has split political opinion since its inception in 2021. it is the trade deal that was agreed to ensure the free movement of goods across the irish land border after brexit. what do business leaders based in northern ireland think about these latest developments? joining me now is roger poland, head of the federation of small businesses northern ireland good to talk to you again. are you hopeful, are you with those who are domestic and think a deal could done this week? we are deal could done this week? - are hopeful of a deal being done this week and the last miles of the race are
welcome to bbc news. president putin has suffered an embarrassing setback in the war with ukraine, after a huge explosion on the only bridge linking russia with the crimean peninsula. the bridge partially collasped but has now reopened to light traffic. russia annexed crimea in 2014, and after occupying these regions of ukraine in red it s managed to establish a corridor up through southern and eastern ukraine. the kerch bridge, connecting russia to the crimean peninsula in the black sea, was an important supply route for sending russian troops and artillery into ukraine. the blast there is another humiliation for the kremlin, as our russia editor, steve rosenberg, reports. it is the bridge the kremlin built, steve rosenberg, reports. and it was under attack. steve rosenberg, reports. an explosion at dawn. steve rosenberg, reports. this was the result. steve rosenberg, reports. russian officials claim a lorry had been blown up here and that the fire then spread to a fuel
and late yesterday, the chancellor announced the minimum wage is to go up by more than a pound, to £11.44 per hour, from april next year. and jeremy hunt decided the rate would also apply to 21 and 22 year olds for the first time. here s our econmics corrrespondent, andy verity. ona cold, on a cold, damp day at the south london market, ask what they want the government to do something about and you will hear two big concerns that haven t gone away. energy and food. , ., , ., , food. used to get six or seven oran . es food. used to get six or seven oranges for food. used to get six or seven oranges for a food. used to get six or seven oranges for a pound, - food. used to get six or seven oranges for a pound, now - food. used to get six or seven oranges for a pound, now it i food. used to get six or seven i oranges for a pound, now it has five. lemons, ten for a pound, now 87 for a pound. it is hard for the customer, it is hard for the customer, it is hard for us as well.
on the properties of so called dark matter, which helps galaxies keep their shape, and dark energy, the force driving the expansion of the universe. researchers concede that at the moment, they know virtually nothing about them. voiceover: stage separation confirmed. applause. the european space agency is behind the mission, with significant input from nasa. it will take six years to complete. david lumb, bbc news. here s sarah with a look at this morning s weather. good morning, sarah. good morning, roaer and good morning, sarah. good morning, roger and sarah. good morning, sarah. good morning, roger and sarah. good good morning, sarah. good morning, roger and sarah. good morning i good morning, sarah. good morning, roger and sarah. good morning to i good morning, sarah. good morning, | roger and sarah. good morning to you at home as well. it is looking pretty decent for many of us this morning, this is the picturejust off the coast of the murray firth, we have some blue sky and a