0:00:07 > 0:00:09The UN Security Council struggles to agree on a ceasefire
0:00:09 > 0:00:16as bombardment continues of civilians trapped in Syria.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21For the sixth day in a row Syrian air strikes hit the rebel held
0:00:21 > 0:00:24enclave of Eastern Ghouta.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27Dozens are reported to have been killed today, over 400 this week,
0:00:27 > 0:00:32with medical supplies running out.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35We'll bring you the latest from the Security Council as world
0:00:35 > 0:00:37leaders plea for the carnage to be stopped.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Also tonight....
0:00:39 > 0:00:46EU leaders meet without Theresa May and warn the UK can't cherry
0:00:46 > 0:00:48pick its terms and to think otherwise is an illusion.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51A review finds not just girls but also vulnerable women
0:00:51 > 0:00:53are being sexually abused by grooming gangs in
0:00:53 > 0:00:54the north east of England.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Donald Trump repeats his call to the party faithful that teachers
0:00:56 > 0:01:00should be armed in schools.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05The beauty is it's concealed.
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Nobody would ever see it unless they needed it,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10and a teacher would have shot the hell out of him before
0:01:10 > 0:01:11he knew what happened.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14The family of two brothers, aged six and two, killed in a hit
0:01:14 > 0:01:19and run pay emotional tribute to their two lovely, happy boys.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22And in hiding and fear - the man who revealed Russian doping
0:01:22 > 0:01:24tells the BBC Russia shouldn't be allowed at the closing
0:01:24 > 0:01:27of the Winter Olympics.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Coming up on Sportsday on BBC News, the third round of the Six Nations
0:01:33 > 0:01:35began this evening, with France and Italy playing outside of Paris
0:01:35 > 0:01:38for the first time in their history.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59Good evening.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02Members of the UN Security Council are still struggling to reach
0:02:02 > 0:02:06agreement on the terms of a 30-day humanitarian ceasefire in Syria.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Three times today an announcement has been expected and then delayed.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13There were more air strikes today targeting the rebel-held
0:02:13 > 0:02:15area of eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, which has been under
0:02:15 > 0:02:17heavy bombardment since Sunday.
0:02:17 > 0:02:23More than 400 people are reported to have been killed this week.
0:02:23 > 0:02:26We'll go live to the UN in New York for the latest in a moment,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29but first our Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen reports.
0:02:34 > 0:02:41This is what happened in eastern Ghouta as diplomacy studied. --
0:02:41 > 0:02:46studied. The enclave was pounded. 400,000 people spend most of the day
0:02:46 > 0:02:53underground. Above them, Russian jets, with their Syrian allies, were
0:02:53 > 0:02:56in action. As the Russians demanded guarantees that rebel fighters would
0:02:56 > 0:03:03respect any truce. In eastern Ghouta, men from civil defence
0:03:03 > 0:03:07risked their lives to rescue civilians, even though the buildings
0:03:07 > 0:03:17could collapse and the planes could come back. In the dust and
0:03:17 > 0:03:21confusion, these children were separated from their parents. The
0:03:21 > 0:03:30rescuers ignored the dangers. The EU condemned what it called brutal
0:03:30 > 0:03:33attacks. Diplomacy is supposed to find words and deeds to stop this
0:03:33 > 0:03:41happening. They were rushed into underground hospitals. It is hard to
0:03:41 > 0:03:47end a war, or even a battle, with words. Especially when one side, in
0:03:47 > 0:03:54Syria, the regime and its allies, believes victory is close. In Syria,
0:03:54 > 0:03:57military power, the capacity to inflict pain and death, sets the
0:03:57 > 0:04:03pace of events. Treating the wounded is one-way for humanity to push
0:04:03 > 0:04:10back. Another is to recreate small pockets of normality, kindness and
0:04:10 > 0:04:18decency. This girl is 11 and, like most people in eastern Ghouta, has
0:04:18 > 0:04:26been living in a basement. Mothers and their children wait and hope.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28TRANSLATION:Has been two months since I went to school and saw my
0:04:28 > 0:04:33friends. We are here in the shelter because of the bombing. The rockets
0:04:33 > 0:04:41and missiles never end. I hope that the war will stop so we can go home.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45Among Syria's children, only teenagers remember peace. The world
0:04:45 > 0:04:52has failed a generation. These men waited for a lull in the bombing to
0:04:52 > 0:04:58try to bury a member of their family. They ran out of time. In
0:04:58 > 0:05:07Syria, nobody can rest in peace. Jeremy Bowen, BBC News.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Joining me is Nick Bryant at the UN in New York. The Security Council
0:05:12 > 0:05:16members have been locked in talks for hours now. We keep expecting an
0:05:16 > 0:05:20announcement and not getting one. Is there any sign of a breakthrough to
0:05:20 > 0:05:23end this bloodshed?All 15 members of the Security Council have been
0:05:23 > 0:05:26meeting behind closed doors in a conference room close to where I'm
0:05:26 > 0:05:30standing. In the last 15 seconds, the Russian ambassador has walked
0:05:30 > 0:05:34past, I asked if would be an agreement, he shrugged his shoulders
0:05:34 > 0:05:38and said we will see tomorrow. There is not going to be a vote today.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Three votes have been postponed already. The Russians have been
0:05:41 > 0:05:44demanding changes to the draft resolution. Many concessions had
0:05:44 > 0:05:48been made. According to negotiators, some of the problems are not over
0:05:48 > 0:05:52the substance of the revolution, they are over semantics, words,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55granular details. What Western diplomats have been saying all along
0:05:55 > 0:05:59is that these are delaying tactics by the Russians to give more time
0:05:59 > 0:06:04for the Assad regime on the ground, in eastern Ghouta, to continue its
0:06:04 > 0:06:06military offensive. The United Nations is not just a place where
0:06:06 > 0:06:12diplomats meet. It is a place where humanitarian and aid experts work.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16They have watched this with great and mounting frustration. They want
0:06:16 > 0:06:21to be organising a monitoring convoys to go into Ghouta, they want
0:06:21 > 0:06:23to organise medical evacuations. They are waiting for a green light
0:06:23 > 0:06:26from the Security Council and, at the moment, the Russians will not
0:06:26 > 0:06:30give it. It sounds like we will have to come back tomorrow to see if they
0:06:30 > 0:06:32can reach an agreement.Thank you.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34The president of the European Council has described as "pure
0:06:34 > 0:06:37illusion" any attempt by Britain to pick and choose the terms of its
0:06:37 > 0:06:39future relationship with Europe.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Donald Tusk, speaking at a summit of EU leaders not
0:06:41 > 0:06:44attended by Britain, said he hoped to get more clarity
0:06:44 > 0:06:46on exactly what Britain's proposals were when he meets
0:06:46 > 0:06:47Theresa May next week.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50From Brussels, Damian Grammaticas reports.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57France, Germany, Italy.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Europe's leaders all in Brussels today, all
0:06:59 > 0:07:03waiting to hear what the UK wants from its future ties.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05But if Theresa May's plan is to seek special access
0:07:05 > 0:07:07to the single market for parts of the UK economy,
0:07:07 > 0:07:12it was immediately rebuffed.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14It is not an a la carte.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17It is not possible to be aligned with the European Union when it
0:07:17 > 0:07:19suits and not when it doesn't.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22That's not possible.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The EU doesn't yet know what was decided by Mrs May
0:07:25 > 0:07:29and her ministers at Chequers yesterday but EU leaders have said
0:07:29 > 0:07:32before and they said again today that she cannot pick and choose only
0:07:32 > 0:07:35the bits of the single market she likes.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38I am glad that the UK Government seems to be moving
0:07:38 > 0:07:42towards a more detailed position.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46However, if the media reports are correct,
0:07:46 > 0:07:53I'm afraid that the UK position today is based upon pure illusion.
0:07:53 > 0:07:59It looks like the cake philosophy is still alive.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02But the UK's exit poses problems for the EU, too.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Today its leaders were tackling perhaps the thorniest issue of all,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10the EU's looming budget problem.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14When UK payments to the EU cease, the EU will face a shortfall of more
0:08:14 > 0:08:20than 10 billion euros a year, at least 10% of its annual spending.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22There's a hole in the budget, so is your country prepared
0:08:22 > 0:08:28to accept less and see cuts to spending?
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Well, you know, if you listen to politicians there is usually
0:08:31 > 0:08:35a hole in the budget but finally things are financed.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38So if we want to finance more, we have to pay more.
0:08:38 > 0:08:39It's very simple.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Is your country prepared to pay more after Brexit?
0:08:41 > 0:08:43No.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46If I would keep my answer short, I would say no.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49So, hints at divisions between EU countries,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and that might just give the UK some leverage
0:08:51 > 0:08:54in the negotiations to come.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02And before he left the summit here tonight, Donald Tusk said he would
0:09:02 > 0:09:05be travelling to London on Thursday next week to meet with Theresa May.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10He said he is looking for more detail on the UK position and he had
0:09:10 > 0:09:15a warning. He said that even if the UK is not ready, the EU will press
0:09:15 > 0:09:18ahead with its own preparations for the talks on the future
0:09:18 > 0:09:22relationship. Fiona.Thank you.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25A review into sexual exploitation in the north-east of England has
0:09:25 > 0:09:28concluded it is likely that not just girls but also vulnerable women
0:09:28 > 0:09:30are being "extensively" abused across the UK.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34It follows Operation Sanctuary in August last year,
0:09:34 > 0:09:37which saw these 18 people jailed for the sexual abuse of young women
0:09:37 > 0:09:39and girls groomed in Newcastle.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42A review of that case has concluded a number of gangs have abused
0:09:42 > 0:09:46more than 700 victims across the Northumberland region.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49From Newcastle, Fiona Trott reports.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52A city under scrutiny.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55On these streets, as many as 700 vulnerable girls and women
0:09:55 > 0:09:57were sexually exploited.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59Some were trafficked from one house to another
0:09:59 > 0:10:04and abused by several men.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Vanessa - not her real name - was a victim of sexual exploitation.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09To protect her identity, we have used an actor's voice.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12At first, nothing was expected.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16I would just meet them and sit and have a drink.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20As time went on, I would have to have sex with them.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22When you're in care, they say you need education.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25But what they seem to forget is that you can have the mental
0:10:25 > 0:10:27intelligence, but if you're not emotionally educated,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29it's pointless.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31That is why schools like this are teaching
0:10:31 > 0:10:32children about grooming.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Operation Sanctuary happened on their doorstep.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39In Newcastle, we have seen people being arrested.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Generally, it tends to be men.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46It makes you afraid to go out in case it happened
0:10:46 > 0:10:50to you or your friend.
0:10:50 > 0:10:51Were you that worried?
0:10:51 > 0:10:52Yeah.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Scared in case it happened to me and you don't know who to turn to,
0:10:56 > 0:10:57or who you could trust.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Both people in a relationship need to be comfortable and you need to be
0:11:01 > 0:11:03in a situation where they can open up and listen.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06Today's report says it's not just children.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09For the first time, a focus on vulnerable adults and a warning
0:11:09 > 0:11:12to other towns and cities across the UK.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17What I'd like the Government to do is to have a really good look
0:11:17 > 0:11:20at the learning that's now available about abuse of adults
0:11:20 > 0:11:24with vulnerabilities, check the legislation,
0:11:24 > 0:11:31make sure the legislation that's in place is fit for purpose.
0:11:31 > 0:11:37In the meantime, this is how police are tackling the problem
0:11:37 > 0:11:40Takeaway staff across Newcastle are being trained on how
0:11:40 > 0:11:42to spot adult victims.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44They know the exploitation still exists in this city.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I think it would be naive and wrong for me to suggest that
0:11:47 > 0:11:50because of Sanctuary, and at the point that this
0:11:50 > 0:11:54report is published, that this has stopped.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57That we've solved the problem.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00We haven't. It continues.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02It carries on, I would suggest, in most, if not all towns
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and cities in the UK.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07Most of the perpetrators who cruised these streets were from Pakistani,
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Bangladeshi and Indian backgrounds.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Today's report is calling for research into their cultures
0:12:13 > 0:12:15to understand their motivation and what it calls an
0:12:15 > 0:12:17"arrogant persistence".
0:12:17 > 0:12:22Fiona Trott, BBC News, Newcastle.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24President Trump has repeated his call for teachers to be armed
0:12:24 > 0:12:27with guns so that they can, in his words, "shoot the hell
0:12:27 > 0:12:29out of any attackers".
0:12:29 > 0:12:31He was speaking as pressure grows for action after the shooting
0:12:31 > 0:12:35at a school in Florida last week that left 14 students and three
0:12:35 > 0:12:36members of staff dead.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Meanwhile, the Governor of Florida has announced proposals to restrict
0:12:38 > 0:12:41the sale of guns and to raise the minimum age at which
0:12:41 > 0:12:43you can buy them to 21.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48Jon Sopel reports.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Staff and teachers return to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas
0:12:50 > 0:12:53school today as a nation continues to grope for explanations
0:12:53 > 0:12:56of what happened.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57For some, it's all about guns.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00For others, it's mental health and societal breakdown.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03But today, a new culprit.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Scot Peterson, a deputy sheriff who arrived outside the school 90
0:13:05 > 0:13:07seconds after the shooting started.
0:13:07 > 0:13:12But for whatever reason, didn't act.
0:13:12 > 0:13:20And he's taking a mighty kicking from the President.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28He was there for five minutes. Five minutes. He heard it right at the
0:13:28 > 0:13:31beginning, so he certainly did a poor job.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33That's the case, where somebody was outside.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34They were trained.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36They didn't react properly under pressure or they were cowards.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Speaking to Conservative activists, the President also restated his
0:13:39 > 0:13:40belief that some teachers should be carrying concealed
0:13:40 > 0:13:43weapons in school.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46And the beauty is it's concealed, nobody would ever see it.
0:13:46 > 0:13:47Unless they needed it.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49It's concealed!
0:13:49 > 0:13:52So this crazy man who walked in wouldn't even know who it is that
0:13:52 > 0:13:54has it, that's good.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56That's not bad, that's good.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59And a teacher would have shot the hell out of him before
0:13:59 > 0:14:03he knew what happened.
0:14:03 > 0:14:04CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06And in Florida, the governor has announced a range of measures
0:14:06 > 0:14:07to tighten security.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11The goal of this plan of action is to make massive changes
0:14:11 > 0:14:12in protecting our schools.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17Provide significantly more resources for mental health.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21And to do everything we can to keep guns out of the hands of those
0:14:21 > 0:14:22dealing with mental problems or threatening harm
0:14:22 > 0:14:27to themselves or others.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29The President has just told a news conference,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31"we're well on the way to solving that horrible problem
0:14:31 > 0:14:33of gun violence".
0:14:33 > 0:14:36But so far there have only been sketchy proposals and no class
0:14:36 > 0:14:38of weapon is being banned.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Well on the way?
0:14:41 > 0:14:42Well, that might be wishful thinking.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46Jon Sopel, BBC News, Washington.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49The man who exposed the Russian Olympic doping scandal
0:14:49 > 0:14:51says his country's athletes should not be allowed to parade
0:14:51 > 0:14:53under their national flag at the closing ceremony
0:14:53 > 0:14:56of the Winter Games this weekend.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Two Russian athletes have tested positive for banned drugs.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02Dr Grigory Rodchenkov's revelations of state-sponsored doping
0:15:02 > 0:15:06saw the country banned from the Olympics, its athletes
0:15:06 > 0:15:08forced to compete as neutrals.
0:15:08 > 0:15:10In fear of his life, Dr Rodchenkov went into hiding.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Now in the United States, our sports editor Dan Roan
0:15:13 > 0:15:18travelled to interview him at a secret location.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20It's one of sport's greatest scandals.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25Russian cheating reached its height at the last Winter Games in Sochi.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28The mastermind, Doctor Grigory Rodchenkov.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30In 2015, the former head of Moscow's anti-doping lab
0:15:30 > 0:15:33turned whistle-blower, fleeing to the West.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36Ever since, he's been in FBI witness protection.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39And we are on the way to meet him.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42For more than two years now, the man at the very heart
0:15:42 > 0:15:44of Russia's doping scandal has been living in hiding, here somewhere
0:15:44 > 0:15:45in the United States.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Finally, he's agreed to speak to us, but such are the security
0:15:49 > 0:15:51concerns surrounding him, we've not even been told
0:15:51 > 0:15:56where we have to go.
0:15:56 > 0:15:58After hours on the road, we are taken to a location
0:15:58 > 0:16:01that we are told has to remain a secret, along
0:16:01 > 0:16:02with his new identity.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05If you had not left Russia, where would you be now?
0:16:07 > 0:16:10You'd be dead?
0:16:14 > 0:16:15Rodchenkov's role in Russia's remarkable doping programme
0:16:15 > 0:16:17became the subject of an Oscar-nominated film.
0:16:17 > 0:16:24Were you the mastermind that cheated the Olympics?
0:16:26 > 0:16:28He said the conspiracy went right to the top,
0:16:28 > 0:16:30and that London 2012 was also targeted.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32So what does he say to British athletes whose Games were tainted?
0:16:49 > 0:16:51The Russian government says you are lying.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52You were cheating.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55It wasn't them, it was you.
0:17:07 > 0:17:14Does British sport have a problem with cheating, do you think?
0:17:24 > 0:17:27Rodchenkov says he may soon be prepared to name names, and has
0:17:27 > 0:17:30vowed to reveal more information.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Despite Russian claims he is part of a Western conspiracy,
0:17:33 > 0:17:36his information led to a ban from the Winter Olympics.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38168 of the country's athletes competed as neutrals,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41but they may now be allowed to march under their national flag
0:17:41 > 0:17:47at the closing ceremony.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00The Olympic athletes of the Russian team...
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Only clean Russians were meant to be in Pyeongchang,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06but today a second of its athletes at these games, Nadezhda Sergeeva,
0:18:06 > 0:18:07failed a drugs test.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Moving forward from sport's biggest crisis is proving no easy task.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15Dan Roan, BBC News.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18The family of two young brothers killed in a hit-and-run collision
0:18:18 > 0:18:21have paid tribute to them as "jolly, happy, lovely boys".
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Corey and Casper Platt-May, aged six and two, were struck by a car
0:18:24 > 0:18:27yesterday afternoon in Coventry.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30A 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman have been arrested.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Sima Kotecha reports.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35Casper and Corey.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37One brother loved maths and football, the other enjoyed
0:18:37 > 0:18:42splashing in puddles.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45Yesterday, on this road in Coventry, they were hit by a car.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49Today, bewilderment, confusion and shock.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51They were the most loving boys.
0:18:51 > 0:18:54They did nothing wrong.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59They were loved by so many people, and so cheeky and...
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Corey was cheeky, artistic, mischievous.
0:19:03 > 0:19:09A right wrestler.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11Casper followed his brothers, being a wrestler, being
0:19:11 > 0:19:12mischievous and being cocky.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Just a normal little toddler.
0:19:15 > 0:19:21They didn't deserve this.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25It was around 2pm and the boys were on their way to the park
0:19:25 > 0:19:28with their mother when they were hit by a black Ford Focus.
0:19:28 > 0:19:29They were taken to hospital with severe injuries
0:19:29 > 0:19:32but neither of them survived.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34I feel really heartbroken, to be honest.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38I've known the dad almost all my life.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40And such a lovely family.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Why do bad things happen?
0:19:43 > 0:19:47My little one, she knows the older one, because she's six.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49He was really friendly.
0:19:49 > 0:19:56And kind.
0:19:56 > 0:19:58A 53-year-old man and a 41-year-old woman have been arrested
0:19:58 > 0:20:00on suspicion of drink-driving and causing death
0:20:00 > 0:20:03by dangerous driving.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07Casper and Corey's mother paid tribute to her sons on social media,
0:20:07 > 0:20:11calling them amazing, cheeky and fun.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Their grandfather had this to say.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15The boys were lovely.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16They'd do anything.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21Just very happy, jolly, lovely boys.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24And their lives have been taken away so young.
0:20:24 > 0:20:25It's unbelievable.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28I just don't know what to say, you know.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32It's just crazy.
0:20:32 > 0:20:39Sima Kotecha, BBC News, Coventry.
0:20:45 > 0:20:50Mabil's long-standing general secretary has quit. The resignation
0:20:50 > 0:20:53after seven years in the role follows continued claims that allies
0:20:53 > 0:20:57of Jeremy Corbyn wanted to oust him. In a statement, he said he was
0:20:57 > 0:21:00standing down to pursue new challengers.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03The head of Royal Bank of Scotland says its return to profit,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06for the first time since it was bailed out by
0:21:06 > 0:21:08the government in 2008, is a "really symbolic moment".
0:21:08 > 0:21:10RBS, a majority of which is still owned by the taxpayer,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13made an annual profit of £752 million in 2017 compared
0:21:13 > 0:21:15with a loss of nearly £7 billion the year before.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Our economics editor Kamal Ahmed reports.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Faced with one of the biggest crises since the Second World War...
0:21:22 > 0:21:24A coordinated response to the financial crisis...
0:21:24 > 0:21:25For RBS, the Government will take...
0:21:25 > 0:21:30It was an astonishing time, a global, risky bank on the verge
0:21:30 > 0:21:34of collapse, customers unsure if they could withdraw their own
0:21:34 > 0:21:38money, a rescue plan funded by the taxpayer to save the economy.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42A decade on, after years of losses, the man at the helm of a partially
0:21:42 > 0:21:44revived RBS said he believed the worst was behind them.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47This is actually very symbolic.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51I think not just for our colleagues at work but also for the UK,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54who did put a lot of money into this bank.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56And we've been restructuring it, taking losses through conduct
0:21:56 > 0:21:59and litigation issues.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03From the out of control RBS to the new, a focus
0:22:03 > 0:22:06on the simpler Natwest, which RBS owns, and selling off
0:22:06 > 0:22:11the riskier bits of that old bad bank after past bad behaviour.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15A better day, a symbolic day for this bank, but it's a bank
0:22:15 > 0:22:17that is not out of the woods.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21Ahead is a huge fine from the American authorities over
0:22:21 > 0:22:25this bank's involvement in the mortgage crisis over there.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Here, there's the continuing fallout from the terrible treatment
0:22:29 > 0:22:32of many small businesses.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35Yes, this year a profit, but the accumulated losses
0:22:35 > 0:22:43by this bank over the last decade, £58 billion.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46With profits coming in at last, is it now time for the government to
0:22:46 > 0:22:48sell its stake?
0:22:48 > 0:22:50Will the taxpayer get their money back for bailing you out
0:22:50 > 0:22:53in the financial crisis?
0:22:53 > 0:22:56It will take a number of years to come through.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59The government has said they want to start that process
0:22:59 > 0:23:02in the fiscal year 18-19, and it will take probably
0:23:02 > 0:23:05about three to five years for them to get down to a much smaller
0:23:05 > 0:23:09percentage of their ownership.
0:23:09 > 0:23:13Mr McEwan said costs still had to be controlled and gave
0:23:13 > 0:23:15no guarantees on jobs, or that more bank branches
0:23:15 > 0:23:16would not be closed.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19The British public have invested in RBS and supported it supported it
0:23:19 > 0:23:22for the last ten years.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24We would like to see that support invested back into the local
0:23:24 > 0:23:26communities RBS serves.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29That starts with the bank branch closure programme,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31which we think should be slowed down and stopped.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34A more positive time for RBS, but challenges ahead
0:23:34 > 0:23:37and a clear message - the taxpayer will not be getting his
0:23:37 > 0:23:40or her money back any time soon.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44Kamal Ahmed, BBC News.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46At the Winter Olympics, Britain lost to Sweden
0:23:46 > 0:23:48in the semi-final of the women's curling, although there is still
0:23:48 > 0:23:50the chance of a bronze medal.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53Elsewhere, a Russian girl aged just 15 won gold
0:23:53 > 0:23:56in a stunning performance in the women's figure skating.
0:23:56 > 0:24:01Andy Swiss reports.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05So would it be another step towards the Olympic title?
0:24:05 > 0:24:09The British team walked out to a mix of noise and nerves.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13The captain's face betraying just how much was at stake.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Four years ago in Sochi, the British women lost in the semifinals.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20So for Eve Muirhead and her team this is a chance to put that
0:24:20 > 0:24:22disappointment behind them and to guarantee themselves
0:24:22 > 0:24:25an Olympic medal.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27What followed proved predictably tense.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Sweden went ahead early but Britain fought back.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33COMMENTATOR:Has Eve Muirhead played a cracker here?
0:24:33 > 0:24:36A spot of Muirhead magic to level things up.
0:24:36 > 0:24:37Well done, Eve Muirhead.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40But their hopes suddenly slipped away.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45An error by the captain giving the Swedes three shots.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48The expression said it all.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51From there, there was no way back.
0:24:51 > 0:24:52Sweden wrapped up an emphatic win.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54Britain will now play off for bronze, but their
0:24:54 > 0:24:55golden hopes have gone.
0:24:55 > 0:24:56Absolutely gutted.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I guess we've trained hard for the last three or four years
0:24:59 > 0:25:01to be in that position and unfortunately today
0:25:01 > 0:25:05we were just outplayed.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07But if that was one-sided, the other semifinal
0:25:07 > 0:25:10delivered astonishing drama.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12In extra time, South Korea had the final stone
0:25:12 > 0:25:15and a nation willing it on.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17COMMENTATOR:They are going to get it.
0:25:17 > 0:25:18They have.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21What a fantastic shot!
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Victory over Japan sparking wild celebrations.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27The hosts in the final and utter jubilation.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29They are into the gold medal match.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31But perhaps the day's greatest achievement
0:25:31 > 0:25:34belonged to a 15-year-old, the remarkable Alina Zagitova
0:25:34 > 0:25:37winning a first gold medal for the Olympic
0:25:37 > 0:25:42athletes from Russia.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Her country is banned from these Games so,
0:25:44 > 0:25:46come the presentation, no national flag
0:25:46 > 0:25:52and a neutral anthem.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56An unusual ceremony for an extraordinary teenage talent.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Andy Swiss, BBC News, PyeongChang.
0:26:00 > 0:26:01That's it.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Now on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.