voice—over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. my daughters are... ..very different. marieme is very quiet, very reserved. introverted personality. ndeye, don't. it's completely different with ndeye. she's very independent. you share with your sister. she wants to be in charge of everything. to have conjoined twins, as a parent, you have something that you didn't expect... ..something that you never imagined. i would not pretend that it is easy.

it is not. but it's a huge privilege, a huge blessing. you feel lucky to witness this constant battle for life. at mount stuart primary school in cardiff bay, marieme and ndeye are celebrating a special milestone. teacher: happy birthday! hi! birthday girls, hello! how are you? good morning! hiya! have you got new hair? who's seven today? me! no way! seven! what time were they up this morning? 0h, four o'clock in the morning! four o'clock. 0h, were they? can you imagine? 0h! oh, my gosh, ibrahima! "are we seven?" i said, "yeah. you go out from my room!"

yeah. ah, big day, isn't it? a very big number. hey, i hear it's— somebody's birthday today. whose birthday is it? children: ndeye and marieme. well, do you know what? we've got a big i surprise for them. shall we find out what it is? shall we? happy birthday! children shriek hi, everyone! 0h! i'm so excited, too! how are you, girls? good. happy birthday! today is a big milestone for marieme and ndeye. they're hitting seven. it's huge! it's huge for all of us. and it's a celebration of where we are with them, really. we have organised today some special things. close your eyes. one of our members of staff has made the most beautiful cake. see the cats? there's the cats. who's that? dad's coming. and we've just got a little bit of a celebration going on.

# happy birthday, dear marieme and ndeye - # happy birthday to you! # hip—hip, hooray! hip—hip, hooray! i this is a birthday ibrahima had been told his daughters would never reach. seven years ago, he was living in senegal�*s capital, dakar. the family were expecting another baby. life was about to change forever. they took baby in the blanket, and they went out. i asked if everything is ok. they told me, "yeah, that's fine. "we'll come to you." they asked me if i was aware of they were twins. isaid, "no, we're not expecting twins." and they told me, "but there is a problem." they told me, "yeah.

"just to let you know that they are conjoined." i read about conjoined twins. but it's just for other people. not for you. not... this is not going to happen to you. you're completely... knocked down. doctors didn't expect the girls to live more than a few days. i was preparing myselfjust to lose them very quickly. the only thing that we could do is just to be beside them and not to let them walk alone through this journey. monitor beeps the two weeks passed, the four weeks passed. we started building hope, building hope, and then we could sort of see very clearly that we're going to deal with warriors. they hung on to life. i had been searching all over the world, contacting many

hospitals, even begging for appointments. that's how i heard about great ormond street hospital. so i sent the medical records of the girls, and they told me that, um... ..there was a possibility to do the separation. we came here in 2017. i came with a lot of hope, maybe too much, maybe too much hope, at the time. tests at great ormond street hospital found that marieme's heart was too weak to survive the operation. echocardiogram swooshes if you look at her and her sweating, _ it's because of her leaky valve. - um... and the fact that her heart - is struggling, compared to that of her sister. and the difficulty is that if we... i were we to...

although the hearts - are separate, were we to try and separate them, then the... she would not - survive separation. at the time, there were fears that, without operating, neither of the girls may live for long, but separation might give ndeye a better chance of survival. ibrahima was left with an impossible decision. at this point, it'sjust killing one of my child for another. it's as easy as that, now. this is something i can't do. i can't... i can't allow myself to choose who will live, who will die. no. it was agreed marieme and ndeye would stay conjoined, and they would remain in the uk for medical care. the girls�* mum returned to senegal to look after their other children... ..while ibrahima, marieme and ndeye made cardiff their new home.

hey! ready, steady, go! yay! despite all expectations, day by day, the girls grew stronger. i never expected one. so i had one, two, three. look at that! it's showing whatever the complexity of... ..your task, you can make it. now aged seven, marieme and ndeye continue to defy the odds. as the twins grow older and their needs change, ibrahima is devoting his life to their care. not being able to go back home again, it was very, very, very difficult cos you had the rest of your family back home.

you had yourjob back home. you lose your home because you're no longer paying. you lose yourjob because you're no longer able to be there. at the time, i was a managing directorand, um... ..it�*s just a switch... ..to the unknown. am i clean? no, not yet. i didn't think too much. ijust followed my heart. you just say, "ok, this is my parental responsibility, "to make sure they will have somebody "who will be here for them. "that will be your life purpose." all done. thank you. the girls�* health needs to be monitored regularly. today, the family is getting ready for another hospital checkup. dad, why are we going to hospital? _ we're going to see if you have grown a lot.

0k. ready? yeah! let's go. readyyyyyy—ahhh! let's go. yeah. let's go. how many times do you reckon you've been here? i don't think i can tell! between the emergency admissions and routine appointments... ..checks, scans. yeah. a lot of time. many, many times. let dr body listen to your heart. is that 0k? who am i going to do first? you said it was ok. you. oh, how did i guess? she blows thanks. heart beats rhythmically yeah, i can definitely hear it. i can hear it. it's really strong. that's good, isn't it? shall we listen to yours, as well? yeah.

heart beats arrhythmically yours is special. yours has got an extra whooshy noise. i think i was the first paediatrician who met ibrahima and the girls when they arrived in cardiff. i think, a bit like everyone, it's a bit of a novel excitement, and then a bit of realisation that this is something i've only ever read about in textbooks. and here were two gorgeous girls and a worried father who's been thrown into a world of science, medicine, hospitals that he wasn't expecting, and none of us were expecting. and i think we really have learnt together. pop it under the t—shirt, then. they've got one pair of legs between them, and one pelvis. moving up through their abdomen, they've got a lot of different organs, so we've got bowels, and we've got urinary system. and then we move up, and they've got two totally separate spinal cords with all their nerves, yet somehow they completely co—ordinate, and they don't have to tell each other how to move an arm or how

to move a leg. itjust works. and again, two separate hearts, but we know they're linked, and they can't survive on their own. when we first met them, - you know, they were babies, there was a lot of uncertainty. could they be separated? or, you know, - what might happen? and having worked through those very, very, you know, _ difficult conversations, - and now we've just had two years where we've hardly seen them in hospital. i i think there's no doubt their life is going to be complex. i think we've still got serious risks of infection and serious risks to their hearts. i think that is probably the area where they're going to struggle. if you develop an infection - in your bladder or your kidneys and you can't get on top of it with antibiotics, - there is a risk of that evolving into sepsis. | so that's a real risk for them. and also heart failure. how are you getting - on with drinking these days? i saw you had a really| smart drinking bottle. yeah. he's completely awarej of what might happen, but it's getting a balance| between being prepared,

being realistic, but not talking about that - all the time. indistinct conversation when you are told, since the beginning, there is no future... ..you live for the present. i know any time, any minute, any second, i can receive a call from school. something very bad would happen. but, as i say to many people, we're going to live. how long? i don't know. i don't want to know now. i don't want to know. i just concentrate on the present and making every day a surprise... ..and celebrating life. one of my greatest hopes has been to see the girls go to mainstream school. it's a way for me to show that they're part of society.

a part of society. teacher: shall we do the register? - dad applied for them - to come to nursery here cos we were local. we were frightened, - and we were scared that we'd get it wrong. but we knew that we could build a good relationship with dad, i and that if we could buildl the relationship with dad, that we could make it work. happy birthday, ndeye! bye! happy birthday, ndeye! happy birthday! can the girls come and play. in the puppet show with you? yeah! what is it, ndeye? there's a snake! ah! i've an idea! wait! they are part of a year two i class, just like anybody else, but they also have two| people who help them. come on, then, girls. shall we go out to play? what to do? who are we going to play with? let's go and see. rhi, i'm finding a... rhi, i'm finding a happy birthday spiderfor you. a happy birthday spider! for you. for me? oh, please don't!

not a spider. i don't think there's any by here. oh, i see it! you see it? there. let me get it with my small hand. ibrahima: this. is what i wanted. for them to have a normal life, to see kids, to play with them, to laugh with them, to make friends, to develop as individuals. they don't have to hide from anybody. you're too excited! too excited to do anything today. i what colours are you going to do your giraffe, then, ndeye? you wanted purple? which colour are you going to use? like all seven—year—olds, l they have separate friends. if you said to them, - "who are your friends?" they would give you a long list of people. i adult: what do you like to do together? j hide and seek. and tag. the wonderful thing - about children is they don't see disability. they only see their friend.

0k. they're both so pretty. i like cats, too. and they like cats. that's why they're stuck together, because they really love each other. and we always do girl power with them. put your hand in. now... all: girl power! marieme, you like it? i like your glasses, ndeye. they're lucky to be part of this community. i couldn't expect better. i couldn't. clothing is one of the things i am struggling a lot. when i first heard about the girls, i thought, what an amazing project to be involved in. to be able to give them something that... ..they can't normally get — go into a store, pick clothes, and that excitement and... ..everything that that sort of, you know, brings with it. so we're going to make some

clothes today for you. what's your favourite thing? unicorn. yeah. what else? favourite colours? cat. a cat? and i want... i want pink. pink. 0k. i like red. pinks, reds, cats and unicorns. fingers crossed. let's see what we've got. ready? yeah? yeah. there you go! are you going to have a look? wow! lots of bright colours. and shoes and sun hats. glasses and hats. 0h! look! 0h! lots of colours. pretty dress. wow! i would like this one. and... and this blue one? yeah. ndeye likes very pinky, sparkling things. marieme is more... ..very simple colours. so do we want same, or do we want different?

different. you want different? yeah. 0k. girls: bye! oh, you want to go now? you want to go back to school? yeah. both: cheeeeeeese! right, ok, han, here's everything they've selected. dad was explaining how temperatures are an issue for them both... mm—hm. ..as ndeye's always warm and perspires quite a bit, whereas marieme is quite cold. 0k. so i thought we could do a combination here of the t—shirt and the sweatshirt... that would be a really good addition. - ..together. yeah. i know dad is really interested in saying a big thank you to everybody who's been involved and supported him as far as medically and education—wise. so i think if we can put on a bit of a show, it'll be great fun for everybody. one of the main goals for the girls is for them to stand, and eventually walk.

they have a standing frame, cos if you've been in a wheelchair. all your life, you're not used to being upright. | so we're training them to get some strength in their legs. i what does everybody say when you're in your standing frame, girls? "oh, you look tall!" hi, fran�*s family. it's nice to meet you. all ready for take—off, girls? yes. i'm flying! and down. they're doing really well. it's a different sensation from standing up, a different point of gravity. but we go for a little wander around the class and the school, and they get a chocolate biscuit at the end of it. so that's some encouragement for them. marieme shrieks come and say hi . to all your friends. say, "hi!" hiya!

marieme shrieks which way is it? ready? is it tickly? our target for standing in the frame is one hour daily, at the moment. so we're managing about 20 minutes. shall we put some more round here, marieme? it'll probably take a long time, and this isjust the start of everything rolling for them to begin to walk. but i know dad is particularly keen, and something he really wants to see for the future. how are you feeling? you can relax now. the standing frame is so hard! is it? it's so hard. you did you did really well today, though. it's so hard! you'll be going in your chair now, all right? hey! give us your leg, sweetheart. this is showing you how resilient they are. they have achieved things that nobody never thought they would. they're fighters! and they're proving everybody wrong. i would not pretend that it is easy. it is not. but i think everybody�*s playing their part, too.

social services, they put plan now for me overnight to have a sort of respite. come on! take it away! # fire! # this girl is on fire! yes! no, not yet! let me try, all right? just a few minutes. two carers stay over every night to give ibrahima a chance to rest, and to make sure the girls sleep safely. well done. that's it! quickly! they're getting bigger now. they're getting more aware of how i'm feeling, and what i'm feeling. and what is the paracetamol name? applejack! a simple look,

we're communicating. a simple gesture, we're communicating. you've seen what it's like. "are you ok, daddy? "we're going to be ok. we're going to be fine." there's no other words you can put on that. it's priceless. bedtime now. i want tablets in bed. eh? i want tablets in bed. your tablet — just ten minutes. ten minutes. yay! it can be very conflicting, but... ..you feel lucky. despite whatever the difficulty you're having... ..they�*re bringing me suchjoy, such a joy that i would never find anywhere. it's a huge privilege, a huge blessing to be their dad. ready for bed? you want ipad? yeah. yeah, ok. i will have a look at it. yeah. you have a goodnight, now. bye. 0k. 0h! 0k. goodnight.

no mischiefs. 0k. say goodnight. no peeking. eyes closed. remember from last time, everything you picked? all right, you have a look. our cat and unicorn. our tie—dye hoodie to keep marieme nice and warm, and a nice t—shirt to keep nyede cool. ah! party dresses. thank you! well, thank you very much. thank you! happy to help. thank you so much. that's ok. it's my pleasure. cos it's so difficult to find outfits for them, and it's giving me grey hair every day. two... wow! a unicorn and kitten. even we've got shoes! look!

shall we go and show everyone your new outfit? yeah. you ready? applause whaaayyyyy! yay! look at you! ahhh! it would be very difficult for me to put words in how amazing a job you're doing for my family. i will try. first of all, i remember the very first time i went in the hospital ward here in wales. and it's dr body who welcomed me. we have been through very difficult moments sometimes, very difficult decisions. the passion that the medical staff had for these two, they did everything.

so thank god! i couldn't find better. and after they have been stabilising the girls, the other ambition for me was to see them going to school. i was very nervous. are they going to make it? are they going to make it every day? you have been fighting for these girls, i witness it every day, to have access to any facilities in the school. and every time i'm telling back home how amazing you are, and how dedicated you are to them. i don't even think that i have more dedication for these two than you all. you are making life easier for me every single day, every single moment. i don't think there is no better occasion for me to express how grateful i am to you all.

thank you so much for everything. i don't want to be seen as somebody who is giving lessons to people. i just want to give... ..sort of give hope. any parents going through similar issues with their kids... ..never give up. never. celebrate life.

hello. after what has been a mixed and decidedly chilly week of weather, things are not going to warm up an awful lot through the weekend. staying chilly, some rain at times, but it is going to turn warmer next week. however, not completely dry. still some wet weather in the forecast. certainly some wet weather for the weekend, all driven by this area of low pressure pushing up from the south. this frontal system here bringing rain northwards across southern england into wales, the midlands and east anglia. to the north of that, some sunny spells to start the day. a cold start with a frost across northern england, northern ireland and scotland. it will be another sunshine and showers day. the showers wintry over high ground in scotland. some hefty showers breaking out for southern counties, and then some more persistent rain heading in from the south by the end of the afternoon, temperatures generally around 10—13 degrees. and then through saturday night, this rain will push its way northwards, covering large parts of england, clipping into the east of wales.

further north and west, some clear spells. another relatively chilly night, there'll be a frost for some. further south and east, not as cold because of the extra cloud, because of the outbreaks of rain, all driven by this area of low pressure which will be sliding its way northwards through the day on sunday. some parts of england are going to have a lot of rain through the day, heavy and persistent rain that will make it feel decidedly chilly. some rain fringing into east wales, turning wet in eastern scotland, rather windy for some of these eastern coasts, but eventually brightening up for south west england, for wales, parts of northwest england, northern ireland and western scotland seeing some sunshine as well. temperatures still stubbornly stuck in that range between 9—11! degrees, but temperatures will start to lift on monday. a frontal system pushing in from the west. outbreaks of rain for some, but ahead of that, a southerly wind bringing a warmer feel. temperatures back up really to where they should be for late april 12—16 degrees. and it'll turn warmer still as the week wears on.

this area of low pressure tending to roll away southwards as all these different weather systems reorientate themselves. well, the wind direction will change, we'll pick up something of an easterly flow from the near continent, and that will bring some warmer air. highs potentially up to 19, maybe the low 20s celsius. but with that, there will still be some rain at times.

live from washington, this is bbc news. the us�*s top diplomat tells the bbc his country is prepared to take steps against china if it continues to support russia's war effort. for china, if it wants to have better relations, not only with us, but with countries in europe, it can't do that well at the same time helping to fuel the biggest threat to european security since the end of the cold war. donald trump's former assistant takes the stand, as the first full week of testimony in his criminal trial comes to a close. and we speak to a founder of the #metoo movement, afterfilm producer harvey weinstein�*s rape conviction is overturned in new york. hello. i'm carl nasman. we start with a meeting between two global superpowers. us secretary of state antony blinken was in china, for talks with the chinese president xijinping on friday.