this is bbc news. the headlines at 11. the spanish government convenes a special cabinet meeting to begin imposing central control over the region of catalonia. iam i am live in barcelona in the next few hours hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are due to take to the streets protesting against direct rule from madrid. experts have been called in to deal with a chemical incident at the sellafield nuclear site in cumbria. drivers could soon be allowed to pass through sections of motorway roadworks at higher speeds. police in the german city of munich are hunting for a man with a knife who has injured several people. also in the next hour, bracing for storm brian. the uk prepares for gale—force winds and possible flooding. and at 11.30, foreign correspondents currently posted to london look at events in the uk in dateline. good morning and

welcome to bbc news. spain's prime minister, mariano rajoy, is chairing an emergency meeting of his cabinet which is expected to start imposing central control over catalonia. its regional government says it will respond with a unilateral declaration of independence. my colleague tim willcox is in barcelona for us. hello again. what news in the cabinet meeting? that cabinet meeting is underway, it started at ten o'clock local time. mariano rajoy is holding this exceptional meeting with his entire cabinet to decide what measures they are going to impose under article 155,

basically taking autonomy away from the region of catalonia. just on the process of that, he is going to have to ta ke process of that, he is going to have to take that to the senate, they we re to take that to the senate, they were debated. he has a majority there. those first measures could be imposed. we are looking properly at the local catalan police force, 17,000 strong, being taken under control of the national police, may be looking at the suspension of the cata la n be looking at the suspension of the catalan parliament itself and maybe the tv station, tv threes year, being taking under direct control as well. after that though, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are expected to do the streets here. i am ina expected to do the streets here. i am in a very famous street here in barcelona, just behind me one of those famous houses. we are expecting some reports suggesting even a million people on the street here later this afternoon protesting at that direct rule imposed by

madrid. let's catch up with all the political development so far, here isa political development so far, here is a report by briony williams. it could be a landmark moment for spain. the prime minister, mariano rajoy, is due to begin the process of the government stepping in and exerting control over what it sees as a disobedient regional administration. catalonia has many strands of autonomy, including running its own education, health care, and police force. and in time, all could be taken over. translation: we are caught up in a political hurricane, but we are not politicians, we are policemen. but the controversial move is already making many in the region nervous. gunfire. built upon memories of violence caused by spanish national police disrupting catalonia's disputed referendum. beth, seen here comforting her mother the following day, is now horrified madrid might take control.

i don't want violence, i don't want a war, but if i have to go to have a strike, i will do it. if i have to do be in a strike, i will do it. it's my future, my parents‘ future, my son's future. but outside the region, the decision excepted by the spanish government has huge support. spain's king felipe says catalonia is and will remain an essential part of the country. he added that the catalan government was causing a rift and spain would solve the problem through democratic institutions. many agree. translation: catalan nationalists do not have the power to decide on behalf of all spaniards that it is a foreign territory. i will never accept being a foreigner in catalonia. the spanish government has a strategy but it risks further fractures within catalan society and deeper divisions not only

within catalonia itself, but between the region and the rest of spain. bryony williams, bbc news. 0k, ok, let's speak to a member of the community in defence of the referendum. 0ne community in defence of the referendum. one of the group ‘s column for the hundreds of thousands of people to take to the streets of barcelona. hello. it is illegal according to spain, the referendum is illegal. however many people you get on the streets we are not going to change their mind. the problem is the spanish constitution, they cannot... it is a problem for

they cannot... it is a problem for the spanish constitution and regime, it means to break the constitution. it is not a free constitution. it was a constitution created under the pressure of the fascist regime. many would say spain has more autonomous regions than any other country, 17, lots of power, you are not oppressed are victimised, just explain for our viewers, what's going to happen? direct rule in some sort of form, will they be a unilateral declaration of independence which needs to be officially voted on in the catalan parliament, then what happens? what if the local police can't stay on the streets and the civil servants are going to have to report to madrid, what happens then? i think report to madrid, what happens then? ithinka report to madrid, what happens then? i think a lot of people will be like

gandhi in india, they don't resist activity with violence. a pacifist response? absolutely. they will do it their own way without the spanish state wa nt it their own way without the spanish state want to do. civil disobedience 01’ state want to do. civil disobedience ora state want to do. civil disobedience or a through general strike, what about the effect is having on spanish economy? and also on your economy? 900 businesses have left this region are moved their headquarters, there has been a drop in the spanish stock market, europe doesn't want to recognise you. where are your answers? we do not know what is going to happen. we are playing this game, we want to be free, we want to have ourselves to termination, but then we will see. the government will do all the pressure they want. the eu will have to decide what to do. it is saying,

0k, perhaps that is good to have independence because the population wa nts independence because the population wants independence, but at the same timei wants independence, but at the same time i think the most important thing is how you know about brexit, it is what will happen with the spanish debt. you have a lot of people in catalonia who don't want you to lead spain. some reports suggesting the majority, the silent majority, those people who feel that if they don't declare support for separatism, they are denounced as fascists. they say, we are not fascists, we want to be part of a bigger spain. what happens to them? you are pushing ahead, what about the hundreds of thousands or millions of catalans who don't want to leave spain? there is no problem with this. we will see what will happen. it is not the majority. all the political figures about this show that 2 million people voted with the conditions that they have voted in, the 1st of october, and if

you don't usually vote in catalonia it is between 30 and 20% of people in catalonia that want to stay in spain. the first and most important thing is that we have to speak and accommodate each other situations, the majority of catalonia and all the majority of catalonia and all the rights of this part of catalonia who want to stay in spain have their own rates, perhaps to stay with a spanish passport and to live here freely. catalonia is always a country, for all its history, has been... inclusive. thank you very much. there you have the argument for separatism. we will be speaking throughout the day to those people who don't want catalonia to leave spain. we are at a pivotal moment. it isa spain. we are at a pivotal moment. it is a significant moment, this is the first time ever since the death

of franco that an autonomous region, one of 17, has had the power removed to be imposed directly know from madrid. uncharted territory. thanks very much. police in germany say an attacker with a knife has injured several people in the southern city of munich. the stabbings occurred near the rosenheimer underground station. the suspect has now been detained. explosives experts have been called to the sellafield nuclear plant to deal with a chemical incident. a cordon was put in place following an incident which happened during an audit of chemicals which had been stored at the site since 1992. joining me now with more on this story is our correspondent alice hutton. the explosive experts were called in last night at 8pm, the pit in 100 metre cord and it and staff within the hundred metres were evacuated. the incident seems to centre around

a routine lab infantry that was part of the decommissioning process of sellafield. staff found around five bottles of industrial chemicals that had been in use 25 years ago in 1992 and that's what sparked the college. have the company said anything?‘ spokesman from sellafield told me there had been no explosion or a lea k there had been no explosion or a leak and there was no nuclear waste involved. they said because of the age of the chemicals it was a matter of routine we had to call the explosive experts out to help advise them how to dispose of them safely. they also added the site is six square kilometres big and it's got more than a thousand buildings and has its own bus service. the decommissioning process is expected to ta ke decommissioning process is expected to take about 100 years. they expect to take about 100 years. they expect to find old chemicals and have to bid plans in place about how to dispose of them. you are watching this story for us as we hear more. thanks very much. winds of up to 70 miles per hour and high tidal waves are expected in parts of the uk this morning, as storm brian makes landfall.

some coastal communities have been preparing for the arrival of the storm, using sandbags for barricades. forecasters are warning of the potential for power cuts, flooding and delays to transport. the met office has issued a yellow weather warning for a swathe of britain, including wales, and southern england as far as the midlands. speed limits through motorway roadworks could be raised from 50 to 60 miles per hour. the proposed changes follow trials by highways england, which found drivers would feel safer at higher speeds. jon donnison reports. roadworks and mile after mile of little orange cones are the bane of many driver's lives. the current speed limit when passing through motorway roadworks is 50 mph, but highways england says that could be increased to up to 60. it follows trials where drivers were fitted with heartrate monitors to measure stress levels, driving through roadworks at different speeds. 60% of participants recorded a decrease in average heart rates in the 60 mph trial zone. in the 55 mph zone, the decrease was 56%.

some drivers said they were more relaxed at higher speeds because it allowed them to accelerate away from large lorries. but ucatt, the union representing road workers, has described the plans as a deadly version of wacky races, which would make dangerous work areas twice as dangerous. highways england says it is carrying out further tests, but the changes could be phased in by the end of the year. jon donnison, bbc news. the world health organisation has appointed the zimbabwean leader robert mugabe as a "goodwill ambassador. " it said the appointment was in recognition of zimbabwe's commitment to public health. critics say mr mugabe's record on human rights made him unfit to represent the organisation. a statement has dropped from the british government in response to

robert mugabe's appointment. it is surprising and disappointing, the statement says, particularly in light of the sanctions against him. we have registered our concerns with the director—general of the world health organisation. although president mugabe will not have an executive role, his appointment risks overshadowing the work done by the world health organisation. that is the response from britain, not happy at the appointment of robert mugabe as a goodwill ambassador on public health. the united states has intervened to try to prevent further conflict between kurdish and iraqi forces in the disputed oil fields of northern iraq. it urged the government to exercise more control over its forces in the parts of the country claimed by both baghdad and the kurdistan government. there are fears that the latest unrest will further destabilise the region. the majority of households have experienced problems with their broadband over the last year, with slow speeds the most common complaint. a survey by which suggested customers of virgin media, talktalk, sky and bt were the worst affected.

our personal finance correspondent simon gompertz reports. frustration with broadband is boiling over in some households, we've become so dependent on it for shopping, banking and entertainment that the internet not working can drive people mad. it cuts out more thanit drive people mad. it cuts out more than it should. i live in the countryside and its terrible, five megabytes of a second is the most you will get. speed in my area doesn't work as well as it should. it depends where you live, i live in a new build apartment and the speed is pretty good. i get what i pay for. which's survey shows that 2196 of customers had problems with speed, 17% experienced frequent dropouts in the connection and 12% had a wireless route fault and 8% had a wireless route fault and 8% had no connection at all for hours 01’ had no connection at all for hours or days. 33% said they speed was

very slow with talktalk. 38% of virgin customers complained about price increases. talktalk says it is disappointed and its extensive investment programme has already led to fewer faults and quick repair times. virgin says its services faster and the majority of its customers get their advertised speed 01’ customers get their advertised speed or above at peak times. there is a regulator of gone with the job of making sure the companies provide what they promise. it says the most up what they promise. it says the most up their game. the headlines on bbc news: the spanish government convenes a special cabinet meeting to begin imposing central control over the region of catalonia. experts have been called in to deal with a chemical incident at the sellafield nuclear site in cumbria drivers could soon be allowed to pass through sections of motorway roadworks at higher speeds. the us and south korea are conducting joint military

exercises off the korean peninsula, amid heightened tensions with north korea. the us has says the drills are designed to be a show of sea and air power, to deter north korea from any military action. pyongyang has described the exercises as a "rehearsal for war". among the ships taking part is the u—s—s ronald reagan, the biggest of the us. navy's fleet in the asia region. 0ur correspondent mark lowen was on the ship. we have come down here to busan, south korea's second city, where the uss ronald reagan docked earlier today. if ijust step back and we can zoom in, we can't shoot directly at the port, so we have come up to the hill and you can see there the enormous aircraft carrier, the uss ronald reagan, leading the us's seventh fleet stationed in japan. it has a crew of five and a half thousand. on board we went up to the deck, had a short time on deck and saw some of the 70 or so fighterjets and bombers that are stationed up there on the deck. this is one of the vessels that has been taking part in ten days ofjoint military exercises

between the us and south korea. the commander of the vessel spoke to us. he talked about an ironclad alliance between the us and south korea. clearly the us very keen to reinforce its military support for the republic of korea at a time when the escalation of nuclear tension, military tension, with north korea, the nuclear crisis from pyongyang and also with that escalation of bellicose rhetoric putting a real strain on international relations. and it has caused some fear here in south korea. the church of england is to debate holding services of blessing for same—sex couples for the first time. if it's agreed by the church's ruling general synod, the services could be held after a couple has married in a secular ceremony,

or formed a civil partnership. callum may reports. i, david, take you, peter, to be my lawfully wedded husband. since 2014, same—sex couples have been able to marry outside a church, but the church of england has not allowed their relationships to be blessed. it says there is real and profound disagreement about sexuality. bishops set up a group to spend three years discussing what to do next, but their hand may now have been forced by members in the diocese of hereford, who voted in favour of prayer and dedication following a marriage or civil partnership. now it will be debated by the church's ruling synod. the proposed service is described as neither contrary to or opposed to the current doctrine and some priests will be able to opt out. the c of e haven't yet gone as far as anglicans in the scottish episcopal church, which began holding same—sex weddings this year, and conservative campaigners called the move a fundamental departure from church teaching. the synod which, meets twice a year, is yet to fix a date for the debate to take place. an animal welfare charity has

released footage of illegal loggers cutting down a tree with a sloth clinging to its branches. it's to try to stop people posting animal selfies. campaigners believe the growing trend of tourists taking pictures alongside wildlife means more and more animals are being snatched from their natural habitat. faith 0rr reports. terrified and clinging to the top of 100 feet tree, as illegal loggers cut it down. this undercover footage was captured in the amazon in peru and highlights the horrible method used to steal wild animals from their homes. the slaughter is forced into a bag and dragged off to market, just so tourists can take photos with it. the social media

platform into grant has seen nearly 300% increase in wildlife celsius since 2014 from around the world. it says it wants the craze to stop. world animal protection says many animals are kept in filthy cramped conditions and treated extremely badly. alford tourist entertainment. -- all badly. alford tourist entertainment. —— all for tourist entertainment. the charity is asking for those who wa nt the charity is asking for those who want a photo with an animal to make it cruelty free. by keeping a safe distance from the creature and making sure it is free to roam in its natural habitat. in order to stop this. from happening. sport now, for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. thank you. if leicester city are already looking for a new manager,

it will suck west ham into the relegation zone if leicester were to win and further increase the pressure on their manager slaven bilic. this was after last night's result. west ham's form, brighton have interviewed at this level and we re have interviewed at this level and were ahead at ten minutes. that was glenn murray scoring, his second was a penalty followed by a brilliant strike. that is brighton's first away win of the campaign and afterwards he apologised to west ham fa ns afterwards he apologised to west ham fans who booed the team at the final whistle and said his future is not up whistle and said his future is not up to him. are you worried about your position? i am not worried,. how you're going to deal with the speculation after this result? the speculation after this result? the speculation was here before. i am the manager of the team, i don't wa nt to the manager of the team, i don't want to hide behind anything, it is my responsibility. it is up to the board. the champions head coach

antonio conte has defended his training methods in the wake of reports that some of his players are unhappy with the intensity of the sessions. the premier league champions could be without for 30 players for today's lunchtime kick—off with fourth placed watford who are a place and two points ahead of them the table. my method is the same as last season of them the table. my method is the same as last season when we won the league. honestly, ithink same as last season when we won the league. honestly, i think we are working 70% less. maybe for this reason we are having trouble. england's women lost their first match since the code was sacked. they lost to france. it was a cagey affair, with few clear—cut chances. there was a mistake mirror from the england goalkeeper. they snatched victory in the last minute. in rugby union, new zealand are a

leading australia in brisbane, the hosts took an early lead but a try put the all blacks in front there. australia have kept themselves in the game, the australian winger scoring just before half—time to make it a 1—point game, just one point in it at the moment. closer to home, it is running two of the champions cup this weekend with six games today. lei nster have leinster have a vital game against glasgow. saracens will be looking to build an emphatic victory when they face ospreys. the british fighter lauren williams has claimed a breakthrough title, a brilliant day went to the gb team. this was in

london yesterday, she is a two—time world junior champion. she defeated the ivory coast's former senior world champion in the —60 seven kilograms final. elsewhere, the claimed silver and gb heavyweight picked up a bronze in their respective weights. that is probably the bet that means the most to me, it is such a big competition. i'd eat some big girls, you know. i am lost for words. —— i beat some big girls. ifelt lost for words. —— i beat some big girls. i felt really good. that is the first time i have really enjoyed it competition. i was smiling all day, this is a good competition for me. beating one of the big names in the sport. that's obvious port for note. it is time to get the latest on storm brian and the weather. storm brian is sweeping across the british isles today, very windy for some of us, occasionally wet as well. it will complete itsjourney across the uk. by the time we get to

tonight. for some of us as that process takes place, the winds are yet to pick up a bit further. for many, it is just a yet to pick up a bit further. for many, it isjust a regular autumn windy day, we are going to see some gusts approaching 70 mph today. that brings the risk of some disruption in land and these areas around 45 to 55 mph at their height. we are concerned that some of the strong winds are coinciding with spring tide, there could be some big and dangerous ways adding some of the coastlines, be aware and take care. we have got plenty of that show was hitting southern and western parts of the uk, somewhat drier at the further east you of rain moving out of northern ireland, north—west england and south—west scotland. frequent downpours heading here. frequent downpours heading here. frequent showers in southern england are on the coast here, you might see are on the coast here, you might see a bit of sunshine and future race

this afternoon in east anglia. moving away from northern ireland, some sunny spells and showers, turning wetter in south—west scotla nd turning wetter in south—west scotland but not that much rain reaching northern and eastern scotla nd reaching northern and eastern scotland and the winds are not our strong as the are across elsewhere in the uk. tonight in northern ireland, and southern scotland and northern england the winds will pick up. storm brian moose out into the north sea. still wet wet weather circulating around, it is wet at times overnight, not necessarily all the time. it is a lot of rain are feeding into north—west england even into sunday morning, laws of around eight to 11 degrees. a wet start. a bit of rain moving on through the midlands and east anglia as we go on through the morning, the trend will be at the afternoon goes on for things to turn drier and better. although still a blustery day the winds will use. from the west and north—west, it will feel a bit

cooler. 0n north—west, it will feel a bit cooler. on monday, lighterwinds, another weather system taking some outbreaks of rain from west to east during the day, southern parts of the uk turning a bit milder. hello and welcome to dateline london. i'm jane hill. this week we discuss spain's constitutional crisis in catalonia. the continuing brexit negotiations. has there been perhaps some movement this week? and, with one of the leading middle east analysts around our table, could we be witnessing the beginning of the end of the war in syria? my guests are the times columnist david aaronovitch. the north american writer and broadcaster, jeffrey kofman mina al—0raibi, the new editor—in—chief of abu dhabi's the national. and from spain's la razon, celia maza de pablo. a warm welcome to all of you. let's

start in spain. spain is in the midst of a huge constitutional crisis. as we go to air, an emergency cabinet meeting is discussing suspending catalonia's autonomy, in the wake of the independence referendum — which was declared unconstituional by the courts — and the violence that surrounded it. it will be the first time in spain's four decades of democracy that madrid has aimed to effectively sack a regional government and call fresh elections. are people going to take to the streets again? celia, do you approach this with nervousness? without any doubt we are living through the