this is bbc news. the headlines: ministers consider ways to make buying and selling houses faster, cheaper and less stressful. labour's brexit spokesperson says the party will back conservative rebels over brexit. the catalan president, carles puigdemont, says the region will not accept madrid's plan for direct rule. also in the next hour — lewis hamilton could win his world title at today's united states grand prix. hamilton will clinch the title if he wins the race — and rival sebastian vettel finishes lower than fifth. and our sunday morning edition of the papers is at 9.35 this morning's reviewers are the spectator‘s katy balls and journalist and broadcaster rachel shabi. good morning and welcome to bbc news.

the government say it's considering ways of making buying and selling houses faster, cheaper and less stressful in england and wales. it's launching a consultation, which will look at whether it's possible to reduce moving costs and end practices like "gazumping". our business correspondent joe lynam reports. moving home is often compared to getting divorced in terms of stress and worry. picking your new home is the easy part of the process, before venders, surveyors, solicitors, banks, agents and removal vans get involved. currently, it can take three months on average to move home. getting the mortgage offer from your bank alone takes around 50 days. and a quarter of all transactions fall through. and so the government will be consulting estate agents, solicitors, as well as buyers and sellers to find out how best to speed up the process and cut costs for households. i think you can use technology to gather as much information about the proposed sale, about the proposed property, to be conveyed at an early opportunity.

a purchaser or seller won't talk to his lawyer or conveyancer until after he's agreed the sale. that information can be gathered digitally. i know the land registry is working on this to improve it. so the more we can have ready for oven—ready sales, the quicker it can become. while some people involved in the house—buying process welcomed the consultation, labour said it was a feeble effort and would not tackle the real issue of insufficient homes being built. the homeowners alliance said part of the problem was that both buyers — and sellers — feel they can pull out of a deal with no repercussions. 104 is a resolution agreement. 50 104 is a resolution agreement. so the where prices been agreed both sides has say that they will pay the other‘s as if they follow whatever

reason. so they side decides to pull out because they decide not to sell, it gets rid of the whim of people. so it will be more consistent. especially for first—time buyers, when it is very hard to put up front £1500 and find that they're still not moving, they don't have that home. the shadow brexit secretary, sir keir starmer, has warned that unless the government makes changes to the eu withdrawal bill, labour will side with conservative rebels to block it. hundreds of amendments have already been tabled to the legislation, which aims to transfer eu law onto the british statute books. jonathan blake is here. it's an interesting interview that keir starmer has given, because he sets out a series of changes that he wa nts out a series of changes that he wants the government to make? this is an important intervention, it reminds us what a difficult and delicate process it is going to be in the eu withdrawal bill drew parliament. it is a big exercise

forgetting eu law into uk. so when the uk leads the eu, there isn't a regulatory point that needs filling. the government has struggled so far. is majority was wiped out at the general election, so it needs support from mps on all size. 300 and men men had been tabled so far. mps are expected to debate it this week and now we have labour and the shadow brexit minister the setting out what their demands would be. if they are not met, the threat is that labour willjoin that they are not met, the threat is that labour will join that they tory rebels and force a vote in parliament. how much of this will be difficult for the government to concede? for example, mps are to get the final say on approving withdrawal, adding time to legislation, the henry the powers, the idea that might be some movement

on these. there is the idea that the government could give some ground? vicault. we may see the government having to give ground in some areas because there are in such a tight spot needing to get this bill through before the end of negotiations in brussels by march 200019. the main one really is a boatin 200019. the main one really is a boat in parliament on the final deal reached with brussels on our future relationship with the eu. the government has said that parliament will have a meaningful say. that two year transition period to be set into law as well. and also calling for a different approach to the so—called henry viii powers that the government will find the use of tra nsfer government will find the use of transfer these powers from europe into uk law. it's considerable list of demands here, and an interesting dynamic in parliaments, where you have labour threatening to align with the conservative mps who want

to cause the government some trouble. a lot of tory rebels have said they wouldn't vote for official labour amendments. younger men then is your potentially endangering your own governments by backing the opposition. this is a stumbling block? eight is, and a delicate dynamic in parliaments because it labour goes to find setting out its demands are distinctively controlling the process of changing this bill, the conservative mps who wa nt to this bill, the conservative mps who want to rebel against it quite like that will stop they don't want to be seen that will stop they don't want to be seen to be colluding with labour and going against their own government. they would prefer for conservative mps to manage the whole process and for labour to fall into line. but labour has its own position with its supporters to maintain as well. angularly much. parts of britain have been hit by storm brian with violent winds and rough seas. gusts of more than 120 kilometres an hour were recorded in some places.

strong wind warnings and flood alerts remain in place across much of wales, the south of england stormer de unleashes its worst as waves crash against the coast of wales. the ferocity of nature showing its hand. it's taken the whole side of the rnli offices out. buildings damaged and roads flooded. the picture in the south west of england is similar. beach is empty, advice from the environment agency has been to stay away from the coastline. but walkers in the north west of england couldn't resist watching the awesome it seems storm brian has provided. that's the power

of nature. try to go for a nice coastal walk this morning, but i think i'll put that on hold. the destruction hasn't been as widespread as predicted, and storm brian is expected to ease over becoming ours. only then, what the true impact be revealed. demonstrations took place in barcelona last night, as the political crisis in spain deepens. the spanish government has said it plans to impose direct rule on catalonia and sack the regional administration, following a controversial indepence referendum. the catalan president, carles puigdemont, has compared the government in madrid to that of fascist dictator, general franco. tom burridge has more from barcelona. angrier than ever before — catalans who want independence digesting madrid's unprecedented move to temporarily scrap the devolved government. the leader of catalonia's devolved government in the crowd.

equal to the biggest attack on catalonia's economy since the dictatorship of franco. translation: this is the worst attack on the institutions and people of catalonia since the dictatorship of franco. earlier, spanish ministers approved what is known here as the nuclear option. in a few days, catalan autonomy will be suspended, the regional government sacked, all of its responsibilities run from madrid. prime minister rajoy said catalan leaders will not be allowed to destroy the whole way in which spain is governed. translation: we apply article 155 because no government in a democratic country can allow disregard for the law. the key test will come when madrid tries to physically take control of the catalan authorities.

will the catalan police and other local officials follow the spanish government's orders or disobey? local officials follow the spanish a new country will not appear through words, even as they will it to happen. they know too that bearing down on them is the all—powerful spanish state. we go to live madrid now. whenever you start to talk about franco, it suggests that the political debate has really deteriorated? yes, it really has. that has been the case in the last few months. particularly so in the last few months. particularly so in the last few weeks, since that referendum on independence which the cata la n referendum on independence which the catalan government staged at the spanish government opposed and the courts opposed. the situation has

really deteriorated since then. tensions have risen. the two side to become as entrenched as ever, and it's very difficult to see a way out of it. what form of civil disobedience do we think likely to be by people supporting the catalan authorities when the madrid government finally takes these powers in a week's time? the obvious form would be for civil servants to refuse to obey the orders of those ministers in madrid or the departments in madrid that are suddenly giving them orders, as opposed to the ministers in catalonia. they could possibly refuse to obey and not carry out their duties. we're told these measures being in fermented by madrid, which are punishments for certain acts, but that seems to be a

possibility. then we have the other issues of demonstrations on the streets, the possibilities that the ball may block government buildings to prevent the spanish government from implementing this very drastic measure to take control of their institutions. how risky is this for prime minister rajoy to go through this process, to effectively call regional elections, which he says will happen following this, within six months, if the results could simply be to strengthen the hand of the separatist parties?|j simply be to strengthen the hand of the separatist parties? i think it is risky when you look at the overall picture, because it's going to draw a backlash. we saw that yesterday on the streets of barcelona, and i certainly think we will see more demonstrations out on the street and certain reactions against this measure by the spanish government. there's also the feeling

that the spanish government didn't have much other choice, or it felt that way. there is a lot of pressure on mariano rajoy to take this route. written from his voters, from the media in midgets, and sections of his own popular party who insist this was the only way to prevent the independence movement from going any further. i think he felt it was his only option. how has the media on sunday team reporting this, sunday papers in spain as important there asa papers in spain as important there as a idea in the uk. only taken the government's so far? in madrid, the remains of national aid was published in madrid very much tend to ta ke published in madrid very much tend to take the line of the government is, in the bin at they're not government supporters. on this issue, many newspapers are saying order has been restored to catalonia

finally after all these weeks and months of tensions and chaos. in catalonia, the media has a different view on it. not all of them, but there are papers up there saying that this measure by the spanish government is going to cause a backlash and is very risky. thank you very much. the new head of the world health organization says he's rethinking his decision to appoint the president of zimbabwe, robert mugabe, as a goodwill ambassador. mr mugabe, who's 93, has led his country for 37 years but has been condemned over his human rights record. britain and the united states warn the decision could overshadow the work of the global agency. a woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after a baby fell from a sixth—floor window in bradford and died. west yorkshire police say the woman, who's 23, is undergoing a medical assessment in custody. officers have described the death of the 18—month—old child as "extremely traumatic" and say specially—trained officers are working to support his family. prison officers in fourjails are to trial the use of pava spray — similar to pepper spray — to arm themselves against

aggressive inmates. the ministry ofjustice will also roll out more than 5000 body cameras to officers in england and wales, as well as police—style handcuffs. violence in prisons rose significantly last year — with assaults on staff reaching record levels. the prisons minister, sam gyimah, has been explaining why the new measures like using pepper spray are necessary. violence against prison officers is up violence against prison officers is up in the last year. we have a particularly violent cohort of prisoners, and we need to give opposite the tools they need to do theirjob. we need to pilot it to see if it works, but every prison officers is attacked, surprisingly, then as a last resort, having this could make the difference, then they should have it. millions of people injapan are casting their votes in the snap general election called by the prime minister, shinzo abe. if mr abe wins, it would be his fourth term in office. our correspondent rupert wingfield hayes has the latest from tokyo.

mrabe mr abe called this snap election over a year before he needed to go to the polls. in fact, it has not been a popular decision. about two thirds of japanese people said they disapproved of them calling an election now. despite all at that and despite the fact that mr abe is not usually personally popular, it looks like he is going to wind. it looks like he is going to wind. it looks like he has taken advantage of disarray in japan's opposition parties without been fighting amongst each other so were the last few months. a slight bump in his own opinion and support amongst the japanese public to go for this election, and it does look like it's going to pay kick. it looks like he will get a majority in parliament today, that will give them in the four yes and power and an

opportunity to push ahead with what he wants to do in his final term to change japan's constitution he wants to do in his final term to changejapan's constitution and get rid of the clause that makes japan a pacifist nation. it is an important nation, because that would be a huge change for this country. the headlines: ministers consider ways to making buying and selling houses faster, cheaper and less stressful. labour's brexit spokesman says the party is willing to back conservative rebels over brexit. vessels in catalonia say the leaders of the region will continue to go to work until they are physically prevented from doing so. a eurosceptic billionaire businessman in the czech republic has won the general election. andrej babish — the country's second richest man — got 30% of the vote. that's not enough to govern alone but he's far ahead of his rivals. this is what success looks like for

a man who has orally tasted so much of it. his business empire controlled much of czech agriculture, chemicals and the media. but he has now set his sights much higher. after almost four years at the finance minister it, the slovak—born with this type can is on the brink of becoming prime minister. translation: i'd already congratulated all the chairman who got to parliaments, and hope they will be willing to with us. i think it would be good for us to have a sta ble it would be good for us to have a stable government willing to fight for our interest. it was a result few predicted. mr babiah‘s prospect had dimmed in recent months following a string of scandals, two criminal investigations into claims the fraud of weight obtained eu funds for a luxury resort. he said

all that was a campaign against them, a political witch hunt by an establishment terrified of his pledge to clean up corruption. trust me, he said, and the voters believed him. populist, mildly eurosceptic and hostile to immigration, despite his non—czech origins, he's left the established centre left and centre—right parties in tatters. instead, a host of new protest parties, including the far right abe, who want to ban islam in the czech republic and for the referendum on leaving the european union. they're unlikely to get one, but attitudes are heartening year to the eu and to migrants. and mr babiah has tapped into them. online gambling operators have been told to remove casino games, which are likely to appeal

to children, orface possible sanctions. it is said they are using cartoon characters which might appeal to children. last year, the industry regulator found 450,000 children in england and wales were gambling every week. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, is in riyadh for a six—day visit to saudi arabia and qatar. mr tillerson will press for an end to the boycott of qatar over claims it supports islamist extremism. his talks are also expected to focus on countering iran's growing influence and on improving relations between saudi arabia and iraq. america's five living former presidents have gathered in texas for a concert in aid of victims of the hurricanes which have ravaged the united states this year. barack obama, george w bush, his father george hw bush, bill clinton, and jimmy carter came together to support the one america appeal, to help those caught up in the wake of hurricanes harvey, irma and maria. the appeal has so far raised more

than $30 million. the clinton had this message for americans. there is still work to be done in texas and florida and our friends still work to be done in texas and florida and ourfriends in the us virgin islands have already begun to dig their way out what can still be a calamitous disaster. there can be a calamitous disaster. there can be a new beginning. if wejust do a calamitous disaster. there can be a new beginning. if we just do what we ought to do. and prove that the heart of america, without regard to race or religion or political party, is greater than our problems. former president bill clinton there. i wonder how many former prisons have been alive the same time, what the record is for that? president trump says he plans to release thousands of classifieds documents on the

assassination ofjohn f kennedy in 1963. the papers would be made available, unless government agencies had compelling objections. the bbc‘s laura bicker has the latest from washington. they were locked away 25 years ago trying to quell conspiracy theories around the assassination of president kennedy. it didn't work. a recent survey suggests around 30% of americans believe the man accused of the murder, lee harvey oswald, did not act alone. he was shot and killed before he had his day in court. the files history and really wa nt to court. the files history and really want to pour over surround his visit to mexico city just want to pour over surround his visit to mexico cityjust weeks before the assassination. there he met with cuban and assassination. there he met with cu ban and soviet assassination. there he met with cuban and soviet spies and it is alleged he announced his intention to kill the president, although that has not been made a fact as yet. when it comes to these documents, they will be released on thursday, u nless they will be released on thursday, unless president trump says otherwise. and his tweets suggesting

he will unless strong national security arguments are made. so decades of secrecy may be about to come to an end. at the age of 21, alex tew had a brainwave. aiming to become a millionaire, he set up a website and sold the pixels it contained to advertisers for a dollar each. by 2005, he'd achieved his dream. but what came next for the young entrepreneur? our correspondent robert hall has been to meet him. on the streets of san francisco, alex tew has doubled a long way since he made a million. the 21—year—old set up his website in his bedroom after spending a restless night working out how you can become a millionaire before he went to university. every computer images made up of tiny dots or pixels. alex sold a million of them in blocks at a dollar each, jesse enough screen space for advertisers

to show their own logo or a link to their website. this happened while you are sleeping? that is the beauty of the website, i'm sitting year and probably made a few more dollars and i woke probably made a few more dollars and iwoke up probably made a few more dollars and i woke up and stop bad idea in that time of my life was really a turning point. the true value of the home page was not the money it made me, it was the relationships that were formed as a result of it. 12 years on, with a string of successful projects behind him, alex has embarked on another, but this time, the high—flyers trying to persuade the high—flyers trying to persuade the rest of us to slow down. the high—flyers trying to persuade the rest of us to slow downlj the high—flyers trying to persuade the rest of us to slow down. i was actually working on something to do with meditation and the internet combines, even when i was about 16. it was always in the back of my mind to combine those interest. well over 8 million people are now using the website and app. we're on track to do about $20 million of revenue this

year. mental health issues are on the rise. that's more important is the rise. that's more important is the value to the world. a trip back home to gloucestershire offers the chance to draw breath and to reflect on the past. here's user mubeen and ideas guys and he was seven or eight. it opens them do these doors you never imagined. it says here's really committed to continuing with ideas. alex may have found a new direction of travel, but what advice had evil today's with the entrepreneurs? we live in this culture where everything is instant now. everyone expects things to happen and things to go perfectly for them, but it's not the case. sobhi doggedly persistent and once you do have your goals, go after them with relentless focus, because it isa

them with relentless focus, because it is a big world at there. he may be more full full, but alex tew is not slowing down. there are many more challenges down the track. morning knows now on the fire that keir starmer has said that labour will make efforts to block the brexit bill if there is no deal. let me ask you, there's very practical question, the government doesn't have a majority, so what it does, it's having to be conscious of the risk of other rebellion. on the eu withdrawal bill, is so much the government couldn't give way on this list? it's obviously are important to work across parties on an issue of this magnitude. what're sure the government wanted do is accept any amendments which would wreck the

bill. that's my concern about many of them that have been tabled, this is about frustrating the result of the referendum, that rather than implementing the result. another crucial example is continuity and legal certainty. so if labour made moves to block the bill and they we re moves to block the bill and they were to succeed, you would face a difficult legal vacuum which i think would be a truly negative, not just for businesses, but for citizens who wouldn't necessarily know their status. for example, he says the government should add a transition period to the legislation. that wouldn't be controversial, the government has said there should be such a period. it's something like giving mps the final say, is that something you would be uncomfortable with? it's already clear that mps will have a final say on video, the government has said that, and in any case the parliament does vote on new

treaties entered into by the government. my concern with the is that some of these amendments would simply be designed to halt the process. at there were amendments to be formulated in a way that didn't damage the bill, i'm sure they would be looked at with care by both government and by backbenchers. and guarantee consumers rights and other things wouldn't be watered down. it might be an excuse to go for lower standards, the europeans would say? but the regulations carry—over of those rights. so keir starmer saying he threatens to block the bill is potentially jeopardising he threatens to block the bill is potentiallyjeopardising those rights. presumably a lot of your collea g u es rights. presumably a lot of your colleagues wouldn't back former labour amendments, but they might be more significant once before by

groups of backbenchers? it's a hugely important constitutional and political question we're going to be voting on. it's important for people to talk across parties and work across parties. but at its heart, we must make sure we get this bill through to provide legal certainty and also make sure the result of the referendum that millions of people took part in is properly implemented. are you confident a deal is going to be done with the eu, orare you more deal is going to be done with the eu, or are you more concerned about the concern of a no deal and having to leave the european union with no formal arrangement?” to leave the european union with no formal arrangement? i believe there isa formal arrangement? i believe there is a strong chance we'll reach an agreement. in terms of, there are two questions. agreements on travel security and the separate question ofa security and the separate question of a trade deal. delivering a trader on the time available is certainly more the challenge, but i think eu leaders were very much signalling this week that they acknowledge it

would be in their interests to reach a sensible trading arrangements, so iremain a sensible trading arrangements, so i remain optimistic that is what has grown to be achievable. thank you very much. time for the weather now. as storm brian weakens, there is still blustery out there. whether turning brighter and drier as the day goes on. showers into western scotland, perhaps northwest england and into south wales. the best sunshine in the midlands, east anglia and southeast england into the afternoon. temperatures around 12 degrees. into tonight, showers fading, dry and clearfor a time. there is longest in eastern scotland and northeast england.