this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: parties opposed to colombia's peace deal with left—wing rebels win most seats in parliamentary elections. the bbc protests to the united nations over iran's treatment of its staff and their families. we have been tickled by goodwill. what about you 7 we have been tickled by goodwill. what about you? have you been tickled? and the veteran british entertainer, sir ken dodd, dies at the age of 90. and the business news. the world's biggest stock market listing looks set to be delayed, as advisers struggle to achieve a $2 trillion valuation for the saudi oil giant, aramco. stock markets around the world have been trying desperately to secure the listing, so who is likely to get it now and when? a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know

in global news, business, and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. today, we're asking for your ken dodd memories. his publicist said "he was one of the last music hall greats," so does this mark the end of an era in british entertainment? tell us what you think. just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing. so, let's get started. we begin in columbia, where right—wing parties have gained the most votes in historic congressional elections. final ballots are still being counted but conservatives opposed to a peace deal with former farc rebels have just fallen short

of an outright majority. it's the first time the former farc rebels have taken part in voting as part of the groundbreaking peace deal which ended more than 50 years of conflict. the farc, now a left—wing political party, has performed poorly, but the party is guaranteed ten seats in congress as part of the peace deal signed in 2016 the country remains highly polarised ahead of a presidential election in two months time. our correspondent, katy watson, is in bogota. for these former guerrillas, this was an historic day. they are no longer hiding in the jungle, they were centre stage in this weekend's elections. translation: today is a historic day for colombia. we are defining part of the country's fate and i think it will mark a milestone. we're strengthening the peace process. it's the first time in my life i have voted and i'm doing it for peace. as presidentjuan manuel santos cast his vote, he said this

was proof his peace deal is working. translation: it is the first time in more than half a century that the farc, instead of sabotaging the elections, is participating. that is something historic and very important for our democracy. but the results showed otherwise. the farc failed to get even 1% of the votes in either house in congress. the political newcomers are political nobodies. the challenge the farc faces is it's so bound up in the country's conflict, nearly everyone here in colombia have spent most of their lives living in the shadow of violence. it is hard for people to take them seriously as politicians so accepting the farc will take time. the farc started life as a marxist—inspired movement demanding land rights. over half a century of fighting saw more than 200,000 people killed and millions displaced. when the peace deal was signed in 2016, thousands of soldiers laid down their weapons. farc candidates were allowed to run for office before

paying for their crimes first. translation: i'm speechless. i think we needed to find a way towards peace but i wanted to see justice before participation. translation: it's controversial. as a human being, they have a right to vote and participate but i'm not going to vote for them. with the right now strengthened as the country heads towards presidential elections in may, it is unclear what role the political newcomers will be allowed to play. katy watson, bbc news, in bogota. there is more detail on the website, including how they got to this point. the bbc is making an unprecedented appeal to the united nations. the corporation is urging the un human rights council to support the staff and families of its persian service, which broadcasts from london into iran and the region. the council in geneva is due to begin discussion later of an official report describing how the families of bbc staff in iran

being subjected to arrest, detention and travel bans. from geneva, our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins, reports. the bbc has been broadcasting its persian tv service from london since 2009. iranian authorities have never liked the challenge to their own domestic media which could easily be influenced or controlled. this is just one of the many staff at bbc persia who say they and their families in iran have been threatened or intimidated by iranian authorities trying to get them to quit. in one case, a ten year old and 90—year—old were interrogated. all the staff are being investigated for conspiracy. in recent months,

many for conspiracy. in recent months, ma ny staff for conspiracy. in recent months, many staff have given evidence for the latest un report on human rights in iran. according to that report, family members in iran are being arbitrarily arrested, detained, and subjected to travel bans. now, in geneva, the whole issue will be explored by the human rights council of the un. so far, the government of iran has declined all requests to comment. but the general says it is getting worse is it is impossible. it is not right for families, journalists, others, involved in the bbc persia service to be intimidated and used this way. there is a broader principle at stake. we won the un to stand up for the rights of journalists to report freely and fairly on what is going on around the world. bbc hopes a senior correspondent of its persian service will be allowed to address the un

meeting, and the council will use its power to stop this. bbc news, geneva. and we'll be talking to the director of the bbc world service a bit later in the programme. we will talk about the story and the implications, of course. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. the campaign group amnesty international has accused the government in myanmar of attempting a land—grab and militarising the state of rakhine, afterforcing hundreds of thousands of rohingya muslims to flee to neighbouring bangladesh. it said burmese soldiers had bulldozed areas to make way for military bases and establish settlements for non—rohingya ethnic groups. police here in the uk say they've found significant traces of the nerve agent used to poison a former russian spy all over the restaurant table where he had eaten with his daughter before both were taken ill. they say the quantity of poison found at the restaurant in salisbury suggest that it was already all over the hands of sergei and yulia

skripal. the contaminated table has been destroyed. police have also seized mr skripal‘s car and are investigating his home. it's been called the world's biggest stock market listin, but it's being reported that the long—awaited ipo of saudi arabia's massive oil company, aramco, could be delayed until 2019 at the earliest after it failed to get the desired valuation. 0liver cornock, editor—in—chief of the oxford business group, joins me now. you know this story extremely well. how important it is to saudi arabia they do this well. tell us about the reports we are getting it could be delayed. you mentioned the size of this valuation, a really important pa rt this valuation, a really important part of crown prince mohammed bin

salman‘s drive to diversified the economy away from hydrocarbons. aramco is the largest producer in the world. it is part of that and will underpin the investment which will underpin the investment which will create a diverse value economy. size is everything. the valuation of this huge step which has been shrouded for years, it has not had the level of transparency, not needing it. to have a valuation... they want $2 trillion. to get the valuation, bankers and investors will look very carefully at that. it isa will look very carefully at that. it is a surprise they have not achieved that, and the clock is ticking. bankers and investors are looking at it closely, but at the same time, world leaders are schmoozing saudi arabia to get listed in their exchange, the newark accept change, age, hong kong. —— new york stock

exchange. —— again. the main listing will be in riyadh and a second elsewhere. london world want a slice of that pie. it may not even happen. thank you very much indeed. he will come back after a strong coffee, talking about what is happening in the media today. in the meantime, we will focus on russia. during his third term as russia's president, vladimir putin has consistently presented the west as a hostile force, and its influence as subversive and corrupting. that's been accompanied by the promotion of the russian orthodox church along with supposedly "traditional" russian values. in the last of a series of reports ahead of next week's presidential elections, our moscow correspondent, sarah rainsford, travelled 1,500 kilometres east of moscow to perm to see how culturally conservative putin's russia has become. every weekend, this man is

transformed. a factory worker by day, by night he becomes whoever he wa nts. day, by night he becomes whoever he wants. he stars in a drag show in the only gay club in his town. in this basement, the crowd are free to be themselves, out and proud, but only here. aboveground, they must conceal their sexuality for safety. bite for ruslan, this is gay rights, russia style. translation: bite for ruslan, this is gay rights, russia style. translatiosz bite for ruslan, this is gay rights, russia style. translation: is gay people are not forced to talk about it openly, be out in public, we will be fine. russia's borders are open. if you want to hold hands with your boyfriend in the street, go for it, buy a ticket and travel. for

decades, perm was a closed city. a hub for military every structure. russia claims the west tried to impose its ways. vladimir putin has been kicking back. traditional is the trend, a shift that sergei is happy with. the computer programmer returned to russia after a decade in the us, keen for what he sees as a more pure life. he has gone back to basics, the religion of the orthodox church is on the rise. sergei is also a fan of vladimir putin, and what he calls the traditional values the president of russia promotes. russia suffers from population. we need more strong and productive people. strong families. notjust

today, this person, tomorrow, that person. there is a new cultural conservatism in perm as well after a brief flirtation with arts. this is a reminder of the cultural revolution in perm, a hugely ambitious project to open it up to the world to rebrand as a modern place. it ended abruptly. there are 110w place. it ended abruptly. there are now signs that perm, like russia, is moving in the opposite direction. the contemporary art museum has survived, but the mastermind of the modernisation of perm was sacked. his shows were always political and provocative, and eventually they went too far. the new curator admits there are clear limits now. translation: the fact the museum is vulnerable makes us self censor. we do not lower the bar. wejust lower the temperature. that is the

compromise. this is also a compromise, an acceptance of limits. the fact there is this much freedom is already progress. in the climate of the day, few here in the provinces are prepared to push for more. sarah rainsford, bbc news, perm. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: the sisterly battle. the tennis giants serena and venus williams go head to head later today at indian wells. the numbers of dead and wounded defied belief. this, the worst terrorist atrocity on european soil in modern times. in less than 2a hours then, the soviet union lost an elderly sick leader and replaced him with a dynamic figure 20 years his junior.

we heard these gunshots in the gym. then he came out through a fire exit and started firing at our huts. god, we were all petrified. james earl ray, aged 41, sentenced to 99 years and due for parole when he's 90, travelled from memphis jail to nashville state prison in an 8—car convoy. paul, what's it feel like to be married at last? it feels fine, thank you. what are you going to do now? is it going to change your life much, do you think? i don't know really. i've never been married before. you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: in colombia's first elections since a peace deal between the government and former left—wing rebels, conservatives opposed

to the agreement have won most votes — but not an overall majority. the bbc is making an unprecedented appeal to the united nations human rights council over the abuse of its staff and their families by the iranian government. let's stay with that now. with me is the director of the bbc world service group, jamie angus. this is unprecedented. why are they doing this? it is mean going on for yea rs doing this? it is mean going on for years and has intensified. we had to persuade the government that the bbc has no malicious intent to them, and the output is impartial and fair, and is part of our mission to bring news to audiences around the world. this time, it is in farsi. and it

has not gone anywhere. what we are talking about is that our staff cannot return to iran with fear of arrest. many families cannot leave iran, and have had their passports removed. most worryingly, in the last year or so, a spurious investigation was started by the iranian course of the families —— on the families of 150 staff. their assets are effectively frozen inside iran. before the bbc took a step to ta ke iran. before the bbc took a step to take it to the united nations, i anticipate that you waited up a lot, because it could make things worse? absolutely. and with all these situations, we try to resolve things as quickly and privately as they can be resolved. but in the case of the iranian government, they proved impervious to any requests we made. what we are hoping with the human rights council today is that the fa ct rights council today is that the fact that other nations around the

world a re fact that other nations around the world are hearing the evidence of what happened, so our own staff can speakfrom what happened, so our own staff can speak from the floor of the human rights council session, and give testimony, and you will hear in their voices what they have been suffering. we are hoping to place pressure on iran to stop their legal action. and itjust highlights how dedicated these staff are who want to have that voice in the iranian region, so that others can hear their view. that is right. it is immediate climate that is very challenging. but the bbc has a big role there. more than 50 million people are consuming bbc persian on the radio and television. along with all of our new sources, we represent

all of our new sources, we represent a variety of sources, and do it in line with our normal editorial guidelines. it is extruded popular and we want to continue doing it. it is absolutely crucial that the staff are able to do without the fear of intimidation. thank you very much jamie angus. as ever, there is more detail on a story on our website. take a look as and when you have time. the whole detail on the bbc un appeal their on the bbc world page. do take a look. and get in touch with us to tell us your views on this. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello. i am tulsen tollett. coming up in your monday sport briefing, manchester city head to stoke city in the premier league later, serena and venus williams prepare to meet in the third

round at indian wells, plus what the surf looks like from inside the wave. the last time manchester city did the double over stoke city, pep guardiola was a barcelona player. how times change. back then both clubs were playing in the third tier of english football. fast forward 20 years and guardiola's team are racing towards the premier league title. victory later on monday will leave them 16 points clear of manchester united. it's now a question of when not if — as pep cements his status as one of world's greatest managers. serena williams was pregnant the last time she beat her sister venus. that was at the 2017 australian open final. they'll play each other once again at indian wells later on monday. williams beat kiki bertens in the second round as she continues her comeback, while venus's victory over sorana cirstea of romania secured her place in the third round. it will be fine. you know, she is,

you know, one of the best players in the world. to me to have to go up against that so fast is — it will be good to see woollahra, on my level. there is so much to improve. i call this my test run. i don't even know or expect... i do know, ijust go out and having fun. —— it will be good to see where i am at, on my level. michal kwiatkowski has the lead heading into stage six of the tirreno adriatico event in italy. the team sky rider's third place finish on sunday was enough to see him capture the overall leader's blue jersey by a slim margin. elsewhere a puncture put an end to his teammate chris froome's hopes. stage six is from numana to fano — a distance of 153 km. tiger woods narrowly missed forcing a play off at the valspar championship in florida as paul casey won by a stroke finishing on 10 under. woods, who returned to the tour recently after a year out, sunk a 44 foot birdie putt on the 17th to put him within touching distance of casey but it wasn't enough as the englishman took the win for his first success on the pga

tour since 2009 coming from five shots behind in the final round. you know, i have won a few times in europe, but to take this long to get my second victory on the pga tour is emotional. i have worked so hard. i'm so happy for it. that is the word i was going to use. emotional. how were you able to keep yourself in check coming down the stretch today? a lot of practice. i lost a friend that sadly in mexico. so i played with a heavy heart. maybe that was the difference. —— i lost a friend, sadly. in the german bundesliga on loan chelsea striker michy batshuayi scored twice including a late stoppage time winner for borussia dortmund in their 3—2 win over eintracht frankfurt keeping them third, a point behind schalke. legendary british comedian sir ken dodd has died

at the age of ninety. his publicist described him as one of the last music hall greats. caroline davies looks back at his life. tickling stick ‘s and diddy men. ken dodd was a great performer with a gift for the surreal. -- sticks. what a brilliant day to go up and say you will never sell asos is that size. and the love of a catchphrase or three. what about you mrs? have you been tickled by goodwill? proud of his merseyside roots, he became a charttopping singer, a television star, and a ventriloquist. all those silly onstage, sir ken dodd was serious about his craft. they laugh isa serious about his craft. they laugh is a sudden explosion of psychic

energy. the trouble with him was he never played a second house friday night. he still lived in the home he grew up in and guided his private life. in 1989, that was shattered when he faced claims of tax evasion. he had more than £300,000 hidden around his house. he was acquitted and continued performing. last year, he was given a knighthood in recognition of his charity and comedy work. one or two glasses of tickled tonic, and then we should go back up north to merseyside and i shall see the diddy men there, so shall see the diddy men there, so shall send your regard. he recently got a chest infection but wanted to got a chest infection but wanted to go back on stage. i look forward to getting back to doing myjob. the onlyjob that i have ever had. the onlyjob that i have ever had. the

onlyjob that i have ever had. the onlyjob that i know. onlyjob that i have ever had. the only job that i know. after more than 60 years of making others laugh, it was performing to the british public that sir ken dodd said gave him enormous happiness. happiness! the british comedian, sir ken dodd, who's died at the age of ninety. we ask you to send us your memories or thoughts with regards from that. we have heard from a few of you. billy says that for those who grew up billy says that for those who grew up with sir ken dodd, it is a sad loss to the nation. he was a great entertainer and his shows were a lwa ys entertainer and his shows were always more than you paid for. and samuel said he feels like he has lost a different. the impact he made on my life will never leave me. i will see you in a moment for business briefing. hello. apart to the weekend,

u nsettled hello. apart to the weekend, unsettled weather pushing into england and wales. the best of the sunshine across scotland and northern ireland. that said, we saw some sunshine in south—west england and it was quite pleasant and mild. this area of low pressure will continue to bring outbreaks of rain across england and wales as we had on into monday. so it will be a less cold start because will breeze, cloud, and rain, but actually suffer northern england and ireland, with mist fog. through the day on monday, outbreaks of rain, certainly in this area of low pressure. it mightjust reach the far south of scotland, but can find more to england and wales strong winds of 40— 50 mph. much of northern ireland and scotland will have the best of the drier and brighter weather. slightly cooler in the south. the average 11 in the south. a ridge of high—pressure promises to build in for tuesday, it

settling things down before this area of low pressure comes in on wednesday and thursday. this is the picture for tuesday. we still have the breeze and outbreaks of rain in the breeze and outbreaks of rain in the far south—east. that will eventually clear away and then apart from the odd shower around, it looks like conditions will improve our sleep through tuesday afternoon things to the ridge of high—pressure. it will feel quite pleasa nt high—pressure. it will feel quite pleasant any strong much sunshine. but a short lived window of high—pressure. this band of rain comes in on wednesday. the isa basket close together, so the winds will be strong and coming from the south, which will bring in cloud as well. starting chilly in central and eastern areas with clear skies and sunshine, before clouds build and fairly strong southerly winds feed in outbreak of rain into the irish sea coast. some areas will be heavy, particularly in the south—west. in the sunshine, not too bad, 11— 12

degrees. single elsewhere. and then from thursday onwards, it looks like it will become quite unsettled times. a brace of rain. the winds will pick up and come from the east, so it looks like it will cool down towards the end of the week. this is business briefing. i'm sally bundock. the world's biggest stock market listing looks set to be delayed as advisers struggle to achieve a $2 trillion valuation for saudi aramco. as the european union considers whether to go to the world trade organisation over us tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, we ask what's next for international trade? a strong start for the financial markets of the world this week. a recordbreaker for markets of the world this week. a recordbreakerfor some markets of the world this week. a recordbrea ker for some markets markets of the world this week. a recordbreaker for some markets on wall street on friday.