this is bbc news. the headlines: the brexit secretary holds crunch talks with the eu chief negotiator in a bid to resolve big issues in the talks. the pace of talks picks up. ambassadors to the other 27 eu member countries are summoned to a separate meeting, due to begin in the next hour. saudi arabia warns it will retaliate against any sanctions imposed over the disappearance of the journalist, jamal khashoggi. france, germany and the uk issue a joint statement demanding a ‘credible investigation‘. also in the news today, crucial elections take place in germany. in bavaria the sister party to angela merkel‘s cdu, which has ruled the region since the 1950s, is expected to lose its majority. the companies were joint owners of the collapsed east coast franchise, which was put back under government control in june. and trains between exeter and netwon abbot are disrupted because of rail damage caused

by storm callum, but the worst of the weather is passing. the brexit secretary dominic raab is holding unscheduled talks in brussels with his eu counterpart, michel barnier. the government said they would discuss "several big issues", ahead of a european council meeting later this week. the ambassadors of the other 27 members of the eu have been summonded for a meeting in brussels later this hour. it follows calls from mr raab‘s predecessor, david davis, for the cabinet to rebel against the prime minister's plans for a withdrawal deal. our political correspondent helen catt reports. david davis has never been shy of walking into a fight over brexit.

just days before a crucial eu summit, he is urging theresa may's most senior ministers to front up as well. he wants them to force the pm to scrap any plans to keep the same customs rules as europe, to avoid border checks in ireland, by asserting the cabinet's collective authority. could that mean threatening resignations? i have never been good at speculating, but i do say to anyone in the cabinet who has concerns about it, you have to make them very clear to the prime minister. we mustn't have a little cabal outside the cabinet running this, it has to be a cabinet decision. downing street says any such arrangement will be temporarily and time—limited. but, speaking to andrew marr earlier, the health secretary, matt hancock, seemed to hint that might not mean setting a date for it to end, something the eu has been resisting. everybody needs to get behind the prime minister and pull behind her, because she is trying to deliver the best deal for britain, and that the best way to take this forward. this arrangement would only come into place if the eu and the government can't agree a deal on how to trade in future.

the democratic unionist party, whose votes theresa may relies on, won't accept anything that treats northern ireland differently. while labour, which wants to stay in the customs union permanently, has implied theresa may's plans may struggle to convince them as well. frankly, if she comes back with something which is just a fudge that she's cooked up in brussels and it doesn't meet our tests, we are not going to vote for it. the british people are not stupid, we're not stupid, we're not voting for something which is essentially a bridge to nowhere. we need to know what our future relationship with the eu is going to be, and a fudge won't fix that. the clock is ticking for theresa may. even if her cabinet stays onside, she will have to convince the eu this week that enough progress has been made to get a final deal next month. the press association is reporting"

from what it says is a british government source suggesting that's the meeting is perhaps in the interest of the eu to suggest this as an urgent meeting and it might make it look like a deal and if other sources are reporting to other news agencies from european union sources, this is apparently coming from ambassadors, that there is a p pa re ntly from ambassadors, that there is apparently an likely to be a deal in the course of this evening and the momentum is still being projected towards the summit of heads of government which will take place beginning on wednesday evening in brussels. let's speak now to our reporter in brussels. this is a moving story, to say the least. what do we think is happening in terms of these talks, first of all, with dominic raab, the briton‘s brexit

secretary? i think he was here not for a victory lap to seal the brexit deal as some people were suggesting, but this was what it was old as, a proper negotiating session where the issues are being looked at which have not been solved by the civil servants. the number one issue being the backstop, the back—up plan for backing the rejection of a hard order between northern ireland and ireland. —— the reintroduction. we have to take that at face value. there was a statement earlier today about outstanding issues to resolve that need ace to face talks before eu leaders meet on wednesday. sources are asking if the pressure is being applied, is it a tacit —— tactic by the uk to make it look like the compromise is more hard fox, is it a signal that this is not being cobbled together in close doors, and eu measure —— never

states are getting involved? who knows, to be honest. the ambassadors of the 27 other member states are meeting to be briefed. they tend to bea meeting to be briefed. they tend to be a bit more into gossip than negotiating, but again, a caveat on all of this, people are talking about a partial picture, people will be talking strategically, and as i have said a million times in this process , have said a million times in this process, the only thing that is true is that is what is written down and agreed on all sides, and who knows when that will materialise?. agreed on all sides, and who knows when that will materialise? a wise caution, because we are seeing all kinds of reports, and clearly, when journalist reporting something being reported by another, and that is the coming trees before you know it. politicos reporting that there has been a deal on it with draw agreement. in terms of the process,

that has been set out by barnier and david davis for many months. what is the sequencing we should expect between now and wednesday's summit meeting for us to know whether or not something has been nailed down? there will be another meeting, it is all about meetings of diplomats, tomorrow at five o'clock brussels time of the so—called sherpas, the prime minister ariel advisers who will lay the groundwork for the summits on wednesday night. we will get a really good sense then of where we are at and there will be a meeting of the british cabinet on tuesday morning, another signal. at some point, representatives from the european parliament who have been on board the whole way through will be brought in to be shunned the text of the final deal or the text that they have been managed —— that they have managed so far, and then wednesday night, 27 leaders arrive in brussels foran night, 27 leaders arrive in brussels for an informal dinner where they

will assess the exit process. we do not know if theresa may will be there, she has been invited. will collea g u es there, she has been invited. will colleagues have discussions? on thursday, all 28 leaders will be meeting to discuss business, whether it security, terrorism, economy, and then 56 l and asia are getting in on then 56 l and asia are getting in on the action. —— 56 leaders from asia. and then a decision will be made about whether there will be an extraordinary summit called for mid november. if there has been progress and things are going well, that will bea summit and things are going well, that will be a summit where there will be a withdrawal agreement and a separate document that will spell out the shape of the future relationship, if it has gone well, and if it has gone badly and the next few days do not go well, there is a chance that the summits could become a new deal pending summits, and people could be really worried about where this is

going. —— a no deal pending summits. airports, a senior source —— eight report, a senior source, the press association, they are referring to, this is exactly what they are talking about, it is a quote from inside government, it is inside the eu's interests to make it look like there is a deal, the source said, because it would then make it look like the uk was being intransigent if no deal was done. the source said there were still some big issues to be resolved and dominic raab has gone out to brussels to try and resolve the outstanding issues. very much a suggestion that's there is a bit of brinkmanship, possibly on both sides, on what our critical days before the summit at the beginning of wednesday. a meeting of

all 28 eu member countries on wednesday evening, and theresa may will be at that table. if there are further developments during the course of this evening, rest assured that adam and our chief political correspondent will be against them and bring them straight to you. britain, germany and france have issued a joint statement urging a credible investigation to establish the truth it comes after those remarks from president trump yesterday saying

that saudi arabia could face severe punishment if it was found to be behind the murder of the journalist. the wording and this, not quite as strong as that, talking about great concern, there needs to be a credible investigation, both parties, the saudi ‘s and the turks need to co—operate. i think what is going to be interesting is, there are reports that there are audio and video recordings of this murder and torture, possibly taking place. the saudi ‘s deny it. if those tapes emerge in the coming days, and i was speaking to one turkish journalist yesterday who said he thought they probably would, then the pressure will really step up. rhetorically, over the last few days, on a number of issues, canadians, for example, mildly criticising the holding of a woman in detention. a huge backlash

from the saudi authorities, an aggressive pushback. today we have another pushback, saying that sanctions will bring further sanctions, and a danger that the sally's do not want to hear this message. the wording -- that the saudi arabians. coming out of saudi arabia, a official start —— an official source saying that the kingdom has rejected any threats that attempts to undermine it to be it through political pressure or otherwise, false accusations, and officials said that saudi arabia would respond with something bigger, as it's put it. the stock market dropped about 5% when it opened this morning, following 5% losses earlier in the week. this is money that, presumably, at the moment, really can't afford to lose because of all the economic pressures. that is right. the major investment conference which is meant to be a showpiece for saudi arabia to promote the country coming up in

about eight days, a lot of speculation about whether the trade secretary liam fox will attend as well as others, a lot of big media organisations, cnn, the economist, pulling out of that, and it is definitely something to watch in the next few days. uncertainty over president trump's top team continues this sunday, with the latest interview conducted by the president, he told cbs news that he is unsure whether the defence secretary james mattis is planning to step down from his post. mr trump said that he regards the retired general as a ‘sort of democrat‘. is he going to leave? i do not know. why have a good relationship with him,i why have a good relationship with him, i had lunch with raab days ago. i think he is sort of a democrat, if you want to —— i had lunch with him and two days ago. he may leave. at some point, everybody leads. people leave. that is washington. president

trump talking on cbs, at a time, with midterm elections coming up, speculation that it could lead to a significant reshaping of the president‘s top team depending on those results. it‘s emerged the owners of virgin trains — sir richard branson and stagecoach collected more than £50 million in dividends from the west coast main line before abandoning their east coast contract. the government had to take back control of the east coast line and missed out on more than £2 billion of franchise payments. virgin trains said the west coast line had exceeded its targets to the taxpayer. shadow rail minister, rachael maskell, said passengers should be "central" to the way railways are run. rail future promotes better rail services. bruce williamson, its spokesperson,

says although renationalisation of the railways has gained public support as a solution, it would make little difference to the current system. joe public does not understand or appreciate what goes into running the railway. it is a system which has private contractors doing that work for them. advocates of rail nationalization, which is a popular policy, polling shows that the public wants the railways renationalize, but if they were to be tomorrow, we would have very much the same things, same time tables run by the same people, so you would not see much immediate difference. how you do that is being debated. it is interesting that john how you do that is being debated. it is interesting thatjohn mcdonnell was saying at the labour party conference they were going to do it relatively quickly, because the argument has been that it should wait until the franchise comes up. in terms of the practicalities of this, in terms of the system we have

now, the government is conducting a real review. do you get any sense of what sort of model they are inching towards, because it is pretty clear it is not going to be nationalization if the conservatives remain in office. but they cannot continue with the status quo as it exists. chris grayling have the knowledge that with the third failure of the east coast franchise. something has to change. we have been here before. mcnulty looked into the railways with a view to finding a way to reduce costs and really very little came of that. we are sort of tinkering at the edges. one of the changes we could do, what seems to work better is where you have a model which is called a concession, where rather than having the franchisee take the financial risk of ticket revenue and set one, they are just contracted to run the railway on a fixed—price and then the risk of the rail revenue is taken on by the government. the headlines on bbc news:

the brexit secretary holds crunch talks with the eu chief negotiator in a bid to resolve big issues in the talks as ambassadors of the other 27 eu member countries are summoned to a separate meeting. saudi arabia warns it will retaliate against any sanctions imposed over the disappearance of the journalist, jamal khashoggi — france, germany and the uk issue a joint statement demanding a ‘credible investigation‘. virgin trains and stagecoach shared more than £51 million worth of dividends from the west coast main line railway, shortly before its other franchise on the east coast mainline collapsed. exit polls have just come out for the election in bavaria, in southern germany. chancellor merkel‘s regional allies, the csu, are reported to have suffered losses while the greens have made significant gains.

other parties, including the far—right afd, are are also expected to increase their share of the vote. the csu could be forced into a regional coalition in bavaria — a setback that could further complicate the chancellor‘s federal government. let‘s get more on this from our correspondentjenny hill, who‘s in berlin for us. first of all, what was the situation in bavaria until these elections? what were the exit polls suggesting? the bavarian branch of the csu, the bavarian version of the party of angela merkel. they are woven into the fabric of the county. they have pretty much been in absolute charge for decades, with one exception, since the 1960s. it looks as though they have lost that absolute majority, and suffered an election result which has not been as bad as

this since the 1950s. they have lost a lot of support. interestingly, the csu, i think, a lot of support. interestingly, the csu, ithink, really a lot of support. interestingly, the csu, i think, really try to chase after the far right to vote and took their party much further to the right, particularly when it came to migration politics, and that seems to have sent voters scurrying away into the arms of the far right and the migrant party which is doing very well here. it now looks like it could reach parliament for the first time. but they have also sent voters to other smaller parties, in particular, the green party, who looked to be the real success story of the selection, looking to come in at about i9% of the votes, making them the runner up here, and they are very pleased about that, no doubt. it is also worth mentioning that the spd, the centreleft party, it has never been particularly big in ofarea, it has never been particularly big in of area, but it is, of course, pa rt in of area, but it is, of course, part of angela merkel‘s ruling coalition, and it has done really

badly, io% coalition, and it has done really badly, 10% of the vote here, if these exit polls are accurate. it is also worth noting that what is happening in bavaria is a real perfection of what is happening at the federal level in germany. voters aren‘t deserting the —— voters are starting to go towards the green party, little parties, and that is a huge concern for angela merkel. it is worth looking out to see what happens to the spd and the next few weeks because they have been polling dreadfully since the entered. there are those circulating about how much longer they can‘t afford to stay in the coalition. that would be a big problem for angela merkel. the main headlines are that angela merkel‘s sister party has been very badly and that of course will reflect on her one way or the other. really interesting to see what the applications are and what leading figures in the csu have to say about

the party‘s performance in bavaria as the evening dresses. thank you very much. police have confirmed that the man who died following a landslide in south west wales yesterday is 21—year—old corey sharpling. he died as a landslip fell on the a484. his family have paid tribute to him and said they were "heartbroken at the tragic loss" of their "beautiful son". a 34—year—old british man has been shot dead in the french alps. the restaurant owner was cycling down a track as a hunting party made its way through nearby woods, according to the local prosecutor. local officials have said mark sutton — originally from caerphilly in south walves was shot on saturday, and had been living for several years in the town of lazer. the foreign office says it‘s in touch with local authorities, and providing assistance to the man‘s family. trains are being disrupted along the devon coast, because part of the track has been washed away by storm callum. great western railway says a large

hole has opened up beneath the line between exeter and newton abbot. the number of rivers at risk of flooding has halved as the worst of the storm passes. storm callum has also caused problems for many farmers across wales. becky eardley filmed this footage of a horse rescue in gilwern in montmouthshire. two men swam out in to water six—feet deep to lead the animal to safety. no—one was injured in the rescue and the horse is said to be recovering well. a 19—year—old man has died in a collision in his car with a police vehicle. it is thought that the police vehicle and ambulance were not responding to an emergency at the time. no—one in either of those vehicles was injured. the first rocket launch into space from british soil could happen as soon as 2020. it‘s thought it could be sent into orbit from a spaceport in the north of scotland. the uk‘s space industry is booming, thanks to a huge surge in demand for tiny satellites made here. joe miller has more. when the space race began in the 1950s, britain

was very much a part of it, even managing to put a satellite into orbit. but space exploration was all but abandoned in the uk after politicians decided that taxpayers‘ money was better spent elsewhere. now, a boom in demand for satellite technology is bringing the sector back to life. you might not immediately associate british business with the space industry, but the fact is, the uk is a world leader when it comes to manufacturing these — microsatellites that are usually the size of a washing machine. now, around 40% of these are made here, and very soon, they‘ll give us the ability to look at detailed video footage of earth. despite such home—grown expertise, satellites have to be launched in other countries. but the countdown to britain‘s first spaceport is already under way. on scotland‘s remote north coast. from our perspective it‘s a really good location

for access into the orbits we are most interested in. so specifically the polar orbit, which is where a lot of the telecoms and small satellites will be able to operate on. armed with government grants, lockheed martin is hoping to grab a slice of an industry which could soon be with trillions of pounds. residents of the a‘mhoine peninsula hope the benefits will be felt closer to home. we‘re hoping there will be apprenticeships for young people there. we don‘t have the expertise, we know that, in space, and satellite production satellite launching. but hopefully you can train young people and give them opportunities to see that as future employment. the first ever rocket launched from uk soil could happen as soon as 2020. but it will take more than one success to propel the british space industry back into orbit. joe miller, bbc news. there is more on that story on bbc

four this evening at ten o‘clock. a summary of the national and international news is coming up, but before that, a look at the weather. it has been quite an exceptional week ends, with torrential rain and also very warm weather at the same time across eastern parts of the uk. as far as tonight is concerned, sunday night into monday, more rain on the way that will mostly affect the southeastern portion of the uk. this is the latest satellite image. we have had some sunshine across northern ireland and scotland and the weather is improving out towards the weather is improving out towards the west. today, a very different place where the rain is, yesterday it was here, and through this afternoon and this evening, it will move through the midlands and yorkshire and eventually out into the north sea, though it looks like

it will not completely clear away from the south east, roughly central southern england as well, further rain from london to norwich and possibly even into the midlands, but elsewhere, north of yorkshire, into northern ireland, a clear and cold night, temperatures two or three above freezing. tomorrow, starts off cloudy across much of central, southern and southeastern england, and further rain to come for the capital. many northern areas enjoying another sunny day on monday, but fresh, living in newcastle, and around 13 in the lowla nds newcastle, and around 13 in the lowlands of scotland. tomorrow evening, it takes time for the rain to clear away. tomorrow evening‘s rush—hour, it will still be hanging around into the midlands. looking at tuesday, a new weatherfront approaches with new pressure, meaning freshening winds for the western isles of scotland, touching gale force by the time we get to the latter pa rt gale force by the time we get to the latter part of the morning, a

weather front sweeps through from glasgow, down into wales, so expecting a period of rain, only brief. further east, the weather is looking greasy but pleasant with some temperatures getting up to 17 in london, 15 in norwich. —— is looking breezy. a cold front will have moved through, meaning fresher atla ntic have moved through, meaning fresher atlantic air arriving on our shores. also a lot of dry airfor atlantic air arriving on our shores. also a lot of dry air for the bulk of the country except the extreme southeast where on wednesday morning we could still see a spot of rain. here is the outlook for wednesday and thursday, not looking too bad. the brexit secretary holds 11th hour talks with eu negotiators in brussels. his unscheduled trip came as the government said there are several big issues yet to resolve. within eu summit three days away theresa may is under intense pressure. one minister calls for unity. everybody needs to get behind

the prime minister ample behind her, because she is trying to deliver the best dealfor britain. because she is trying to deliver the best deal for britain. we will be assessing how any deal will be solved at home. also on the programme, after storm callum comes the clean—up as roads and railways continue to struggle. britain, france and germany demand answers after the disappearance of a journalist. and with so much at sta ke journalist. and with so much at stake on climate change, why the minister responsible won‘t be telling us to eat less meat. good afternoon. the brexit secretary, dominic raab, has arrived in brussels for face to face talks with his eu counterpart michel barnier, as the government says it‘s working to resolve several outstanding issues for britain‘s withdrawal from the eu ahead of a summit this week. at home, the prime minister is coming under intense pressure

from leading brexiteers, with the former brexit secretary david davis enouraging a cabinet rebellion against the idea of a temporary arrangement which would see the whole of the uk remaining in the customs union until the irish border issue is resolved. our political correspondent vicki young reports. it‘s crunch time for brexit talks and for theresa may‘s leadership. for more than 18 months, she‘s persuaded, cajoled and argued with eu leaders. the last get—together in austria, though, ended with angry recriminations. back home it‘s no easier, with some cabinet ministers threatening to quit over her plans. loyal colleagues say it‘s time for unity. everybody needs to get behind the prime minister and pull behind her, because she is trying to deliver the best deal for britain, and that‘s the best way to take this forward. but the former brexit secretary david davis says the cabinet must exert its authority and get mrs may to change direction. the disagreement is over

the so—called irish backstop, how to avoid border checks between northern ireland and ireland if a suitable trade arrangement isn‘t in place. theresa may is suggesting the uk stays in the eu‘s customs union. conservative brexiteers insist that arrangement has to be clearly time—limited. i do say to anyone who‘s in cabinet and has concerns about this, you have to make them very clear to the prime minister. and we mustn‘t have a little cabal outside the cabinet running this, it has to be a cabinet decision. the labour leadership is scathing about mrs may‘s plans. frankly, if she comes back with something which is just a fudge that she's cooked up with brussels and it doesn't meet our tests, we're not going to vote for it. the british people are not stupid, we're not stupid, we're not voting for something which is essentially a bridge to nowhere. we need to know what our future relationship with europe is going to be, and a fudge won't fix that. but ministers are still working towards a deal. this afternoon, the brexit secondary, dominic raab,

secretary, dominic raab, made a flying visit to brussels for another face—to—face meeting with eu‘s chief negotiator. vicki young, bbc news. let‘s speak to adam fleming, who‘s in brussels for us. how unexpected was this visit by dominic raab this afternoon? well, it was unannounced but not unexpected, because the way these brexit talks have worked throughout the process is that the officials and civil servants get so far and then their political masters have to sweep in either to sort out the outstanding issues or to get the deal across the line of. i‘m told dominic raab was not here for a victory lap, and this was actually a real, proper, substantive negotiating session, and that‘s because this northern ireland share issue, the so—called backstop, the backup plan for avoiding a hard border, is still a real sticking point. now, the 27 ambassadors from

the remaining eu countries are having a meeting just over there right now, where they will get updated on progress. some people the mood music in some areas is good, others being a bit gloomy saying northern ireland is still really tricky. is this real, is it tactical? i honestly don‘t know, i think we will find out in the next few days, there is a summit on wednesday. much return to the mood here now. our political correspondent vicki young is here as well. vicki if we are close to a deal how is mrs may going to sell that at home? it is interesting, i‘m told that dominic raab went there today face—to—face because he wanted to convey to mr barnier the strength of feeling here about those issues, about northern ireland not being treated differently and about the fa ct treated differently and about the fact that the uk can‘t be stuck in a customs union for ever with no way out. it is never helpful to have your cabinet threatening to resign but maybe that strength of opinion, it is pretty clear that everyone...

i think what the government is hoping is that if she comes back with this deal, after all the ups and downs, against the odds, what they can then say to the mps is, this is what is on the table, the alternative is massive uncertainty, alternative is massive uncertainty, a leadership change, another referendum, general election, may be no deal... they think that will focus minds and that is the way that she will be able sell it. trains are being disrupted along the devon coast, afterflood damage from storm callum caused a large hole to open up beneath the line between exeter and newton abbot. the west of britain has been worst affected by torrential rain, with homes flooded and people left without power in parts of south wales. thomos morgan reports from carmarthen. the basement at number six. southern terrace, carmarthen. this was the children‘s playroom. now it‘s waist—high deep in water. in just under five hours last night, jason‘s home was decimated by the heavy rain.

i‘ve lived here all my life, and i‘ve never seen a flood like this. i know it does flood and the fields flood and the surrounding area, flood in the surrounding area, but this hasn‘t happened in 30 years. you know, christmas is coming, halloween is around the corner, fireworks. there are going to be no fireworks here this year, do you know what i mean? south wales has borne the brunt of storm callum. 30 minutes north of carmarthen, in the village of cwmduad, corey sharpling, who was 21 years old, died in a landslide. the weather has also affected other areas across the uk. in devon, flooded has destroyed this railway track at tynemouth. repairs are expected to take at least the rest of the day. if a hole opens up, you know, we can‘t run the trains. i'm going back to penryn, in cornwall, because that's where i'm at uni, and i'm going to be back very late. this is the first of two buses today, but there's nothing you can

do about it. you have to be philosophical, haven't you? such was the chaos caused by the torrential downpour that emergency services have had to help deal with the aftermath. last night the river broke its banks, and this bridge was shaking under the pressure of all this extra water. the heavy rain has caused flooding across the whole of the town, and although the clean—up operation has begun the effect of such devastation will be felt for some time to come. tomos morgan, bbc news, carmarthen. germany, france and britain have issued a joint statement urging a credible investigation into the disappearance of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi, saying that saudi arabia needs to provide a full and detailed response to allegations that he was murdered inside its consulate in istanbul. but amid reports that the uk and the united states could boycott a forthcoming business conference in riyadh, the saudis have said they‘ll retaliate to any sanctions. our diplomatice affairs correspondent paul adams has been following the developments. how seriously is our government now

taking this? i think today's statement is evidence that they are taking it very seriously indeed. the government has been somewhat criticised for not taking it somewhat more seriously up to now. the problem is that for all the lurid details recently do not know what happened 12 days ago to jamal khashoggi. as one official said to me, we don‘t want to get at the fa cts me, we don‘t want to get at the facts but the facts don‘t look good. it suggests they are now taking it with the utmost seriousness and a hint that officials do believe that something pretty awful has happened, if relevant, the ministers say, the saudis should identify those responsible and ensure they are held to account. it is a very serious warning. the foreign secretary, borisjohnson, was asked about this a short time ago and he said that more than ever it is up to saudi arabia now to come clean. -- jeremy hunt. what happens from now on is absolutely up to saudi arabia, they must have seen the huge international concern from the united states, now, from britain,

france and germany. and what they need to do is to cooperate fully with the investigation that the turks are asking us to do and to get to the bottom of this. you might think the saudis would be willing to show some corporation, that‘s not the case so far. they put out their own statement today calling it a campaign of false allegations and false woods and say they will respond with greater action if action is taken against them, hinting that with their vital role in the global economy, perhaps they could use oil as their own weapon in this increasingly bitter battle. it‘s emerged that sir richard branson‘s virgin — and stagecoach — shared a payout of more than £50 million from their profit—making west coast mainline, just months before handing the financially troubled east coast line back to the government. here‘s our business correspondentjoe miller. it carries passengers along the main corridor between london and glasgow and makes a tidy profit

along the way. virgin‘s west coast franchise did so well in the last financial year that owners sir richard branson and stagecoach‘s sir brian souter received a dividend of over £51 million. butjust a few months ago, the very same owners dropped out of a contract to run the troubled east coast line, the government was forced to step in and was left with a £2 billion shortfall. there is of course nothing to stop a private company rewarding its owners, but these large payouts will add to concerns that billionaires are cherry picking the most profitable parts of the railways. that‘s certainly labour‘s view. it says any money made in the west could be spread around the country if the railways were re—nationalised. buying a ticket is so extortionate these days that many people can‘t afford simply to travel by rail. so we want to see that investment being pulled back into a good, publicly owned railway system which really does put the passenger at the heart.

virgin says passengers are satisfied with its west coast service and in a statement, the department for transport stood behind the company, saying that privatisation had transformed railways and improved customer service. commuters caught up in this year‘s summer of chaos may well beg to differ, but one passenger group says it‘s the management rather than the owners that make all the difference. whoever is operating the railway, regardless of who owns it, is to manage it in a way that delivers excellent customer service, and i think there is evidence to suggest that passengers would appreciate greater value for money. the west coast franchise is up for tender again soon, but with rail fares set to rise further in january, the next operator will need to prove that travellers‘ hard earned cash is being put to good use. joe miller, bbc news. a british cyclist has been

shot dead by a hunter in the french alps, police have confirmed. the 34—year—old restaurant owner was riding a mountain bike in woods near the town of les gets on saturday evening when he was shot dead. the victim, who‘s been named locally as mark sutton, had lived in the area for several years. hurricane force winds have hit parts of portugal, bringing down trees and leaving more than 15,000 homes without power. storm leslie struck overnight sweeping towards the north and centre of the country. it‘s a rare example of an atlantic hurricane striking continental europe. winds of more than 100mph were recorded. now, we‘re being told to eat less meat to help tackle global warming. but it seems our sunday roasts and steak dinners are safe in the hands of the government‘s climate change minister. claire perry has told the bbc that politicians telling people to eat less meat smacks of the worst kind of "nanny state advice". environment analyst roger harrabin. here‘s our environment analyst roger harrabin. burping farm animals are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, so cutting down on meat is one

of the simplest things we can do to protect the climate. one report advises no more than one meat portion a week — either as steak or cut into strips to flavour meals like stir—fries. will the government pass on that advice? no, it won‘t. i think you‘re describing the worst nanny state environment ever. who would i be...? advising — is it nanny state to advise? ..sitting there advising people in the country, coming home after a hard day at work, to not have, you know, steak and chips — please! those who enjoy a nice joint of beef will breathe a sigh of relief, but people concerned about the climate say the government should be advising us to switch from beef to chicken, and to cut down on all meat. to stay within safe climate limits, we need to tackle the amount of meat we're eating. but actually lower meat diets that are higher in vegetables and plant proteins are also better for our health, so it's a win—win situation.

there's been a huge rise in interest in flexitarianism, people eating less meat, and businesses are starting to respond to that. so the supermarkets have been introducing lots of great ranges now for people wanting to choose alternatives to meat. tomorrow the government launches green gb week, to shift britain towards a future with zero carbon emissions. scientists say that cutting down on meat must be on the policy menu. roger harrabin, bbc news. that‘s it. i‘ll be back with the late news at 10. now on bbc one it‘s time for the news where you are. onjohn on john watson with onjohn watson with the latest sports news from the bbc sports centre. after nations league defeat to israel, scotland are facing the european champions portugal in a friendly at what looks to be a half—full hampden park.

a number of withdrawls has forced mcleish to make six changes after the israel loss but portugal nearly presented the scots with an away goal after 10 minutes. just seconds after that stuart armstrong had the chance to fire his side into the lead, but nothing doing. steven naismth later found himself on the end of a nicely worked move. but portugal have just scored as half—time approaches they lead 1—0. gareth bale has been ruled out of wales‘s nations league match against the republic of ireland on tuesday with a muscle problem. the player has now returned to his club side real madrid, having missed his country‘s 4—1 defeat to spain on thursday. bale scored when wales beat ireland in their first nations league match back in september — but couldn‘t stop them slipping to defeat against denmark three days later. the defending champions chelsea women suffered a huge defeat at the hands of league leaders arsenal in the women‘s super league today — 5—nil they were beaten — while manchester city women put seven past west ham to keep pace with them at the top of the table.

james burford reports. as he ripped‘s elite sides emerged back into the bright lights of the continent‘s top competition it was rather difficult to see anything, but saracens win. lasco has an impressive home record against english opposition that the english champions are this season proving almost impossible to stop. apology that looked like today‘s champions cup matches. we will hopefully bring you the details of that a little bit later on. turning to tennis now. novak djokovic won his fourth shanghai masters title and has set his sights on recaliming the world‘s number one ranking from rafa nadal. he‘s been imperious in china all week, and capped it off beating borna coric in straight sets to extend his winning streak to 18 matches. djkokovic has moved above roger federer to number 2 in the world but can still catch rafael nadal at the top of the rankings before the end of the year —

a position he hasn‘t occupied in two years after battles with form and fitness. i could not ask for a better scenario. i am very close to now rafa nadal in the rankings and putting myself in a very good position for the last period of the year. we will see. i am position for the last period of the year. we will see. iam planning position for the last period of the year. we will see. i am planning to play right now paris and london, maybe another tournament, maybe not. but the game is working really well, and ending the year as number one will definitely be the biggest achievement of this year. what a run it on. we wait to see if you will topple it on. we wait to see if you will to p ple rafa it on. we wait to see if you will topple rafa nadal at the top of the world rankings. —— ap will topple. -- if world rankings. —— ap will topple. —— if he will topple. englishman eddie peperell has won his second european tour title at the british masters.

he held a three shot lead heading into the final day. but he only won by one shot in the end finishing level par for the day but nine under for the tournament. sweden‘s alexander bjork finished a shot behind — the win means pepperell moves into the world‘s top 35 as well as putting another title alongside the one he lifted in february at the qatar masters. england‘s charley hull has missed out on a second lpga tour title, slipping from the overnight lead to finish second in south korea. hull had started well making 5 birdies in herfinal round but then undid that good work with four bogeys as she finished 3 shots behind home winner in gee chun. england‘s netballers have lost their series against jamaica after losing in kingston overnight — the hotss are 2—up with one to play. —— hosts. the roses, who beat the sunshine girls on the way to winning the commonwealth games title earlier this year, trailed by four after the first quarter and could never claw themselves back into it. jamaica pulled away at the end for a 58—39 win. after wrapping up the formula 3 european title, mick schumacher, the son

of seven—time formula 1 world champion michael, is being tipped to follow in his father‘s fotsteps into f1. in today‘s race three, prema driver schumacher finished second again for his 14th podium of the season — he had already wrapped up the title with a race to spare. gerhard berger boss of the german touring car championship said he has the racing genses of his father — for mick it‘s the biggest moment of his career. it means everything, to be honest because it is the first real championship that i have one, and i have one with a lot of hard work. a lot of hard work not only from my side but really the most working from the team and i‘m really grateful for what they have done all season long for me and and i‘m happy i‘m able to be here and really live the moment. a great moment for him

and obviously not easy with the condition his father is currently the nfl returns to london this evening for the first of three regular season games to be played outside the united states. wembley stadium will play host to the oakland raiders and the seattle seahawks. the game was meant to be staged at tottenham‘s new stadium, which has been specially designed for nfl as well as football but there have been building delays tottenham would be really cool as well. both places are amazing. the history of playing here at wembley. tottenham would be cool, to be the first team to play there. we got to walk onto the field, experience that and all that kind of stuff. that was cool, to be around the field and see that will be a great stadium for years to come. does it look like it's nearly finished? i don‘t know if i can say too much, i think

you are trying to get me here. but it is getting there, let‘s say that. it is difficult to leverage different to travel ten or 11 hours to play on game but as the coastal me play anybody anywhere anytime. —— to play a home game. coverage from wembley is already underway on bbc 2, kick off is at 6 o‘clock. in the next ten minutes or so. ufc fighter khabib nurma—gom—edov wants to go one better than conor mcgregor and has after called out boxer floyd mayweather. the russian, who met president putin after beating the irishman earlier this month issued the challenge on the social media saying "let‘s go, floyd. we have to go now." he clearly wants to get a fight on with them. we have yet to see if that will materialise or not. mchegor himself lost a boxing bout to american mayweather in august last year. that‘s all the sport for now. plenty more on bbc news throughout

the evening. next up here is the weather. quite an exceptional weekend with torrential rain and also very warm weather at the same time across eastern parts of the uk. as far as tonight is concerned, sunday night into monday there is more rain on the way. it will mostly affect the southeastern portion of the uk. the latest satellite image, you can see a very clear edge to the weather font that has been picked to lead a plaguing us for days, sunshine across northern ireland and colin and weather is improving. towards the west, the ranking a different face. yesterday was here through this afternoon and this evening we are talking about that removing through the midlands, yorkshire and eventually out into the north sea. however it looks as though it will not completely clear away from east anglia and the southeast, possibly central, southern england as well. could be further rain from london to norwich, possibly even into the midlands but elsewhere from yorkshire northwards and into northern ireland a clear and into northern ireland a clear and cold night. temperatures two or

three degrees above the delete of freezing whereas in london it‘s around 11. —— two or three degrees above freezing. further rain to come for the capital and into east anglia, but many northern areas in joining another sunny day on monday. fresh, 11 in newcastle, 1a in belfast and around 13 in the lovelies elite mcquillan of scotland. tomorrow evening it takes time for the rain to clear away. getting into the rush hour it is still hanging around the southeast and even into the midlands. a look at tuesday. a new weather front of her —— approaches the uk with the new low—pressure system to the south, so that means freshening winds for the western isles of scotland, winds touching gale force by the time we get to the latter pa rt by the time we get to the latter part of the morning. a weather front sweeping through so from glasgow, belfast down into wales we are expecting a period of rain, only brief. further east than weather not looking bad at all greasy, but pleasa nt looking bad at all greasy, but pleasant with sunshine and temperatures getting up to 17 in

london, 15 in norwich. wednesday that low—pressure is away towards the north of us, the cold front will move through and that means fresher atla ntic move through and that means fresher atlantic air arriving on our shores. that also means a lot of dry weather for the bulk of the country, all but the extreme southeast where on wednesday morning we could still see a few spots of rain. here is the outlook for wednesday and thursday. it is not looking too bad. this is bbc news. the headlines: the brexit secretary has held crunch talks with the european union‘s chief negotiator in a bid to resolve outstanding issues over leaving the eu. the pace of the negotiations have picked up ahead of wednesday‘s summit of eu leaders. the ambassadors from the other 27 member countries have just begun a previously unscheduled. france, germany and the uk issue a joint statement demanding a ‘credible investigation‘ in to the disappearance of the journalist, jamal khashoggi — who vanished after visiting saudi arabia‘s consulate in turkey. after the storm, the clean up —

roads and railway continue to struggle. also in the news this evening — angela merkel‘s regional allies in bavaria look to have experienced their worst election result since 1950. exit polls suggest the csu, mrs merkel‘s bavarian sister party,