this is the briefing, i'm sally bundock. our top stories — going round in circles. britain's brexit negotiator makes an impromptu trip to brussels but finds no way forward on key issues. angela merkel‘s conservative allies suffer massive losses in bavaria's state elections — what will it mean for her coalition? pressure mounts on saudi arabia over the disappearance of jamal khashoggi. britain, france and germany demand answers. italy is on a collision course with brussels over it's planned spending spree but rome says it won't back down on costly election promises. also in business briefing melinda gates has been talking to the bbc about making sure noone is left behind

by the digital revolution. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also today the uk government begins a pilot scheme to try and tackle loneliness — cookery classes will get underway and in some cases the postman will be popping in to check in on people. tell us what you think. is this effective or tokenism? how do we fix loneliness? get in touch — use hashtag #bbcthebriefing. it's a crucial week for the british government and the eu. uk prime minister theresa may will take her proposalfor a brexit deal to a summit in

brussels on wednesday. but there's been n0 breakthrough at the latest talks with negotiators. the irish border remains a central issue. and in westminster, pressure is mounting on mrs may. our political correspondent vicki young reports. it's crunch time for brexit talks, and time for a flying visit to brussels by the man in charge of the uk's negotiations. dominic raab spentjust over an hour with his opposite number, michel barnier, but there's no deal yet. the foreign secretary said this diplomatic dash was a sign of the effort going into talks. she is battling for britain. this is the crucial stage in the negotiations. we can get there. i believe we will get there. but this is the time to stand rock—solid behind theresa may, to back our prime minister to get the best deal for britain. mr hunt's been hosting foreign ministers at his country residence and, on twitter, compared complex brexit talks to a maze.

and there's still no way through when it comes to the so—called irish backstop, a way to guarantee no hard border between northern ireland and ireland if a suitable trade arrangement isn't in place. theresa may is suggesting a temporary customs union with the eu for the whole uk. conservative brexiteers insist that arrangement has to be clearly time—limited. 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. and the british people are not stupid, we're not stupid. we're not voting for something which is essentially a bridge to nowhere. but if there is a deal, some labour mps are considering backing the government in a parliamentary vote. for more than 18 months, the prime minister has persuaded, cajoled and argued with eu leaders. tonight, monsieur barnier said that despite intense efforts,

key issues were unresolved. this week could be crunch time for theresa may's leadership too. joining me now is jonathan portes, professor of economics at king's college london and senior fellow at the thinktank, "uk in a changing europe". theresa may has the cabinet meeting which is critical followed theresa may has the cabinet meeting which is criticalfollowed by theresa may has the cabinet meeting which is critical followed by the summit which has seen by the uk and brussels as the all—important one on wednesday. what we have seen is mrs may hasn't actually been negotiating with brussels for the last 18 months, she has really been negotiating with her own party and cabinet and what appears to have happened yesterday was that negotiators, the prime minister's chief negotiator, and the michel barnier team, had come to more less a deal, presumably with mrs may's backing. but yet, she then realised

that her and sent dominik rahman to brussels to take it off the table —— dominic raab. there has been reaction, not surprisingly, if you can't put yourself in a position you can't put yourself in a position you ca n follow can't put yourself in a position you can follow through on, we are going to stop talking. there are no talks planned between now and the summit on wednesday which means it is pretty difficult to see that at best anything more can come out of it. there are some warm words and a pledge to have another go at talking. at worst, we could be stuck ina talking. at worst, we could be stuck in a stalemate for sometime. you say stuck in a stalemate but some are 110w stuck in a stalemate but some are now wondering about to reason make at her position at downing street because jeremy hunt saying that we must stand rocksolid behind the pm —— theresa may. the murmurings and various politicians talking to the newspapers, they are saying that actually that is not their position

110w. actually that is not their position now. you are right. especially her own cabinet are not standing rocksolid behind her let alone the rest of her party. that's why she has two weeks to deliver a deal. she still has one great advantage which is none of the other candidates nor, more importantly, the alternative plan that they have come up with, are either treble as a deal with brussels or can be supported by a majority in parliament. at the moment, if not entirely clear what the alternative is and what isn't pulling back some cabinet ministers is the knowledge that doing so would leave us, quite possibly, on the road to no deal and that could be catastrophic economically. at this point, pretty much what everyone recognises as an ideal for the uk economy. we will have more on this

later in the programme. the german chancellor, angela merkel, is expected to meet senior party officials in berlin later to discuss the heavy losses suffered by her bavarian allies in sunday's state election there. projected results based on exit polls suggest the christian social union won with only 35% of the vote, losing their absolute majority. the csu's national coalition partners, the social democrats, saw their vote halved, to 10%. as our correspondent jenny hill explains, many bavarians backed smaller parties instead, including the greens and the anti—immigrant alternative for germany. the csu is almost bavaria itself. it's traditionally a party that's used

to reigning there supreme. it looks to have lost its absolutely majority. interestingly, csu picked several fights with angela merkel over immigration policy. it shifted itself to the right, in terms of rhetoric, over migration and it seems to have backfired. voters have deserted the party in droves and they have gone into the arms of the far right, the afd but, more significantly, into the arms of the green party who are the success story election in bavaria. the reason that this matters and the reason why angela merkel will be watching closely and no doubt with dismay is that what is happening in bavaria mirrors what is happening at the federal level. voters are starting to walk away from their old traditional centre right and centre left parties. i'll be more on this from munich in about ten minutes' time. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. pope francis is apparently hoping to visit north korea next spring to meet kim jong—un, according to south korea's ruling party.

it comes after kim's summit last month with the south korean president moon jae—in, when the north korean leader said he would welcome the pope if he visits pyongyang. president moon plans to deliver the message to the pope when he visits the vatican later this week. tropical storm leslie has hit barcelona and the catalan region, bringing with it strong winds and heavy rain which is expected to last into tuesday morning. emergency services had issued flood warnings for the north and northwest of the country and advised everyone to avoid driving in the storm. the duke and duchess of sussex have arrived in australia ahead of their first royal tour as a married couple. prince harry and meghan are in sydney at the start of a 16—day visit to australia, fiji, tonga and new zealand. we have discussed the uk, the

challenges in terms of politics and germany. now let's focus on another key economy in europe that is going head to head with brussels today. italy has on a collision course over its latest budget plan which sees an increase in spending that is not in line with eu regulation. now, all countries within the european union have to submit their proposals today, but only the italians are likely to produce fireworks. with me is stephanie hare, independent analyst. to see you again. —— good to see you again. we have been discussing this. the problems could mount in terms of meeting budget deficit rules, what the eu has planned, that kind of thing. it is weird that we are even still discussing italy because it has been going on since we started talking in 2010, really. this is a

known problem. the question is, really, has italy made any progress? if we were to step back and look over the long—term, what sacrifices have been made? what reforms have been made? they keep it under the 3% gdp rules set by the eu but if they get gdp which isjoe norma is, it is huge, most of that is earned by this -- it is huge, most of that is earned by this —— it is huge. most of it is owned by italy. it is gigabits to fail. that is why italy is constantly at risk. -- that is why italy is constantly at risk. —— it is too big to fail. democracy was playing its part in the meantime and now there is a coalition between the 5—star and the league and they made certain promises in order to be elected. they have been elected and they have independent finance minister who is trying to form a budget that will suit those pre—election promises and

voters' expectations. but also meet budget deficit rules set by the eu and that is difficult. that is one reason why italy is back on the political risk radar. we have seen this movie before. we have seen countries who have governments who we re countries who have governments who were elected and they are trying to craft a policy that will keep them in power and be faithful to their voters but which do not meet the eu needs. how do we gain the planned this out? would we see italy start to have a push to leave the european union? that is the big question and we shall ask that one abbey to later in business briefing. thank you, for now. “— in business briefing. thank you, for now. —— we shall ask that one a bit later. saudi arabia is coming under increasing pressure — with the uk, france and germany all urging it to properly investigate the disappearance of the dissident journalist jamal khashoggi. in a joint statement the three countries say they want those responsible held to account. the journalist went missing

after visiting the saudi consulate in istanbul, but the saudis have denied allegations that he was murdered there. the bankerjamie dimon, ofjp morgan, and bill ford, chairman of the carmaker, are the latest business leaders to withdraw from an investment conference in riyadh later this month, over the khashoggi case. our diplomatic affairs correspondent paul adams reports. almost two weeks on and still no answers about what happened behind these walls. did a man die here, and was it all recorded? saudi arabia's allies are increasingly impatient, hence today's joint statement demanding answers. germany, the united kingdom and france, it says, are treating this incident with the utmost seriousness. there needs to be a credible investigation to identify those baring responsibility for the disappearance ofjamal khashoggi and ensure that they are held to account. it has been 12 days since he

disappeared. most officials here at the foreign office already feared the worst. the hope is that by issuing this highly unusual joint statement, britain, france and germany can persuade saudi arabia, finally, to tell us what they know. but will that happen? in its own statement, saudi arabia dismissed what it called a campaign of false allegations. and it issued a warning of its own... that sounded like a thinly—veiled threat to wield oil as a weapon. the saudi embassy in washington struck a more conciliatory note, thanking governments for not jumping to conclusions. but from an alleged murder in istanbul to a war seemingly without ending yemen, saudi arabia's role on the world stage is now under the harshest spotlight. paul adams, bbc news.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: no more fish in the sea — how shortages in south africa mean these penguins need protecting. parts of san francisco least affected by the earthquake are returning to life. but in the marina area, where most of the damage was done, they're more conscious than ever of how much has been destroyed. in the 19 years since he was last here, he's gone from being a little—known revolutionary to an experienced and successful diplomatic operator. it was a 20lb bomb which exploded on the fifth floor of the grand hotel, ripping a hole in the front of the building. this government will not weaken. democracy will prevail. it fills me with humility and gratitude to know that i have been chosen as the recipient of this foremost of earthly honours. this catholic nation held its breath for the men they call the 33. and then... bells toll

..bells tolled nationwide to announce the first rescue, and chile let out an almighty roar. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: the eu's chief negotiator michel barnier says some key brexit issues are still open after unscheduled talks with his uk counterpart. it comesjust days before eu leaders hold a crucial summit. regional elections in the german state of bavaria have led to a historic upset for chancellor merkel‘s allies there. she's due to meet party leaders later to discuss the result. let's stay with that now. joining me from munich

is jeannette winter from the bavarian state broadcaster. welcome to the programme. let's have your take on this result that we have seen emerge overnight. what does that mean from your perspective? i think it means there are two big winners. one is the green party in germany which scored an enormously, 17.5%. secondly the far right, altavista deutschland came in fourth place. and the two big losers are the great coalition in germany. the conservative party of angela merkel and the democrats. so why is did they have this outcome, in your view? society has changed. you cannot tell who is voting to whom easily but mainly the

big parties, the former big parties have made too many big mistakes. they could not solve problems such as education, the diesel crisis in berlin, affordable housing and there have been bickering about migration issues. so what do you think will happen next and to what extent it is angela merkel weakened by the result? she is weakened. that the social democrats in berlin are also weakened. i think what will happen... we will no longer have a single party government in bavaria the 80 -- single party government in bavaria the 80 —— however we will have a conservative coalition. the fate of some politicians is at stake. the social democrats leader who was not terribly talkative yesterday, she had problems. secondly voices from

bavaria have all the make urged —— voices from bavaria have urged the interior minister to think about the future. and there may be hard times ahead. thank you for that perspective. we shall keep a close eye here on the briefing. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, i'm tulsen tollett. coming up in your monday sport briefing: spain host england in the uefa nations league later, major league baseball's post season continues. and novak djokovic reigns supreme in shanghai. the uefa nations league continues on monday as spain host england in seville in league a — group 4. england lost the home fixture 2—1 at wembley stadium last month and spain have won both their opening fixtures, including a 6—0 win over croatia.

england played out a goalless draw with croatia last week in front of an empty stadium and their manager gareth southgate is hoping his young players continue to improve. i don't understand why our league started so early, but they did, in every phase of the game you are looking at how you can improve —— improve. and with this team and their age, individually improve. and with this team and theirage, individually we improve. and with this team and their age, individually we are looking at the things they can get better at. collectively, as a team there are always things to work on. game three of the national league championship series between the los angeles dodgers and milwaukee brewers will be played in california later on monday. justin turner hit a 2—run homer in the 8th inning to seal victory in game 2 on saturday and level the series at one each much to the pleasure of the dodgers manager. obviously every day starting picture

—— pitcher is the most important person. that if you are talking about the grind and the tough conversation, the identity, he is probably..., you conversation, the identity, he is probably... , you know, conversation, the identity, he is probably..., you know, the face. in case you missed it, novak djokovic won the shanghai masters for the fourth time on sunday beating borna coric in straight sets. the 31—year—old serb who's now won 18 consecutive matches will move to world number 2 when the new rankings are released and still has a chance of finishing top of the rankings at the end of the season. iam planning i am planning to play now in paris and london. maybe another tournament before that, maybe not. but the game is working really well. ending a year as number one will be the biggest achievement of this year. eddie pepperell won his second european tour title with a two—shot victory

at the british masters on sunday the victory takes pepperell into the world's top 35 and almost certainly secures him a first appearance at augusta in 2019 with the top 50 at the end of the year guaranteed a place in the first major of the year in april and his parents were on hand to celebrate the win. in south korea, home favourite in—gee chun shot a stunning final round 6 under 66 to win her first lpga title in more than two years at the hana bank championship. the 24—year—old fired seven birdies and one bogey in the final round to finish three strokes ahead of england's charley hull. staying with the lpga tour in south korea, spectators on a golf course are well used to watching for balls flying over their heads — but this time, it was the local wildlife they had to worry about. as a deer took off across the fairway and then the green — it wasn't for hanging around.

having failed to find the exit then leapt over the cordon and the crowds, somehow managing to escape unscathed. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me, tulsen tollett, and the rest of the team that is your monday sport briefing the african penguin population is rapidly declining. conservationsists say their habitat is being hit by rising tides caused by climate change. now campaigners are looking at new ways to protect the birds. eliza philippidis reports. boulders beach, home of one of the 28 african penguin habitats. this birds can only be found in south africa and namibia but their survival is under threat and one of the reasons is there is not enough fish in the sea. the african penguin have to swim further to find their food where in the past this wasn't the case.

we suspect this could be from commercial trawling or over exploitation of the food sources of the african penguin. in just three years the number of breeding pairs has dropped by a fifth. here at boulders beach in simon's town, the rangers are encouraging the penguins to use artificial nest boxes, hoping to increase their chances of breeding successfully. this colony is the only place in the world where people can swim freely with these endangered wild birds. as a result, they get millions of visitors every year. it's really amazing to see them there. i didn't think i'd get this close. i really think it's very important that we do everything that we can to preserve these wonderful animals. stabilising the population

and increasing penguin numbers is a priority here. the aim, that children can see the african penguin in the world. we have more to come including the news briefing where we will look at detail —— in detail at this story. a pilot scheme in the uk we're at postman may halt their round to speak to isolated people and doctors are encouraged to prescribe group activities in order to try and tackle the problem of loneliness and isolation that could then lead to further health problems. we are asking for your thoughts on how we can fix this and we will discuss those suggestions in the next 30 minutes.

you will be pleased to hear there are no storms and the forecast for the week ahead but we will not get 26 degrees either. the heaviest rain will be on monday. the wet weather now pushes its way towards the south—west of england, south—east wales some heavy rain across central and southern england through the midlands, heading a bit further north into yorkshire and lincolnshire. missing the worst of the rain and seeing the late sunshine in the south—east. sunny skies will be north and particularly in scotland and north island. that is the weather brings the rain on monday. similar uncertainties about where the rain will stop exactly but it isa where the rain will stop exactly but it is a weak front on tuesday and another one coming from the atlantic. we are left with more of a band of cloud, mist and patchy fog, as the breeze picks up it should break the cloud. the weather front

brings rain across scotland and northern ireland into the rsc followed by showers. windy weather in the far north—west. because it is a south—westerly for most part of the countries it should be a little warmer it. strongly in close to that area of low pressure which is driving that weather front towards england and wales that it looks like it. give them did look like it was going to be across the south—east and east anglia but it may be down towards the wash. a little rain and drizzle on that. behind that, and in many other parts of the uk, enjoying a nice day. sunshine around and a few showers. once again, to temperatures 13, 17 degrees. little better than average for this time of year. equals down overnight because we have high pressure building in on the south—west that there is cool aircoming around the the south—west that there is cool air coming around the top of that. you may have tempered as close to freezing in rural areas on thursday. still some residual cloud left over in the misty for a while. and a whole, thursday does look like a nice day, with sunshine and light wind and the temperature not bad for

this time of year. perhaps a little lower after a chilly start on thursday. i pressure as we head towards the end of the week. toppling into that, whether systems from the atlantic. most of the rain will be in the morning heading into scotla nd will be in the morning heading into scotland and northern ireland and that weather front will weaken as it topples down, reaching the finals of england and north wales the south and east are that there may be fist and east are that there may be fist and fog in the morning. it brighten up and fog in the morning. it brighten up with sunshine and decent averages for this time of year. this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. italy is on a collision course with brussels over it's planned spending spree, but rome says it won't back down on costly election promises. equality in the digital revolution. melinda gates tells the bbc governments need to be prepared and make sure their people are not left behind. a brand—new trading week kicks off on a bad note in asia, with all the main share markets headed lower despite the small bounce seen on wall street on friday.