this is bbc news. i'm carol walker. the headlines at 11pm: theresa may has told mps she believes a deal with the eu is achievable despite differences over how to handle the irish border. we cannot let this disagreement derail the prospects of a good deal, and leave us with the no deal outcome that no—one wants. following the disappearance of a saudi journalist in turkey, the diplomatic pressure increases on the saudi leaders to explain what's happened to him. meghan and harry will become parents in the spring. the royal couple announce they're expecting their first child. you can see live pictures of the happy couple in sydney being welcomed by the governor and dignitaries. and at 11:30pm, we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers, author and journalist owen bennett, and economic adviser with the arbuthnot banking group ruth lea. commentator: it's another one for

sterling, no offside. and in tonight's football, england stunned spain with victory in the nations league. good evening. just two days before the crucial eu summit in brussels, the prime minister has insisted that a brexit deal is still achieveable. the sticking point remains the future of the irish border. the president of the european council, donald tusk, has told fellow leaders they should not give up on the process, but that the eu should also prepare for the possibility of a no—deal brexit. he said that was now more likely than even before. political editor laura

keunssberg has the latest. my tea—making's not too bad... making deals, not cups of tea, are what counts right now. looks like you've been making quite a few cups of tea. brexit talks broke up yesterday with no agreement. the prime minister dropped into a project that helps those feeling lonely today. she must know what that feels like, with foes, not friends, around her. reporter: is there any way out, prime minister? there has been progress, but as she went to tell mps, negotiations faltered again over the irish border. this is the time for cool, calm heads to prevail, and it's the time... and it is the time for a clear—eyed focus on the few remaining but critical issues that are still to be agreed. we cannot let this disagreement derail the prospect of a good deal and leave us with a no—deal outcome that no—one wants. i continue to believe that a negotiated deal is the best outcome for the uk and for the european union. i continue to believe that such a deal is achievable.

the prime minister, mr speaker, faces a simple and inescapable choice. be buffeted this way and that way by the chaos of her own party, or back a deal that could win the support of parliament and the people of this country. eight times she was asked about a time limit to her proposal for the so—called irish backstop. eight times, answer came there none. eu leaders all worry about it. the plan to avoid a hard border in ireland if a big trade deal can't be reached. the prime minister and her counterparts agree that the uk could stick to the same customs rules as the continent. but the eu is so far refusing to allow the uk to put a hard deadline on that. the president of the eu council, donald tusk, says that has made a no deal more likely than ever. there was precious little support for the prime minister in there.

this place is alive with what ifs. what if there can't be a compromise on ireland? what if a deal can't be done? what if a deal that's done then can't make it through parliament? there are plenty of people around with answers for theresa may. perhaps none of which she really wants to hear. the leader of sinn fein in westminster telling the prime minister she must do whatever it takes to avoid a hard border. the consequences of getting it wrong for ireland are far too serious. and any responsible person in british politics, and in particular the british prime minister, has to understand that. northern ireland's unionists put the blame the other way. we need to see that the whole of the united kingdom leaves the european union together, and there aren't any differences made between northern ireland or any other parts of the united kingdom. and that's what it all means. and the snp with its own set of instructions for number ten.

it is probably the case that the only option with any chance of commanding a parliamentary majority is single market and customs union membership. it actually might well be the only option which is not completely impossible at this stage. and tory brexiteers, who are pushing her to ditch her policy, have this persistent warning. the cabinet have been treated a bit like mushrooms, to use an old army expression. they have been kept consistently in the dark, and fed something unpleasant. so, now i think is the time for the cabinet to take the opportunity to assert itself on behalf of the british people who voted to leave the european union. it's an open question as to whether the cabinet will come in behind the prime minister. they'll meet tomorrow. more than a handful have fears about her plans. with unhappy friends, it's notjust her enemies theresa may needs to bear in mind. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. well, after the uk leaves

the european union, northern ireland will be the only part of the uk with a land border the eu and how that will work has been one of the toughest problems to solve in a way that satisfies all sides. chris morris from the bbc‘s reality check team has been looking at why it has proved so difficult. the brexit debate has an awful lot to do with lines on the map. and what negotiators call the backstop is a guarantee that after brexit, there will be no hard border, no new border checks, between the republic of ireland in the eu, and northern ireland in the uk, under all circumstances. keeping the border open is a crucial part of the northern ireland peace process. and both sides hope a new trade agreement can keep everything running as smoothly as it does now. but if they can't do that deal, or it's not ready in time, the backstop would kick in automatically.

the current dispute is over what exactly the legal text of this backstop should say. to begin with, the eu suggested northern ireland would have to stay in the customs union, so no customs checks, and in most parts of the single market. the aim, to avoid any checks at the irish land border. not acceptable, said the uk. that would, in effect, split up the country. so a compromise has been worked on that focuses broadly on two things — northern ireland would be treated differently from the rest of the uk for a while in terms of single market regulations. that means there would be some checks within the uk between great britain and northern ireland on things like product standards, and certainly on food and animals. but the government's allies in northern ireland, the dup, really don't like that. secondly, notjust northern ireland but the whole of the uk would remain in a temporary customs

union, or arrangement, with the eu. many tory mps really don't like that because it wouldn't allow the uk to strike new trade deals around the world. they want any temporary arrangement to have a precise end date, otherwise it could drift on for years. but the eu reject that, arguing that if there is a precise end date, then it's not a guarantee or a backstop under all circumstances. so there's deadlock and something will have to give because with no backstop deal, there'd be no withdrawal agreement. and there'd be no transition period after brexit. something which is supposed to give both sides some time to try to sort out all the complexities of their future relationship. chris morris, bbc news. president trump has suggested that rogue killers in the past few minutes the former brexit minister steve baker told newsnight what mrs may needs to do to get mps like him to back her on a deal. you could see in the commons, there's no support for the deal...

the pro, proposals, chequers proposals, anywhere in the house so there's a grisly job proposals, anywhere in the house so there's a grislyjob to be done here. even the cabinet tomorrow need change the prime minister's mind, or it's clear if they chequers base the deal comes back it will be voted down. more on this from bernard purcell, managing editor of the irish world newspaper. thanks for coming in this evening. we heard a pretty hostile reaction to what the prime minister had to save from steve baker, she had a pretty ha rd save from steve baker, she had a pretty hard time in the commons, how's it going down in dublin? leo varadkar, the taoiseach, was quite conciliatory today. if you ask how it's going down, most are people think britain is having a collective bout of madness driven by english nationalism. he's given up explaining logically and rationally why its interests are set of by being in one of the biggest markets in the world. it's moved beyond that

when you hear the likes of boris johnson and jacob rees—mogg, whose solution for the border is island should rejoin the united kingdom. that's the point when people put up their hands in despair. the arshid foreign minister and deputy foreign minister —— deputy prime minister said in luxembourg today that britain needs to honour the commitment that it entered into with britain last december and in march when the dup rejected it. leo varadkar said when he spoke to theresa may on sunday, the accept this and he believes britain recognises the potential catastrophe that would face it economically if it crashed out of the eu with no deal. island really wants northern ireland, and or northern ireland and the rest of the uk, to remain in a form of customs union so as to ensure that there is no hard border there. island doesn't want to stop brexit, ireland is resigned to brexit. before it happened it

thought, 0k, we might be able to persuade people to see the sense in staying. northern ireland is a contradiction because the dui t, the party calling the shots in this seemingly, is the only northern ireland party that supported brexit -- dup. the ireland party that supported brexit —— dup. the vast majority of northern irish voters wanted to remain but the dup is calling the shots because of the commons arithmetic. it's pretty clear, and it was clear in the commons today, that theresa may simply will not be able to get past her own party, let alone the wider parliament. this idea of some kind of permanent customs union foi either northern ireland or northern ireland and the rest of the uk. you're very experienced, you've been to brussels over the years, it's basically a compromised machine, it works on finding agreement 2a hours a day and has been doing it for years. it has roots in coming out of global conflict, it actively seeks compromise. it likes brinkmanship, it always paints a catastrophic

picture at the 11th hour, fisheries talks, trade deals and so you need to be aware of that. it makes it easierfor the to be aware of that. it makes it easier for the particular country to sell it as a concession if that politician's own domestic market —— to that. there is concern about theresa may's ability to deliver but people in europe can actually read and understand everything that's happening here. they know the mathematics in the commons, they know there are far more mps who would support a deal at the end of the day than the rather noisy conservative research group. nonetheless, donald tusk said he felt a no—deal brexit was now more likely than ever, how much concern is there in ireland about the prospect of that? the concern in northern ireland is again focused on job about the concern in ireland among irish people, an irish people in this country, of whom there are many, as well as those in ireland, the wanton destruction and destruction of a hardfought piece.

there's a normalisation across the island. people don't want to wrap a flag around themselves, they want to go about their business on either side of the border. they don't want it to just wrecked for some kind of ideology. they want trade and they wa nt ideology. they want trade and they want normal life to continue. the prime minister has repeatedly said she doesn't want a hard border, that she doesn't want a hard border, that she won't impose one, ireland doesn't want one either, surely even if there no deal, a way perhaps will have to be found around this using the technology theresa may has talked about? well, the technology doesn't exist, let's be frank about that. it is somewhere in the future. if you take any small part along the border, you'll find it traverses both territories, bothjurisdictions multiple times and in practical terms, it would be a bit of a nightmare. northern ireland has a 25,000 strong civil nightmare. northern ireland has a 25, 000 strong civil servants nightmare. northern ireland has a 25,000 strong civil servants that is practically useless, which we've seen practically useless, which we've seen over practically useless, which we've seen over the years, they haven't

come up with a solution to this yet. -- civil come up with a solution to this yet. —— civil servants. bernard purcell, thank you so much for speaking to us this evening. —— civil service. let's go to sydney because we have been getting pictures of harry and meghan out and about. just tells a bit more about the visitors being going, hywel griffith. they have told the australian public that they are expecting a child first. the focus has been on meghan and the pregnancy. at admiralty house with the governor—general was the first glimpse the public has had of them. one of the big burning questions in

australia is whether they will cuddle a koala bear. they will go to the zoo and undoubtedly encounter some australian wildlife. because she is pregnant, will she be allowed ? she is pregnant, will she be allowed? these are the big question is the australian public want answered. very little sign of a baby bump but we understand there were some concerns about whether this store should go ahead because of the concerns about the zika virus. the news of her being pregnant hasn't been confirmed until they landed here, it's a long haulflight. when you look at the itinerary over the coming days, prince harry and the prime minister will be climbing the bridge behind me. meghan may not be doing that, due to the fact that a pregnant woman shouldn't probably be climbing sydney harbour bridge but as much as we can tell, the atmosphere is relaxed, there are no extra precautions around the visit and there are plenty of

opportunities for them to meet members of the public. some people like queueing by the opera house in order to do that. they are pretty popular here and as long as they can stick to that idea of meeting people and getting down among the australian public, that popularity will remain. you mentioned that the question as to whether she was going to cuddle a koala bear. we saw her briefly with a cuddly kangaroo. interesting that there are crowds out there looking out for the royal couple, despite the fact that polls repeatedly show there is a majority there in australia who have had enough of being ruled by a monarchy. to some degree, we need to disconnect the two things. the popularity of particularly the young royals, meghan and harry, their celebrity status, that does not mean

people want a monarchy long—term. the ratings for the royal weddings we re the ratings for the royal weddings were huge but there are many who do not want a monarchy and to be governed by an institution 10,000 miles away long—term so the former prime minister malcolm turnbull said everybody here is an elizabethan. when it comes to succession, the question will inevitably rise again and it might be evenly balanced in the polling but that is a question for another day, people are pleased for another day, people are pleased for harry and meghan and they want to see them enjoying themselves, they want them to see visiting —— they want them to see visiting —— they want them to see visiting —— they want to see them visiting areas hit by drought. that question has not been raised in the run—up to this visit. many thanks forjoining us this visit. many thanks forjoining us this evening. theresa may has told mps she believes a deal with the eu is achievable despite differences over how to handle the irish border. following the disappearance of a saudi journalist in turkey, the diplomatic pressure increases on the saudi leaders to explain what's happened to him. and meghan and harry will become

parents in the spring. the royal couple announce they're expecting their first child. president trump has suggested that rogue killers could be responsible for the disappearance of the saudi journalist jamal khashoggi, who went missing after entering the saudi consulate in istanbul two weeks ago. mr trump is sending secretary of state mike pompeo to saudi arabia to ask questions, and afterwards, mr pompeo will stop in istanbul, where a joint search by turkish and saudi officials of the consulate in istanbul took place earlier today. correspondent mark lowen reports from istanbul. they entered the door where jamal khashoggi disappeared. those tasked with finding the truth. saudi investigators, part of a joint enquiry

with turkey, beginning today. it's almost two weeks since the journalist was last seen arriving at the saudi consulate. claims he was killed and dismembered have piled pressure on riyadh for answers. donald trump has finally spoken to his close ally, king salman, who rejected the allegations, and maybe raised an idea that can shift the blame. the king firmly denied any knowledge of it. he didn't really know. maybe... i don't want to get into his mind, but it sounded to me like maybe these could have been rogue killers. who knows? we're going to try getting to the bottom of it very soon. the secretary of state, mike pompeo, is off to riyadh in a sign the us is engaging more. though washington says arms deals between the two won't end. tonight, turkish police arrived at the consulate tojoin the saudi team. riyadh is starting its own investigation too, worried as foreign businesses

rethink their ties. after all their blanket denials, the saudis are being pushed into a corner by a growing international outrage. their allies are demanding answers and big companies are pulling out of the riyadh investment conference. the saudis are being forced to co—operate, to limit what is becoming a pr crisis. but on saudi tv, the line is to hit out. one analyst calling it fake news by enemies of the country that must pay a price. a murder enquiry site, yes, but the saudis still chose to call in the cleaners before investigators arrived. it makes you wonder how much here is for show, and if this dark story will ever be solved. mark lowen, bbc news, istanbul. the prime minister has briefed mps

in the commons about brexit. we can speak to our correspondence. lots of great concern is expressed in the commons. we know some of those ministers who are happy about the prime minister ‘s approach have been having a little chat over pizza tonight. they have indeed. lots of meetings going on at the moment to discuss various strategies to try and force the prime minister ‘s hand. some of her ministers, we know, are concerned about the idea that a backstop arrangement wouldn't have a strict time limit, wouldn't have a strict time limit, wouldn't have a strict time limit, wouldn't have a date in which the uk definitely leaves. each of them have been chatting over pizza tonight about that policy. about what they wa nt about that policy. about what they want from it. and amongst those

present, andrea leadsom, the minister who hosted the meeting, dominic raab, jeremy hunt, michael gove, the environment secretary, and i'm told the meeting was productive and positive, the discussions about negotiations with the commission but no real conclusion tonight. some of those present are playing down the idea that there could be any resignations tomorrow as the cabinet meets to discuss this proposal but just a sign of some of the tensions but also the concerns and the different opinions at the very top levels on what the prime minister is proposing. indeed, that cabinet meeting tomorrow could be quite tricky if these ministers really ratchet up the pressure on theresa may to stand their ground. and potentially go into a very bruising eu summit the following day. the

last thing theresa may wants is for there to be more of a public polec tomorrow before she has to go and persuade her eu counterparts, eu leaders at the summit, that she has a workable proposal on the table. i suspect she will have to stick up to that proposal in cabinet tomorrow because there are some who will be around that table who aren't com pletely co mforta ble around that table who aren't completely comfortable with the fact that the prime minister was asked eight times today there would be a definite date at which the uk would stop using the eu's custom rules, she said there was an expectation that would happen by 2021. so yes, the prime minister will have to come out batting and she has done so many times what she is proposing tomorrow. she will face some tough questions from her ministers. the big question will be whether the cabinet any cabinet members come out publicly some of those criticisms or

whether they stay behind closed doors for now and give the prime minister the space to go to brussels on wednesday and thursday. and get something from eu leaders. many thanks for the latest from westminster. violent rainstorms in south—west france have claimed the lives of at least 10 people. flash floods swamped a number of towns and villages around the city of carcassonne. an elderly nun was swept away as the force of the rising water smashed through a convent. officials say the equivalent of three months' rain fell in just a few hours. the united arab emirates says it is to put a 31—year—old british phd student on trial for spying. matthew hedges, was researching the uae‘s foreign and internal security policies after the 2011 arab spring revolutions. mr hedges denies any wrong doing but has been in prison since being detained at dubai airport in may. his wife says he's been held in solitary confinement and only

granted two consular visits. the house of commons has allowed a culture to develop in which bullying and harassment of staff has been able to thrive according to a new report. (oov) the inquiry — which was commissioned after a bbc investigation earlier this year — referred to ‘urgent and serious problems' in procedures for dealing with complaints and said cultural change was needed to restore the confidence of staff. the co—founder of microsoft — paul allen has died at the age of 65. mr allen, who founded the company in 1975 alongside bill gates — died from complications of non—hodgkin's lymphoma in seattle, according to his family. in a statement, they also add: "today we mourn our boss, mentor and friend whose 65 years were too short — and acknowledge the honor it has been to work alongside someone whose life transformed the world. energy firm cuadrilla has resumed the process of fracking

for shale gas in lancashire. it's the first time it has taken place in the uk since 2011 when the process was linked to two small earthquakes near blackpool. the controversial work involves pumping liquid underground at high pressure to fracture rocks and release natural gas. dozens of protestors gathered near the site as the work got underway today, as correspondent danny savage reports. waving placards, embedding arms into lumps of concrete. refusing to come down from scaffolding on top of a van, which they chained themselves to. the fracking may have started again but the protests have not stopped. we have to stop using fossil fuels and we need to stop now. i am an old granny, right, but i have to be here because it is going to affect our grandchildren and we have to stop it. pamela sloane taught geography locally for more than a0 years

and has spent many days here. kids in lancashire are now adults and they know that global warming, climate change is real and this is part of it and we've got to keep these fossil fuels in the ground. within this site, deep underground, drilling and pumping for gas is now under way. fracking here involves drilling first vertically, then, for the first time in the uk, horizontally. water, sand and chemicals are pumped at high pressure into shale rock, which has gas trapped inside it. when the rock fractures, gas is released and brought to the surface. the company involved says the method is safe and extracting gas is important for our future energy needs. growth in renewables has been welcome but it has been confined to the electricity sector and we still use pretty much

gas for all of our heating. so, if people want to heat their homes, and a lot of people cook their food with gas, we're going to need it for many decades to come. fracking was pioneered in the united states where it accounts for two thirds of gas production. energy prices have fallen there as a result. the protests here continue against what the fracking company say is the exploratory phase of their work here. any gas found will have to be tested and if cuadrilla, the company that runs this site, want to carry on, there will be more permissions and more licenses. after two minor earthquakes in lancashire seven years ago were linked to fracking, the work here will be closely monitored. if it's viable, the industry has its eye on plenty of other locations. expect protests there, too. danny savage, bbc news, lancashire. and we'll be taking an in—depth look at the papers with our reviewers author and journalist owen bennett and economic adviser with the arbuthnot banking group ruth lea — that's coming up after the headlines at 11:30. i'm sure many of you will be

relieved to two here we have a quiet week ahead with no name stores. —— relieved to hear. ex—hurricane micro over iberia. another area of low pressure affecting our weather —— michael. strong to gale force winds in the north—west of scotland. nothing unusual about that. we have this narrowing band of rain, shouldn't amount to too much. ahmedov it's a misty, grey weather, skies will brighten —— ahead of it a misty. pretty warm in the south—east. kemps back up to 22 or 23. for most, with the southerly breeze, a bit warmer on tuesday —— temperatures. that's the peak of the heat. we've got that band of cloud and a bit of rain on it that

continues to drift rather aimlessly in to england and wales. either side of that, bit of mist and patchy fog. nothing too cold just yet, there are some colder nights on the way mind you. on wednesday, we're stuck with this band of cloud and a little bit of rain. at the moment it looks like it's going to be grinding to a halt all the way from lincolnshire to the south—west, where will see the most of any south—west, where will see the most ofany rain. south—west, where will see the most of any rain. some patchy mist and fog in the south—east and when the sun comes out, 18. a bit cooler in scotland, northern ireland and northern england but it should be a lovely day here. this is where we have the coomera. high pressure is building from the atlantic, the south—west, the and that clear skies for most of us —— cooler air. not farfrom for most of us —— cooler air. not far from freezing in for most of us —— cooler air. not farfrom freezing in rural areas. not as cold in southern england and east anglia where we've got more cloud. a legacy of the old front