this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top stories: renewed american sanctions on iran's oil industry have just come into effect — there's an angry reaction in tehran. 30 dead and over a billion euros worth of damage — italy counts the cost of a week of extreme weather. the bibles they carried — 100 years after the guns fell silent, we remember the role of religion in the first world war. the clock ticks down to the all—importa nt us midterm elections. samira hussain in new york will tell us how the markets are reacting. and in business briefing we'll be live to shanghai as president xi opens a major trade fair with a promise up to speed up moves to open china up to more imports. a warm welcome to the programme,

briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also in the programme is further education worth it? in the uk the government will review post—18 education and funding to see how it can ensure "value". so we'd like to know what is your experience? are you considering the options for your children? are you still paying off student debt? get in touch — just use the hashtag bbc—the—briefing us sanctions against iran have just been reimposed, as part of what president donald trump calls a policy of maximum pressure. the measures, targeting iran's oil and banking industries, come after mr trump decided earlier this year to pull out of the international nuclear deal with iran.

many iranians took to the streets on sunday to denounce the sanctions, as caroline rigby reports. they chanted, "death to america", and mocked president trump. thousands gathered in iran to mark the 39th anniversary of the storming of the us embassy in tehran. such protests happen every year, but this time the bitterness was particularly evident. hardliners rallying too against the reinstatement of devastating us economic sanctions, following president trump's decision to withdraw from the iranian nuclear deal. a move met with disdain by many but one donald trump sees as among the greatest achievements of his presidency so far. the iran sanctions are very strong. they are the strongest sanctions we have ever imposed, and we will see what happens with iran but they are not doing very well, i can tell you. iran is not doing very well. it is a big difference since i have been in office.

the measures are far—reaching. they'll target key pillars of the iranian economy, from the oil industry, to shipping and the banking sector, with more than 700 individual entities, vessels and aircraft put on the sanctions list. though eight major importers of iranian oil, likely to include india and japan, have been granted temporary wavers. america hopes the move will force iran to end its nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes, and reduce its involvement in proxy wars across the middle east. the trump administration says it wants a new, more comprehensive agreement with tehran. but, as the top commander of the revolutionary guards promised on sunday to resist the sanctions, there appears little likelihood of iran returning to the negotiating table any time soon. caroline rigby, bbc news. we will have more on that to look at

the economic briefing and the oil market. flooding has killed a dozen people on the italian island of sicily over the weekend, as the whole country struggles with the aftermath of a week of extreme weather. that brings the total number of deaths to above 30, according to rescuers. heavy rain and wind has hit several regions, causing extensive damage. the government has promised there will be enough money for the cleanup. kathryn armstrong reports. on a tour of destruction — italy's deputy prime minister, matteo salvini, on sunday surveying the aftermath of violent storms that battered the northern veneto region. the wind here was so strong that it snapped thousands of trees like match sticks. it's thought fixing all the damage done to the region will cost at leasti billion euros. a week of extreme weather has left a trail of devastation across the country. from the piedmont region in the north, to sicily in the south. many of these places are still under alert. several people died in weather—related incidents

in sicily over the weekend, including members of two families, wiped out when a river burst its banks. nine people were killed. from children aged 1, 3, and 15, to their grandparents. translation: all of a sudden i saw all the windows darken, and i took the car keys to try to get out, but the window exploded and the wall fell down. i could not see anything any more, because the light had gone off. and i found myself in the water. i swalled some of that water. i grabbed a tree. and i stayed for two hours, screaming, "help, help. " a policeman helped me to come down. officials have opened an investigation to determine whether houses built near the river had complied with safety regulations. during a visit to sicily on sunday, prime minister giuseppe conte said a cabinet meeting would be organised later in the week to declare a state of emergency where it's needed and sought out a reconstruction package. matteo salvini said 250 million euros had already been earmarked for relief.

he added the government would be asking to use special eu relief funds and that he hoped his plans will not provoke complaints of overspending from brussels, which has objected to the country's proposed budget due to claims it would worsen italy's debt. political barbs aside, the focus now is on getting those in the affected areas back on theirfeet, after a week they are unlikely to forget. kathryn armstrong, bbc news. so when disaster strikes, how does reconstruction take place? jonathan charles, director of communications, european bank for reconstruction and developmentjoins us now. this is what you do. not in italy but in many countries. brussels had questioned its budget and now this will require more money. italy is prone to flooding, especially in the

north. italy abbas budget is definitely under pressure and now the italian government is really at loggerheads with brussels because it wa nts to loggerheads with brussels because it wants to spend more. it wants to borrow money, spend more on what brussels as saying, as we know, that is at odds with membership of the single currency and it would be too much. italy has huge accumulated debt. the deputy prime minister is saying it we think what we're doing is right by the way, the rest of europe should do the same. but a country hosted cleanup and rebuild. you have to remember, this is an economy which has had ten years of lack of growth. many young people have left the country to look for jobs elsewhere. huge criticism in italy about the lack of investment

in infrastructure. the collapse of the bridge and other events...” have been to italy for work and pleasure and you see the lack of spending. italy is in desperate need of spending but it has huge accumulated debt, up i30% of gdp. what happens if there is an economic downturn? where will it find the firepower if it spent now. brussels may not find italy but the international financial markets will ta ke international financial markets will take its toll with the increase in costs. what the deputy minister is saying is we are committed to the euro so saying is we are committed to the euro so keep costs down. they are trying to massaged that. think if now. jonathan will be back for the news briefing. we also want your views on further education.

let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: a search operation for a lion air plane that went down, in waters off western indonesia, has been prolonged for three days. authorities still haven't found the cockpit voice recorder, the second of the jet‘s two black boxes. south korea has resumed small—scale military exercises with united states forces, some five months after they were suspended to help bring about detente with north korea. meanwhile us secretary of state mike pompeo says he will meet his north korean counterpart to revive nuclear negotiations. the president of ukraine has promised to bring to justice those responsible for the death of the anti—corruption activist, kateryna handzyuk, who died on sunday, three months after having acid poured over her. the eu has condemned the killing of the 33—year—old —

the latest anti—corruption activist in ukraine to be murdered. the french prime minister, edouard philippe, has arrived in new caledonia for talks with local politicians in the wake of sunday's independence referendum. the pacific island, near australia, has belonged to france for more than 150 years, and 56% of those who took part in the referendum voted against independence. indigenous kanaks make up some 39% of the population. observers say even some kanaks back staying part of france. live now to sydney and the bbc‘s phil mercer. wasn't this outcome expected?m wasn't this outcome expected? if you believe the opinion polls, it was. the polls or were pretty accurate at

the. 56% of voters in new caledonia deciding the status quo is where they wanted to be. pro independence groups, including members of kanaks, have energised this campaign. the rock provisions under a peace accord signed a few decades ago to give the people of new caledonia a referendum in 2020 and 2022. in orderfor people of new caledonia a referendum in 2020 and 2022. in order for that to happen, the local assembly needs to happen, the local assembly needs to give its approval so this issue still very much alive. the french president says this shows confidence in the french republican. it was peaceful but they were some reports of unhappiness? they were reports of

a major highway barricaded with a burning tyres and cars. nearest suburb called saint louis. there have been confrontation with police in the past in that particular part of new caledonia. we do not get the sense that it is widespread. during the vote on sunday, it was pretty peaceful. the french had deployed gendarmes but apart from that isolated event near the capital, they do not seem to have been needed. all in all i would say in the vote has gone off very well. thank you. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: everything is coming up roses forjustin again — he reclaims the world number one spot in golf after victory in turkey. the israeli prime minister, yitzhak rabin,

the architect of the middle east peace process, has been assassinated. a 27—year—old jewish man has been arrested and an extremistjewish organisation has claimed responsibility for the killing. at polling booths throughout the country, they voted on a historic day for australia. as the results came in, it was clear — the monarchy would survive. of the american hostages, there was no sign. they are being held somewhere inside the compound and student leaders have threated that should the americans attempt rescue, they will all die. this mission has surpassed all expectations. voyager one is now the most distant man—made object anywhere in the universe, and itjust seems to keep on going. tonight, we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of ourarms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals. you're watching the briefing.

0ur headlines: us sanctions on iranian oil have come into force. the trump administration says wants to halt what it calls teheran‘s destructive activities in the middle east. a week of extreme weather in italy has killed at least 30 people and caused an estimated i billion euros in damage to property and infrastructure. we're just a day away from the mid—term elections, where us voters will be electing all members of the house of representatives and 35 members of the senate. the outcome is farfrom certain, but one thing is clear, there is a record number of female candidates standing for office. ros atkins has been looking into this in our virtual congress. whatever happens, this election will

be remembered for one thing, a surge in female candidates. 202 do women are on the ballot for house or senate races, that's an all—time record. list take a closer look at this, 84 women currently serve in the house, that's the highest number in history but it's less than of all presented as. this year, 239 women are running. of those, three quarters are democrats. let's look at the senate. this year 23 women are running. 35 are up for election. women represent a third of all candidates for the senate. of those running my 50 are democrats, eight republicans. these are just the people that are running, all of this won't necessarily translate to record numbers of female representatives in either chamber of congress. let's look at the last time record—breaking numbers of women entered the house of representatives. in 1992, more women

we re representatives. in 1992, more women were elected than ever before. 24 new female representatives entered the lower house. why? many point to the lower house. why? many point to the controversial appointment of clarence thomas as a supreme court judge in 1991. he'd been accused of sexual harassment, but after testimony by thomas, and his accuser, anita hill, the senate narrowly confirmed him. that decision was seen as a galvanising force for many women to go out and vote for the male candidates. this year, history in some ways has in some ways repeated itself with the confirmation of brett kavanaugh after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. will have to see what impact that has on the electorate —— we'll have to see. more on that throughout bbc news. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. in a couple of hours, it's saudi arabia's turn to present its own review to the united nations human rights council. the periodic event gives states the chance to outline what steps they've taken to improve human rights for their citizens

in eastern france, french president emmanuel macron will attend a series of events as part of his tour marking 100 years since the end of wwi. and later in new york, jury selection begins in the trial of el chapo, the infamous mexican drug lord extradited to the us. 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: the premier league's bottom two clash later, the atp tour finals draw takes place in london and justin rose returns to the top of the pile in golf‘s world rankings. later on monday, the bottom two in the premier league go head to head when fulham head to huddersfield. huddersfield successfully maintained their top flight status last season but david wagner's side are the only team yet to win a league game this season and even a win at home would leave them in the relegation zone due to their markedly

inferior goal difference. the nba season is well underway and there are nine games later on monday with the indiana pacers hoping to continue their winning streak when they host the houston rockets. the pacers are currently third in the eastern conference while, by contrast, the rockets, who beat the struggling chicago bulls on saturday 96—88, have only won three games so far this season. but with james harden scoring 25 points, the pacers will be wary of an in—form harden and a houston team capable of making even the league's best defences look silly. the draw for the season—ending atp finals in london will be made later on monday with kei nishikori a late addition to the line—up. the japanese number one replaces argentina'sjuan martin del potro as he hasn't recovered a knee injury. only the top eight players in the world qualify for the event with novak djokovic, rafael nadal and roger federer all in the line up

russia's karen khachanov defeated the new world number one novak djokovic to win the paris masters. the 22—year—old beat the i4—time grand slam champion 7—5, 6—4, hitting 31 winners as he pulled off one of the shocks of the year in his final tournament of the season, and claimed his first masters 1000 title. it's one of my biggest titles so far, biggest achievements. and in general, you know, it's a breakthrough season, so this title, it's a good year end. like this, i would say. maybe i'm not crying, but still, i'm really happy. manchester city maintained their charge at the top of the premier league with a thumping 6—1 win over southampton on sunday. raheem sterling scored twice for pep guardiola's side as they emphaticaly beat the saints keeping them two points clear of chelsea and now liverpool after they dropped points at arsenal on the weekend but all three clubs are yet to lose in the league this season.

justin rose defended his turkish open title on sunday to ensure he will return to the top of the world rankings. the 38 year old beat li haotong on the first play—off hole after the pair finished the final round tied on 17—under par. li's missed putt handed rose victory moving the englishman back to world number one for the second time this year. that's just something to be proud of. doesn't mean much, doesn't give you much, certainly doesn't give you... doesn't make you one under par at the first to next time you play, but it's something to be proud of for sure. —— at the thirsty. —— at the first tt. it was all going so well in the dutch eredivisie match between feyenoord until the floodlights failed after just a minutes' play forcing the ref to stop play. ground staff weren't able to fix the problem and despite the crowd helping with some phone waving the match was abandoned and will be played at a later date.

feyenoord's players returned to the pitch to thank supporters for their patience and captain robin van persie made one fan's day by literally giving him the shirt off his back. what a happy person! for everything else head to bbc.com/sport, but from me and the team, that is your monday sport briefing. 0ur our thanks for that. in the run—up to armistice day, we've been uncovering stories from the trenches of the western front in the first world war. in 1915, a british soldier called alexander gillespie wrote home about his vision of how the world could remember the carnage he'd seen while fighting. he came up with a path for pilgrims, a route along no man's land from switzerland to the belgian coast. now a british group are well on the way to realising this dream. robert hall has this special report from amiens in france. their hargraves beach scattered up

and down. the ground is so pitted and down. the ground is so pitted and scarred and torn with shells, entangled with wire —— there are graves. alexander gillespie was 26 when he wrote his last letters home. in the weeks before his death, he planned a project that could now become his legacy. my legacy. my great uncle was a prolific letter writer... country file presenter tom heap is alexander gillespie's great—nephew. well, he had this extraordinary leap of imagination when he was actually in the trenches amongst the fighting that he thought when this is all over, when peace comes, we should put a route along no man's land for people of all nations to come and walk along. division is a network of marked footpaths stretching from the swiss border to the belgian coast, tracing the trench lines of the western front. that's over 630 miles.

that means negotiating with dozens of landowners and local councils, but so far, reaction has been encouraging. translation: from the first moment i heard about the past, i immediately saw how it could work. i think we must widen the ways that we remember the past, because if we don't do that, people will lose interest. this here, this monument, was sculpted by walter... heidi on vimy region stands this memorial to canadian troops who fought on the western front. here too gillespie's vision has received an enthusiastic welcome.” too gillespie's vision has received an enthusiastic welcome. i think it's a huge opportunity. we have so many visitors who come on pilgrimage to visit, kind of follow the path of their ancestors and this gives them an alternate route rather than taking highways and going around about. they can actually walk the western

front as their ancestors did. tom heap believes projects like this provide new ways of connecting, with a conflict which is moving further and further into our distant history. this to me is exactly what my great uncle in visit when he was in those trenches 103 years ago today. he died somewhere near here, we don't know exactly where —— in visit. to me it's quite spine tingling the thought that we are pretty much doing what he envisaged. i would like to send every man, woman and child in western europe on pilgrimage along that sacred road so they might think and learn what war means from the silence witnesses on either side. a sentimental idea, perhaps, but we might make the most beautiful road in all the world. business briefing in a moment, those

sanctions coming into effect now in iran on the part of the us. we'll also talk about a review taking place in the uk on the part of the government to look into the value of further education. it turns out nearly half of recent graduates are not working in graduate roles last year, the commons education committee is saying, and the review will be out early next year into the cost of education, the average cost ofa cost of education, the average cost of a degree on an annual basis is £9,000. so many of you have been in touch to say actually we need better alternatives to post 18 education because actually they need to really assess what students are leaving education with in terms of the level of debt and the prospects in the workplace. we'll talk more about your responses in a few minutes. we'll see you soon. hello.

nature's very own light spectacular, the aurora borealis, or northern lights, in full display across the northern isles. also, some parts of eastern scotland and eastern england under clearer skies, but further west, a different story. this area of low pressure in the bay of biscay, we have a frontal system extending across western fringes of the uk, continuing to bring outbreaks of rain. this will ease from northern ireland through the morning and things get dry across wales and south—west england and outbreaks of rain continue to push their way north and eastwards across scotland as this too pulls away. behind it, we'll see the cloud thinning and breaking. bright and sunny spells and a scattering of showers, but very mild for the early part of november. temperatures generally between 10 and 15 celsius, up to 16 or 17 in east anglia and south—east england. after the windy conditions of the weekend, a gentler south or south—easterly breeze through monday afternoon. we'll keep that gentle breeze as we go on through the evening. for many, it will be dry with clear spells. a bit of patchy rain continuing across parts of northern ireland, western scotland, maybe the far south—west of england. but if you do have plans for firework or bonfire displays on monday evening, for most, it will be dry,

it will be mild and there'll be a gentle locally moderate breeze. as you go from monday into tuesday, we have another frontal system in the atlantic working its way towards the uk. it does have limited eastward progress, so on tuesday, the heaviest and most persistent of the rain will be across the western side of scotland, northern ireland, eventually into wales and south—west england. meanwhile, further east, it stays dry, breezy and bright sunny spells. look where those winds are coming from, all the way from the south. we're going to keep that mild air, temperatures again reaching 14 to 17 celsius. meanwhile, further east, it stays dry, breezy and bright sunny spells. look where those winds are coming from, all the way from the south. we're going to keep that mild air, temperatures again reaching 14 to 17 celsius. but some persistent rain further west on tuesday. as we go from tuesday into wednesday, that front does begin to work its way eastwards across the uk, so overnight, we'll see outbreaks of rain and a squeeze on the isobars. strong winds at midweek and slowly through wednesday,

our outbreaks of rain will start to ease the way towards the east, become lighter and patchy so something dry here through the day and central areas too. further west, we will see the heaviest and most persistent of the rain. it is an unsettled feel as we go through the week. wednesday afternoon, temperatures up to between 12 and 14 celsius, not as high as what we see on monday and tuesday but still quite mild for the time of year. and that is the theme for the week ahead. it's going to be mild and also windy and there will be some rain at times. that's all from me. bye— bye. this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. going full force: president trump reinstates major economic sanctions against iran. we'll assess what this means for oil prices. us markets react as the clock ticks down to the crucial midterm elections. samira hussain in new york will give us the lowdown a brand—new trading week with

significant losses in asia of the back of reports from the white house that they see little progress when it comes to talks on trade.