this is the briefing. i'm maryam moshiri. our top story: conflict and climate change — mali — a country devastated by violence now faces a battle of a different kind. we bring you a special report. climate change is changing everything and making it much worse. poverty, extremism and the conflicts over land and water just poverty, extremism and the conflicts over land and waterjust to survive. theresa may confirms she'll seek new concessions from the eu on the future of the irish border after brexit. but what is the reaction from europe? unrest in zimbabwe. the opposition claims a brutal crackdown is taking place after an increase in fuel prices sparked protests. cuts short a foreign trip to return to the country. and hunting down hidden treasures — we talk to the indiana jones of the art world. global growth at risk. the imf warns that the world's

economy is slowing as business leaders and politicians gather in davos. a warm welcome to the programme — briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. tell us what you think — just use the hashtag #bbcthebriefing a new study shows that babies born between january and february are more likely to be rich and famous. do you think when you are born has any bearing on your future success? use our hash tag and let us know. there's a new warning about the impact of climate change in one of the areas worst affected by global warming — the international committee

conflict — is creating an explosive combination there. and it's a problem that could lead to more migration to the shores of europe — creating another humanitarian catastrophe. our chief international correspondent, lyse doucet travelled to mali — she begins in the town of menaka — rarely visited byjournalists — to see how climate change is impacting on daily life. the sahel locked in a long will the war to hold back the desert. it is losing. and now, a new enemy. climate change threatening the world ‘s most vulnerable lands. mali fights on many fronts. you when forces are on the ground here. the world ‘s most dangerous peacekeeping

mission. often under attack by extremist groups including al qaeda and islamic state. this 63—year—old farmer has seen it all. a country of extremes now lurches from drought to floods. last summer there was more rain than anyone can remember. all his crops were washed away. his home, flooded with water. aim at home, flooded with water. aim at home full of cracks after an explosion nearby. so what is the biggest enemy now? the conflict or the climate? translation: the conflict and the climate. everything isa conflict and the climate. everything is a problem here. mali has all the problems. and some families don't even have anything to eat. and for him, ten children to feed. life

lived on the very edge. every generation more fragile than the last. these boys forced to join armed groups. now the centre provides a refuge. translation: my family fled the violence. i stayed behind to take care of our animals but there was no rain then. no feed for them to eat. the animals died one after the other. i had no choice tojoina group one after the other. i had no choice to join a group with guns. the desert has always dominated life you. people have learned to live with that. but the power of climate change is changing everything and making it much worse. poverty, extremism and the conflict over land and water, the need just to survive. today, a call for help from the

desert in mali. musician spelt out a welcome to a visiting delegation. the president of the icrc here to focus on this fight. it has not been on our radar screen. our natural genetics say we look at arms, doctors, conflict, perhaps under development that we did not look at the natural environment. now we see that climate change is changing weather patterns and livelihoods of people and is leading to conflict amongst communities. so much has been lost. this is the grand mosque of timbuktu. the fabled city in the sand. centuries ago, a city of gold. a cultural capital. seven years ago, islamist fighters smashed many of its shrines. and this magnificent

mud mosque is still imperilled. translation: this mosque was built in an arid area. it was not built to drain so much water. now there is more and more rain and wind threatening the site. so much to do. almost all mali and live off this land. livestock as well. is to riches rise, resources shrink and conflict grows as time runs out in this largely forgotten corner of our world. british mps are stepping up their efforts to influence the brexit process ahead of a major vote on theresa may's alternative withdrawal plan next week. the pm will meet the cabinet this morning after telling the commons yesterday that she was seeking concessions from the eu on the backstop — the insurance policy intended to prevent a hard irish border. our europe editor, katya adler, is in brussels — here's her analysis of the mood there. palms are beginning to get a little

bit sweaty across the eu. this is an organisation that is used to doing deals at the 11th hour, but with only nine weeks to go now, eu leaders are getting nervous about the prospect of a costly no deal brexit. they want to be able to demonstrate to their voters back home that they have been doing their best, and if we have a look at the big eu powers, france and germany, they say no to watering down the backstop. they tell theresa may to not return to brussels until she can show that she has the majority of mps behind her. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. the leaders of france and germany will sign a treaty this morning pledging closer cooperation, in areas including defence and economic development. emmanuel macron and angela merkel are aiming to strengthen their countries' ties in a post—brexit eu — but critics say the plan risks

alienating member states in eastern europe. tokyo court has requested a fresh bail request from carlos ghosn. he has been in detention since his shock arrest last november. a former us marine arrested on suspicion of spying in russia is due to appear in court in moscow shortly. paul whelan will appeal against a decision to refuse him bail while awaiting trial. he was detained by russian security agents just before new year, allegedly as he received state secrets. mr whelan insists he's innocent. police in northern ireland say four men arrested in connection with a car bombing in londonderry on saturday night have been released without charge. a fifth man remains in custody. detectives believe the dissident republican group, the new ira, may have been behind the attack. zimbabwe's president, emmerson mnangagwa, has cut short

a foreign trip after his security forces were accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown on opposition mps and their supporters. there have been violent protests in zimbabwe about rising fuel prices — which ministers say have been used by opponents of the government to stoke unrest. these issues have been highlighted throughout the last few weeks including issues with the banning of the internet there. we will bring a report from zimbabwe to you later in the programme. another prominent woman has entered next year's race for the white house. kamala harris was attorney general for california before she became a democratic senator in 2016. the daughter of immigrants from jamaica and india, she has one of the most liberal voting records in the senate, at a time when the party is leaning to the left.

she drew attention for her tough questioning of supreme court nominee brett kavanaugh. she says she's ready for a fight. i am prepared to fight. i know how to fight. and in particular when we are talking about fighting for the values we hold sacred and dear, when it comes to talking about how we fight for the american people and have leadership in this country, that is focused on the needs of the people instead of self—interest, i am prepared to fight that way and i believe it will be a winning fight. the international monetary fund is warning that escalating trade tensions could undermine global economic growth. they've cut their forecast for the year ahead and now say the world's economy will grow 3.5% rather than 3.7%. it comes as many business leaders and top politicians gather in the swiss mountain resort of davos where the annual world economic forum is getting underway. alexandra kellert

is a europe analyst with the strategic consulting firm control risks. you and i am not vary in switzerland, we hear that you have looked at what the imf has had to say. what picture does it paint of the view ahead in terms of the global economic outlook?m the view ahead in terms of the global economic outlook? it is one of uncertainty. concerns about the future of the chinese economy and slowing growth there and uncertainty over brexit and then there are various things such as concerns about the german economy and particularly related to the automotive sector. worries in europe italy is well on how things will play out with their populist government. what risks are facing the european economy looking forward ? the european economy looking forward? those are the key ones. a slowdown in germany will have an impact on the rest of the eu. italy

is ofa impact on the rest of the eu. italy is of a concern it is an unpredictable government. looking at what the imf has been saying, they predict that the german economy in 2019 would grow by the same rate as the uk economy in 2019 if we withdraw from the eu with a deal. what does that tell us? anything more about how the uk economy will be if we get a deal or how about the german economy is? a bit of both. that is good news for theresa may, she can use that as an argument to pass so deal it also german concerns about what happens once and chula merkel those will be a long—term trend? looking ahead at davos, what you expect politicians and business leaders to talk about. we have seen a lot of top people pulling out and not going to davos. what has changed this unit? there are various issues. obviously donald trump feels that with the shutdown he cannot go. the

zimbabwean leader has left because of problems at home. it has nothing to do with davos this year, it is just a combination of events. we will talk to you shortly about the papers so please stay with us. thank you very much. but to return out of a story about zimbabwe. the president has called for a national dialogue on people and the economy first. he was forced to cut a foreign trip short after security forces were accused of carrying out a brutal crackdown on opposition mps and support of. there have been violent supports —— protests about the rising cost of fuel. another funeral here in zimbabwe. this one for a young footballer, shot in the head by police. old days behind. instead, for over a week now,

the security forces have been on the rampage. beating, torturing, using live ammunition against angry but unarmed protesters. and the crackdown is not over yet. this morning, we found more wounded, hiding in a private clinic. these two both said they had been shot by the police. in a car outside, another new casualty. the soldiers and police, they were beating me. this man, as you can see, does not want to be identified by anybody. he is, like so many people here in harare today, scared. it's over a week now since the protests began here, triggered by a sharp rise in the price of fuel. that felt like the final straw for many impoverished zimbabweans. but the government is unrepentant about its crackdown and about the need for tougher economic reforms. we thought that by mr mugabe exiting

the stage, we were going to have a new dispensation, but it's not a new dispensation. if anything, the mask has been removed, you know, the mask has fallen off. the truth is that we still have the old system, probably worse. zimbabwe was supposed to be on the mend by now. mugabe gone, a new, gentler government, promising to fix a broken economy. instead, as we have seen in these past few violent days here, old habits are hard to kick. and so a question looms. will fear now keep the protesters off the streets, or are zimbabwe poised for deeper turmoil? andrew harding, bbc news, harare. you're watching the briefing. coming up, cristiano renaldo's

missed penalty forjuventus. donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill in washington. it's going to be only america first — america first. demonstrators waiting for mike getting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests throughout the tour. they called him 'the butcher of lyon'. klaus altmann is being held here on a fraud charge in bolivia, but the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot, a tide of humanity that's believed by officials to have broken all records. you're watching the briefing.

our headlines: the international committee of the red cross has issued a new warning that climate change combined with growing violence in the sahel is creating an explosive combination. theresa may says she will hold "flexible and inclusive" talks with mps across parliament to try to make progress over the irish backstop. the fact that british police don't routinely carry guns hello, i'm chetan pathak with tuesday's sport briefing. juventus have pulled nine points clear at the top of serie a after a 3—0 win at home to chievo. this man cristiano ronaldo could even afford to miss a penalty as his side extended their unbeaten run in the league to 20 matches

since the start of the season. douglas costa got the opening goal on 13 minutes forjuventus against the league's bottom side. his 53rd minute penalty saved, but despite that, daniele rugani added a third six minutes from time. south korea will be without their midfielder ki sung—yeung for their asian cup match against bahrain on tuesday. ki suffered a hamstring strain during their opening game and has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament. bahrain meanwhile booked their spot

in the last 16 as one of the four nation uae and a last—gasp 1—0 win over india. the bahrain coach knows stopping south korea won't be easy and that pre—match analysis can only get you so far: any team, i think, any coach, can get it easy, easy information about the team but of course, the coaches which play against barcelona have a lot of information about messi, but still barcelona win. at the australian open tennis, the 17 time grand slam champion rafa nadal faces the american 21 year old frances tiafoe in the quarter finals on tuesday. nadal hasn't dropped a set so far in the tournament as he comes back from injury. he's looking to add to his one and only australian open title

which he won in 2009. and before we go a couple of things getting plenty of reaction on social media, one was what german tennis star alexander zverev did on court at the australian open on the verge of going out in his fourth round match to milos raonic he took his frustration out on his racquet, losing his cool and then going on to lose the match. afterwards he admitted it did help get rid of his frustration but maybe not his bank balance. and have a look at this amazing footage from ireland. it's 21—year—old jockey michael sweeney aboard ask heather — he goes over the last fence and somehow managed to pull himself up and go on to win the race from an almost impossible situation in cork. remarkable stuff. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — including the latest on what's happening at the australian open tennis at our website,

it's bbc.com/sport. but from me chetan pathak and the rest of the team, that is your tuesday sport briefing. social media companies are exposing children to self harm. each share, more than 5000 people take their own lives across the uk. among them, more than 200 children. though the total number of suicides is falling, some groups remain especially at risk. today, the government is setting out what it calls its first ever suicide prevention work plan.

itaims to ever suicide prevention work plan. it aims to better understand the underlying causes of suicide, examine the effects of debt and gambling, focus on the role of social media. there is growing concern about harmful on line content. powerful algorithms promote adverts or suggestion new friends. but can also lead users to increasingly graphic content about self harm and suicide. the government wants tech companies to alter their software. if there is evidence that some users can have information about self harm, they can push them in a different direction, , can push them in a different direction,, push them ways to seek help. but forcing tech companies to change would be easy. after all, those same algorithm —— algorithms drive profits. angus crawford, bbc

news. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. we begin in aachen germany, where chancelor angela merkel and president emmanuel macron will sign a new franco—german cooperation treaty. then later in moscow russian president vladimir putin and japanese prime minister shinzo abe meet for talks. the issue of the disputed kuril islands will be high on the agenda, and in los angeles it's that time of year again for the 2019 academy award nominations or as everyone else knows them, the oscars. he's known as the indiana jones of the art world, uncovering a treasure trove of stolen objects — from roman mosaics and bronze sculptures to paintings by old masters. now he's struck again — tracking down priceless religious relics in an unlikely location. andy beatt reports. not your usual man with a van. the dutch art historian turned supersleuth with his latest heavyweight discoveries — two stone carving depicting christian icons and thought to be at least 1,000 years old. these are two evangelists,

and these two were stolen in 2004 and i have no idea how they got them away because they weigh 150 kilos each, and then they disappeared. world heritage. it's the end of a long search for the artworks, snatched from a church in northern spain. a tip—off in 2010 took this detective to britain, and now nearly a decade later, to the carvings themselves. bought unwittingly by an aristocratic family who were horrified to discover what they thought were garden statues were, in fact, ancient religious artefacts. the guys who stole these wanted to sell it for a couple of millions or whatever, but they have soon found out that you cannot sell these, so to make a least a little bit of money, they sold them as garden ornaments. there is so much criminality in the art world, forgeries, but also stealing from museums,

churches, and my job is to trace them back. and sometimes, we get lucky. he needs all the luck he can muster. art crime is thought to be the world's third biggest black market, beaten only by the illicit trade in drugs and guns. one second, my fingers are under it. the stone reliefs have now been handed to the spanish embassy in london. they're expected to return home within weeks. andy beatt, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news — so much more to come. hello there.

a very icy start awaits many of us this tuesday morning. the reason, we have that active weather front with heavy wintry showers following on behind so that combination making many services quite damp and therefore the potential to be quite icy. this is the weather front i talked about, it's given several centimetres of snow and showers following so could even see sleet and snow clearing. gusty winds accompanied behind it so the showers are packing in thick and fast. these are the morning figures for the towns and cities which clear the road surface temperatures, the pavements and out in the countryside, the temperatures around freezing hence the ice risk. what's happening? we've had that band of weather, a cold front behind it, colder air packing in, that north—westerly wind throwing a lot of wintry showers our way so through the morning rush, there could be snow in the showers across the central lowlands, even at lower levels. even across the highly populated areas of northern ireland adding

the north—west of the uk and done across wales and reaching the midlands and the east but at the moment, as you see through the morning hours, that band of rain clearing away turning readily to snow, not too far away from our shores with the potential for wet snow at low levels as it clears away, hence the risk of ice just about anywhere. then some sunshine follows but this band of showers again really get going. heavy with hail and thunder, snow therefore could be brought down to lower levels across the midlands and in the afternoon towards the south—east later and 3—6 will feel cold, even colder with the wind and as i mentioned through the evening we could have problems with snow across southern and eastern areas and yet more snow is packing in already to the north and the west so again another icy night to come and bitterly cold, probably the coldest night of the week, —10 across the snowfields of scotland but then because we are seeing fewer showers through the coming night, so tuesday night into wednesday, wednesday is looking slightly better, less windy, not as cold

but there is still the risk of some wintry showers developing across southern and eastern parts of england in particular. the temperatures no better than 2 or 3 for some of us. still cold despite the sunshine, a little less cold later in the week but the cold weather returns. as ever, you can find all the warnings on the website. this is the business briefing. global growth at risk. the imf warns that the world's economy is slowing as business leaders and politicians gather in davos. brexit deadlock. as her cabinet meets thersea may promises more talks but can they find the breakthrough business wants to see? and on the markets: there is worry about global growth. there is worry about global growth. the dowjones there is worry about global growth. the dow jones has there is worry about global growth. the dowjones has the closing figure from friday yesterday. it will be interesting to see how they open and this is what asia is doing. the hong kong and japanese markets are both down.