this is the briefing. i'm sally bundock. our top story: looking for support. can theresa may get her brexit deal across the line as she offers new concessions? a rallying call on abortion law — protestors gather across the us as several states pass laws to restrict terminations. on a dizzying politicaljourney. we have a special report as the uk prepares to vote in a european election dominated by brexit. brain drain in the fashion industry. we go to milan where more and more students are thinking about leaving italy.

a warm welcome to the programme — briefing you on all you need to know in global news, business and sport. also in the programme a un study concludes ai—powered voice assistants with female voices are perpetuating harmful gender biases. apparently she is too eager to please and subservient. what do you think — should siri/alexa be gender neutral? get in touch, just use #bbcthebriefing. british mps from all sides have criticised theresa may's latest efforts to win support for her eu withdrawal agreement — which is due to be put to parliament again next month.

the british prime minister has described it as "one last chance" to deliver brexit, and offered a series of concessions, including the possibility of another referendum to approve the deal. our political correspondent, chris mason has the latest. it has become a painful ritual of a torturous process. the prime minister unveils a vision for brexit and mps cure —— you up to demolish it. i making a serious offer to mp5 it. i making a serious offer to mps across parliament, a new brexit deal. to every mp of every party, i have compromised now i ask you to compromise too. teresa made speech sought to attract switches and turn sceptics into endorsers. it will sack it has failed. western that for downing street, some conservatives who backed the plan was last voted on, now say they will reject it. in

a letter tojeremy corbyn, mrs may says she has compromised and now he should too. mr corbin has strongly criticised her plan. among conservative mps there is a bleak end of days mood, some wonder if it will be even worthwhile putting the bill to a vote. others are more direct stop is a lot of respect for teresa in the party but a lot of anger at the mistakes she has made and today seems to have compound the situation for her. those around the para meters situation for her. those around the parameters to insist they are not willing to give up at least yet. any sign of progress chancellor? and determined her plan will be put to mps in around a fortnight ‘s time. you can find much more about brexit on our website at bbc.com/news. you can also download the bbc news app to get the latest news and developments.

shop they'll bejoined shop they'll be joined by ian anderson and we will unpack this further. there've been rallies across the us in protest at the moves by an increasing number of states to restrict abortions and bring the issue once again before the supreme court. last week, alabama enacted the strictest abortion law in the country. caroline rigby reports. all chant: hey hey, ho ho, abortion is... from washington, dc to florida... what do we do? all chant: stand up, fight back! all sing: took it back, took back my body... ..new york to los angeles, hundreds of protesters across all 50 states joined forces to defend a woman's right to abortion, a direct response to republican—controlled states passing tougher legislation to restrict terminations where, in so many cases, men had the final say on the rights of women. in alabama, where all of the males were voting

on it and, like, not a single woman, like, voted to keep it passed, it'sjust, like, they're men and they don't know what women have been through, so for them to vote on passing that law, it's not right. earlier this month, the state of alabama passed the most restrictive law yet — a nearly outright ban on abortions, including in cases of rape and incest. several other states have also passed bills that outlaw abortions as soon as a heartbeat can be detected. across the country, almost 30 states have introduced proposed, or are currently considering, some form of restriction. addressing a rally in washington, dc, the senate minority leader chuck schumer said women's rights must not be eroded. republican legislators are waging a war to unravel a woman's fundamental rights. they are responsible for 300 newly—proposed restrictions. we are here to send these folks a message — not on our watch!

all chant: this is what democracy looks like! but on this subject, the united states of america are anything but united. the supreme court now contains severaljudges appointed by donald trump, and many republicans hope its conservative majority will ultimately vote against a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy anywhere in the us. that would overturn roe vs wade, the landmark 1973 case which legalised abortion nationwide — a potential move the united nations has voiced concern about. we are calling on the united states and all other countries to ensure that women have access to safe abortions. at an absolute minimum, in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal anomaly, there needs to be safe access to abortions. all chant: my choice! my voice! but although thousands turned out to fight against restrictive

abortion laws, president donald trump knows many of his supporters, particularly christian evangelicals, remain strongly pro—life. and as campaigning ramps up ahead of next year's presidential election, the voices on either side of the debate will only grow louder. caroline rigby, bbc news. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news. senior us officials have insisted that the trump administration wants to deter iran, not start a war. the acting defense secretary was among those who briefed members of congress on the recent escalation of tensions with iran. patrick shanahan said america's military build—up in the region had prevented threatened iranian attacks on us interests. the un world food programme has accused corrupt leaders of the rebel houthi group, in yemen, of diverting desperately needed aid. it said children were dying as a result. the unusual public criticism of certain houthi officials came in a bbc interview with david beasley.

the pharmaceutical giant, johnson and johnson, says it's been ordered to pay at least $25 million to a woman who alleges she got cancer through using their talcs daily over several decades. the company, which faces thousands of similar claims, has insisted its products are safe. indonesian police have fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators injakarta after a rally by several thousand people protesting against the re—election of presidentjoko widodo. the protest itself was peaceful but some demonstrators refused to leave the area and hurled fireworks and other objects at police. some of the world's biggest footwear firms are urging president trump to end the us trade war with china, warning of a catastrophic effect on consumers. in a letter signed by 173 companies, including nike and adidas, they said the president's decision to hike import tariffs to 25% will disproportionately

impact the working class. official results from the philippine mid—term elections have confirmed that president rodrigo duterte's allies are set to dominate control of the country's congress. it's been more than a week since an estimated 60 million filipino voters went to the polls in what was largely seen as a referendum on mr duterte's first three years in office. let's get the latest from manila and the bbc‘s howard johnson. last time i spoke to you at a polling station, the result of through and it is looking good for the president. three is ago president duterte was elected to clampdown on drugs and criminality in this country. lots of condemnation from international human rights groups and organisations about this war on drugs that we have seen here, thousands of people killed in drug operations by the police was not but that didn't stop the nation of the

philippines coming to vote for president duterte's senatorial candidates was that we have seen a clea n candidates was that we have seen a clean sweep. one of the opposition candidates managed to get a seat was not that means he will now control the agenda when it comes to legislation. in the lower house and the upper house in his pocket, he is the upper house in his pocket, he is the king to bring back the death penalty for drug trafficking and lower the age of criminal liability for children as i was nine years old. his foreign secretary said this week when he looked at the unofficial figures that, this week when he looked at the unofficialfigures that, this is week when he looked at the unofficial figures that, this is a referendum on the president as you said, and he won that referendum. so you should shut up about the drug warand it you should shut up about the drug war and it will go on. maybe a wrapping up of the drug or in the months to come, a new senate seat as congress comes together injuly, resident duterte. the term with a state of nation address and he will be emboldened now that he knows the

philippine electorate are fully behind his punitive war on drugs as some of the other controversial measures he has taken the last few yea rs. let's return to brexit now. iain anderson, founder of the international communications agency, cicero groupjoins me now. good morning, lovely to see if a you are in the middle of writing a book about this. in terms of the impact of business, let's talk about this compromise deal chris mason outlining at the beginning of the programme, what has changed, if anything, and the fact that most are not behind the steel it will be put before parliament a couple of weeks? the big thing that has changed in the last 2a hours is that theresa may has promised some —— something to mps that she has come sleepily ruled out for all the time she has beenin ruled out for all the time she has been in downing street. that is the idea. a second vote if mps were to pass her withdrawal agreement bill.

if they were to agree that that is what they want, it's not a given, is it? it is absolutely not a given but what it's done is inflamed the hard brexit years, they just want a clean break. they don't want a second referendum, they want to see that first referendum result locked in. and they are absolutely furious by this. the du piece ever can't back it either. it is looking extremely unlikely that this fourth attempt on her part to get a withdrawal deal to parliament will take place. we have the 1922 committee meeting today, this is a group of tory backbenchers, a lot of them are hard brexit brexiteers. what will they decide on? what impact that have on her? the committee has been debating

whether to change the rules. she may face the vote of confidence back in december, she passed that vote of confidence and under the current rule she wasn't able to be challenged for a year. i understand it according to this morning ‘s newspapers, the 1922 committee is going to debate tonight whether to change those rules to allow her to be, allow her to face another vote of confidence as soon as possible. if she loses that second vote of confidence, and the next few days, she will probably lose it. and we'll be straight into the real conservative leadership contest as opposed to the funny one that is going on right now. so it is a very critical few days, isn't it? going on right now. so it is a very criticalfew days, isn't it? it going on right now. so it is a very critical few days, isn't it? it is another view critical days but i really think now, theresa may has basically tried to satisfy her own party, she strode to negotiate with the labour party, she is gone back

and forward, i think frankly, to try and forward, i think frankly, to try and walk along a very difficult tightrope, i do feel for her. she is trying to walk a tightrope and i think she's come to the end of the wire. thank you for now. ian is back later for our wire. thank you for now. ian is back laterfor our briefing. wire. thank you for now. ian is back later for our briefing. we wire. thank you for now. ian is back laterfor our briefing. we have wire. thank you for now. ian is back later for our briefing. we have so much more difficult in this programme. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we'll have a full round—up of sport — incluing the latest on manny pacquiao's plans for one more fight. this morning, an indian air force plane carrying mr gandhi's body landed in delhi. the president of india walked to the plane to solemnly witness mr gandhi's final return from the political battlefield. ireland has voted overwhelmingly in favour of gay marriage. in doing so, it's become the first country in the world to approve the change in a national referendum.

it was a remarkable climax to what was surely the most extraordinary funeral ever given to a pop singer. it's been a peaceful funeral demonstration so far, but suddenly the police are tear—gassing the crowd. we don't yet know why. the pre—launch ritual is well established here. helen was said to be in good spirits, butjust a little apprehensive. in the last hour, east timor has become the world's newest nation. it was a bloody birth for a poor country, and the challenges ahead are daunting. but for now, at least, it is time to celebrate. you're watching the briefing. our headlines: theresa may offers british mps a vote on whether to hold a second referendum, but only if they approve her brexit withdrawal bill. american protestors have gathered across the us as several states pass laws to restrict access to abortion services.

severe storms, tornadoes and flash floods have hit southern and central parts of the united states. in oklahoma, dozens of people had to be rescued from rising floodwaters, as andy beatt reports. after the storm, the floods. at least 50 people rescued as the country's worst weather since 2012 left homes, farms and roads up to a metre underwater. it's probably about knee—deep in our garage. and then we go into our house and comes up to about our ankles. i texted brendan and was like, "brendan, i might have to swim into the house!" he was like "what do you mean?" i was like, "i opened the front door, it was already up to our porch!" hardest hit — parts of oklahoma and texas, swamped by 20 centimetres of rain in less than 2a hours, with missouri declaring a state of emergency. touching down across the southern and central states,

at least 20 tornadoes. anybody on the west side of mangum, in mangum, you need tojust take shelter, this is a large tornado. there's the storm chasers. oh my god! right there. officials say 4 million people in the region could be at risk, but as yet, there are few reports of injuries. and despite fears of widescale damage, only a handful of homes have taken a direct hit. couldn't believe it, we left a half—hour earlier and it was all there, you come back and it's completely demolished. to blame for this recent spike in tornadoes, the jet stream. it's following a more southerly route than normal, bringing heat to the south but cold conditions to the west. the temperature contrast, driving violent storms, torrential rain, and heavy hail. although the worst may have passed for some, forecasters warn millions

more in the path of this severe weather system, as it tracks north and east, while a second is expected later this week. this week's european parliamentary elections are being described by some as the most consequential — and challenging — the eu has everfaced. with eurosceptic parties, populists and nationalists all on the rise, it seems very likely that they'll win more seats in the new parliament. in britain of course, brexit represents the extreme end of euro—scepticism. and as david eades reports, these elections could signal there are nearly 9 million people living in london, that's almost the population of austria and as for the brexit referendum, nearly 60% of them said they wanted to stay. here we are three years on and whether governing of opposition labor party still hollow police split as to what to do next, the selection is a chance for others to step into the

light. i've come down to portobello road on the street here is lined with market stalls from all over the world, the caribbean to the mediterranean but let's have a look at this as an example. and all of stall, got garlic, artichokes, vine leaves and they come from france, italy, spain, greece, portugalas well. actually, the hummus i'm told comes from london. this place feels as european as it does british. let me introduce you to this chap. this is jan rostovski. he is standing for the new remain party, it's called change uk. brexit is a disaster, it's a disaster. we can already see it's a disaster. we can already see it's falling apart. having a one fifth share and exploiting it as effectively as it did in a 550 million lock is a lot more power and a lot more influence than being

theoretically sovereign on your own stop so we come from the capital to the east coast. southend-on-sea, pleasure island here. south bend voted 58% for exit three years ago and they still don't know if they are coming or going. we've got a right old ruckus going on here because nigel farage, who is one of the most familiar faces in the brexit debate if not the political landscape this year. you set up brexit the new party. you got a lot to thank the governing conservatives in opposition labor party for, haven't you? yes, we found the party, it was launched five weeks ago yesterday so it's very new. if you vote for something in a referendum and back it up at a general election and it's not delivered, something has gone wrong andi delivered, something has gone wrong and i sense that the mood out there in this country now for change and reform in a different kind of

politics is greater than it's ever been. put your banners up. well, we've stepped away from the hubbub of the mainland to come to the end of the mainland to come to the end of the mainland to come to the end of the longest pleasure pier in the world, south bend pier, reaching out as it does towards continental europe. now, these elections are not going to resolve anything but they will tell the main established parties just what the british people think of the way they have handled this brexit saga and whether the new parties are here to stay. david eades, bbc news, south bend. we will have full coverage of the elections in europe so we will keep you up—to—date. let's ring you up to speed on all the sports stories. this is your wednesday sport briefing where we start with the news that arsenal midfielder henrikh mkhitaryan will not play in the europa league final against chelsea over fears for his safety in baku.

an ongoing conflict between the host country azerbaijan and the country of his birth armenia has raised serious security concerns. despite discussions between arsenal and uefa, mkhitaryan and his family have decided not travel to the final next week. it is bad news. but i cannot do anything for this issue. it is very, very personal, the decision, a personal decision. and we need to respect him. and i don't understand the political problems, but i must respect his decision. barbados—born fast bowler joffra archer has been named in england's 15 man squad for the icc world cup starting next week. the 24—year—old only qualified to play for his new country in march and has featured in just three one day internationals with his selection meaning david willey is the man to miss out.

south africa's caster semenya will run in the 3000 metres at a diamond league meeting in america next month. which is an event she doesn't need to take hormone suppressants to compete in. the 800—metres olympic champion lost her legal battle against the iaaf who have changed their rules so that female athletes with naturally high levels of testosterone, must artificially reduce the amount in their bodies to be allowed to compete in races between a00m and a mile and semenya has said she won't do that. holders kashima antlers need a win in theirfinal asian champions league group e game later if they're to guarantee a place in the knockout stages.they host top of the table shandong luneng who've already progressed top of the group regardless of the result injapan, while for kashima if they lose and third placed gyeongnam win then they would fail to reach the last 16. manny pacquiao insists his boxing career isn't over. the ao—year—old who's an eight division world champion has announced he'll face unbeaten wba welterweight champion keith thurman

in las vegas thisjuly and says he's looking forward to it. i'm so excited for this fight because i'm fighting with undefeated, he's the kind of fighter that you can't underestimate. it is undefeated. giving me more encouragement. the giro d'italia continues later as stage 11 heads out with valerio conti still holding the race leaders pinkjersey, but it was a harsh dayon tuesday for two time stage winner pascal ackermann. he was involved in a crash that came inside the final kilometre meaning he couldn't contest the sprint and he finished the stage with a few cuts and bruises to show for his efforts...he later said on instagram: ‘what a bad day — luckily i'm fine and will continue my race" you can get all the latest sports

news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the team that is your wednesday sport briefing. alexa, are you perpetuating gender bias? she can't answer that question now but female voice ai reinforces bias, says a un report. otherfemale voices to subservient and we've been asking for your views on this. may i help you should not the subject of bias, says one viewer. others have said, in today's world, this is dinky. women should be looked on as equal. it's not all about strength anymore. gender neutral voices? equal. it's not all about strength anymore. gender neutralvoices? give us anymore. gender neutralvoices? give us your views. see you soon for all the top business stories.

in this predominantly fine weather with the gardens getting drier, many could view this with envy. but for much of the uk, tuesday was sunnier and warmer compared with monday, and it was dry. and there's more dry weather around for most parts of the uk in the day ahead. big exception, though, northern isles and northern scotland. here, we are going to see a weather system close by, with cloud and some outbreaks of rain. see this area of cloud from north wales across southern most parts of the midland, it mayjust produce the odd shower. it feels every bit as

warm as it did on tuesday. that means temperatures in the high teens in some spots into the low 20s. onto wednesday night and into thursday morning, the strip of cloud probably doesn't have anything in terms of wet weather associated with it. we are still waiting. shetland is turning drier. temperatures where you are clear in northern england across to northern ireland, southern most parts of scotland, mayjust end up most parts of scotland, mayjust end up close to freezing on the coldest spots. thursday starts fine. a lot of cloud across northern scotland, still some outbreaks of rain. increasing cloud in northern ireland, the western coast of england and wales may produce in the odd spot of light rain results were, variable cloud, sunshine and you have that warmth. into friday, a bit more cloud around. the rain has eased in northern scotland. from the cloud in northern ireland, pushing down into england and wales, patchy rain spreading. some sunny spells

when you get to see them, still that warmth to be had. there are some changes on the way in time for the bank holiday weekend. low pressure moving on from the atlantic so it means there will be more cloud around. will feel slightly cooler. there is a very minor downward trend in these temperatures. it's not a washout because there will be dry spells of sunshine at times but there is a chance of rain. some of us there is a chance of rain. some of us will get wet weather but the chance of rain, at least across southern parts of the uk, remains low.

this is the business briefing. i'm sally bundock. hanging in the balance — 5,000 british steel workers await their fate as its owners continue to lobby for government backing. brain drain in the fashion industry. we go to milan where students are thinking about leaving the country in increasing numbers. and on the markets: you can see they all edging higher today, asia, following a bounce back on wall street.