this is the briefing, i'm victoria fritz. our top story: students have joined office workers in australia as part of a global climate change day of demonstrations and strikes. storm imelda brings widespread flash—flooding to the southern us. at least 1,000 people have been rescued. the young kosovans and serbs meeting for the first time, as pressure mounts to reopen peace talks, 20 years after the war. in business, can the brexit deadlock be broken? sterling surges to a two—month high as european commission chief jean—claude juncker says

a deal is possible. 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 day of global climate demonstrations has begun, with millions of people expected to skip school or work to join in. crowds are already out on the streets in australia demanding action on climate change ahead of next week's un summit. as the day progresses, protests are expected to spread from the asia—pacific, through europe and africa, to the americas.

you can see these pictures starting to come in from sydney, and we are as we said expecting to see this whole wave of climate change protests to ripple across the globe. everyone united on many of these have risen from children over the last few months, very much a cause taken up by younger people. you can see they are clearly quite active there. when we can clearly quite active there. when we ca n cfoss clearly quite active there. when we can cross to phil mercer in sydney we will do so. but for the moment we will speak to roger, who has been looking at the events taking place today. the girl who sparked today's action.

greta thunberg started a global crime climate youth movement after striking from school in sweden, young people fearful for their future. ms greta thunberg sailed to new york for today's demonstration. adults, inspired by their children, will take to the streets as well, hoping it will be the biggest worldwide climate protest yet, designed to influence world leaders meeting in new york on monday. the demonstrators may be disappointed. the former uk government chief scientist says the effects of climate heating are being witnessed much earlier than he had expected. we are seeing extreme weather events just rolling out, year after year, with massive loss of life. rising sea levels, rising temperatures, changes in weather patterns, impacting on farmers and everybody. is this a scary scenario? of course it is. and how should we react as human beings to this scenario? we have to all pull together and understand the challenges and act to

stop it. and the economic damage will be worse than forecast as well. according to a group of economists. the growing pressure to curb the emissions that are warming the world has not stopped president trump overturning more environmental regulations. he is trying to stop california setting stricter targets for vehicles, and taken a big step towards opening up alaska for drilling. aleem maqbool reports from another climate battleground, in colorado. the north fork valley in colorado is an area of stunning diversity of landscape. lush, green valleys beside striking, stark desert terrain, plateau mountains, and dense pine forests. but it also sits on one of the largest shale gas reserves in the us, leaving these pockets of untouched splendour severely under threat — perhaps now more than ever.

well, this gas well has been in operation not farfrom north fork for many years, but the trump administration is pushing aggressively for more wells to be drilled on public lands. but that includes areas of natural beauty, and even wildlife refuges. in just its first year, the trump administration offered up nearly 12 million acres of public lands to oil and gas companies, six times as much as the 0bama administration the previous year. this land was only settled a little over 100 years ago... those opposed to energy companies developing here say they're just not being listened to. why are we trashing some of our remarkable landscapes, and pristine landscapes, just so somebody can make a profit? it doesn't make sense. why the rush to get at these areas, that we'll never be able to put ‘em back in the same way? but the current administration is proud that us oil and gas production is going up.

this is an opportunity, maybe, for us to be able to export. we can export now into japan, we have some contracts... but at what expense to the environment? well, again i will point to my state. you know, we have some of the most stringent environmental requirements that are put in place. in fact, environmental regulations, like on emissions, on protecting wildlife, on drilling and pollution, have been overturned at an astonishing rate in favour of oil and gas companies. we have seen attacks on some of our most fundamental regulations meant to protect our natural resources, really bedrock environmental regulations, and we've seen definite efforts by the trump administration to reduce the amount of input that the community can provide to these important decisions. already, more than 50 rules to protect the environment have been

scrapped, and all the signs are even more are on their way out — good for the us oil and gas industry, bad for the environment and for climate change. aleem maqbool, bbc news, in the north fork valley, colorado. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: the brazilian mining giant vale has been ordered to pay nearly $3 million to the family of several victims of a dam collapse in january. the sentence by a court in the state of minas gerais is the first successful individual claim against the company. more than 300 people died in the disaster. environmental groups say china and india are planning huge increases in their coal production, despite warnings from scientists of the need for drastic cuts to try to limit global warming. turkey, vietnam, japan and poland are also singled out for increasing coal production. facebook‘s chief executive has been talking with president trump at the white house. on twitter, mr trump said it had been a nice meeting.

0n capitol hill earlier, mark zuckerberg met members of congress and rejected calls for him to break up the social network. let's turn to our top business story. the pound has surged to a two—month high against the dollar after european commission president jean—claude juncker said a new brexit deal is possible. talks are scheduled in brussels today between the uk's brexit secretary and the eu's chief negotiator. so is this optimism on financial markets justified ? mark davies is ceo of strategy consultancy firm camberton. what do you think? the pound up and down like a yo—yo. is this optimism justified? yes, i think it is. down like a yo—yo. is this optimism justified? yes, ithink it is. i think we are heading for a deal. i think we are heading for a deal. i think there is a lot of talking going on all of a sudden because the

pressure is really on. we have 46 days left, is it? and so i think yes, probably heading for a very late deal. the dup appear to be softening their stance slightly, there are talks going on with leo varadkar, stephen buckley is in brussels, and jean—claude juncker has made this pronouncement. and arlene foster certainly in new york for the un general assembly next week, which of course the prime minister will be at as well. do you think a deal will be forthcoming by 31 october? because there seems to bea 31 october? because there seems to be a little bit of confusion over this, because certainly one of the papers that we are going to be looking at later suggest that stephen buckley, who is the brexit secretary, says we need another year on the backstop. yes, he thinks that in order to tie down the legals of its we need another year. but the deal would have to go through by 31 0ctober unless an extension was granted —— stephen barclay. i think the prime minister has made very clear he doesn't want to do that. so

it would come in 17 or 18 october and it would have to be voted through and crucially it is the changing numbers in parliament because people are seeing their preferred option is very unlikely. they are getting too close to the wire here. this is a very, very high—stakes game of poker, and people with end up voting for something which six months ago they we re something which six months ago they were not voting for, or at least something that is pretty well the same as... a fairly small tweak to it. but i think ofjohnson presents any kind of compromise to parliament, i think he will find he gets the numbers. well, this is it, it is whether or not he gets this condition that if the deal doesn't go through than the only alternative is no—deal brexit, and certainly to to those comments from jean—claude juncker yesterday to a news organisation, he said that the possible consequences, he described them as being catastrophic, and so therefore he wants to avoid an ideal scenario in any event. yes, i think what's really important is that both of the extreme options are on the

table. so if we are heading for no deal, it may well be that the government falls, and the result of that will be, as far as those who really wa nt that will be, as far as those who really want brexit is concerned, that brexit goes to a second referendum. so on both sides of the argument there are people who are worried they are going to lose the scenario that they would most like, and that will get the votes. the problem we have had all the way through is that there has always been one side or the other who feels it has the ascendancy, and therefore has not been prepared to go for a compromise deal. you need both sides to go for a compromise at the same time, and you can only really do that when the pressure is really on, and the pressure is certainly on 110w. and the pressure is certainly on now. it certainly is. we will talk a little bit more about the various different faces of brexit a little bit later on. at least 1,000 people have been rescued and hundreds of flights cancelled as heavy rains pummel parts of texas and louisiana. tropical depression imelda is slowly weakening, but has caused widespread

flash—flooding. gareth barlow reports. in houston, roads became rivers. flash—floods inundated the region, amid forecasts that tropical depression imelda could dump close to a metre of rain in some areas. the state's governor, greg abbott, declared a state of emergency in more than a dozen counties, as the storm knocked out power and left people stranded in their homes and cars. wherever you are, please stay where you are. do not think, because, you know, you look out and the weather is bad, oh, let me get home. because essentially you'll be leaving a safe place, getting out on the road, where there's a lot of water, and you will be heading into dangerous conditions. 100 km east of houston, a hospital in the town of winnie was evacuated as rising waters threaten the wards.

some areas experienced the worst flooding since hurricane harvey killed more than 60 people two years ago. further rain is expected throughout thursday and friday. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: the rugby world cup gets under way injapan later, in what is considered the most open tournament for years. 30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. there is people alive and there is people not alive. we just can help and give them whatever we've got. a state funeral has been held for princess grace of monaco at the church where she married prince rainier 26 years ago. it looked as though they had come to fight a war, but their mission is to bring peace to east timor, and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case is being forcefully presented by monsieur badinter, the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for the abolition, having once witnessed one of his

clients being executed. elizabeth seton spent much of her time at this grotto, and every year, hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she's become a saint, it's expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businessmen regard the anticipated boom as just another blessing of st elizabeth. you are watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: thousands of protestors in sydney join demonstrators around the world to highlight what they say is government inaction over climate change. the united states and the european union are putting pressure on kosovo and serbia to reopen peace talks, after negotiations broke down last year. the war in kosovo ended 20 years ago, but as both countries appear to be moving further

from a resolution, tensions on the ground are once again rising. the bbc‘sjean mackenzie has travelled to northern kosovo to meet young people on either side of the conflict, to see if this could be the generation to finally put its differences to rest. in this town, kosovo ‘s conflict lives on with serbs living on one side of the river, albanians on the other did it armed police in between. we are trying to find the queen. this man is from the albanian side. after the war we had nothing because they burnt our house all we had with these bees to his family we re had with these bees to his family were chased from their home by serbian soldiers during the war. this business allow them to start again but the memories of war still linger. how do you feel towards the serbian people in kosovo? we have a distance between us. if we go towards their place they will look

like, strange at you, maybe attack you. before the war, kosovo belong to serbia. and albanian rebels began to serbia. and albanian rebels began to fight for freedom, the serbian army responded ruefully, massacring civilians. it wasn't until nato intervened that serbia withdrew. kosovo went on to declare independence but to this day kosovo —— serbia does not recognise it existence and neither does the serbian minority who live here. this woman has grown up serbian minority who live here. this woman has grown up in the serbian side of the river. it is difficult. we think the album beanie ends are not us. do you recognise kosovo as a country? that is a very hard question. this side of town feels totally different. there are serbian

flags everywhere. they speak a different language and they use a different language and they use a different currency. these communities may share a city but they are completely divided. thousands of nato troops are still needed here. peace talks between kosovo and serbia broke down last year and the tensions are once again simmering. serbia is demanding certain conditions for talks to continue which of the act in prime minister ‘s refusing to meet. isn't it time to go back to the table and start negotiating again? yes. it is time to go back to the table. without any conditions. we are a victim nation. half of us go from here and many of us lost our lives. we would like to see a solution with our neighbour but it takes to for that. with politicians deadlocked, hopes rest with the young, that they may one day find a way to live together. we are tired. we just want

things to get better for our families, for the economy, for our country. after somehow cetacean, these two agreed to meet on the bridge that stands between them. this will be the first time arian has ever spoken to a serb. hello. i am selena. i am fine. we should move on. leave the wall behind. why would we forget it? solano is struggling to understand why he cannot forget the war. you have to change. the way you say it, like just for getting it and everything will be ok, you have not been damaged. that is why you will never know what is the feeling. it's not about you. it is nice to meet you. even with the generation

that wants peace the most, common ground is hard to find. but a breakthrough is desperately needed if you're a ‘s youngest country is ever to grow up. —— if europe's youngest country is ever to grow up. the rugby world cup gets under way later in tokyo, first time the tournament is being hosted by an asian nation. it's only four years since japan caused a huge shock with their 311—32 victory over south africa in england. now they will be hoping to build on that stunning victory on home soil. mariko 0i joins us now from tokyo. great to see you. a question for many fans who are getting on the plane and travelling over to japan at the moment, looking forward to the world cup there. why japan? at the moment, looking forward to the world cup there. whyjapan?|j guess the aim of having the rugby world cup here injapan is to spread the popularity of the sport yonder

the popularity of the sport yonder the traditional rugby playing nations like england, new zealand, australia south africa and asia is the most populous region on the planet jan —— the most populous region on the planetjan ——japan the most populous region on the planet jan —— japan has the largest by planet jan —— japan has the largest rugby playing population in asia. the country is no stranger to hosting big international sporting events. japan was the first asian nation to host a fifa world cup in 2002 alongside south korea. and from the japanese point of view it is good practice ahead of the tope go 0lympics. there were concerns that ina 0lympics. there were concerns that in a country where baseball and full all are much more popular with the locals are excited about it. judging from the people i have spoken to, i think it is fair to say that there. i noticed many local tv channels showing special programmes about the rules of rugby and whether or not the viewers understood is another matter but are very excited and will be moving to a fans own later today and we will see how excited they are

about enjoying the opening match. that will take place in the stadium behind us later today. my favourite of the local excitement is this. look at this. rice paddy rugby art. wishing good to the japanese team. there are a few sensitive issues such as how to use, which are associated with organised crime in japan. so there are concerns about whether that needs to be covered but there are issues about the british embassy releasing videos on how to behave in japan. but embassy releasing videos on how to behave injapan. but visitors are behaving themselves and the locals are excited. and enjoy the fans and have a great time. now it's time to get the rest of the sport from the bbc sports centre. hello. here is your fridays board

briefing. we start with football. the group phase of the europa league got underway on thursday. one of the stand—out ties involved two of the sides that reached the last four last season — with arsenal winning at eintracht frankfurt. the gunners — who lost to chelsea in the final — took the lead against frankfurt with a goal from joe willock, just before half—time. there were further goals from bukayo saka and pierre—emerick aubameyang in the last five minutes, to seal a 3—0 victory. on to tennis — and friday is quarter—finals day at the pan—pacific 0pen injapan where top seed naomi 0saka is among those in action. but the number two seed kiki bertens was beaten on thursday, and so was the number 3 seed sloane stephens. the former us open champion was thrashed in straight sets by camila giorgi. the unseeded italian won the first set 6—0 — and then took the second 6—3 to claim victory in just over a hour. giorgi — who reached the semi—finals last year — will now face the number 9 seed

elise mertens in the last eight. the english golfer matt wallace leads by one shot ahead of the 2nd round of the european tour's pga championship at wenworth in england — but rory mcilroy had a bit of a shocker and will have to play better than he did on thursday. the world number two rory mcilroy who's bidding to win this tournament for a third time faces an uphill battle just to make the cut. he carded a a—over—par 76 — and he's already 11 shots behind the leader wallace. finally with pitching speeds often in the mid 90 miles an hour baseball can of course be a dangerous sport. but how about this for a way to get injured? while innocuous at first, leury garcia of the chicago white sox is clearly in a bit of pain. what happened, i hear you ask? well, simply willians astudillo of the minnesota twins putting garcia through some testing times and refusing to play ball.

in the end, nutting to worry about. really brings a new meaning to "take me out to the ball game", the song traditionally sang at all the baseball matches. in any case, you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport. but from me and the rest of the sport team, that's your friday sport briefing a nice lively sport litton. why not? —— sport bulletin. the winner of the 2019 mercury prize for music has been announced, and it's gone to british rapper dave. # i #iseea # i see a lot of men get pressured his album psychodrama looks at issues of race, class and grief , it's been called the ‘boldest british rap album in a generation'. here's the moment rapper dave won, and brought his mum up on stage with him. i want to firstly thank god. i want to invite my mum up onto the stage.

cheering and applause. just a reminder of our top story before i turn to business. millions of people around the world are expected to take part in what could be the largest ever climate change protest today. more than 5000 demonstrations are planned in over 150 countries. many will involve young people staying away from school, university or work. those involved are asking for governments to ta ke involved are asking for governments to take more urgent action to tackle global warming. this is of the un summit on climate change which begins in new york on monday. yes, millions of children are expected to join that climate change strike protesters demand an end to the age

of fossil fuels and climate justice for everyone. live coverage will last all day. marking protests from the pacific islands to la. hello there. temperatures are set to climb over the next couple of days. friday morning will start off with some fog patches in places but that should tend to lift and clear fairly quickly and then we'll see a lot of sunshine and some real warmth as well. high pressure is centred just about here. you can see the winds rotating around it in a clockwise direction. the high pressure keeping the rain—bearing cloud at bay for the time being out in the atlantic. wind out in the atlantic. is coming from the south of the south—east wind is coming from the south of the south—east dragon warm air in our direction. fog patches through the morning, maybe the odd one for northern ireland. they were left and clear. patches of cloud drifting northwards but generally speaking a lot of sunshine to come through the date. temperatures are widely between 19 and 22 degrees. the

warmest weather of all during friday afternoon is likely across northern parts of scotland. with the south or south—easterly wind, where you get some shelter to the north of high ground you could see temperatures at 23 or 2a degrees. the dry weather continues into friday night. long clear spells overhead but the breeze will be increasing all the time. with more of a breeze i don't think we will see too many problems with mist orfog we will see too many problems with mist or fog and we will see too many problems with mist orfog and it we will see too many problems with mist or fog and it will be slightly less chilly night than some we have had recently, with flows of nine through 1a degrees. saturday will be the warmest day for many of us. feed of south south—easterly wind across the british isles ringing warm air up the british isles ringing warm air up from the near continent. high—pressure holds on for the first half of the weekend but notice the frontal systems out west. they will eventually make their move and turn things more unsettled. saturday is the reliably dry day for many of us. a lot of sunshine around, some cloud spreading to the west later and a

chance for the odd thunderstorm through the south—west of england and parts of wales, maybe northern ireland late in the day to ahead of that in the sunshine, this is, as i say, the warmer stated anyone, 25 or 26 degrees. during saturday night there is the increasing chance we will see some thundery downpours drifting across western parts of the uk. ahead of this weather front. this will move erratically north—east woods during sunday, taking outbreaks of rain with it. uncertainty about where it will come to rest through the afternoon. ahead of another warm day, reaching 2a degrees. behind that system, things are much cooler and much fresher.

this is the business briefing, i'm victoria fritz. can the brexit deadlock be broken? sterling surges to a two—month high, as european commission chief jean—claude juncker says a deal is possible. plus: climate of mistrust. amazon pledges to go green, but hundreds of staff plan to walk out over its environmental record. and on the markets, asia stocks tick higher as economic stimulus from central banks around the world ease fears overslowing growth. crude oil prices climbing on concerns over supply risks