News Daily: Ophelia bears down on UK
Hello. Here's your morning briefing:
Reuters'Danger to life' warning as storm heads to UK
Thirty years to the day since the Great Storm of 1987, the UK is facing another major battle with the weather, as ex-Hurricane Ophelia brings winds of up to 80mph along the coast of Ireland.
Schools in Northern Ireland have been shut as a precaution while the Irish Republic is sending members of its defence forces to its southern and western coasts.
The UK's Met Office said there was a "good chance" Northern Ireland could be hit by power cuts, flying debris, large waves in coastal areas and disruption to all travel services.
For the rest of the UK, Monday is set to be a "day of huge contrasts", said BBC Weather, with the strong gusts of wind travelling over the Irish Sea and heading north to central and southern Scotland.
Eastern England though is instead expected to enjoy unusually warm weather, with predicted temperatures of 22C or 23C on Monday. The average mid-October temperature is more usually 15C.
You can keep up with all the latest developments on our live page.
May heads to Brussels for Brexit talks
The return of the working week sees Prime Minister Theresa May heading to Brussels later along with her Brexit Secretary David Davis.
They're off for talks with the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker in a bid to end the reported deadlock in talks over the UK's divorce from the 28-member bloc.
This top-level engagement by the prime minister kicked off on Sunday morning when she called German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the stalemate. Downing Street said the two women had agreed on the "importance of continued constructive progress" in the UK's exit negotiations in the early morning phone call.
Hundreds dead in Mogadishu blast
At least 230 people have been killed after a lorry packed with explosives blew up in a busy part of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Hundreds more were wounded when a lorry packed with explosives detonated near the entrance of a hotel.
No group has said it was behind Saturday's attack, but the country's president has blamed Islamist extremist group al-Shabab group, which has been fighting an insurgency in Somalia since 2007.
Police official Ibrahim Mohamed told the AFP news agency the death toll was likely to rise. "There are more than 300 wounded, some of them seriously," he said.
Hospitals in chocolate crackdown
A new rule limiting sweets and chocolates sold in hospital shops and vending machines to 250 calories or fewer could see "super-size" bars banned, according to NHS England.
Its boss, Simon Stevens, says they are "stepping up" to tackle "an epidemic of obesity".
It's not just chocolate which is in the firing line, with pre-packed sandwiches also being trimmed to reduce calories and the nation's waistlines. Under the proposals, 75% of sandwiches will come in at under 400 calories.
Great Storm 1987: The day 18 people were killed
By Tanya Gupta, BBC News
Alec Homewood was about five miles away from his childhood home when its roof fell in and killed his brother.
Cyril Homewood, known as Bob, was upstairs asleep in his bedroom when the chimney collapsed - the force of which pushed the legs of his bed through the ceiling into the kitchen.
"It just devastated the house," his brother said. "Virtually all the roof came down. Mother said he'd been killed, but we didn't know."
What the papers say
Monday's papers cannot quite agree on what is the lead, with the Daily Telegraph previewing next month's Budget, saying Philip Hammond is planning a "raid on older workers" by offering tax breaks to those in their 20s and 30s. The chancellor wants to promote "intergenerational fairness", the paper reports. The Times leads with Theresa May's "surprise trip" to Brussels to break the impasse on Brexit, with the paper quoting a source saying the PM is having dinner with EU officials to discuss European and geopolitical issues. Crimes including burglaries, thefts and some assaults could be "ignored" by police forces, claims The Sun. It says a £400m cost-cutting drive means "hundreds of thousands" of offences would not be investigated.
Daily digest
Sebastian Kurz Austrian conservative set to become world's youngest leader
Dumfries and Galloway Twelve-year-old boy crushed to death by large pole
Mesh surgeon Surgeon investigated by his NHS trust after women left in severe pain
Air Asia Jet turns back after mid-air scare
If you watch one thing today
If you listen to one thing today
If you read one thing today
Getty ImagesToday's lookahead
Today Latest Fifa World Rankings published which will be used to determine seeded teams for Tuesday's European Play-Off draw for the 2018 World Cup.
20:00 President Trump's former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci addresses the Oxford Union.
On this day
1996 The UK government announces plans to outlaw almost all handguns following the shocking massacre at Dunblane.
From elsewhere
