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Brexit: Johnson to press Merkel over backstop

Boris Johnson is going to Berlin to push his case for the EU abandoning its backstop plan to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The prime minister says the backstop, agreed to by predecessor Theresa May, is "anti-democratic" and that he is ready to make a new deal.

But the Brexit deadline of 31 October is non-negotiable, he will tell German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

So what sort of reception is Mr Johnson likely to receive? Speaking ahead of the talks, Ms Merkel said a solution could be found to the Irish border issue that meant the backstop would not be needed - but indicated, as EU leaders have consistently said, that there would be no change to the withdrawal agreement.

Mr Johnson has a busy few days of diplomacy ahead, going to Paris for more talks on Thursday and then the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, on Saturday. The BBC's Reality Check asks whether France and Germany are ready for Brexit.

Meanwhile, we look at whether a breakthrough over the backstop is imminent. And here's a reminder of what the backstop is.

Shipping containers 'housing homeless children'

A report by the children's commissioner for England says 124,000 children are officially homeless. Another 90,000 are thought to be "sofa-surfing" - frequently moving from one place to another. Anne Longfield's report also finds councils are housing families in converted office blocks with rooms "barely bigger than a parking space" and converted shipping containers described as "blisteringly hot in summer and freezing in the winter months". Read the details here.

The government says people who feel they have been placed in unsuitable accommodation can ask for a review.

Here's a report from earlier this year on life in a former office block.

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Trump cancels Denmark visit after Greenland sale snub

When US President Donald Trump said he was thinking of buying the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland, Denmark's PM, Mette Frederiksen, dismissed the idea as "absurd". Now Mr Trump has retaliated by cancelling a state visit to Denmark planned for next month. He said he would meet Queen Margrethe II and Ms Frederiksen another time.

Here's all you need to know about Greenland.

Barcelona crime wave tarnishes city's image

By Guy Hedgecoe

Several violent robberies, including the mugging of a foreign diplomat, have drawn attention to a wave of crime in Barcelona that is alarming residents and the local authorities. The Afghan ambassador in Spain, Masood Khalili, was robbed on Sunday night in central Barcelona, when several assailants threw him to the ground and took his watch. Mr Khalili suffered a leg injury in the attack.

A few blocks away, also on Sunday night, a 91-year-old French woman suffered head injuries when thieves grabbed her necklace.

"It's time to admit the situation is out of control," says the president of one Barcelona business association.

Read the full article

What the papers say

Several papers lead on the government's announcement that ministers and top officials will stop attending EU most meetings in 10 days' time. The Daily Telegraph calls it a "Brussels boycott", while Metro describes it as a "walkout". The Times reports that Boris Johnson will tell Angela Merkel that Parliament cannot prevent a no-deal Brexit, when they hold talks in Berlin later. And the Guardian says any chance of a new deal rests on events at the G7 summit later this week.

Daily digest

George Pell Cardinal loses appeal against sexual abuse convictions

Mary Cavner Irish workhouse victim wins compensation battle

Haemophilia A New drug for people who can bleed uncontrollably

Old gadgets "Up to 40 million" languishing in UK homes

If you see one thing today

Image copyright Suzanne Boehmer

'I bought a house thanks to my bullet journal'

If you listen to one thing today

Image copyright Reuters

Can animals use language?

If you read one thing today

Image copyright ONE Archives at USC

Who are the two grooms in this 1957 wedding pic?

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Lookahead

Today Member states of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora are expected to issue new guidelines on the trade in elephant ivory.

09:30 The Scottish Government publishes its expenditure and revenue figures.

On this day

1983 Philippines opposition leader Benigno Aquino is assassinated just minutes after returning home from exile.

From elsewhere

How life became an endless, terrible competition (The Atlantic)

The men who have taken their wives' surnames (Guardian)

How cultural anthropologists redefined mankind (New Yorker)

Why are so many celebrities trying to get into my fridge? (Vogue)