welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: the british prime minister tries to sell her brexit deal — but the bbc understands that five of her top ministers want her to make changes. written but not submitted. president trump says he's finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into alleged russian election meddling. the white house reporter who clashed with president trump is to get his press pass returned by order of a judge. rescue workers intensify their search in california's deadliest wildfire with many still missing in the devastating blaze. the death toll has risen to 71. and he was the king of rock and roll. now a0 years after his death — elvis presley is awarded america's highest civilian honor.

hello and welcome. the british prime minister will try to sell her brexit deal to conservative party members, and the wider public, over the weekend. but five of theresa may's leave—supporting cabinet ministers are likely to press for further changes before a special eu summit later this month. our political correspondent iain watson reports. this weekend, theresa may will take to newspapers, television and social media to try and silverbacks are still to the public. that she may have a tougher task selling it to her party. if 48 of her mps call for it, she will face a vote of

no—confidence. last night she called dozens no—confidence. last night she called d oze ns of no—confidence. last night she called dozens of leading lights in local parties to try and persuade them to support her. and one of her allies has returned to the cabinet with this message. this is not a time for changing our leader. this is a time for pulling together, for making sure that we remember who we are here to serve and to help, the whole of the country. i worry sometimes that my colleagues are too concerned about the westminster bubble rather than keeping their eye on what our job is, to serve people. but other cabinet members are not quite as supportive. five leading leave campaigners including michael gove, andrea leadsom in and liam fox will meet within days to call for further changes to the brexit deal. is the prime minister of the eu will not give away then further resignations and not be ruled out. so far, theresa may has confounded conventional wisdom by surviving a series of setbacks. any further loss of support could leave her vulnerable. president trump says

he has personally finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into russian interference in the last us presidential election. mr trump said he had not yet submitted the responses because he'd been very busy. he again denounced the investigation as a witch hunt. there should have never been any mueller investigation because there was never anything done wrong. there is no collusion, there never has been, you would have known about it long ago if there was. they shouldn't have had it. they wasted millions and millions of dollars. there should have have never been a so—called investigation, which in theory, it is not an investigation of me. as far as i am concerned, i like to take everything personally because you do better that way. the witch—hunt, as i call it, should never have taken place. it continues to go on. i imagine it is ending now, from what i hear, it's ending. and i am sure it will bejust fine. do you know why it will be just fine? because there was no collusion. chris buckler has

more from washington. it tells us that donald trump, although he is trying to dismiss the whole threat, as it, of the investigation, as a witch—hunt and something he is not worried about, it does remain very much in his mind. and that is no surprise if you have a look at what he has said or tweeted in the past. he says he has answered these questions easily and has dismissed the whole idea that they could potentially be a problem. the other suggestion is that there is a potential they are that they trying to trick him in some way. there is also this idea that it is not the end of the matter. there could still be follow—up questions from robert mueller, also the push again to try and get donald trump to answer questions in person. we simply do not know. and the thing for president trump is that he does not know if this will be the end of the matter. even though he has said that

from what i am hearing it is ending, what do we know about where the investigation is at? the truth is that there is a lot of rumour and speculation going on in washington about what exactly is happening inside the special counsel enquiry. truthfully, it is a very, very closed investigation and we do not know a huge amount. there have been suggestions that the investigation could come to a conclusion and a report published by the end of the year or the start of next year but again that is rumour and speculation. what we do now is over the last few days we have seen a couple of court cases that have preceded that are about people who are involved in donald trump's campaign in 2016, paul manafort, the former campaign chairman and rick gates, the former deputy for manafort. they have been charged or pleaded guilty or found guilty to a series of charges connected to their time working in the ukraine.

a political consultancy one decade ago. in both cases there has been an attempt to pause things while they continue to have conversations with robert mueller. we know they are cooperating with the special counsel, we don't know exactly what they are doing or what they are saying. there was a specific suggestion in the paul manafort case that something would become clearer in the next ten days. it is a sign that this investigation is still quite busy, and still on the mind of the president as well as the minds of many people in washington. earlier the cnn journalist who clashed with president trump at a news conference and subsequently had his media pass removed, got it back. a judge in washington dc ordered the white house to return the pass tojim acosta who said the decision was good news for freedom of speech and the independence of the media. our north america editor jon sopel reports. they are hundreds of miles away, though. hundreds and hundreds of miles away. you know what, honestly, i think you shouldn't let me run —— should let me run

the country, you run cnn... it started as a bad—tempered exchange between an angry president and a provocative cnn correspondent. that's enough, put down the mic. the temperature rising when the white house justified removing acosta's hard pass, saying he laid hands on an intern. you are a rude, terrible person, you shouldn't be working for cnn. and released an edited video that had been put out by a right—wing conspiracy theory—rich website. when this was ridiculed, the white house change tack and said it because he hadn't given back the microphone. this spat grew when the president threatened to take away the credentials from other journalists he thought were rude. cnn took legal action and significantly, all of the other broadcasters herejoined in, including fox news, normally a cheerleaderfor the president. this is now about press freedom and today in court, it was acosta one, trump nil. we are extremely pleased with the ruling today, this is a great day for the first amendment and journalism, we are very excited to have mr acosta to be able to go back and get his hard pass and report news about the white house. i want to thank all of my colleagues

in the press who supported us this week, i want to thank the judge for the decision in a today and let's go back to work. today, jim acosta was able to return back to the white house. in this topsy—turvy world, the man who was meant to report the news seemed to be enjoying being the news. decorum, yep, they practised decorum... while the president, has never shied away from a fight, bemoaned the lack of decorum in white house conferences. john sopel, bbc news, washington. china's president xijingping has told a summit of world and business leaders in papua new guinea that protectionism is ‘doomed to fail‘ and hampering global growth. he's joined other asia—pacific leaders in pushing free trade at this weekend's apec summit in the pacific island nation. translation: the world today is

going through major development and transformation and change. while economic globalisation surges forward , economic globalisation surges forward, global growth is shadowed by protectionism and unilateralism. president trump has stayed away from the summit, instead sending his vice president, mike pence. he's been defending washington's trade war with china. he says it will not end until beijing changes policy. they have tremendous barriers and tremendous policies and they engage in quotas for technology transfer, intellectual property theft, industrial subsidy on an unprecedented scale. such action has contributed to a $375 billion trade deficit with the united states last year alone. as the president said today, that has all changed now. we

have taken decisive action to address the trade imbalance with china. we put tariffs on $250 billion of chinese good and we could more than double that number. but we hope for better. the united states, however, will not change course. until trying china changes its ways. the death toll in the northern california wildfire has risen to 71 after the discovery of eight more victims. the number reported missing could be as high as 1,000. there are warnings that could be duplicate names on that list. meanwhile monitoring groups report the areas air quality has become the worst in the world as the state battles the devastating blaze. the famous golden gate bridge in san franciso is barely visible through this thick cloud of smog which now blankets the region. air quality network purple air says the air is now worse than cities in india and china. i spoke to dave lee a short time ago. he joined me from one of the areas worst affected by the fires. throughout the day here we have seen some of those

search teams coming into this area, you probably cannot see it to our right because it is dark, but we are in what used to be a mobile home park, it was called the enchanted forest. as we understand it any elderly people live here seeing out their retirement, and when you look at the list of unaccounted for people from this town, from paradise, that list is overwhelmingly filmed with people in their 70s, 80s and 90s. who it is feared were unable to get out of this fire quickly enough. that is why this location has been the focus of some of those search efforts, we have seen different teams come through, removing the roofs from some of these mobile homes to make it easierfor a second team to come through and search for any remains, and once that happens a third team from the coroner's office will come through and try to identify those remains. that is extremely difficult because the

ferociousness and speed of this fire came through here is making dna matching very difficult, in fact some people who fear their loved ones may be victims of this fire have been invited to come into the police department and share belongings that belonged to their loved ones, to see that can speed up the dna matching process. overall it is an extremely tragic scene here, frankly. what is happening with the fires at the moment, are they threatening any other towns? there are still a great number of people that remain evacuated, more than 50,000 people are not in their homes. not all those homes are being destroyed, we understand around 12,000 structures have been taken by this fire. there hasn't been much progress frankly from where we are today from where we were 24 hours ago. containment is around 35—40% here in northern california, the number of acres burned is around 130,000 acres, an enormous blaze but it has not shifted in the way it has done this time last week when it swept into paradise.

this can be put down to the wind level dropping, it is very still where we are now, it is wind that has been the real catalyst with these fires moving through. those evacuees are in various places. some are in official evacuation plan for wildfires, others are in more ad hoc basis, we were in a walmart car park were a tent city has been set up, with clothes, toys, medical supplies, all the things that people need in the short term to at least try and have some comfort in their lives after having to rush out a town so quickly. the bigger question will be for president trump, he is expected to arrive here on saturday, and many people will be asking what is the plan to get people back on their feet. it is a town of 27,000 peoplejust in paradise, they are going to need somewhere to live and they are going to turn to president trump to provide the solutions for what is becoming

an enormous problem. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: brexit and the border — an exclusive report with an officer on patrol in northern ireland. benazir bhutto has claimed victory in pakistan's general election. she has asked pakistan's president to name her as prime minister. jackson's been released on bail of $3 million after turning himself into police in santa barbara. it was the biggest demonstration so far of the fast—growing european antinuclear movement. the south african government has announced that it's opening the country's remaining whites only beaches to people of all races. this will lead to a black majority government in this country and the destruction

of the white civilisation. part of the centuries—old windsor castle, one of the queen's residences, has been consumed by fire for much of the day. 150 firemen have been battling the blaze, which has caused millions of pounds worth of damage. this is bbc news, the latest headlines: leading brexiteers in the british cabinet rally behind theresa may amid attempts by rebel mps to challenge her premiership. donald trump says he has personally finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into russian interference in the last us presidential election in the last us presidential election. let's return to our top story — the political turmoil in britain over brexit. one key issue is the invisible border between northern ireland, which is part of the uk, and the republic of irealand,

part of the eu. the chief constable of northern ireland has rejected claims that threats to security at this border are being exaggerated. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page begins his exclusive report on patrol with an officer based in the south of county armagh. six zero, six zero. two boys made off in a van across the border, windscreen smashed. they have got proof they've taken drugs. 0n the uk's only land frontier, police are on the front line. 0fficers routinely patrol in a convoy of four armoured cars. they are conscious of the risk of being rammed or trapped on narrow roads by cross—border criminals. crime gangs and individuals use the border as a way of evading capture by police. we have good cooperation with our colleagues in the south, but we cannot cross the border because we're carrying firearms. so, if you are involved in a pursuit and the car goes across the border somewhere like this...

that's it. that's us stopped. and then would the police force in the irish republic pick up the pursuit? yes, they would pick it up. even in recent years, paramilitaries have targeted police with murderous intent. you can see the hedge line and the hedge line is the border. they planted a landmine here and they used the border conveniently to get away. the police service of northern ireland says its task is set to become even more demanding. it is recruiting around 100 extra officers to prepare for brexit and is likely to ask the government to fund more. the chief constable is hoping for a brexit deal, but thinks that would not solve all the issues. even a deal scenario, you know, we would need to try to work out and protect the likely responses to it. there are people in the brexit debate who will say that the threat of violence at the border, or the threat to stability in northern ireland is being exaggerated. what are your thoughts on that? those that say that we or others are overplaying the border

of brexit in policing terms, they are simply wrong. history tells us that these issues around identity and people's position, as irish citizens all british citizens or both, all of that plays out at times into increasing tension. and the man in charge of the police in the irish republic says any increase in organised crime like smuggling would benefit dissident republicans who are opposed to the peace process. one of the principal issues might be about driving funding for terrorist groups. but also then they will wish to use any difference in the border arrangement as a rallying call to their campaigns. in spite of the continuing threat, the border beat‘s changed remarkably since the frontier looked like this. no—one is expecting military watchtowers to return, but police who built up relationships with previously hostile communities hope the gains of relative peace will be protected. i'm not a politician,

i'm a police officer. but small decisions that are made can have massive implications for me working along the border. without seeing this, you perhaps don't realise what it's really like. let's get some of the day's other news. friends and relatives of the murdered saudi arabian journalist jamal khashoggi have begun a wake for him at the family home in jeddah. the wake, which will continue for four days, is an acknowledgement by the family that mr khashoggi's body is unlikely to be found. saudi arabia has admitted he was killed inside its consulate in the turkish city of istanbul last month by agents from riyadh. 0scar—winning american screenwriter, william goldman, who wrote the scripts for butch cassidy and the sundance kid and all the president's men has died at the age of 87. born to a jewish family in chicago, goldman worked for the pentagon before embarking on a writing career. he also wrote the scripts for marathon man and the princess bride, which he adapted from his own novels.

more than 40 years after his death, the king of rock and roll, elvis presley, has been awarded america's highest civilian honour. he's among seven recipients at president donald trump's first medal of freedom ceremony since taking office. gareth barlow reports. # down the end of lonely street at heartbreak hotel. ..# an icon, a legend, the king of rock ‘n‘ roll: elvis presley led a music revolution, and over 40 years after his death, he's still winning awards. # for brokenhearted lovers...# the man behind hound dog and heartbreak hotel was among seven recipients of the presidential medal of freedom, america's highest civilian honour. elvis presley remains an enduring and beloved american icon. the united states is honoured

to honour this legend. jack soden, president of elvis presley enterprises collected the medal on the king's behalf. one of the most beloved artists and most enduring cultural icons that has ever lived. the king of rock ‘n‘ roll — the true king, and you have to say that — elvis aaron presley. among the other recipients in the white house were the 20th—century baseball legend babe ruth and the late elvis presley now joins other music legends, like ella fitzgerald and bob dylan, in winning one of the nation's highest awards — a true sign that he remains one of america's — and music's — biggest stars. ian cramfield is a us—based radio presenter and musicjournalist.

hejoins me from phoenix, arizona. i use surprised by this honour?|j don't i use surprised by this honour?” don't think so resident trump hit the nail on the head saying elvis is a cultural icon. i thought he was a cultural form, there a cultural icon. i thought he was a culturalform, there are a cultural icon. i thought he was a cultural form, there are certain artists in the history of music, like the beatles and the rolling stones as well, where they are known for the music that they made, but there it packed on culture, on a worldwide basis, is absolutely huge. he absolutely deserves a medal of freedom. when you look at the work of elvis and the impact he had on culture, so many different cultures further down the line, way after we have all left this planet there will be people in schools probably still

studying someone like elvis and looking into the impact that he had on society as a whole. on very much a global basis. if he had such a huge impact, why has it taken so long for him to be honoured in this way? the way that the americans think of the medal of freedom is that it think of the medal of freedom is thatitis think of the medal of freedom is that it is the highest honour a civilian can be bestowed. i guess they only do this every so often for a certain number of people, and it was elvis' opportunity at this point in time. but i think overall elvis, in terms of his cultural revel in —— releva nce, in terms of his cultural revel in —— relevance, just continues. if you look at his chart success over the yea rs, look at his chart success over the years, he was an artist who made music through a short period of time, but that music keeps being released on albums come at it gets remixed by dance djs in clubs and gets taken to a whole new audience

every few years will stop what is it about elvis' music that has had this meaning throughout generations? i think if you take it back to when elvis started and you look at the kind of news it that was around before elvis come people were buying "how much is that doggy in the window" on single, and elvis came along and that became "hound dog". with the difference between those two songs you can see how elvis was moving things along. people were thinking he was very controversial back then, he was on tv playing rock vnv back then, he was on tv playing rock ‘n‘ roll and thrusting his pelvis, which was incredibly upsetting for people in the 1950s of a certain age, that was part of his impact and then as time moved on it became timeless. his music was moving movies, he reinvented himself when people have done covers and remixes, and is testament to the quality of

the music that he was producing that it very much is timeless. thank you very much. talking there are about elvis presley being awarded one of civilian‘s highest honours in the us. now this isn't for the faint—hearted. let me show you some pictures coming in from portugal, hosts of the world surf league's big wave tour at the country's famous surf venue, nazare. this year's title was taken out by south african surfer grant ‘twiggy‘ baker. he played it safe during the opening rounds, and peaked atjust the right time to catch this massive forty—foot wave, riding it to victory. successfully, lucky man. much more coming up on bbc world news. hello.

some of us got to see sunshine on friday but for many more the day was spent under cloud shrouded in mist and murk. but as we progress through the weekend, more and more of us will see that sunshine. with that though, it will start to turn chilly. high pressure anchored across the heart of europe, winds moving high pressure around in a clockwise direction, that gives us a south—easterly wind which will bring us some dry air. watch the cloud, it starts to break up. we will see more and more sunshine. let's look at that in more detail. a lot of cloud, some mist and murk and fog to start the day, the odd spot of drizzle. east anglia and the south—east first to emerge into brightness, northern scotland seeing some brightness, the cloud retreating westwards during the day, more and more of us see those blue skies overhead, so by lunchtime devon and cornwall and west wales might still have some cloud but for east wales, the midlands, east anglia and the south—east there should be some sunshine.

similar story for north—west england. north—east england and eastern scotland, particularly around higher ground, may well keep more cloud. it will take awhile to brighten up across northern ireland, but western and northern scotland will see some sunshine. temperatures around 11 or 12 degrees, but a noticeable easterly breeze particularly in the south, making it feel cooler than that. into early sunday with clear skies overhead, it is going to be a cool night, probably too much of a breeze to allow things to get really cold, but your towns and cities will get down to 4—5 degrees, maybe just a bit colder than that in the countryside. getting on into sunday it is a beautiful looking day for most of us, we will see plenty of sunshine, still perhaps some cloud at times feeding into some of the eastern slopes of the pennines, parts of eastern scotland, and those temperatures, 9—12, just subtly creeping downwards. a sign of what is to come, because going into the start of the new working week, high pressure will still be sitting here, those winds moving clockwise, but that will introduce some colder

air from the east and that will also bring back the cloud. more cloud around on monday, perhaps the odd spot of drizzle, still a keen breeze particularly in the south, and the coldest feel will be in southern areas. single digits here, we may get to 10 degrees for belfast and glasgow, but it does look decidedly chilly into the middle part of the week. there will be cloud and the odd spot of drizzle, and over high ground maybe just a flake or two of something wintry. this is bbc news. the headlines: the uk prime minister theresa may, has moved to shore up her government, following widespread opposition to her brexit deal with the eu. mrs may has won the support of some of her key brexiteer ministers, but she has had to defend herself against further calls from critics to stand down. donald trump says he has personally finished writing his answers to questions posed by the mueller inquiry into russian interference in the 2016 us

presidential election. mr trump said he had not yet submitted the responses because he'd been very busy. he again described the investigation as a witch hunt. the white house has agreed temporarily to allow the cnn journalist, jim acosta, back into press briefings, after a court ordered it to do so. the journalist's pass was revoked last week after he argued with president trump during a news conference. is the latest headlines —— those are the latest headlines. in about a quarter of an hour, here on bbc news, we'll have