i'm kasia madera in london. the headlines: another day of drama in britain's parliament. boris johnson suffers two major defeats. first mps back a bill that will prevent a no—deal brexit, and then they deny his call for a general election. in hong kong, protest leaders reject proposals from the territory's chief executive aimed at ending months of unrest. i'm rico hizon in singapore. also in the programme: we report from the northern bahamas, where rescuers have begun to reach areas devastated by hurricane dorian. and how climate change is melting greenland's ice sheet at a rapid rate, and how that affects

other parts of the world. it is 8:00am in the morning in singapore and 1:00am here in london, where the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has suffered two major setbacks for his brexit strategy. first, a cross—party group of mps was successful in getting a bill passed to prevent a no—deal brexit. the bill potentially forces mrjohnson to do something that he has repeatedly ruled out, namely asking the eu for yet another brexit delay unless a deal is secured. the prime minister's response was to call for a general election on 15 october, but he failed to get sufficient support from mps. our political editor laura kuenssberg reports on the day's events.

are we through the looking glass now? the prime minister is demanding a new parliament over there, an election, yet he says he doesn't want one. the other parties say they do, but may yet stand in his way. it won't be settled until the commons closes a door on the possibility that borisjohnson could take us out of the eu next month without a deal. reporter: have you lost control, prime minister? his brexit, at any cost. order. questions to the prime minister. but, if he gets his way, this first joust of shouting in prime minister's questions could be his last. the prime minister. can he confirm now that he will allow the people of this country to decide on what he is giving up in their name with the general election on october the 15th, or is he frit? there's only one chlorinated chicken

that i can see in this house, and he's on that bench. he's desperate, absolutely desperate, to avoid scrutiny. the riposte — read his lips. "you're a great big girl's blouse." and, in his third day in office, after five questions from me, we haven't had an answer to any of them. they crowded into the voting lobbies tonight, disbelieving, as the idea of bringing theresa may's plan back appeared to pass by mistake. the ayes to the right — 327. the noes to the left — 299. but they were successful at this stage, voting to prevent the prime minister taking us out of the eu in october if no deal is in place. now it is up to the house of lords, though, preparing to bed down to talk and talk until it is done, racing against the deadline, before parliament shuts next week.

a group of anti—no—deal mps, led by the man who was chancellor a few weeks ago, even marched themselves to the lords tonight, as if to make sure to do their business. the chances now of this bloc failing, tonight peeping in at the edge of the lords, seems slim. so the main battle inside might soon be outside, if, or more likely when, a general election is finally called. this the first official request. there must now be an election on tuesday 15 october, and i invite the right honourable gentleman to respond to decide which of us goes as prime minister to that crucial council. labour says not yet, not until the anti—no—deal plan becomes law, but that could be in days. i look forward to the day his government and his party, and all the austerity and misery they've heaped on this country, are turfed out of office.

it's a cynical movement from a cynical prime minister. so, if he wants an election, extend article 50 for the purposes of having a general election, and bring it on. once a no—deal has been blocked, mps across this house on the opposition benches should come together to bring down this government. this parliament is crumbling in front of us, but not ready to choose to end itself yet. when it came, the decision was against number ten. labour abstained. the ayes to the right — 298. the noes to the left — 56. confident in the bunker it is not "no" for good. it is no — not yet. so, as we've heard, a cross—party alliance of mps has voted for legislation to try to block a no—deal brexit and to force the prime minister to ask for another brexit delay

unless a deal is agreed. so how might things develop from here? our deputy political editor john pienaar has more. wherever you stand, all you can do is watch. see how british politics has changed almost beyond recognition, traditions of consensus and compromise discarded. chanting: stop the coup! chanting: brexit now! in there, the argument has become as angry and bitter as it is out here. yesterday, borisjohnson lost the first round. even some tory critics say he overplayed his hand, treated the rebels too harshly. he is on the losing side again today, but now borisjohnson has set his sights on an early election, and this deadly serious game is on. point of order... mps are ploughing in a single day through the bill to block no—deal and delay brexit — more than enough of them

to beat the government. labour, snp and plaid, lib dems and the tory outcasts. many different aims, but a single plan — stop a no—deal brexit. so what does the rebel alliance want? well, to outlaw no deal, obviously, and opposition leaders want an election after that mission is accomplished. meanwhile, in meetings, on social media, in the tea rooms and among the statues, some outcast tories and labour mps want a brexit deal. others want a referendum. labour is promising one after the election, maybe on a new deal, if there is one, otherwise a choice between no—deal and remain. that is what the lib dems want. they want to stop brexit. so does the snp, who believe this crisis could be taking us closer to an independent scotland — the end of the union. now, down there, perhaps the most genteel debating chamber in the democratic world, well,

things are about to turn ugly. this country has high standards... the lords must pass the rebel bill too. in debates, in debates about debates, opposing sides doing all they can to support or resist the attempt to rule out a no—deal brexit and bind the prime minister's hands by law. signs are it will be as passionate, maybe as bad—tempered, as the upper house ever gets. what then? what is the prime minister's plan? well, a 15 october election, if only the commons would let him. but it takes two thirds of mps to agree to an early election. that is 434 of them. and we saw that yesterday the numbers weren't there. what about labour? they look split. some close tojeremy corbyn say they would like to move within days to back an early election. others want to wait until they can force borisjohnson to break his defining promise and seek a brexit extension in brussels,

though he has promised we would leave, deal or no deal, by 31 october — humiliation. the outcome — anybody‘s guess. if this was a game, it would be gripping. but this is no game. let's take a look at some of the day's other news: hong kong's leader, carrie lam, has announced the formal withdrawal of a highly controversial extradition bill. the planned legislation triggered months of protests by anti—government activists, who feared that it would allow suspects to be sent for trial in mainland china. our correspondentjohn sudworth is in beijing. for three months solid, through the mass protests, the escalating violence, carrie lam has been insisting that she cannot withdraw this bill, largely thought to be because beijing won't let her. and yet here we are. she has blinked, and yet it's being met with howls of derision.

"too little, too late" appears to be the gist of the protesters‘ reaction. and to understand why that is, you must understand how far we've come. what began as a protest over this single bill has now morphed into a genuine mass pro—democracy movement, fuelled by fears of what chinese rule will mean for hong kong. let's take a look at some of the day's other news: iran says it will free seven of the 23 crew members of a swedish—owned, british—flagged tanker seized in the strait of hormuz injuly. an iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the sailors from latvia, russia and india would be sent home for humanitarian reasons. iran accuses the vessel of violating international maritime rules. the seizure came two weeks after an iranian tanker was held off gibraltar with the help of the royal marines. the american songwriter lashawn daniels has died in a car accident, aged just a2. he was behind some of pop music's biggest hits, such as lady gaga's telephone and destiny child's say my name. he leaves behind

a wife and three sons. youtube has been fined a record $170 million in the united states to settle charges it illegally collected and shared data from children. authorities said the video—sharing site, which is owned by google, violated a law preventing internet companies from using the personal information of children under 13 without their parents‘ consent. let's return to the tumultuous events connected to brexit in the uk. a cross—party alliance of mps trying to block a no deal brexit and the prime minister has refused to have a general election. lance price is a political commentator, and he told us what the prime minister's options are following two defeats in the house of commons.

his first few weeks as prime minister went quite well, because parliament wasn't sitting. but as soon as he came back and faced the arithmetic that he had inherited from the previous prime minister, theresa may, he realised that he was in no better position than she was to get his will. so he now has to reconsider his tactics, what he's going to do about it, and there'll be a lot of heads being scratched in downing street overnight tonight to see if there is another way in which he can force a general election. of course, traditionally, it was always in the prime minister's gift. our previous prime ministers have always been able to say, i'll have an election, and nobody could do anything about it. that all changed when we had a coalition government between conservatives and the liberal democrats, and it's that legislation which has tied his hands. so he's in the humiliating position now of remaining as prime minister, even though he wants to go to the country and have a general election, but unable get his way.

he can still — in asking for a simple majority vote, he can still call for a general election, but will he get the numbers? how does that work? in theory he could, because parliament is sovereign. so he could frame a bill, which is a motion that goes before parliament, which simply says it doesn't matter what all the other laws say, here's a new law, and this law says that there is going to be a general election on a certain date, because we in parliament want that. and if he got a majority of one for that, then arguably that would then become the position and the new law. i'm not even convinced he could get a majority of one, because although those ranged against him have got different motivations, and some are more keen on a general election than others — so the scottish national party, which is by far the most dominant party in scotland, they're very keen to have an election because they think they can take away from the conservatives up to a dozen seats in scotland. but i think, at the moment, those who are ranged

against borisjohnson are actually working together very closely. and i don't think — i don't think, can't be sure — i don't think that the snp would break away from the other opposition parties under those circumstances. borisjohnson has just kicked 21 members of his own party out of his parliamentary party, so they have no loyalty to him anymore and no reason to support him, and they may well — whatever he wants they may decide to vote against, just to spite him, because of the degree of animosity within the conservative party. so i'm not sure he would even be able to get a majority of one. hurricane dorian is approaching the east coast of florida, after causing devastation in the bahamas. at least 20 people are known to have been killed in the islands, with that number expected to rise. the prime minister, hubert minnis, said parts of the island nation were left decimated. from there, our correspondent aleem maqbool reports.

with the hurricane finally moving off the bahamas after many terrifying days, the devastation can be assessed for the first time, and it is shocking. marsh harbour, on the low—lying abaco islands, has been obliterated. massive storm surges would have overwhelmed this entire area. the airport won't be accessible for days. we can confirm now seven deaths, but we know more is to come. you just can't go through devastation like this with that minimal deaths, unfortunately. we are on the north side of the storm... the international space station captured dramatic images of hurricane dorian, now swirling

in the ocean near florida. with this hurricane after many days now just about moving with this hurricane after many days nowjust about moving off with this hurricane after many days now just about moving off the northern bahamas, it means some areas at least have safe enough skies that aircraft can take to them, and for the first time finally assess the devastation that has been caused. but it is abaco and grand bahama that have borne the brunt of the storm's ire, and where, in the coming days, the humanitarian needs are going to be acute. aleem maqbool, bbc news, on the abaco islands of the bahamas. you're watching newsday on the bbc. still to come on the programme: protest leaders in hong kong reject proposals from the territory's chief executive aimed at ending months of unrest. also on the programme: a special report from greenland on how she received a nobel peace prize for her work with the poor and the dying in india's slums. the head of the catholic church said mother teresa was "a wonderful example of how to help people in need."

we have to identify the bodies, then arrange the coffins and take them back home. parents are waiting and wives are waiting. hostages appeared, some carried, some running, trying to escape the nightmare behind them. britain lost a princess today, described by all to whom she reached out as irreplaceable. an early morning car crash in a paris underpass ended a life with more than its share of pain and courage, warmth and compassion. this is newsday on the bbc.

i'm rico hizon in singapore. i'm kasia madera in london. our top stories: the british parliament has approved legislation that could prevent the country leaving the european union at the end of next month without a deal. the prime minister, borisjohnson, responded by calling for a general election on october 15 but his motion failed to get the required support of two—thirds of mps. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. like a number of publications here in asia, the straits times leads with hong kong's chief executive carrie lam's decision to withdraw the controversial extradition bill. the paper says that despite the move — protests continue, with many calling ms lam's announcement too little to late. arab news leads with a new report by the un estimating that over 1,000 civilians have been killed in idlib, syria in the last four months.

the paper says the number of children killed from the end of april to the end of august stood at 304, and warns that a generation of children are at risk of being denied an education. and the japan times leads reports on the uk prime minister boris johnson's ongoing brexit battle. the paper says that his brexit plans are in tatters after this week's events. as we reported earlier, protest leaders in hong kong have rejected a package of proposals from the territory's chief executive carrie lam aimed at ending months of unrest. but some opposition figures say they will continue to protest until other demands are met, including direct elections. stephen mcdonnell reports from hong kong. in earlyjune, many hundreds of thousands of protesters marched on the streets of hong kong.

they peacefully opposed a bill that would allow for people to be extradited to mainland chinese courts controlled by the communist party. the city's leader carrie lam dismissed them. so, disaffected with the peaceful path, radicalised activists adopted ever more violent means of opposing the proposal. the political crisis continued to deteriorate. and still the government refused to officially withdraw the extradition bill. then a humiliating climbdown. the government will formally withdraw the bill in order to fully allay public concerns. the secretary for security will move a motion according to the rules of procedure when the legislative council resumes. fellow citizens, lingering violence is damaging the very foundations of our society. especially the rule of law. the motion must be passed in octoberfor the bill

to be officially shelved. but it is almost certain to do so. the chief executive also said that she and other ministers would open up channels of dialogue and would invite a panel of experts to conduct some form of study. this is being seen here as an olive branch delivered by the hong kong government on the orders of beijing. with the hard—line approach failing to take the heat out of the pro—democracy movement, the authorities have tried another way. the question is will it be enough? the requests we made three months ago are crystal—clear. even carrie lam accepted one of our demands which shows that with the power of people finally we successfully forced government and get awareness. the protests will continue until we have a free election. this movement is not only

about opposing the extradition law but also a movement that hong kong people are fighting for a better future and fighting for real democracy. if hong kong ‘s leader had taken the steps at the beginning of the process, the entire crisis would probably have been avoided. the problem is it has taken so long to reach this point that activists want so much more in order to leave the barricades. like an independent enquiry into police actions and universal suffrage no less. and this especially goes for hard—line youth prepared to be detained or evenjailed. the coming days and weeks will reveal what impact this move will have. scientists researching the huge greenland ice sheet say this summer's melting has been one of the most severe on record, and it's raising the level of oceans around the globe.

they say climate change is accelerating the rate of melting and that will increasingly threaten millions of people living in coastal cities and low lying areas. our science editor david shukman has the second of his two special reports from greenland. the sea around us is choked with icebergs. there are so many, our boat struggles to get any further. more and more chunks like this are breaking off the greenland ice sheet, and each one adds more water to sea. eventually, all of this ice will melt and raise the level of the ocean. only by a tiny fraction, but in the decades ahead, as the planet heats up, more ice here will melt, with potentially catastrophic implications right around the world. for low—lying countries like bangladesh, even a small rise in sea level could

pose a real danger. but, if the melting accelerates, florida and many other places will be severely affected during the course of this century. but, in the worst—case scenario, parts of eastern england and dozens of cities around the world could actually go under unless new defences are built for them. for the people of greenland, the flow of ice is increasing. it is a spectacular sight, and a sign of a warmer climate that would be helpful, especially for farmers. we find these cattle grazing on the shore beside the icebergs. but these young greenlanders say they're worried that the more the ice here melts, the more flooding there will be in other parts of the world. it is scary because — well, we have no control of it, you know? and it is a lot of water. if this continues, it will someday just cover the whole country.

so what can be done? well, a new forest might help. the scientists who study greenland's ice hope these trees will soak up the carbon from all their flights. i was criticised online for having a high carbon footprint. and i thought, ok, that's legitimate, but i can do something about it, because i was aware of people planting trees here in south greenland. and i got involved, and we started to make it happen. planting trees won't stop more ice breaking into the ocean. only action on a global scale could make any serious difference. and, in the meantime, the melting here means seas everywhere are bound to rise. david shukman, bbc news, greenland. you have been watching newsday. i'm kasia madera in london. and i'm rico hizon in singapore. stay with us. coming up — baffled by brexit? we will have more on borisjohnson's failure to call an early election and see what it means

for the economy, currency, business and the markets. that's all for now. stay with bbc world news. hi there. many northern areas look quite chilly on wednesday and it was a very windy day with gusts of 50, 60 mile an hour across the north and west of the uk. today it does not look bad. pressure is building so fewer showers around although it will be quite breezy it will be less windy. that low pushes off to scandinavia, high—pressure building in the south—west and you will notice the isobars are still close together across the north—west and warm front moving in introducing thicker cloud with showery burst of rain and that will spread southwards as it fizzles out into the rest of scotland and northern england. it will introduce something a little less cold into the north—west corner of the country so we will see 15, 17 degrees here and elsewhere plenty

of sunshine, highs around 18 to maybe 20 degrees. that's how thursday looks. through thursday night high pressure brings dry weather for england and wales we see the weather system pushing into the north—west, band of rain slowly spinning its way south eastwards turning fairly breezy and windy once again. as the temperatures range between nine and 12 degrees to start friday morning. area of low pressure then to the north of the uk will introduce this band of rain which continues to spread its way into central and southern areas as friday wears on. behind it, blustery showers but we could also see sunny spells. cloudy day for much of england and wales, outbreaks of which will eventually become confined to southern counties of england by the end of the afternoon. elsewhere it could be quite bright with sunny spells and blustery showers in the north—west and those temperatures are still below the seasonal average, 1a, 18 degrees. that cold front slips southwards into the near continent. it will be a chilly start to saturday but high pressure builds

in again not just for saturday but also for sunday so we could get some dry and sunny weather for the weekend. saturday still quite breezy down the east coast as that low pressure clears away, maybe a couple of showers but for most it is dry with lengthy sunny spells and a little bit of cloud building in the north and west. on the cool side in the north, 14—16 degrees, 18 or 19 in the in the south. there is a chilly start to sunday as well under those clear skies but high pressure again dominating the scene for most. the weather front trying to push into the north—west on sunday, trying to introduce more cloud to the hebrides and the northern ireland but for much of the country again, lighter winds thanks to high pressure, sunny spells and a little bit of cloud. temperatures range from 15 to 18 degrees.

aleem maqbool, bbc news,

you are watching bbc world news. our top story: britain's prime minister has suffered two major setbacks. first, a cross—party group of mps successfully passed a bill to prevent a no—deal brexit. borisjohnson's response was to call for a general election, but that failed to get sufficient support from mps. rescues are under way in the bahamas, where hurricane dorian has destroyed whole communities. survivors say nothing is left. the storm is now heading towards the us east coast. scientists say this summer's melting has been one of the most severe on record, putting millions of people living in low—lying areas around the world in peril. that's all, stay with bbc world news. for more analysis and background

on our top stories and more,