welcome to bbc news. i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: a double defeat for downing street. mps back a bill to prevent a no—deal brexit and then block borisjohnson's bid for a snap election. as the road to brexit becomes even more uncertain, we'll try to shed some light on the way forward for westminster. rescues are underway in the bahamas where hurricane dorian has destroyed whole communities. survivors say nothing is left. total devastation. there is nothing left in most of machado. no homes,

no banks, no gas stations, no hardware stores. it's just total — everything's gone. hong kong caves in to campaigners, withdrawing the controversial extradition bill that sparked months of unrest but protesters say they will persist. the global threat from greenland's glaciers. we have a special report as the country's ice melts at a record rate. the british prime minister boris johnson has suffered two major setbacks for his brexit strategy. first off, a cross—party group of mps was successful in getting a bill passed to prevent a no—deal brexit. the bill potentially forces him to do something that he's 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 october the 15th, but he failed to get enough 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 a 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 10. 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 a 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. and that's what the lib dems want. they want to stop brexit. and 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's 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. john pienaar reporting there. well, regardless of the outcome of a potential general election —— if indeed there will be one in october, the eu's strategy in the brexit negotiations is unlikely to change. our europe editor, katya adler, explains why. remember with theresa may, boris johnson was my predecessor, he was made to wait outside the room while the 27 eu leaders discussed whatever it was, a request for a new brexit extension or whatever. this will be the same with borisjohnson. now the uk has asked to leave the eu, eu leaders have declared that he cannot negotiate individually with them. he

has to negotiate through the european commission, and they are sticking to that, which means whatever boris johnson sticking to that, which means whatever borisjohnson says he cannot come to the summit in october and thrash things out with eu leaders because they won't do any dressing. if he does have some new ideas, he can present them to you leaders at the summit but they will say thank you very much, we'll go away and think about it. the reason eu leaders are sticking to this rule of not negotiating at the summit with the uk or with the uk prime minister comes down to eu unity. let's get 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 in july. 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 british troops. 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. 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, and other parts of this island chain are still too dangerous to get near. 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 nowjust 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, in nassau in the bahamas. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: it's all about romance in france, as a zoo has a big baby boom. 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.

hand over what i was telling on this is bbc news. telling on the latest headlines: the british prime minister boris johnson has suffered two major setbacks for his brexit strategy. mps have backed a bill against a no deal brexit and blocked his bid for a geneeral election. rescuers have begun reaching parts of the bahamas — where hurricane dorian has destroyed whole communities. 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. some opposition figures say they will continue to protest until other demands are met, including direct elections. you carrie lam explained why she was changing her position. the government will formally withdraw the bill in order to 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. fernando cheung is a member of the legislative council and is vice chair of the opposition labour party. we were just hearing from carrie lam about why she has announced the scrapping of that bill. why do you think she made that announcement?” think she made that announcement?” think it is really a continuous u nrest think it is really a continuous unrest in our society. it's turning the whole city upside down. in fact, she is three months late. if she had made that announcement three months earlier, the whole thing would have been settled. we wouldn't have seen

such violence or confrontation between people or the police for the last three months. as we've already heard, people aren't happy. they wa nt heard, people aren't happy. they want more. do you think there is a danger here that beijing will look at this and think, do you know what, there is no concession that will make them happy? we're going to stand firm because that a message. the problem is, a focus of this campaign has moved from just the bill itself to the whole issue of governance. we are looking at terrible governance because the government has been oblivious to the outcry for the past three months. we are looking at major confrontations between the police and the people in that excessive force has been deployed by the police. the hatred between protesters and the police run deep. before we can get the

whole situation resolved. to worry about beijing's reaction to this is something that is not the top priority of a lot of protesters. they are concerned about their own future in hong kong's future. without a mechanism for election structure, that would guarantee the government responding to the outcry, their liberty would be limited. their freedom, their liberty would be limited. theirfreedom, rule of their liberty would be limited. their freedom, rule of law could be jeopardised and once the two systems, the system that we are used to, could bejeopardised. systems, the system that we are used to, could be jeopardised. just a moment ago, you mentioned the police. an investigation into police tactics. how difficult would that be for carrie lam to take on, stand up

to her own police force? to establish an independent enquiry commission is do not stand against police. as the name implied in the law allows her to do an independent commission. she has done it numerous times. the past government has done the same thing when certain major crises or issues are really begging for further investigation. crises or issues are really begging forfurther investigation. so crises or issues are really begging for further investigation. so this is not something that she would have any difficulties with. it's been done before. she has the power to do so. done before. she has the power to do so. it is totally within her autonomy to do so. i don't think it isa autonomy to do so. i don't think it is a matter of difficulties. it is a political decision that she has made, that she does not want to show

any questioning, any doubts about her police force. we have to leave it there but thank you very much for your time. 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.

we're often telling you about the plight of endangered species around the world. animals that are dying out at a perilous rate. but one zoo in central france has been trying to address the problem. beauval zoo has recently enjoyed something of a baby boom — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. you have to hand it to the animals around here — they're doing their bit. # love is in the air, everywhere i look around.# the latest addition, this as yet unnamed indian rhino, spending some quality time with her mum. but she is only one of a glut of babies that have appeared in the last few months. there was dastan, the persian panther and kiniya, the first giraffe ever born in this zoo.

translation: beauval zoo contains about 10,000 animals, more than 600 species, with more than 700 births each year. from the smallest rock to, to the giraffe, the rhino, the koala bear and the giant panda and the gorilla. it's notjust a recent phenomenon. yuan meng, first giant panda cub to be born in france recently celebrated his second birthday. visitor numbers are soaring as people want to celebrate the pitter—patter of tiny paws. translation: i love all animals, all of them, and i especially enjoy when there are births, seeing babies and seeing them evolve over time. some of the animals here are being reintroduced to the wild. two gorillas were recently sent

to reserve in gabon, the zookeepers insisting they can play a small part in the preservation of the species on the planet. tim allman, bbc news. tributes have been pouring in for the renowned photographer peter lindbergh who died on tuesday at the age of 7a. famous for his black and white portraits, the photographer worked with a number of major fashion designers and magazines. recently he worked with the duchess of sussex, meghan markle, on her forces for change edition of british vogue. a statement posted on the duchess' instagram acount said, "there is no other photographer she considered "to bring this meaningful project to life." whilst actress and model charlize theron said he was one of the best human beings she had ever met. and you can get in touch with me

and most of the team on twitter — i'm @duncangolestani. bye for now. hi there. many northern areas were quite chilly on wednesday and it was a very windy day with gusts of 50, close to 60mph 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 than what we had on wednesday. there's wednesday's low slowly pushing 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. that will introduce thicker cloud with showery bursts of rain for scotland and northern ireland and that will spread its way southwards as it fizzles out into the rest of scotland and northern england,

perhaps the midlands. it will introduce something a little less cold into the north—west corner of the country so we will see 15—17 degrees here but elsewhere plenty of sunshine, highs around 18 to maybe 20 degrees. so that's how thursday is looking. through thursday night, high pressure continues to bring dry weather for england and wales where we see the weather system pushing into the north—west, a band of rain slowly spilling its way south eastwards will also turn fairly breezy and even windy once again. as the temperatures range between 9 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 will continue to spread its way into central and southern areas as friday wears on. behind it, blustery showers but also some sunny spells. a rather cloudy day for much of england and wales, outbreaks of rain which will eventually become confined to more southern counties of england by the end of the afternoon. elsewhere it could be quite bright as some good sunny spells, blustery showers in the north—west and those temperatures are still below the seasonal average, 14—18 degrees. that cold front slips its way southwards into the near continent. it will be quite a chilly start to saturday but high pressure builds in again notjust for saturday

but also for sunday so we could a bit of dry and sunny weather for the weekend. saturday still quite breezy down the east coast as that low pressure clears away, maybe just one or two showers but for most it is dry with lengthy sunny spells and a little bit of cloud building in the north and west. and on the fairly cool side in the north, 14—16 degrees, 18 or 19 in the south. there's a chilly start to sunday as well under those clear skies but high pressure again dominating the scene for most. weather fronts trying to push into the north—west on sunday, could introduce more cloud to the hebrides, the northern isles and maybe northern ireland but for much of the country again, lighter winds thanks to high pressure, sunny spells and a little bit of cloud. and those temperatures range from 15—18 degrees.

this is bbc news. the headlines: there've been dramatic scenes in the british parliament. prime minister borisjohnson has suffered two major defeats. first, mps backed a bill seeking to prevent a no—deal brexit, and then they denied his call for a general election. at least 20 people are known to have been killed after hurricane dorian hit the bahamas. the prime minister, hubert minnis, said parts of the island nation were left decimated. the storm's now heading towards the us state of florida. hong kong's chief executive says she will withdraw a proposal that's led to months of unrest. the extradition bill was the original trigger for anger, but now protest leaders say demonstrations will continue until other demands are met, including direct elections.