welcome to bbc news, i'm duncan golestani. our top stories: britain's prime minister says he'd rather be "dead in a ditch" than ask the european union for a further delay to brexit. it costs £1 billion a month, it achieves absolutely nothing, what on earth is the point of further delay. the devastation of hurricane dorian in the bahamas — at least 70,000 people need urgent help a special report fom alaska, where developers want president trump to remove environmental protections in america's largest national forest. and the first female rapper to officially sell 100 million albums and singles, nicki minaj, has announced her retirement from music.

the prime minister's brother has resigned as a government minister and will also step down as an mp at the next election. jojohnson voted to remain in eu unlike his brother. he said he was torn between family loyalty and the national interest. after losing a series of crucial votes in parliament this week, borisjohnson has again pledged to leave the eu on 31st october. he said he would rather "be dead in a ditch" than ask for another extension. 0ur political editor laura kuenssberg reports. you should be in brussels, negotiating! yes, we have been negotiating. you are not. you are in morley, in leeds! he attracts trouble. moments after he arrived on this yorkshire high street, the prime minister taken to task.

you're playing games — you're playing games. what i think people want us to do is to leave the european union on october 31st. well, we all know that. we all know that, but you're... that's fantastic, that's what we are going to do. borisjohnson divides. he's been speaking for the last... searching for support in the crowd that fast emerged. do you think we should we get out on 31 october? crowd cheers. but, just weeks into his time in office, he's been defeated in parliament, thrown out some of his mps. even his brother quit as a minister in government — to spend less time with his family. it's been an honour to be mp for 0rpington and a minister under three governments, but it's time to move on, and i've got to get to work. not much more work as an mp now. jojohnson was on a completely different side in the brexit argument, but had resolved to work for his brother in government. not anymore. citing concerns over the prime minister's approach, he wrote on twitter:

you're stuck, aren't you? because parliament won't allow you to leave without a deal. they won't right now allow you to get the election that you so desire. you're stuck. well, i have to say i think it's absolutely unbelievable that the leader of the opposition is currently refusing to have an election. i don't think ever in democratic history has a leader of the opposition refused to have an election. how will you make it happen? because you're stuck. well, what he should do is allow the people to decide. nice to meet you. get brexit done. he stirred up most of the people he met here today in support of brexit, it seemed, but could he take everyone with him? forget about that. he had wanted to show off his plans for more police officers, but held a strange, at times surreal, press conference... hang on, let's get this right. ..hesitating, stumbling. are you alright? 0ne officer almost fainting,

after waiting for his speech so long. that is a signal for me actively to wind up. and the prime minister was criticised, too, for making his brexit promise using public servants as a backdrop. safe streets... again, a vow — no delay to brexit. i'd rather be dead in a ditch. so you would resign first, prime minister, rather than go and ask for that delay? look, ijust don't — i really... it costs £1 billion a month, it achieves absolutely nothing, what on earth is the point of further delay? i think it's totally, totally pointless. please leave my town. i will very soon. labour mps right now are keeping him dangling. we're up for a general election. i want to get rid of this government as soon as possible, because i'm really worried about what they're doing to the future of our economy and the future of our country. but it is about timing. and our prime objectives, and we put it in our last manifesto, is we want to prevent a no—deal brexit, because of the damage it could do to the country and the economy. the thing that parliament's doing is actually making it impossible for us to negotiate.

on monday, the prime minister will try again to get parliament to back an election. but the plain fact is he does not have it in his power to get to the ballot box alone. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, west yorkshire. well, monday is the next big vote in the house of commons. if, as expected, the law to block a no deal brexit has been passed, mps will vote again on whether to hold an early general election. the prime minister needs the support of two thirds of mps to go to the polls. will he get it this time? here's our deputy political editor, john pienaar, on what's likely to happen next. so where do the rival camps agree? trust me — this won't take long. all sides want an election to try to break the deadlock, and that's where the agreement ends. the argument now is about timing, and in there, the parties and the factions within parties are trying to thrash out exactly when this election might take place. down in the lords, peers are grinding through legislation to ban no—deal, maybe force borisjohnson to go to brussels and accept another brexit extension,

something he has sworn he will never do. it could pass into law by monday, so on monday in the commons, the government will try to get approval for a 15 october election. if they try the same thing as last night, it would need 434 mp5, that's two thirds of them, to say yes. and since last night, it has been clear the government doesn't have the numbers. but borisjohnson has pledged 31 0ctober will be the day we leave. so he is goading his opponents — let the people choose a prime minister to decide, brexit or no brexit, deal or no deal. and the commons could say, "no, have an election, but only after we extend brexit." they could defeat the government again. how else to get an election? well, frankly, it gets messy. borisjohnson is in office, but not in control. his opponents say he is a liar. he could get an election and then move the date ‘til after britain leaves on 31 october. other options? they're limited, and messy.

he could try to pass a law to suspend parliament's mandatory five—year term. only then labour, the snp, the lib dems, the whole alliance, might try to take control and set a date he doesn't like. any way borisjohnson can win? well, it sounds surreal, but some say the government might try to pass a vote of no confidence in itself. if that leads to paralysis, it could lead to an election to sort it out — unless it doesn't. another election could end in deadlock again. you're looking for a clear solution? sorry, there isn't one. let's get some of the day's other news: pope francis has met the president of mozambique, on the first full day of his visit to three southern african nations. speaking afterwards, the pope said he hoped the recent peace accord that formally ended years of civil war would bring about permanent reconciliation. he will go on to madagascar and mauritius. magistrates in france have

dropped manslaughter charges against air france and airbus over a plane crash that killed all 228 people on board in 2009. the airbus 330 aircraft had stalled in the storm and plunged into the ocean. the victims' families had blamed the plane's crew for losing control after speed sensors froze. they called the magistrate's decision an "insult to the memory of the victims" and plan to appeal. the us special envoy for the middle east, jason greenblatt, has said that he's stepping down from his post. his resignation is likely to raise questions about the viability of an israeli palestinian peace plan that he had been crafting with president trump's son—in—law, jared kushner. the details of which have yet to be revealed. hurricane dorian is making its way up the east coast of america, with storm warnings in place for the states of north and south carolina.

the powerful storm has already brought devastation to the bahamas. un officials arrived there today, pledging emergency aid. dorian is the strongest—ever hurricane to made landfall. thirty people are now known to have died in the bahamas, but that number is expected to rise. the worst damage has been on the abaco islands, where it's estimated 70 thousand people need aid. from there, aleem maqbool reports. this was one of the most popular resorts on these islands, torn apart by the brute strength of the storm. tourists who tried to weather it have been left shell—shocked. but these were the sturdiest buildings, in a place that wasn't even the worst hit. elsewhere, the picture is even more desolate. drive through marsh harbour, a little down the road, and there is not a building in sight that hasn't sustained considerable damage.

well, this is where hurricane dorian made landfall, and those record—breaking wind speeds and ocean surges have left behind a surreal landscape of boats and vehicles and rooftops and kitchen appliances, swirled in the air and flung across the land. and everyone here has a story of the terrors of dorian. the wind just had us fearfulfor our life. as one roof blowed off, we ran to another house, that blowed off. there were vehicles blowing in the background. it was just horrific. and to see the devastation now, with all the bodies laying around, ifeel that god has turned his back on the beautiful island of abaco. many of the dead have now been taken away, but in the heat remains the unmistakable smell of death, that suggests there are many more bodies to be found. for those who survived, the situation is desperate.

until a few days ago, many hundreds had lived in a huge shantytown here. there are few signs of the structures they lived in anymore. no house, no food, no water, you know, so... i'm thinking people — no life, you see, for me too. aid is starting to get to some places, but the needs are massive, and the hurricane turned upside down the lives of so many. aleem maqbool, bbc news, on the abaco islands of the bahamas. india's lunar mission, chand—rayaan—2, is expected to land on the southern pole of the moon in about 2k hours time. the indian space research 0rganisation says the objective is to develop technologies such as soft—landing and roving on the lunar surface, and to expand knowledge about the moon's surface, leading to a better understanding of its origin and evolution.

if the landing is successful, it will make india the fourth country to have explored the moon after russia, the us and china. bidushi bhattacharya, a former nasa scientist who now runs her own space technology corporation. it is really exciting. i, of course, have been following it on very quickly, as has most of the world, and i just can't wait to see it happen. they have taken what has been built on by nasa and the european space agency, and they've taken things to the next level. they can are able to do things more efficiently and more affordably, which means we are building out the global ecosystem much faster than i think nasa would have predicted. much faster than i think nasa would have predicted. we actually need the commercial sector to come on board. so people who are trained all over the world are coming to india to contribute and the indians also, i think, are spreading out stay with us on bbc news, still to come: a new way of caring for people with dementia — a village where residents can

wander freely and safely. 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 bbc news, the latest headlines: the british prime minister borisjohnson has said he would rather be "dead in a ditch" than ask the european union for another delay to brexit. hurricane dorian is making its way up the east coast of the united states, with weather warnings in place. a relief operation is under way in the bahamas — where the storm brought devastation. there are fears that parts of america's largest national forest, could be destroyed, if environmental protections are lifted. the tongass national forest in alaska, has been home to eagles and brown bears for hundreds of years, but developers want donald trump to remove restrictions,

banning the building of roads. campaigners say that could destroy the natural habitat, forever. 0ur correspondent, sophie long's report, is the latest in our series, on climate and the environment. the tongas forest spans nearly 17 million acres, an area more than three times the size of wales. tightly packed spruce and hemlock trees scrape the sky and give way only to rivers and the sea. the giant leaves of the undergrowth, just a tiny part of this ecosystem which has remained unchanged for thousands of years. and those who share this land with the wildlife that thrives here are desperate to keep it that way. it's just beautiful fields... activist wanda culp shows me what she wants to save and what she fears may happen here. we passed seals and whales, families of nesting bald eagles. she says if you open the forest to roads,

it'll mean major destruction. we know those roads are going into the forest so they could cut our trees down through clear cut. this just shows you how destructive it is, it doesn't grow back fast. salmon spawn here in their millions. they mature out in the ocean, sustaining one of south east alaska's biggest industries. disrupting their habitat would make life even harderforfishermen here, already struggling to deal with changing ocean conditions. we have this amazing intact ecosystem, something that tourists like that mega yacht right there, come from all over to see and so my fear is we end up trading an extractive resource that's a one—shot, for something that if we take care of it and do it right, can serve us for many, many generations. at a rally in the state capital

juneau, native alaskans and environmental campaigners are trying to make their voices heard. they say their senator in the us capital isn't listening. that she is dancing to the beat of a different drum. i grew up in communities in the tongass. i think i'm pretty in tune with those who know the tongass and know that the tongass as a national forest, should be managed for multiple use. and there are many back in the tongass who agree, people who work in the logging industry, the power companies and miners. they want to be able to develop their businesses like people in the rest of the united states can. it's totally unfair in that we can't build a road to a little hydro site and get it in in a cost—effective and reasonable way, rather than wait for a heavy—lift helicopter

and go through all of that and the cost and delay. they've got them everywhere else in the world and it's not going to hurt a thing. but these trees also store massive amounts of carbon, more than any other national woodland across the united states. division here runs as deep as the forest. are all these trees more valuable standing, or should some give way to development? sophie long, bbc news, the tongass forest. german chancellor angela merkel is in china on a 3—day visit she plans to use to push for greater access to markets there. over the past year, both germany and france have pushed the european union to adopt a tougher line on china, but analysts believe her government may be softening its stance to avoid further economic damage. however, months of violent protests in hong kong may complicate matters with the german chancellor facing pressure to stand up to beijing on issues like democracy.

joining me now from new york city is isabella steger, the deputy bureau chief for asia at quartz news in hong kong. in terms of trade, home board and is this relationship? to the two countries? the germany of right now is quite different to the one that we saw pushing for more human rights improvements in china about a year ago. mostly because of the trade war between the us and china that has left many economies affected globally. it is not purely a us china problem. that's a business delegation. it's signalling that in fa ct delegation. it's signalling that in fact business is an important part of the trip that may put pressure on the human right angles to understand the human right angles to understand the germany wants greater access to chinese markets. the obstacles of beijing — make the badging puts in the way? many of the western developed economies, a lot of these

economies have issues with u nfettered economies have issues with unfettered access, for economies have issues with u nfettered access, for exa m ple, economies have issues with unfettered access, for example, to the chinese market, and that's one of the big things like donald trump ‘s trade will be china. and particularly for them because china's economy is slowing and they gone into recession, the delegation that she is bringing with her, especially the car industry, it's very keen for her to press for the greater axis when the global economy is falling, with all this said, how big a party think human rights will play in the conversations, particularly in hong kong. before she left the trip, the famous hong kong activist published a letter in a major newspaper where he pressed the chancellor to bring up human rights issue. she said she won't meet with protesters which might have people worried but angela merkel has been someone who is among

those who is the forefront of resin try not human rights as a —— at a time when many countries are afraid to do so. joshua wong did appeal to her as somebody who has experience in living in a dictatorship, having god —— grown up in east germany. she has been instrumental most of the government has been instrumental in helping a chinese dissident digger to germany. other chinese dissidents in hong kong have been given a salomon germany was up many people still look to her as someone who is a beacon of human rights in the west who will raise the issue where many other countries would do so. good to talk to you, thank you very much. the american rapper nicki minaj has announced her retirement from the music industry. the star — famous for hits like anaconda and starships — announced the news on twitter. she told fans she had decided

to retire in order to have a family. it's not clear whether minaj plans to take a temporary or permanent break. over the course of her career the star has been nominated for 10 grammys and won five mtv awards. i spoke to showbiz reporter josh rom a short while ago. i asked him why nicki minaj had decided to retire. she's had quite a few high—profile feuds, and the last year at your fashion week. at the harper's bazaar after party, she got in a —— and alleged altercation with a popular applica mccarty b, anotherfamous and successful musician. an artist under her own right, she has also has feuds with mariah carey, on american idol, she has been feuding since the release of a debut album backin since the release of a debut album

back in 2010. she famously also called out miley cyrus at the 2015 mtv music awards for speaking to the press, famously saying, what is good? she has been a controversial figure that has been absolutely no doubt —— there has been no doubt about that. that played a part in her decision, maybe she does want a quieter life. as much of the world's population grows older — the consequences of that longevity can be stark. 0ne impact is the increasing number of people diagnosed with dementia. caring for those suffering from that illness can be difficult — but in the canadian province of british columbia they are trying a somewhat different approach — as the bbc‘s tim allman explains. they call it the village. there is a general store, a hair salon, even a local cafe. but this is not quite what it seems. the entire place is purpose—built. there is a home for those suffering for dementia.

if you look at previous models of care they focus much more on a hospital setting and when you think about it, no—one wants to live the rest of their life in a hospital setting so it rings that homelike setting to the long—term—care sector. the seven acre site is surrounded by fencing so residents can walk around freely. reassuring use for the daughter of one new arrival. i think it will also be critical to encourage our mother to get out ofjust sitting somewhere, being bored most of the time and getting up and doing things that she enjoys. around 12 people can live in each home. the cheapest accommodation begins at more than 7000 canadian dollars a month. so this is not cheap. but the people behind it say they want to create notjust a care home but a community. a chance for a little independence in later life.

the us defence secretary is urging european countries including britain to repatriate foreign isis fighters and the families rather than leave them detained in syria. he is due to meet the uk defence secretary in london on friday. for the subject —— but the subject may be one of contention. mr wallace has supported revoking the cases and ship of some foreign fighters and their families. a man has been charged £55,000 for a year at a hotel in manchester. peter leather was supposed to payjust £5 for the beer, a spokesman for the hotel apologised and said investigation had been lost. according to mr leila, it would take ten business days for the money to be refunded. i have it was

refreshing. you're watching bbc news, we are back very soon. we are ending the week on an u nsettled we are ending the week on an unsettled note we are ending the week on an u nsettled note ta nks we are ending the week on an unsettled note tanks to an area of the pressure which will bring blustery conditions to the shores, you considered moving across the north of scotland in the day, windy weather and this cold front, the rain band across central areas in the morning ) face upwards and eastward through the day. becoming combined use of england, sunshine, blustery showers, heavy across the north—west but on the wind it will feel quite chilly. temperatures of 14 feel quite chilly. temperatures of 1a or 18 degrees in the south. that then clears away during friday night into saturday, indeed for much of the weekend, it will look fine and su btle the weekend, it will look fine and subtle banks to original high pressure. we'll have windy

conditions across the eastern side of the country, while two showers around, otherwise try with lengthy spells of sunshine. still in the cool side, 1a — 20 degrees in the south. actually start to sunday under that bridge of high pressure but again, with high pressure it's good to be lighter winds and plenty of sunshine.

this is bbc news, the headlines: the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has insisted that holding an early general election is the only way progress can be made on brexit. at the end of another difficult day, mrjohnson said he'd rather "be dead in a ditch" than ask the european union for another delay. the health minister of the bahamas has said hurricane dorian's impact on the country's northern islands has been unimaginable, and the final death toll will be staggering.

at least 70,000 people are said to need urgent help. the storm is currently off the east coast of the united states. german chancellor angela merkel is on a three—day visit to china to push for greater access to markets there. over the past year, germany has called on the eu to adopt a tougher line on china, but analysts believe her government may be softening its stance to avoid economic damage. now on bbc news, it's panorama. this is the story of one primary school. it's in great yarmouth, where poverty and spending cuts mean it's become far more than just a place of education. mum hasn't got a lot of money. if we go underneath with this one sandy, because that's a lot of tins in there. now, after years of belt—tightening, the summer term of 2019 has become a crucial turning point. just because of one thing,

i have to leave the school. the headteacher is having to make tough choices. but what. .. ..but what do we do about it? there's nothing there that can be cut. it's as simple as that. and no—one'sjob is safe. i'm very concerned, because at the end of the day, this is, this is what i joined a school to do. the government has promised to raise funding for schools, but for now, this is the reality of life on education's frontline. it is reaching a crisis point now. it's the start of the final summer term at north denes, a 360—strong primary school in great yarmouth, norfolk. right, good morning, everybody!