this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. 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 mps, 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 a 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, the worst damage has been on the abaco islands, where it's estimated 70,000 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. joining me now is avery wilks. he's a reporter for the state newspaper in south carolina. how is it looking there now?

hurricane dorian passed along the coast of south carolina throughout today. it is a very slow moving storm so far. the southern half off the coast was not hit too hard, that is where i was stationed. but the storm did better the northern half of the south carolina coast, as it charleston, georgetown, experience a lot of flooding. hundreds of thousands of residents are without power but, so far, no less reported so power but, so far, no less reported so that is because for optimism. ——no loss of life. the entire coast was ordered to evacuate days ago and this is not the first radio for a number of people so people knew how to get on the roads and get out. ——

rodeo. how would you describe the mood, would you say relief? definitely relieved. where i was, the governor has been wanting about this storm for days and we saw what happened in the bahamas so people we re happened in the bahamas so people were concerned, to a degree, about what was going to happen. a number of people did not evacuate. i went to bed last night not sure how things look when i woke up. when i was out on the street, a lot of branches on the ground, some down trees but generally not a lot of damage. the northern half was not spared that. people still without power, people who have been without power, people who have been without power for hours. power, people who have been without powerfor hours. georgetown is power, people who have been without power for hours. georgetown is out of power because a transmission line went down. this is not been as catastrophic as some of the hurricane is in years past.

hurricane is in years past. hurricane matthew in 2016, hurricane florence and those were storms that flooded rivers, that wrecked widespread devastation and we have not seen that so far here. not as much rainfall. 7.5 inches so far a lot of people consider south carolina to be lucky. thank you for talking to us. thank you for having me. 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 world 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 underway in the bahamas, where the storm brought devastation. german chancellor angela merkel is in china on a three—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. 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's left many economies affected globally. so it's not purely a us—china problem. merkel has brought a big business delegation to china, as well as signalling that in fact business is an important part of the trip. that may put pressure on the human right angles to understand the germany wants greater access to chinese markets. what are the obstacles beijing is putting in the way? many of the western developed economies, a lot of these 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 war with 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, is very keen for her to press for the greater access when the global economy is faltering. with all that said, how big a part do you think human rights will play in the conversations, particularly in hong kong? before she left the trip, joshua wong, 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 at the forefront human rights 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 grown up in east germany. she has been instrumental and the government has been instrumental in helping a chinese dissidents emigrate to germany. 0ther chinese dissidents in hong kong have been given asylum in germany, so 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. 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 tongass 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 pass 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.

so 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 megayacht right there come from all over to see. and so my fear is that we end up trading an extractive resource that's a one—shot for something that, if we take care of it and we 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 am 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 the 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. 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 is not clear whether minaj plans to take a temporary or permanent break. over the course of her career, the star has been nominated for ten 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. yeah, well, we're not actually 100% sure what she is playing out,

because only recently did she say that she is working on an upcoming album on i think it is herfifth studio album. so she has caused a lot of confusion, which is why i think the world has taken this news with such a surprise. let's take her at her word, then, that she wants to concentrate on her family. at her word, then, that she wants to concentrate on herfamily. she has given signs in the past, hasn't she, that she is getting increasingly exasperated and tired with the music industry and the media. could that be part of it? potentially so. because she has had, especially recently, quite a few high—profile feuds. 0nly last week at new york fashion week. at the harper's bazaar after party, she got in an alleged altercation

with cardi b, another hugely famous and successful musician and artist in 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 back in 2010, as well. she famously also called out miley cyrus at the 2015 mtv video music awards for speaking to the press, famously saying, miley, what's good ? she has been a controversialfigure, there has been absolutely no doubt about that. whether that has played an actual 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, and even a local cafe. but this isn't quite what it seems. the entire place is purpose—built as a home for those suffering for dementia. if you look at previous models of care, they focus much more on a hospital—like setting. and when you think about it, no—one wants to live the rest of their life in a hospital setting, so it's bringing that home—like setting to the long—term—ca re sector. the seven—acre site is surrounded by fencing so residents can walk around freely, reassuring news for the daughter of one new arrival. hello there. this week has been very changeable, up—and—down temperatures, one day sunny and the next day windy and wet.

it looks like we are ending the week in fact on friday with wetter and windier weather for many. but as a band of rain slips southwards, we will see return to sunshine with blustery showers as well. it's courtesy of this next area of low pressure moving in. to the north of scotland, you could see the isobars closer together. windy conditions through friday and this band of rain first thing friday morning will be across more central areas, spreading slowly southwards and eastwards as the day wears on. eventually becomes confined to southern counties of england, the odd heavier burst on it, but behind it, the skies brighten up. plenty of sunshine around but also blustery showers and some will be heavy in the north—west and it will feel cool once again with temperatures generally the mid to high teens celsius. it stays breezy as we head on into friday evening. that weather front clears away from the south. skies clear, in fact, for many. a couple of showers across coastal areas otherwise sunny spells, and with the cool air in places it will be a fairly chilly

start to saturday. and temperatures in single figures for many, particularly out of town in the north. but high pressure builds in for the weekend. for both saturday and sunday, it looks like we should be mainly dry thanks to this big ridge of high pressure. light winds as well but the air will be on the cool side. we start saturday off on a chilly note with plenty of sunshine around. still breezy and windy down the eastern coastal areas with feeding in a couple of showers. 0therwise, for most, apart from an isolated shower, should be dry through the afternoon. sunny spells and temperatures in the low to mid teens in the north, 18—20 across the south. high pressure still with us on into sunday. the weather front may bring a bit more cloud to the north—west corner of scotland. most places will be under the influence of this ridge of high. but it will be a chilly start on sunday up and down the country. bright with plenty of sunshine around. it could bring thicker cloud and more of a breeze to the far north—west, most places shall see sunny spells. a bit of fairweather cloud bubbling up during the day.

again, temperatures after a chilly start reaching the mid to high teens celsius. as we head on into monday it looks like we have another weather system pushing in from the north—west. that'll bring a band of rain, the winds will pick up once again. so a messy picture for monday, with outbreaks of rain, some of it heavy, moving across scotland and then into england and wales. it brightens up behind the rain band again, blustery showers following on. slightly cooler air too, 14—16 degrees.

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