this is bbc news. i'm nuala mcgovern. our top stories: borisjohnson says he's cautiously optimistic a brexit deal can be struck as he prepares for talks with the european commission president. but the eu and ireland say they've still not seen enough detail. we are in contact with the british government and also the european commission to explore ideas around that, but i have to say, what has been put forward so far falls very far short of what we would need. american actress felicity huffman is sentenced to m days in prison for her role in a university admissions scandal. it's one of the world's most powerful greenhouse gases, but chances are, you've never heard of it. we look at the dangers of sf6. thousands of people turn out to pay their respects

to zimbabwe's former president robert mugabe as preparations continue for his funeral ceremonies this weekend. britain's prime minister boris johnson says he is "cautiously optimistic" of getting a brexit deal. he'll travel to luxembourg on monday for his first meeting since taking office with the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, and the eu chief brexit negotiator, michel barnier. at an event in the north of england today, borisjohnson told an audience that there's a rough shape of a deal in place for britain to leave the european union. our deputy political editor john pienaar reports. the name's boris, borisjohnson. trust me. nice to see you. it looks like campaigning, and it is, for future votes and for trust that he's the one to deliver brexit — no more delays.

an exciting time, he told one supporter. "not exciting, worrying," she said. maybe worrying for him too, wanting a brexit deal, attacked by critics for closing the commons. i'm all in favour of our mps. heckler: why are you not with them in parliament sorting out the mess that you created? get back to parliament and sort it out! he's being heckled by the commons speaker too, who's warned of more laws to ban a no—deal brexit, maybe force another extension. whatever the shenanigans that may be going on at westminster, we will get on with delivering our agenda and preparing to take this country out of the eu on october the 31st. what chance of a deal? he is hoping for a last—minute breakthrough. i am cautiously optimistic. is that a good enough characterisation? i am cautiously optimistic.

he will meet the eu commission president in luxembourg on monday, still a long way from agreement. his democratic unionist party allies want to be convinced by a brexit deal that they see as no threat to the union, and they haven't been. we are not going to vote for any arrangement which makes us different than the rest of the united kingdom and as a result forms a border between northern ireland and the rest of the united kingdom. as far as the irish government is concerned, our position hasn't changed. i would have to say that what has been put forward so far falls very far short of what we need. so the chances of a deal still seem remote, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. it would certainly help borisjohnson out of a tight political corner. if he is forced to extend brexit he could expose the tories to a potentially serious threat from the brexit party. and now there is a law that could virtually out laura no—deal brexit. wanting a deal, even needing one,

won't necessarily make it happen. good luck with brexit. thank you very much. where there's a political will, there's often a political way. but no—one has found it yet. john pienaar, bbc news, westminster. the metropolitan police has ended its criminal investigation, into the campaign group leave.eu, over its spending during the 2016 brexit referendum. the inquiry began after the electoral commission referred the campaign, founded by the businessman aron banks, to the police, and fined it £70,000. but the met now says there's insufficient evidence to justify further action. mr banks has called for an inquiry into the electoral commission's actions, and a separate investigation by the national crime agency into other allegtions, is ongoing. the american actress felicity huffman has been sentenced to 14 days injailfollowing her involvement in the us college admissions scandal. the desperate housewives actress was involved in a plan to fix her daughter's exam results and help her get into good schools. in a letter to a judge, huffman described her "desperation

to be a good mum" as one of the reasons she was involved. 0ur north america correspondent david willis has been following the story. he went through the reaction to the sentencing. considerable reaction on social media, as you can imagine, some saying this has been a life sentence for felicity huffman, others saying that she did well to admit to it and to admit to it early, and to clearly be willing to take what is coming to her. she issued a statement after the hearing, saying that she would accept the court's decision without reservation. she said "i have learnt a lot over the last six months about my floors as a person. there are no excuses or justifications for my actions, period". —— flaws as a person. do you think, following hollywood as well, that she will be able to regain her celebrity status, to go forward with her career after something like this? well, the irony of all this, actually, is that she

is not due to actually go and start this sentence until the 25th of october. so that could mean that on saturday she will be spending it out of the emmy awards ceremony, because she is in a netflix series called when they see us which has been nominated for a whole bunch of emmies. just wanted a whole number of ironies about this whole case. but there will be others, on a more serious note, who plead not guilty in this case, which involves about 51 different defendants. and they will presumably be very concerned. laurie locklin, who was a sitcom star and a soap opera star, she is one of those who has been steadfastly maintaining her innocence in this case. —— who is a sitcom star. lots of speculation on social media that she may be worried now, given that felicity huffman, who admitted her guilt, is serving a prison sentence, albeit not quite as long as the prosecution sought for her.

what about the universities that were involved in these scandals? have they responded, or what has, i suppose, been some of the lines coming from them? you know what, it is interesting, isn't it? because this is unquestionably an elite college system here, people pay large sums of money in terms of annual fees to go to these elite colleges and this is what a lot of these people, very wealthy people, are seeking to do, to subvert the system, and basically cheat their offspring into these very exclusive colleges, and in some cases, even by doctoring pictures, to show that they were avid participants in certain sports, when in actual fact they had no interest in them. so it is a very profound scandal, and it speaks to a lot of different things aside from, of course, fame, access and the power of money.

let's get some of the day's other news. the united states and brazil say they will work together to promote economic development of the amazon rainforest. they plan to raise a $100 million investment fund to support businesses in hard—to—reach areas of the amazon, saying that economic development is the only way to protect it. the swedish teenage climate activist, greta thunberg, has joined hundreds of young protesters outside the white house to demand action against climate change. the demonstration marked the first high—profile event of greta's 6—day visit to washington. the idea was to pressure a sceptical trump administration to tackle climate change. some of the evidence at the inquest into the suicide bombing of an ariane grande concert in manchester in may 2017 is to be kept secret. the coroner in charge of the case said that releasing certain information from the security service and the police might jeopardise national security. 22 people were killed in the attack,

which was carried out paris metro walkers have walked —— workers have walked off the job, sparking transit delays as commuters search for other ways to get to work. most of the city's lines have shut down completely, while the others are severely disrupted. that is according to the city's transit operator. some of the evidence at the inquest into the suicide bombing of an ariane grande concert in manchester in may 2017 is to be kept secret. the coroner in charge of the case said that releasing certain information from the security service and the police might jeopardise national security. 22 people were killed in the attack, which was carried out by a british man with family in libya. 0ur correspondentjudith moritz said the coroner gave a lengthy explanation of his decision. quite fulsome detail, because now it is still the case that inquests into how 22 people were killed here at the arena are yet to be held, we have had

pre—inquest argument, and the coroner has been looking at arguments about whether some evidence should be heard in private. the inquests are due to start in april next year, that will be nearly three years since the attack, and the families of those who died have lots of questions, including whether the attack could have been prevented, and whether the security services knew about the movements of the bomber‘s family beforehand. today they found that they won't hear all the relevant evidence. lawyers for the security services and the police have argued that to make some of it public could pose a risk to national security. lawyers for the families demanded full transparency, and they say the authorities are seeking to withhold the information are the same authorities that stand to be criticised. the coroner, sirjohn saunders, has agreed that there is a risk to national security, in fact he said that to make the information public could help terrorists carry out similar atrocities and make them harder to prevent. and so it is now thought that rather than holding inquest, instead a public

inquiry will be held. despite its name, that sort of inquiry means that some evidence can be heard privately. now to an incredibly destructive greenhouse gas, that can seriously damage the atmosphere. sulphur hexafluoride, also known as sf6, is used to prevent fires and accidents in electrical equipment in power stations and wind turbines. but if it leaks the consequences for the environment are severe, and levels of sf6 in the atmosphere have increased sharply in recent years. across the eu leaks have been equivalent to the emissions of 1.3 million extra vehicles on the road injust one year. matt mcgrath investigates what's behind the rise. we're about to witness the startling destructive power of electricity, as technicians prepare a short circuit test at this laboratory. this is why industries rely so heavily on sf6. it prevents overloads that

destroy installations. but the gas is also the most powerful climate—warming substance known to science, 23,500 times more damaging than carbon dioxide, and levels in the atmosphere are increasing. it's leaking into the air faster than ever before. this is a very potent greenhouse gas, and it's very long—lived. so what we put up in the atmosphere will essentially stay there for hundreds or thousands of years. if we don't cut emissions, we'lljust continue to add to that atmospheric burden. the main reason for the rise in the use of sf6 has been the change in the way we make electricity. in the past, we relied on a handful of large coal stations for our power, but these have been replaced by dozens of wind farms, requiring many more substations and connections to the grid. the electricity generated by wind farms is sent via underwater cables to substations on land. it travels along high—voltage lines,

and the power is then converted so it can be used in homes and offices all over the uk. on every step of the journey, switches and fuses are used to prevent short circuits and fires. but around 80% of the ones in the uk depend on the powerful greenhouse gas, sf6. the eu will review the regulations on sf6 in 2020, but some energy companies are sensing that change is coming. this new wind farm being built off the coast of east anglia is one of the first and largest in the world constructed without sf6. however, there are limitations. the turbines here are connected to the substation, and that still relies on the gas. but at this factory in the netherlands, they have been making electrical switch products without sf6 for decades. they are ready for a0 years in the field and they are reliable, they are safe and they are really working with no use of sf6. changing from sf6, a reliable and cost—effective insulating

material, won't be easy. the industry regulator 0fgem says it's setting targets for companies to move away from the gas. but a ban on the substance is thought unlikely before 2025. stay with us on bbc news. still to come, the british singer lily allen says her record label has not taken any action after she claimed she was sexually assaulted by someone at the company. 30 hours after the earthquake that devastated mexico city, rescue teams still have no idea just how many people have died. there is people alive, and there is people not alive. we just can help and give them whatever we've got. a state funeral is being held for princess grace of monaco at the church where she married prince rainier 26 years ago. it looked as though they had come to fight a war,

but their mission is to bring peace to east timor, and nowhere on earth needs it more badly. the government's case is being forcefully presented by monsieur badinter, the justice minister. he's campaigned vigorously for the abolition, having once witnessed one of his clients being executed. elizabeth seton spent much of her time at this grotto, and every year, hundreds of pilgrimages are made here. now that she has become a saint, it's expected that this area will be inundated with tourists. the mayor and local businessman regard the anticipated boom as just another blessing of st elizabeth. this is bbc news, the main story this hour: britain's borisjohnson says he's "cautiously optimistic" about a brexit deal as he prepares for his first face—to—face talks with the european union next week.

desperate housewives star felicity huffman sentenced to two weeks in prison forfraudulently huffman sentenced to two weeks in prison for fraudulently securing a university place for her daughter. to zimbabwe now, thousands of people have been queuing to pay their last respects, to the country's former president robert mugabe, whose body is lying in state. arguments between his family and the government continue, over his final resting place. and as our senior africa correspondent anne soy reports, deep divisions remain, over the wider legacy, of his decades in power. crying in own language. mourning zimba bwe's long serving leader. thousands brought to the capital, harare, to see him one last time, even if to catch one final fleeting glimpse of the former president. the mention of robert mugabe invokes strong emotions. there are those who loved, even revered him, and thousands have been coming here to pay their last respects. but elsewhere in the country his memory elicits strong feelings of pain,

bitterness and anger. charles thomas witnessed horrific scenes at this mine, more than three decades ago. he can still hear the cries, he says, of children tied between their parents and pushed into this shaft hundreds of metres deep. people be dismounting from the trucks. started being stabbed with bayonets, beaten, to run here, those who were refusing they shot dead. a paramilitary wing, called the fifth brigade, rounded up men, raped women and killed up to 20,000 zimbabweans. it was dubbed gukurahundi, "the rain that washes away the chaff." controversial land reforms saw white owners forcefully ejected and their farms given to black zimbabweans. peter kuyeri is one

of the beneficiaries. the former civil servant is full of praise for robert mugabe. if it wasn't for him, i don't know where we would be. i am just grateful that god gave us that kind of a person, of the kind of mugabe. to some, a caring leader — to others, an unrepentant tyrant. here lies a man of contradictions, who defined zimba bwe's history for decades. four people have died in spain as heavy rain and flash—flooding continue to batter the south—east of the country shutting down regional airports and schools. spain's meteorological office forecast torrential downpours of up to 18 centimetres over 2a hours and warned that heavy rain was expected to affect parts of southern spain and the balearic islands including ibiza. 0livia crellin reports.

without the tip of this road sign poking above the murky flood waters, it would be impossible to tell that just 48 hours ago, what now looks like a major river was a motorway. heavy rainfall in the south—eastern regions of valencia and murcia have been sweeping away cars and debris, and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people as the river broke its banks. this half submerged band was the focus of rescue efforts as elsewhere floodwaters claimed a third and fourth victim in the andalusian cities of elm and granada. translation: he had cut himself on the window when he broke his window to get out, then he kind on top of the car and he was all right when we found him but he had contracted hypothermia. roads, coasts, homes, trains and airports have all been affected, leaving tens of thousands of people stranded. this includes tourist in this

airport, as the area remains on red alert and authorities continue to recommend citizens remain at home and avoid using their cars. nobody gets out here, everybody is stuck on the airport. and with us are five, six planes coming in, so everyone has those passengers, more than thousands of people here, stuck on this airport. they can't pick up their hire car, and the taxis, have got the message from the police and the central, not to drive, because it is not safe, so the few taxis and stuff coming here, of course for money, it is terrible. so then i am here, i don't know, perhaps many hundreds. military help has begun to arrive for those most in need, but while the extent of damage can be seen while the extent of damage can be seen best from the air, the effects felt on the ground have left residents and visitors alike in a state of shock.

the singer, lily allen, says her record label has not taken any action, after she claimed she was sexually assaulted by someone at the company. she says she spoke to an executive at warner music last year, where her alleged attacker is still employed. the record label has called the allegations "appalling" and says it "takes accusations of sexual misconduct extremely seriously and will investigate. " here's chi chi izundu. with three uk number one singles and two number one albums, lily allen is one of the most successful british female artists in music. # sun is in the sky, oh why oh why # would i wanna be anywhere else... last year, lily published her autobiography and that is also where, for the first time, she talked about being sexually assaulted in 2016 by someone in the music industry after a party. i was drunk, so i can't... all i can tell you is what i do remember which is, you know, waking up in bed with somebody that i trusted, in a position that i really did not want to be, or had never given any indication

that i did want that. but lily says she didn't leave the matter there, and feels it was brushed under the carpet. in a bbc interview with her friend, miquita oliver, she says she also talked to a boss at her label, warner music. i went out for dinner with one of the label bosses and he said to me that he had no idea about this incident until he read about it in the book. did he say, now that we know, boy, are we going to do something about it? no? warner music says these allegations are appalling and adds: lily allen is one of the few british artists to have gone public about sexual harassment in the music industry. but is there a code of silence? is there a blanket of fear? perhaps those are the reasons why the industry has not quite had its public #metoo moment, and that fear could be around the destruction of a career.

i did not get a particularly good run at festivals this season. i didn't get, you know, particularly big gigs offered to me. i didn't get a big marketing push behind my album campaign, even though it was probably one of the best records that i have ever written. and you think it is directly linked? yeah, i really do. yeah. i really do. the bbc understands lily allen's alleged attacker continues to work with the label. she says she didn't go to the police about the assault and according to those who represent survivors of sexual assault in the workplace, that isn't uncommon. i think the difficulties can be because they perceive the perpetrators to be very powerful. i think they think that women who are victims of sexual assault, and indeed men, will struggle to find people to support them in that industry. lily is currently working on her new album, but it will be her last with warner.

what do a chilled out chimp, jolly owl, dancing grizzly have in common? it may sound like the set up to a children's story or a bad joke but they are all finalist in the comedy wildlife awards. the competition sees photgraphers compete to find creatures in the most adorable, and at times compromising positions. earlier we spoke to tom sullam, co—founder of the competition, who told us what motivated him and his partner to set it up. very simply, i think paul and i had got a little bit tired of the shock images which are used often to raise awareness about animal conservation. and we decided that there was a gap in the market for some humourous images that would possibly create a stronger link to these animals, human to animal. i think a lot of people get turned off by the images we have seen of slaughtered elephants and rhinos, and those images have a place, but we thought there was another

approach to raising awareness of animal conservation. primarily there is a photographic aspect to it, it has to be sharp, in focus, correct depth of field, the highlight in the eye, the standard expectancies of a wildlife image. the funny side is actually very difficult to choose. we have nine judges and we all put our scores together, and the winner literally has the most points. and our humours differ, massively, we have kate humble who finds something funny, hugh dennis find something else funny, i find, personally my favourite this year is the penguin farting, it is childish, it is a little bit gross, but to me it makes me laugh out loud. there are so many variations, you know. ifi if i ask five different people their favourite pictures you never get the same answer. you can see more you can see more of you can see more of those pictures on our website and the news app. if

you would like to reach me online, i am on twitter. i'm @bbcnuala. the kind of weather you should expect this weekend depends very much upon where you are going to be spending it. the further south you are across the uk, you can expect plenty of sunshine, it will be dry and it will turn warmer. the further north you are across the uk, there will be some outbreaks of rain at times, not all the time, it will feel a bit cooler and it will be windy, particularly across the far north of scotland. because low pressure will be trying to muscle its way in here, quite a deep area of low pressure with a set of frontal systems, down towards the south though, high pressure will hold on, giving a lot of dry weather. underneath that high, quite a cool start to saturday morning — in fact one of two spots in the countryside hovering around two or three degrees. further north and west, northern ireland and scotland not so chilly to start the day,

because more of a breeze will be blowing, we will see more cloud, some outbreaks of rain, particularly across the far north of scotland where it will be very windy through the day. further south across england and wales, once any early mist has cleared, you can expect a lot of sunshine and those temperatures not doing badly at all for this time of year, 23—24 in the south—east, 16—19 for scotland and northern ireland, which is still not bad by any stretch. in to saturday night, some pretty windy weather across the far north, in fact for shetland we could see gusts of 60—70 mph, maybe a touch stronger than that, at the same time this band of cloud and increasingly patchy rain will be sinking southwards across scotland, northern ireland down into northern england, to the south about some clear spells and generally speaking not quite such a chilly start to sunday morning. sunday's weather will be split essentially by this frontal system here. this will wriggle around through the day, there is a bit of uncertainty about exactly where its wriggles will take it, but it looks like we will see some cloud and rain for northern ireland, that rain fringing into southern scotland at times, perhaps getting as far south as the north

midlands and north wales. to the north of that we will see some spells of sunshine, but again a brisk wind across northern scotland and a rather cool feel to the weather, 15 in aberdeen, but to the south about frontal system, it will be warm. 25, maybe 26 with a lot of sunshine. as you go through sunday night into monday, that front, weakening feature, will push away southwards, building back in from the south—west, but that brings us a flow of air from the north or the north—west, so generally speaking as we head into next week, things are going to feel rather cool. there will be a lot of dry weather, one or two showers here and there, but those temperatures around the high teens or low 20s at best.

this is bbc news. the headlines: britain's borisjohnson says he's "cautiously optimistic" about a brexit deal ahead of his first face—to—face talks with the european commission president, jean—claude juncker, in luxembourg next week. but the eu's chief brexit negotiator said he did not have "reasons to be optimistic" about whether progress would be made on the issue. the hollywood actress, felicity huffman, has been sentenced to 14 days in prison in a college admissions scandal. the desparate housewives star admitted to paying $15,000 to have her daughters answers secretly corrected in 2017. the scandal has ensnared dozens of wealthy families. the bbc has learned that rising emissions of a synthetic gas used in electrical safety devices are damaging the environment. sulphur hexafluoride is thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. leaks of the gas in the eu in 2017 were the equivalent of putting 1.3 three million more cars on the road.