welcome to bbc news. i'm mike embley. our top stories: a murder investigation is launched after british police find 39 bodies in the back of a lorry that came from europe. it is absolutely imperative that the operation is conducted with the upmost respect for the 39 people who lost their lives. republican lawmakers disrupt the trump impeachment inquiry — barging into a hearing room, moments before a senior pentagon specialist was due to testify. president trump says he's lifting all sanctions against turkey, after ankara says its offensive against the kurds in syria is over. and a quantum leap for computers — google says its new machine can calculate in minutes what would take a normal computer thousands of years.

in what's now a wide—ranging murder investigation, british police are working to identify 39 people found dead in the trailer of a lorry, about 30 kilometres outside london. one was a teenager, but it's not yet confirmed who any of the dead were, or where they came from. the lorry driver, who's from northern ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. our special correspondent, ed thomas, has this report from the town of grays, in essex. just before 1:40am, paramedics call police. the doors of the lorry container had been opened. inside, 39 bodies. 39 lives. people with hopes and ambitions. the youngest was a teenager. that's tragic. absolutely terrible. yeah, such a shame.

obviously trying to get over here for a better life. it is heartbreaking for me. feels very sorry for them. it's horrible. it's quite difficult to believe that's happening quite close to the place where you are working every day for many years. we've obtained this cctv from 1:13am this morning. close to where it was found, the lorry passes at speed. the final moments before its journey ended. when paramedics arrived, all 39 people were pronounced dead. the trailer is believed to be refrigerated, with temperatures as low as minus 25. this is as close as the police will allow us to the lorry, and all morning forensic teams have been coming and going from that tent. we still don't know who put these people on the lorry. we don't know exactly how they died.

all we know is that the lorry was found here in the early hours of this morning. we know the truck was registered in bulgaria. police said the trailer arrived, on a ferry from zeebrugge, in belgium, into purfleet on the river thames, docking just after midnight. the driver of the lorry has been named in northern ireland as 25—year—old mo robinson. he is being questioned on suspicion of murder. this matter has attracted national and international interest, and it's absolutely imperative that the operation is conducted with the utmost respect for the 39 people who have lost their lives. grays is at the centre of a huge haulage network. where the lorries are stopping overnight and people are coming out of them. some here are shocked, but not surprised. this cabbie says he and his colleagues are often approached by desperate people. all they do, is they come up, they can't speak english, they hand you a phone, you speak to someone on the other end of a phone,

and they ask you to take them to an address. it's normally round by london. i've seen six people getting out of the back of a lorry in the same location. this man didn't want to be identified. as has my best friend, seen people running out of a lorry, and scattering in all directions. he walks past the place where the lorry was found most mornings. it seems everybody's had experience, that i know, especially in that area in particular, and itjust seems to be a thing that no—one seems to care about. today, the prime minister and labour leaderjeremy corbyn spoke of their shock and sadness. this is an unimaginable tragedy and truly heartbreaking. i know that the thoughts and prayers of all members are with those who lost their lives and their loved ones. all of us should just think for a moment what it's like to be a police officer or a firefighter, to open that container and have to remove 39 bodies from it, and deal with them in an appropriate and humane way. tonight, the lorry and the people

still inside have been taken away. police said their dignity and finding their loved ones comes first. ed thomas, bbc news, grays. well, a short time ago our europe correspondent, damian grammaticas, sent this update from the belgian port of zeebrugge, where police believe the vehicle came from. what we have heard is from the prosecutors, the federal prosecutions have open the enquiry and are in contact with the uk, with police in the uk, and they are beginning their inquiries. they believe the trailer came through here. what they do not know is where it originated, where those people might have got on board, whether it was in belgium, how long it spent in belgium. to give you a sense of what they are trying to deal with, we have been here this evening and just in the past 45 minutes, we witness

for migrants trying to come down here to the port in zeebrugge, who we re here to the port in zeebrugge, who were looking for a way in to the port, trying not to be seen. they went down the road looking for a way into the ferry terminal and port authorities reacted quickly and the man then left the scene. this site isa giant man then left the scene. this site is a giant port and that has been a real pressure in recent months as places like calais, the security has improved. here 4000 trucks and trailers going back and forth to the uk so it isa trailers going back and forth to the uk so it is a pretty difficultjob to keep the security here going. let's get some of the day's other news: ambassadors from european union countries meeting in brussels say a decision on whether to grant london's request for an extension to the brexit process has been delayed. diplomats say a decision will be made on friday on the duration of any extension and the conditions attached to it. a controversial extradition bill,

which sparked months of violent protests in hong kong, has been formally withdrawn. the legislation would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland china. the bill sparked mass demonstrations that have turned into the worst crisis for hong kong since it was handed back by britain to china more than 20 years ago. there have been more clashes between protesters and security forces in chile. protesters have rejected reforms from president pinera, aimed at ending days of violent unrest. they say it's not enough to heal deep social and economic problems. at least 15 people have died and more than 5000 have been detained in protests so far. president trump says the united states has brokered a permanent ceasefire in north east syria and that he's going to lift sanctions against turkey, after being told ankara will stop military operations against the kurds. fierce fighting has forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee since turkey began its assault on kurdish fighters. but mr trump declared it was someone else‘s fight.

0ur washington correspondent nick bryant reports. on a day that donald trump claimed an american diplomatic triumph, the facts on the ground contradicted his words. these were russian forces consolidating their power in northern syria, in an area that, just weeks ago, was home to a key us base in the region. and these were turkish soldiers and turkey—backed syrian rebels unveiling their flags in triumph in a border town they've now taken from the kurds. america's forces have been continuing their pull—out, much to the fury of their kurdish allies in the fight against islamic state. these images have come to define a major power shift. departing us soldiers, former brothers in arms, pelted with potatoes. in washington, the president tried to turn what's been condemned as a tale of american betrayal, into a story of personal success.

today's announcement validates our course of action with turkey, that only a couple of weeks ago was scorned, and now people are saying, wow, what a great outcome. let someone else fight over this long—bloodstained sand. but the great outcome is for president erdogan of turkey and his russian counterpart, vladimir putin, who met yesterday in sochi, to shape the endgame in syria's eight—year civil war. america is no longer a significant player in determining syria's future. from capitol hill, the president has been pelted with criticism, and it's come from senior republicans. if not arrested, withdrawing from syria will invite more of the chaos that breeds terrorism and create a vacuum our adversaries will certainly fill. and creates a vacuum our adversaries

will certainly fill. the withdrawal of most of america's forces from syria means a waning of us influence in the middle east and maybe beyond, but this is a commander in chief who campaigned on disentangling his country from costly and unending conflicts, and many of his supporters will see this as he does, as a case of mission accomplished. for more on this, i'm joined byjonathan katz, expert on us—turkish relations at the german marshall fund of the united states, a think—tank based in washington. does this look to you like a victory? this is not a victory for the united states, despite what president trump has said. in fact, it isa president trump has said. in fact, it is a victory for isis, mr putin, mr asada, as well and run. it is a victory for isis, mr putin, mrasada, as welland run. —— it is a victory for isis, mr putin, mr asada, as well and run. —— assad. in washington there is a bipartisan

consensus that the policy in syria was a disaster that leaves the united states more vulnerable and oui’ united states more vulnerable and our allies as well more vulnerable and when you see the devastation, how it has impacted kurds, hundreds of thousands who have been displaced, hundreds killed, how can you call that a victory? the critics saying this is president trump claiming credit for providing an a nswer claiming credit for providing an answer he created but i suppose he has a point that the disengagement from this area begun from president 0bama, drawing redlines he never backed up. i do not think that is what is at stake right now. president trump's policy, his twitter policy, the policy to withdraw troops without consulting his staff and the pentagon, the state department, even the white house, was done in a way that has

left the united states more vulnerable today than it was before and you see this already wet us troops are suggested to be going to iraqi. the raqqa government has said us troops are not welcome. —— two iraqi. we have not figured out what comes next in this conflict and it leaves both syria and the syrian people who have suffered under war ina very people who have suffered under war in a very difficult position. i also wa nt to in a very difficult position. i also want to add that, when talking about victories and we're talking about the us, it is important to remember why the us wasn't there, which was to fight isis and according to the us military and to our diplomats, the fight against isis needs to continue so, if that isn't the case,

why would the usb withdrawing right now? the president and his supporters were saying they were a bunch of american voters and interests out of that area. if you heard fox news and other allies, you sow a push back amongst republicans and the fact that the resolution was introduced by the head of the senate, mitch mcconnell. i think the members of congress really know exactly what those people in those districts want and i think president trump may have been trying to change some of the audience away from the measurement enquiry to this conflict. u nfortu nately measurement enquiry to this conflict. unfortunately there are consequences for national security. republican members of congress have disrupted the impeachment inquiry against president trump, barging into a hearing room as a senior specialist from the pentagon was about to testify. democrats see it as a way to prevent more evidence emerging that mr trump withheld aid to ukraine's government

until they investigated his political rival, joe biden. the president has urged republicans to toughen their opposition to the impeachment inquiry. let speak to our north america correspondent david willis on this. the president had urged his party to fight back but much depends on how the democrats respond. is it likely to get more confrontational?” the democrats respond. is it likely to get more confrontational? i think it is. this may be just the start or a sign of things to come. we saw a group of about two dozen republican lawmakers are storming the impeachment enquiry in protest. they basically believe there is a lack of transparency to what is taking place and they believe there is an attempt behind closed doors to overturn the outcome of the last american presidential election. there protest succeeded in delaying proceedings by about five hours. but this contention that the proceedings are

not transparent enough is a little difficult to swallow when you bear in mind that each of the three committees that form part of this impeachment investigation have republicans on them and they are granted equal time to question witnesses. added to wedge, the chairman of one of those committees, the house intelligent committee, adam schiff, has promised there will be public hearings and he will be releasing testimony in public once these so—called fact—finding elements have been completed. you mention laura cooper, the pentagon official due to give evidence just as the protest began today, as the person who basically oversaw aid money going to ukraine. she obviously has a very interesting role to play in all this, particularly since we heard from the

acting ambassador to ukraine, william taylor, that there was a quick pro quo, an agreement to basically allow aid to get to uk and returned to launch an investigation intojoe biden, returned to launch an investigation into joe biden, president returned to launch an investigation intojoe biden, president trump's political opponent. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: we'll tell you how the magic art of abracadabra has now been officially recognised in france's education sector. a historic moment that many of his victims have waited for for decades. the former dictator in the dock, older, slimmer, and, as he sat down, obedient enough. dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night on the plain outside korem, it lights up a biblicalfamine,

now, in the 20th century. the depressing conclusion, in argentina today, it is actually cheaper to paper your walls with money. we've had controversies in the past with great britain. but as good friends, we've always found a good and lasting solution. concorde bows out in style. after almost three decades in service, an aircraft that enthralled its many admirers for so long, taxis home one last time. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: british police launch a murder investigation after they find 39 bodies in the back of a lorry that came over from europe. republican members of congress have disrupted the trump impeachment inquiry — barging into a hearing

room, moments before a senior pentagon specialist was due to testify. protestors have ta ken to the streets in lebanon for a seventh consecutive day of anti—government marches. the demonstrations began in protest at plans to tax whatsapp voice calls but have grown in to wider discontent about the country's failing economy, corruption, and poor public services, as rich preston reports. they are calling for change for an economic reform the revolution. dozens of taking to the streets yet again. they want to bring down those they hold responsible for corruption and poverty. 0n they hold responsible for corruption and poverty. on wednesday, streets filled in beirut and elsewhere in the country. banks have been closed since last friday and will make closed throughout thursday. these protests are largely peaceful.

driven by young people. the arm and says —— the army says it is refraining from force but they have been scuffles, but no reports of serious injuries. 0n been scuffles, but no reports of serious injuries. on monday the prime minister unveiled eggnog reforms promising to cut politicians pay and reduce public debt. but protesters say their moves don't go far enough. everything the political class is doing now is clearly to ——to buy time. the reforms the government presented is a lie. the demand is for the government evolved. they were not as a country divided along sector in line. these protests are brought people together. the country ‘s most senior christian cleric called on the government to listen to the people. translation: recalled the president

to begin consultations with the political leadership and the heads of the sacked to take necessary decisions regarding the people ‘s demands. the banana sends a stable country and otherwise — tablet middle east, project demand revolution, governments elsewhere will hope any changes ahead will be smooth. google says it has achieved a breakthrough in computing with a revolutionary machine that dwarfs the power of conventional supercomputers. it says the quantum device, named sycamore, performed a calculation in minutes that would take a normal computer thousands of years to process. a rival team at ibm says the claims of quantum supremacy are overstated. to explain this further, john preskill, professor of theoretical physics, at the california institute of technology, joins me now. he coined the phrase "quantum supremacy" in an article he wrote in 2012.

typically a concise and can't, otherwise a bunch of questions from me, and answers i won't understand, i know you have breathed a producer, she is smart enough to understand me, me not so much. i've had the described as something huge like the lea p described as something huge like the leap from using candles to using electric light bulbs. of people suggesting it is a bit overstated. what do you say? i think you just probably an overstatement but i do think if you step back and look at what's happened, what was announced today from the perspective of the history of technology, significant milestone has been reached. we have been ——we have had the understanding for some time that is quantum computers continue to advance, they will eventually, at least for some of us be able to file outperform our most powerful digital supercomputers

and what we have now seen as either dodgy has matured to the point that at least four special, narrowly defined purposes, quantum pictures canned now far out reform the most powerful digital computers we have, they can perform a competition with a very significant speed up. on the other hand, we should not have unrealistic expectations about what this means in terms of those technological advances impacting over it allows for a while. it's going to take some time, to realise applications for quantum computing that will really have practical impact. from the point of view of science, from the point of view of physics is a real milestone, it's a very impressive experiment that the google crew has cracked —— has carried out. if you can, what is say

to people who said that he has demonstrated they had control over it, they have relatively the error rates but were decades away from an actual quantum computer they can solve problems stop you would need something much more precision to have a full scale quantum computer. iagree, have a full scale quantum computer. i agree, it's important to understand the quantum computers that we have now and that the google crew use has a hardware which is not so crew use has a hardware which is not so reliable. the competition is a series of operations and in each operation there is a probability of error which is sufficiently high that if you try to perform to longer computation you are probably not going to get the right answer this. right now that a serious limitation of the power of the technology and you might be right, it might take decades for some of the applications that we currently envision to become distracted come to fruition. but we now have quantum devices that we can start of a rabid and search for

applications and it has been hard to anticipate exactly how quantum computers can be used because it's such a different way of processing information. and now we have reached a point where the devices have sufficient power that the potential for applications is there and we can proceed to try and develop them. france is famous for its grand ecoles, prestigious institutions of higher education that cater to the great and the good. whether it's business, engineering or administration, the french elite has learnt its trade in those hallowed halls. now the official stamp has been given to another school, but this one has, well, a magical touch. the bbc‘s tim allman explains. thomas is 18 years old. he wants to bea thomas is 18 years old. he wants to be a magician. this is the false bottom, he says, the school that we have lessons. hog what it is not but

have lessons. hog what it is not but have ca rd have lessons. hog what it is not but have card tricks and sleight of hand are yourthing, have card tricks and sleight of hand are your thing, then this is the place to be. magic is a passion, it's a bit like music or an artist you want to sketch all day. it's really engrossing. we don't notice the dagger by. alexander runs the school with her father. the dagger by. alexander runs the school with herfather. she says her profession of of psychology, improvisation and practice. lots and lots of practice. thousands of hours of training, then hey, presto, abracadabra, that's magic. translation: we have a diploma which is recognised by the state as the equivalent of two years of study post high school. this means it is entitled to public funding just like any other training forjobs in the arts. so it's huge. this much for you — make much more for you anytime

on the website. thank you for watching. hello there, safe to say that many of us will be glad to see the back of us will be glad to see the back of october, we still have another week to come and there's more rain in the forecast for the next few days. some of it quite heavy as above. however, as we do closed out the mother doesn't bike we are likely to see a change. a different rent, drier but it will fill noticeably cold by day and by night. for the here and now, of got a couple of weather fronts established

across england and wales, producing clad ipad your brain as a sink south and east behind it, the winds will strengthen on this for the front of the northwest is going to enhance some showers for the remainder of the day. we will start a little milder than the morning just past the double digits, widely across the country, early morning mist and fog patches, in the south—east and this wea k patches, in the south—east and this weak weather front is a band of clad, and a drizzle, driving its way south and east lot behind it quite a clea ra nce, south and east lot behind it quite a clearance, sunny south and east lot behind it quite a clearance, sunny spells coming through before that, rental system enhances the showers to the north—west with some pretty girl bossed gusts of wind. top temperatures 11— 14 degrees, as at low pressure starts to tuck in, it's your introduce a cold flow, a north—south divide in the feel of the weather and the type of the weather we are going to see. so as you move into freighter we've got that low pressure just enhancing plenty of showers into the north—west with the cold air kicking m, north—west with the cold air kicking in, wintry higher ground, at the same timea in, wintry higher ground, at the same time a pulse of the defendants going to move in and want to devise

it is here to stay. for quite some time. it will bring some rental so a bit heavy as it moves into wales, northern england and northern ireland. that is dividing them to in the cold air into the far north, eight or nine degrees is a maximum, milder conditions down to the south—east corner but unfortunately it's like a relentless conveyor belt of rainfor it's like a relentless conveyor belt of rain for friday into saturday across much of wales and northern england before it so this just to show that it will clear away during the latter stages of saturday. but be prepared for some disruption were wales in north—west england, we could have another 100 millimetres of rain on top of the already but mother of zen, tune into your local bbc radio stations five dates of any traffic and travel issues but once that front has cleared away we're going to see a change. should the mormons, frost but dry sunny weather conditions and that is because is set to build on from there than and crichton thinks down over the next few days. that's it, whatever you're doing, take care.

this is bbc news. the headlines: british police have launch a murder inquiry after finding the bodies of 39 people in a lorry container in south—east england. the vehicle had come overfrom europe. they're now trying to identify the bodies, which include a teenager. republican members of congress have disrupted the trump impeachment inquiry — barging into a hearing room, moments before a senior pentagon specialist was due to testify. democrats say it's a way to prevent more evidence emerging against the president. president trump says he'll lift all sanctions imposed on turkey over its incursion against the kurds in syria. he said ankara promised him its military operation in the region had stopped. fierce fighting has forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee.