welcome to bbc news. my name's mike embley. our top stories: borisjohnson calls on the british parliament to back an early general election in december. in return, he's offering more time to debate his brexit deal. police begin moving the bodies of 39 people, believed to be from china, found dead in a refrigerated lorry outside london. uluru's final ascent. tourists prepare to climb the sacred red rock, much against the wishes of indigenous australians, for the last time. and after more than four decades, the remains of spain's former dictator are exhumed and re—buried.

hello. britain's prime minister has agreed to demands from parliament for more time to scrutinise his brexit deal, but only if mps agree to an early general election in december. effectively, it means borisjohnson has conceded for the first time that he can't keep his promise to take britain out of the european union by the end of october. but it's not clear if even this move will work out for him. he needs a two thirds majority in parliament to call an election and the opposition labour party are not certain to support it. here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. is there any clear way out of the storm? downing street wants a route to a general election. after weeks of negotiation with brussels, number 10 did strike a deal but mps rejected the prime minister's plan to force it through at top speed, so now he wants to force them to go to the country. the way to get brexit done is, i think, to be reasonable with parliament and say, if they genuinely want more time to study this excellent

deal, they can have it but they have to agree to a general election on december 12th. it's time, frankly, that the opposition summoned up the nerve to submit themselves to the judgment of our collective boss, which is the people of the uk. you're essentially trying to blackmail parliament with the threat of an election in order to ram through your bill. no, come on, we've had three and a half years. not looking at this bill. well, most of this bill is, of course, very familiar to parliamentarians. what makes you think that the opposition will give you your way this time? i mean, they could just keep you hostage. they could. but i think it would be absolutely morally incredible if they were to do so. after all, this is a party, the labour party underjeremy corbyn has called repeatedly, endlessly for a general election. if mps do not agree to your demand for an election, what will you do? to be absolutely clear with you, we would campaign day after day

after day for the people of this country to be released from subjection to a parliament that has outlived its usefulness, that has fulfilled its function, that is refusing to get brexit done. is everyone in the cabinet backing an election, ms truss? even some of his cabinet, though, are not convinced this is a good idea. we should make sure we try to get everybody on board. and it's simply not in the government's control. prime minister, are we heading for a general election? the prime minister needs two—thirds of mps to back him to get his election. labour might be ready to take the stage, ready for a fight. crowds of their members might want an election but plenty of mps do not. the leadership won't say yes or no until the eu answers the government's request for a delay. take no—deal off the table and we absolutely support the election.

i've been calling for an election ever since the last one because this country needs one in order to deal with all the social injustice issues. but no—deal must be taken off the table. but the smaller parties are tempted if brussels agrees a delay. the liberal democrats are going to keep fighting to remain in the european union, and we're not going to get involved in boris johnson's tantrums. borisjohnson is playing games and we should make sure that we don't dance to his tune. the opposition parties need to show leadership and make sure that we determine when and how an election is going to be called. boris johnson, though, may find himself trapped in downing street. this is the third time number 10 has tried to call an election. lucky for who, this time? live now to washington, dc and to amanda sloat, senior fellow at the robert bosch center on the united states and europe at the brookings institution. amanda, i know you've also been a special adviser at the european commission, the scottish parliament, and the northern ireland assembly.

you gave congressional testimony on brexit this week. what are you making of this situation? it is certainly becoming a mess. we are currently in a very bizarre situation where we have the prime minister who wants a guarantee of an election before considering his bill. we have an opposition who wa nts a bill. we have an opposition who wants a guarantee of an extinction before allowing an election and we have the european union trying to understand what's happening in british domestic politics before granting that extension, so it's really difficult to who's going to move first tier. equally bizarre, a government that is in government but barely in power. it is rather strange sitting in washington, where we have a president lashing out against congress that is questioning weather he should be in office, whereas at the same time in london you have a prime minister literally goading the opposition into bringing down his government and going into new elections. from that side of the

pond, clear up one thing. there were claims of a rapid trade deal post—brexit between the us and the uk, then congressional leaders saying it would never be approved if the brexit deal was threatening the good friday agreement on the irish border. is your feeling that threat has gone away with this proposed exit deal? certainly in the congressional hearing i was out on tuesday and conversations sense, there seems to be a bit of a relief that no—deal appears off the table for now and the prime minister has a deal the parliament has at least approved once. certainly donald trump is very keen to negotiate a free—trade agreement with the uk. there is not general opposition within congress to having a bilateral trade deal tween the uk, us and uk, but if there was to be a no—deal brexit or a brexit seem to disadvantage northern ireland in some way, it would be very difficult to get it through congress given the

strong support for northern ireland and maintaining the peace process. just briefly, the problem with the politics here as politics there is a lack of trust, isn't it? here the opposition parties are wary of agreeing to an election because they don't trust mrjohnson not to still bring in no—deal at all.|j don't trust mrjohnson not to still bring in no-deal at all. i think that's absolutely right. you're seeing a breakdown in trust of politics on both sides of the atlantic, and on your side there's questions between the opposition and the government and also a lot of increasing frustration within brussels about what exactly is happening in london and how this is going to start affecting the eu longer term. amanda sloat, thank you very much. thank you. let's get some of the day's other news. the us vice president has accused the national basketball association and the sports firm nike of bowing to chinese pressure and muzzling criticism of beijing. mike pence also attacked china's diplomatic and trade policies, adding that it had violated the rights of people in hong kong, but he insisted the united states wants to avoid confrontation.

more trade talks are due on friday. the united nations is sending a team of human rights specialists to the chilean capital, santiago, to monitor the street protests and security clampdown that's claimed 18 lives. the un human rights chief and former president of chile, michelle bachelet, says she has watched the violence since it started last friday. president sebastian pinera has suggested public order and security is improving. the family of harry dunn are beginning legal action against the british foreign office over its handling of his case. the teenager died after his motorbike collided with a car driven by an american woman, anne sacoulas, who then went back to the us, claiming immunity from prosecution. the family are also referring northamptonshire police, who are investigating the crash, to the independent office for police conduct. police are saying the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in south—east england were all chinese. the container had arrived

from belgium overnight and was collected by a lorry driver from northern ireland. he is still being questioned by detectives on suspicion of murder. forensic teams have begun removing the bodies of 31 men and eight women from the container. essex police say the case is now the largest murder investigation in their history. ed thomas reports. under police escort, and by private ambulance at night, the first of the 39 chinese nationals have been removed from the lorry trailer at the port of tilbury docks. police said the priority was preserving their respect and dignity. an unwanted reminder, too, of what happened nearly 20 years ago in dover. here, 58 chinese immigrants suffocated in a lorry. it took months for all those who died to be identified. sam doesn't want to remember. he moved to grays from china a0 years ago.

when i heard the news this morning, all the 39 people of chinese nationality i say, why, how? it has happened again. he lives and works close to where the bodies were found this week. it said 39 people died, struggling in freezing cold in the container, in the dark and no—one helped. there's now a major international investigation. the belgian authorities say the container arrived into the port of zeebrugge at about 2:30pm on tuesday afternoon. it left there, heading across the channel, arriving at purfleet in essex, and at 1:05am yesterday, the trailer was collected by a lorry. around half—an—hour later, ambulance staff discovered all 39 bodies inside the container. vic makes the same journey to the port of purfleet.

these are the checks he does every day. obviously, if anything was in there, you would see it straightaway. i've seen peoplejumping out of trailers, jumping out of containers, running around. what are the feelings amongst drivers? everyone's terrified that they are going to find someone in their vehicles, or worse. in 2016, the national crime agency warned that smuggling gangs were moving from major hubs like dover to smaller ports like purfleet. they will only be caught if they get out of the trailers. this man worked at purfleet at the time of the nca report. he didn't want to show his face. it happened daily. and what was the largest number of people? the largest one i saw was a group of vietnamese. there were 30, 32 of them, crammed into a little 10 by 12 room. you just became used to it, as horrible as it sounds. some of them had broken legs,

one that was trying to run away from security onsite, not big security, about four people, with crutches, trying to run away, some holding children. and the security at purfleet? nowhere near enough. tonight, police are still questioning the lorry driver on suspicion of murder. he has been named in northern ireland as 25—year—old mo robinson. police say it will take until the weekend to remove all the bodies and to begin to find the answers they need. ed thomas, bbc news, purfleet. about 2,000 people in northern california, including the entire population of one town, have been ordered out of their homes to escape a fast—moving wildfire. stop... can you see? no, icann. this was the momentjournalists in sonoma county had to flee the flames as the fire was spread by high winds. in just a couple of days, almost 200,000 people have been left without power, and around 4,000 hectares of land in the wine producing region

have been destroyed. washington, dc is paying tribute to congressman elijah cummings, who died this week. his body was brought to the us capitol, where it will lie in state until his funeral on friday. he is the first african—american lawmaker to receive that honour. the son of sharecroppers, he became a civil rights leader, earning respect and friendship from colleagues on both sides of the aisle, although he often clashed with president trump. former presidents barack obama and bill clinton will speak at his funeral. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: caught on camera — undercover. the baby elephants who've been taken from theirfamilies in zimbabwe to be sold to the chinese. 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: britain's prime minister, borisjohnson, calls on parliament to back an early general election in december to give it more time

to debate his brexit deal. british police say the 39 people found dead in the back of a lorry in england were chinese nationals. it is thought dozens of young elephants taken from their families in zimbabwe have been flown to china, bought for zoos and animal parks. animal welfare groups have condemned thise secretive trade, saying these animals were separated from their mothers a year ago and will be traumatised. but officials in zimbabwe's wildlife parks have defended the move, claiming the money raised will save other animals after a devastating drought. our southern africa correspondent andrew harding has sent this report. secret footage of several dozen young zimbabwean elephants in a crowded enclosure, waiting to be shipped to china for the rest of their lives. they've been in captivity for a year already, separated from theirfamilies. the zimbabwean authorities say selling them is the right thing

to do. there are simply too many elephants in the country. the money they'll earn from china will help to save other animals now at risk from a terrible drought. in the last two months alone, at least 55 elephants have died of starvation and thirst. there's no food, there's no water. and this situation is worst in many years, and it's happening. that is why we have been saying to the international community, yes, these are our problems. allow us to trade. earlier today, it is believed this cargo plane flew perhaps 30 of the elephants out of zimbabwe. but the process was highly secretive, prompting fears of corruption and provoking outrage from animal welfare groups. well, sadly, they are in for even more of a miserable life than what they've already had, after being ripped away from theirfamilies and their mothers and, you know, they're going to be living

in a hellhole, in captivity. this is the kind of park where the elephants may end up. more than 100 have already been sold to china. but next month, new international rules will make this sort of trade much harder. zimbabwe insists selling a handful of animals serves a greater good. but campaigners say that's not the point, that elephants live in close family groups, and their young should not be stolen from them. andrew harding, bbc news, johannesburg. on friday the climb to the top of uluru, the famous red rock in central australia, will close. indigenous people have long asked tourists not to scale the ancient sandstone monolith because of its spiritual significance. but the closure of the climb isn't universally popular. phil mercer is there for us. tell us more. well, in the last hour 01’ tell us more. well, in the last hour orso, tell us more. well, in the last hour or so, this last day of climbing has

finally, for hundreds of visitors, got under way. we were there just after dawn. large crowds waiting for their last opportunity to scale uluru, it's 348 metres high, taller than the eiffel tower. but it was very, very windy here in central australia earlier today. it is still quite breezy now, but the authorities have deemed it safe enough for that last consignment of visitors to scale uluru. and as you say, at the end of today, there will be celebrations among indigenous people, because they have always asked visitors not to climb uluru. at the end of today, the claim will be banned. and tell us more, feel, on this. for indigenous people, uluru is a living, breathing thing -- phil. it is, it is like a cathedral, a temple, a synagogue, a mosque. the indigenous people of australia revere the land. the land to them is a living, breathing mass.

it is full of secrets and wisdom. indigenous people revere the rock you can see behind me. it is about 15 kilometres away, and for indigenous people, they believe that uluru indigenous people, they believe that ulu ru tells indigenous people, they believe that uluru tells the story of creation, all the caves, the lions, the ridges, the rock itself, the surface of the rock, it all tells a story of creation. immensely spiritual for indigenous men, women and children, as well, and that's why it is so culturally significant today, in a few hours' time, visitors will be forbidden from climbing to the top of uluru, and over the weekend there will be dancing and singing and other celebrations in indigenous communities, to mark what they consider obviously to be a momentous day. knowing all that, phil, and it is well known, it does seem kind of amazing that so many people are prepared just to ignore those beliefs and those feelings. well, i

think what we've seen, mike, in the last few weeks and months, is a last—minute rush, if you like, of visitors both from australia and overseas coming to this part of central australia to try to climb uluru for one last time. but we have been speaking to park management authorities in the last couple of days here, and they say that in the last 20 years or so, the number of visitors climbing uluru has gradually fallen. it sits now between 10% and 20% of people who come to this part of australia. only that number want to climb the rock. so indigenous people say it is immensely sacred, and people shouldn't climate. park authorities believe that economically the tourist industry here will survive, because many people do appreciate the wonder, the majesty, the immense presence of uluru, this giant red rock from the ground. of course, if you have got the money, you can go up you have got the money, you can go

up in you have got the money, you can go upina you have got the money, you can go up in a helicopter as well. yesterday we saw parachutists coming m, yesterday we saw parachutists coming in, so there were many, many different ways to see the rock. and from the end of today, claiming it will no longer be an option. phil, thank you very much for that —— climbing it will no longer be an option. the world health organization says the second of three wild strains of polio has been eradicated. wild poliovirus type 3 was last detected in nigeria in 2012. it means that only one strain of the the deadly disease remains in afghanistan and pakistan. there is no cure, but the polio vaccine protects children for life. a british man who fought against the islamic state group has become the first person in the uk to be convicted of a terrorism offence, following a retrial. aidanjames, who is 28, was found guilty of being in a camp where terrorist training was being carried out by a kurdish group, the pkk. the remains of general franco, the fascist dictator who ruled spain for nearly four decades, have been exhumed from a vast mausoleum in madrid and reburied. franco came to power in the 1930s

after a brutal civil war which claimed the lives of around 500,000 people. spain's prime minister said the dictator's veneration in a public space had been a moral affront to democracy. general franco's family had gone to court to try to stop his body being exhumed. allan little has been following the story. the franco family were not allowed to drape his coffin in the nationalflag. for today, modern spain is very publicly disowning his legacy. not his relatives, though. they tried to stop this exhuamation in the courts, and lost their final appeal last month. they made clear their enduring loyalty. but franco's grandiose public resting place has come to symbolise something discordant in a modern democracy — the lionising of a dictator. he was, until they lifted him away today, the only one of the 20th century's fascist leaders to retain such posthumous acclaim.

even so, many here opposed this exhumation. norberto pico, of the nationalist spanish falange party, accused the socialist government of rewriting history. but, to the victims of franco's dictatorship, his vast public tomb was an offence, glorifying fascism. its immense basilica was hollowed out of solid rock by the forced labour of republican prisoners. one who survived the labour camps that helped to build it told me,

"this place should now be allowed to fall quietly into dereliction". the building is a monument to the victory of a crusade. the wounds of the civil war are still open. and i think that the presence of a monument like that is deepening into the new generation the sense of division. in a country still haunted by its past, this is a moment of painful symbolism — the dictator removed from his place in the public realm and given back to his family for a private reburial, no longer the object of officially sanctioned public veneration in spain's democracy. spain's transition from fascist dictatorship to mature democracy has been remarkable. but spain is still divided on how to make sense of its fascist past. a civil war that ended 80 years ago

is still being laid to rest. allan little, bbc news, madrid. and before we go, take a look at these pictures of the us gymnast simone biles bringing a touch of acrobatic magic ahead of game two of the mlb major league baseball world series. the four—time olympic gold medallist performed a backflip before she threw out the first pitch in the second game of the world series contest, between the houston astros and the washington nationals, at minute maid park in houston, texas. the size difference there is tremendous. and your eyes did not deceive you, she did all of that in jeans. there is much more on that and all of the news on the bbc news website. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter. i'm @bbcmikeembley.

hello. there's a battle between cold and mild air taking place across the uk at the moment to see which wins out for the weekend. spoiler — it is the cold air. it's already in place across northern parts of the uk. on the dividing line between the two, before the cold air wins and head south, some of us are about to get a lot of heavy rain through friday into at least early saturday, on the moors of south—west england and wales and northern england, from this waving weather front. finally, as it does clear by the end of saturday from south—east england,

that is when the cold air travels further south. already in place across the northern half of the uk, a touch of frost for you to start the day, and a mild start the further south you . a fine start for many of us, a few showers in scotland. here comes the rain from the south—west and wales into the midlands, especially the west midlands, the eastern side of northern ireland and southern scotland. the uk top—and—tailed by strengthening winds with coastal gales as well. so it is turning much wetterfor some of us and we still have those big temperature contrast across the uk but quite a lot of hill fog down towards the southwest of the uk in the mild air. let's focus in on the rain, though, and these totals you see here are some of the higher totals we may see in the higher ground. lower levels won't see as much as this, but with that much rain falling for some, the potential for some flooding and perhaps some travel disruption. there are some met office yellow warnings in force, details on the website. so the possibility of seeing some disruption to travellers to start the weekend. and this is how we start saturday.

away from the area of rain overnight into saturday, clearer skies elsewhere, in scotland, still a few showers, and a course may be a touch of frost too. the rain does eventually move south on saturday, away from the wettest parts of england and wales, to give a wet afternoon towards east anglia and south—east england. elsewhere, brighter skies developing for many, with a few showers around, and the cold air pushing further south—east by the end of the afternoon. through saturday night into sunday, get rid of this front, get rid of the rain. the blue is in charge. the cold air has won the battle. it will not be bitterly cold. as you can see from this, on sunday, a lot of land showing up. that means it is clear. a bit of patchy cloud, but quite a bit of sunshine coming through on sunday. still a few showers dotted about into scotland. it's still quite breezy out there. so yes, temperatures are coming down. but by sunday, it's drier and sunnier.

this is bbc news.

the headlines: the british prime minister, borisjohnson, has challenged the house of commons to approve a snap election in december. he said the british people must be given the opportunity to end the paralysis over brexit. in return, he's promised more time to debate his eu withdrawal bill. british police have said they believe 39 people found dead in the back of lorry on wednesday were chinese nationals. the chinese embassy in london says it is in close contact with the police to seek clarification and confirmation. officers have been given more time to question the driver. thousands of australians are hoping to climb one of their country's best—known landmarks, uluru, before a permanent ban on scaling it takes effect on saturday. people have been queuing to make the ascent of uluru but high winds have so far prevented many of them setting off. the site is sacred to indigenous australians.