hello and welcome to bbc news. hurricane irma has cut a devastating path across the caribbean, leaving death and destruction in its wake. at least 20 people are known to have died and more than a million people have been affected. the massive storm is forecast to hit the united states on saturday night. and there's another hurricane named jose coming up behind irma. our correspondent laura bicker is the first foreign journalist to reach barbuda following the devastation wreaked by hurricane irma and has been speaking to residents there. the island of barbuda was once a caribbean paradise. now it is lost. hurricane irma has reduced it to rubble. homes are unrecognisable. the ruins lie scattered, torn and ripped apart. having survived the worst storm in living memory, and knowing another is on the way, people are exhausted, hungry and just desperate to leave. i don't know. i'm just waiting to get evacuated from here, and then i'm going to come

back and try and salvage something, and help... i don't know. my whole life is here, so... we're not coping, we're definitely not coping. everybody will tell you the same, they're not coping. everyone is in the same situation and nobody can help one another. the core of the hurricane carved a cruel and deadly path through these streets. a two—year—old died, drowned as her mother tried to move her to safer ground. but, incredibly, the rest of the people on this island survived the storm's wrath. don't worry, we're going to get you off the island, and we're going to get you to safety, and you'll be taken care of. the prime minister has travelled from neighbouring antigua to provide some reassurance. be patient, we're going to get you all off. he knows this is a race against time before hurricanejose arrives in just a few hours.

we heard him haggling for every boat, helicopter or plane to help with the evacuation. can it land here, though? but fear starts to spread that not everyone will get out in time. don't worry. this woman's just been told she doesn't have a place on the next boat. the sheer horrifying scale of the devastation here means that barely a building is salvageable. that means that the whole island will have to be rebuilt and the government has already admitted it simply doesn't have the money. the hope is that the funds will come from somewhere. we're hoping that, you know, friendly governments and international partners will step up to the plate and assist us. they should not see this as a form of, let's say, the prime minister and the people of antigua and barbuda coming with a begging bowl, cap in hand. this is a disaster, a national disaster. the fragments of people's lives now lie in ruins. they can only hope that one day they will once again call this island home. but for now they must leave by any means possible, including this towed barge, and they don't know when they will return. laura bicker, bbc news, barbuda.

and as if the destruction in the caribbean wasn't bad enough, mexico has been hit by its most powerful earthquake in a century. at least 58 people have been killed — and that figure is set to rise still further. it struck off the pacific coast to the south of the country, with a magnitude of 8.1, and was felt as far north as mexico city. sophie long reports. daylight revealed the destruction the most powerful quake to hit mexico in decades had delivered. in less than a minute, yucatan‘s town hall was reduced to rubble. at least 17 of its citizens were killed. translation: it was all horrific. everything collapsed, everything. the truth — i have no words to explain what happened. look at my home, everything is destroyed. this is the moment it hit a bowling alley in chiapas, the closest state to the quake‘s epicentre. 600 miles away, the tremors rocked mexico city.

as people pick through the remnants of their lives, there are fears that there could be more strong aftershocks to come. translation: so far, there have been 65 aftershocks. the strongest was magnitude 6.1. however, it's possible that, over the next 2a hours, we could see a shock that's as strong as the earthquake. this is a country used to earthquakes, but not of this magnitude. it has left families devastated, and infrastructure destroyed. sophie long, bbc news. stay with us here on bbc news. still to come: the story of the 13—year—old british girl who helped to transform the lives of eight people after her death. let's return to our top story

now — hurricane irma. there's been criticism, both here in the uk and in the caribbean, of the british government's response to the hurricane compared to france and the netherlands. irma is now lashing cuba and the southern bahamas as it heads towards florida. nick bryant is in nassau, in the bahamas. he's had a look at the impact on the region. the turks & caicos, where the palm trees that usually attract people to these islands reeled under the violent onslaught of hurricane irma. a storm people here had been tracking through satellite images, a monster hurricane that's looked terrifying from space. now a horrifying on—the—ground reality. picture—postcard holiday destinations, like the british virgin islands, pummelled by 160mph winds. this uk territory has now declared a state of emergency. the bahamas are starting to be blasted. the only sightseeing this morning from the relative safety of the balcony, watching the approaching storm. old imperial buildings that have stood for centuries in this former

british colony are braced, shuttered, prepared for the worst. elton smith had onlyjust finished rebuilding his business from the last hurricane that caused such devastation less than a year ago. this is one of the worst storms in living memory. so, you know, you've got to get as much together as you can, and plan for the worst, hope for the best. there are five low—lying islands in this archipelago which the authorities are particularly concerned about, which is why the government here has ordered the biggest evacuation in the history of the bahamas. but there are fears already for people who have stayed behind, people who have defied those evacuation orders, people who believe they can ride out this storm. in hurricane—hit st martin, this natural disaster has been exacerbated by the man—made problem of looting, which is why, in the dutch part of this territory, the streets are being patrolled by troops, who could be helping the relief operation. as for britain, it's stepped up its aid effort

following criticism it's been slow to respond. raf planes carrying equipment are now on their way, and the government says it's planning for the longer—term. what will be the reconstruction needs for these islands in the future? what support will they need, and what can we give? and we remain committed to ensure that that long—term work is done, and that reconstruction work is done, and we provide the support necessary. so far, it's small caribbean islands like st martin that are being hit by winds with the power to hurl containers through the air. but all the time irma is barrelling towards the american mainland, threatening destruction on a much larger scale. nick bryant, bbc news, the bahamas. and there is more coverage on the

hurricane ian on our website, including a look at how dangerous it is compared to other super storms that have caused havoc in previous decades. just go to our website. pope francis has presided over an emotional act of reconciliation between victims of colombia's armed conflict and former fighters. speaking in villavicencio, one of the places worst affected by the five—decade conflict between government forces and the farc, the pope called for truth and justice for victims. our south america correspondent katy watson sent this report. villavicencio's cemetery tells the story of the country's conflict. of more than half a century of disappearances, murders and separation. when virginia was six, her mother went to fight with the farc. she was made to, she says, and she's given up ever seeing her again, but not her dad, who disappeared 13 years later. in among the tombs are unnamed graves, victims of the conflict.

but even this would bring closure to virginia. she's optimistic about a peace process, she might find out what happened to her father. "i would love to come here with a flower," she says. "to have a plaque with his name on, a place i could spend time. "i want him to be alive more than anything, but this at least "would be something." virginia's one of hundreds of victims meeting the pope. there's a lot of expectation that he can help heal the wounds here. the latin american pontiff is well loved on his home turf. the crowds excited about welcoming a pope to colombia for the first time in more than 30 years. the pope decided to come to villavicencio because it's seen as the epicentre of the violence

the country's suffered for more than five decades. the younger generation doesn't know any different. people here want to rebuild and move forward, but the divisions are in how they do it. the pope warned that the peace process in colombia would fail if people didn't seek reconciliation. it came as the farc leader issued an open letter to the pope, asking for forgiveness. joanna thinks compassion is important. she runs a beauty salon now but until a few years ago she too was in the farc. when her 12—year—old sister signed up she said she had little choice but to join too to protect her. "they guerrillas killed my two sisters," she tells me, when i ask about the divisions in the country. "i'm a victim but also a perpetrator. "i'm in both camps." she says she wants the pope to bring a message of peace so there's less judgement and more understanding about people who used to be guerrillas or paramilitaries. the pope's words resonate with the millions of colombians

tired of conflict, but once he's gone it is action that is needed. it will be a long road to lasting peace here. katy watson, bbc news, villavicencio in columbia. a review of the criminaljustice system in england and wales has concluded that people from black, asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are still facing bias and overt discrimination. the inquiry, commissioned by the government and led by the labour mp david lammy, makes recommendations such as assessing the maturity of young offenders, and sealing criminal records of reformed youths. elaine dunkley reports. hmp isis in south—east london. there's no hope in the system. there are more than 600 inmates. 70% of those behind bars here are from an ethnic minority background. not getting bail. not getting — keep getting stopped

and searched because i'm black. according to today's review, there is bias and discrimination within the criminaljustice system. it's how you're looked at, preconceptions, stuff like that. stephan is serving six years for drug offences but believes he is also being punished because of the colour of his skin. i've been in prison for a while now so i've met people in the past, when i first started my sentence, that got less time than me for a worse crime. the same drugs, but a lot worse than i done, but they got a shorter sentence than i have. the reasons why ethnic minorities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system are complex. the lammy review says it's about highlighting inequality in the way people who have committed crimes are judged and punished. when we are describing groups of young ethnic minorities, in particular black, the term "gang" is used. swathes of young people who may not necessarily be serious gang members, they may be affiliated, loosely affiliated to a gang, they may live in a gang neighbourhood, they may have been

incorrectly labelled with that term, end up receiving harsher sentences. at brixton police station, shaquille is taking part in a rehabilitation scheme called divert, which helps offenders find training and employment. you'd be surprised. i'm surprised that i've seen people as young as 11, 12, smoking weed on the street. he says poverty is the root cause. in certain places where you go to, people just grow up in a mentality that they are on the battlefield. as a young person, to get involved with crime is just to better your circumstances. the lammy review has more than 30 recommendations for change. proposals include removing identifying information about ethnicity when cases are passed from police to prosecutors, so racial bias doesn't influence charging decisions, and not declaring criminal records for minor offences when applying forjobs.

i'm labelled, 100%. if i go and i try for a job and i show them my criminal history record, whatever, they will be like, "yeah, this person, we can't give them a job". the government says it is committed to making a fairer britain a reality. reviews and recommendations are a start. now actions are needed to reform the character and culture of parts of the criminaljustice system. elaine dunkley, bbc news. this is bbc news. our main headlines this hour: at least 20 people have been killed by hurricane irma — with one organisation claiming that more than a million people have been affected by the storm damage. the mexican government says at least 58 people have died after an earthquake shook the south of the country. it struck just off the pacific coast, and was felt hundreds of kilometres, away in the capital. more on the earthquake in mexico and

had to mexico city. joining me is p°ppy had to mexico city. joining me is poppy nicolas, an exchange student in mexico city. describe the moment when the earthquake struck for you. it was all really bizarre, very scary. to begin with we weren't really sure what was happening. i've a lwa ys really sure what was happening. i've always lived in europe so i've never experienced anything like this. yeah, it was really scary. i dread to think what it was like closer to the coast. but, yeah, everything was moving and we had to run out of the apartment and out onto the street and we were shaking quite a lot and eve ryo ne and we were shaking quite a lot and everyone was quite nervous. and we were shaking quite a lot and everyone was quite nervouslj and we were shaking quite a lot and everyone was quite nervous. i can imagine. few people have experienced anything like that, one of the worst to hit the country. have you been able to head back to your home or are you staying somewhere else for the moment? no. we were really fortu nate the moment? no. we were really

fortunate that none of the houses near us were fortunate that none of the houses near us were damaged. we were also lucky enough to not experience any power cuts or anything. i have a lot of friends that said otherwise. but we we re very of friends that said otherwise. but we were very lucky we could go back to our apartment quite quickly. when the earthquake struck, what information were you told? was there much public announcements? there was a ciriello that went off seconds before everything started shaking —— a siren. shortly after the quaking stopped a police car drove past and checked on everybody. apart from that we were relying on the news to keep up with what was going on. p°ppy, keep up with what was going on. poppy, finally, there's also a warning that a harry kane is heading to the east of the country, is gathering in strength —— hurricane.

is there much information about that? not all that much, no. again, just what we are reading on the news. nobody from what i can tell is really preparing in the city. poppy, thanks very much, happy to hear you are safe and well in mexico city, p°ppy are safe and well in mexico city, poppy nicolas, an exchange didn't in mexico city. a brief look at some of the day's other news stories. the chief constable of police scotland, phil gormley, has stood down while a complaint about him is investigated. mr gormley, who has taken leave, said he denies allegations of gross misconduct. northern ireland politician ian paisley has denied a claim that he failed to declare £100,000 worth of holidays to sri lanka in 2013 paid for by that country's government. the dup member of parliament has referred himself to the parliamentary standards commission, following a newspaper report. he said the article was devoid of fact or logic. a father who was drunk and asleep when his dog killed his 3—week—old son has been jailed

at newcastle crown court. ryan young was sentenced to 21 months in prison for being in charge of a dangerous dog. his son, reggie young, was mauled at the family home in sunderland in, june two years ago. the use of potentially addictive painkillers across england has doubled in the last 15 years, according to a leading health group. 50,000 patients were studied, they were prescribed at least one of four types of potentially addictive drugs. 0pioid painkillers, such as codeine and tramadol, were the most commonly prescribed. in 2015 they were issued to one patient in 20, double the rate in 2000. the length of time people are being prescribed opioid pain killers has also increased from just over two months in 2000 to a peak of over three months in 2014. dominic hughes has been

meeting some of those, whose lives have been shattered by their dependence on prescription drugs. get your shirt out the way. a few months before, i was this normal guy, working full—time, with kids and a wife, and happy. and then all of a sudden, i'm basically a drug addict. a routine prescription drug led james to the brink of destruction. we'll have a look at your urine test. he's now getting help to deal with a crippling addiction to powerful opioid painkillers, commonly prescribed drugs like codeine, morphine or tramadol. james' problems started with severe stomach aches. but the painkillers he was prescribed quickly stopped working. desperate for pain relief, he was soon spending £400 a month on additional supplies from online pharmacies. he went from taking eight pills a day to 50, and almost before he knew it, his life had spiralled out of control. i thought it would be fine, i would be on the tablets short—term.

but then before i knew it, i couldn't get off them. forjames, the side—effects were terrible. headaches, nausea, constipation, and then a series of seizures that he feared would end his life. it can ruin your life without you knowing, because i do believe that probably within a year if i had carried on taking the same amounts, or increasing, it probably would have killed me. research in just a handful of gp practices injames' town in north lincolnshire identified more than 100 people dependent on painkillers. but responsibility for helping them falls between the nhs and local councils, and schemes like the one thatjames is on are rare. the key seems to be a better understanding of the nature of pain. that's what they are trying in gloucestershire. has anybody had pain today? talking to doctors and pharmacists about pain management, as well as identifying and helping patients who are struggling. most people with persistent pain will describe it as severe. no one should stop their medication before seeking the advice of their gp, but one of the country's leading pain experts says it is clear that patients using opioid drugs

for a long time are often getting little benefit but suffer all the side—effects. i'm not suggesting that somebody who is benefiting should have their drugs removed, but out of a population who are taking these drugs, the majority will not be benefiting, and those patients should be supported to come off their medicines. playing jenga here at hergrandma's... stephenjones knows just how devastating it can be when the use of opioid painkillers is not monitored closely. an accidental overdose killed his 24—year—old daughter, sarah, after her use escalated dramatically. stephen took the call from a paramedic. my heart just sank. i had never felt like that ever in my life. it was literally the worst day of my life, that. i hope i never have to go through it again. the children... no father expects to be at their child's funeral. here in the uk, it's emerged that

a teenage girl who died from a brain aneurysm has helped a record number of people through organ donation. jon kay reports. dear mum, happy birthday. it was just before her mum's birthday party five years ago that jemima suddenly collapsed. # the girl who has everything.# she had an aneurysm that had never been diagnosed, and doctors told her parents nothing could be done. we'd seen the scans and there was such a huge shadow on the left side of the brain that she could never, ever recover. by chance, jemima had spoken to her parents about organ donation just a few days before she collapsed. when she died, they felt they had to follow the schoolgirl‘s wishes. she did specifically say that she wanted to be an organ donor. how did that help you make

the decision, when you knew that she wasn't going to survive? it made that decision so much easier. it's like an automatic thing, "yes, absolutely, because that's what her wishes were". five years on, jemima's family have now been told that her organs, including her heart, lungs and kidneys, have helped more people than any other single donor. freddie is one of those jemima saved. he'd been given just weeks to live before he received her liver in a transplant. this week, he started secondary school. his family's message... thank you, but that just doesn't seem enough. you're grateful that they actually stuck to jemima's wishes and let her donate her organs, which allowed our child to live. but obviously for our child to live, their child had to die. it's really tough, but we can never be thankful enough. this month the two families

will meet for the first time at a charity ball organised injemima's memory. her parents know that not everyone would make the decision they did, but with more than 6000 people waiting for transplants, they are now campaigning for more of us to register as donors. jon kay, bbc news, somerset. saturday sees the 70th anniversary of ferrari. the italian racing team unveiled its first car back in 19117. since then, the company has seen incredible success on the track and has become a symbol for style and success. the bbc‘s tim allman looks back on seven decades of the prancing horse. when it comes to cars, is there any name more

glamorous than ferrari? those sleek lines, that deep crimson red, the musical grace of the engine. it is something truly magic. archive: the fastest cars get away for the 30—lap race of 260 miles. almost from the beginning, ferrari enjoyed success. herejuan manuel fangio winning the british grand prix in 1956. then nicki lauda, jodie schechter, michael schumacher — legendary names, legendary cars. and what would the founder, enzo ferrari, make of it all? i think he's pleased to see a company that, of course, is different from his own but looking ahead was able to maintain the characteristics, the culture of ferrari. this is very important.

so i think he's pleased. these days, ferrari is a multibillion—dollar operation. high—tech designs, some of the most advanced cars in the world. events will take part to mark the anniversary, culminating in an exclusive party in maranello, where the cars have been built since the second world war. so, happy birthday, ferrari. arguably italy's greatest ever export. tim allman, bbc news. if you want to take one for a spin or if you have one outside your house then let me know on twitter... i'm @tomdonkinbbc. headlines coming up but first, time for the weather. hello, there. the weather is set to remain in a pretty unsettled theme through this weekend, all thanks to low pressure nearby.

this is the picture as we start the weekend. an area of low pressure across the north sea. fairly tightly packed isobars across western parts of the uk, meaning quite windy here, even throughout the night and first thing saturday morning. most showers will affect western coastal areas. further east, lengthier dry interludes. 0n the cool side, 10—11 in towns. a little bit lower than that in rural areas. we start saturday on a fine note for some, with sunshine. plenty of showers in northern and western scotland and towards northern ireland. those showers affecting the north—west of england, northern and western wales and the south—west of england. i think the midlands eastwards tending to start dry, with sunshine. temperatures around 12—13 degrees at 9am. but it won't be long before showers across western areas begin to migrate eastwards through the day. across central, southern and eastern areas, some could be heavy, with hail and thunder mixed in. slow moving as well here. further west, the showers are blown through quickly on a strong breeze. if anything conditions

settle down in scotland, especially through the central belt. temperature wise, 16—19. nothing that special, but not bad in the sunshine. through saturday night the high pressure builds in. it turns drier, with lengthy clear spells, but it will be chilly. another system makes inroads across scotland, northern ireland initially, with strengthening winds. central, southern and eastern areas starting chilly, a little bit of mist and fog around, especially eastern england. that will clear away. then an increasing breeze, outbreaks of wind, begins to push eastwards. it doesn't really reached the far south—east until after dark. so a day where conditions go downhill. 14—19 — temperatures nothing that great. this weekend it really will feel quite cool for the time of year. windy too and there will be some rain or showers, some of them heavy. beyond the weekend, it stays unsettled. this is the area of low pressure which will move through. this weekend it really will feel quite cool for the time of year. windy too and there will be some rain or showers, some of them heavy. beyond the weekend, it stays unsettled. this is the area of low pressure which will move through.

it will still be with us on monday. very tightly packed isobars means it will be gale force winds, even severe gales across the south—west. plenty of showers rattling through. there will be sunshine in between, though it will still remain on the cool side.