welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. my name's mike embley. our top stories: a powerful earthquake strikes central mexico, toppling buildings and leaving at least 140 people dead. many are feared to be trapped in the ruins. i don't know the extent of the damage. what i do know is that dozens of people are desperately removing rubble here because they believe that someone here is trapped. hurricane maria strengthens as it sweeps west across the caribbean. the virgin islands and puerto rico are facing a potentially catastrophic impact. talking tough at the un — president trump says north korea faces total destruction if it threatens the united states. and the north sea gives up a century—old secret — divers discover the wreck of a first world war german submarine. a devastating earthquake has

struck central mexico, killing more than a 140 people. the 7.1 magnitude quake brought down dozens of buildings in the capital, mexico city, including a school, where children are believed to be trapped. the emergency services, helped by hundreds of volunteers, are sifting through the rubble by hand, searching for survivors. we'll have a report from james cook in a moment on the damage in morelas and pueblo states, but first here's bbc mundo‘s juan paullier in mexico city. this is the scene here in mexico city, just a few minutes after an earthquake of 6.8 magnitude struck the capital. i have been without signal on my phone since then, so i don't know the extent of the damage. what i do know is that dozens of people are desperately removing rubble here, because they believe someone is trapped. sirens

in mexico city they are struggling to save lives. this is one of the most densely packed places on earth. more than 20 million people live here, and this earthquake has hit them hard. translation: we left, and when we left, the building started collapsing, i mean, 30 seconds after we left the building came down. in the minutes after the quake, columns of dust rose into the air, hinting of the devastation. the mexican president says 27 buildings have collapsed in the capital alone. the huge tremor struck around lunchtime, prompting panic and sending people running into the streets. fires have been reported and people are being urged not to smoke because of the danger from gas

leak. these distressing pictures appear to show a building coming down sometime after the initial shock. on the streets of the city a field hospital with doctors treating patients anywhere they can. and it's clear that the damage goes well beyond mexico city. the epicentre of the earthquake was actually more than 100 kilometres to the south—east, in puebla province, where reports of deaths and damages are widespread. earthquake alarms did sound but some residents apparently thought they were part of a day of drills on the anniversary of a devastating quake in 1985. now the 19th of september will be remembered in mexico city for not one but two disasters. david luhnow is the latin america editor for the wall streetjournal and hejoins me now on the line from mexico city. david, glad you are ok. tell us more about what happened. well, we were

all taken by surprise. as your correspondent mentioned, this is the 32nd anniversary of the 1985 earthquake, which killed at least 6000, more likely 10,000 people, so it was already a sad day in mexico city's history, which had just gone through a mock drill to remember the quake and to make sure everyone was ready for another earthquake. 45 minutes after the drill, the ground started shaking for real this time. and it felt quite strong. usually in mexico the earthquakes happen off the pacific coast. so the earthquake alarm sounds, people have about a minute to get out of their homes. this time it was about 100 miles south of the city. so a lot closer. the earthquake alarm sounded and then two or three seconds later it started. there wasn't a lot of time to react. a lot though it is clear there is a lot of collapse, and

reports of people and children trapped. yes, unfortunately there are reports of a0 collapsed buildings around mexico city, including a primary school. we are seeing a lot of reports coming out about how a lot of children have been rescued. there are kids still trapped. with text —— technology kids have been sending messages. it is hard imagine kids waiting to be rescued, lying in the rubble. a lot of residents in the city, because it gets a lot of earthquakes, immediately ran out to the streets, went to the buildings that were collapsed and began forming human chains just trying to get rid of the rubble using plastic buckets, whatever was at hand to try to get to the people that were trapped. so the city has really come together. but the death toll is rising. it is rising 20— 30 people in a we expect the toll to rise further. -- people

an hourand we the toll to rise further. -- people an hour and we expect. 0ne the toll to rise further. -- people an hour and we expect. one part of it is on firmer foundations than the other, isn't it? that's right. ever since the spanish came it was built ona lake since the spanish came it was built on a lake over the water. the dried la ke on a lake over the water. the dried lake below the city magnifies a lot of the earthquake waves that are hit. so if you are unlucky enough to live in one of those neighbourhoods, the shaking is an awful lot worse. and that is where the collapses have happened. the rest of the city is on bedrock. and while we were shaking violently, no buildings collapsed and the city has gone on as well with power and communications. the same neighbourhoods that were badly damaged in 1985 are damaged again this time around. david, thanks so much for talking to us. you take care. it is a pleasure. don't forget you can get much more detail on our top stories on our web site, that's bbc.com/news. you can get the latest on the mexico earthquake. the virgin islands and puerto rico —

the next caribbean territories in the path of hurricane maria — are bracing themselves for the potentially catastrophic impact of the storm. forecasters say the hurricane has again intensified, with winds of more than 280 kilometres an hour. jeremy cooke is on the british virgin islands and sent this report. she is a mighty force of nature, barrelling in from the atlantic. hurricane maria hit guadeloupe hard, the french authorities talking of extremely violent winds, ordering people to stay indoors. in martinique, too, high winds and heavy rain, as the hurricane eye passed within 30 miles. widespread flooding. but perhaps the worst so far has been dominica, conditions so bad, hardly any pictures have emerged. it's rough in dominica, boss.

an unverified video posted while the lights went off. the church roof — blown in. my neighbour's roof — gone. even the prime minister could not escape the storm, posting on facebook. .. here in the british virgin islands, we are getting the first taste of what is to come, with these squalls passing over in advance of the arrival of hurricane maria. these communities know full well the damage that can be caused by a powerful hurricane. that is why they are battening down and preparing for the worst. right until the last minute today, these shattered communities have been doing their best to prepare. if irma was a knockout punch, what is predicted next feels like a low blow. i'm homeless... for francine, it is all too much. because all the shelters are full,

and this is the devastation. you notice i have on different shoes. i can't find any clothes — you notice how i'm dressed. we really need help here, because a lot of people are suffering. the harsh reality here is that all the tons of debris can't be fixed down or made safe before the next hurricane is due to hit. adding to the problems here, the drains are clogged with debris. more flooding seems inevitable. there's a lot of loose debris all over. the trees, that act like a barricade to the strong winds, all the leaves are gone. some of the trees have fallen. and the trees hold the hillsides. so, if we have a lot of rain, we're going to have some erosion, and potential mudslides. so that's a big concern. everyone here is doing all they can to prepare, more than 20,000 british citizens facing their second potentially devastating hurricane in as many weeks. jeremy cooke, bbc news, on the british virgin islands. president trump in his first address

to the general assembly of the united nations has threatened north korea with destruction if america or its allies are threatened. he said that pyongyang's desire for nuclear weapons threatened the world and he mocked its leader kim jong—un as a ‘rocket man' on a suicide mission. president trump also took aim at the iranian leadership describing it as a corrupt dictatorship that exported violence. 0ur north america editorjon sopel reports from new york. donald trump is used to being the centre of attention, but rarely has the global community waited with such bated breath to hearfrom him at his first address to the un general assembly, the isolationist, "america first" president, at the very embodiment of multilateralism and multinationalism. he was more conciliatory, but he was still donald trump. as president of the united states, i will always put america first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first.

he had come to hug his friends and wallop us enemies, and none more so than north korea and their leader, kim jong—un, or ‘rocket man,‘ as he called him. in the assembly, north korea's two allocated seats stood conspicuously empty. the united states has great strength and patience. but, if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea. ‘rocket man' is on a suicide mission for himself, and for his regime. the united states is ready, willing and able. but hopefully this will not be necessary. 0n the iran nuclear deal, he hinted that america

could still walk away from it. "you haven't heard the last of this," he warned. but he ended up with a rallying cry for strong sovereign nations working together. we will fight together, sacrifice together, and stand together, for peace, forfreedom, forjustice, for family, for humanity, and for the almighty god who made us all. thank you, god bless you, god bless the nations of the world, and god bless the united states of america. what will stand out from this address will be his comments on north korea, but there is no simple military solution. well, thank you very much... at a lunch after his outspoken address, the president gave the un a qualified endorsement. and let's give this as a toast to the potential, the great, great potential,

of the united nations. thank you all for being here. thank you very much. whatever its perceived shortcomings, the best way to make progress with pyongyang and on other issues will still be via this body, and the president seems to know it. stay with us on bbc news. still to come: frozen in time. divers discover the intact wreck of a first world war german submarine in shallow waters off belgium. ben johnson, the fastest man on earth, is flying home to canada in disgrace. all the athletes should be clean going into the games. i'm just happy that justice is served. it is a simple fact that this morning, these people were in their homes. tonight, those homes have been burnt down by serbian soldiers and police. all the taliban positions along here have been strengthened,

presumably in case the americans invade. it's no use having a secret service which cannot preserve its own secrets against the world. and so the british government has no option but to continue this action, and even after any adverse judgement in australia. concorde had crossed the atlantic faster than any plane ever before, breaking the record by six minutes. good to have you with us on bbc news. the latest headlines: at least 1a0 people have been killed after a powerful earthquake struck central mexico. the 7.1 magnitude quake brought down dozens of buildings. many are feared to be trapped in the ruins. hurricane maria has strengthened as

ipswich west across the caribbean. the virgin islands and puerto rico up the virgin islands and puerto rico up facing the virgin islands and puerto rico upfacing a the virgin islands and puerto rico up facing a potentially catastrophic hit. -- up facing a potentially catastrophic hit. —— as it sweeps west across. the uk has suspended its cooperation with the army in myanmar because of the humanitarian crisis affecting rohingya muslims. but the country's leader, aung san suu kyi, said today that her government did not fear international scrutiny of its handling of the crisis. it was her first public address since violence in rakhine province has sent a00,000 rohingya muslims fleeing into neighbouring bangladesh, in what the un has called ethnic cleansing. in a moment, we'll have a report from jonathan head, who's has been talking to rohingya refugees in bangladesh. myanmar‘s nobel laureate

arrived for her speech, a once unthinkable question hanging in the air. ms suu kyi, have you become an apologist for ethnic cleansing? there was no reply. that's aung san suu kyi's style these days. in the last three weeks, a00,000 rohingya muslims have fled her country, and she's said very little. ms suu kyi, do human rights still matter to you? this televised address to diplomats was ms suu kyi's chance to state her case to the world. we feel deeply for the suffering of all the people who are caught up in the conflict. those who have had to flee their homes are many, notjust muslims and rakhines, but also small minority groups. this was ms suu kyi giving the "both sides" defence. 0verwhelmingly, the victims in this crisis have been the rohingya. as to who was responsible for burning villages, she refused to point the finger. and then, to many people's surprise, there was this. we are concerned to hear that numbers of muslims are fleeing across the border to bangladesh. we want to find out why this exodus is happening. we would like to talk

to those who have fled, as well as to those who have stayed. this speech will not satisfy ms suu kyi's many critics. a generous reading of it is that she is badly out of touch. but the idea that she put forward, that she doesn't know why hundreds of thousands of rohingya have fled into bangladesh, well, that simply beggars belief. ultimately, ms suu kyi doesn't control the burmese army, but its generals seem quietly pleased that it's her taking the flak. what will it take to stop the abuses? why have so many people fled and why aren't your soldiers stopping the burning of villages? interpreter translates. translation: this is their strategic plot. the rohingya were the ones who started attacking security forces. then they ran away. they knew what they did, then got worried about it and ran away.

aung san suu kyi has made her choice. her relationship with the military and the stability of the government comes before the rohingya and what's left of her international reputation. this is what aung san suu kyi did not talk about in her speech today. it's a rohingya village being burned down by rakhine buddhists, in the presence of the police. i filmed this 12 days ago, two days after the date that ms suu kyi says all military clearance operations had stopped. as i watched those burning buildings over in rakhine state in that village, i wondered what had become of the inhabitants, looking at the clothing strewn on the path. now i'm over on the banglades side of the border and we've met up with a man called abdul majeed. he's brought his family here from that village to build a home in a new bamboo and plastic

sheeting community that's sprung up just behind these rice fields. abdul majeed took me up to his new home, where a village is being hacked out of the muddy hillside. so many rohingyas have arrived over the past two weeks that there is no room in the existing camps. these people are paying a local farmer for their tiny plots of land. abdul majeed shares this patch of ground with his wife and five children, their only shelter flapping sheets of plastic that blow off during the monsoon storms. i showed him what i had filmed of his village being torched. he recognised the madrasah, and a tea shop in the marketplace. he had been reluctant to leave, he said, but they had been shot at by the burmese army for more than an hour. translation: even if they gave

us a sackful of money, we wouldn't choose to stay here. if they didn't shoot us in myanmar and there was peace, we would go back right away. we are not happy here. we are not here for the food, but only to save our lives. aside from some clothing, this is all abdul majeed's family has left, burmese currency worth about 70p. the plight of other recently arrived rohinyas is scarcely any better. they are making do in conditions that defy description, their existence in the mud and trees and nothing else. jonathan head, bbc news, cox's bazar, bangladesh. let's round up some more of the

menus. the french president has defended the french climate accord. russia says its syrian army allies have been coming underfire syrian army allies have been coming under fire from us—backed rebels in the east of the country. both the syrian army and the american—backed kurdish and arab forces are seeking to seize territory from is around the city of deir ez—zour. the iraqi kurdish leader says his people's controversial planned independence referendum could still be called off. massoud barzani said he'd give iraq's central government a few days to come up with ideas to form a deal between his kurdish region and baghdad. police in the uk have arrested a 25—year—old man in connection with the bomb attack

on a london tube train. and the bbc has learned that an 18—year—old, arrested on suspicion of carrying out the attack, had been previously referred to a government counter—extremism programme. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford has the story. still a major crime scene, the mauve terraced house in sunbury—on—thames, where an 18—year—old man had lived with his foster parents. a young man who the bbc has confirmed had been referred to a counter—extremism programme. a young man neighbours rarely saw. and was recorded on multiple. towards the nearest railway station. in his right hand, what seems to be the bomb which, if it had been correctly made, could have killed many passengers. he seems to have taken the 7:15am train from sunbury station, travelling with the morning commuters from surrey into central london, arriving at wimbledon station at 7:a6am. there, still apparently carrying the highly unstable explosive, it is thought he used the disabled lifts to change onto the london underground system, apparently spending 20 minutes

in the station toilet before, sometime after 8:00am, boarding a district line train. detectives now believe that the suspected bomber left the district line train here at putney bridge station, the last stop before parsons green and just 90 seconds' with the public‘s help. at 8:20am, at parsons green station, the bomb in a bucket produced a sheet of flame, but didn't detonate. the attempt to add to the death toll in this year of terror had failed. daniel sandford, bbc news. the wreck of a german submarine that sank during world war i has been found in the north sea.

the u—boat is said to be in good condition, lying at a depth of 30 metres off the belgian coast. sarah corker reports. coming out of the darkness deep in the north sea, this german submarine has lain undiscovered since world war i. the now 100—year—old u—boat is lying on its starboard side and is almost completely intact. footage filmed by divers show the periscope still sticking out. what became of its crew is something of a mystery. translation: until now we are not sure yet which u—boat it is. there are three options. the crew is still onboard. the shutters are still closed, so we presume the crew of 23 are still onboard. damage to the bow suggests the submarine was hit by a mine. 93 german u—boats were stationed in belgium in world war i and disrupting the trade route was part of german tactics. translation: the germans sank 2,55a ships during world war i. they almost brought the british to their knees with a u—boats. but the u—boats themselves

were also targets. 70 were lost at sea. the exact location of this wreck is being kept secret to avoid damage or looting. with the help of the german embassy, officials are now trying to establish the identity of those onboard, missing at sea for all these years. just briefly, the main news again. a desperate search is under way in mexico, wary 7.1 magnitude earthquake has called a lease 1a0 people. around 50 buildings including a school and a large office block art destroyed or damaged in the capital city. much more on that and all the news on the website. thank you for watching. hello there.

we are starting wednesday on a fine note for many, bright with some sunshine, largely dry. but across the north—west corner, another weather system moving in, bringing thickening cloud, outbreaks of rain and strengthening winds. by the end of the night, it could be quite wet in places, same too for western scotland. towns and cities, temperatures by the start of wednesday around double figures, but cooler in the countryside with mist and fog. this is the way the system responsible for bringing that weather front. high presure moving into the near continent. this is something we will see for the rest of the week, lifting mild airfrom the south, picking up south—west winds. starting off on a fine and bright note this morning, good spells of sunshine. cloud increasing across western areas, showers developing ahead of this rain. that will get going this afternoon across northern ireland and in too much of scotland, getting into western wales

and the south—west of england. ahead of this, waking up to brightness. 19, 20, maybe 21. warmer than it has been over the past week. wednesday into thursday, that rain continues to spread east. some heavy bursts through the night, especially in south—west england and wales, north—west england and scotland. by thursday afternoon, across central and eastern areas, the far south—east seeing some warm sunshine, 20—21 degrees, cooler and fresher further west. low pressure moving off into the north sea as we head into friday. a brief ridge of high pressure before the next weather system comes in off the atlantic. starting friday on a brighter note with some sunshine, especially in central, southern and eastern parts. in the west, downhill with wind and rain pushing in. across northern ireland, then into scotland, england and wales, fairly heavy bursts. fairly warm across east and south—east areas, 19—20 degrees, fresher further west.

looking at the caribbean, hurricane maria ploughed through dominica and martinique on monday night into tuesday, causing devastation. the storm is continuing to maintain its strength, ploughing across the british and us virgin islands and puerto rico, it could cause on devastation on wednesday morning as a major category five, and thereafter pushing to the north of hispanola. —— hispaniola. this is bbc news, the headlines. a desperate search is under way in mexico after a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 1a0 people. in the capital alone some 50 buildings, including at least one school and a large office block,

are reported to have been destroyed or damaged. rescuers have been pulling survivors — and bodies — from the rubble — and their work is continuing into the night. hurricane maria has strengthened as it sweeps west across the caribbean with winds of more than 280 kilometres an hour. the virgin islands and puerto rico are facing a potentially catastrophic impact. president trump has said the international order is under threat from a small group of rogue nations. addressing the un general assembly, mr trump said he would totally destroy north korea if it threatened america. he also claimed iran was being run by a murderous regime.