this is bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: a powerful earthquake strikes central mexico, bringing down 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. the vast majority of people hunker down and hoping that this, the most powerful storm to strike the island innermost 100 years, doesn't bring too much devastation with it —— in almost. too much devastation with it —— in merging metals. almost. merging metals. tata steel and thyssenkrupp combine to create the second largest steelmaker in europe.

keeping the us economy ticking. america's central bank could announce a reversal of the most ambitious stimulus programme in history. central mexico has been struck by an earthquake, which has killed at least 140 people, with many more missing. 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 afp news agency has quoted a

government official that said that there are over 20 children and four adults that are said to have died at one school in mexico city. the emergency services, helped by hundreds of volunteers, are sifting through the rubble by hand, searching for survivors. james cook reports. 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 at the devastation. in the capital alone, dozens of

buildings were destroyed or damaged. schoolchildren are among the dead. the president says it is a national emergency. we are here in mexico city to help those affected. members of my cabinet are helping in the operation. public hospitals are opening up their services to everyone. the earthquake struck around lunchtime. firefighters have been alerted and people are being warned not to smoke because of gas lea ks. warned not to smoke because of gas leaks. these warned not to smoke because of gas lea ks. these distressing warned not to smoke because of gas leaks. these distressing pictures appeared to show a building coming down sometime after the initial shock. 0n the streets, a field hospital with doc is treating patients any way they can. —— doctors. and it's clear that the damage goes well beyond mexico city. doctors.

ty. 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. those pictures certainly tell a story. juan paullier is the bbc‘s mundo correspondent in mexico city. give us a picture as to what is going on? i was on the streets very recently, the scene was one of chaos and mounting panic. many people wa nted and mounting panic. many people wanted in some way to have many residents helping each other, many

people remained outside for many hours after it happened. it is obviously a very tragic and distressing day. the death toll is going to rise, there are still rescue efforts. here in mexico city, they are still in shock. there are dozens and dozens of buildings destroyed. the death toll is going to rise. we are getting word of 21 children among those who died in one school, with four adults as well. as you have said, i am sure the death toll will increase. we have seen one 01’ toll will increase. we have seen one or two buildings collapsing in front of our eyes, any idea as to how great the scale is? how many buildings have gone down? my understanding is that in the capital here, at least 50 buildings collapsed. we have to remember that

this is a city prepared for this kind of earthquake. 0n this is a city prepared for this kind of earthquake. on this very same day, 32 years ago, an earthquake struck the capital and left around 10,000 people dead. since then, construction regulations have been put in place. they are much tougher. they are still not enough to resist earthquakes like this one. that is very clear from the pictures. we are getting a sense of the rocking buildings and the fear that must have run through everybody‘s heart and soul. in terms of after—shocks, that is always a worry. what is the advice? the advice, clearly thousands of people have been following it, is to be on

the streets. i don't know if many people are going back to their buildings, to their homes and houses. in many cases, it is not clear what the damage of those constructions could have suffered. clearly, the message now is to be on the streets. that is probably the safest place to be. in the last ten hours, i have not felt any after—shocks here in mexico city. long may that last. thank you for bringing us the latest. and don't forget you can get much more detail about the mexican earthquake on the bbc website. you'll find reports from our correspondents and eyewitness accounts, as well as further background information. that's at bbc.com/news. the us national hurricane centre

is talking of the potentially catastrophic impact that hurricane maria could cause as it lines up the virgin islands and puerto rico — the next caribbean territories in its path. forecasters say the hurricane has again intensified, with winds of more than 280 kilometres an hour. will grant is in puerto rico and sent this report. whole swathes of the caribbean have barely had time to draw breath before hurricane maria started causing fresh devastation. a post vulnerable islands, including the former french colonies of what we pay and martinique. authorities ordered evacuations, reports say at least one person died in guadeloupe a. domenico was directly in the path of the huge storm and apparently suffered some of the worst of the damage. these pictures, as yet

unverified, show the moment that lights went out. the country's prime minister described the situation as it was unfolding on his facebook page. as the storm bear down on the us virgin islands, people boarded up their houses and shut down businesses and schools. the territory's governor urged people to ta ke territory's governor urged people to take cover with family and friends, 01’ take cover with family and friends, or in emergency shelters. if you are ina or in emergency shelters. if you are in a flood zone or a wooden house, your life is in danger, he said. around 60,000 people in puerto rico are without power after hurricane irma one week ago. at the time, people breathed a collective sigh of relief. this time, many fear the impact will be far more significant. the vast majority of people are hunker down and hoping that this, the most powerful storm to strike the most powerful storm to strike the island in almost 100 years, does

not ring too much devastation with it. -- not ring too much devastation with it. —— bring let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. iran's foreign minister, mohammad javad zarif, has dismissed president trump's first address to the un general assembly as ignorant hate speech that belonged in mediaeval times. the us president had condemned iran's government as a murderous regime and threatened to destroy north korea if its nuclear activities endangered the united states or its allies. the kenyan supreme court is due to release its full ruling on irregularities in the august eighth election. the court voided incumbent uhuru kenyatta's victory after an appeal from challenger raila 0dinga. supporters of kenyan president have held protests outside the country's supreme court. police used tear gas at some point to disperse the crowds. spanish police have discovered a mass of documents directly related to a banned catalan independence referendum scheduled for the first of october.

these pictures show clashes in the catalan city of terrassa. the spanish government has vowed to stop the poll and police are under orders to seize election materials. police investigating the bombing at parsons green tube station in london has arrested a third man. he was detained in newport in south wales. two other men remain in custody. it's also emerged that the 18 year old suspect, detained last week, had been referred to an anti—extremist programme. sally is here with all the business news. the bbc understands that tata steel's european operations and german steel manufacturer thyssenkrupp have agreed the first stage of a deal to merge. the two companies have been in negotiations since last year when tata halted the sale of its uk operations. talks stalled over tata's huge

pension liabilities. but it's since been given permission from regulators to downgrade those liabilities. a tie—up of the two companies would create the second—largest steelmaker in europe. we'll get the details from cardiff and mumbai. focus on wednesday will be on the world's most important central bank — the us federal reserve. later today we're going to find out just how it intends to keep the world's biggest economy ticking. the main us interest rate is currently set at a range of 1—1.25% and has already been raised twice this year as the economy continues to pick—up. the other thing investors are watching is the $4.5trn of government bonds and other assets the fed bought after the 2008 crash. they had the effect of pumping money into the economy but will be gradually sold off amid concerns they are distorting financial markets.

0ne argument for not selling them yet is sluggish inflation. while consumer prices rose 1.9% in august, as you can see it's been a bit of a bumpy ride so far this year. inflation is regarded as a good thing for stimulating economies but the fed selling assets could keep it down. the fed also aims to make sure as many people as possible are in work. with the latest numbers showing unemployment up slightly at 4.4%, they will be wary of doing anything that pushes it up again. looks to consider. i would not want

to be in the shoes of the federal reserve bank. —— lots. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: the north sea gives up a century—old secret — divers discover the wreck of a first world war german submarine. 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. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: at least 140 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 it sweeps west across the caribbean. the virgin islands and puerto rico are facing a potentially catastrophic impact. let's get more now on our top story.

jesus chairez was in the centre of mexico city when the earthquake happened. just tell me what happened to you at the time the quake struck? well, i am from dallas, texas, and we are not used to having earthquake alarms. i was in the subway station andi alarms. i was in the subway station and i got out of the subway stop and i walked into the street and i heard the alarm. you usually have 60 seconds to get to open ground, but the ground started shaking right away. everybody ran across the street to a main avenue, where there

we re street to a main avenue, where there were no lampposts or trees, and we we re were no lampposts or trees, and we were looking at all the tall buildings around us waiting back and author, with a soft dust blowing in between them. —— back and forth, with lots of dust. it was very scary, the ground was moving underneath you and you were totally without control. it was very scary and it was hard not to get emotional. i can understand, it must have been terrifying. even what you have been terrifying. even what you have now seen in terms of the level of destruction, you must count yourself very lucky? —— given what yourself very lucky? —— given what you have now seen. yourself very lucky? —— given what you have now seen. i am very lucky. we had an earthquake two weeks ago, and that happened at night and everybody was at home. in this one, everybody was at home. in this one, everybody was at home. in this one, everybody was out and about because it was one o'clock in the afternoon in mexico city. when you are out and about, it is really difficult to get home, because the subway is a close, the buses are not picking anybody

up, and the taxi services are not giving rides. —— subway is close. you cannot use the internet on your cell phone because it is not working, you cannot make phone calls. it is very scary. i had to walk about eight kilometres because i was unable to get any way home. eight kilometres is a long way to see, presumably, quite a lot of the impact the earthquake has had? yes. it was really interesting. at some of the hospitals, they put their patience out on the street, in the opener, because people were very for the patients safety. the power went out, so the street lights were not working. there was a massive traffic jam. people were driving down the

road, going in different directions ona road, going in different directions on a 1—way street, trying to get where they needed to go. jesus, thank you for sharing what your experience of the earthquake has been, andi experience of the earthquake has been, and i wish you well. thank you. when serbia appointed its first woman prime minister this year many people were surprised — more perhaps because she's also gay. ana brnabic is now one ofjust a handful of gay heads of government around the world. last weekend she joined campaigners for their annual pride march through serbia's capital, belgrade. but there are still powerful conservative forces in the country — led by the orthodox church — as our balkans correspondent, guy de launey, reports. the voice of the church resonate strongly in serbia. christianity is so strongly in serbia. christianity is so much a part of national identity that religious views on sexual

orientation carry a lot of weight, evenif orientation carry a lot of weight, even if they are at odds with the government's commitment to eu human rights standards. serbia's 0rthodox church is a tremendously powerful institution and there is no chance of them preaching tolerance on issues like same—sex marriage or rights to gay couples. translation: this is obviously opposite to be god—given message to nature and to humans, same—sex affiliation is something which is non—existent in animals, and has appeared among humans only recently. participants in last week's belgrade pride felt differently. this annual event has faced down right—wing violence and conservative social attitudes. it has just completed its fourth successive edition. now its organisers are bracing themselves for a battle to legalise same—sex unions. i think that when you are

past the whole circle, once a day game, you past the whole circle, once a day game, you have rejection, a huge debate in society, and not of forces against you, and at the end of course it goes along. the picture of serbia is certainly changing. choosing a prime minister who is a lesbian would have been unthinkable a few years ago, and the new head of government was determined to take pa rt government was determined to take part in pride. i think it is important. it is important to communicate that people in serbia can have their own set of values and can have their own set of values and can have their own set of values and can have personal freedoms can have their own set of values and can have personalfreedoms and liberties and the government ‘s can guarantee that they have these liberties. —— the government can guarantee. there was no blessing for the prime minister's participation in the pride parade, despite the church's disapproval, her example may be changing some long held elites. —— belief map. brazilian police have confirmed that

a british adventurer has been murdered whilst attempting to kayak the length of the amazon. emma kelty went missing last week, close to the border with peru. three people have been arrested in connection with her death. her body has not yet been found. 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 30m off the belgian coast. all the hatches are sealed, suggesting that the bodies of the 23—man crew are probably still on board. 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 2,554 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.

there is a good news story. a tweet from berlin police has revealed that an iraqi refugee schoolgirl found a bag with 14,000 euros in it on a train, and handed that bag of cash to the authorities. the tweet was written in german, as you can see, with some emoji is to express the dollars, the good news, the cheerful sign isjust dollars, the good news, the cheerful sign is just to say that the schoolgirl found a handbag with 14,000 euros, and the owner was unsurprisingly happy, we say great and thank you. my story there. just to bring you the latest coming in from mexico city, we have reports that the mexican president, as well, has confirmed now that at least 20 schoolchildren have lost their lives

at one school. there were some adults killed as well. we have pictures of the school for you here. it is understood a number of people have them rescued from the school. it is not clear how many more might be in it. we do have clarification now coming from government sources, one of them from the president's offers himself, that at least 20 children have been killed. 0bviously this is the aftermath of the earthquake, we know that at least 140 people have died in the course of the earthquake. we heard earlier that something like 50 plus buildings have collapsed as a result of that magnitude 7.1 earthquake. we will of course keep across that for you on bbc news, along with the other main stories. for many of us, wednesday

is starting fine. but a weather system moving across the atlantic brings cloud, wind and rain to western areas, initially slowly pushing their way eastwards, as well. you can see here the weather front that is responsible for bringing the rain through western parts on wednesday morning. you can see behind it, cooler air, but ahead of it, it's scooping up warmer air. milder winds than we're used to. winds are coming from the south, rather than the arctic north. so as we head to wednesday, we start on a nice note with some sunshine through central, souther and eastern areas. one or two mist and fog patches after a chilly start. the rain will push on to northern ireland and scotland, then into western parts of england and wales by the time we reach the afternoon. but ahead of that, mostly dry and warm. 20 or 21 degrees in sunny spells across the east. through wednesday night, that rain moves its way eastwards. some of it could be heavy

for parts of scotland into north—west england, wales, the west of england. in fact, river levels will be running quite high in these areas as that rain band moves slowly through during thursday. it might not reach the far south—east. those areas will be warm and bright. 21 degrees, perhaps, there, but behind that, brighter, but a little bit fresher. there is the low pressure system going through on thursday. it eventually moves into the north sea. that leaves a brief ridge of high pressure to start friday, before the next weather system was through on friday. so starting on a bright note in central, southern, and eastern parts, wetter, windier weather coming into northern ireland, scotland windy, then western england and wales. it should be present in the sunshine at 19 or 20 celsius. that is how it is looking across the uk at the end of the week. let's just look at the caribbean and hurricane maria, as you know, has ploughed through domenica and martinique and is now set for puerto rico, the us virgin islands and the british virgin islands.

it could make landfall in puerto rico tuesday morning as a category 5 storm, and potentially devastating here. then it will head north, just north of hispanola and towards the turks and caicos by the end of week. this is bbc world news, the headlines. a desperate search is under way in mexico after a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 140 people and destroyed dozens of buildings. rescuers have been pulling survivors and bodies from the rubble. the president's office has confirmed that among the dead were at least 20 schoolchildren in one school. 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