welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in north america and around the globe. i'm reged ahmad. our top stories: the search for survivors intensifies in mexico city after an earthquake kills over 200 people. hurricane maria knocks out power to the whole of puerto rico, isolating more than three million people. a day after president trump called iran a corrupt dictatorship, president rouhani tells the un his country will not be intimidated. and human life and how it all starts — for the first time in the uk, scientists use gene editing on an embryo. in central mexico teams of rescue workers are continuing to search for survivors, after a powerful earthquake

claimed at least 200 lives. dozens have been saved from the ruins of buildings which collapsed 2a hours ago. but the nation is mourning 21 children who were killed when their primary school collapsed. many others are still missing. almost half of the deaths were in the densely—populated capital, mexico city, where power lines and gas pipes have been cut. the magnitude of the earthquake was measured at 7.1 and the epicentre was around 120km south of the capital. our correspondent aleem maqool is in mexico city where the rescue work is continuing. it is today the full scale of the destruction in mexicocity it is today the full scale of the destruction in mexico city has been revealed. more buildings weakened by the frightening force of the earthquake collapsed overnight. and this is just one of the terrifying dramas playing out here. children trapped under rubble, confused and scared, but first one gets pulled

out and then the other. they were among the young pupils trapped when their primary school collapsed, it happened at lunchtime moments after the earthquake struck. at least 20 children are known to have been killed here, many more are missing. this school has become the grim symbol of mexico's loss. translation: i am desperate, i want them to get the children out, i want to see something. this is my building. this is the moment the earthquake hit yesterday. those who escaped felt lucky to be alive. i was inside the building and it collapsed. everything came around. cctv footage from a shopping centre showed the roof starting to collapse. this woman getting out of the wayjust in time.

on their mobile phones, people captured countless shocking videos of buildings collapsing. many who survived wandered around in shock. it is extraordinary that even though much of mexico city appears to be ok, you can turn a corner and find something like this, a building that used to be apartments or an office block but where it has now been reduced to rocks and dust and where people lost their lives. also, all over the town, lines of volunteers, people trying to help those who may still be alive. as we spoke to the rescue workers they began to raise their hands to ask for a few moments‘ silence to try to hear any cries for help. but no joy this time. people all over this city and beyond in the rural areas

affected arejoining to focus their energies on saving any life they can. translation: we are organising with the volunteers, we have doctors and nurses, and working with our own materials and supplies from the people. translation: we need antibiotics, healing patches, wooden boards and ropes, blankets and food and medical help. but some now sleep on the street, afraid to be inside, traumatised by the violence of the quake. there may be a spirit of togetherness here now but there is also an acute sense of loss and fear. let's take you to live pictures of a rescue taking place in mexico city.

this was a girl located live in the rubble of the school. at least 25 children and adults died at that school. david luhnow is the latin america editor for the wall streetjournal and hejoins me now on the line from mexico city. ijust want i just want to start with this rescue of these girl in the collapsed school. is that something people have been talking a lot about in mexico city? yes, i think the entire country is riveted by the stories of rescues. people are desperate for good news and the story of schoolchildren being trapped, i think... david, story of schoolchildren being trapped, ithink... david, i am not sure if you can still hear us. we are talking about the rescue going on at that school. are you still

with us? i am. can you hear me? you we re with us? i am. can you hear me? you were saying everyone had been riveted at the rescue taking place at the school were so many have already died? people are anxious the good news. the idea of children trapped under the rubble of an earthquake, a collapsed school, ca ptu red earthquake, a collapsed school, captured everyone's imagination and tugged at their hearts strings. they are hoping rescues will be able to find this girland are hoping rescues will be able to find this girl and pull her out. if that happens and she's in good shape that happens and she's in good shape that would be a moral lift. everybody wants a good news story but there must be many rescues going on and recovery efforts. what is it like to be there right now? this city is sort of divided...”

like to be there right now? this city is sort of divided... i am afraid it sounds like we have lost david again. not a great line but we have been looking at these rescue pictures that have been happening in mexico city and we will bring you the latest is that rescue goes. at least 21 children already died in that primary school in mexico city. moving on to another disaster. it brought wind speeds of up to 225 kilometres per hour. the storm has weakened slightly as it moved across the island. communications with the

island of dominica remain largely cut off. 0ur correspondent will grant is in puerto rico and sent this update. there is still no end in sight to this uncommonly powerful hurricane season in the atlantic. and the longer it goes on, the more records it seems to break. hurricane maria, now the strongest storm to make landfall in puerto rico in almost a century. when it hit, it certainly felt like it. maria struck the island with winds of up to 165 miles per hour and dumped as much as 25 inches of rainfall in some areas along its path. that was on top of everything hurricane irma did here barely a week ago. the tiny island of dominica was directly in the path of the storm and apparently suffered some of the worst of the damage. the country's prime minister

described the situation as it was unfolding, calling the damage "mind—boggling". maria is slow—moving, creeping its way over puerto rico, meaning the window for potential damage and destruction lasted for many hours. the islands authorities had tried to prepare as best they could with thousands housed in evacuation shelters, others took refuge with friends and family. this is absolutely the worst hurricane experience i've had. we've lived in puerto rico for about the last 30 years, so we have experienced some. it was very loud, we heard a lot of glass breaking. we heard the waves or water hitting against the window. puerto ricans were relieved to have avoided the worst of hurricane irma, but it looks like they've not been so lucky this time around with hurricane maria. many here fear the same kind of devastation seen elsewhere in the caribbean, all of this happening on an island that is, lest we forget, currently

essentially bankrupt. manpower from the us emergency agency, fema, is on hand and millions in federal funds will be needed, particularly in the days to come. but most people in puerto rico can't get think about the clean up until they're sure it's safe to step out from their homes and shelters. 0nce maria eventually moves on, they can begin to assess the extent of the damage left in her wake. for many communities, though, maria has already finished off what are left behind. will grant, bbc news, puerto rico. the iranian president, hassan rouhani, says his country will respond "decisively and resolutely" if the united states walks away from the nuclear deal the international community agreed two years ago. mr rouhani was speaking to the un general assembly a day after donald trump described the agreement

as "the worst deal ever signed". translation: it will be a great pity if this agreement were to be destroyed by rogue newcomers to the world of politics. the world would have lost a great opportunity but such unfortunate behaviour will never impede iran's course of progress and advancement. as such, it belongs to the international community in its entirety and not only to one or two countries. for the first time in the uk, scientists have altered the dna of human embryos. the research — using a technique known as gene editing — was performed at the francis crick institute in london. it's aimed at increasing understanding of the first days of human development. the scientists say it might eventually lead to improved ivf treatment. 0ur medical correspondent fergus walsh reports. in this lab in central london, scientists are trying to unlock the mysteries of life —

how one fertilised cell can go on to create a human. they're doing it by studying the dna of embryos in a dish in theirfirst week. this is basic research that's providing us with a foundation of knowledge about early human development within this first seven—day window, and our hope is that this information can be used as a basis to build further understanding about underlying causes of infertility. inside the nucleus of our cells is our genome. made of dna, it's the instruction manual for life. the key sections are genes — 20,000 of them, which control how cells function. scientists at the crick institute were targeting a single, super gene called oct—4 to see what would happen if it was switched off. now this is one of the donated human embryos they used, left over from ivf. you can see that the nucleus of the sperm and the egg haven't yet

merged to share their dna. they injected the gene editing system, known as crisper, into each of them. now, the crisper system scans the billions of letters of dna like a spell—check, until it gets to the oct—4 gene and cuts both strands, removing a tiny section which inactivates or silences the gene. now we can see what effect that had. the healthy control, on the left, shows how an embryo should develop over five days, it's getting bigger and eventually developing a cavity at the centre. now compare that to the gene—edited embryo, it keeps collapsing, confirmation thatjust one tiny section of dna is crucial for healthy development. in the long—term, it could help explain why women, like natasha, keep losing their pregnancies. last year alone she had four miscarriages. it's the unknown.

we don't know exactly what's going on and to be able to research and find out the crux of what it is, what potentially it could be, could just save a lot of heartache. this research in the journal nature was not about creating babies. but in theory, embryo gene editing could one day be used to get rid of inherited disease. that would raise major ethical issues. the aim of this study was basic research, it was to produce knowledge about human development. the embryos that were used in the study were never intended to be implanted. so we should, with respect to this study, put all talk of designer babies off the table. the crick institute, in london, is a world leader in gene editing, a technology which has the potential to transform medicine and our understanding of human biology. fergus walsh, bbc news. stay with us on bbc

news — still to come: his art now fetches record prices. a new exhibition celebrates the wild world ofjean—michel basquiat. 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. our top headline: a powerful earthquake has killed more than 220 people in mexico. in the capital, the search for survivors in collapsed buildings is continuing, including at a primary school. well, let's stay with that story. 0ur correspondent, rajini vaidyanathan, is in mexico city, and she'sjust sent this report. well, the focus here in the la condesa neighbourhood of mexico city is on the rescue efforts. more than a day after the earthquake struck, people here in mexico city are still taking in the horror

of what exactly happened, but there is also huge amounts of hope. this building here was a 6—storey commercial and residential property. as you can see it was completely flattened. it isjust a big pile rubble and twisted metal now. but throughout the day rescuers have been picking through the remains, trying to find signs of life, and officials say they have rescued as many as 2a people from here, and they are not giving up hope that they will find more people. as well as that, hundreds of volunteers have also flocked to the area, many of them handing out bottles of water, handing out hot meals and medical supplies. there is still a sense of caution here, as many people fear the possibility of after—shocks and also there were gas leaks that happened in the wake of the earthquake and so many people here have been holding up cardboard signs, urging people not to smoke and not use mobile phones, in case there may be gas explosions. in the wake of the earthquake in mexico city, as many as a0 buildings were completely destroyed, notjust here, in this neighbourhood, but across the city, including at a school in which many young children's lives were lost.

in new york, pakistani and us officials have had their highest level meetings since president trump put islamabad on notice to crack down on pakistan—based militants fighting in afghanistan. prime minister shahid khaqan abbasi met with vice president mike pence during the un general assembly and spoke to barbara plett usher shortly after. she began by asking if the us was preparing to downgrade the relationship. we certainly don't think so. we have a common objective with the americans against terror, and for

peace in afghanistan. it is a relationship that should be built on trust and respect. there is no mutual trust and respect. that is the message we have brought. the donald trump administration has suspended $225 million of assistance pending tougher action against terrorism. there are no conditions attached. it is just that we need to engage and move forward, and that is what we have been discussing all along. these are old complaints with along. these are old complaints with a new president, and he is not a diplomat. he could take action. is pakistan ready to deal with that? we have the same objectives and we are against terrorism. we have a stable relationship. there is no need to

ta ke relationship. there is no need to take action against anything. why does no one believed pakistan when you say you do not support terrorism? why does every new administration believes pakistani is more of a problem than a solution to regional security concerns? are very clear market of —— our message is clear. were safe haven to terrorism and we fight them in our territory. —— we deny safe. and we fight them in our territory. -- we deny safe. the americans have good intelligence. this is what they said in the pentagon report injune. they retain freedom of action inside pakistani territory and benefit from elements of the pakistani government. we don't believe that statement. if anything is pointed out we will take action. you are

losing ground to india. president trump has asked you to engage more in afghanistan. that is not what you want. we don't see military rule in afghanistan. that would be detrimental to peace in afghanistan. do you believe that president trump's plan for afghanistan, stepping up action against the taliban, good work? we do not believe war will give a solution to theissues believe war will give a solution to the issues in afghanistan. it has to bea the issues in afghanistan. it has to be a settlement between themselves. war is not a solution to afghanistan. but it might be a tool to get their that is how the americans explaining it. -- there. that solution has not worked in the last 50 years. the americans said afghanistan can play an important role in bringing afghanistan to the

table. we can assess that situation but i do not think pakistan alone has influenced. we can only assist. we cannot do anything more than that. before banksy, there was basquiat, a graffiti artist who became a sensation in the art world. jean—michel basquiat died of a suspected drugs overdose in new york at the age of 27 in 1988. but earlier this year, one of his paintings sold for $110 million. and now, the first large—scale exhibition of his work is going on show at the barbican in london. our a rts show at the barbican in london. our arts editor, will gompertz, reports. there's no mistaking a jean—michel basquiat painting, there's that sense of improvisation, the crudely drawn figure and the graphic, poetic rhythms which are like a pictorial form of free jazz. it's a visual language, partly inspired by picasso and partly by new york's street art scene in the late ‘70s — in it which he was a major player — producing work that continues to be

influential to this day. i think it's definitely true to say that a lot of artists working on the street today take a lot of inspiration from basquiat‘s work and his attitude to public space. when he made his work on the street, he particularly made it around the soho district where the galleries were. he wanted his work to be seen by the media, by the galleries. he was a man with a plan? i think he was a man with ambition. he became a well—known character on the scene. he started to make drawings, he made friends with andy worhol and then, as he turned 20, made the very tricky transition from street artist to fine artist. he saw that his art career wasjust going to be, you know, massive. he knew that. he knew he was going to be famous from the very beginning, the first time i spoke to him. the rest of us, we were like making our art and trying to impress the other 300 or 400 people that

were downtown on the art scene. basquiat was looking well past that, he was looking at global domination. he became the toast of manhattan's super wealthy collectors. he was called thejimmy hendrix of art, the post—modern picasso, but he was, and for a long time after his death in 1988, largely overlooked by the art establishment. partly that has to do with him being black. there really wasn't a black presence at the highest levels — blue chip levels — of the art world ,and also the sense of, like — you know, black people, you're great at the singing and dancing and all that, but the conceptual stuff, leave that to us. you know, leave that to white europeans. and that's really offensive and that alone made jean crazy. jean—michel basquiat‘s hybrid artworks with their raw combination of graffiti drawing and abstract painting synthesised the political, social and cultural landscape of america in the late ‘70s and ‘80s with a veracity and power few others could match. will gompertz, bbc news. the top story. these pictures have

just coming to us showing workers in mexico city trying to reach people still alive under the rubble of a school which collapsed during tuesday's earthquake. we believe they have made contact with a girl and their attempts to rescue her is under way. at least 21 children in five adults have already died at that primary school. ——. don't forget, there is much more on the website. you can get all of the reports from our correspondents. it is all there. i am on twitter as well. you can tweet me if you are interested. there are more stories to come. hello.

the very same weather system that produced a very wet wednesday in northern ireland is gradually pushing further east across the uk during thursday. here it is. at least to begin today, there will be heavy rain bursts in western areas. we are looking at things at eight o'clock in the morning. you can see it in the west of wales into south—west scotland. all points east of that should be fine and dry. a mild morning compared to wednesday. but the overnight rain is pushing away from northern ireland. something sunny not far away. it is a bit lighter the further north you are. some of us in eastern scotland will start the day dry. it is very slowly going east. even by the end of the afternoon it won't be into eastern england.

ahead of this weather system, in some sunshine, feeling quite cooler. but the sun will come out. northern ireland, scattered heavy showers. some pushing in the western parts of scotland through the day, especially into the western isles. that weather system is just creeping into western parts of eastern england that stayed dry on thursday. thursday night, a chilly night into friday morning. widely into single figures, low single figures in some spots, a few patches of mist and fog. northern ireland, another system of weather coming in with rain. a gale in the irish sea. that rain is gradually edging into other western and northern parts of the uk into friday. again, leaving much of central and eastern england dry. pulling away from northern ireland, with sunny spells coming back. the weekend starts with a frightening area of low pressure, but most of the energy is pushing away to the north. a weaker weather front heading our way slowly as the weekend goes on. a gale in places.

a mild breeze blowing elsewhere across the uk. sunny spells developing from the south. the odd spot of rain shifting northwards through the day. a weather front weakening in the west of the uk. ahead of that, we'll see the higher temperatures. some spots are into the low 20s perhaps. hurricane maria is out of mexico and is moving close to the north—east coast of the dominican republic. it could be a major hurricane cloe to the turks and caicos islands by friday. coleman this is bbc news. the search for survivors of the mexico earthquake continues, with emergency crews and volunteers digging through rubble with their hands. more than 200 people are known to have been killed across the country, including at least 21 children at a school in mexico city. dozens more children are feared to be trapped. emergency officials in puerto rico say hurricane maria has knocked out power to the entire island which is home to 3.5

million people. the head of the disaster management agency said it had damaged everything in its path. the iranian president hassan rouhani has condemned president trump's speech to the un in which he called iran a corrupt dictatorship that exported violence throughout the middle east and beyond. speaking at the united nations, general assembly president rouhani called mr trump's comments ignorant and absurd. now on bbc news, stephen sackur speaks to the turkish author