this is bbc news. i'm david eades. our top stories: 230 lost lives. the death toll from tuesday's earthquake in mexico. the rescue efforts go on at one primary school where more than 20 children died. others have been pulled from the rubble. hurricane maria knocks out power across the whole of puerto rico, isolating more than three million people. thousands take to the streets of barcelona to protest against attempts by the national government to stop an independence referendum. and i'm sally bundock. the business stories. google strikes a billion dollar deal to buy part of smartphone maker htc. a smart move, or another costly m ista ke 7 plus eight years in the making and mired in controversy, today, the ceta free trade deal between the eu and canada finally comes into force. but can the uk still reap the benefits post—brexit? hello, and welcome to bbc news.

emergency teams in mexico city are trying to reach at least three people they believe are still alive under the rubble of a school which collapsed during tuesday's earthquake. they've pulled at least ten out so far, although 21 pupils are known to have died there. across mexico, the number of dead has reached 230. the magnitude of the earthquake was measured at 7.1, and the epicentre was around 120 kilometres south of the capital. after the horror of the earthquake, there is hope. these young children

we re there is hope. these young children were pulled alive from a primary school in the south of texaco city. —— mexico. people looked for those trapped. at least 20 children were killed here. it was on tuesday at lunchtime that the powerful earthquake struck mexico. as buildings collapsed, people ran for cover. across mexico city, the search for survivors is continuing. as you can see, people are going in to try and help the assets. this six storey building in the distance is the focus of their work. this family's son was working in the building and for the past day they have watched as rescuers picked through the rubble, but there is still no sign ofjuan. translation: we still believe he will make it out

alive. i will dig we still believe he will make it out alive. iwill dig him we still believe he will make it out alive. i will dig him out myself if ican. alive. i will dig him out myself if i can. relief workers have been joined by hundreds of volunteers. many have turned up with their own tools to do their bit. at times, the crowd was asked to be silent so rescu e rs crowd was asked to be silent so rescuers could call out to any survivors still stuck under the debris. more than 20 people have been rescued already from this building, but as time passes, the chances of people being reunited with their loved ones is becoming ever slimmer. we can cross live to mexico city now to speak to freelance journalist, priscilla barquet. thank you forjoining us. you get a sense from the report we have just seen it really is what you might call a community effort. how well organised is the rescue, do you think? well, david, ithink

organised is the rescue, do you think? well, david, i think the rescue has been going on well. i think it is pretty much extraordinary. there has been a little bit of chaos through the communication process because they have been asking, some channels have been asking, people to come and help in the affected areas, but then other people say we don't need any help. access is difficult to get around. we only need supplies. so today i had the opportunity to go to a supply centre in via olympica, and the use to be a house that received many athletes, especially in the 1968 olympic games. it was organised. i saw people passing to each other all of the supplies they could, blankets, water, food, toilet paper, diapers, anything that could

go. there were some moments that the volu nteers go. there were some moments that the volunteers said silence! that was to co—ordinate the loss of people. there have been over 239 right now. sorry to interrupt. also, they are operating in very dangerous areas. we know roughly how many buildings have collapsed. presumably others are ina have collapsed. presumably others are in a perilous state as well. that is correct. some of the residential areas of the city, several buildings are about to collapse. actually, there is a concert venue collapse. actually, there is a concert venue known collapse. actually, there is a concert venue known for having a lot of bars and being the party scene of mexico city. it is about to collapse. basically everything has been cancelled until people know what is going on. nothing will go on

until civil protection checks everything around the city. we have to be careful. some people are homeless. some people have offered their houses. there are other shelters that have been put around, emergency shelters, for those who have lost their houses. so it is very catastrophic. i believe if there is another earthquake, that could be dangerous for all of the buildings that have many cracks and are on the verge of collapsing. let us are on the verge of collapsing. let us hope against hope that doesn't happen. thank you for that. obviously, every time they find someone obviously, every time they find someone it gives renewed hope they can continue the operation. we have more detail on the website. just have a look. we have everyone contributing to the site, with eyewitness accounts giving us back in defamation into what is going on.

bbc.com. —— information. . hurricane maria is moving away from the island, but the storm could yet regain major hurricanes status as it goes past the dominican republic and heads towards the south—eastern bahamas. the first images are now coming into us of the destruction of the hardest—hit areas. here is the report. on the tiny island of dominica, destruction. this was ground zero of hurricane maria as she unleashed. in puerto rico, people experienced their worst storm in living memory. in sanjuan, there

we re in living memory. in sanjuan, there were floodwaters and ravaged the links. on the other side of the island, barely 18 left untouched by the fury of hurricane maria. —— a thing. it was the most fierce storm to hit puerto rico in almost 90 yea rs. to hit puerto rico in almost 90 years. it only weakened slightly once making landfall. when she arrived, hurricane maria was in no hurry to leave. the slow—moving hurricanes unleashing the several hours in puerto rico, knocking out power to be entire island. 3.5 million people hunkered down in shelters, wondering if their homes would still be standing in the morning. everyone back on the mainland wondering how things are going, get this. things are flying through the air to be it is decimated. the caribbean had barely caught its breath after hurricane irma, and then hurricane maria came

following a roughly similar path. the question of how bad hurricane maria has been for puerto rico will only emerge after news comes in from other regions. it is expected to go past the dominican republic before reaching the bahamas by friday. so far it looks unlikely to threaten the us mainland. extraordinary images coming in. our correspondent, will grant, is on puerto rico and he sent this update. it turned out to be the most powerful storm to hit puerto rico in almost a century. it felt like that. all of the people hunkered down, whether it was in the shelter, in their homes, they would have heard their homes, they would have heard the most incredible sound of the wind and rain lashing down. that lasted for several hours. what we are seeing now lasted for several hours. what we are seeing now are lasted for several hours. what we are seeing now are the last vestiges of the storm as it makes its way off

the territory of puerto rico and back out into the caribbean. there is an overnight curfew put in place by the governor. that'll be in place for several days partly to protect people from themselves. there are many accidents that can happen in the dark while the electricity is out. there are many electric cables down. specht widespread flooding from remote regions. thankfully, there have been no reports of large—scale loss of life. there have been no reports of large-scale loss of life. let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news. the us secretary of state, rex tillerson, has said that the trump administration still has "significant issues" with the iran nuclear agreement, and that the middle east has not become more stable since it was implemented. he said that president trump had made a decision about whether to stick with the pact but didn't reveal what it was. police investigating the explosive device that partially detonated on a tube train in london last week

have made a sixth arrest. a 17—year—old man was detained in thornton heath in south london. all six remain in police custody. the south korean government has approved a plan to send humanitarian aid to people in the north. the unification ministry will send $8 million in aid targeted at vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women, via un agencies. seoul says the aid isn't affected by on—going tension on the peninsula. a group of pilots working for europe's biggest airline, ryanair, have rejected an offer of a cash bonus to tackle a crisis that has led to the cancellation of thousands of flights. the pilots say they want new contracts with better working conditions instead. sally is here with all the business news. i guess they feel they are in

a strong position, the pilots. aren't they just. we start in taiwan, where in the last couple of hours, smartphone maker, htc, has struck a billion—dollar deal with alphabet, the company behind google. shares in the taiwanese company were suspended on reports google was planning a take—over of the firm. instead it is buying the mobile phone part of the company, leaving htc to carry on with its other projects like virtual reality headsets. let me give you some background to this. htc used to be one of the world's top smartphone makers, mixing it with apple and samsung. back in 2011, it had over 10% of the global market. today, the brand's market share has collapsed to barely 1%, as rivals from mainland china have pushed it out. importantly, though, it makes devices for google, like the pixel smartphone. the deal could help google ramp up its hardware production to compete better with apple.

google's been here before, though. it bought motorola's mobile phone business in 2012 for $12.5 billion, but less than three years later it sold it off at a massive loss for under $3 billion. lots more on that in 20 minutes' time. we will talk to dave, you know him well, our reporter in silicon valley. let's turn to canada now, because prime ministerjustin trudeau is celebrating a massive free trade deal with the european union,

which finally comes into force today after eight years of talks. it's called the comprehensive economic and trade agreement, or ceta. here's an idea of the scale of it. trade in goods between the two sides was worth around $77 billion last year. the eu is canada's second biggest trading partner after the us, buying almost 10% of its exports. and that is set to grow, as the deal will eliminate the vast majority of tariffs, or customs charges, on goods and flowing between the two sides. it poses a bit of challenge for britain, which led the way in negotiating the deal but will no longer be part of it when it leaves the eu. on a visit to canada earlier this week, uk prime minister, theresa may, promised a "seamless transition" to a new trade deal with canada, although nothing can be

formally negotiated until the uk actually leaves the eu. we will be getting the views of the head of the canada—uk chambers of commerce in 20 minutes' time. and the other stories. i'll be back. spain's prime minister has urged catalan separatists to respect the law after protests were held in the catalan capital, barcelona. they were aimed at the national government's attempts to halt an independence referendum. the leader of the catalan government accused madrid of "co—ordinated aggression" after 1a catalan officials were detained for organising the referendum. our correspondent, tom burridge, spoke to some of those taking part in the pro—independence demonstrations. will will

we just want to vote. it's not like we're calling for independence — like, i want independence — but i just want a vote. ijust feel that's our right. everyone, what do you think? yes, no, ok, let's do what we say. spain is not going to allow a vote, because they say it's illegal so what are you going to do? oh, i'm going to say, no, that is not illegal. we're going to do it anyway. i know the british government has let the scottish do that. i cannot understand how spain is not letting us do that. for much of the time here, it has been a carnival atmosphere. in the distance, beyond the crowd, in the economy ministry is the the devolved catalan government — it were raided by officers from spain's civil guard police, earlier, in a high—stakes manoeuvre by the spanish state, to try and prevent the referendum, which madrid says would be illegal,

from taking place. police came and they wanted to arrest people. it's made a lot of noise. everybody is angry. everyone has had enough. it is just a joke to me that they are calling democracy and illegal thing. they cannot stop us. even if they have the army, even if they have everything, they cannot stop us. i do not really care about the consequences any more. like, if i have to print my own papers, i don't care what i have to do. this crowd, though, is not representative of wider catalan society. opinion polls in the past have been inconclusive, when catalans have been asked whether or not they want an independent catalan state. despite the efforts of separatist parties, who run the devolved administration here, to force the spanish government's hand, we have now reached an uncomfortable and unpredictable stand off. tom burridge, bbc news, in barcelona. stay with us on bbc

news — still to come: the rising price of the stag do — how amsterdam is seeking to curb the hordes on cheap and boozy weekends. 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. a powerful earthquake has killed more than 200 people in mexico. in the capital. the search for survivors in collapsed buildings is continuing, including at a primary school. hurricane maria has torn a path of destruction across puerto rico. flooding and severe winds have knocked out power to the entire island. 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 engage with the americans, we have a common objective, against terror, peace in afghanistan. i don't think there is a problem with the relationship. it's a relationship that should be based on mutual trust and respect. but there is not mutual trust and respect. we need to believe in that. and that is the message we brought. the trump administration has suspended $255 in military assistance pending tougher action against militants. have they given use this list —— specific

conditions before they release the money? there were no conditions attached. there are no conditions. it's just that we need to engage and move forward and that is what we have been discussing all along. these are old complaints but a new president, who is not a diplomat. he could take action. this pakistani ready? we are partners in terror, our objectives are the same as i don't think there is a need to take action against anybody here. why did nobody believes pakistani when we say you are not tolerating militants in afghanistan? why is it every new administration thinks pakistani is more of a problem than a solution? that is a question you could ask them. we are very clear. our actions on the ground are very clear. we deny centuries to all the terrorists who are operating. we fought them on

our own territory, displaced them, defeated them. no sanctuary exists for terrorists to attack afghan installations from pakistan. in the english league cup all the big names are through to the last 16. manchester united, manchester city, arsenal, chelsea and everton all progressed on wednesday with the pick of the ties in the 11th round chelsea up against everton and swansea city hosting the holders manchester united. in women's football mark sampson has been sacked as head coach of the england women's team following evidence of "inappropriate and unacceptable" behaviour in a previous role. the football association says that last week it was made aware of the full details of safeguarding allegations made against sampson in 2014 relating to his time as bristol academy manager. the 3a year old has been at the centre of bullying and racism accusations that he's been cleared

of twice and his final match in charge of england was tuesday's 6—0 victory against russia our in a world cup qualifier. amsterdam is planning to increase tourist taxes to encourage more wealthy visitors and squeeze out the number of budget travellers visiting the city. it follows complaints from local companies and residents amsterdam is adored by tourists but does this city love them back? we are looking into stag parties and limiting that. it would be good to people in amsterdam. they have been complaints about the nuisance associated with certain attractions like this, beer bike. so from 2018, the tourist tax will go up by 1% in the tourist tax will go up by 1% in the city and down by 1% on the outskirts. nothing wrong with that, it's just that i think the value—added in terms of employment and revenues and benefits for the

people in amsterdam is bigger in the upper segment than in the budget segment. amsterdam is one of the few cities in the world where you can buy sex and drugs on the high street and to many of the 17 million people who come here every year, that's a big draw. but some of the locals feel as though their home is now being overrun by a domestic visitors who are coming in search of these cheap thrills and causing more trouble than they‘ re cheap thrills and causing more trouble than they're worth. from they also behave in a way they won't do at home, they shout during the night, they drink too much they throw garbage in the water and on the streets, it's just annoying for residents. but some amsterdam is believed they are in danger of killing the youthful spirit of the city. it will be a city that is losing its soul but we don't want to have this division. people with money can come and people without

money can come and people without money have to leave. that's not an a nswer to money have to leave. that's not an answer to the problems we have or tourists in amsterdam. amsterdam hopes to collect 9 million euros from the tax but it's not clear if it will really deter the lower spending tourists. a 2% different manly at a few euros on to the cost of coming here. i'm western, i'm from chicago, illinois. i came here just to see the architecture i probably spend about 100, 150 euros a day. my name is denise and i'm here in amsterdam to experience the city, see the canals and the museums, everything that amsterdam has to offer and i'm paying about $200, $300 a day to be here. the challenge for amsterdam and other capitals is to ensure tourism can be an enriching experience for everyone. 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. to begin the day, there will be heavy rain bursts in western areas. looking at things at eight o'clock in the morning. a wet start. you can see it in the west of wales into south—west scotland. but the overnight rain is pushing away from northern ireland. something sunny skies far away. some of us in eastern scotland will start the day dry. it is very slowly heading east. not as heavy as it does. ahead of this weather system, in some sunshine, feeling quite cooler. northern ireland, another system

of weather coming in with rain. 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. 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. not as warm as it's been. a weaker weather front heading our way slowly as the weekend goes on. near gale in places. the odd spot of rain shifting northwards through the day. sunnier skies behind.

a weather front weakening in the west of the uk. ahead of that, we'll see the higher temperatures in the sunshine. 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. this is bbc world news, the headlines. emergency teams in mexico city are trying to reach at least three people they believe are still alive under the rubble of a school which collapsed during tuesday's earthquake. across mexico, 230 people are known to have died. emergency officials in puerto rico say hurricane maria has knocked out power to the entire island which is home to three and a half million people. the head of the disaster management agency said it had damaged everything in its path.

demonstrations are expected to continue for a second day