to dig out people following friday's deadly quake, as the death toll rises to more than 2,000. us presidentjoe biden visits vietnam to sign a new diplomatic partnership, amid china's growing influence in the region. we're not looking to hurt china, sincerely. we are all better off if china does well, if china does well by the international rules. and the 620 summit in delhi closes with world leaders formally adopting the joint declaration, as india passes on the presidency to brazil. in morocco, the race is on to clear debris from roads up into the atlas mountains,

the epicentre of the massive earthquake, with the red cross warning that the first 48 hours are vital in preventing what it calls a "disaster within a disaster" if water and food aid don't reach survivors. the death toll continues to rise and is now past 2,000, with a similar number injured in hospitals. this is the small town of asni in the atlas mountains. very few buildings have been left undamaged. friday's 6.8—magnitude earthquake struck 45 miles south—west of the tourist hub of marrakesh, more from anna hooligan who is in marrakesh. essential aid is on the way. the moroccan military has been deployed to distribute food and clear the landslides. international assistance is starting to arrive. spain and the czech republic have sent search and rescue teams. british aid charities

are coming, too. inside the ancient city of marrakesh, miles away from the epicentre of the quake, a quarter of the population has been affected. this man told me he would rather be at home with his family but he can't afford not to work. if you want to help the people of this country, come to this country because this country, especially this city, need the tourists more than in the past. this is a unesco world heritage site. the un's cultural agency says it will help morocco to assess the damage and come up with a repair strategy to reconstruct these cherished cultural assets that attract visitors from around the world. everything just started shaking, the whole room is going like this. this couple are here for their honeymoon. everyone was just panicking, women were in tears. there was just so much uncertainty on what was going to happen next, do we go back, do we wait here?

there are building surrounding us so we are scared they are going to fall down. all the buildings have cracks in them now. tourists have been queueing up to donate blood, hoping their presence here can help those who have nowhere else to go. as we mentioned, rescue teams have reached the town of asni after the moroccan army cleared a landslide on the access road. but other small rural communities remain cut off by rock falls and there are reports of entire villages flattened. 0ur correspondent nick beake has made it to another community in the atlas mountains. she sobs the grief was unbearable. and found in every corner of this tiny community. their spirit crushed a little more every time news arrived of another body recovered. the bricks and stones

of their traditional houses no match for the size of this quake. the village of tafeghaghte levelled in seconds. abdul rahman was being comforted by everyone who saw him. he tells us he's lost his wife and his three boys. he wants to take us to where his family lived so happily until friday night. a walk through the rubble of this remote atlas mountain wilderness. "our house was up there", abdul rahman tells us. "you can see the white blankets and the furniture, too. "everything else has gone." he ran home after the earthquake and says he started screaming out for his kids but there was nothing. "we buried them yesterday", he says. "i felt so sorry for them. "when we found them,

they were all huddled together, "the three boys asleep. "they all went down with the earthquake." we've been told that about 200 people used to live here in this village. of those, 90 are already confirmed to have died. many more are missing, somewhere here beneath the rubble. others are in hospital. and when you look at this and try and take it all in, you realise people simply didn't stand a chance and the scene of devastation is replicated right across this vast mountainous region. sitting among the only possessions she now has left, we meet this woman, mourning her son—in—law. translation: we pray for god to help us - and the government too, and the king. the first professional emergency teams to arrive here are spanish firefighters. it's not a search for signs

of life but for the dead. there are no miracle rescues here in tafeghaghte — this epicentre of pain and suffering. nick beake, bbc news, in the atlas mountains. live now to jamal imerhane, who's president of the commune of asni in the atlas mountains, one of the most impacted areas by the earthquake. thank you for spending time to talk to us. what is the situation there? the situation, we can see the tents behind us since this morning, thanks to our team behind us since this morning, thanks to ourteam and behind us since this morning, thanks to our team and our government who give these to people so they can sleep because lots of people are

just outside now, they do not find a place they can stay because all the houses are damaged. you know, we received some help this morning, some food, but it is still not enough for all the people, tents, they people are needing a lot. understood. how easy is it for supplies to get through to you, you are talking about food and water at this point? we are talking about food and water at this oint? ~ . ., ., , this point? we are in the mountains and to net this point? we are in the mountains and to get the _ this point? we are in the mountains and to get the people, _ this point? we are in the mountains and to get the people, it _ this point? we are in the mountains and to get the people, it is - this point? we are in the mountains and to get the people, it is a - and to get the people, it is a little bit difficult. if you know, there are a lot of roads which are still closed. some villagers are not able to get to it until now. there is a lot of effort, our government does to make the roads are open but

we need a lot because for us it was really strong. a lot of damage for the roads, for the houses will stop you know, it is difficult to get to the people actually. h0??? you know, it is difficult to get to the people actually. how optimistic are ou the people actually. how optimistic are you that — the people actually. how optimistic are you that you — the people actually. how optimistic are you that you will _ the people actually. how optimistic are you that you will continue - the people actually. how optimistic are you that you will continue to . are you that you will continue to find survivors? to are you that you will continue to find survivors?— are you that you will continue to find survivors? to be honest, we ho -e find survivors? to be honest, we hope that _ find survivors? to be honest, we hope that it _ find survivors? to be honest, we hope that it is — find survivors? to be honest, we hope that it is in _ find survivors? to be honest, we hope that it is in one _ find survivors? to be honest, we hope that it is in one or - find survivors? to be honest, we hope that it is in one or two - find survivors? to be honest, we hope that it is in one or two days that we get to all the people but there are a lot of people and i'm sure it can get better in one or two days, we can find all the people who are underground. what days, we can find all the people who are underground.— days, we can find all the people who are underground. what assurances are ou caettin are underground. what assurances are you getting from _ are underground. what assurances are you getting from the _ are underground. what assurances are you getting from the moroccan - you getting from the moroccan government and indeed aid agencies that they will be able to look at any buildings to check if they are in any way safe and continue the supply aid while this is going on? in the meeting this morning with our

representatives from the king, to be honest, there are a lot of things from the people, the first thing is to get people off the street and the second is to check the houses. if people could live in the houses, because otherwise there is a strategy from the government that they will do a lot of things, build new houses for the people where they can live. we also get a lot of support from the organisations from all over the world, that is really good, good things from the people. thank you very much indeed for joining us. the president of a commune in the atlas mountains that has been very severely affected by the earthquake in morocco, thank you. on a visit to vietnam, president biden has defended the united states' engagement

in the pacific against a background of rising chinese influence in the region. mr biden told reporters in hanoi that american actions were not about containing or isolating china, but about maintaining stability. look, i think china has a difficult economic problem right now for a whole range of reasons that relate to international growth and the lack thereof, and the policies that china has followed. and so i don't think it's going to cause china to invade taiwan, as a matter of fact, the opposite, it probably doesn't have the same capacity that it had before. but as i said, we're not looking to hurt china, sincerely. we're all better off if china does well, if china does well by the international rules, grows the economy. but they have had some real difficulty in terms of their economy of late, particularly in real estate, that end of the bargain,

and i think the actions that they're going to have to take are ones they are in the process of deciding right now. and i'm not going to predict what will come out, but we're not looking to decouple from china. what i'm not going to do is i'm not going to sell china material that would enhance their capacity to make more nuclear weapons or engage in defence activities that are contrary to what is viewed as, most people think is a positive development in the region. but we're not trying to hurt china. the centrepiece of president biden�*s visit to vietnam is an upgraded strategic partnership between the two countries, almost 50 years after the end of the vietnam war. so what do ordinary people make of the american leader stopping by? 0ur asia pacific correspondent

laura bicker has this report. from wartime foes to firm friends, the united states is drawing china's neighbour closer. this new relationship excites vietnam's next generation. even as they sing songs about appreciating what they have, it's clear they want more. this country's young and talented workforce has attracted foreign business here instead of china. a lot of, like, korean and then japanese technology companies are pumping money into vietnam to develop, like, technology centres. and then there come the us. i can see, in the future, vietnam will become another, like, silicon valley for the us and for everyone to come here and work. i can't wait for it to happen. vietnam was once one of the world's poorest nations — it's now one of the fastest growing economies in asia, and it wants to stay that way.

this e—scooter start—up was built by a vietnamese entrepreneur who learned his craft in the us. because i want to realise my vietnamese dream. i was exposed to the american dream, but i think i have a stronger desire for my vietnamese career. it's the right time. it's the right generation to make the vietnamese dream become true. that drive to succeed is attractive to america. a deal being done will bring washington and hanoi closer than they've ever been before. it's all part of a us strategy to try to contain china. but while vietnam might be wary of its largest neighbour, it's certainly not going to walk away from beijing. vietnam will try to balance the two superpowers. this communist country, with its own brand of capitalism, will not want to pick a side. laura bicker, bbc news, hanoi.

live now to isabel hilton, who is visiting professor at the lau institute, king's college, london. she is also a founder of china dialogue trust. welcome to the programme, it is good to see you. what do you think president biden is trying to achieve in vietnam? i president biden is trying to achieve in vietnam?— in vietnam? i agree with laura, i think he is— in vietnam? i agree with laura, i think he is trying _ in vietnam? i agree with laura, i think he is trying to _ in vietnam? i agree with laura, i think he is trying to build - think he is trying to build alliances in the region and he is trying to diversify potentially vulnerable supply chains. he is looking for allies who can be america's friends. vietnam is a good choice because they did fight a war quite recently in the 1970s, what the chinese call the self defensive counterattack and they had their state are pretty much armed hostility for 2000 years. vietnam mistrusts its neighbour but it also has to live with it and they have a

live dispute in the south china sea, so vietnam has been moving much closer to the united states. this is a significant step. vietnam will get out of this american investment, it will be able to upgrade its technology further, so as long as the united states does not ask vietnam explicitly to choose a side in this confrontation with china, i think that this will be an extremely useful relationship. what think that this will be an extremely useful relationship.— useful relationship. what was president biden _ useful relationship. what was president biden trying - useful relationship. what was president biden trying to - useful relationship. what was president biden trying to say | useful relationship. what was - president biden trying to say about china? he is saying rarely that they want to get along, it seems, but not supply china with things that may be contrary to the interests of the united states if they were used against them.— united states if they were used auainst them. ~ , , ., ., against them. absolutely and that has been a fairly _ against them. absolutely and that has been a fairly long-standing i has been a fairly long—standing policy, one started by president trump, he set a series of limits on what the united states would allow china to purchase and that includes

mainly advanced microprocessors, so the united states is worried about china's dual use technology, but its military capacity, its capacity to develop an effective defence against the us were there to be a live fight over taiwan, and that includes concerns about space, it also includes concerns about simple technological dominance, so america does not want to see china gain the lead, but beyond that, it does not want to cut off and cannot cut off its trading relationship with china. it is far too big, too deeply embedded. the chinese are right, this is a containment strategy. the americans are very clear about it, really. they do not want forced hostility but they do want to limit china's capacity is.—

china's capacity is. china has len china's capacity is. china has plenty of _ china's capacity is. china has plenty of its _ china's capacity is. china has plenty of its own _ china's capacity is. china has plenty of its own problems i china's capacity is. china has| plenty of its own problems at china's capacity is. china has - plenty of its own problems at the moment, the property market being one of them, but deflation being another. , , ., , another. yes, the chinese economy after growing _ another. yes, the chinese economy after growing for — another. yes, the chinese economy after growing for more _ another. yes, the chinese economy after growing for more than - another. yes, the chinese economy after growing for more than 20 - another. yes, the chinese economyl after growing for more than 20 years is now in a measure of trouble and thatis is now in a measure of trouble and that is cyclical. you get to a certain point in this very rapid catch up growth that it stops working. this happened to japan, south korea. the challenges, how do you move up the technology chain and maintain your growth momentum? it will be a bit slower but you need to get smarter, more efficient. you need to do a number of things which china has so far not managed to do in order to china has so far not managed to do in orderto maintain china has so far not managed to do in order to maintain growth. so it is going to be very interesting to see whether they do manage to pull it off. right now they are beginning to reach with the very old and tired lever of pouring more concrete. that really does not create value in china, so they are going to have to come up with something else and we will see what that might be. thank

ou ve will see what that might be. thank you very much _ will see what that might be. thank you very much indeed _ will see what that might be. thank you very much indeed for - will see what that might be. thank you very much indeed forjoining . will see what that might be. thank you very much indeed forjoining us. mr biden is in vietnam after having been to the g20 in delhi. the summit is now finished and india has formally handed over the g20 presidency to brazil. applause that we are, that is the moment we waited for. prime minister narendra modi completed the transition by passing the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to brazil's luiz inacio lula da silva. earlier the leaders gathered for a ceremony at the memorial of mahatma gandhi, india's independence leader. on saturday, the group issued a joint declaration on the war in ukraine, but the statement made no mention of russian aggression. french president emmanuel macron is in bangladesh after arriving into dhaka from the g20 summit in delhi. it is the first visit from a french

president to the south asian nation in 33 years and thought to be an opportunity for france to deepen its bilateral relations with bangladesh, a country experiencing rapid economic growth. at least 35 people have been killed after a crowded market in sudan's capital khartoum was hit with explosive weapons. the charity medecins sans frontieres said more than 60 people were wounded in the attack. rival military factions have been fighting since april when the country was plunged into a civil war. police in chile have clashed with demonstrators during a march attended by president gabriel boric on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the military coup led by general pinochet. police guarding the presidential palace responded with tear gas and water cannon to protesters who threw stones and objects at them. the 1973 coup, which ended with the death of the socialist president salvador allende, remains a hugely divisive issue in chile.

some 3,000 people were killed during the 17 years general pinochet was in power. his supporters say he saved chile from communism. the united nations office on drugs and crime has warned that the trafficking of the powerful synthetic drug methamphetamine is expanding rapidly in and around afghanistan, as the trade in heroin slows. the country used to produce more than 80% of the world's opium, until the taliban introduced a ban on the cultivation of opium poppies last year. bethany bell, our correspondent in vienna, where the agency is based, told us more about what it's been saying. well, the unodc says that the trafficking of methamphetamine, both in afghanistan and in its neighbouring countries, is really surging. it said that back in 2017, 2.5 tonnes were seized. in 2021, almost 30 tonnes were seized. so a real increase, it seems there.

and the head of the unodc, ghada waly, said that this appears to suggest a shift in illicit drug markets there away from opium poppy cultivation, which of course was banned by the taliban last year, and more towards the manufacture of this synthetic drug. and the unodc says that it's easier to conceal the manufacture of this drug and also it's easier to relocate if people are caught. rishi sunak has expressed "significant concerns" to china's prime minister about what he called beijing's "interference" in british democracy. the comments come after it emerged that a parliamentary researcher had been arrested and accused of spying for china. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley is in westminster. two men have been arrested, one in his 30s was arrested in 0xfordshire, another in his 20s

was arrested in edinburgh. this all happened actually in march this year, so it was a few months ago, it's onlyjust emerging now, but it is the latter man we are particularly interested in because speaking to various people who work in parliament, it is a parliamentary researcher, someone who has had contact with some pretty senior conservative mps actually, people like the chair of the foreign affairs select committee, alicia kearns, people like the security minister, tom tugendhat, although my understanding is that this contact was before mr tugendhat had that cabinet role of security minister, but it has raised three key concerns i think. one is about the level of scrutiny and vetting that goes on for parliamentary pass—holders. the other is the level of contact that some mps have with researchers who they perhaps do not know a great deal about, and the third, the big debate that i think

is starting to reignite today is about the uk government's position on china, because the uk has been having more contact with china in recent weeks than it has for years. the foreign secretary james cleverly was in beijing just a couple of weeks ago. there are a lot of conservative mps who are furious about that frankly and are going to use this situation, this arrest and the allegation that this man has been arrested over spying claims linked to china, they are going to use that to reignite that debate and say we need a much stricter approach when it comes to the regime in beijing. more now on the rugby union world cup. defending champions south africa have kicked off their campaign with a win by defeating scotland. live now to our reporter grace harbage who's in marseille. how was the game? yes, reigning world champs in south

africa will be very pleased to have sealed a victory over scotland this evening. what started off as a tight first half, only three points separating the two sides at half—time, but then it really turned in south africa's half in the second. they really did run away with that in the second half. they will be pleased with a job well done, getting ready for their next game, but for scotland now they really have their work cut out to qualify out of their group. they still have our learned to play who are world number ones and played remainer yesterday and thrashed them 82-8, remainer yesterday and thrashed them 82—8, soper scotland of a challenge ahead. it 82-8, soper scotland of a challenge ahead. ., ., ~' 82-8, soper scotland of a challenge ahead. ,, ., ahead. it looks like an extraordinary - ahead. it looks like an - extraordinary atmosphere? ahead. it looks like an _ extraordinary atmosphere? yes, is exected extraordinary atmosphere? yes, is expected here _ extraordinary atmosphere? yes, is expected here in _ extraordinary atmosphere? yes, is expected here in marseille, - extraordinary atmosphere? yes, is expected here in marseille, the - expected here in marseille, the fans, south african and scottish, were in full voice, bagpipes

aplenty, fans in kilts and all the chanting you can imagine, but it much better stand experience tonight entering the stadium, much slicker and efficient process than last night at the england — argentina game. the fans are in no hurry to leave the stadium, so we have been lucky enough to be part of a brilliant atmosphere tonight here in marseille. , ., ., marseille. pretty hot i would imagine? — marseille. pretty hot i would imagine? yes, _ marseille. pretty hot i would imagine? yes, 30 _ marseille. pretty hot i would imagine? yes, 30 degrees i marseille. pretty hot i would - imagine? yes, 30 degrees when they kicked off, imagine? yes, 30 degrees when they kicked off. one _ imagine? yes, 30 degrees when they kicked off, one player _ imagine? yes, 30 degrees when they kicked off, one player said _ imagine? yes, 30 degrees when they kicked off, one player said may - imagine? yes, 30 degrees when they kicked off, one player said may the l kicked off, one player said may the south africans play better in the heat but the scottish do not. we will keep you across all the developments there and of course the rescue operation in morocco. do stay with us here on bbc news.

the storm clouds have been growing today. the storm clouds have been brewing today. we've had some intense downpours already. it'll be quite nasty on the road. so the met office do have warnings out for those thunderstorms which are likely to give some sudden flash flooding, frequent lightning. more details on the website. but as i say, there are some quite torrential downpours out there. no surprise really when you consider today has been the seventh consecutive day where temperatures have reached 30 degrees or above. that's a record for september here in the uk, and it's really quite unbearable for some. but behind this weather front in the north, there is relief on the way. behind it, much fresher air as we start to introduce winds down from the north and the west. but it's going to take probably until tuesday to clear the south, but it is going to eventually freshen up through the next few days. but for this evening, some fairly widespread thunderstorms, possibly even more further south

to start with. and then our weather front, which has been more potent in the north as well today, will start to push southwards. so there will be some unsettled weather around, some tricky driving conditions through this evening and overnight. and for most, again, it will be really quite uncomfortable and close for sleeping because the humidity remains high. so there's mist and fog around first thing in the morning, which will take a while to clear. then we'll see some brighter skies, butjust generally more cloud, i think, for england and wales tomorrow. 0ur weather front close by to northern ireland and southern scotland and northern england for much of the day, brighter skies with a few showers behind and fresher here across the north of scotland. but for most, again, the humidity is high and we'll still see temperatures into the mid to high twenties for the south and east. however, it's unlikely that we're going to see 30 degrees again. then through monday evening and overnight, that weatherfront may well pep up again. now, there'll be a few thunderstorms anyway developing during monday ahead of this weather system, combining with that further weather front slipping south. so, again, another humid night in southern areas, but in the north, much fresher in scotland, northern ireland, even a touch of ground frost potentially in the glens in the north this week. tuesday again sees that weather front pushing southwards. it will eventually reach more

southern areas later in the day. ahead of that, some brightness lifting the temperatures into the low twenties, but for most, it will be a more manageable day. the humidity gone, quite pleasant with the sunshine in the north, scotland and northern ireland much, much brighter. but you can see the outlook. the temperatures are a little lower. the humidity�*s gone, but it's a generally changeable, showery picture.

this is bbc news. the headlines... rescue teams in morocco are trying to reach remote communities destroyed by the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the country. aid agencies warn of a "disaster within a disaster" if people aren't able to access clean safe water. the death toll currently stands at more than 2,000. us presidentjoe biden visits vietnam to sign a new diplomatic partnership, amid china's growing influence in the asia—pacific region. mr biden has met the communist party leader, nguyen phu trong, and is due to have further talks on monday. and a top—ranking us military officer warns that ukraine's army has little more than 30 days left of fighting, before the weather hinders its counter—offensive. general mark milley told the bbc that the ukrainian attack was going more slowly than hoped — but was progressing at a steady pace.