people there are now homeless. search and rescue teams in morocco reach mountain villages flattened by last week's earthquake. at least 2,900 people are dead. talks between president putin and kimjong—un wrap up. with the russian leader promising to help north korea build satellites and develop its space program hello, i'm lucy hockings, welcome to bbc news now, we start our programme in libya, where more than 5,000 people are now we have some live pictures coming in from morocco. you can see the painstaking work being done by rescue teams, as they dig through

rubble, trying to look, possibly, four survivors from the devastating quake that hit the country. we now know that the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck late on friday killed at least 2900 people, and injured many, many thousands more. what we are seeing is teams from around the world now that have arrived to health, digging through the rubble, searching for some kind of survivors. it is the army that is leading relief efforts, but they are being backed up by groups and teams from four other countries. it's really difficult out here, it is a mountainous and steep area in the atlas mountains. roads have been damaged, infrastructure as well, making it very difficult to get some of these areas that we are focusing on, one of the worst hit areas as this search continues. we will continue to go return to morocco later. let's take you out to libya.

it is a scene of absolute devastation, in the town of derna. these are the latest pictures we have. we now know 5000 people have died them in destructive floods that have hit the country's east. it is being described, and you can see why from these pictures, it is like a soon army has hit derna, when his two downs collapsed. thousands of people are still missing, tens of thousands of people, possibly 30,000 people are homeless, when two dams collapsed when storm daniel hit on sunday. you can also see from those pictures, a powerful surge of water broke out, sweeping away large parts of the city. let's bring you up—to—date with more of the pictures we're getting from libya. nothing could resist the waters. as the river derna swelled, then broke its banks, entire districts of the city were washed into the sea. those caught in its path didn't stand a chance.

translation: people were asleep and no-one was ready. _ my whole family lived next door to each other. we were all neighbours. we lost 30 people so far, 30 members of the same family. we haven't found anyone. from above, you can see the devastation done to this city. more than 100,000 people used to live here. as storm daniel swept across north africa, it dropped a huge amount of water onto the hills, swelling the river derna, and causing two dams to burst. these images show the scale of the storm as it hit the coast of libya, but why was it so powerful? daniel is an example of a mediterranean cyclone, these are initiated by the jet stream which brings cold air high above the earth's surface, that starts off these thunderstorms. once that is formed an area of low pressure develops and that feeds off

the warm waters of the mediterranean with a system taking on characteristics more like a tropical storm. this is a disaster both natural and manmade. libya has never really recovered from the civil war that overthrew colonel gaddafi. rival governments claim to rule this country — but neither really does. the damage to libya's infrastructure is incalculable. this hospital in bayda was submerged in the deluge. all the while, the death toll mounts. mass graves filling up. hospitals turn into morgues. translation: we've already had 1,700 dead just in this section _ of the hospital. we counted them as they were lying in the hallways. we buried anyone identified by their family or friends. things are very bad. the hospital is dilapidated. some aid is already on its way. but, with relief operations already stretched by the earthquake in nearby morocco, help will not come as fast as the needs here will grow. of course, saving lives

in this moment is critical, but then the next steps are also pretty concerning because, again, we're talking about thousands of people who lost everything. so what about their health, their food, their water, their livelihoods? and then it's not something that will be solved in a couple of hours or days. this emergency response will last for months, if not for years. so there is a huge need of solidarity and support for the people affected. the true scale of this disaster, the number of lives lost, is only slowly emerging. we know it is vast and will only get worse. joe inwood, bbc news. that is also the concern of government ministers in the east. hesham abu shkiwat is the minister for civil aviation in the east libyan government, which is not internationally recognised. he has been touring affected areas, and spoke to us from al marj in eastern libya.

i, on my way to derna, i returned yesterday night. the latest figures as of yesterday night suggested that there could be more than 5,000 people dead and around thousands reported missing in the massive floods dragged by the storm. at this time, thousands of people are home because they have been affected there in their communities, in their houses, so i would guess we have thousands of people now are homeless. we have to deal with this humanitarian situation as soon as possible. and regarding the real situation on the ground there, the rescue teams with the libyan national army are trying their best to rescue people, to find survivors in the water, the sea, under the collapsing buildings. they are making a greatjob.

hopefully, the number of dead people will stop and not increase because the situation there, it's hard to describe. you know, we still need for rescue teams. we still need for medical teams to arrive to derna or around or near derna to help in offering medical care for those who are still alive. minister, we were just watching some drone pictures from derna and i've heard it described as being a city that looks as though a tsunami has hit it.

can you try and describe what you actually saw, the kind of damage, the devastation to that city? that devastating is so deep. some areas have been vanished completely, disappeared, so imagine a residential area has been destroyed completely. you cannot see it. it's not existing any more. so other houses which are not destroyed but has been deeply affected by the floods. so, i mean, i've never see like this before. it's really tsunami. by all means, it's a tsunami. what is the thing you need the most in derna right now? i think that the best thing the community can offer us now is to send rescue teams. some specialist rescue teams will have experience in such

disasters to come to the ground and help the others and find the bodies and find the survivors as soon as possible. because how much resources does your government have access to to try and help people? well, we are doing our best. as i said, our local rescue teams are already there. the libyan national army is controlling the area and they are doing a greatjob, even. we have lost some soldiers here in derna and international rescue teams. and, minister, are you talking to and cooperating with the government in tripoli as well, in the west? no, they are trying to help but we are very close to derna and we...i don't think that they have expertise or rescue teams have a knowledge in such crisis. what we are looking for is

international rescue teams to come as soon as possible and join us and rescue people and rescue bodies, because if we don't collect the bodies then another tragedy will happen. we are hearing so many tragic accounts from the flooding. 0ne particularly struck us was the libyan journalist who has particularly struck us was the libyanjournalist who has been speaking to the bbc about the moment that his friend learnt that the whole family had died. my that his friend learnt that the whole family had died. my friend, i am sta in: whole family had died. my friend, i am staying with — whole family had died. my friend, i am staying with him _ whole family had died. my friend, i am staying with him right - whole family had died. my friend, i am staying with him right now, - whole family had died. my friend, i am staying with him right now, to. am staying with him right now, to support him, because when we were preparing for this interview with the bbc, i heard while i was next to him the news of the death of his full family. his mother, his father, his two brothers, his sister, marianne, and his wife, newly

married wife, which he sent to libya to visit his familyjust two weeks ago. and his little kid, eight months old. all of those died. he is asking me, what should i do? nobody knows what we should do right now. all of the people that we know, when we ask what happened to this person, what happened to that person, they tell us that their whole families are dead. ~ ,,., , .,, ., are dead. absolutely devastating, heafina are dead. absolutely devastating, hearing some _ are dead. absolutely devastating, hearing some of _ are dead. absolutely devastating, hearing some of those _ are dead. absolutely devastating, hearing some of those accounts. | are dead. absolutely devastating, i hearing some of those accounts. as to some of the stories we are getting out of the mountains, the high atlas mountains in morocco, where search and rescue teams are reaching remote mountain towns that were flattened by last friday's quake. more than 2900 people are

dead. this was a 6.8 magnitude quake and it was felt from the highest mountains to the city of marrakesh. buildings were destroyed, it left survivors homeless and in urgent need of food and clothing. dog pants. good lad. searching for the scent of life. colin scours the ruins of one of morocco's most devastated mountain villages. we've followed the uk's rescue team on a journey to the earthquake's epicentre, and this british crew — here to search for survivors — know they are working against all odds. yeah, unfortunately, colin — he's an experienced dog, he was in turkey earlier this year — he only goes on live scent. unfortunately, there's been no indication. there's no interest so, unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's any live casualties in this area. so, now, it's all about recovery. how do you cope with everything

you know destroyed? hussein digs out the remains of his home, hoping to get to his possessions and his family's clothes. translation: iwas here with my family. we were having dinner. the ceiling fell on me. it's god's decision. my brother died. there is nothing they can do. i'm just going to take my clothes out and go to the tent. and this is their home now. people are having to find a way to live with the foul air of death all around them. they say more than 100 were buried instantly when the quake hit here. the destruction is near absolute. well, only the minaret of their mosque remains. everything else — homes, streets, a whole community — is reduced to this. it is overwhelming. and everyone we've spoken

to here says they believe everyone that was missing has died. there is no hope left of finding survivors. chatter. some supplies are arriving for people who have lost everything. all but cut off from the outside world, residents say they need much more. translation: there is no house to live in. - if there is no help from the government, we have nothing. and what the earth took away, they are already trying to rebuild. these are people shattered by loss but having to find the ways to keep going. tom bateman, in the mountains around marrakesh. coming up, more on one of

the other top stories on the bbc today, the meeting between kim jong—un and president putin. stay with us. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. a man has been arrested on suspicion of possessing a "dangerously out of control" dog, following an attack on an 11—year—old girl in birmingham. ana paun suffered serious arm and shoulder injuries when she was attacked by an american bully xl and staffordshire bull terrier crossbreed while shopping with her sister on saturday. west midlands police say the dog is in secure kennels. four people are facing fraud charges over the collapse of uk bakery chain patisserie valerie. they include the former chief financial officer. the chain collapsed suddenly in 2018, with more than 900 jobs and 70 branches lost. the serious fraud office says the suspects "concealed £10 million in debts", they're due to appear in court next month. british soldier has been charged in

canada with second—degree murder. gibson is accused of assaulting brett sheffield in toronto on august the 28th. he was taken to hospital and died two days later. he appeared in court on monday, charged with murder. you're live with bbc news. the north korean leader kimjong—un is on his way back to pyongyang, after meeting vladimir putin in russia's far east. the russian president promised help for north korea's space programme, after this year's two failed launches. us officials suspect moscow is seeking ammunition from north korea to help with its war in ukraine. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg reports. vladimir putin and kimjong—un. is this now a fine bromance? at the very least, both leaders believe they'd benefit from a closer relationship. their day began with a tour of a russian space centre. launch pads and rocket systems. north korea's reclusive leader was all ears. no surprise there — he wants help to develop his space and missile programmes.

later, president putin said their talks would be on the economy and humanitarian issues. but was there a hidden agenda? in its war in ukraine, russia has been burning through ammunition. us officials believe that the kremlin has been trying to do an arms deal with north korea for munitions. if it has been, this former russian foreign minister is unimpressed. it's very humiliating that a russian ally is now north korea again. a great power would not go to north korea for an alliance or military supplies. but the kremlin seems to believe that a great power is one that stands up to america.

so, was there an arms deal or wasn't there? we simply don't know. but what is clear, i think, is that the kremlin is using closer ties with north korea to send a message to washington — that russia may be under pressure, under sanctions, but it still has the capacity to cause problems, big problems, for the west. in other words, is moscow using north korea to scare russia's opponents? that's what we are going to show you, that you disregard us, but we still have this incredible leverage around the world and you don't even... we haven't even scratched the surface of how much we can do damage, potential damage, or at least freak you out. if that happens, i think that's putin's greater weapon than physical weapons. kim and putin, it's a marriage made not in heaven but in a geopolitical maelstrom. having a shared enemy, the west, has brought them together. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow.

ukraine has launched a substantial attack on the black sea fleet, attacking sevastopol with ten cruise missiles and three unmanned boats. the russian ministry of defence said it successfully intercepted much of the attack, the two vessels were damaged. pauladams the attack, the two vessels were damaged. paul adams explains what this means. this damaged. paul adams explains what this means. , ., ,, ., , ., this means. this appears to represent — this means. this appears to represent a _ this means. this appears to represent a significant - this means. this appears to - represent a significant escalation of ukraine's tax over the crimean peninsula, and specifically on sevastopol, the home of the black sea fleet. we've seen attacks in the past using drones. this, it seems, used air launched cruise missiles, probably storm shadow and scalp, the two variants of the cruise missiles supplied by britain and france. at the head of ukraine's airforce, he

congratulated his pilots for their role in the attack, and then when you look at what damage was done, it now emerges that two vessels which were undergoing repairs in dry dock in sevastopol harbour were hit. 0ne in sevastopol harbour were hit. one of them is a large amphibious landing ship, the minsk, the other is a diesel electric submarine, the kind of submarine that russia has used to launch cruise missiles at ukraine. that would be the first time that ukraine has managed to hit a russian submarine. it has not been confirmed yet, but those are the reports that we have been getting. this, i think, reports that we have been getting. this, ithink, marks reports that we have been getting. this, i think, marks quite a significant escalation in ukraine's operations on the crimean peninsula, because it is the first time they have used western weaponry inside the peninsular, specifically on sevastopol.

prime minsiter rishi sunak has been pressed during prime minister's questions about claims china has been spying in westminster, following the arrest of a commons researcher. 0ur political correspondent helen catt is at westminster and was listening. so, what was said? the news that emerged that a parliamentary researcher had been arrested _ parliamentary researcher had been arrested earlier this year under the official_ arrested earlier this year under the official secrets act, the suspicion was that— official secrets act, the suspicion was that there was some kind of spying _ was that there was some kind of spying for— was that there was some kind of spying for china, that has sparked a new conversation in westminster about_ new conversation in westminster about something that has been bubbling away, simmering along for a couple _ bubbling away, simmering along for a couple of— bubbling away, simmering along for a couple of years now, and that is how the uk _ couple of years now, and that is how the uk approaches china, how it engages — the uk approaches china, how it engages with it. there are a number of mps _ engages with it. there are a number of mps in _ engages with it. there are a number of mps in the uk parliament that would _ of mps in the uk parliament that would like to see the government taking _ would like to see the government taking a _ would like to see the government taking a tougher, harder line. the government has been defending its position. _ government has been defending its position, saying it has the same position— position, saying it has the same position as _ position, saying it has the same position as other allies, and it has to engage — position as other allies, and it has to engage with china, and also raise concerns _ to engage with china, and also raise concerns. this tension was revisited at prime _ concerns. this tension was revisited at prime minister's questions this afternoon. — at prime minister's questions this afternoon, and sir keir starmer repeated — afternoon, and sir keir starmer repeated a question he had asked rishi sunak early on the week,

because — rishi sunak early on the week, because he didn't think he had got the answer. some in this house face sanction, intimidation and threats from the chinese state. when i asked the prime minister on monday whether the foreign secretary raised the specific issue of the alleged spy arrested in march when he visited china a few weeks ago, the prime minister would only say that he raised that type of activity, but avoided specifics. so i ask the prime minister again — did the foreign secretary raise this specific case when he visited china, yes or no? mr speaker, i referthe honourable gentleman to my previous answer, when i said very clearly that the foreign secretary raised these issues with the chinese foreign minister who he met, as did i when i had my meeting with premier li over the weekend. but when it comes to china, mr speaker, this government has put in place the most robust policy that has existed ever in our

country's foreign policy. it is to protect our country, to protect our country for the values and interests we stand up for. it is to align our approach with our closest allies, including those in the g7 and the five eyes, and it is to engage where it makes sense, either to advance our interests or, as i did at the weekend, to raise our very significant concerns. that is the right approach to china. it is one that is welcomed by each and every single one of our allies. how worried are mps that they could be chinese spies in westminster? there are certainly concerns and jitters about how you protect the political system from being infiltrated or compromised by foreign agents. we saw the speaker of the house of commons try to reassure mps earlier this week that the vetting process was up to scratch. there was a report this morning in acro times newspaper, claims that m15, one of the

intelligence agencies, had warned the conservative party in 2021 and 2022 that too much of the people that were positioning themselves to try to be chosen as candidates to be a future conservative mps could be spies for beijing. the conservative party has not denied the story, a source said when they receive credible information from security services that they do act upon it. we are told six security services do not systematically vetting people that are going to be candidates to become mps. the bbc has also been told that senior government officials have been warned that they need to be careful about what they say when they are in pubs around parliament, a number of them near the parliamentary estate, they are usually packed to the rafters with people who work in government departments, in parliament, tourists and journalists. what senior gubbins officials have been told is that they should not discuss sensitive work, they should also be careful of gossiping about politicians or officials, as that could be valuable in a foreign influence operation, and they simply don't know who is

listening. the person who looks like a tourist could be a spy. a killer who had been on the run for 13 days after escaping a pennsylvania prison has been caught. last month he was sentenced to life in prison for killing his ex—girlfriend in front of his two young children. on the 31st of august, he broke out from chester county prison and has evaded a massive manhunt, despite sightings from the public. the killer that has been on the run for 13 days after escaping from the prison has now been caught. stay with us on bbc news. a reversal of fortunes, weather—wise. yesterday, scotland

and northern ireland had the best weather, today it is a land in wales enjoying the best weather with some sunshine coming through in staffordshire. across the north—west of the uk, low pressure is lurking in the atlantic, and that is pushing ever thickening cloud towards northern ireland and scotland, with rain already starting to push its way in. the rain will turn progressively steadier and heavier for northern ireland and western scotland through the afternoon. east scotland, clouding over, but probably still bright and dry for most of the afternoon. for england and wales, sunny spells, temperatures are the high teens or low 20s. not feeling too bad in sunshine. overnight, the low pressure will continue to push rain northwards and eastwards. it will get windy for northern areas of scotland with gales across the north west for a time. as the bundle brain sinks southwards from scotland and northern ireland into england and wales, it will start to weaken. the rain will not be that intense as it pushes into north wales and northern areas of england. here is the weather front, areas of england. here is the weatherfront, continuing its journey southwards into thursday,

bumping into this area of high pressure. that is why the front is not particularly active, the high pressure tending to squish it. thursday, bundle brain across parts of wales, the midlands, lincolnshire. not really moving very far through the day. the rain is probably quite light and patchy. to the north—west, a few showers. it will stay windy four northern areas of scotland all day. there will be spells of sunshine. the south—east could become quite warm and humid again. temperature is 23 or 2a degrees in warmest spots. from thursday into friday, the weather front changes its mind and start pushing back northwards, taking some heavier rain across wales, the midlands coming to northern england and through friday that rain will start to make inroads across northern ireland and scotland, whereas further south england and wales, sunny spells, may be the odd isolated shower. starting to feel a bit warmer, perhaps a bit more humid with temperatures back into the mid 20s, with cloud and rain in the north, it will not be a particularly warm here. into the weekend, a bit of a battle zone. low pressure in

the sowter throwing weather fronts northwards. we might see higher pressure in the north, but there is still a bit of doubt about that. what i would see is across southern areas you are more likely to see our press of rain, but it could reach right the way across northern scotland as well.

consumer prices continue to rise in the us, driven by a search and the cost of fuel. strike action takes a dent out of the uk economy. official figures show the economy shrank again last month — we'll assess what happens next. welcome to world business report. i'm ben thompson. we start this our in the united states. new figures have recorded the highest monthly increase of prices in over a year. august saw inflation rise by 0.3 % amid a surge in the cost of fuel. analysts expect the figures will encourage the federal reserve to keep interest rates on hold next wednesday. it could give the american banks have some breathing room, encouraging the federal reserve to keep interest rates on hold on wednesday. to discuss this further, i'm nowjoined by steven blitz.

he is chief us economist with ts lombard.