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 dont reach survivors. 2,000, with a similar 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. Fridays 6. 8 magnitude earthquake struck 45 miles south west of the tourist hub of marrakesh, from where Anna Holligan joins us now. What is the evidence of supply is now getting through . It is what is the evidence of supply is now getting through . It is almost 48 hours are now now getting through . It is almost 48 hours are now since now getting through . It is almost 48 hours are now since the now getting through . It is almost 48 hours are now since the quake now getting through . It is almost 48i hours are now since the quake struck and here in the historic heart of marrakesh, they have cleared away most of the rubble will stop the tourists and locals have returned to the terraces at sipping mint tea. It is a very different picture up in the Atlas Mountains. As we have been hearing from many round her, there is a sense of relief that helpers are finally starting to get three. In the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, the small town of asni, a Community Crushed and crumbling. Rescue teams are struggling to access these remote villages close to the epicentre, where hundreds of people are still feared to be trapped under the ruins of their fragile clay homes. Translation there are a lot of blocked roads. I a lot of people cant find their parents and a lot of people are still under the rubble. Everything went down on them the mountains, their homes. In the historic heart of marrakesh, shards of Cultural Heritage lie strewn beneath the crumbled minaret of the Djemaa El Fna mosque. Electric cables and shutters hang precariously over the famous market souks. Adam smith, a british tourist from sheffield, recalls the moment the tremors struck. 0bviously gathered our belongings as fast as we could. We heard the entire room shaking, the glass was shaking in the doors. We grabbed our passports and ran out. We kind of followed screaming. All the guests were doing a similarthing. There was plaster coming down from the ceiling. 0nce everyone congregated in the front of the hotel, we just had to wait it out for the remainder of the night. Thousands of people have set up makeshift camps in the open air, too afraid of aftershocks to go home. For so many people, there is simply no home left to return to. But its beyond the walls of this medina where the earthquakes most deadly damage has been inflicted. The red cross has warned that the next 24 hours are critical for reaching any survivors in time. 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 our correspondent nick beake has made it to another community in the Atlas Mountains. This is amizmiz in the Atlas Mountains. And you can see the destruction here. These were typically one and two storey buildings that came crashing down and people have been picking through the rubble for their possessions. But of course, its notjust possessions. Many lives have been lost here, too. And just talking to someone a short time ago, they estimate at least 150 people have died. And that is a conservative estimate because ever since this earthquake struck, people have been trying to work through the rubble to find signs of life. If you just look up the road here, you get a sense of why people have been sleeping out overnight once again, because even if houses havent been completely destroyed, the walls have caved in. In many cases, roofs have given way. And people are just very fearful of going back into their houses, extremely worried that there could be another earthquake or aftershocks in the coming hours. In terms of reaching this place, our path was strewn with debris, with rocks. And of course, that is a much more important, more significant thing for the rescuers, the Emergency Services who are trying to get here. The reality is, further up into the mountains, many more people have died. And reaching those communities is proving extremely difficult. And that is the focus of the effort here in morocco today. Nick reporting there. There is a sense of determination here among the people of marrakesh to get through this, to survive. They are afraid notjust for their lives but their livelihoods too. Their message to the International Community but also tourists is come back to morocco, we need your help. Well earlier we spoke to the journalist Alice Morrison who lives in the Atlas Mountains and has visited the make shift camps that have been set up to help villagers who have lost their homes. Today i travelled down from my own valley by bike and came to this area which is badly affected and what i have seen is of course neighbours pulling neighbours out of the houses, i have seen a funeral is being set up by the side of the road. In asni, the main town which is kilometres that way, they have set up a military hospital, a big tent encampment and there are ambulances travelling up and down the road and if you go down to badly affected areas that way, rescue and Search Operations are under way. I think this is quite hard for people to understand, we are looking at lots of small villages strung together along the Atlas Mountains and that is one of the things that is making it so difficult for people. I spoke to a moroccan gendarme who said when he got to a Village Everything was destroyed, it was as if the mountain behind the hamlet had fallen on the hamlets because all of these villages are very small. These are very small places. My impression is that the moroccan government is doing a fantasticjob and the people of morocco are all working together. This is a very communally based society, everyone would rather give you their water than drink it themselves. And we are in villages that are very self sufficient, there is agriculture, water in this region, so those things are good. Tents are definitely needed, people have been making do but there are probably not enough tents and blankets because it is boiling hot now but the minute The Sun Goes Down it freezes. I think really the issue is in many small villages traditionally built from clay, the houses have collapsed and they are destroyed and people cannot get to them or it is hard to get to them. In the bigger areas they have been well supplied. My neighbour, my landlady, my friend who is normally the happiest, funniest person, she took me down to see her house which has cracks all through the walls and she is shaking like a leaf still two days after. People here are genuinely frightened and it is a very religious society, everyone believes in god and we are in the hands of god, but no one wants to go back in their homes when there are big cracks, and the king hasjust announced a programme whereby he was sending Structural Engineers into all the villages to see whether houses can be repaired or whether they need to be destroyed and rebuilt. Alice morrison there who has made her home near the Atlas Mountains. A huge Rescue Operation is continuing in Southern Turkey to move an american explorer who became trapped more than 1,000 metres underground. Rescuers are reported to have managed to get mark dickey to a base camp 700 metres down in the morca cave. Rescuers spent ten hours navigating the complex with mark on a stretcher. They say it could days to get him to the surface. Experts from across europe are involved in the operation. 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. Lets take a listen. 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 dont think its going to cause china to invade taiwan, as a matter of fact, the opposite, it probably doesnt have the same capacity that it had before. But as i said, were not looking to hurt china, sincerely. Were 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 theyre going to have to take are ones they are in the process of deciding right now. And im not going to predict what will come out, but were not looking to decouple from china. What im not going to do is im 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 were not trying to hurt china. The centrepiece of the 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 Correspondent Laura Bicker was on the streets of hanoi a little while ago to find out. From wartime foes to firm friends, the United States is drawing chinas neighbour closer. This new relationship excites vietnams next generation. Even as they sing songs about appreciating what they have, its clear they want more. This countrys young and talented workforce has attracted foreign business here instead of china. A lot of, like, korean and thenjapanese 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 Silicon Valley for the us and for everyone to come here and work. I cant wait for it to happen. Vietnam was once one of the worlds poorest nations its 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. Its the right time. Its 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 theyve ever been before. Its all part of a us strategy to try to contain china. But while vietnam might be wary of its largest neighbour, its 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. As weve been reporting, President Biden� s visit to vietnam follows the g20 in delhi. The summit is now finished and india has formally handed over the g20 presidency to brazil. Prime minister Narendra Modi completed the transition by passing the ceremonial gavel of the presidency to the brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da silva. Earlier the leaders gathered for a ceremony at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, indias independence leader. On saturday, the group issued a joint declaration on the war in ukraine, but the statement made no mention of russian aggression. My colleague Christian Fraser is in delhi at the summit and sent us this update a short while ago. The leaders jetting out of new delhi this hour, at the end of two days of the g20 summit. And i would think immense satisfaction on the part of the indians that they got the communique across the line, because when the leaders arrived here 48 hours ago, there was a giant gap in that text specifically in relation to ukraine. There were 200 sherpa meetings to find the right language that would find consensus in the room. But today, as the gavel was passed to brazil, that communique adopted in full. Earlier in the day, though, a lot of it was about the ceremony. The leaders were out and about in new delhi. First, lets focus on rishi sunak, who went to a hindu temple proud hindu himself, of course with his wife, akshata murty. This was the akshardham temple, in new delhi. He prayed there, they were shown around the temple. And then he made his way to raj ghat, which is the memorial for Mahatma Gandhi who, of course, was assassinated in 1948, just after india had secured its independence from the british empire. This is the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated all those years ago. And all 20 leaders joining in the rain, monsoon weather here in india today, in the rain to present their memorial, their wreaths to Mahatma Gandhi. For him personally, mr modi, in the run up to an election next year and a third term, i would think hell be very pleased with what hes got out of the weekend. But let us talk specifically about the ukraine passage, because thats where most of the focus has been. And particularly how its been watered down when you compare it to the document they agreed in bali a year ago. So gone is deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against ukraine. And inserted in its place, we reiterated our national positions, all states must refrain from the threat of the use of force to seek territorial acquisition. Sergei lavrov has been giving a press conference, clearly well satisfied with the language that they secured. But he spoke specifically about the black sea initiative, the supply of grain which theyve cut off, theyve walked away from that deal and theyve renewed their bombardment of the ukrainian ports, which was widely condemned here. Mr lavrov said it is possible to revive the black sea initiative, as long as the west removes obstacles to the export of russian grain and fertiliser. Heres the response from the british Prime Minister, rishi sunak. The 620 is obviously a large collection of countries that dont all necessarily share the same values and the same perspective, but it is important that the 620 has come together and issued very strong condemnation for the impact of the war in ukraine on food prices and energy security. Thats something that i was keen to highlight. Im glad that that is there in the statement, in black and white. And theres very strong language, highlighting the suffering that the war is doing, the impact its having on food prices, and the need for russia to rejoin the black Sea Grain Initiative and to halt attacks on civilian infrastructure in ukraine. Thats something that i wanted to make sure that we did here, thats something that has happened, and thats something that i think everyone has sat up and taken notice of. The uk Prime Minister rishi sunak is speaking there are about the war in ukraine. That was not the only diplomatic headache he faced at the 620. But that was not the only diplomatic headache rishi sunak was faced with at the g20. He also warned the chinese premier of his significant concerns about beijings interference in democracy. It follows the arrest of a parliamentary researcher on suspicion of spying. Mr sunak met li qiang after news of two arrests in the uk under the Official Secrets Act emerged. Well, i obviously cant comment on the specifics of an ongoing investigation, but with regard to my meeting with premier li, what i said very specifically is that i raised a range of different concerns that we have and areas of disagreement and, in particular, my very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable. 0ur Political Correspondent nick eardley explained who had been arrested and why. 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, its 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 governments 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. 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 president ial 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. Here in uk, the terror suspect Daniel Khalife has been formally charged with escaping from wandsworth prison. The 21 year old former soldier was charged with the escape after he was recaptured yesterday on a Canal Towpath in west london, following a manhunt. The Justice Secretary says that in the wake of khalifes escape some 40 inmates have been moved from the Category B Prison out of an abundance of caution. 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 worlds 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 its 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 its easier to conceal the manufacture of this drug and also its easier to relocate if people are caught. Afghanistans taliban rulers have criticised the closure of their main border point with pakistan this week after clashes between the two sides security forces. They said the halt in trade would see heavy losses for businesses on both sides. The Busy Torkham Crossing was shut on wednesday after troops started firing at each other. Each side blames the other for the flare up. My colleague zari kargar has been following the developments. The talibans Foreign Ministry has issued a statement condemning pakistans action of closing the Torkham Border since wednesday. The taliban, in their statement, say the closure of the border by pakistani officials is not a sign of a Good Relationship between the two neighbours and its going to have a huge impact on trade and bilateral relationships. The Torkham Border is a key Transit Point for people and goods between the two countries. It has been closed for five days now after clashes between the Pakistani Security forces and the Taliban Forces in the area. Pakistani officials claim the taliban are building a new Security Post in the area, which is illegal. But the taliban Statement Today says they were not building a new Security Post. In fact, they were repairing a Security Post that was built there several years ago. Hundreds of people, mainly from the afghanistan side, have been waiting for days and nights to enter pakistan because many patients from Afghanistan Go For Treatment to the country, especially cancer patients, because there are limited resources in afghanistan. They get treatment in peshawar, on the pakistani side. Afghan tradesmen have been complaining about how their goods, especially fruit like grapes and tomatoes, have been rotting because they have been waiting in the border area. They have also started selling them at very low prices, which is hugely economically damaging for them. Afghanistan also exports coal to pakistan, which is very much needed in the pakistani side because of the lack of electricity. From the pakistani side, goods like electronic stuff, medicine and also fruit like bananas and nectarines are exported. Its not the first time the Torkham Border has been shut by the pakistani officials. It has happened in the past few years when there has been an influx of refugees from Afghanistan Due to the war, pakistan has decided to shut the border and then reopen. So this has been going on for years between the two countries. Yesterday, taliban officials and pakistani officials met to talk about reopening of the border. But it looks like none of the sides have reached an agreement to reopen the border and it still remains shut. Stay with us here on bbc news. Hello there. This doll because are now building and we are expecting the showers, thunderstorms to be more frequent throughout the rest of the day. It has now been the second consecutive day where temperatures averaged 30 degrees or more, they may challenge the 30. 2 that we saw yesterday making it the hottest day of the year so far, but if it is too much for you as it is for me, it will be cooler and fresher through the week ahead. Why . This where the front will meander south and it is behind that front where we have a change in Wind Direction and a change in air mass so a cooler and fresher source of our earth. At the moment, it is still humid out there. This is the cloud bubbling up, intense thunderstorms developing across the North West Of England and more widely across england and wales, probably into parts of Northern Ireland and southern and eastern scotland. This here will be the game changer, that is the Weather Front behind which we have that fresher air, and forthe behind which we have that fresher air, and for the rest of today, stifling out there. More sunshine across central and eastern areas but even here some Thunder Examples which could lead to some flooding. As we will see potentially for wales, up into northern england, Parts Of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Not for all, some places will keep a bright weather, sunshine and still that humidity is high. Temperatures not quite as high as yesterday just temperatures not quite as high as yesterdayjust because temperatures not quite as high as yesterday just because that we temperatures not quite as high as yesterdayjust because that we have more cloud. Just in central and eastern areas we are seeing at those temperatures above 30 degrees once again. As we go through the evening and overnight storms continue. Starting to clear away from Northern Ireland and the southern and eastern scotland, diminishing across england and wales but see fog around her and our Weather Front starts developing the north soak fresher behind but for most of us, and uncomfortably muqqy for most of us, and uncomfortably muggy night for sleeping. Monday, that front looks to fizzle out somewhat but more cloud in the skies as it trundles southwards. Still very warm and humid but tempt is not as high as recent days, certainly fresher behind our Weather Front to the north which may well pep up again as we go through tomorrow evening and overnight. That is the picture for the week ahead. It is not a wash out but turning cooler and fresher and more and more unsettled for most. Warnings are online. This is bbc news. The headlines. Villagers in moroccos Atlas Mountains are using their bare hands to dig out people following fridays deadly quake. Theyve been working with rescuers to search for others who may be alive under the rubble. The death toll currently stands at more than 2,000. Us President Joe Biden visits vietnam to sign a new diplomatic partnership almost 50 years after the end of the vietnam war. Mr biden has met the Communist Party leader, nguyen phu trong, and is due to have further talks on monday. The visit comes amid chinas growing influence in the region. A top ranking us Military Officer warns that ukraines 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. Now on bbc news, click
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