Global News Podcast: Search for victims intensifies after Hawaii wildfires

Hello, this is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service with reports and analysis

from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are

supported by advertising.

Hi, I'm Hannah and I'm very excited to be hosting What in the World? a new daily podcast

from the BBC World Service, where we try to help you make sense of the world around you,

of the big things that are happening, the small things that are happening and everything in between.

Search for What in the World wherever you get your BBC podcasts and hit subscribe.

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Andrew Peach and in the early hours of Sunday the 13th of August these are our main stories.

Disaster management officials are sending more resources to the Hawaiian island of Maui

as the search for victims of deadly wildfires continues. A doctor has been given access to

Niger's ousted president who's been held prisoner in a basement since last month's coup.

Saudi Arabia is appointing its first ambassador to the Palestinian Authority.

Also in this podcast. They speak of another time and another place. A stunning combination

of pure commercialism and a kind of ageless beauty. An exhibition showcases the neon signs

of Hong Kong that used to light up the city's night sky but many of which have now disappeared.

We begin in Hawaii. Officials say 80 people have died in wildfires that have devastated

the island of Maui. Hawaii's Attorney General has ordered an investigation into the handling

of the fire as questions grow over whether the authorities could have done more to warn residents.

Our correspondent John Sudworth sent this report from near the town of Lahaina

which has been ruined by the blaze. More expert help is on its way to the town of Lahaina for

the difficult task of combing through the charred embers for signs of human remains.

Some homes and buildings have not yet been searched and the authorities are warning that the number

of confirmed deaths is likely to rise further still. Captain Vince Carter is a local helicopter

pilot and has seen the devastation from the air. There was a pit in your stomach knowing

that this is just the tip of the spear, you know, losing buildings, losing property.

Asking by the marina you could see there was still boats on fire, wood and slips that the

docks were gone. So we're talking things that were floating on water that it was so hot that

those lit on fire. While the forensic work continues there's another major challenge,

housing and feeding the thousands made homeless by the wildfire. Access into the town which was

almost completely destroyed earlier this week is restricted to residents only and there have been

long tailbacks for those trying to return by car to retrieve what few belongings they can.

Even while firefighters continue to tackle flare-ups. Many are still searching for news of

missing family members, an effort complicated by the still disrupted phone and power networks.

While the mood remains calm here there are hints of anger too with questions about whether the

authorities could have provided more warning of the impending disaster. A review of official

decision making has been announced by Hawaii's Attorney General. The American Red Cross has

set up emergency shelters on Maui. My colleague Lucy Gray spoke to its national spokesman Todd

James and asked about the challenges they're facing. The main focus of our work continues to

be sheltering, working with our partners, the local and state government and our non-profit

partners in the area because we've got to make sure that all of these families who have been

displaced have a safe place to stay, have access to food, to medical care and crisis counseling

and of course you know knowing that they've got a safe place to go and until they figure out what

their next steps are. We've had thousands of people coming through the shelters. We've had over

2900 overnight stays so far and a lot of folks who are coming into the shelter during the day.

They can charge their phones, they can get a meal, they can talk to some of the other partners we

have in the shelters with us to get information and if they need to stay then they know they're

more than welcome to stay with us so that is our big focus right now. Once it's safe and we get the

word from officials that we can begin going out we'll assist with the damage assessment of the

area and then we'll start distributing some of the emergency supplies that families will need

when they start the cleaning process. And is it the case that some people haven't been reached yet?

I mean we're hearing that hundreds of thought to be uncontactable, they're unaccounted for,

does that mean that they haven't been reached? You know I haven't gotten any direct information.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are some difficulties getting hold of some folks you know

there's a lot of confusion. The infrastructure is down, the communications, electricity, water,

all of that you know is not functioning or barely working in some areas affected by the fire so

that makes it very tough so I'm sure the officials are doing all they can, it's still a search and

rescue operation so that's why they're restricting access I believe but whoever needs shelter if

there are still folks out there and they make their way to our shelter they're going to find a

welcome arm from a Red Cross volunteer who will get them settled, get them a meal and make sure

they have access to everything they need right now. Todd James of the American Red Cross.

The family doctor of the ousted president of Niger Mohammed Bazoum has said he's in good spirits

after visiting the deposed leader. Mr Bazoum and his family have been held captive in the

basement of the presidential palace since he was removed from office by the military last month.

The doctor who brought them food and medicine said their living conditions were difficult.

Here's Richard Hamilton. The doctor's visit reportedly came as a huge relief to the president,

his wife and their 20 year old son who has a serious medical condition. Earlier the UN Human

Rights Chief Volker Turk said the conditions of their detention were inhumane, degrading and

in violation of international human rights law but despite the widespread condemnation the military

junta continues to hold Mr Bazoum presumably as a hostage to make West African leaders think twice

about military intervention. Armenia has called for the UN Security Council to hold an urgent meeting

on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia has accused neighbouring Azerbaijan of preventing supplies being delivered to the region.

The enclave which is landlocked within Azerbaijan but largely populated by ethnic

Armenians is only connected to Armenia by a single short mountain road. Armenia and Azerbaijan have

fought two wars over the territory since the 1980s. The last in 2022 saw Azerbaijan make substantial

territorial gains. Rebecca Kesby has been talking to Mohamad Gharian, Armenia's ambassador to the UN

and asked him about the appeal to the Security Council. We have been warning the international

community that the alarming situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is close to turning into humanitarian

catastrophe for some month now and the closure of this vital lifeline by Azerbaijan has been

instigating conditions of a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. Today is exactly eight months that

thousands of besieged families in Nagorno-Karabakh have been suffering from critical shortages of

essential goods including food, fuel and medical supplies and we think that it is up to the Security

Council to uphold its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security

and to take appropriate measures to prevent mass atrocities including ethnic cleansing and the

crime of genocide from happening in Nagorno-Karabakh. What can you tell us about the situation with

Azerbaijan? I mean have you asked them to reopen that road presumably you have? Not only that we

have asked them the International Court of Justice issued provisional measures in February

and then one again reaffirmed in July according to which Azerbaijan shall take all measures

to ensure unimpeded movement of persons vehicles and cargo along the large corridor which Azerbaijan

is not implementing to this day. The Secretary General of the United Nations made three statements

one in December the other one in February and the most recent one on the 3rd of August calling for

the unconditional implementation of International Court of Justice's ruling and reaffirming the

binding nature of that. Many international organizations called upon Azerbaijan to implement

the court order and we have appealed also to the Security Council a month ago asking the Security

Council specifically to undertake urgent and effective measures in response to Azerbaijan's

violation of international humanitarian law and to ensure the the implementation of legally binding

orders of international court of justice nothing happened so far. The BBC did approach the government

of Azerbaijan for comments but they didn't respond to us. French and British coast guards have

rescued 58 people from a boat full of migrants that got into difficulty in the English Channel on

Saturday. Six people are known to have died those rescued include children most of them from

Afghanistan and Sudan. Frank Durcin is vice president of the Ote de France region on the

French coast he told us how difficult it is to police migrants who are determined to make the crossing.

Nothing can stop the will of migrants to pass we can only slow it down when they are on the boat

it's impossible to stop we have to stop the people before they go inside the boat.

The coast guard has taken many of the survivors to Calais. Rebecca Kesby spoke to our correspondent

Bethany Bell who's in the French port and asked her what the authorities think happened.

They're still trying to find that out many of the people who are well enough to speak to the

authorities are being questioned at the moment to try and established how they were out on this

overcrowded boat in very windy conditions when of course it capsized and investigation has been

launched at the moment to try and see how this tragedy took place. I mean hundreds of migrants

do try to make this journey every day but it's incredibly dangerous isn't it I mean this is

one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and the water even in the summer is very cold.

Extremely cold and as you say an extremely busy area 600 tankers 200 ferries all around about

passing every day and you know difficult currents last night the winds were strong and

France's secretary of state for the sea responsible for safety at sea was saying that

the the traffickers didn't seem to care about sending people out in in a small dinghy in such

conditions and it was very distressing scenes there that we've seen. And briefly we we heard

there a French voice from the authorities this is a political issue on both sides of the channel

but in the UK the rules have changed recently which is leading to quite a lot of controversy.

Well the aid groups that we've been speaking to here in in Calais say that they do warn

migrants about the problems the risks of trying to make this crossing and what awaits them on the

other side but many of them as we heard just there say they they can't stop them if people are

determined to try and get over it's very very difficult to stop it and one of the interesting

things that we've been told is that it does seem that more migrants have been coming to this region

in recent weeks they're living rough along the shores hopes possibly that now that the summer

weather has come it might be easier to make the crossing but certainly an uptick in numbers.

I corresponded Bethany Bell in Calais. The authorities in the Czech Republic have appealed

for calm after a teenage girl was raped and left for dead allegedly by an 18 year old Ukrainian man

here's Rob Cameron. Tuesday's shocking rape and attempted murder in the city of Puzen has been

condemned by both Czech and Ukrainian politicians including Ukraine's deputy foreign minister who

was until recently ambassador to Prague. The girl aged around 15 reportedly knew her alleged attacker

and agreed to go for an evening walk with him. Police say she was then tied up blindfolded,

raped, stabbed, placed in a sack and pushed down a slope. She played dead before managing to free

herself. Now for decades they were a visual symbol of Hong Kong the neon signs that lit up the city's

night sky. In recent years many of them have disappeared thanks in part to safety concerns

and worries about the environment. Now a new exhibition is showcasing them in all their glory.

Tim Allman reports.

They speak of another time and another place. A stunning combination of pure commercialism

and a kind of ageless beauty. The signs represented all that was unique and magical about Hong Kong

literally illuminating inspiring and iconic. They are an increasingly rare species these days

but there are still people like Cardin Chan who want to restore them and show them off.

It's not only about appreciating the appreciation of the beauty of the signs up close it's also

about like to appreciate to understand the scale and then also the works that goes into each of

these signs. This exhibition shines a light on Hong Kong's cultural history an opportunity for some

to see a world they never knew and for some to relive their past. It's really worth recommending

to others said this visitor. It's conserving the history of Hong Kong. We saw these signs when we

were young but as time goes by many of them disappear. Not so far away another neon sign

is taken down advertising a Kowloon restaurant it's been in place for nearly 60 years. The

owners say they've asked for permission to erect a new smaller sign but a chap that is closing for

Hong Kong in so many ways the lights are going out. Tim Orman reporting. Still to come we'll meet

the scientists who wanted to save a bit of his favorite glacier in Switzerland and I thought

now it's a time to go up there one last time and save a bit of this ice.

World Football at the Women's World Cup is the podcast telling the global story of the tournament.

I'm so proud of our team of our guests. We're speaking to the fans who've traveled down under

as they share all the excitement of this incredible competition. I think we're still in the running

they go all the way. I'm really really proud of Vietnamese. This is probably the biggest moment

in their careers and Australia's right behind them. World Football at the Women's World Cup

from the BBC World Service. Find it wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

Saudi Arabia has named its first non-resident ambassador for the Palestinian territories.

The move follows growing speculation that Saudi Arabia and Israel could soon reach an agreement

to normalize relations. Here's our Middle East regional editor Mike Thompson.

Saudi Arabia has long maintained that the normalization of relations with Israel,

which it currently does not recognize, is dependent on the establishment of a Palestinian state.

So talk that the country could soon normalize relations without this will have alarmed many

Palestinians. It appears that creating this new ambassadorial position, which also includes the

role of Consul General to Jerusalem, is designed to show that Riyadh wouldn't abandon its support

for the Palestinian cause. The new job is to be filled by the Kingdom's Ambassador to Jordan,

Nayuf Al-Siddiari. According to the Conservation Organization WWF, or the Worldwide Fund for

Nature, there are around 415,000 African elephants left in the world and a maximum of 50,000 Asian

elephants. Some estimates suggest the populations have halved in 50 years because of ivory poaching

in Africa and habitat loss in Asia. A decade ago, animal campaigners set up World Elephant Day on

the 12th of August to highlight the plight of elephants around the world. This year they're

focusing on Asian elephants in particular, as our environment correspondent Navin Singh Khadka has

been telling me. Unlike with African elephants, the issue with these elephants is that, you know,

they are now deprived of their habitat because, you know, forests are shrinking. And then that is

why they come in contact with humans. And there is conflict, retaliatory killing, as it is known.

And then also, you know, not to forget the infrastructure building across all these countries,

roads, railways, bridges, canals obstruct their migratory paths. And finally, the tourism industry

or even mining, you know, elephants are used in all those activities. That's why these animals,

they are still so endangered. So lots of ways in which mankind is getting in the way of the

elephants. What about what governments are doing to try and stop this decline? We don't see very

much good stories. One example often quoted as in Myanmar, they identified 170,000 square kilometers

for elephants. But then what they also found later on by an independent investigation was

only 7% of that 170,000 square kilometers of habitat was protected. How does this play out in

India and Nepal, past the world that you know so well? We all know about Assam tea, for example.

So I went to this Assam tea states. We found these tea states were actually spreading,

you know, right on where the traditional elephant's migratory roots are. So now what they find is,

instead of their forests or water holes, they find tea. And tea is something elephants don't eat.

And they're very angry about it. And that's why what happens is if elephants gets into villages,

kill people, and then people in turn kill elephants, that story is being played out,

not just in Bhutan or India, but also in Nepal and elsewhere. And then if you look at India's

social media, we'll see trains knocking off elephants, even calves being killed on tracks.

We need to identify where are those traditional migratory roots and then think about the solutions

that you could dovetail with your development plans. Otherwise, what happens is elephants will

keep on getting angry, seeing those tea states or palm oil forests or rubber plantations instead of

their natural forests. Our environment correspondent Navin Singh Khadka. Now to football, and we know

the four teams still in contention to win the women's World Cup. The co-hosts Australia survived

a tense penalty shootout to defeat France. England came from behind to beat Colombia. Our correspondent

in Sydney, Shyma Khalil, watched the day's action. I think I've aged 10 years and almost lost my

voice in those two matches. The good news is this has been one of the most entertaining, exciting,

nerve-wracking days of the whole tournament. First off, let's start with Australia versus France.

It was neck and neck until the very last minute and that penalty shootout. There was just collective

gasps and intakes of breath with every hit and miss. And then on to the England-Columbia game.

And we all knew that this wasn't going to be an easy game. Colombia, this underdog of a team,

have delivered some of the most dramatic and memorable moments. But I must say kudos to

England's defense. Kudos to that team that just kept running and running. And of course,

these two goals from Lorne Hemp to equalize with Colombia. And then the winning goal from

Alicia Russo. I think they delivered the win that so many fans have wanted. And I will tell you right

now, I'm calling it, a lionesses versus the Matilda's game is going to break so many records in terms

of viewership. I understand that 4,000 England fans have traveled for the World Cup. Some of

them wanted tickets and they couldn't have them. So the next best thing is that they came to the

fan zone. And I think what's really interesting is the confidence that they have in the team,

that even though they were quite nervous about how they performed against Nigeria,

every time I ask somewhat about how they felt about the lionesses, they just said

we're confident the rivalry is going to be there. But I will say this, I think the atmosphere is

going to be electric. I think on the pitch, they both have a point to prove. Both teams know that

there are a couple of steps away from making history for their country and their squads.

So it is going to be a very strong game. I think it's going to get really, really physical.

But I think off the pitch, it's going to be very, very enjoyable. And I think maybe I'll age

another 10 years watching that game. Correspondent Shai Mahalil. Let's hear from some fans now.

Here's the reaction of some Australia supporters watching in Sydney.

Oh my God, this side of my life. My jersey is somewhere in my jersey.

And here's England fan Jessica, who watched the game in her hometown of Doncaster.

It's amazing. I'm so happy with the way that they've played and they've been pushing through. And

that's all they can do is hold their own and push to the next round. And that's the most important

thing that it's amazing also for young players to look up to these players and know that it's

possible to make it there and that the women's game is just growing every year. So it was awesome.

The first of the two semi-finals on Tuesday between Sweden and Spain.

Let's stay with football. He's the captain of the English team, the country's record goal

scorer. But Harry Kane's first night playing in the German Bundesliga certainly hasn't gone to plan.

Brought on as a replacement striker on Saturday, the day he signed for Bayern Munich,

they then lost the German Super Cup final to RB Leipzig. I've been talking to Joe Inwood,

who spent the day outside the stadium in Munich. So not the dream start that Harry Kane might have

wanted. No, but I think it probably would have been too good to be true had he come on and brought

Bayern down back from 2-0 down to RB Leipzig. He barely, the truth is he didn't get much of a touch

of the ball. He came on in about the 60th minute or so. He ran around gamely, but I think it was

beyond even a man of his prodigious talents. I mean, it's worth pointing out. Harry Kane wouldn't

have even had a chance to train properly with his new teammates. In the end, they lost 3-0. So

Harry Kane's 19 year wait for silverware continues at least for this day, probably until the end of

the season. Harry Kane's been at Tottenham Hotspur, the English Premier League club for 20 years.

He is, as I said, the England captain, record goal scorer. Why does he want to go and play in

Germany? A number of reasons. I mean, firstly, it's a lovely country to be in, to live in. It's

beautiful city that he has here in Munich. But I think in terms of the football, he's got some

great clubs. Bayern is a fantastic side. Obviously, a great international reputation, highest quality

football, but also very well run. It's one of the things that's commonly said about German clubs,

is they don't overspend. He is indeed the most expensive player any German clubs ever bought.

And I think they know it's going to be a well run team. But more than that,

the reason Harry Kane wanted to come here is to win trophies. And it's worth, you know,

this cup, the Super Cup that they didn't win today, they've won for six of the seven previous

seasons. They've won more than 10 Bundesliga's in a row. So I think it probably would be assumed

that he will win trophies if he comes here, even if he didn't do it today. Joe Inwood in Munich.

Campaigners in Britain have raised concerns that betting firms are targeting adverts at players

of the online game Fantasy Premier League or FPL, which is popular with children.

Millions of people around the world play FPL. What you have to do is pick a team of footballers

and then you earn points based on their real life performance. Anyone over 13 can play as a

result. It's a target for the global gambling industry recruiting their next generation of customers.

Rob Wayne is an FPL content creator. I cannot think of many major Fantasy Premier League websites

that do not advertise gambling or have some form of affiliation with a gambling company

or a subsidiary of a gambling company. And those major websites have signed pretty much

every major content creator of Fantasy Football and Fantasy Premier League.

Tom Grundy told me more about the game.

It's huge. I think last year 11 million people signed up in total and just under half of those

are in the UK. So that's an awful lot of people around the world. But there's also this huge

subculture community that's grown up around it as well, made up of independent websites,

not affiliated to the Premier League, content creators with thousands of followers, all making a

living based on sharing tools and tips to do with FPL. And that seems to be where these

betting companies are trying to find a way in.

We know how big the English Premier League is with our listeners all over the world on the

World Service, particularly with the biggest clubs. Gambling is clearly part of football.

It's just suddenly becoming part of this app.

Yeah. Basically, we've got these independent sites and people are telling me that the betting

community have probably seen similarities between the game Fantasy Premier League.

It's played by predominantly young men, young men who are clearly interested in sport. And that

ticks a lot of the same boxes as people who do traditional sports betting as well.

And certainly some of the charities we've been speaking to, one of which led on the campaign

to get betting ads off Premier League football shirts. They think that the betting industry see

FPL as fertile ground basically for the next generation of customers and potentially addicts.

And there are different rules governing gambling, especially gambling with any

sense of targeting people under 18 in different countries. But when something's been played

internationally, you can get around all that.

Yeah. And that's the thing with perhaps a content creator sending a tweet, for example,

that's promoted by a betting company. Certain people in certain jurisdictions around the world

are going to be seeing that where potentially gambling's illegal. And actually, Fantasy Sports

has a really interesting relationship with gambling regulation around the world. One of the

big companies that we've seen sponsoring stuff around FPL is DraftKings.

And they're one of the biggest gambling companies in the US. The reason that they became so big

is because there was such tight gambling regulation in certain states in the US that actually

paid Fantasy Sports with prizes and in a sort of fantasy format,

were seen as a way of getting round and getting across these tight gambling rules. And even though

they've been lessened in states now, companies like DraftKings and Fanjula still huge and have

a huge market share. Joe Grundy reporting. Switzerland is known for its snowy peaks and

skyscraping alpine glaciers. But just like glaciers all over the world, warmer global

temperatures are seeing them start to melt away. One glacial scientist, Matthias Hust,

decided to save the last bit of his favorite glacier. And it's in his own freezer. Matthias

is a senior researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and has been

talking to Rebecca Kesby. This petal glacier is a very small glacier in Switzerland. It has been

studied since more than 100 years. And since 18 years at the beginning of my PhD, I went up there

to look at it in more detail, doing measurements on this glacier at least twice a year. And it has

strongly declined in area and thickness. And it has now almost completely disappeared.

How did you know that it was going to disappear? Well, it became thinner and thinner. And then

about four years ago, it started to fall apart. So different pieces of it split off and more and more

rocks started to protrude out of the ice. So it all went very, very fast in the last few years.

So in 2022, after this extreme melting event of that summer, I need to stop the measurements.

And now there was just this little tiny piece of ice left that I knew it was still old glacier ice,

but just basically a few square meters. And I thought, well, now it's a time to go up there

one last time and save a bit of this ice. I put it in my own freezer for the moment. I will probably

put it at ETH later to the university, but it's not for scientific reasons. So it's not for scientific

analysis, but it's really just for emotional reasons. It's to save this little part of my

baby glacier that I'm very attached onto, because obviously climate change will put a complete end

to this ice this year, probably maybe next year, but then it's over. I mean, you say it's not for

scientific research, but we do know that glacial ice does contain history, doesn't it, in its own

way, which may be useful scientifically. Yes, exactly. So one can analyze glacier ice in very

much detail, but this is not feasible for these glaciers at low, a relatively low elevation that

are so small. So if you go to Antarctica to Greenland or at the very high elevation of the Alps,

then you can actually analyze the history of the Earth's climate out of the glacier ice. But as I

said, this is for the bigger ice masses, and it's much more demanding than what I did here.

The Glacial Scientist, Matthias Huss, in Switzerland.

And that's it from us for now. There will be a new edition of Global News to download later.

If you'd like to comment on this edition, drop us an email, globalpodcast, at bbc.co.uk.

Or on Twitter, we are at Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Alicia Thursting,

the producer was Liam McCheffrey. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Andrew Peach. Thanks for

listening and until next time, goodbye.

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.