this is bbc america, and now live from london, "bbc world news." hello, and welcome to "bbc world news." here are the headlines. the u.n. chief ban ki-moon makes a fresh appeal for funds to fight the ebola outbreak. another 40 trekkers are rescued in the himalayas after a popular trail was struck by a deadly snowstorm. positive is how president putin describes talks with his ukrainian counterpart in italy, but there's no sign of decisive breakthrough yet.

and climate warriors try to blockade australia's largest coal port in a protest over global warming. good to have you with us. the secretary-general of the united nations ban ki-moon has launched another urgent appeal for funds to help fight ebola after a united nations drive for donations fell short of its target. it comes as his predecessor accused the world's richest countries as responding to the ebola outbreak only after the disease reached europe and the united nations. he told the bbc that he is bitterly disappointed with the international community for not moving faster to stop the spread of ebola. earlier, president obama authorized the deployment of

national guard troops to west africa if they are needed, and the number of people who have died from the virus is expected to reach 4,500 by the end of the week, 236 of those were health workers. of the five countries hardest hit by the outbreak, nigeria and senegal are saying they're on the brink of being clear of the disease, but the world health organization is now expanding its efforts to other west african countries in liberia, three american missionaries who contracted ebola were flown back to the u.s. for treatment. all have recovered. one of them, nancy writebol, said she hoped her experience could help others. >> i'm really thankful for the opportunities that whatever, however god uses us in our lives, whether it's through just being a voice, whether it's been being able to give my blood for a study, i'm very grateful and pray that god will use that in a

way that can help in a serum or help in the vaccinations. or even if i am able to be a donor for someone, i'm happy to be able to do that. >> in the race to develop a vaccine, the british pharmaceutical giant glaxo smith cline has told the bbc the vaccine it's developing will not be fully ready for at least a year. simon cox went along to see where its scientists progress. >> reporter: try as they might, ebola still has the upper hand. some experts believe the only way to contain it is with a vaccine. gsk is one of the companies fast-tracking a vaccine, trying to shrink ten years of development into one. but they warn it still won't be ready in time to solve the current outbreak. >> in order for the vaccine to be used, we have to have data on its safety and its efficacy.

and those data will not be available before the end of 2015. at the same time, we have to be able to manufacture the vaccine at doses that would be consistent with general use, and that's going to take well into 2016 to be able to do that. so unfortunately, it's not going to be as quickly as we would like. >> reporter: trials have already begun with volunteers receiving the drug, but there are no guarantees it will work. the next stage of testing is to offer 20,000 doses of the vaccine to health workers in the new year. until then, it's up to bodies like the world health organization to tackle the outbreak. at its headquarters in geneva, there's a daily ebola crisis meeting, and each day brings more bad news. >> the situation is really deteriorating. >> reporter: but the w.h.o. has been criticized for its slow response. one former senior w.h.o. expert told us it had been completely

unacceptable. other insiders we spoke to described it as an absolute disaster. so the daily ebola meeting has just finished here at the w.h.o. and they're clearly ramping up their efforts. there's a lot more urgency. but how does the organization respond to the criticism that this has all come months too late? >> that's tough. you know, i will say that in retrospect, there are a number of things that we could have done better. i think we could have perhaps engaged the governments more, a little sooner. i think that we could have brought communities onboard more effectively sooner. and i think we could have brought onboard a broader range of partners. >> for people in west africa, a mass vaccination program is a long way off. for the time being, they must

rely on their own initiative and the courage of health workers to stop the disease spreading. simon cox, bbc news. >> and you can keep right up to date with the latest developments in the ebola outbreak by visiting the special section of our website. there you'll find features, analysis, including details of our new ebola public health information service on what's app. that's all at bbc news online. now, the search continues in nepal, where teams so far have rescued 40 trekkers from the highest point of the annapurna circuit after a deadly storm hit the popular himalayan route. at least 29 people have known to have died in the disaster. nearly 30 are still unaccounted for. the instance is on track to be the largest ever seen. i talked to paul sheridan, one of those who managed to survive

the snowstorm on the mountains. >> the bad weather was already there when we set off. all i can say is i arrived on that pass to what appeared to be 60 or 70 people trying to huddle together to keep warm outside a stone refuge that would have kept people warm. and behind me, there were people coming up in the hundreds, and just arriving at this high point where the wind was vicious and ferocious. so ferocious and frozen. i was unable to see through the glasses. somebody shouted forward. a group of people moving forwards into a worsening situation. and as i moved forwards, things became so much worse. you couldn't see the sky from

the ground and you couldn't see the people. eventually it came to a point where i broke free, passing people. in a northerly fashion to get through snow. it was a worsening situation. and i broke free from that particular group and joined a group that appeared to know what they were doing. however, as the group descended, it became apparent that i had joined a group that didn't know what they were doing and they were sort of lost. >> paul sherridan there, who i spoke to earlier. let's speak to our correspondent, who's in katmandu, it's andrew north. he's joining me on the line now. andrew, i don't know if you could hear that interview with paul, but he was describing his experience. he's obviously very shaken. tell us more about the rescue operation that's under way at the moment. >> reporter: that's right. many other people that we talked

to, survivors who are still being brought down. i was just talking to one rescue team, said they had rescued 17 israelis from the annapurna trail where all this happened this morning. so they are still finding people. but at the same time, finding many bodies. and the latest figure was 29 people were confirmed dead. but they're still expecting that to rise because they've spotted more people. the bodies of people caught in this kind of coming together of first heavy snowstorms, and then avalanches that followed that. as you heard from paul there. and there were hundreds of people on the trail at the time who were simply engulfed in this storm. >> engulfed in the storm, and some of them poorly equipped by the sound of things from what paul was saying. what are people saying to you about the situation surrounding this particular event? because of course the storms

were freak and were not foreseen to a great degree, but perhaps someone not as prepared as they could have been for this kind of eventuality. >> reporter: several things here. the reason so many people are caught up in this is because this is the peak of the trekking season. the reason they come here at this time of year is that usually this is when the weather is at its best. but these storms took them by surprise. now, some people were prepared, but, of course, this was for trekking, not for climbing. usually this part of the trail at this time of the year, it's possible to climb up to the top of that pass without getting into any deep snow. but it's a reminder that even something like trekking, it still has its dangers. and it seems that some people may have been with groups that were not properly prepared, and also there is some criticism being aimed at some of the guides who decided to carry on,

perhaps thinking well, this time of year, there shouldn't be that bad a storm and we should be okay. a lot of hindsight going on right now, but it's a reminder that even something like trekking in what are after all the biggest mountains in the world, they're inherently unpredictable, there's always going to be some danger. >> andrew north, thank you very much in kathmandu for us. rare talks between vladimir putin and petro poroshenko, as well as other western leaders, have been described as positive, although differences remain. they met on the sidelines of the asia-europe summit in milan. david cameron was one of the leaders at the meeting. he said the onus remains on president putin to bring an end to the conflict in eastern ukraine. >> vladimir putin said very clearly that he doesn't want a divided ukraine. but if that's the case, then russia now needs to take the actions to put in place all

that's been greed, getting russian troops out of ukraine, getting heavy weapons out of ukraine and respecting all the agreements and only recognizing one legitimate set of ukrainian elections. and if those things don't happen, then clearly the european union, britain included, must keep in place the sanctions and the pressure so that we don't have this sort of contact in our continent. >> british prime minister david cameron. let's speak to damian gramaticas. we're getting mixed messages. a spokesman for the kremlin is saying there were lots of divisions and a lot of confusion. >> reporter: sally, you're absolutely right. this is now the asia-europe meeting venue, where the breakfast took place this morning. the meetings here are wrapping up, and as you say, we've heard two divergent views.

david cameron saying things were positive. but the russian side coming out, mr. putin's spokesman, he was saying it was full of misunderstandings, incomprehension and he said there was a complete unwillingness to understand the reality of the situation with ukraine. i think what this may indicate is the very difficult and divergent views. on the one hand, you had the ukrainians and the europeans pointing the finger at the russians, saying the russians need to do more. it's the russians who should take the actions now to reduce tensions there, to stop the flow of men and arms into ukraine, to control that border. and the russian side saying no, the problem is ukraine's. >> so what can we take from this? it was a very significant meeting that took place this morning. the first time that vladimir putin and petro poroshenko have been in the same room for a while. >> well, i think that's going to

be the interesting question, to see what happens now, how this affects what happens on the ground. because i know going into this, there was concern that this could go either way. the mood music, if you like, would be the important thing. that coming out of this, if the leaders had had a constructive time, then things could improve. if they hadn't and tensions got worse, that was the worst possible outcome. what we do know is the european side were pressing for things like better monitoring of the border. they want to use drones. that was one idea being put forward. that could fly over the area and do surveillance along that border. disagreement still there. the russians want their drones involved. european side saying it should be french and german drones. there's still lots and lots of sticking points. and what the europeans say is that they need to see progress on the ground, progress from russia before any sanctions can be lifted. >> okay. thank you. now, interior ministers from

germany's 16 states are meeting in berlin to discuss a growing influx of refugees to the country. germany has the highest number of refugees and asylum seekers in the eu. it's estimated up to 250,000 refugees will come to germany this year alone. the bbc's jenny hill is joining us from a center for asylum seekers in berlin. jenny, where are they all coming from? >> well, mainly, as you'd expect, from syria and iraq. germany has the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers in the whole of the european union. and local authorities here say they are struggling to cope. when you look at the numbers, you can understand why. so far this year, asylum applications are up by 60% compared to to 2013. it's estimated up to 250,000 refugees will pour into this country this year, and that's

why the interior ministers have got together for what the press describe as crisis talks. they're expected to address two particular issues. the first, the length of time it takes for an asylum application to be processed. it's around seven months. the authorities would like to see that sped up. so they're expected to agree to employ more staff at processing centers. but then they're also expected to discuss the much trickier question of where all these refugees will live long-term, and who's going to pay for it. >> and on that second trickier question, what are the various ideas out there? >> reporter: well, there's plenty of ideas. for example, used to house germans who had escaped east germa germany. while they waited for their papers. now it's home to refugees of a very different kind. but there are plans to set up container cities in their places

like berlin and munich to house these hundreds of thousands of people. at the moment, some are accommodated in army barracks, in schools. it's a very, very difficult situation. particularly for the poorest states of germany. that is something which will be under discussion. it's something which is very much occupying the government of germany here at the moment. of course, it's a wider public concern, too. most germans had a fairly tolerant and sympathetic view of asylum seekers and refugees. a few weeks ago, photographs were published here, which showed guards, security guards physically abusing a refugee. and that caused national outrage. that said, there is widespread concern about who's going to pay for all these people flooding into the country, and interestingly, in fact, a new political party, which has campaigned on tighter immigration controls has been growing in popularity recently, which i think probably tells you a little bit about how attitudes

towards asylum seekers here are perhaps beginning to change. >> all right, thank you. jenny hill in berlin. stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come -- more tears from oscar pistorius at his sentencing hearing in pretoria. we'll have the latest live from there in a few moments. goal is to grow. gotta get greater growth. i just talked to ups. they got expert advise, special discounts, new technologies. like smart pick ups. they'll only show up when you print a label and it's automatic. we save time and money. time? money? time and money. awesome. awesome! awesome! awesome! awesome! (all) awesome! i love logistics.

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this is "bbc world news." here are the headlines. u.n. chief ban ki-moon has launched a fresh appeal for funds to help fight ebola after a drive for donations fell short of its target. president putin has described positive talks with his ukrainian counterpart petro poroshenko in italy. now, though, let's update you on all the latest financial news. jamie is back, and it's still eyes on the markets, i assume? >> yes, incredibly volatile two

weeks we've had. i was going to say the volatility has calmed down, but in many ways, it hasn't. even though there seems to be -- well, the ink is green, as it were, on the page, things are going up. they're going up very, very fast. so in a way, the volatility hasn't gone away. there's been worries about slowdowns in europe and asia. poor numbers in the united states. those on the fundamental level. in the last couple hours, european shares opened higher and moved upwards, but again, they are going at a very fast rate. again, it is volatility even though some people might take heart from the fact that it's positive. japan, that closed down, 1.4%. it's a new five-month low for japanese markets. south korea shares, they fell about 1%. investors cutting their risk of exposure to that country. positive indicators in america. that is helping the markets today. initial jobless claims we had yesterday. a number of people signing on for unemployment benefits in the

united states, falling down to the lowest level in 14 years last month. and also have been suggestions the fed was going to keep on going with that bond buying program for a little bit longer. that's the program which pushes money into the economy and stimulates the economy. one brand, though, that's been braving all this financial confusion is schumaker jimmy choo. shares at an equivalent of $2 each. it is a lot less than it hoped for when it originally decided to list. it had to set its sight on over a billion dollars originally. but the decreased desire for luxury goods, falling in terms of growth. all that tightening of belts, that's led to less cash for companies. that's all we've got time for. we're going to have more later on in the day on business.

do stay with the bbc. hello. let's now bring you some breaking news. in south africa, the judge has just adjourned the pistorius sentence hearing to october the 21st. so that's when they will hear the decision on the future of the south african track star oscar pistorius. they're now deliberating, judge masipa, on his future. in the meantime, today we've been hearing the arguments on the part of the defense and the prosecution as to what they feel his future should be in terms of whether he should be sent to prison or not, etc. let's now go to our colleague karin giannone, who is in pretoria for us, just outside the courtroom. so, karin, as we've been hearing, the court has now adjourned. >> reporter: yes, sally. just to reiterate in that breaking news, literally in the last few minutes, judge masipa

has said the court is now adjourned until next tuesday, tuesday the 21st of october, when it will reconvene for her sentencing judgment. so we've just seen a half day of closing arguments by the defense and the prosecution ending with gerrie nel, the state's lead counsel for the prosecution, saying he recommended a sentence of ten years in jail for oscar pistorius. so we heard earlier from the defense counsel barry rue, his closing arguments in that. and now we will hear no more until we hear from judge masipa herself. let's find out a little bit more about how that will work. megan is here with me, a specialist in criminal justice. megan, what will happen on tuesday, in your estimation? >> i would assume that judge masipa will go through her reasonings for the sentencing, so she will weigh the factors of the defense and the prosecution looking at mitigation, and make

her determination. depending on how long those reasons take, it will either be concluded on tuesday, hopefully, but perhaps wednesday. >> so no guarantees this will be wrapped up by the end of tuesday. it could spill over. this is not just going to be simply judge masipa coming into court at 9:30 local time and announcing oscar pistorius's punishment is x. >> no. i think the courts usually will go and give reasonings. you need to understand that sentencing is a mini trial, so it is giving evidence of why the accused should be given a specific sentence and the court needs to provide its reasoning for its decisions as well. >> what do you make of gerrie nel's recommendation that came right at the end of his closing argument, that oscar pistorius should serve ten years in prison, minimum? >> i think it's unprisurprising. they have been pushing for quite a severe sentence. he did say that his actions were

serious. that's why he's asking for this sentence and trying to echo public opinion in the matter. >> okay, megan, thank you very much. there we have it. we know that sentencing will come next tuesday, the 21st of october. >> thank you very much, karin. stay with us here on "bbc world news" as we keep you right up to date. oh, that's ok... seriously, i wouldn't want you to get in trouble... it's the same plan for everyone. families...businesses...whoever. riiiiight. (yelling) no celebrity treatment here! (yelling) really isn't any celebrity treatment. just a normal guy, getting a great deal. we're just saying it loudly for some reason. now get 30 gigs of data to share with family or your business. starting at $160 dollars a month.

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[ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry®. or, they'll be ready for pick-up when you order online. hello, and a very warm welcome with "bbc world news." the u.n. chief ban ki-moon launches a fresh appeal for urgent funds to fight the ebola outbreak after a drive for donations fell far short of its target. no sign of a breakthrough yet with talks in italy, but the talks are described as positive. another 40 trekkers are rescued in the himalayas after a popular trail was struck by a deadly snowstorm.

good to have you with us. the secretary-general of the united nations ban ki-moon has launched another urgent appeal for funds to help fight ebola, after a united nations drive for donations fell far short of its target. it comes as its predecessor accused the richest countries of responding to the ebola outbreak only after the disease reached europe and the united states. kofi athan told the bbc he is bitterly disappointed with the international community for not moving faster to help stop the spread of the disease. the number of people who have died so far is expected to reach

around 4,500 by the end of this week. that includes 236 health workers. of the five countries hardest hit by the outbreak, nigeria and senegal are expected to say they're on the brink of being clear of the disease, but the world health organization is now expanding its efforts to other west african countries, as laura westbrook reports. >> reporter: landing in liberia and heading into the heart of the global health emergency. u.s. marines here to build a treatment center. the best chance for africa and the world to bring this ebola outbreak under control. in sierra leone, the first group of british doctors and nurses arrived. they're joining soldiers here to build a field hospital. and chinese medical workers in the capital freetown, they're to train staff and provide aid. all part of the international effort that is gathering pace. but former u.n. secretary-general kofi annan criticized the global response,

saying it's been too slow. >> when you look at the evolution of the crisis, the international community really woke up when the disease got to america and europe. and yet we should have known that in this interconnected world, it was only a question of time. >> the focus of this crisis has so far been on the country's hardest hit. liberia, sierra leone, and guinea. now the world health organization says it will also concentrate its efforts on the countries that border them, ivory coast, guinea besow, mali, and senegal. part of that response is training those in the front lines of this crisis. here in the democratic republic of congo, health workers were being trained before being sent into west africa. there's a growing chorus for countries to give more money to the region, but those on the ground say what they really need

is more staff. >> we need more people to come to work here. we don't need money. we need people. we need hands and legs. >> reporter: there are some signs of progress. senegal and nigeria are expected to be declared ebola-free, despite having had the disease there. showing the right techniques at the right speed can bring a welcome result. but here in liberia, a sadly familiar scene. the w.h.o. says cases are now doubling every four weeks, and this outbreak is out of control. for those left behind, it's an uncertain future. laura westbrook, bbc news. >> the organization fighting ebola on the ground in west africa. all the recent pledges of help and deployments to the region have not had any impact on the epidemic.

nsf says it's ridiculous their volunteers were still bearing the brunt of the care. international development correspondent mark doyle, who is in acra, ghana, gave me more reaction to ban ki-moon's appeal for more funds to fight the virus. >> i'm afraid that this is typical of the way that the international community responds to these kind of crises. the world of finance and international aid is a very cynical world, and what usually happens is that as kofi annan indicated, until there's some western angle to the story, or someone in america is affected by the famine or someone catches ebola in spain, that's when the world really wakes up, and then you have pledging conferences, and what usually happens at these pledging conferences is there are big speeches and everyone says i'll give this, i'll give that, and then you realize after a few days that actually they've been double

counting money they'd already given to somebody else. it's extremely cynical. and this example of ban ki-moon's fund call for $1 billion, which only got $100,000 given by colombia so far, i'm afraid is a very stark example of a quite typical phenomenon. >> but in the meantime, a real food aid crisis is emerging where you are, and that was really highlighted earlier this week by the united nations food aid program. just tell us more about why this is getting even worse. farms are just being deserted, that kind of thing. >> reporter: well, i'm in ghana and there isn't a food crisis here. ghana is the place where the u.n. has its logistics base, so that's why i'm reporting from here. certainly in the three countries concerned, there is now some empirical evidence. there's been lots of people saying that farms are being abandoned. it's a disaster. crisis arising, etc.

i think some of that's been slightly kpexaggerated. we do know they've done some surveys by text messaging of hundreds of people and they've discovered, no surprise, that in the ebola-hit areas, people's income definitely has been hit badly. people are beginning to not have three meals a day, perhaps two, perhaps only one. maybe they've lost a family member. maybe as a trader, they've been quarantined and they can't go to markets and sell their goods and so on. so ebola is definitely hitting the incomes of the people in the three countries. >> mark doyle, who's in ghana for us. and you can keep across all the latest developments with regard to the ebola outbreak by visiting our special section of our website. there you'll find features, analysis including details of our new ebola public health information service on what's app. that's all at bbc news online. rare talks between russian president vladimir putin and the

ukrainian president petro poroshenko as well as other western leaders have been described as positive, although sharp differences remain. they met on the sidelines of the asia-europe summit in milan. italy's prime minister, who hosted the meeting, said he was hopeful for a breakthrough in the conflict in eastern ukraine. >> we wanted to meet to mark a step change in how we address the crisis in ukraine. i think we made a step, for the climate, for the constructive discussion. obviously there are a lot of differences. this is normal. this is the reason we are in this situation. but i would underline the real

desire to find solution, and for this reason, i think we can be positive. >> mateo renzi, italy's prime minister. search teams in nepal have rescued 40 trekkers from the highest point of the annapurna circuit after a deadly storm hit the popular himalayan route. at least 29 people are known to have died and many remain missing. it's on course to be the worst single trekking and climbing disaster nepal has seen. the president of the trekkers agency association of nepal is able to join us on the line now from kathmandu. thank you so much for being on the program. can you tell us the latest, the rescue efforts to start with, please? >> thank you so much for providing me this opportunity to

give details about the current situation. first of all, it was a natural disaster. after having such big trouble in the indian ocean, the way the weather suddenly changed. we already know that nobody knows about the big disaster. because in my 20 years experience, never had this kind of disaster in the mountains. but, you know, suddenly it happened in the mountain. a lot of the snowfall -- somewhere at seven feet. somewhere more than ten feet. many guides -- you know, because of lack of equipment and information about the mountain

adventure. people become really trapped. many trekkers, many of them know that they have big trouble. and some of them, you know, they're really under the big, difficult situation and they died on the mountain. until now, we are updating. we are providing information. i've been there myself. the search and rescue. it is a big problem. people died on the mountain. some of the people still in areas we are unable to rescue.

since the day we got the information, immediately we sent a helicopter. they are helping us to provide helicopters. together, we visit all the parts. we are collecting the dead bodies. even today, we are sending seven helicopters from the mountain, including mi-17 to the lower level, and then from the higher level, we are collecting people and bringing them down. >> okay. >> we're doing fantastic. it is really not a good advantage, otherwise more people might get in big trouble. >> all right. we appreciate your time. president of the trekkers agency

association of nepal. as he mentioned, there is a website keeping everybody across what's happening as rescue efforts continue. now the commander of the kurdish militia defending the northern syrian town of kobane claims islamic state militants have now been driven out of all but two areas of the town. kobane has been under siege for four weeks now. its defenders have been helped by air strikes, targets by america, and its allies. the bbc's jim muir is in erbil, which is in northern iraq. he told me what's known about the military situation around kobane. >> well, there is an ebb and flow. i don't think there's a clear victory for either side. it may, in fact, ultimately be quite difficult for either side to score what they could claim to be a complete victory here, because supposing the kurdish forces are driven out of kobane, they would keep up their resistance from across the border in tokyo. they have the infiltration routes and so on. i don't think it's going to be a

clear cut victory either way, but at the moment, the tide seems to be flowing slightly in favor of the defenders. they've been able to push back into some parts of a kobane town that had fallen to i.s. there are apparently battles going around what they call the security square, the area around town which had administrative offices and security headquarters of the defending forces, the ypg. and they're pushing back in other areas, too. but i don't think you can call it a route. i.s. are bringing up more reinforcements from where they have resources. and the americans certainly are saying the situation remains very tenuous as far as the defenders are concerned, so i think it's going to be a long way ahead before this battle is actually finally resolved, and even then, it could be quite messy, because i.s. is determined apparently to take this town, so they will presumably keep banging away, even if they lose most of the actual town itself.

>> in the meantime, i've seen this week a lot of the international press has been highlighting what i.s. is doing to the west of baghdad. and that's raising fears again about the capital. tell us what you know about that. >> well, a lot of alanbar province fell a long time ago to i.s. forces. way back in january, an important town, fallujah just 30 kilometers west of baghdad fell to them, and they've held on despite very determined efforts and bombardment and bombing by iraqi government forces. so they have been continuing that process. the focus is partly on the regional capital ramadi, which has been partly occupied by rebel forces for quite a few months. there's renewed fighting there. focus on haditha further up the euphrates. but certainly the american

assessment, and they do have experts on the ground in joint operations rooms with iraqi forces, etc. their assessment is that there is no imminent threat to baghdad. the i.s. forces are not far away. probably 30, 40 kilometers, but they've been there for quite some time, and there's no sign of a big marshalling of forces for some kind of frontal assault on the gates of the capital so. the americans are trying to calm fears that are actually quite strong in baghdad itself, especially after a series of bomb attacks there quite undermining for morale in the city. there are fears. but the americans are trying to allay them. >> jim muir, who's in erbil for us. the prosecution at the sentencing hearing of oscar pistorius has recommended that the athlete serve at least ten years in jail for killing his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. in his closing arguments, state prosecutor gerrie nel said it was the minimum amount that society would be happy with. pistorius faces up to 15 years

in jail, but the judge may choose a suspended sentence or impose a fine instead. the sentencing hearing is adjourned until next tuesday. stay with us here on "bbc world news." still to come, how the humble umbrella used to fend off pepper spray during hong kong's pro-democracy protests has become the inspiration for a creative outpouring. for a love that can endure any fashion trend,

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the only fda approved, non-hormonal option. brisdelle. hello. you're with "bbc world news." i'm sally bundock. here's the latest headlines. the u.n. chief ban ki-moon has laumpbled a fresh appeal for funds to help fight ebola after a drive for donations fell far short of its target.

pacific islanders in canoes have been trying to block the world's largest coal port in a protest over global warming. their attempt to stop exports was joined by some residents of newcastle in australia's new south wales. rising sea levels have forced some islanders out of their homes and many say australia is not doing enough to curb its carbon emissions. john donison reports from sydney. >> reporter: the self-declared pacific climate warriors began their protest with a traditional haka before setting off in canoes, kayaks and even on surfboards. the aim, to block ships from enters australia's biggest coal port. police on jet skis quickly intervened. >> these are supporting destruction to the islands, so that's why we're here. we're trying to change the narrative from we are drowning,

but we are not drowning, we are fighting. >> reporter: australia exports a million tons of coal every day. a good portion of it heads out of newcastle. pacific islands threatened by rising sea levels caused by global warming say australia is not doing enough to address climate change. per head of population, this country is the world's largest producer of carbon emissions. on this occasion, the newcastle port authority says no coal ships were delayed. but australia will host the g-20 meeting in brisbane next month, and such summits have often provided platforms for protesters to air their grievances. bbc news, sydney. now, all of this week, our north american correspondent has been traveling down the so-called blues highway. he's been looking at big issues ahead of the u.s. midterm elections on the 4th of november. the final leg of his journey

takes him to new orleans to talk politics and jazz. >> reporter: our journey of five days through five states has finally brought us here to beautiful new orleans. we've been looking at five different music generres as wel. we've been lucky to be invited to the home of jazz musician ervin mayfield. >> jazz is to new orleans what oil is to the middle east. it's our natural resource. you get accustomed to oh, i hear music, band's outside, open up the door, run outside, and join the parade. >> reporter: irvin performed to raise money for barack obama's election, so how does he feel now the president's approval ratings are by many estimates the lowest they've ever been? >> barack obama did not become president of the united states by wanting to get a high grade

for a very difficult, extremely complex job. >> reporter: but what could decide which way louisiana goes is the obama factor, how people feel the president has performed over the last six years. so what do people here in new orleans think? >> i'm a professional singer and guitar player. he's maybe come through on about half of the things that i hoped he'd come through on. so he's about 50/50. i'm right in the middle. >> reporter: a lot of democratic politicians are distancing themselves from him. >> i think it's politics. they have to. i think obama would understand that they have to do that. >> reporter: but you've seen the way politics is working right now. the republicans are using the word obama almost as an insult. >> i remember back when george bush was president, and all the democrats had a blast of rolling him out through every issue that possibly could happen, the financial crisis, the war in iraq, the war in afghanistan,

you name it, hurricane katrina, bush had to wear that jacket, he had to own it. what did we expect the republicans to do? play nice? >> reporter: but the worry for democrats is disillusionment when their supporters don't go out to vote. potentially even a door open for new republican senators here in louisiana and elsewhere, and an even rougher ride for president obama. >> fantastic music, isn't it? now, let's talk about what's going on in hong kong. pro-democracy protesters there have been gth gathering again i area of the city that was cleared by police overnight. over the past few weeks, the umbrella has become the defining symbol of these demonstrations. we've been discovering how this everyday item has produced an art movement of its own.

>> reporter: in the midst of hong kong's political and civil strife, something extraordinary has taken root. the humble umbrella used to fend off the pepper spray and tear gas is now the defining symbol of these protests, has become the inspiration for a creative outpouring on an industrial scale. there's interactive art. this giant wall of post-it notes that anyone can add to is still growing in size. there's sculpture. there's installation art, like this giant tapestry made of discarded umbrellas. and then there's traditional painting. queeny chan has been documenting

the protests in ink and water color. >> i feel so happy to see some people, they use writings, some people use videos, people use photography. i'm using sketch. for me, i think it's really, really special and beautiful moment for hong kong people. >> reporter: while many hong kong residents are furious about the disruption to their lives, for the protesters, the traffic-free spaces created by their barricades are for a unique opportunity. these giant yellow characters loosely translate as come on, a sort of rousing, sporting cheer. the extraordinary thing about this art, of course, is that it is inherently temporary.

sooner or later, one way or another, this crisis will be resolved and all of it will be swept away. until then, though, hong kong's open air art galleries remain as a testament to the freedom of expression this city enjoys, which is, after all, one of the things the protesters say they're fighting to protect. john sudworth, bbc news, hong kong. >> and that's the "bbc world news." i'll see you soon. left twix® is extra crisp so it stays crunchy when we apply caramel and chocolate. >>right twix has the same thing.

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hello, and welcome to "gmt" on "bbc world news." our top stories. big promises, but little cash. the u.n. secretary-general condemns the world for failing to deliver on pledges of aid to combat west africa's ebola crisis. as ban ki-moon calls for a huge and urgent international response, some of the world's richest countries stand accused of ignoring the ebola threat. at least 29 dead, many still missing in