welcome to bbc news, my name's mike embley. our top stories: bolivia calls for co—operation to fight the wildfires raging through the amazon rainforest. but indigenous people across the region fear for the future. women who say they were sexually abused by the american financier jeffrey epstein tell a court they're angry he died in prison and avoided justice. another leading pharmaceutical company is saying it will pay out over the opioid scandal in the us with an offer of up to $12 billion. a new deadline for italy's political parties. they're to report to the president on wednesday — but an early election is still possible.

bolivia's president has welcomed what he called the "small" offer of financial aid, this is bbc news, the headlines: from the g7 group of world leaders, to help fight the fires bolivia's president has welcomed what he called the small in the amazon. offer of financial aid, brazil's president jair bolsonaro from the g7 group of world leaders, to help fight the fires in the amazon. has said he will not accept aid brazil's president has said he won't accept aid unless the french president unless the french president withdraws remarks jair bolsonaro has withdraws remarks mr bolsonaro has taken as insults. taken as insults. rainforest stretches across several south american countries, including a succession of women have voiced anger and defiance in a manhattan courtroom — telling their stories of sexual bolivia and brazil. abuse by the late financier — jeffrey epstein. one woman said he had shown the world what a depraved and cowardly human being satellite data suggests the fires — mostly in the amazon region — he was by taking his own life. are still burning at levels beyond what would be expected at this time of year. purdue pharma, the us pharmaceutical sophie long is in the brazilian city of altamira. the heart of the amazon, giant that makes the opioid the world's lungs on fire. a chorus of condemnation echoed around the world and this ecological disaster became oxycontin, is reported to be offering between ten and 12 billion a global political issue. dollars to settle thousands of lawsuits against it. it follows a judge—ordered payout

brazil's president didn't strike from johnson and johnson — for their part in the opioid crisis. the match that lit these flames but many say given his policies and his response to the crisis, he might as well have. we're just passing over an area of rainforest that is still burning. now on bbc news, hardtalk. my guide tells me it's farmland but it's very close to indigenous land — home to wildlife and also a tribe of people that has almost no contact with the outside world. it means they also have almost no means by which to put out the fires that are raging towards them. the fate of many amazonian people now lies in the government's hands. so, what is the greatest threat to the land where your community live? in the forest on the banks of the xingu river, kumaripa xipaya tells me it's brazil's leaders. translation: one of the biggest threats my people face today is our government. they are trying to destroy the amazon, to exterminate our people. they are the people trying to destroy our country and the amazon. but president bolsonaro seems more concerned with brazil's sovereignty.

he's accused the french president of treating brazil like a colony. today, as their diplomatic spat continued, jair bolsonaro said he might accept international assistance if president macron withdraws his insults. some blame for the blazes has been directed at farmers who want to raze the forest for their crops and cattle, but adelardo cover and his daughter, who've worked the land here for more than three decades, tell me farmers are not to blame and nor is their president. translation: it's people acting illegally who want to claim the forest. farmers who own registered land don't burn and they don't deforest. we have to leave promptly — the community here are angry about the way their country and there president are being portrayed. —— their president. a group of indigenous leaders say the fires are just one of many threats to the amazon. one spoke anonymously because he fears for his life.

he says his community have been threatened. if they don't leave their land by wednesday, they'll be killed. while miners and loggers continue to encroach on the scorched earth of the amazon, president bolsonaro says he will re—evaluate the laws surrounding indigenous lands, in order to increase productivity. meanwhile, the largest rainforest on the planet continues to smoulder. sophie long, bbc news. altamira in the amazon. live now to washington dc and anna prusa, an associate of the brazil institute, at the wilson center. anna, i know you are working on a report on climate change and sustainability in brazil. how serious do you feel this crisis is? the brazilian president says the satellite data may suggest it is not as bad as internationally it is being painted? yes. my perception is that the satellite data is valid.

brazil has been using this data for yea rs brazil has been using this data for years and the brazilian government itself and international communities as well have relied on it. so i think the satellite data is not the question. the question is what is brazil going to do. arguing over maybe five or 10% discrepancies, there is still a real problem with deforestation and the fires that are currently ongoing in the amazon region. who do you say is at fault for this? we have talked about loggers, big resinous interests, and farmers as a whole. there is a real difference, though, between small farmers and big farmers? yes, they certainly is a different and i think it is important to stress that brazil is undergoing a period, a

prolonged period, of economic trouble. so you do have a large number of people in the amazon region, smallholderfarmers, who are looking for ways to make a living. and when you are in the amazon, one of the very few routs available, many people feel, is to clear the land. and to graze cattle. we have seen a dramatic increase in deforestation over the last six or seven deforestation over the last six or seve n years deforestation over the last six or seven years and this coincides pretty neatly with the brazilian economy's difficulties. was ill of course has a strong economy's difficulties. was ill of course has a strong sense economy's difficulties. was ill of course has a strong sense of national identity. why shouldn't it? —— brazil, of course, has a strong sense of national identity. the reaction may have been counter—productive? reaction may have been counter-productive? yes, brazil has the capacity to tackle this issue. it did so in the two deforestation dropped to the lowest in decades in 2012. what we have seen in more recent yea rs 2012. what we have seen in more recent years is a backsliding. but that shouldn't negate the fact that brazil has capacity to protect its own territory. i think when you are looking at what the international

community can do, certainly attention and pressure to make sure the government is focusing on this issue,is the government is focusing on this issue, is important. but it is also important to respect brazil's national sovereignty and to find ways to work with the government. both the federal government as well as the local and state governments, to come up with a solution. and realistically, what do you think are the chances of something being done? bolivia's president has a point when he points out the millions coming from the g7 is not actually that much, relatively speaking. yes. $20 million isn't much, every bit helps. especially when you are looking at that $20 million coming out as cash but rather as equipment, as our planes. we are seeing widespread forest fires across the amazon region and so equipment that can help brazil and the other countries cover more ground and do more with the resources that they already have, could actually make a difference. anna, thank you very

much indeed. my pleasure. so many people are concerned about this of course. and you can head to our website for more on this story, including more on the spat between the two presidents and answers to ten of the most common questions people are asking about the impact of the fires. just head to bbc.com/news. more than a dozen women who claim they were sexually abused by the disgraced american financier, jeffrey epstein, have told a court in manhattan how angry they are that he died in prison and avoided justice. after the hearing, one of the women who has alleged she was forced to have sex with prince andrew, called on him to "come clean" about what he has done. the prince has strenuously denied any form of sexual misconduct. chris buckler reports. jeffrey epstein's victims came to court to be seen and, most importantly, heard. they once expected to be able to face the man who abused them. his death robbed them of that opportunity, but they told in graphic and upsetting detail the truth and impact of epstein's crimes.

before i knew what was happening, he grabbed onto my wrist and tugged me towards the bed. i tried to pull away but he was unbuttoning my shorts and pulling my body onto his already naked body faster than i could think. i was searching for words but all i could say was a meek "no, please, stop", but that just seemed to excite him more. he continued to rape me and when he was finished, hopped off and went to the shower. i pulled my shorts up and i ran as fast as i could back to my own villa, my feet bloody from the rocks. i cried myself to sleep that night. i want to thank the judge for letting us speak. having some closure. it's still going to be a rough road but i also wanted to thank all the survivors that had reached out to me as well and telling me their stories. inside court, many of the women asked for their real names not to be used but they became emotional and some broke down in tears as they talked about the crimes that they suffered at the hands ofjeffrey epstein.

they talked about being abused, exploited and manipulated by a man who they described as a complex villain. epstein was accused of being a coward for taking his own life rather than face justice, but his lawyers said they had significant doubts about his death inside a jail in manhattan. they claimed his injuries were more consistent with an assault and they raised concerns about video footage from a corridor outside his cell in the prison. when they went to examine it, it was corrupted and couldn't be viewed. whether it was a suicide or murder does not end the case, does not end their fight forjustice. it does not end their feeling that they were manipulated and victimised. and that they were child victims. of mr epstein. so today they spoke truth to power, they spoke truth to what happened to them. but questions remain for those who were once among epstein's famous friends, including donald trump

and the duke of york. he has categorically denied allegations he had sex with a girl exploited by epstein. virginia roberts giuffre who has made accusations was at court. he knows exactly what he has done and i hope he comes clean about it. thank you. many victims are pursuing civil cases. even if this criminal case is at an end. he may be dead but today is unlikely to be the last day they speak ofjeffrey epstein and his crimes. chris buckler, bbc news, new york. let's get some of the day's other news. a federaljudge has blocked the state of missouri from enforcing a law banning abortion after eight weeks. the law was due to come into force on wednesday. there were similar rulings, affecting arkansas and ohio, earlier this year. here in the uk, opposition parties have agreed they will work together

to try to pass legislation to stop a no—deal brexit. the labour party leader, jeremy corbyn, says members of parliament will take the first steps next week, in an attempt to force prime minister borisjohnson to ask the european union for a further delay in the uk's departure. bury football club have been expelled by the english football league after a takeover bid collapsed. the club, which is 134 years old, is the first team to drop out of the efl since maidstone in 1992. the league has granted a 14—day extension to the former premier league side bolton wanderers, in the hope they can sort out a takeover. talks to form a new government in italy have resumed now populist and centre—left leaders have agreed that giuseppe conte should stay on as prime minister. italy's president has given the five star movement and the democratic party until wednesday to reach a deal and avoid a snap election. ramzan karmali reports. for many italians, this has become an all—too—familiar scene. all

additions engaging in more emergency talks with the pill —— president but this time hope is close. translation: we are going on and working to give italy a new government. a turning point government. a turning point government that cares for the environment, for employment, for research and the common good of our country. italy public prime minister, giuseppe conte, resigned in dramatic fashion last week after mattie o salvi ne, the leader of the nationalist league party, tabled a no confidence motion against him. —— matteo salvini. he had been with the 5—star movement forfour matteo salvini. he had been with the 5—star movement for four months when he effectively ended the coalition, say he could no longer work with his partners. the five star movement then turn to the opposition democratic party in an attempt to a new government but there talks stalled and only resumed after it was agreed that giuseppe conte should resume —— remain as primitive. there are more sticking

points. five star movement wants to cut the number of parliamentarians. the two parties also are expected to have differences over next year's budget. and the centre—left democratic party are looking to roll back some of the league spent —— sponsored immigration. with mr matteo salvini's nationalists eyeing 50 after the league's strong showing in the elections. an unusual message of support from donald trump who tweeted that the prime minister was a talented man and if a new coalition deal was agreed before wednesday, matteo salvini's move to tighten his grip on power will have failed for now. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: tough new rules on selling baby elephants to zoos, but will they help protect one of africa's most endangered species? he's the first african—american

to win the presidential nomination of a major party, and he accepts exactly 45 years ago to the day that martin luther king declared, "i have a dream." as darkness falls, an unfamiliar light will appear in the south—eastern sky. an orange glowing disc that's brighter than anything save the moon — our neighbouring planet mars. horn to0ts there is no doubt that this election is an important milestone in the birth of east timor as the world's newest nation. it will take months and billions of dollars to repair what katrina achieved injust hours. three weeks is the longest the great clock has been off duty in 117 years. so it was with great satisfaction that clockmakerjohn vernon swung the pendulum to set the clock going again. big ben bongs

welcome back. good to have you with us. this is bbc news. the latest headlines: bolivia's president has welcomed what he called the ‘small‘ offer of financial aid from the g7 group of world leaders to help fight the fires in the amazon. women who say they were sexually abused by american financier jeffrey epstein tell a court they're angry he died in prison and avoided justice. purdue pharma, the opioid drug—maker owned by the billionaire sackler family, is reported to be offering between ten and 12 billion dollars ——family, is reported to be offering between $10—12 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits against it. in march, purdue settled out of court with the state of oklahoma, and yesterday a judge ordered the drugmakerjohnson & johnson to pay $572 million for its part in fuelling oklahoma's opioid addiction crisis. in a statement purdue pharma said: "it had made clear that it sees

little good coming from years of wasteful litigation and appeals. purdue believes a constructive global resolution is the best path forward, and the company is actively working with the state attorneys general and other plaintiffs to achieve this outcome." harry nelson is a healthcare attorney. he is the author of the united states of opioids: a prescription for liberating a nation in pain. good to talk to you. purdue pharma has already settled out of court with oklahoma. to expect this deal to go ahead? no, they would describe the offer today by purdue pharma and the offer today by purdue pharma and the family is kind of a first shot over the bow of a global settlement. they don't expect that the final deal, if there is one reads, will look anything like this one. what you expected to look like? purdue pharma try to put out its best foot forward in a way that signalled that

the family will no longer have a role in the company, that the family will be putting money in. but i think the numbers are much lower than what the plaintiff attorneys are looking for. the numbers i've heard cited as the family owned company could easily be 5—10 times what purdue pharma actually said today. even if it is much more money, what is the point, aside from holding the company responsible, willis actually help the people still in the grip of this crisis? —— will it actually. the cost of actually addressing the harm caused in the opioid crisis is roughly half $1 trillion. another 10— 12 billion would be literally a drop in the bucket. about 2% of what we need globally to solve the crisis. there isa globally to solve the crisis. there is a lot more work ahead and a lot more money needed to stop the tide

of overdose drug debts, to treat the people who are dead, and to actually address prevention and prevent this crisis from getting worse and worse —— death. crisis from getting worse and worse -- death. you make the point in your writing that the drug companies lit the fuse under all this, but many other parties are actually responsible. yeah, think that is a very important point. use that analogy that the drug companies may have struck the match, but they needed to find fuel to burn and when you look at the multiple points of system failure that led to this crisis, the drug companies may be the worst actor, but they are far from alone with responsibility. and we need to look at federal agencies, like the da and the fda, that were just asleep at the wheel. we need to look at the complicated way in which physicians are limited with the amount of time they get to spend with patients in the us insurance system, which leads us to prefer

medications. and we need to look at the culture in the united states which makes americans the biggest consumers in the world of narcotic pain medications, are more than any other country. harry nelson very interesting to talk to you. thank you very much. thanks for having me. residents on the caribbean island of puerto rico are bracing for tropical storm dorian, expected to make landfall wednesday. a state of emergency was declared on monday, and shelters have been prepared for anyone in need. the us national weather service has warned of heavy winds and the risk of flooding as the storm passes overhead. authorities on the us territory say they are now better prepared for the storm after thousands died in 2017 after back—to—back hurricanes. translation: obviously our recommendation is for you to listen carefully to instructions and calmly activate your emergency plans. puerto rico has been through worse situations. a trust in the people of puerto rico, we are ready, we are going forward, we are going to wait and see how this emergency unfolds.

where much better educated to the needs needs you may have during this event. well, residents have been speaking to the media about how they are preparing for the storm. translation: water and the necessities in case this thing comes and hits us so it doesn't catch us without anything. i didn't prepare for maria, but this time, for this, in preparing. translationz, well in preparing. translation:, well they say the storm is pretty close, so in this way i get ready and if it doesn't come, even better. lets get an update on the weather in the region then — here's the bbc‘s phil avery. in recent days we have been watching developments close by to the eastern side of the caribbean. this mass of cloud was initially just side of the caribbean. this mass of cloud was initiallyjust a group of showers, but with time a little circulation developed and it became a tropical depression. as the winds it has now been designated as a tropical storm. this is tropical storm dorian. it has already affected islands in the eastern caribbean, st lucia and barbados, for example. and in the next 2a

hours we expected to continue as journey to the west north—west at about 20 kilometres per hour, initially affecting puerto rico, as we move from wednesday on into thursday, so will bring that combination of wet and windy weather closer by to this manual. so initially we have concerns about her concerns on puerto rico. there will be this combination of wet and windy weather, up to six inches of rain, around 150 millimetres of rain. some of the wind just getting up to 120 kilometres per hour. it may be categorised as a weak hurricane. we will keep you posted on all of that. a near—total ban on taking baby african elephants from the wild and selling them to zoos has been approved at a meeting in geneva. parties to the convention on international trade in endangered species decided to tighten the rules after days of debate. the decision significantly strengthens the restrictions on the elephant trade as the bbc‘s tim allman reports.

they are the most majestic of animals. but the african elephant is animals. but the african elephant is an endangered species. there are, by some estimates, only a few hundred thousand of them left in the wild. so, from now on, it will be prohibited to sell baby elephants to zoos around the world. about time, to, according to leading conservation groups. if you imagine what happens when a young elephant is taken away from its family in the wild, shipped to a foreign country to live in an alien environment for the rest of his life, i think most people now agree that that's inappropriate. most, but not everyone. zimbabwe, their will‘s biggest exporter, voted against the move, as did the united states. the european union only came on board late in the day, after reassurances elephants will be allowed to move

from one zoo to the other. this definitely is a win. attempts to try to keep elephants in africa where they belong are still there. we are disappointed that there was a compromise, which may provide loopholes, and we need to just be vigilant about that. the sale of some baby elephants will be allowed under exceptional circumstances and only with international approval. so not a complete ban. but this has been described as a significant victory in the fight to save the african elephant. tim allman, bbc news. staying with a slightly similar theme, let us bring your pictures from paris were zookeepers have had to come up with some pretty novel ways to keep animals call in the very hot summer months in the french capital. frozen sliced cucumbers and ice cubes packed with hazelnuts were on the menu. he seemed to be pretty

popular. we felt we should show you this. when you're focused on the camera it's easy to lose track of other things happening around you. that's the lesson learned by russian sports journalist evgeniy evenvich — who was reporting on a football match. he later told the pa news agency that because he was live on air he felt he needed to keep talking no matter what. what a pro. that may news again, bolivia has called for cooperation to fight the wildfires raging through the amazon rainforest. the president said the contribution of several million dollars from the g7 group of world leaders is small, as indeed it is, relatively. the brazilian president are still saying he won't accept any aid because he feels that other world leaders have been colonialist in their attitudes

towards brazil. but he may, if the french president apologises for what he sees as insults. there will be more on all that to come and at any time on the bbc website. thank you for watching. hello, once again. it's time we got you right up—to—date with how we see the rest of the week developing right across the british isles, and the rest of the week is certainly going to be marked by quite a considerable change for some parts, in that it will be cooler, wetter and windier and, for that change, we have to thank a frontal system which has been lurking away towards the north—western quarter of the british isles in recent days. itjust hasn't managed to get across the british isles simply because of the presence of the high pressure that has brought the heat from the continent, particularly to easter areas. but wednesday sees this weather front producing some really quite heavy bursts of rain across the southwest, through wales, and then to the midlands, on towards the north—east of england, during the latter part of the afternoon. and there the temperature profile — no more the 33, it's closer to 23 or 2a as a high, and cooler than that across northern and western parts, where at least

there will be a bright end to the day. but come thursday, we'll be looking again towards the atlantic to see progress of more atlantic weather fronts into northern and western parts of the british isles. so it's wet and windy fare for the western side of scotland, through to northern ireland, too. generally speaking, quite a bit of cloud across england and wales, but a lot of dry weather. and again, that temperatures just about pushing to 23 or 2a at best, on notable south—westerly breeze. from thursday on into friday, we're just going to follow the line of the front back into the atlantic. a little ripple in that weather front thickens the cloud, and eventually another pulse of pretty wet weather gets into the western part of scotland, initially, then right across scotland, through northern ireland, into the northern parts of england and maybe just flirting with the north—western quarter of wales. again, thanks to the influence of a bit of a high—pressure, the south should be that wee bit drier. friday on towards the weekend, we've still got that same weather frontjust weaving its way across the british isles but, once that front has made its way down and across us, notice how those colours really begin to drain away, and here we are into the yellow hues, with a touch of blue there, creeping into northern and western parts of the british isles. a taste of autumn, dare i say it, just in time for the meteorological

start of autumn on sunday. so saturday sees the progression of that weather front ever further towards the south — slow progress there. so south—eastern parts may well stay dry for a good part of the day. but once the weather front completes its journey, then we're into a north north—westerly flow, hence that chillier feel right across the piste, and it will be a day marked by sunny spells and showers and, 00:28:18,601 --> 2147483051:50:54,015 as i say, meteorological autumn 2147483051:50:54,015 --> 4294966103:13:29,430 arrives with a bang.