is assassinated while on the campaign trail. deadly and dangerous wildfires rip through hawaii, killing at least six and prompting mass evacuations. and on the ninth aniversary of the killing of michael brown, in ferguson, missouri, his family and civil rights groups reveal a new push for accountability. i'm helena humphrey, it's good to have you with us. the bbc is just now learning that ecuadorian presidential candidate fernando villavicencio has been assassinated. villavicencio, a member of the country's national assembly, was attacked after leaving a campaign event in the northern city of quito. he was also a notable anticorruption campaign.

a member of his campaign team told local media, villavicencio was about to get into a car when a man stepped forward and shot him in the head. his death was confirmed on social media by current president guillermo lasso. ecuador�*s presidential election is scheduled to take place on 20 august. wildfires are raging across the us state of hawaii. officials there say that at least six people have died and many are injured, with some in a critical condition. these are the scenes out in maui and the big island that locals are calling "apocalyptic." locals are calling "apocalyptic". the historic town of lahaina was one of the hardest hit, with reports that it's now mostly reduced to ash. crews there and across the islands are engaged in search and rescue, with evacuations under way for more than 13,000 people. but as residents try to escape, some are finding that many of the major roads are blocked and too dangerous to use. lieutenant governor sylvia luke, who's serving as acting governor, issued an emergency proclamation, saying officials are working day and night to contain the fires.

we have never anticipated in this state that a hurricane which did not impact on our islands would cause this type of wildfires, wildfires that wiped out communities, wildfires that wiped out businesses, wildfires that destroyed homes. we are learning and gathering information more and more and wejust feel so sad information more and more and we just feel so sad and just great sympathy and prayers out to the people of maui. intense winds from hurricane dora south of hawaii are helping the fires spread quickly. crews are tackling wildfires across multiple sites, but the winds have grounded firefighting helicopters. the us coast guard says it rescued 12 people who jumped into the ocean to escape the fast—moving flames. thousands are facing power outages and mobile phone service is down across maui.

hawaii's lieutenant governor says shelters are overrun and resources are stretched thin. meanwhile, us president biden has ordered all available federal assets in hawaii to help with the response. including providing us marine black hawk helicopters to fight fires on the big island. the department of transportation is working to evacuate tourists from maui by air, and the department of the interior and department of agriculture are ready to assist in post—fire recovery efforts. the president also urged all residents to follow evacuation orders. adam, thank you so much for taking the time during what must be a very stressful situation. if you could bring us up—to—date with what people are seeing on the ground. us up-to-date with what people are seeing on the ground.- are seeing on the ground. from what we have — are seeing on the ground. from what we have understood - are seeing on the ground. from what we have understood from | what we have understood from our contacts on maui and on the big island, we have confirmed six fatalities as a result of

the wildfires as well as about 40 the wildfires as well as about a0 injuries, some of whom were airlifted to hospitals in honolulu and others who were treated on maui at the hospitals there. it looks like there is widespread damage. the fire risk continues because we do continue to have high winds and low humidity and the fire control activities are still under way. in control activities are still under way-— control activities are still under wa . . , under way. in a briefing, the governor _ under way. in a briefing, the governor said _ under way. in a briefing, the governor said we _ under way. in a briefing, the governor said we are - under way. in a briefing, the governor said we are doing l governor said we are doing whatever we can. how stretched our authorities right now? what our authorities right now? what do they need? _ our authorities right now? what do they need? at _ our authorities right now? what do they need? at the _ our authorities right now? wiegt do they need? at the moment we know that there are more than 2100 people in five shelters on maui overnight. about 2000 visitors who arrived at the airport yesterday. we anticipate that in order to free up space to accommodate the folks who live in the community who have experience fire damage, we will need to

evacuate about a000 people from maui. this morning, our office, our office working with the state department of trepidation and the american red cross and others began making arrangements to set up a travel assistance centre which will be at the honolulu convention centre and we expect that would be a clearinghouse where folks who either work in hotels and have to evacuate, arrived on maui and were not able to get to their hotels, or you may live in areas they are not able to return to until they have been secured, to make sure the faithfully out, we have completed evacuation operation, that they can be placed in temporary shelters in other islands or assist them to return to other destinations. 0ur return to other destinations. our partners in the allies have added additional services and made some accommodations to bring in extra crews so they can bring in and assist with

that effort. it can bring in and assist with that effort.— that effort. it must be a terrifying _ that effort. it must be a terrifying situation. - that effort. it must be a terrifying situation. you j terrifying situation. you mention some of the high winds furtherfanning the mention some of the high winds further fanning the flames. i know in some places power has been knocked down. you are in honolulu. 0ur been knocked down. you are in honolulu. our people able to get to you, who need to evacuate? how difficult is actually evacuating people and will people be able to get on time? ~ ., a, , a, time? well, fortunately here on wahoo, we _ time? well, fortunately here on wahoo, we had _ time? well, fortunately here on wahoo, we had scattered - wahoo, we had scattered effects. there were power outages. the neighbour islands including maui have a more limited transportation system and they were significant obstacles to accessing some of the areas they needed help. the weather did not help with that. it is only this we have been able to confirm with the firefighters in maui have been able to get aerial support. it was too windy yesterday to put helicopters to do aerial water

drops. i know there was a lot of confusion, a lot of panic as people try to identify what was going on and a lot of first responders were stretched very thinly yesterday on maui. we're still trying to assess a full picture of what happened because some of the communications on maui also went down. we're working with federal partners to bring in additional resources both the communications and with boots on the ground to help bring that situation under control. of course, the fires are still of course, the fires are still burning. what do you anticipate happening in the coming days, what are you preparing for? fortunately, our partners at the national weather service tell us we should see the high winds start to reduce as we get into tonight and overnight we should return to a more normal trade wind pattern. unfortunately not seeing a lot

of evidence of rain showers in the focus. the low pressure system associated with hurricane dora brought up went up hurricane dora brought up went up to 30—a0 miles an hour and some areas recorded gusts of 80 miles an hourand some areas recorded gusts of 80 miles an hour and that combined with the very dry fuel from the dry season in hawaii created a tinderbox and it did not take much to spark these wildfires. we have seen wildfires in california, in the west coast, becoming ever more present. is it something hawaii is now going to be facing? we know there is research _ going to be facing? we know there is research suggesting | there is research suggesting that when you put additional energy into the climate system, it means you're a high—energy event become more powerful and it means dries our dryer and storms are wetter and we are concerned that we may see some changes in the storm tracks we

have typically experienced here. we're not sure if this is a normal seasonal variation or part of a pattern but clearly the extremes of climate are being felt here in the pacific. from the wine emergency management agency, thank you for taking time to be us, adam. thank you. —— talking to us. widespread devestation is also hitting portugal, where residents are reeling from wildfires that have been burning there for days. a fire that started near 0demira on saturday was pushed further into algarve by strong winds. the fires are estimated to have destroyed nearly 17,000 acres of land, that's nearly 7,000 hectares. as firefighters work to control the flames, the heat could spark new blazes. the fires come amid a ferocious heatwave with temperatures reaching over 115 degrees fahrenheit, or a6 degrees celsius this week. 0ur correspondentjenny hill is in portugal with more. scorched earth

still smouldering. the fires consumed a0 square miles of land. here, flames swept up the valley, right up to the southern town of 0deceixe. 0n the outskirts, destruction, but somehow the community itself was spared. they have been battling the fire for five days now. it's difficult, dangerous work. earlier, the authorities announced it was under control, but the fire is still burning and the winds shifting — too soon to say it's over. for those who live here, traumatic times. translation: it was horrible, there was fire everywhere - and we had to fend for ourselves. nobody was there to help us. but luckily, i had three friends who came. the firemen who were there found themselves surrounded by fire and we asked them for help, but it wasn't possible.

today they're harvesting grapes, but on monday, they were fighting to save this vineyard. they were fighting to save this vineyard. it was super—dramatic. i have never experienced a fire so close before. you could actually hear it coming as a rolling ocean. and of course, you could see it on the sky — enormous flames and lots of smoke. thanks to self—effort, we kept the fire out of this vineyard. it is perhaps too soon to assess the damage done. there is a really strong smell here. it's notjust the smoke. it is eucalyptus and pine — those are the trees which line this landscape, and they have been consumed by the fire. after three heatwaves, the ground is now extremely dry and extremely vulnerable. and with temperatures set to stay high, uneasy days lie ahead. jenny hill, bbc news, 0deceixe. leaders representing eight

countries in south america are wrapping up a two day environmental summit in the brazilian city of belaine to "prevent the amazon from reaching a point of no return". brazil's president luiz inacio lula da silva says that countries sharing the amazon rainforest will ensure that developed nations fulfill their financial pledges to combat climate change. brazil, which houses 60% of the rainforest, has called for ending deforestation by 2030. on tuesday, the leaders signed a declaration agreeing to work together to fight illegal logging, mining and organised crime. but there was no concrete date set to end deforestation as brazil's president had advocated for. since lula da silva took office at the beginning of the year, deforestation of the amazon dropped considerably, but thousands of square kilometres continue to be lost every year. the bbc�*s south america correspondent katy watson, has been following the conference from belem. we have had day one of the

summit and already the countries participating efficient a statement saying they are forming an alliance to work together and protect the environmental record and social record here in the amazon. certainly the city of belgium is enjoying being in the spotlight and it is often in brazil. —— belem. it is a bomber to the cop summit which belem will also host. lula da silva as improved the record and just how viable his promises are? i have been travelling here in the state of pariah which is the highest forestation rate in brazil. meanwhile, climate activists say the amazon deal doesn't go far enough and lacks concrete measures. a representative from the environmental lobby group, climate 0bservatory, said:

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's take a look at some other stories making news. a man who posted violent threats against us presidentjoe biden and other officials online was shot dead during an fbi rai on wednesday. agents were attempting to serve an arrest warrant at a home in utah, just hours ahead of a planned visit to the state by mr biden. the fbi has declined to give further details. american nurse alix dorsainvil and her daughter were freed on wednesday, nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped in haiti's capital. ms dorsainvil was working for a christian relief organisation when she and her daughter were taken. the us state department says it remains unclear who kidnapped the pair and why.

heavy rains on wednesday caused a norwegian dam to partially collapse, causing widespread flooding. more than 3,000 people have been evacuated as rivers in the country swell to their highest levels in 50 years. a powerplant on the glomma river was submerged by the waters and rendered inoperable. you're live with bbc news. it's been nine years since 18—year—old michael brown was fatally shot by a police officer while walking down the street with a friend in ferguson, missouri. the black, unarmed teenager's death sparked weeks of protests and marked the beginnings of the black lives matter movement. his family continues to call for accountability after a grand jury, saint louis prosecutors, and the usjustice department all declined to bring charges against the officer who killed brown. earlier, i spoke with justin hansford, a law professor and director

of the thurgood marshall civil rights center. he's representing brown's family and the family of rekia boyd, a 22—year—old unarmed black woman who was also killed by police. hansford is trying to bring their cases before an international court of law. justin hansford, thank you so much forjoining us here on the bbc. today, as you know, is the ninth anniversary of the killing of michael brown. what are your thoughts on this day with regards to michael brown and also how black americans in this country encounter police, encounter the criminal justice system was yellow well, first thanks for having me, i think nine years after mike brown was killed we have most reflect on. in my view, the uprising of 2020, after the killing of george floyd, was in many respects something that builds on the response to the killing of mike brown in 201a, so the

organising, the creation of hashtags, the use of twitter to spread the message across the country and across the world, activists on the grounds leading protests and ultimately pushing for policy change, all of that really began in earnest in 201a on august night. and so i think that legacy is something we can reflect on as a meaningful, enduring legacy of that day nine years ago. well, nine years on you are now representing the families of both michael brown and rekia boyd who have turned to international law in a bid for accountability. why did they do that? ~ , ., , that? well, we began this process. _ that? well, we began this process, actually, - that? well, we began this process, actually, even i that? well, we began this i process, actually, even back that? well, we began this - process, actually, even back in 201a with the understanding that oftentimes when you are appealing forjustice that oftentimes when you are appealing for justice from that oftentimes when you are appealing forjustice from the same people who created the injustice in the first place, you are likely to run into a

dead end. so we said that we're going transcend what is happening locally, even nationally, and take our case to the global forum as part of the acknowledge of our ancestors, people like malcolm x and others have called for this approach for many years. some people who have tried to do it, including randall robinson, charles 0akenden, some other african—american lawyers who are my heroes, so for me it was an honour and a privilege to nine years later continue the tradition and is we let the entire world know we are not going to give up our fight forjustice. find are not going to give up our fight forjustice. fight for 'ustice. and through that fight forjustice. and through that mechanism, _ fight forjustice. and through that mechanism, that - fight forjustice. and through that mechanism, that legal. that mechanism, that legal mechanism with families, what would accountability look like? for the families oftentimes there is a case to reopen the case, for both these cases, the mike brown case and the rekia boyd case, these police

services were not held accountable, so there is a call for accountability but also both families have over the past nine years experience a number of mental health issues that are inevitable when someone who is part of your family is killed by the government and you don't have accurate redress. so there is a call for the provision of mental health services to be given to these families, oftentimes by the government, so that they can begin to put their life back together and move forward to try to make sure that we have not only accountability, but also healing that takes place in these communities. in healing that takes place in these communities.- healing that takes place in these communities. in the years since the killing _ these communities. in the years since the killing of _ these communities. in the years since the killing of michael - since the killing of michael brown we have seen the killing of viana tahlia, george floyd, you have touched on protest rocks right across the world, we have had conversations, yet at the same time in this country black americans are killed by police at more than twice the rate of white americans —— breonna taylor. i5

americans —— breonna taylor. i3 anything changing? 0ver americans —— breonna taylor. i3 anything changing? over the past nine years i have to see that we have not seen the major change when it comes to the rate of violence and killing against black americans, remember it is not only killing but everyday violence that is an epidemic. so i can imagine one yearfrom now an epidemic. so i can imagine one year from now when we have the ten year anniversary there is going to be a great deal of conversation about the progress or lack thereof on the merits. but i do want to say that we have seen a change in our culture and that cultural change, the way that celebrities and artists, and people around the world think about racialjustice and police violence, there has been a shift and a lot of that as a result of the organising that took place at the beginning of 9 august, 201a, which trayvon martin was killed there before, but this was the time when people took to the streets en masse, used twitter and social media for process organising in

a way that we have never seen before, live streaming, and ultimately staying in history is almost 300 days straight after the killing of mike brown in august of 201a. so there were a number of historic things that took place that we do remember on this day. you talk about _ do remember on this day. you talk about some _ do remember on this day. you talk about some of _ do remember on this day. you talk about some of that cultural shift that we have seen, but going beyond that, meaningful change in both policing, the criminaljustice system, what would that look like to you?— like to you? well, to me i think meaningful - like to you? well, to me i think meaningful change | like to you? well, to me i i think meaningful change will include a number of reforms that would allow us to make sure police officers are held accountable and it also would include a redirection of resources away from beefing up police when we see challenges to our public safety mechanisms and redirecting funds to other methods of creating public safety, things like building more safe spaces and public

spaces for communities to gather, finding things for students in school to do after school, all of these different approaches are ones that we have not tried as of yet. so there is a lot of room for creativity. there is a lot of room for creativity-— there is a lot of room for creativi . ., , ., creativity. ultimately, what would you _ creativity. ultimately, what would you say _ creativity. ultimately, what would you say on _ creativity. ultimately, what would you say on this - creativity. ultimately, what would you say on this day l creativity. ultimately, what| would you say on this day is the legacy of michael brown? the legacy of michael brown is, i think, yet to be fully determined. nine years later we know that the world did forever change, notjust for black change, not just for black americans, change, notjust for black americans, but for people around the world's americans, but for people around the worlds in terms of the recreation of brand—new platforms, working in the international platform we've got international un mechanisms and police violence they did not exist before. you've got people like myself who were exploring new ways to use the justice system, activists, organisers, people thinking about black lives matter in a way they did not think about on

august 201a. so he changed the landscape of how the voice of the people was amplified all around the world's the people was amplified all around the worlds and that's a great legacy to have in and of itself. in hope one day we go to a place where we can say that his legacy is the end of police brutality and the creation of safer communities for people, notjust in the united states, but for people around the world who are facing racist police violence. but we are not yet as of yet.- are not yet as of yet. you so much for — are not yet as of yet. you so much for being _ are not yet as of yet. you so much for being with - are not yet as of yet. you so much for being with us - are not yet as of yet. you so much for being with us on i much for being with us on bbc news. �* ., ., news. all right, thanks for havint news. all right, thanks for having me- _ turning now to the ongoing migrant crisis in europe, and yet another tragedy. it's emerged today that some a1 migrants died in last week's shipwreck off the italian island of lampedusa. 0ur sofia bettiza sent in this report from rome. this is another tragedy in the mediterranean sea. there were only four survivors, two men and a woman in their 20s and a 13—year—old boy. they told rescuers that they were on a

boat that was carrying a5 people, including three children. they described it as a very small metal boat, about seven metres long, and they said after only a few hours at sea the boat capsized and sank, apparently because of a big wave that threw everybody on board into the water. the survivors said that only 15 people were wearing life jackets. and according to the red cross, they said that they survived by hanging onto life jackets and other inflatable rubber devices. they then found another empty boat at sea and they got onto that boat and managed to survive for several days without food or water. they were finally rescued by a cargo ship and brought to lampedusa on wednesday. now, migrant arrivals in italy have gone up. this year nearly 9a,000 people have reached

italy so far by a. this is by far the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world and that's because, according to the un, since 201a more than 17,000 people died or disappeared in the central mediterranean trying to get to europe in search for a better life. you are watching bbc news. i'm helena humphrey in washington, dc. rememberyou helena humphrey in washington, dc. remember you can noise get plenty more news, features, and analysis on our website, bbc .com. thank as everfor your company. when used at the top of the hour. i will see you then. goodbye for now. —— more news at the top of the hour. hello there. heatwave conditions across the globe have been dominating weather headlines in recent weeks. and this week, we saw a return

to heat across iberia. on wednesday afternoon in southern spain, we saw a high of aa degrees, 111 fahrenheit. we are tapping into some of that warmth across the uk — not as extreme. it was a pleasant day on wednesday. thursday, it will be warmer still, with temperatures perhaps peaking at 27, possibly 28 degrees. that's 82 fahrenheit. but widespread warmth is expected generally across the country, and that's because we've got high pressure with us for another day. however, this frontal system is going to start to push in late on thursday. a beautiful start, lots of blue sky, lots of sunshine coming through. little bit of cloud and mist and murk down to the south—west may linger first thing, a little more cloud into northern ireland and southern scotland as we go through the day. but on the whole, with light winds and a warm, muggy start, those temperatures will respond widely into the mid—20s, possibly, as i say, as high as 27 or 28 degrees. but that cold front is expected to arrive during thursday evening, pushing into northern ireland, and then it will really start to pep up as it moves its way across scotland. it'll be quite light and patchy through central and south—eastern england. a band of cloud through the night, but the rain, the brighter colours denoting the intensity, will be sitting in scotland first thing on friday morning. with the cloud, the wind and the rain and still that

southerly breeze, it's going to be a muggy, sticky start, really, to friday. some of that rain will take its time to clear as well in scotland, clinging onto the northern isles with a stronger breeze here. but elsewhere, with a light south—westerly wind starting to pick up through the day, it's a case of sunny spells and blustery showers, the showers few and far between. most of us will continue to see sunshine and, again, some warmth, temperatures widely into the mid—20s. now, as we move out of friday into the start of the weekend, we see a return to low pressure once again. closest to the low, that's where we're likely to see the wettest of the weather and the strongest of the winds once again. it's not going to be quite as severe as the weekends just past. and in fact, parts of england and wales should stay largely fine and dry, but a noticeable drop in the feel of the weather, with the risk of some showers the further north and west you are. take care.

the us unveils its longs awaited order limiting certain american investments in china's tech sector. and we look at how sri lanka's economy is making a come back thanks to its tourism industry. hi there. welcome to asia business report. 0ur hi there. welcome to asia business report. our top story for you this morning. us presidentjoe biden has slapped new restrictions on american investments in chinese hi—tech sector. the long awaited executive order targets industries like semi—conductors and artificial intelligence. it's expected to come into effect next year, and bay ginning said it was concerned about the move. michelle fleury has more. this is a new front in the tech war between two global superpowers — the restrictions prevent american private equity and venture capital firms from investing in hi—tech sectors in

china, such