welcome to newsday, reporting live from singapore, i'm monica miller. the headlines. after 1a hours stranded in a cable car dangling above a river in pakistan, all eight people on board are rescued. the brics summit begins injohannesburg — vladimir putin addresses the meeting virtually because of an international warrant for his arrest. the bodies of 18 people presumed to have been migrants are found in a forest in greece, where wildfires have been burning for days. days after russia's failed mission, india hopes to become the first nation to reach the lunar south pole.

it's newsday. welcome to the programme. it's 8am in singapore, and 5am in islamabad. there is relief across pakistan. six children and two adults who got stuck in a cable car above a ravine in the north—west of the country are rescued. the group was left dangling hundreds of feet in the air for more than 1a hours after a cable snapped. the military tried to reach them, first with helicopters, then with zip wires. huge crowds gathered to watch the rescue attempts. our pakistan correspondent caroline davies has the story. shouting. through the darkness and forest, the sight the crowds had been hoping, waiting and praying for — strapped to the cable, the final rescue, waiting arms and shouts of "god is great."

15 hours earlier, the children were taking the cable car to school when a cable snapped. makeshift cable cars are common in the rural mountains of pakistan, taking minutes over ravines while roads take hours. at first, army helicopters couldn't rescue them, buffeted by winds, scared the downwash from the blades could make the situation worse. on the ground, frustration. this man said that his brother and son were inside the car. translation: doesn't - the government have enough resources to save the lives of these innocent children? if the government is so helpless, then it should seek help from another country. local tv managed to speak to one man inside the cable car, rising panic before his phone died. translation: i don't know how to make a request, but it's - a matter of human lives.

as you can imagine, the authorities should rescue all of us as soon as possible. officials tried to reassure the growing crowds. translation: now a special unit is coming, the local rescue - team are already on standby. we are trying but really don't want to take any chances here. with the crowds watching this rescue, a rope from the helicopter, a leap and swept to safety. then things became more complicated as the light went, the helicopters left. instead, locals and rescue officials used pulleys and zip lines, dragging themselves along wires as the night set in, dark strong winds, hundreds of feet in the air, but determined to reach that was stranded. but determined to reach those stranded. slowly and steadily saving all of them. some appeared stunned, landing in the crowd, a journey

to school near tragedy, now followed by people around the world, and relief at their safe return. caroline davies, bbc news, pakistan. xijinping arrived in pretoria for talks with his dapper african counterpart they will ram a poster. it is for a trip to south africa. —— is south african counterpart. president putin has addressed a summit of the brics group mr putin didn't travel

tojohannesburg, where the summit is taking place, but rather attended remotely, due to a threat of arrest for alleged war crimes. these four economies had high potential for growth, all with large populations, but completely different political systems, but the term brics stock, and had theirfirst official meeting in 2009 in russia. a year later south africa joined. russia. a year later south africajoined. it russia. a year later south africa joined. it has emerged as a diplomatic arrival to the g7 group of nations dominated by western democracies. i asked dr roselyn shay from temple university what she thinks the leaders will focus on over the next three days. you know, they are meeting for the next three days. during this time of geoeconomics and geopolitical climate, there is a lot of hype about the meeting. india, some of the top newspapers are very recentlyjust live updating on the whereabouts

of the prime minister, so this is an important meeting for the top leaders, and in many ways, the people around the world are talking about potentially and an international coalition between these countries. in reality, i think these countries with their own interests, dealing with their own domestic issues and different types of global pressures around them, are going to be quite satisfied if they could have some good economic outcomes that come out of this summit. south africa being the host this year, and the smallest economy, will be hopeful of having some economic trade outcomes and potentially more investment into the country. china and india have security concerns with each other, but they would hope also

to have that investment in economic achievement out of the meeting and if the countries could convince russia to allow ukraine to continue to export grain through the black sea grain deal, those are some of the good outcomes that would come out of this summit. japan announced it will begin releasing treated radioactive water from the fukushima nuclear plant into the pacific ocean on thursday. one billion tonnes of water have accumulated in the plant since it was stopped by a —— since it was stopped by a —— since it was hit by a tsunami in 2013. china has urged its neighbours to revoke the decision saying it would harm all mankind.

18 people presumed to have been migrants have been killed in a forest fire in greece, according to local authorities. their bodies were found in dadia forest near the turkish border. work is under way to identify the corpses which were found in two groups. a coroner and investigation team are heading to the scene. a popular migrant route runs through the region. wild lion had been raging in the area since saturday. 65 patients were evacuated from a hospital nearby. —— wildfires have been raging in the area since saturday. emergency workers are tackling several other fires in greece. workers are tackling several otherfires in greece. high winds and temperatures are making the situation much more dangerous. orla guerin reports. it is an inferno and it's leaving little in its wake. firemen have been battling the flames night and day, but the wildfires are spreading.

they've come bearing down on avantas, a village where local people are counting their losses. translation: it has reached the entire village, _ our own house up there, where the fire started, has completely burned down. there is nothing. fire, only fire, that's what we could see. the wind was so strong. high winds and soaring temperatures have created a perfect storm, and beneath the smoke, a terrible discovery in the forest — charred bodies of those who may have been seeking a better life. so far, they are unnamed, their stories unknown. translation: in the wildfire of alexandroupolis, - in an on—site inspection by the fire department in the wider area of avantas, 18 bodies were found near a shack. the authorities believe the dead may have been migrants or refugees who entered greece

illegally and were hiding out near a national park. there is a well trodden route here for those who cross over from neighbouring turkey, desperate to reach european soil. many who call this area home will have nothing left to come back to. this is an increasingly familiar picture in parts of europe, a postcard from summer in our time. wildfires are not new in greece, but scientists warn they are worsening with climate change. so, in avantas, the bells toll a warning — residents must go while they still can. around 1,000 wildfires continue to burn across canada in the country's worst wildfire season on record. no deaths have been reported

but smoke blanketing the region has prompted air quality warnings. troops have been deployed to fight blazes in parts of the country that cover an area the size of greece. 50,000 people have been evacuated. our correspondent wyre davies is in kelowna and sent this update. thankfully, the sun has come out in the last few hours for the first time in several days. and that is critical because that means the local authorities can send up helicopters and planes to look at the ground and look at the seats of these many hundreds of fires, fires which blanketed the hill behind me for several days and for ever since then, we've had this thick blanket of smoke which has choked the environment. the winds have blown more fires. embers have blown across the lake and started fires on this side of the lake. 30,000 people have had to be evacuated and 27,000 people still are at risk of evacuation. there are about 1,000 wildfires in parts of canada this year. that's more than ever before.

and many of those are in the west of the country, in the province of british columbia, where we are now. so the worst is probably over. but this for this fire at least, the authorities are warning that these conditions, these hot, windy conditions, are still to be to be feared. and most of those people who have been evacuated have not been allowed back here yet. i know there was one road really that was taking people in and out of that region. thousands of people had to be evacuated by airlift. what is the status of their situation now? well, people are wary about coming back. many people live in forested, wooded areas. they know that the woods are tinder dry. there have been unseasonable weather conditions. so people want guarantees about the future. but these forest fires have been unprecedented. and this is in a region, a part of the world which is well used to forest fires in the summer, but more this year than ever before. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news.

bbc news bringing you different stories from across the uk. i can't sit still for five minutes and in some ways that's probably hurt me over the years. i was feeling breathless. i kept on getting arm pains and i had a few angina attacks. i ended up going to the royal perth hospital and they came back and said, we really can't do much with your stents, you're really going to have to go on the list for a bypass. two or three days later, the consultant phoned me and said, do you want to try this new procedure that lasers them open? what they do, they put a pipe up there with a laser. obviously a minute laser that goes in through your artery and it lasers the plaque and it goes to nothing. i thank them so much. they've given me my life back. for more stories from across the uk,

head to the bbc news website. you're live with bbc news. defence officials in ukraine have described claims of corruption within its army recruitment as "shameful and unacceptable". it comes after president zelensky recently fired every regional recruitment head after officials were accused of intimidation and taking bribes. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse reports. "it's ok to be scared." this is the latest messaging campaign from ukraine's military. it wants people to give their details so they can be called on if needed. but what if they don't want to? translation: the system is very outdated. _ yehor — not his real name — is one of them. he's not happy with how the army finds its soldiers. translation: it's

like soviet times. | recruiters using these methods now is unacceptable. mobilisation is why most men under 60 can't leave ukraine. here, drafting officers raid an arcade in the kyiv region. they hand out notices ordering them to sign up. russia's invasion means ukraine is constantly trying to replace soldiers. but with tens of thousands killed and even more injured or exhausted, the demand is not being met with just volunteers. but there are big questions over how it calls men up — with officials being accused of intimidation, and helping some escape the country for cash. there are exemptions, including poor health — but not forjust not wanting to fight. yehor watched his father suffer with mental—health issues after serving in afghanistan with the soviet army. translation: each |

situation is individual. the fact it's written in the constitution that all male citizens must fight is, in my opinion, not in line with today's values. thousands of men try to avoid the draft — either through tip—offs or leaving the country illegally — unless they're caught. "good evening. where are you going?" said this border guard. ukrainian defence officials are usually easier to engage with. this is clearly a sensitive subject. we've been refused interviews, access with drafting officers. so we're going to go to them. at the unveiling of the defence ministry's latest information campaign, an admission of problems which need fixing. i understand that people will be afraid of fighting on the front line, but i put it to you that they're also afraid of a recruitment system that's been accused of corruption, of not always following the law. do you understand why people

don't trust the system? translation: corruptionj in the recruitment centres is unacceptable and shameful. but we should not forget that, behind all that outrage — which is completely fair — there are two components of our victory. weapons and people. and the mobilisation process is what provides that. in an abandoned kyiv summer camp, civilians are trained in combat. the guns and grenades might be pretend... explosion. ..but there is a hope people like anton will volunteer for the real thing. are you scared about that idea in any way? of course, of course. every person, and i'm scared. i'm scared to hell. there is no chance i will be sitting here in kyiv if the situation is worse. the ukraine of today is fighting for its tomorrow.

a country united by wanting to survive... ..but also grappling with the fact that the battlefield is not for everyone. james waterhouse, bbc news, kyiv. excitement is building in india as it hopes to become only the fourth country to land on the moon, and the first to reach the lunar south pole. the unmanned lander is on course to touch down later today, in a region that scientists hope will contain enough ice to support a future human settlement. russia had been hoping to beat india to the south pole of the moon over the weekend. but its luna—25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after spinning out of control on sunday morning. the first british astronaut, helen sharman, told me more about the mission. the south pole of the moon has,

well, we think it has of ice. the south pole of the moon has, well, we think it has lots of ice. ice, of course for useful if you're going to send people to the moon because they will want to drink, they will want to perhaps split the water into hydrogen and oxygen and breathe the oxygen, and you can make rocket fuel from it as well. so ice is good. but also that crater on the south pole of the moon has a really high rim. part of that rim are in constant sunlight, more or less constant sunlight if you put your solar power generator, for instance, up there, you're always going to be generating some power and what's more, we think that possibly whatever created that impact, at the time, it would've made the lunar crust and the upper mantle come to the surface, let's say, of that crater down below.

so we might see minerals there that we don't see anywhere else on the moon. really exciting part of the moon to go to. this is an impressive achievement, especially for the indian space agency. how will this be looked at in history? they've been going into space with satellites for a long time now, decades. they had an indian astronaut a0 years ago. no other astronauts since, however, this really is a big push for them. they've decided, yes, they went to have their own astronauts, and very recently it's been announced that actually next year there will be an indian astronaut or two flying to the international space station, and that's just a bit before they get their own space station going. so although there is excitement and ramping up for human space flight, for the indians to be able to land something

imean, without humans in it on the moon... imean, landing without humans on the moon is, most people would say more difficult than landing with a crew. you've got no atmosphere to help you slow down, there's no gps on the moon to give you that absolute precise location. without a crew, your systems have got to work just perfectly. you've got very limited fuel to be able to have a second attempt, for instance, and the south pole is loads of hills and loads of craters. so really tricky if you don't have that, somebody there to be able to guide something in real time. it has emerged the british museum was warned more than two years ago that objects from its collection were being put up for sale. an e—mail exchange seen by bbc news revealed that the museum's director said the matter had been thoroughly

investigated and there was no evidence of theft. but last week it admitted a large number of objects had been stolen and that it had sacked a member of staff. police are investigating. our culture editor reports. the e—mail is seen first by the bbc appeared damning, suggesting the the director was alerted to allegations of theft more than two years ago. a dealer based in denmark blew the whistle, having bought items on ebay which he later discovered were british museum property. he wrote to the museum density in 2021. he followed up injune, asking if an internal investigation had begun. —— the museum deputy in 2021.

the british museum is a museum of common humanity... the british museum is a museum of common humanity. . .— the british museum is a museum of common humanity... museum is chaired by — of common humanity... museum is chaired by the _ of common humanity... museum is chaired by the former _ chaired by the former chancellor george osborne. we now believe more than 1500 items were stolen, damaged or are missing, with the british museum under increasing scrutiny. it museum under increasing scrutiny-— museum under increasing scrutin. ., ., , , scrutiny. it has already been re orted scrutiny. it has already been reported across _ scrutiny. it has already been reported across the - scrutiny. it has already been reported across the globe i scrutiny. it has already been reported across the globe in j reported across the globe in the media, the british museum is probably the world's most famous museum. so the culture department will want assurances from the board of trustees and george osborne that it has governance in place to protect these items now and in the future, and to prevent anything like this ever happening again. just as damaging, what happened later. according to the e—mail change, the doctor sent his evidence to george osborne via another trustee in october 2022, saying he was certain that management had preferred to sweep the whole affair under the carpet. george osborne

e—mailed the museum director the next day and said they were very serious allegations, asking for answers. the same day, the director e—mailed the go—between, saying the case had been thoroughly investigated and saying there was no evidence to substantiate the allegations. a demonstrable falsehood, the doctor alleged to george osborne in an e—mail. stott osborne replied saying he was taking the comments very seriously. scotland yard was finally called in more than two years after the original allegations. raising red flags. objects being sold into a global art market can change hands very quickly, and many times. overa hands very quickly, and many times. over a relatively short period of time. say two or three years, that really adds complexity which the police won't thank you for. the museum

has launched _ won't thank you for. the museum has launched an _ won't thank you for. the museum has launched an independent - has launched an independent review. it hasn't commented on the e—mails, which raised tough questions about what senior leaders knew, and when. the legend of italian music and winner of the eurovision song contest in 1990, tuhto cutugno, has died aged 80. he was best known for his worldwide �*80s hit song, l'italiano. his manager said that after a long illness, the singer's health deteriorated in recent months and cutungo passed away in a hospital in milan. our top story, all eight people have been rescued after being trapped in a cable car dangling above a ravine in pakistan. crowds of people were there to watch the daring rescue mission, with people trapped for more than 1a hours. goodbye

for more than 1a hours. goodbye for now. hello. some of us have seen some warm late summer sunshine over the past few days, particularly across parts of southern and eastern england. and that theme is going to continue, at least for the next day or so. now, this is how we ended the day on tuesday. there have been some really beautiful sunsets. this was the picture in guernsey. and as we head through the day on wednesday, a bit more of the same. so, yes, some warm sunshine around, but also a few showers, particularly across some northern and western parts. now we'll start the day a little bit fresher than recent morning. so looking at mid single figures for some parts of rural scotland, but still in the mid—teens further south, still relatively warm and humid here. there'll be some low cloud moving in across parts of wales, perhaps through the bristol channel. a few splashes of light rain across this region, this is a weak front here, and also a few showers moving into parts of western scotland, perhaps one or two for northern ireland through the course of the morning. some sunny spells for eastern

scotland, but later in the day, one or two showers cropping up here. but long spells of blue sky and sunshine for southern england and east anglia, where temperatures again could reach 25—26 degrees. but typically the high teens further north. now through wednesday evening, then, we'll start to see a few more showers working in from the north and the west. the breeze picking up, too, with those heavy showers, particularly across parts of scotland. they'll merge into longer spells of rain into thursday morning for parts of northern england, perhaps north wales as well. to the south of that, still quite warm and muggy. the temperatures remaining in double figures fairly widely on into thursday morning. now, thursday's weather still a bit of uncertainty, but we are dominated by low pressure that's moving its way into a couple of weather fronts here on the chart. this one's going to bring some showery rain into parts of northern ireland, particularly into scotland, though, could be quite heavy and thundery. and further south also the chance of some heavy showers and perhaps some thunderstorms for central, southern and eastern parts of england as well. in between, i think a bit of dry weather with some sunshine for the likes of northern ireland, northern england as well. so temperatures, again, at the high teens in the north.

the mid 20s, though, quite a contrast, further south across the uk. and then as we head towards the end of the week into the weekend, low pressure looks like it clears towards the east, high pressure in the atlantic. that's going to open the doors for a bit more of a northerly or northwesterly flow of air. so from a colder direction. so still some sunshine in the forecast at times as we head through the course of the weekend. but equally, some scattered showers around, more frequent towards the north. and those temperatures return to more typical for the time of year. bye— bye.

president putin says the brics group will meet the aspirations of the majority of the global population , as leaders of the world's emerging economies meet in south africa. what to do about all those empty offices? we go to new york which has eyewateringly high vacancy rates. hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm monica miller. we start the programme in south africa's capital, johannesburg, where a group of leaders from major emerging economies has been meeting. that is the brics — which includes brazil, russia,

india, china and south africa — along with at least 50 heads