live from washington. this is bbc news. wildfires kill 18 people in greece. officials say they're likely migrants crossing from turkey. a high—wire drama plays out in pakistan. authorities and locals scramble to save schoolkids from a broken cable car. and building a case for the brics alliance — leaders of brazil, russia, india, china and south africa try to present a united front injohannesburg. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. we begin in greece, where 18 bodies have been found in a national forest where wildfires have been raging for days. they were found in the evros region of north—east greece, outside the village of avantas.

initial reports suggest the victims are migrants, and an investigation is under way. our senior international correspondent orla guerin is on the border between turkey and greece with more. the bodies were discovered in a forested area in the greek region of evros. a local coroner has said all 18 were male and two were younger, possibly minors. autopsies will be held in a few hours�* time, before that dna samples will be taken to begin the process of identifying the dead. bbc news has spoken to one man, a syrian, who was worried that is because it was among the groups. he says the young man won 27, he had travelled to turkey with a group of other syrians, afghans and iraqis. their plan was to cross the border illegally from turkey, as many do, and to head to the

region of evros where the wildfires are taking place. he lost contact with his cousin three days ago. he said poignantly that if this group had been in trouble, that even if the fires had been coming closer to them, they would not have called for help from the turkish or greek authorities because they would have been afraid of being sent back across the border. we are hearing reports that there is anger in some villages in greece close to where the fires are taking place. some local residents are blaming migrants for starting the fires. although there is no evidence of that. we know there are still two fire fronts active near the greek city of alexandra palace. and the 240 firefighters are working there to get the blaze is under control. —— alexandropoulos.

firefighters have been responding to major flare—ups across greece, with many towns facing evacuations. the fires have been whipped up by high winds and temperatures that continue to climb. on tuesday, several places reached over 40 celsius, which is 104 fahrenheit. reached over 40 celsius, a hospital in one city had to be evacuated, with newborn babies and intensive care patients rushed to safety. in the past three days, more than 380,000 acres of land have burned in the region, spreading rapidly in the large wooded dadia national park. residents there are facing widespread loss. translation: it has reached the entire village. — translation: it has reached the entire village, our _ translation: it has reached the entire village, our house - translation: it has reached the entire village, our house has - entire village, our house has completely burned down, there is nothing to only fire, that�*s what we could see. the is nothing to only fire, that's what we could see.— is nothing to only fire, that's what we could see. the wind was so strong- _ from fires in greece, we turn our attention across the atlantic to the blazes in canada. about 1,000 wildfires continue to devastate the country there. it�*s canada�*s worst wildfire season on record. more than 37 million acres have burned, forcing mass evacuations. troops have been deployed to fight blazes in parts of the country that cover an area the size of greece.

in the province of british columbia, firefighters battling blazes in kelowna say their biggest challenge is the lack of visibility. smoke blanketing the region has prompted air quality warnings across the country and further south in the us. but some rain in the province has helped. our correspondent wyre davies is in british columbia with more. tha nkfully thankfully the sun has come out in the last few hours for the first time in several days, and thatis first time in several days, and that is critical. it means local authorities can send up helicopters and planes to look at the ground and the seat of these many hundreds of fires, which blanketed the hill behind me for several days. since then we have had a thick blanket of smoke which has choke the environment. the winds have blown more fires, embers have blown more fires, embers have blown across the lake and started fires on this side. 30,000 people have had to be evacuated. 27,000 people still at risk of evacuation. there are about 1000 wildfires in

parts of canada this year, more than ever before. many in the west of the country, in the province of british columbia, where we are. the worst is probably over, for this fire at least, but the authorities warned that these hot and windy conditions are still to be feared. most people who have been evacuated have not been allowed back yet. here in the us, two of donald trump�*s co—defendants have surrendered to authorites in the state of georgia. john eastman, mr trump�*s former personal attorney, and scott hall, a georgia bail bondsman, became the first of 19 co—defendants to surrender, ahead of friday�*s deadline. hall faces seven charges related to his alleged involvement in a 2021 voting systems breach in georgia�*s coffee county. eastman faces nine counts of racketeering and conspiracy. trump�*s ex—lawyer allegedly planned to urge state senators to disregard georgia�*s election results and appoint fake electors. his bond was set at $100,000. eastman spoke to reporters

after his surrender. the attempt to criminalise our rights to such redress with this indictment will have and is already having profound consequences for our system of justice. meanwhile, all eyes are on the fulton countyjail, where donald trump is expected to surrender sometime thursday. meanwhile, on wednesday, the city of milwaukee will host the first republican presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. eight out of the nine candidates that qualified for the debate will take the stage. among them are florida governor ron desantis, currently second to trump in polls, as well as trump�*s former vice president, mike pence. debate topics are not revealed beforehand, but a host for fox news, the network hosting the debate, indicated that abortion and trump�*s criminal indictments could be on the table. the notable exception is former president donald trump. instead, trump�*s inteview with conservative commentator tucker carlson will air on x, formerly known as twitter. trump is currently the frontrunner for

the republican nomination. wisconsin has proven to be a must—win state for presidential campaigns in recent years. four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by less than a percentage point there, with trump winning narrowly in 2016 before losing by a similar margin to president biden in 2020. joining us now is the bbc�*s north america correspondent, anthony zurcher. he is in milwaukee ahead of the debate. eight candidates will be on stage, how are they preparing for this debate? fix, preparing for this debate? typical way to prepare is to hold mock debates where the candidate has people pose as other candidates and they do a run through. ron desantis is doing that with a well—known debate expert. mike pence also having mock debates. nikki haley says her town hall forums she has been holding in iowa, new hampshire, where she has been taking questions from real

voters, that has helped her prepare for the debate. chris christie talking about how he has been on a primary debate stage before, the only candidate who has, so he has had a certain amount of preparation. vivek ramaswamy, who has never run for elected office, let alone for president before, he posted some videos on social media where he is playing tennis, saying that is his debate prep. i guess returning hard—hit balls and having quick reflexes might be enough to prepare him for what is sure to be fast paced action in this republican primary debate tomorrow night. we know the former _ debate tomorrow night. we know the former president _ debate tomorrow night. we know the former president is _ debate tomorrow night. we know the former president is not - the former president is not going to be on stage. could we see some of these candidates attack the former president as he is not going to be there? i think we are definitely going to see that. some people like former arkansas governor asa hutchinson, and chris christie. they have both been very critical or donald trump. chris christie said donald trump�*s

behaviour leading up to the january the 6th attack on the capital was a stain on his presidency. you may see some candidates like vivek ramaswamy come to donald trump�*s defence. that would be a source of friction on the debate stage, as some of them tried to distance themselves from donald trump while others try to ingratiate themselves to donald trump�*s voters by coming to his defence. trump's voters by coming to his defence. ~ ., , trump's voters by coming to his defence. ~ . , ., ., defence. what is more important to republican — defence. what is more important to republican voters, _ defence. what is more important to republican voters, a - defence. what is more important to republican voters, a debate . to republican voters, a debate like this all the fact the former president is going to be turning himself in, in atlanta, on thursday? i turning himself in, in atlanta, on thursday?— turning himself in, in atlanta, on thursday? i don't know what republican _ on thursday? i don't know what republican voters _ on thursday? i don't know what republican voters are _ on thursday? i don't know what republican voters are going - on thursday? i don't know what republican voters are going to l republican voters are going to say, but i can say that donald trump�*s absence here, as well as his presence in georgia on thursday, is sucking a lot of the oxygen and attention out of what�*s going to be going on here on wednesday night. the media presence and attention has been divided. i think it�*s going to deny a lot of these

republican candidates, who are looking for a breakthrough moment, from the ability to have any sort of moment that happens on that stage to have legs beyond wednesday night and into thursday. because the attention of voters and the american public is going to shift towards what will be a historic moment with donald trump reporting to a georgia prison to be fingerprinted, have his mugshot taken, and all of the proceedings around that. this should have been a big moment for people like ron desantis, trying to recapture a lot of attention of the republican voters, but that isn�*t going to happen because of the way this is playing out. anthony in milwaukee, following the debate that will take place on wednesday night, thank you so much. in pakistan, human drama played out hundreds of feet above a ravine on tuesday, as the nation and world looked on on. six schoolboys and two adults spent half a day suspended in a cable car, after one of the cables snapped. the rescue effort that unfolded was one of determination, frustration, and

ultimately success, as caroline davies reports. 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 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. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let�*s look at some other stories making news. at least 15 migrants are dead and dozens more injured after a bus crash in central mexico. most of the victims are venezuelan. local authorities believe the bus struck a trailer while on a highway in the state of puebla. migrants are often transported by bus from mexico�*s southern border with guatemala as they head north to the us.

spain�*s king has nominated the leader of the conservative people�*s party to try to form the next government after inconclusive elections last month. alberto nunez feijoo will now seek a parliamentary vote to see if he has enough support to become prime minister. mr feijoo�*s party won the most seats at the last election but looks unlikely to obtain a majority in the chamber. nasa has released new images from the james webb space telescope that show the intricate details of a dying star�*s final stages. the glowing halo and vibrant colors are from the ring nebula — one of the greatest examples of gas and dust regions formed from dying stars. you�*re live with bbc news. a three—day summit of five major emerging economies known as brics is under way injohannesburg, south africa. the bloc�*s members — brazil, russia, india, china, and south africa — make up nearly 40% of the world�*s population and

about a quarter of global gdp. they�*re looking to offer an alternative to what they see as western—led global alliances, though member countries differ on just how to achieve that vision. some of those differences emerged during leaders�* speeches at the summit�*s business forum on tuesday. russian president vladimir putin, speaking virtually, told the gathering that the group should become a trading bloc representing the "global majority". translation: we cooperate on the principles — translation: we cooperate on the principles of— translation: we cooperate on the principles of equality, - the principles of equality, respect for each other�*s interests, and this is the future strategic course of our association. a course that needs aspirations of the main part of the world community, the so—called global majority. but brazil�*s president luiz inacio lula da silva insisted that it was not the group�*s aim to compete with western institutions. he said, "we do not want to to be a counterpoint to the g7,

g20, or the united states, he we just want to organize ourselves." china�*s president xijinping is also attending the summit, and was expected to deliver a speech at the forum alongside his counterparts.he failed to show up — and his commerce minister delivered xi�*s comments instead. joining me live now is susan thornton, former us acting assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairs. oliver stuenkel, an international relations professor at the think tank fundacao getulio vargas. and katherine hadda, a visiting fellow at the center for strategic and international studies us—india policy studies. great to have you all with me tonight. susan, that piece of news out of the summit, all the leaders speaking at this brics business forum except xi jinping, and questions being asked as to why, what do you make of this? irate asked as to why, what do you make of this?— asked as to why, what do you make of this? we really don't

know and _ make of this? we really don't know and nobody _ make of this? we really don't know and nobody is _ make of this? we really don't know and nobody is saying i make of this? we really don't know and nobody is saying in | know and nobody is saying in south africa what happened. he was scheduled to give a speech. he did appear with the south african president earlier in the day and i understand he also appeared at a dinner following that session. so whether he was tired and skipped it or whether he was feeling ill, we don�*t know. it's feeling ill, we don�*t know. it�*s interesting that he chose to skip the session with the business people, which has been a source of criticism of things operating in the chinese economy lately. irate operating in the chinese economy lately. operating in the chinese econom latel . ~ ~ ., economy lately. we know china's economic interests _ economy lately. we know china's economic interests play - economy lately. we know china's economic interests play very - economic interests play very large in this alliance. oliver, ifound it large in this alliance. oliver, i found it interesting that president lula da silva said he doesn�*t want brics to rival the g7 or the g20, although that is what russia and china are aiming to build. does brazil see this alliance and is an opportunity to counter the us influence?— influence? that's the key division _ influence? that's the key division between - influence? that's the key division between brics. division between brics countries. india, south africa and brazil consider themselves

to be basically nonaligned countries. they would like to deepen ties to china and even russia but that should not come at the expense of their relations to the united states. lula da silva keeps saying that and that�*s why brazil has been somewhat sceptical of expansion. if that includes countries that embrace and anti—western discourse. it�*s going to be interesting how that plays out, and that has been the key dynamic at brics summits over the past few years, with russia and china seeking to embrace a more explicitly anti—western discourse. the other three saying, look, we are part of brics, we want to strengthen brics, we want to strengthen brics, we want to strengthen brics, we want to help the group democratise and strengthen ties between countries in the global south but we don�*t want to be explicitly anti—american or anti—western. irate

explicitly anti-american or anti-western.— explicitly anti-american or anti-western. ~ . ~ anti-western. we will come back to the point _ anti-western. we will come back to the point of— anti-western. we will come back to the point of expansion, - anti-western. we will come back to the point of expansion, but. to the point of expansion, but catherine, i want to ask you as well, we saw the white house national security adviserjake sullivan saying the following about brics. he said... india is one of those countries with a differing view. how does india walk the line of aligning with brics countries on the one hand but maintaining its relationship with the us and the eu? ., �*, ., , ., the eu? that's a good question. i think the eu? that's a good question. i think india — the eu? that's a good question. i think india has _ the eu? that's a good question. i think india has a _ the eu? that's a good question. i think india has a long - the eu? that's a good question. i think india has a long and - i think india has a long and proud tradition of trying to maintain independence in foreign affairs. but since the brics first came together in 2009, india can continue to check the box it wants to check on using these meetings as a way to assert its independence in political and economic affairs. and also being something of a standard bearer for the global south. what has changed over that time is the

rest of the world, and india�*s own ambitions, much more assertive on the world stage. the tensions with china which are not getting better... not only along the border, but also along india�*s periphery. india would say china�*s activities in sri lanka, nepal, myanmar, long—standing relations with pakistan, as the stabilising. and further afield, the belt and load initiative. at the same time, economic and uncomfortable awareness of how dependent india is on china. —— the belt and load initiative. that�*s a really good point and we will come back. susan, i want to ask you about china�*s central aims for this summit. china certainly wants to use

brics— china certainly wants to use brics to _ china certainly wants to use brics to gather friends together, countries it can work with_ together, countries it can work with in— together, countries it can work with in the _ together, countries it can work with in the global arena. it not — with in the global arena. it not included in the g7, which indie — not included in the g7, which indie is— not included in the g7, which indie is in— not included in the g7, which india is in with the us, japan and— india is in with the us, japan and australia, in the quad. this— and australia, in the quad. this is— and australia, in the quad. this is a _ and australia, in the quad. this is a way of china gathering together countries that want to have a bigger global— that want to have a bigger global voice, that feel they've not got — global voice, that feel they've not got the kind of voice in global— not got the kind of voice in global governance that they would — global governance that they would like to have. china wants to see — would like to have. china wants to see the _ would like to have. china wants to see the group expand, because _ to see the group expand, because that expands its influence. it wants to push for sort _ influence. it wants to push for sort of— influence. it wants to push for sort of a — influence. it wants to push for sort of a concerted effort on global— sort of a concerted effort on global institutions. multilateralism. russia and china — multilateralism. russia and china always talk in brics atrout— china always talk in brics about this transition to multipolar recce, which are a number— multipolar recce, which are a number of— multipolar recce, which are a number of the other countries in brics— number of the other countries in brics also i think would tout~ — in brics also i think would tout~ -- _ in brics also i think would tout. —— multi polarity. russia

and _ tout. —— multi polarity. russia and china _ tout. —— multi polarity. russia and china want to give it the anti-us _ and china want to give it the anti—us hegemony and anti—western gloss, which the others — anti—western gloss, which the others are _ anti—western gloss, which the others are trying to say they don't — others are trying to say they don't want. they want to pursue a multi—alignment, not nonalignment but multi—alignment, to get what they— multi—alignment, to get what they can _ multi—alignment, to get what they can with relations with countries on both sides of this equation _ countries on both sides of this euuation. ., v ., countries on both sides of this euuation. . �*, ., equation. that's a good point, and important _ equation. that's a good point, and important to _ equation. that's a good point, and important to note - equation. that's a good point, and important to note these i equation. that's a good point, i and important to note these are countries that have refused to reject russia�*s wore on ukraine as well, which has played a role. oliver, the question of expansion, president lula has been sceptical of expansion in the past. he said new members would need to meet certain conditions so it didn�*t become a tower of babel. where does he stand on brics going and including new members?— members? that is a question that many — members? that is a question that many brazilian _

members? that is a question | that many brazilian diplomats are asking, because brazil has traditionally been sceptical of expansion, above all because brics is a very powerful brand, it�*s a standard booster. brazil doesn�*t have high—growth or nuclear weapons, so the brics seal has been important in orderfor brazil to seal has been important in order for brazil to project itself globally. if you expand and let everyone in, then the brics loses exclusivity and the prestige that it confers on its members. and brazil has always, and i�*ve seen this throughout the years of meetings, always trying, together with india, to tone down the rhetoric of the final declarations. with five countries, brazilwould final declarations. with five countries, brazil would worry it may not be able to do that as it has over the past 15 years. president lula is known to speak off the cuff, get carried away. he has spoken in

favour of argentina�*s inclusion which now seems unthinkable given that the next president might be a far right... so my senseis might be a far right... so my sense is that brazil doesn�*t want to be the sole obstacle to expansion. i would guess if all the others are ok with having, for example, indonesia or saudi arabia, brazilwill for example, indonesia or saudi arabia, brazil will probably be ok with that because both of those countries are also us allies. �* ., , , ., allies. and economically strong countries- _ allies. and economically strong countries. catherine, _ allies. and economically strong countries. catherine, how- allies. and economically strong countries. catherine, how doesj countries. catherine, how does the question of expansion expose the power dynamics at play? i expose the power dynamics at . [a ? ., expose the power dynamics at . [a 7 ., . expose the power dynamics at -la ? ., ., , expose the power dynamics at play? i would argue they are already a — play? i would argue they are already a bit _ play? i would argue they are already a bit of— play? i would argue they are already a bit of a _ play? i would argue they are already a bit of a tower - play? i would argue they are already a bit of a tower of i already a bit of a tower of babel, _ already a bit of a tower of babel, just with five of them! but i — babel, just with five of them! but i would say in terms of expansion, india has made clear its not _ expansion, india has made clear its not opposed expansion necessarily. the foreign minister said they are open to it, minister said they are open to it. but— minister said they are open to it. but he _ minister said they are open to it, but he also described it as a work— it, but he also described it as a work in _ it, but he also described it as a work in progress. they are asking — a work in progress. they are asking for— a work in progress. they are

asking for strict criteria and consensus on admitting new members, which i think frankly is away— members, which i think frankly is away or— members, which i think frankly is away or slow rolling it a bit — is away or slow rolling it a bit and _ is away or slow rolling it a bit. and in cheering and applause. , _ applause. , and i agree with oliver, that new members don�*t tilt things towards china too much. susan, a quick last question. how much do china�*s belt and road initiative play in wanting brics to expand? i road initiative play in wanting brics to expand?— brics to expand? i think the initiative is _ brics to expand? i think the initiative is running - brics to expand? i think the initiative is running into - brics to expand? i think the | initiative is running into some slowdown. they have the new development thing as part of brics. one of the questions they will be talking about is how many resources are available in the development for these countries? and can china still be a kind of sauce of growth for those countries? really interesting discussion,

thank you so much, great to speak with you all, and thank you for watching bbc news. 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 mornings. 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 of state and government. president putin attended by video link. he can�*t attend in person

because of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes.