i'm tadhg enright.he closely watched amazon summit in brazil has closed out its first day with a pledge from nations to create a new alliance to fight deforestation in the region. it's the first time in m years that leaders of eight amazon countries are meeting, vowing on tuesday to stop the amazon from reaching a "point of no return." the lengthy roadmap outlined in the city of belem promotes sustainable development, an end to deforestation, and fighting the organised crime that fuels it. let's take a look at the rainforest that's at stake: the amazon stretches nearly seven million square kilometres, with two—thirds of it in brazil. another seven countries and one territory share the remaining third. under brazil's former president, jair bolsonaro, years of deforestation in the amazon worsened. the orange on this map shows the areas of deforestation between 2019 and 2022 in the state of para where the summit is. but new data shows a positive shift — deforestation in the amazon fell by 66% last month co

i'm tadhg enright. us state of hawaii is bracing itself for a significant rise in casualties from deadly wildfires. at least 93 people have been killed on the island of maui, making this the worst us disaster of its kind in more than a century. hundreds of people are still unaccounted for. the military is helping to search through the rubble for victims in the town of lahaina. but so far only a tiny fraction of the affected area, less than 5%, has been searched. wildfires in the area are still burning. firefighters working to bring the blazes under control. these pictures are from the us national guard, which is providing assistance. hawaiians are donating supplies to be sent to the worst—affected areas. maui locals say much more help is needed. the state's attorney general is conducting a comprehensive review into how the authorities responded. live now to helena humphrey in maui. we're still learning more about the scale of this tragedy. hawaii's governor has given an update with some alarmging insigh

welcome to world business report, i'm tadhg enright. let's start here in the uk where the latest inflation figures have just come out showing a marked decline in the pace of price rises. with the consumer prices index coming in at 6.8% injuly. let's not pop any champagne corks just yet because that's still well above the bank of england target rate of 2%. ttat�*s the pace of price rises which is seen as healthy for the economy. but compare it to the near 8% figure recorded in the year tojune, and progress is being made. the data will of course be pored over by the bank of england as it considers its next move on the cost of borrowing. the current uk base rate of interest is 5.25%. and although the fall in price rises is a welcome development, it does not mean a further increase won't come. let's not forget that yesterday we heard that average uk wages were rising at their fastest pace in 20 years. joining me now is neil shearing — group chief economist at capital economics. thanks very much for being with us today. clearly it is pretty

i'm tadhg enright. a candidate in ecuador�*s upcoming presidential election has been assassinated.nando villavicencio was attacked after leaving a campaign event in the capital, quito. he was reportedly getting into a car when it happened. the attorney general�*s office said one of three suspected gunmen had also been killed. president guillermo lasso said the crime would not go unpunished. the bbc world service latin america regional editor leonardo rocha reports. mr villavicencio was shot dead as he finished a rally in the capital, quito. he was approached by a gunman who shot him in the head three times be or they escape. he was a former union leader, a former journalist who clashed with other politicians in the past for his role as an investigative journalist, and he was a current member of congress. he was running on an anti—corruption and pro— environmental campaign. he was one of several candidates running for president. the first round of the election will take place on august 20, he was opinion polls put in third orfourth place but he had a chance because there would be a

i'm tadhg enright.e from nations to create a new alliance to fight deforestation in the region. it's the first time in 1a years that leaders of eight amazon countries are meeting, vowing on tuesday to stop the amazon from reaching a "point of no return." the lengthy roadmap outlined in the city of belem promotes

i'm tadhg enright. wildfires. at least 93 people have been killed on the island of maui, making this the worst us disaster of its kind in more than a century. hundreds of people are still unaccounted for. the military is helping to search through the rubble for victims in the town of lahaina. but so far only a tiny fraction of the affected area, less than 5%, has been searched.

welcome to world business report, i'm tadhg enright.e out showing a marked decline in the pace of price rises. with the consumer prices index coming in at 6.8% injuly. let's not pop any champagne corks just yet because that's still well above the bank of england target rate of 2%. ttat�*s the pace of price rises which is seen as healthy for the economy. but compare it to the near 8% figure recorded in the year tojune, and progress is being made. the data will of course be pored over by the bank of england as it considers its next move on the cost of borrowing. the current uk base rate of interest is 5.25%. and although the fall in price rises is a welcome development, it does not mean a further increase won't come. let's not forget that yesterday we heard that average uk wages

i'm tadhg enright. a candidate in ecuador�*s upcoming presidential election has been assassinated.tedly getting into a car when it happened. the attorney general�*s office said one of three suspected gunmen had also been killed. president guillermo lasso said the crime would not go unpunished.

i'm tadhg enright here with your top business stories.et's start in australia, where workers at the country's lng plants — those that produce liquefied natural gas — will decide this week if they will go on strike over pay and employment rights. european natural gas prices surged almost 40% last wednesday when the strike action was first announced. demand and reliance on lng has grown, especially since the russian war in ukraine has made countries seek out other energy supplies rather than russia's. if more of these proposed strikes take place, then europe could face an energy crisis. the international energy agency has revealed that lng now makes up 35% of europe's energy supplies, not far off the 40% contribution that russia made before it was sanctioned over ukraine. joining me now is ben mcwilliams, who's an affiliate fellow at bruegel. thank you very much for being with us today. what are your concerns about where gas prices could go if these workers do indeed strike? this is certainly a concern, but to be clear up front, nothing com

hello, i'm tadhg enright. by his political opponents, who've said he's been slow to see the devastation. he'll meet the survivors and emergency workers. the white house says he'll visit scenes of wildfire damage and discuss next steps in the recovery operations with officials. so far, officials have confirmed that 110 people have died in the fires, but that number is expected to rise as the search continues. only 38% of the affected area has been searched, and just a handful of victims have been identified.

hello, i'm tadhg enright. president biden says he will travel to hawaii next week to inspect the response to the deadly wildfires on the island of maui. he's been criticised by his political opponents, who've said he's been slow to see the devastation. he'll meet the survivors and emergency workers. the white house says he'll visit scenes of wildfire damage and discuss next steps in the recovery operations with officials. so far, officials have confirmed that 110 people have died in the fires, but that number is expected to rise as the search continues. only 38% of the affected area has been searched, and just a handful of victims have been identified. let's go to our north america correspondent sophie long who's in lahaina on maui. the town most devastated by those fires. what have you seen of the progress of identifying the deceased? we of the progress of identifying the deceased?— of the progress of identifying the deceased? ~ ., ~ ., ., the deceased? we now know that 110 --eole the deceased? we now know th

i'm tadhg enright here with the top business stories. we start in china where the latest economic data has just been published, raising further raised concerns for the post—pandemic recovery —— raising further concerns for the post—pandemic recovery of the world's second—largest economy. prices are falling for the first time in two years, down by 0.3% in the year tojuly. unlike much of the world, china is experiencing a rare episode of sliding prices. japan's economy experienced this back in the 1990s and early 2000s. now, this comes hot the heels of disappointing china trade data on tuesday, which showed that exports sank at their fastest rate since the pandemic, dropping by more 14% in the year tojuly, with imports also falling by more than 12% in the same period. joining me now is duncan wrigley, chief china economist at pantheon macroeconomics. thank you very much for being with us today. the rest of the world looking on in amazement. considering the inflationary pressures the rest of us are dealing with. what do you read between the