have been able to flee these fires. bring us up—to—date in terms of what took place, what happen and how you are coping. i am now in a small village called fort simpson, 630 kilometres west of yellowknife. it sounds like a huge distance but it really isn't. this place is twice the size of france. this is essentially free communities to the left of yellowknife. you can hear a flight plane into the distance. this is a mackenzy river behind me. the writing has been under the walford days that fire would pose a great friend. —— has been in the writing for days. covering the northwest territories, and we did an interview with a gentleman called john valiant who spent seven years studying wildfires in fort mcmurray and he described to me how authorities in 2016 underestimated the strength of the wildfires and he said he saw a lot of echoes in yellowknife and i have to be frank with you, i got five minutes into that interview and thought, what am i still doing here. ., ~' thought, what am i still doing here. ., ~ , ., here. yellowknife is not the only area — here. yellowknife is not the only area evacuated, - here. yellowknife is not the | only area evacuated, several other communities have had to flee. many different places over there. give us a picture of what is taking place in the northwest territories. fin of what is taking place in the northwest territories. on the other side — northwest territories. on the other side of _ northwest territories. on the other side of a _ northwest territories. on the other side of a very _ northwest territories. on the other side of a very large - other side of a very large lake, you have two communities and together they have about 7000 people into them. on saturday and sunday last weekend they were told to evacuate. thousands of people fleeing down the highway to alberta with sli. there is no communication, no internet, no landline for days and days now. and we heard in the last couple of hours that a community, a tiny community of 36 people, they have been told they have to flee as well. getting them west to this community, actually, fort simpson which will be an evacuation centre for them. we have seven or eight communities under evacuation order, more than half northwest territories the population. half northwest territories the pepulation-— population. what is feeling these places? _ population. what is feeling these places? climate - population. what is feeling - these places? climate change. it is an extremely _ these places? climate change. it is an extremely flammable l it is an extremely flammable and combustible landscape in the first place. forest fires could be human caused but the vast majority are caused by natural things like lightning. they happen all the time. but with climate changing the way it is, the landscape back here is drier than it has ever been, it stays dry out for longer, humidity goes down and even if there is a little bit of rain, like right now, that does not do too much, cooler temperatures do not help that much, it has been an unusually hot summer which is why these fires are as devastating as they. fires are as devastating as the . ~ ., . . fires are as devastating as the . ., ., ., they. more than a thousand bu ers they. more than a thousand buyers currently _ they. more than a thousand buyers currently boning - they. more than a thousand buyers currently boning in l buyers currently boning in canada. in terms of authorities and firefighters, are they able to control and contain these blazes and protect communities? frankly they answer to that is no, otherwise we would not have 20,000 people all trying to drive down one highway out of yellowknife. clearly, fires like this cannot always be controlled but what can be controlled but what can be controlled is the human response and when you take the decision to leave and over the last few years, there are more and more voices suggesting that the traditional ways of combating fires or responding to fires might need to change and that we need to adjust their understanding of how we move people around and how we get them out and how we defend communities. the new realities, despise behaviour more extremely than before, burning more intensely and covering more intensely and covering more distance, and threatening communities in the ways that previously was not expected. i5 previously was not expected. is there anything specifically that people what the government to do or change in order to prevent or better manage wildfires in the future? i think there is a whole bunch of things, a list too long to get into, but it is more important to say the average human being does not have a whole understanding of this. you cannot point to 20,000 people in yellowknife and say we wanted wildlife management to change but that they could have been recognition earlier in proceedings that this fire and other fires nearby could proceedings that this fire and otherfires nearby could pose more of a threat. that conversation happened before and it is far too soon to get into that kind of analysis right now while still in the event. , ., ., , event. the situation still evolving- _ event. the situation still evolving. news - event. the situation still evolving. news editor i event. the situation still evolving. news editor of event. the situation still- evolving. news editor of cabin radio, thank you so much for joining us. radio, thank you so much for joining ve— radio, thank you so much for joining ne— after last week's devastating wildfires on the hawaiian island of maui the search and recovery effort continues with at least 111 people now confirmed dead. crews are searching some 2000 burnt businesses and homes but, thejob is not yet 50% complete. while the exact cause of the wildfires is being investigated mounting evidence shows downed powerlines could have played a role. here's the bbc'sjohn sudworth. maui's fight continues. this pilot, hovering above a swimming pool. now being used to douse the flames further down the hill. these homes, some distance from the destroyed coastal town of lahaina, are in the centre of the island where, last week, just before the fires, the cameras at this bird sanctuary captured a bright flash. staff believe it is a tree falling on a powerline. shortly afterwards, flames can be seen in the forest. ross hart saw something similar before his home burned down. we could hear some trees falling here and there in the distance. one big one fell here on the bridge and it knocked over the powerlines. and then you saw the house. you could see it burn? i saw it begin to burn and they wouldn't let me stay to watch it. they were dragging me out because the embers were starting to come over my truck and stuff. questions are now being asked about whether lives might have been saved. should maui's power grid have been turned off? could more have been done to sound the alarm? for many of those who escaped from lahaina, alongside the trauma there is now a deep sense of anger. i hate it. i want these people to explain to me why we didn't get an alarm when they have the most sophisticated alarm system in the world? they practice it every month and what in the world are they waiting for, you know? the authorities have launched an investigation, although the priority for now is responding to the disaster. but the wildfire risk, despite the devastation in lahaina, is farfrom over. this helicopter taking multiple trips, carrying water off to fight the wildfires still smouldering right across this area. but some of those who have lost homes here point to something they say should already have been focusing the minds of the authorities. like, as if it isn't obvious, notjust from what's happening here, but all over the world. what could be more obvious that we are having disaster after disaster that's all as a result of climate change? with more bodies yet to be recovered, this is already america's most lethal wildfire in more than a century. few doubt that lessons need to be learned. john sudworth, bbc news, maui. lawyers for donald trump have asked for an april 2026 trial date for the federal charges the former president faces over his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. that would come well after the upcoming 2024 us election, in which mr trump could be the republican candidate for president. special counseljack smith has asked for the trial to start in january of next year, just weeks before the first votes are cast in the republican primaries. a spokesperson for smith declined to comment on the request for the later date. more than 100 people have been arrested in pakistan, after mobs burned churches and vandalised christian homes. the violence in the city ofjaranwala, in punjab, was triggered by claims that two christian men had torn pages from a copy of the quran. they've now been been arrested. 0ur pakistan correspondent, caroline davies, has more. narrow streets with destruction at every turn. you can see there. the enormous damage that has been done here. this is jaranwala's christian quarter. yesterday, angry protesters stormed these homes, including sonam's. "we lost everything," she tells me. inside, blackened, overturned, smashed. she describes how her bed was thrown from the window and on her roof, how she heard an announcement from the mosque calling for people to come out to protest. translation: people came to our houses with their sticks. _ we were scared and we ran. we had small kids. if they had gotten hurt, what would we have done? the protest was called after two christians were alleged to have ripped pages from the koran, writing obscenities on them. thousands gathered. it turned violent. churches around the city burnt, homes ransacked. when we first got here, people were in a real state of shock but now, quite clear that that is turning to anger. minorities, including christians, are protected by law in pakistan but many we spoke to felt that not enough was done to stop this. translation: when protesters| came here, they chanted slogans and i saw the police leaving from the other side. then the protesters destroyed it all. the police argue they stopped the situation deteriorating. if we had charged or started fighting, it could have subsided but it would have swept all over the country and the most important thing, if we had killed any of the protesters, that would have created a ripple effect. the police have said they believe the violence was planned and arrested some individuals from two hardline religious parties. in stjohn's church, tears for what is lost and for how quickly their fragile peace was fractured. caroline davies, bbc news, jaranwala. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. some other news now. at least ten people are dead after a private jet crashed into a road in the capital of kuala lumpur. the small business jet gave no mayday signal before it crashed, minutes after being cleared to land. a brazilian hacker has told a congressional inquiry that he was hired by brazil's former president, jair bolsonaro, to try to prove that electronic ballots were vulnerable to fraud, ahead of last year's election. walter delgatti told the inquiry he was paid $8,000 by someone close to mr bolsonaro. he said he wasn't able to hack the ballots. and britney spears is splitting from her husband ofjust 14 months. a divorce petition filed late on wednesday cites irreconcilable differences between the pop star and actor, sam asghari. the couple got engaged in september 2021, and were married in a star—studded ceremony last year. in a statement, asghari said the pair had chosen to end theirjourney together and that he wishes britney the best always. you're live with bbc news. west african regional bloc, ecowas, says it's still prepared to use force to restore democracy in niger. the group has met in ghana to co—ordinate a possible military intervention. it follows last month's military coup, which deposed elected president mohamed bazoum. 0ur correspondent thomas naadi has been monitoring developments. ecowas is ramping up pressure on the militaryjaunter in niger. following the diplomatic efforts. the chiefs in the region he had been meeting at the ghana army headquarters to firm up a strategy for a possible military invasion of the country. ecowas member countries are expected to contribute troops. 0fficials contribute troops. officials have said their resources will be used to support the mission they will also welcome outside help. ecowas put the koorlong after the military coup last month and the block is determined to restore president mohamed bazoum. ecowas had previously intervened in civil wars in the 1990s and more recently elsewhere. niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. while battling a deadly islamist insurgency. it is the staging point for the western terraced air force. they are concerned about the fragile security system in the region. thomas naadi, bbc news. meanwhile, the new us ambassador to niger will touch down in the country in the coming days. the state department says kathleen fitzgibbon's arrival does not mean the us recognises the military led government. earlier, i spoke with bisa williams, the former us ambassador to niger, for more on all of this. bisa williams, thank you indeed forjoining us this evening. ecowas has activated a standby force ready to invade niger should the military faction continue to hold onto its power and should ecowas deemed that thatis and should ecowas deemed that that is needed. do you support that is needed. do you support that use of force? i’zfe that use of force? i've personally _ that use of force? i've personally think - that use of force? i've personally think that i that use of force? i've| personally think that is that use of force? i've - personally think that is the most important instrument that ecowas can use as a last resort. ecowas can use as a last resort-— ecowas can use as a last resort. , . , resort. they are using the justification _ resort. they are using the justification for _ resort. they are using the justification for that - resort. they are using the justification for that is - resort. they are using the justification for that is the potential for contagion in the region and that is why they have this was on standby full up have this was on standby full up the views that is the justification as well for closing the borders, shutting off the electricity. pare closing the borders, shutting off the electricity.— off the electricity. are you concerned _ off the electricity. are you concerned about - off the electricity. are you concerned about that? - off the electricity. are you concerned about that? i l off the electricity. are you i concerned about that? i think that, ratherthan concerned about that? i think that, rather than say it's the worry about contagion, they also thought it was within the data that ecowas states had decided to support democratisation in the region, so the imposition of sanctions and the other instruments in their toolbox that they had to use was sort of messages to send to militaries or other people that would try to overthrow democratically elected governments. there isn't another way for these estates to try to show a collect of point of view. and so i think you have to acknowledge that under thing all the states have acknowledge that. the views used these kinds of things in other instances. niger is one of the poorest countries in the world. the impact of closing the borders to nigeria, for example, cutting off its electricity sharing with niger is hard for a westerner to imagine, an particularly, to imagine, an particularly, to imagine, ithink imagine, an particularly, to imagine, i think the impact has been very heavy, but it is also supposed to be telling a message to the junta that they need to engage in serious discussions to get the country out of this serious crisis. [30 out of this serious crisis. do out of this serious crisis. do you think — out of this serious crisis. do you think we _ out of this serious crisis. do you think we are at the point of last resort now?— of last resort now? does not for me to — of last resort now? does not for me to determine, - of last resort now? does not for me to determine, but. of last resort now? does not for me to determine, but i l for me to determine, but i thought last message out of ecowas was that they want to talk seriously with the junta. i understand the united states still has left the door open to discussion, to uses good offices to further dialogue, so i think it is up to thejunta to demonstrate it wants to talk seriously. i'm not sure what kind of countdown the military leaders of the ecowas states use, that'sjust leaders of the ecowas states use, that's just not my forte. 0k. mohamed bazoum came to powerjust over two years ago in the first democratic transfer of power since independence in 1960. what you think this situation means for the democracy in niger? i think it's an enormous _ the democracy in niger? i think it's an enormous setback. - the democracy in niger? i think it's an enormous setback. it - the democracy in niger? i think it's an enormous setback. it is l it's an enormous setback. it is a tragic, lamentable, and just horrible setback for the country. i do think that if a coup succeeds, if the military overthrow of a productive give democratically elected government succeeds in niger then i think it is a very, very dangerous signal, ominous signalfor the rest of dangerous signal, ominous signal for the rest of the region. signal for the rest of the re . ion. , �* region. president biden, the biden administration - region. president biden, the biden administration has - region. president biden, thej biden administration has not called it a coup, do you consider it to be a coup? i think it's a coup. but i'm not in government. i understand by the us government has hesitated. there are things that have to kick in if the united states government determines legally that this is a coup and i think they are holding off because they are trying not to have those severe measures immediately come into effect. 50 measures immediately come into effect, ., �*, , , effect. so that's why they o-ened effect. so that's why they opened their _ effect. so that's why they opened their door. - effect. so that's why they opened their door. it's i effect. so that's why they i opened their door. it's very unusual _ opened their door. it's very unusual for— opened their door. it's very unusual for them _ opened their door. it's very unusual for them to - opened their door. it's very unusual for them to say - opened their door. it's very unusual for them to say we j opened their door. it's very - unusual for them to say we will use our good offices in this instance, we are willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with those who want to have a dialogue. i think united states government trying to do everything it can to signal that it's very serious about trying to get out of the situation peacefully and not impose the kinds of measures that our congress requires. i5 that our congress requires. is one of those signals the new us ambassador to niger, kathleen fitzgibbon there, this week, obviously a post yourself in the past. is that an important thing for the us government to do at this point? it is important _ do at this point? it is important for - do at this point? it is i important for kathleen fitzgibbon, who was a career diplomat, to be posted to niger at this time. but it is not, i don't thing, links, i'm pretty sure it's not linked to the idea that the united states is sending signals. in fact, kathleen was nominated over a year ago, our kathleen was nominated over a yearago, our own kathleen was nominated over a year ago, our own domestic situation held up, i think, have been confirmed. she was finally confirmed i think late july, 27july also and so now they are sending her to post. but this is a crisis period in niger and our embassy needs professional, experienced leadership and kathleen represents that. and i think thatis represents that. and i think that is also important for the government to understand, for the nigerians to see we are going to make sure that our mission is the right kinds of people in it. if they are going to have a discussion and then somebody with experience to help be that conduit. {line somebody with experience to help be that conduit.- help be that conduit. one of the first things _ help be that conduit. one of the first things they - help be that conduit. one of the first things they do - help be that conduit. one of the first things they do is i the first things they do is present their credentials to the president, the president in this case is obviously under house arrest and the most recent us delegation there was denied access to him, what is the sort ofjob lies ahead, what does that look like for kathleen fitzgibbon? i think the first thing _ kathleen fitzgibbon? i think the first thing she _ kathleen fitzgibbon? i think the first thing she will - kathleen fitzgibbon? i think the first thing she will have l the first thing she will have to do is really meet with our embassy. we have americans that are in niger, we have our own local staff. and i think the first thing is the people that are directly working with you. she will have to make sure that our staff understands what the us government position is, what is going to doing there as a leader, and how much we know that this situation is very straining on all of the families, notjust the american families, notjust the american families, but particularly the knees yarri and families with whom we have worked over decades. —— nigerianfamilies. the second will be to make sure american citizens in the country also know the embassy has an ambassador there. i think those kind of symbols in that order are important. as far as the communication with the people who have seized power and her communication with brett summers m, i imagine she will continue to be the state department's conduit. she will be able to speak with president bazoum, hopefully, and if the government that has imposed itself wants to deal seriously with united states government, kathleen is going to be the person they really reach out to —— president bazoum. so i think she has her work cut out for her. fiifi bazoum. so i think she has her work cut out for her.— work cut out for her. ok, we will leave — work cut out for her. ok, we will leave it _ work cut out for her. ok, we will leave it there _ work cut out for her. ok, we will leave it there for - work cut out for her. ok, we will leave it there for the - will leave it there for the moment. bisa williams thank you forjoining us. moment. bisa williams thank you forjoining us— forjoining us. you're welcome, thank you- _ we have some breaking news to bring to you now coming to us from hawaii. the head of the maori emergency management agency has resigned. herman andaya has cited health reasons for the decision. he's recently faced criticism for his handling of the wildfire response — amid questions over why maui's emergency sirens were not used at the height of the emergency. maui's county mayor says they are quickly looking for a replacement. dozens of migrants are missing, presumed dead, after their boat was found off cape verde. police say their wooden vessel was discovered adrift in the atlantic ocean, about 277 kilometres from the resort island of sal. 0ur west africa correspondent mayeni jones has been following the story and spoke to a family member of one of the victims. i spoke to the relatives of one of them, a young man, he was just 23 years old. his brother said that he was, he decided to leave the country because he had a young family, he had two children, he had a wife, he was struggling to provide for them. he said we are fishermen, in senegal there are very few opportunities for us to make money. he told me that as a matter of fact, a few weeks before his brother decided to attempt this crossing, he had already tried once before to go there, that they had both boarded a boat headed towards spain, they hadn't been successful that time either, had to go back. but this man decided to attempt the crossing again at this time he lost his life. but despite that his brother was adamant that if he had the opportunity to travel to europe he would do it again despite having lost his brother in that crossing. and before we go, one of the biggest names in british television, sir michael parkinson, has died at the age of 88. over a seven—decade career, he interviewed the biggest names in the world, including muhammad ali, sir eltonjohn and damejudy dench, among countless others. stars interviewed by mr parkinson over the years, from sir david attenborough to david beckham, have paid tribute to the tv legend. stay with us here on bbc news. hello. we're going to have all sorts of weather on friday — from morning thunderstorms across the south of the country, to sunshine in the lake district and scotland. so a real mixed bag on the way. so let's have a look at the big picture. here's the satellite picture — jet stream pushing along this developing area of weather. multiple areas of low pressure and multiple weather fronts heading our way. and yes, there'll be some storms, too. so let's have a look at the early morning forecast — showers already breaking out across some southwestern parts of the country, possibly some rumbles of thunder, too. but further north and east, i think bright spells, if not cloudy skies across some of these north sea coasts. quite muggy in the morning. but let's have a look at the thunderstorms, then. so sweeping in from the southwest — this is around about 7am — the position of these storms very tricky to pinpoint, but we will see some downpours in places. frequent lightning, gusty winds, as well. some rain moving through northern ireland in the morning, too, then eventually, these thunderstorms will move into the midlands, move a little bit further northwards, and most of them should fade — so we're not anticipating any storms further north. now further north, it'll be a little bit cooler — around 17 in aberdeen, 19 in glasgow, further south across the country, around about 21—23 celsius. then friday night, the next era of rain sweeps across the country — this is a developing area of low pressure — with the risk of gales around some western and south—western coasts. so very blustery weather for a time in the morning, especially out towards the south—west. the rain will move north, and then later in the day on saturday, it's actually better — it's quite a breezy day, but plenty of bright, if not sunny weather, and just a scattering of showers. and the temperatures will rise a little bit, as well. now looking ahead to sunday, an area of high pressure is expected to build in from the south, extending all the way from these south—western portions. and i think a pretty decent day on the way, just a scattering of showers, really pleasant temperatures — 25 in london, about 20 expected in glasgow, and about 21 in belfast. and the outlook is looking warm for many of us, not necessarily sunny all the time — i think the low 20s further north, and comfortably into the mid—20s across some southern areas. that's it for me, bye—bye. china's evergrande files for bankruptcy in the united states. we will have the latest in the collapse of the world's most indebted developer. plus ahead of the 2023 asean summit injakarta, we have an interview with indonesia's vice foreign minister. hello and welcome to asia business report. i am monica miller. we begin with china evergrande because the slow motion collapse of the world's most indebted property developer has just entered a new stage. the embattled company has just filed for bankrupcy in the united states, while its restructuring plans are being carried out elsewhere. meanwhile signs of trouble are spreading across china's broader property market with large housing units remaining unfinished and buyers who paid deposits skipping payments as a result. another major developer, country garden, has warned it may not be able to make interest payments on bonds as it struggles to find the cash to finish projects around the country. stephen cochrane is the chief asia economist for economics research firm, moody's analytics. earlier he told me that fixing this problems faced by china's property sector will take a long time. i think what it means is that it is going to be a kind of a long slow process in terms of resolving and restructuring this debt amongst the major property developers in china as they work this out both through the us legal system and, of course, in china as well.