the president toured the devastated town of lahaina, meeting with first responders. he's faced criticism for his handling of the federal response to the wildfires after not speaking publicly about the crisis for days. the president has also attended a community reception, where he's addressed a crowd under a banner reading "lahaina strong". speaking in front of the island's famous banyan tree, mr biden said his government is committed to the recovery. we're focused on what's next, rebuilding for the long—term. and doing it together to help get us back on our feet, to rebuild the way we want to rebuild. the country grieves with you and stand with you and will do everything to respect culture and traditions when the rebuilding takes place. the state's governor took part in mr biden�*s tour, and also spoke at the press conference. he had this message for the international community. all of the other areas of maui and the rest of hawaii are safe and open and available. the mystique and love and aloha is here for you. the reason i say that is because when you come, you will support our local economy and help speed the recovery of the people that are suffering right now. recovery efforts are ongoing in maui. ahead of mr biden�*s trip the white house said that, as of sunday, more than 1,000 federal workers are in maui. that includes more than a50 search and rescue personnel. and the biden administration has approved $8.2 million to almost 3,000 households. 850 people are still missing, as tuesday marks two weeks since the worst of the wildfires hit the island. cooler weather is helping canadian fire fighters as they battle more than 300 active wildfires burning in the province of british columbia, and the northwest territories. tens of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate and a state of emergency remains in force. however, more help is coming, soldiers are being deployed to battle some blazes. the clean—up is under way in the southwest of the us as what's left of tropical storm hilary makes its way into nevada. these are some of the latest pictures, coming from cathedral city, just outside of palm springs. the torrential rain has led to much of this area being covered in mud. many cars have been abandoned on the roads — but not all. here's at least two people stuck in an rv, calling for help on the outskirts of the city. in los angeles, a record was broken for the most rain ever on an august day. california's governor gavin newsom has declared a state of emergency. the battle to become ecuador�*s next president will be decided by an october run—off. the country went to the polls on sunday, and left—wing candidate luisa gonzalez won the most votes with 33% support. she'll face off against daniel noboa, who received the second most votes. the october poll is expected to be tight. the election campaign was marred by violence after the assassination of presidental candidate fernando villavicencio, shot dead after a rally earlier this month. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson filed this report. when you need dozens of soldiers and a bullet—proof curtain to be able to vote, you realise democracy is in danger. i voted with courage, said this candidate, running in place of fernando villavicencio, the politician shot dead earlier this month. ecuadorians are still reeling from the attack on mr villavicencio, a journalist turned politician, he was outspoken on corruption and organised crime, murdered as he left a campaign event. ecuador was once a peaceful country, but in the past few years, colombian and mexican drug cartels vying for lucrative routes have taken advantage of a struggling state and corrupt politics and have gained the upper hand. dressed in white and calling for peace, fernando villavicencio's daughter cast her vote, remembering a dad who was also her best friend. translation: he was beautiful, powerful, kind, a giant. - one of my best friends. we are living a powerful historic moment in ecuador. so many people who didn't care about politics are upset and they're thinking, if i don't do something for my country, for myself, then nothing will change and the mafia will come and dominate us. for ecuadorians going to vote, security was high on the list of priorities. i think right now there is a lot of violence in the country, things are very complicated. after the death of villavicencio, i think we need to unite. leftist candidate luisa gonzalez won the most votes, pledging social welfare programmes including education and health. she will face businessman daniel noboa, a surprise to many that he will go through to a run—off vote in october. and with more on the latest in ecuador, my colleague caitriona perry spoke to katy watson a short while ago. thanks forjoining us. you mentioned your report to the need for peace and security. what is expected between now at the run—off in october? it what is expected between now at the run-off in october?— the run-off in october? it was exnected _ the run-off in october? it was exnected that _ the run-off in october? it was expected that luisa _ the run-off in october? it was expected that luisa gonzalez, i expected that luisa gonzalez, the leftist candidate, would this round. what was subsidising was daniel noboa, a pro—business candidate who almost came from nowhere. what happened with fernando villavicencio really upended the campaign. the focus was on security and peace in ecuador. that's what we're going to see for the next few weeks until mid—october when the second round is. every ecuadorian is worried about safety and peace and security. it's about how to be able to live a normal life without being affected by ongoing crime. the organised crime, political corruption, all the things that make such a big impact on everyday life there. that's what we're going to say, a realfocus i think on how to make life easier for people in ecuador. just how to make life easier for people in ecuador.- people in ecuador. just on that, to — people in ecuador. just on that, to what _ people in ecuador. just on that, to what extent - people in ecuador. just on that, to what extent do i people in ecuador. just on | that, to what extent do you think the murder of fernando villavicencio will change the outcome of this election? his death outcome of this election? ti 3 death changed everything. talking to ecuadorians, yes, this is a country that has seen an uptick in organised crime and violence and the murder rate in the last few years. it was relatively peaceful until organised crime took a hold of this country. when it happened, it really shocked people, that a presidential candidate could be killed doing hisjob. yes, he was outspoken against organised crime and the connection with politics, but evenin connection with politics, but even in a country seeing this rise in crime, it took people back i think. so every candidate after his death has tried to reassure ecuadorians about how they can improve the country going forward. but it's going to be a massive task. first of all, these elections were called early after the current president dissolved the national assembly over an impending impeachment vote. so the person who gets elected in october will only have 18 months as president before the next presidential election. so a lot of people are wondering exactly what can be done, especially when you look at the huge problems facing ecuador. unemployment problems, social problems, the fact the cartels have such a strong grip on this country. how can you loosen that great, and how politics can take back control, i think few people have any faith in the system changing. fin few people have any faith in the system changing. on another issue, the system changing. on another issue. voters _ the system changing. on another issue, voters also _ the system changing. on another issue, voters also went _ the system changing. on another issue, voters also went to - the system changing. on another issue, voters also went to the - issue, voters also went to the polls on the matter relating to drilling for oil in the amazon. voting with their feet to protect it. how significant is the referendum result? i think the referendum result? i think the referendum _ the referendum result? i think the referendum on _ the referendum result? i think the referendum on oil- the referendum result? i think the referendum on oil drilling | the referendum on oil drilling in the national park is a massive deal. it's been years in the making for climate activists here. we are all talking about the amazon, the degradation of the forests, the concern it will reach a tipping point where it will be so damaged there will be no way back to be able to repair it. so for the activists who campaigned to stop drilling in the amazon, this is a massive deal. that said, for the outgoing president who made a big talk about how oil exploration can help the economy in ecuador, that's going to take a hit. its an estimated loss of $16 billion by not being able to drill in the amazon. the state oil company will have to stop operations there. it will take a hit because oil is of really important part of the country's income. but for the amazon of course, it's great news. thanks forjoining _ course, it's great news. thanks forjoining us- _ a ukjudge has ruled child killer lucy letby will never be released from prison. the 33—year—old former nurse was jailed for life for each of the murders of seven babies, and the attempted murder of six more. letby refused to appear in court for the sentencing. our correspondent anna foster has been following this trial. lucy letby is now beginning what they call a whole life sentence. they are very rare in the uk, but in the case of this 33—year—old nurse who murdered seven babies in her care and attempted to murder six more at the countess of chester hospital, thejudge the countess of chester hospital, the judge said that was the only sentence is appropriate because of the severity of the crimes. this was a nurse looking after the sickest and most premature babies, who presented on the outside a vision or somebody compassionate and caring. medically qualified. somebody who was helping those parents through the most difficult moments in their lives. and who we now know was murdering and attempting to murder the babies in her care. it is a case that has shocked the uk and the fact this whole life sentence has been handed down really shows the severity of this case. the judge talked about malevolence bordering on sadism. he talked about the premeditated nature of these crimes. the way lucy letby had tried to cover up what she did. and there have only been very few criminals who have been given these whole life sentences, and been told they will never be released from prison. but in the case of lucy letby, who the judge said had shown no remorse for what she did, that was an appropriate sentence for her to be given. she is now the most prolific killer of babies and children in modern british history. and this is not a case which is over. because the investigation into her crimes is now widening to take in the whole of her nursing career. the trial at manchester crown court only looked at a one—year period of lucy letby�*s time as a nurse. now police officers are continuing their investigations, looking at the deaths of more babies in other hospitals she worked out. they promised they will continue those investigative works until the whole of lucy letby�*s career has been looked at and investigated to see if she has been responsible for committing any further crimes. saudi border guards have been accused of the killing of hundreds of mainly ethiopian migrants, who are attempting to cross the border from yemen in search of work. that's according to new human rights watch report. a saudi official has dismissed the findings, saying the report isn't reliable. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams has more. mustafa is full of regrets. it's been more than a year since he lost his left leg on yemen's northern border. rehabilitation has been a long, hard road. he's still haunted by what happened the night he tried to enter saudi arabia. transation: we got shot at while we were walking. | immediately we all lie down on the ground. for about five minutes, i didn't even realise i was shot. but when i tried to get up and walk, part of my leg wasn't there. the shooting went on and on and on. yemen's rugged, remote mountains. huge numbers of people on the move, fleeing poverty and war at home, seeking opportunity in neighbouring saudi arabia. some of the migrants filmed their own epic, dangerousjourneys. and among the videos shared on social media, evidence of death and trauma. bodies lying in a rocky riverbed, a hasty burial high on the mountainside. and now a shocking allegation that saudi arabian soldiers are killing hundreds of migrants. since 2014, human rights watch has been documenting occasional and infrequent killings at the border by saudi border guards. that's bad enough as it is. but really, i'd say in the last couple of years, we've seen an escalation that has changed occasional killings into widespread and systematic mass killings that may amount to a crime against humanity. the report from human rights watch is full of detail. migrant routes mapped out, specific border guard posts established, pictures of casualties from the migrants themselves geolocated. we've contacted several ethiopians who said they saw killings at the border. ibsa, who didn't want us to use his real name, is still in yemen. translation: we were shot. and beaten at the saudi border, and those who shot us were saudi men. they wore saudi arabia's military uniform. they beat us, killed some, and took those who survived to hospital. the bodies of those killed were left scattered on the ground. and it's still happening. more and more ethiopians laid to rest on foreign soil. 24—year—old abaga was buried in the northern city of saada two weeks ago. local ethiopian sources told us he'd been shot and wounded at the border. mustafa says it's wrong to dwell on the past, but he wishes he hadn't left home, hadn't tried to improve his life. even if he could now fly to saudi arabia, he says he wouldn't do it. paul adams, bbc news. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. china's central bank has cut one of its key interest rates for the second time in three months, as the world's second—largest economy struggles to bounce back from the pandemic. the people's bank of china lowered its one—year loan prime rate to 3.a5%. the country's post—covid recovery has been hit by a property crisis, falling exports, and weak consumer spending. an anti—corruption candidate has swept to a shock win in guatemala's presidential election. bernardo arevalo's victory is seen as a repudiation of the political elite in the central american nation, long the target of corruption allegations. mr arevalo campaigned on an anti—corruption platform, and has pledged to defend the rule of law against entrenched elitist interests. cambodia's national assembly approved hun manet as the country's new prime minister. he is the son of hun sen who stepped down victory in an election injuly. a flagship russian long—range bombing aircraft has been destroyed, reportedly in a ukrainian drone strike. this image posted on social media, and analysed by bbc verify, shows the supersonic plane ablaze. it's an aircraft russia has used extensively to attack ukrainian cities. it comes as ukraine's president zelensky says greece will help train ukrainian airforce pilots to fly f—16jets. he made the comments during a joint press conference in athens, with greece's prime minister. his visit there is the fourth stop in a tour of european countries, including sweden, denmark, and the netherlands. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse has more. this is president zelensky in his comfort zone. he is at ease on these whistle—stop foreign policy trips, and they bring concrete results typically. in the case of the netherlands and denmark, the us hasjust given them the green light to deliver their f—16 fighter them the green light to deliver their f—16fighterjets to ukraine. we are talking about a few dozen but we have learned a bit more detail, certainly with denmark, more than 70 ukrainian pilots will be trained initially. we have learned they won't be delivered until the training is complete. and we have learned a bit about the timelines. denmark has promised 19 f-16 timelines. denmark has promised 19 f—16 fighter timelines. denmark has promised 19 f—16fighterjets, which resident zelensky sees crucial in countering russian air superiority. they will arrive over the next 18 months, so while this is a welcome direction of travel for ukraine, there is the age—old frustration over how much time it takes the western aid to arrive and be used on the battlefield. president zelensky had touched down in athens, a country which has been one of the earliest to condemn russia's invasion of ukraine. he will meet the president of the european commission ursula von der leyen in a meeting. the block has been another major ally for ukraine in providing billions of dollars of humanitarian aid. these diplomatic efforts are not to be dismissed, they feed directly into ukraine's sustained military effort in trying to defend themselves. world leaders have started arriving injohannesburg for a meeting of the brics nations — brazil, russia, india, china and south africa. these are pictures of china's leader xi jinping touching down ahead of proceedings starting tuesday. the summit will shine a light on the member nations�* links with the kremlin. russian president vladimir putin was supposed to attend the summit in person but the international criminal court has issued a warrant for his arrest, and south africa would have been under pressure to extradite him. so putin will attend virtually instead. live now to patrick gaspard, president and ceo of the center for american progress, and a former us ambassador to south africa. thank you forjoining us. we see china's xijinping is attending the summit in person, how significant do you think that is? ., ~ , ., how significant do you think that is? ., ~ i. how significant do you think that is? ., ~ . ., that is? thank you so much for havin: that is? thank you so much for having me- _ that is? thank you so much for having me. it's— that is? thank you so much for having me. it's of— that is? thank you so much for having me. it's of course - having me. it's of course significant, whenever brics comes together as a formation, they represent 40% of the global population. and a quarter of the world's gdp. brics now controls more of global gdp than g7 does. china is at the heart of that. this is at the heart of that. this is at the heart of that. this is a consequential moment for the brics coalition. intending to institutionalise the value it projects to the world. china's economy is incredibly wobbly at the moment, they have not recovered from the pandemic. and of course russia, in the person of vladimir putin, can't even attend the summit because there is an arrest warrant against him on the icc of which south africa is a signatory. china plays an outsized role, but india and brazil are not to be forgotten. i want to ask you about one of the narratives we have seen going into the summit. that these are countries coming together to challenge the global north's dominance and highlight the global south. what does south africa want to get out of this summit? i would be careful— get out of this summit? i would be careful in — get out of this summit? i would be careful in giving _ get out of this summit? i would be careful in giving such - get out of this summit? i would be careful in giving such a - be careful in giving such a clear hard and fast definition of the aims here. you have such diversity in the brics coalition. and while there may be nations like russia and china that intend to directly challenge the west, there are others like brazil and south africa, and i would include india as well, as nations that have a much more nuanced and complicated relationship with the west. south africa is in the west. south africa is in the midst of trying to renew some agreements to give them tax free access to the us market. india... inaudible. a lot of complexity there. i want to ask you about the role ukraine plays. it is a big issue and south africa has refused to explicitly condemn russia's aggression in this war. they don't want to align with either the russians or the americans, so where does south africa stand on ukraine?- africa stand on ukraine? south africa stand on ukraine? south africa prejects _ africa stand on ukraine? south africa projects its _ africa projects its nonalignment in what it sees as as an emerging cold war between china and the west. and certainly the illegal invasion of ukraine playing out in the backdrop of their nonalignment. viewers will understand the historic relationship between south africa and russia. the soviet union supported the anti—apartheid movement at the height of the apartheid, whereas great britain and the us were allied with the apartheid regime, which further complicates their relationships. south africa and many other african nations were deeply troubled by vladimir putin reneging on the grain deal he had set with ukraine which allow the export of grain to african nations. as a consequence of that, the price has gone up exponentially on the african continent. it's leading to real food insecurity. ii leading to real food insecurity.- leading to real food insecurity. leading to real food insecuri . , insecurity. ifi could 'ust “um insecurity. ifi could 'ust jump in. i insecurity. ifi could 'ust jump in, there i insecurity. ifi could 'ust jump in, there has h insecurity. if i could just jump in, there has been insecurity. if i could just - jump in, there has been tension of course as well over the us accusation that south africa was providing arms to russia, so how has that impacted the us relationship with south africa? that's a great question. i would say those tensions have abated. there continue to be active conversations between the countries about the renewal of agreements. south africa has launched its own investigation as to what happened with the ship that got into the cape, and they have made it very clear they would not be violating the nonalignment packed. the lack of presence of vladimir putin, injohannesburg vladimir putin, in johannesburg now vladimir putin, injohannesburg now it means south africa was clear that as a signatory of the international criminal court, they would have had to issue an arrest... so again, complicated relationships. i would say the us and south africa are working to build firm trade relationships, and on other things... aha, firm trade relationships, and on other things. . ._ firm trade relationships, and on other things. .. a quick last question. _ on other things. .. a quick last question, china _ on other things. .. a quick last question, china is _ on other things. .. a quick last question, china is interested i question, china is interested in expanding brics membership, possibly including countries like saudi arabia, does that concern you?— concern you? saudi arabia, argentina. _ concern you? saudi arabia, argentina, venezuela, - concern you? saudi arabia, | argentina, venezuela, iran. they are looking to invite in a set of nations that have challenging human rights records and challenging economies. we will continue to look closely at this. clearly because of the intermingling of our economies and the interdependence on things like climate, it's important for all of us that the brics nations managed to thrive. but even india was concerned about some of the expansion ambitions that china have. of the expansion ambitions that china have-— china have. really interesting to hear your _ china have. really interesting to hear your insights, - to hear your insights, ambassador, thanks so much for joining us on bbc news.- joining us on bbc news. thanks for havin: joining us on bbc news. thanks for having me. _ joining us on bbc news. thanks for having me. that _ joining us on bbc news. thanks for having me. that is - joining us on bbc news. thanks for having me. that is our - for having me. that is our programme- _ for having me. that is our programme. you - for having me. that is our programme. you can - for having me. that is our i programme. you can always for having me. that is our - programme. you can always go to the website for the latest news and analysis, and follow us on twitter. stay with us. hello there. we saw plenty of sunshine and some warmth around on monday across england and wales. top temperatures around 26 celsius across the south east of england. over the next few days, the weather's looking pretty similar. most of the showers will be in the north and the west. further south and east that you are it will be warmer with more in the way of sunshine closer to this area of high pressure, which is bringing heatwave conditions to the near continent, particularly france, spain, into parts of italy. low pressure sitting to the north of the uk will bring stronger winds, more showers across northern and western areas, and that's how it's looking for tuesday. we start off again with some low cloud, mist and murk. the sunshine will come out in abundance through central southern areas, and then become confined to southern england through the day. more cloud, i think, elsewhere. northern england, wales into scotland, northern ireland, most of the showers will be in the northwest corner where it'll be quite breezy. high teens here, low 20s for aberdeen, and we'll see those temperatures range from 23 to 26 degrees again, england and wales. as we head through tuesday night, the showers tend to fade away. we'll continue to see a few across northern and western areas and cluster of showers, even long spells of rain perhaps pushing into parts of wales as well, thanks to a weak weather front. but elsewhere it's dry, clear skies, variable cloud, temperatures low to mid—teens. and into wednesday, again, very little change, higher pressure to the south, lower pressure to the north. this weak weather from bringing thicker cloud towards wales and the south west of england. so we could start off with some rain across western wales on wednesday. few showers continuing in northern and western scotland, maybe northern ireland. but, again, majority of the country will see patchy cloud, some sunny spells. best of the sunshine towards the south and the south east where we will see those temperatures again reaching around 25, 26, maybe 27 degrees. further north, it's the high teens, low 20s. now, beyond wednesday this is where we start seeing some changes. low pressure in the north gets its act together and starts to spread its way eastwards. that will send a weather front southwards, could see some big showers or thunderstorms late on thursday in the south. and then we're into a cooler north northwesterly wind regime for friday and into the weekend. you can see those orange colours ebbing southwards in towards the near continent's cooler colours. it will feel cooler and fresher for the end of the week. i think for thursday, the last of the very warm days across the southeast for now. and then things turn cooler and fresher for all areas with a mixture of sunshine and showers. this is bbc news. we will have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour straight after this programme. nicola benedetti, one of the world's great violinists. she's been playing since the age of four, and at 16, won the bbc young musician of the year award. the winner of the 2004 young musician of the year is nicola benedetti! cheering and applause she's now renowned for the passion of her live concerts. for her work with contemporary composers, including a grammy—winning collaboration with wynton marsalis, and setting up her own musicalfoundation. in this episode of this cultural life, the radio four podcast, she reveals her formative influences