Ebola outbreak in Congo worsens

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Try for free today at odoo. com OdWo. com This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service I'm Alex Ritszon and at fififteen Hours GMT on Monday, the twenty ninth of June, these are our main stories. The Venezuelan earthquake death toll climbs as anger grows over the slow response by the authorities The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo worsens with forty seven new infections and twelve deaths on Saturday alone. Britain's Prime mininister in Waiting Andy Burnham, sets out his plans for running the UK Also in this podcast. The main fear is that we will see towns and villages which are half empty. If only half the population is left in a village, the infrastructure suffers. Germany's population crisis in the east We begin in Venezuela where more international support has been pledged for disaster response efforts. In the wake of last week's massive earthquakes, The Netherlands as it's sending a naval vessel to the country with emergency supplies whileile China has promised almost fifteen million dollars in assistance Almost one thousand five hundred people are now known to have died and tens of thousands more are still believed to be missing. While international rescue teams are undertaking large scale searches for survivors with equipment and sniffer dogs, anger has been growing against Venezuela's government for what people say is a lack of action. Our senior international correspondent O O Garin is in a northern coastal town which has badly hit. Daybreak in Katia Lamar, the heart of the disaster zone. Where is the response We reach the area easily State agencies seemed in no rush inside a shredded building friend still waits. Relatives looking on These women know their sister is under the rubble For the newly homeless, time to face another day Wilmer lost eight of his loved ones Most are still entombed by their homes only recovered three This is what hurts the most We won't have the chance to give them a proper burial as they deserve On top of everything. The government decided to close the streets making it harder to bring help Yesterday we waited from six AM to four PM to get a permission to come here We wasted hours Local people are here waiting as they have been for days and for nights, hoping that The bodies of their loved ones will be found On top of this mound of rubble There are some more residents from the area, one man has located the body of his father beneath all of that crushed wreckage But he has no way, nothing except his own hands to try to recover the body What's really striking here is not just the scale of the destruction But the complete lack of any large scale organized official assistance There's no sign of the state here. People tell us they've gone through the pain of losing their loved ones And now they have to try to rescue them themselves. And in the midst of all this, a newborn baby boy, Gael Garcia attended by his grandmother, Lady on a mattress in the dirt His mom, Elliana, delivered him on the street eleven hours after the quake. Lady has had no word from her other daughter and Jealus H are three children And nearby seventy nine year old Yvon gives us a warm welcome as she waits patiently for help to come How do you think about what the government has done or failed to do since all of this happened. It's good Ch me Listen to me, I don't like to make comments that I know might have consequences later I survived and I am still here all by the will of God But I am surprised that our governor hasn't shown his face around here It's been five days now. I I could go to next one wh This afternoon, a few members of Venezuela's National Guard appeared Precious little help But for this young boy, help came in time today Rescue workers gently carrying his weakened body. priised from under the ground recovered with him his father. The two had been buried alive since Thursday These scenes will bring hope to many desperate families here Miracles are few All Aarren. The BBC's Will Grant is in Caracas and told me about wider search and rescue efforts It's hard to get a complete picture because it' so many statesong that northern coastline. But what I can say is in Caracas, the neighborhoods that have been damaged are in very, very poor state. There are buildings down to the tune of about one hundred fifty across the capital, but it's also the degree to which those that haven't been brought down completely been so cracked and damaged that they're going to be uninhabitable. And then you think about places like where I've been over the weekend, Cata May and La Guida state, where the devastation is genuinely hard to describe. You walk down certain streets or you drive down certain parts of the town and there are more buildings completely collapsed than they are still standing teams working on them, but then you realise they're not necessarily official rescuers or teams sent from abroad. They're just neighbours with pickaxs and hands. and I spoke to one man who was a mechanic from Carakas and figured he could help so got on a motorbike and head his way down there. So that's the sort of picture of what's going on Well aware that they're probably basically looking to pull out bodies at this stage rather than find any more survivors. What about the more organised rescue efforts? becausecause there are teams coming in from overseas. Yes, and their support has been hugely appreciated by the Venezuelan people and the families. I think the basic score though is there simply hasn't been enough of it. that people who are desperately waiting, not just for their family members to be f, but for the buildings where they know their family members were to be properly searched, that they feel that no attention has been turned onto their buildings and that they've been left on their own. And that I think is the biggest frustration. That frustration is beginning to turn into a much clearer anger towards the government But I think there is also a recognition that the scale of this disaster is one that would be a challenge for any nation, particularly in Latin America, and that for Venezuela that's been through so much in recent years, it is a Hercuan task. Yes, because we're told the death toll officially is what fif fiveteen hundred people approaching There are tens of thousands of people believed to be missing That's right. I'm at a hospital in Carakas at the moment. There was just quite a sizeful aftershock and apparently the children in the pediatric ward began to scream saying it's happening again, it's happening again. You can imagine the trauma there. And on the walls of this hospital are the names of the missing. So of course, those who are inside the hospitals, particularly the ones who have been reunited with their families really are the lucky ones and that picture that I try to paint for you in Cadia Ma is really just how bad and difficult things are for so many in Venezuela. It's no surprise that there' Earthquakes in Venezuela, why weren't the buildings constructed in a way that they didn't fall down Well, there are earthquakes in Venezuela and obviously a lot of the buildings have been built to code. but over the years, for whatever reason it may be, lack of infrastructure, lack of investment, poor building codes in the first place, or simply corruption to sort of cut corners, there are swathes of the country that are simply not up to building code. That's true across Latin America Mexico, which I know very well and where I live is a country that has improved its building codes over time to bring it up to earthquake code. All the schools, for example, are going through that experience now. But Venezuela it lags behind in that regard, has been made abundantly clear by this event. BBCs will grant in Venezuela Containing the Ebola outbreak in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo remains a huge crisis for the country and the rest of Africa According to the latest official figures, forty seven new infections and twelve deaths were recorded in the DRC on Saturday alone was declared last month with more than twelve hundred confirmed cases and three hundred and sixty deaths. Earlier I spoke to the BBC's Emory Makumino, who's in the capital of the DRC And he told me more about the figures. They haven't reached a plateau where they will stabilize the cases of new infections and death before expecting a decrease in numbers. And this is in the seventh week into the responseer where authorities are still catching up with the Ebola virus that has been spreading with movement restrictions and also a change in their way of practicing a send off of a loved one. And these restrictions have been even extended to Kchasa where authorities have actually banned any protest or any sort of rally just to prevent the spread of the virus. the restrictions, the geographic area where the disease is now killing people is just getting bigger and bigger. Yes, unfortunately. When you take North Kivu, South Kivu and Iuri, we are speaking of fifteen million people in that area And within the three provinces we started here with three health zones affected by the virus, but now within the seven weeks here, it has increased from three to thirty five health districts now that have notified cases of Ebola. Should people outside the DRC be concerned Well, according to the World Health Organization and also the Africa Center for Disease and Prevention, they are saying that the risk of further spread is high in the country and also in eleven other countries here in the Central Africa and East Africa region, that's a risk for cross border is still very high, but it is low when it comes to global spread or transmission. But these are things which are evolving. Last Wednesday, we saw that France notified a case of Ebola from Ginjasa here. So authorities are vigilant and they are trying to contain le the disease in the three provinces and not have it spread to additional provinces. Emie Macumino Here in Britain, we've had six prrime ministers in the last ten years. The man who's widely expected to be the seventh, Andy Burnham has been setting out his plans to be Prime Minister a week after the incumbent from the governing Labour Party Kir Stammer said that he would resign Mr. Burnham is currently the only candidate to replace him He pledged to take power from the centre and put it in the hands of people and places that he said could use it best. Even the Prime Minister's residence, T Downing Street, would see a partial move from London to the North of England. Num ten will be the nerve center of a rewired Britain It will be the conduit through which we redistribute power and resources across the UK. It will coordinate all parts of government at national and local level to agree a long term economic strategy and help all places set new growth ambitions. Our political correspondent Rob Watson told me more about number ten North. Well we now know, don't we, Alex what Andy Burnham's big idea is, How is he going to be different from Kirar? It's the idea of devolution sending power from Westminster to all parts of the country. And it's an interesting one because Britain is one of the most centralized states in the whole of the developed world. So the idea is, and he says it's based on his experience in Manchester that if you really want growth, you need to kind of devolve the power down to local government, local businesses, local people and get cracking. And so the idea of the number ten of the North, which will be based in Manchester is to force that through to make sure that power and resources are indeed taken from where I'm sitting here in Westminster. Leers promised similar ideas though before. They have indeed, Alex. And it's interesting. when I was listening to him, I was remembering sitting in Manchester myself listening to David Cameron, anyone remember him in twenty fifteen saying that it was incredibly important after their election victory that the wealth of the southeast of England needed to be spread to places like Manchester No doubt, everybody will remember Boris Johnson, anyyone remember him, mayor of London, his big plan after Brexit that Britain needed to be leveled up. So yes, these sort of promises have been made before, and that's why it's going to be all about delivery for Mr. Burnham. Maybe that's one reason why Alex he said this was a ten year plan tell everyone to be patient. What are the financial markets going to make of it all? The financial markets will be pleased that he said he was going to live within the existing fiscal rules set by the current labour government that he's taking over from, which is basically not to be increasing the major taxes or borrowing or spending. But I think more broadly the markets Privateex Mor generally would want to know, as a person of the centre left, does Mrter Burnham get it? as they would see that what industry, what you really need for growth in Britain is not just sort of things like devolution, but essentially to make it easier, cheaper for businesses to set up in Britain and to invest here from overseas. this called the real problems that Britain faces. Well, I guess the answer to that is Alex, that it would if it works, right? I mean, hisis promise at the end was what was it to bring growth to every postcode and hope to every heart? You know, that's what we'll be looking at over the next two, three, four, or as mister Bernam would like ten years, Alex. And briefly, his colleagues any reaction? Well, you know, they love it. They love the hopeful message that you know hope in every heart, giving a more sort of joyful picture of Britain and the idea that people all over the country and their representatives can take back control, you know, that sort of stuff goes down well. But again, you know, it's details delivery Robertsson. The fossil which has been ignored for forty years has turned out to be the first dinosaur bone ever found in Antarctica. The specimen belongs to the British Antarctic Survey based in the English city of Cambridge. It's now been identified by experts from the Natural History Museum in London, as our science editor Rebecca Morerell explains The ten centimeter wide fossil was unearthed during an expedition to James Ross Island four decades ago Its discovery was recorded in a filled notebook with a tiny sketch of the fossil and a note saying, vertebra from a large reptile. But that was as far as the identification went, until the fossil was spotted amongst the thousands of specimens stored at the British Antarctic Svey. Its distinctive shape revealed it was part of the taail of a Titanosaur the largest dinosaurs ever to roam the earth. it dates to eighty two million years ago when Antarctica was very different to how it is today It would have been covered in lush forest providing ample food for this four legged long necked dinosaur Professor Paularret, a paleontologist from the Natural History Museum, helped to identify the bone. So it's significant in being the first dinosaur that was found on the continent. We know that these are really big animals, they requred lots of food, so at least we know that there's a lot of things there that are growing for them to feed on The're animals that also find their way into New Zealand and Australia, so it helps link those landmasses together with the sorts of dinosaurs that are around on them at this time and shows that an area that we now think is really uninhabitable was once actually very hababitable and had this huge cast of characters living on it. The scientists think the dinosaur this fossil came from was about seven meters long, which is small for a tyitanosaur suggesting it was a young animal or even a dwarf species Rebecca Morrel Still to come in this podcast. I definitely have a lot of experience on my side and I have a lot of championships where I don't feel the pressure to do anything. As Wimbledon gets underway, we speak to a returning champion, Serena Williams Who's making her singles come back The leash off your processor that gives you long battery life Work on the go Between back to back calls, stay locked in from brewing morning coffee to burning the midnight oil get maximum performance, even when unplugged Finally Freedom to move across the room or across the world is here Snapdragon That's how This is the Story of the One. As a maintenance engineer at a beverage manufacturing plant, he starts his day knowing every line is ready to run because Granger delivers the industrial grade products he needs to keep mixers, conveyors, and packaging equipment moving. With Granger's vast selection of bearings, belts, and motors, he keeps operations running smoothly So nothing grinds to a halt Call one eight hundred ranger, click Ranger. com or just stop by. 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With Granger's vast selection of bearings, belts, and motors, he keeps operations running smoothly, so nothing grinds to a halt Hall one eight hundred ranger, click Ranger. com or just stop by Ranger. for the ones who get it done This is the Global News podcast In Germany, large parts of the country's east are forecast to see their population drop over the coming decades as deaths in the country outpace births and at the same time, immigration levels are falling Why is Germany's former communist East so affected? our Berlin correspondent Jessica Parker reports town of Oslaben in the state of Saxon Anhalt. Of the five states that were once part of Germany's communist East, this one has seen the most drastic ulation drop around a twenty six percent fall since nineteen ninety. We're here to meet a guy who came back to his hometown after years away, Jan Nicholas You were born in nineteen eighty nine. Yes, say when the Berlin Wall fell? Yes. Avendekind. Avendekind, yes. Turning point child as they. You were obviously a baby in nineteen eighty nine. S. growrowing up here, what did you see change in the local area. There was a big change because obviously lots of people left after the reunification. People needed to look for new jobs for new opportunities And obviously lots of people left because the opportunities were in the West This is the middle of the checkpoint. The police are making no attempt to stop people, the gates have been thrown open. There was euphoria when the Berlin wall fell. over to take a look at a West in some cases, their first look. But for the East, it would also lead to a huge sense of loss. Many firms suddenly exposed to capitalism, struggled or collapsed There was an exodus west. birth rates in the east plunged. They later picked up but remain low as part of a wider trend So we were really happy to get a place in the kindergarten. It's something youa Nicholas is noticing. Now our kindergarten asks us if we know other families with children. So actually in the newspaper There are no articulles where kindergartens need children. So what specifically are you doing to try and get people into Osaobans I want to bring this topic back on the kitchen tables that people start talking about demographic change more. We have to talk to everyone to come back We're driving past forests and fields and it's across large parts of the more rural east where Further, big, population falls are forecast. reggions that have seen way less immigration than the big cities or the West And when it comes to those who left after the wall fell, There's something else that's important to understand. The second wave offout migration peaked around two thousand five to catch a salabo is a sociologist. It was highly selective Young people, highly educated people and especially women they are more likely to leave. But the women left they left ages ago. I mean there must be new women no. There must be new women exactly. So if you look at the curban marriage population, the eighteen to forty year old olds, you will see that in the older age group of that population you still have this imbalance But the children that wereever born continue to be amiss and they will also not have children. So this is how population decline works. It gets first and person and firstse Mister President Olrich Ziegmold. A campaign video by the Far right's alterniver for Deutschland, Saxon Anhalt may be the epicenter of a political earthquake. In upcoming elections, the AFD has a real shot at winning power Research shows that electoral support for flight parties, including the FA, tends to be higher in the regions most affected by population decline and its consequences. There's a strong sense of loss and stagnation accordingly, as we know from surveys, along with the feeling of not receiving a fair share of what society has to offer. There are initiatives to try and ool people to the east, Katil Luva runs one of them from Huerstadt, a town nestled near the Harts Mountains. She works to promote the area and match people with jobs. The main fear is that we will see towns and villages which are half empty Only half the population is left in a village. The infrastructure suffers. We already see school closures in many parts of the region. and I think we have to fight against that to maintain a certain quality of life in our rural areas. Caty Loua ending that report by Jessica Parker The South African President, Cyril Ramaposa has appealed for calm ahead of planned anti immigration protests on Tuesday. He says while people have the right to demonstrate, intimidation and violence will not be tolerated. Richard Kagoi reports. In his weekly newsletter, President Sl Ramaposa asked South Africans to protest peacefully, warning that freedom comes with responsibility acknowledgge public concerns about illegal immigration, saying the government would respond with effective action. Police are preparing a nationwide security operation after anti migrant groups say the thirtieth of june as the unofficial deadline for documenting foreigners to leave. Fearing violence, thousands of migrants from neighboring countries are camping outside their consulates in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and the transit centers in Dubbourin waiting to be repatriated Nearly three hundred Nigerians expected to leave on Monday evening. Richard Kagi. As China's influence in the Pacific grows, other countries in the region are watching warily and trying to strengthen their positions. To that end, Australia and Vanuartu have signed a sweeping economic and security agreement that bars any foreign military base on the Pacific Island nation. Australia correspondent, Katie Watson told me more it was meant to have been signed nearly ten months ago, but at the signing ceremony last September, Vanuatu's Prime Mister Jothan Napat pulled out citing concerns about sovereignty. So this agreement, it's a watered down version of the original. It still sets out that critical infrastructure in Vanuarti won't become militarised and in exchange, Australia will provide greater economic Now there had been concern previously raised about China's funding of a wararf in Vanuatu's Lougenville, which is the second largest city. My understanding is that this kind of new, slightly watered down agreement won't veto any foreign investment in certain infrastructure projects. But yes, when it comes to foreign military bases, this basically gives Australia a much stronger position as the country's most important security and policing partner. So what will this mean for the growing might of China? Well, I mean, it certainly puts, as I said, it puts Australia in this good position in Vanuatu. This it's a time when there's growing concern over China's influence in the Pacific region. Certainly, it was back in twenty twenty two when Beijing struck a security deal with the Solomon Islands. that definitely caused a great concern here in Canberra. There are several Pacific Is nations that have changed their diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing in recent years. So it's a bit of a tussle. Certainly it is a concern here in Australia that growing influence, but the fact that you you've got this security deal in Vanuatu is going to be seen as a big win for Australia Casey Watson