Hundreds missing after devastating floods on China-Nepal border

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Lives less ordinary love stories from the BBC World Service. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Uncle Desai and at 1400 GMT on Wednesday the 26th of August, these are our main stories. Hundreds are missing after a flash flood. Tears through villages around Nepal, China border. I saw around nine trucks and people being swept away by the floods. It's a hard-breaking incident. I've never seen anything like this here before. Nearly 300 of those out of contact are foreign tourists. At least 14 newborn babies are killed in a fire in a maternity ward of a hospital in Pakistan. And China's narcotics commission warns a growing number of teenagers are misusing prescription drugs to cope with exam pressure. Also in this podcast, Russia targets Ukrainian petrol stations along the front line. A new research suggests vaping may be a better way to quit smoking than using nicotine gum or patches. It all came suddenly. We heard a loud sound, like a volcano erupting. That's how one person from Northern Nepal described the moment a flash flood ripped through his village. Hundreds of others had similar experiences. I've been teaching here for 18 years and I've never seen anything like this here before. My brother-in-law had a liquor store here. I got a call from him this morning and they were crying and said their entire house had been swept away. Three family members were rescued, but his brother is still missing. Hundreds of people are missing, including around 300 foreign tourists who are out of contact. Police in Nepal say they anticipate what they described as "huge scale loss of life" with villages as well as roads, bridges and power stations swept away. The authorities say at least 31 people have been confirmed dead so far. Rescue operations are underway on both sides of the border that Nepal shares with the Tibetan region of China. As a day, Missouri is our correspondent in the region. The flood tore through homes. It damaged infrastructure early on Wednesday, but we likely won't know the true scale of the disaster, the true figure of the casualties for the next hours or even the coming days. Right now, we know that 17 people are confirmed to have died, that's according to Nepal's police. But especially when it comes to an area like this that is remote, it's in northern Nepal, in Rasua, which is near the border with Tibet. It's very hard to access and so information keeps coming out hour by hour and the true casualties figures could be much higher. We know that at this point they believe more than at least 10 hydropower stations have been damaged. Police have said that they're struggling to get in touch with dozens of their own police officers. Officials believe the cause is excessive snow melting into the Bhutikwisi river, which flows from Tibet to Nepal. And so rescue operations are ongoing. Unfortunately, Nepal is no stranger to deadly flooding. Last year 18 people died because of a glacial outburst on the Chinese border. But again, officials are saying this time they believe that the casualties could be much higher. And as it is some of the footage that's emerging, we can see some devastating pictures and videos and it truly is quite a shocking state of affairs there. It is and here at the BBC we're continuing to verify a lot of the videos because there is a lot that's coming out on social media. Some of it is true, some of it needs to be verified. But of the ones that we have verified, you're seeing mudslide, these brown waters just engulf villages, sweep them away. And when we've spoken to some of the industry bodies on the police service, they have spoken to the president of the private electricity generation industry group there in Nepal. They have said that they're worried about all the work as they have operating in some of these hydropower plants, for example. There are lots of companies who transport a lot of goods through that area as well, trucks that are located, hundreds of trucks that are located and passed through that area, people are still trying to get in touch with their workers there as well. So again, we're trying to piece together as much information as we can. But when you look at those pictures that you're referring to, that's why people are so worried. As a day mishiri, our environment correspondent Naveen Singh Kadka told me more about the possible causes of the disaster. There are conflicting claims and counter claims. For example, you know, the Zinua News Agency is calling it mudslide, whereas when I'm checking with other glacialologists and other experts, some are saying it could be a case of rock ice avalanche that blocked a river downstream and that river after certain level in it, the impounded river burst out. And that's why. But then there are also now some others saying that there might also be some glacial lakes involved. So we are getting all these different kind of versions. But yes, we do have the context of climate change, accelerating the melting of the glaciers and glacial lakes rapidly filling up. But let's not forget this is also a very, very earthquake prone zone. And there is, there are reports that this region did see around four Richter scale off earthquake just before this, this one happened. When it comes to mitigating for something like this, what is being done? For example, relocating village roads, things like that. So you see, this is an ongoing thing. So we all know that in the Himalayan region is prone to things like this. If it was in the glaciers or glacial lakes involved, you know, all these glaciers collapsing or glacial lakes bursting out and things like that. Now, that context is already there. We all know that this is the region that's warming up and that's accelerating the melting and therefore all these hazards are there. Now, the question is, what is being done then? Now, our my own past investigations, we have showed that there is a gap of communication. For example, this place isn't too bad where it might have originated, might have, it might might might have been also in the Nepali side, but I knew that these are bordering areas. So the rivers criss-cross, yeah. So, you know, so the communication cap, we exposed the communication gap back then. This was in 2016. So yes, these hazards are there. The question is, are they being monitored or not properly? And is it being communicated downstream? And so when I check with officials is a big no. With your knowledge of the region's well-finally, can you just tell us what this region is like? A lot of tourists do tend to flock to to this area in particular. Yes. So in this particular, for example, this river basin, this is very nearby Kathmandu to the north, yeah. This is called the Langtang region where, you know, you see a lot of trekkers going up and also in adjoining areas, there are some religious sites where Nepalese or Hindu Indian pilgrims also go. Now, as of now, we are also hearing that, you know, all three disasters are trying to secure the whereabouts of these people. We don't know what's happened, but there are worries, yes. Now in Sinkadka, now to a tragic incident in Pakistan, a fire at a maternity ward at a hospital in Islamabad has killed at least 14 newborn babies. The blaze started on the third floor of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences. One newborn was rescued. A spokesperson for the hospital told the BBC the fire was caused by an air conditioning unit that exploded. In the aftermath, families gathered outside the building with many of its windows shattered by the blaze. A mother of one of the victims said little was done to save the newborn I have a three-day-old son. They said we have to save the adults first. Why were they saving adults? They could have gotten out on foot. Why didn't they save the children first? And why was the children's ward locked? After two hours, the rescue team finally arrived and after four hours, the police came. Why? I got the latest from our Pakistan correspondent, Caroline Davies, who was at the scene. I think it's been truly shocking. This incident has really, really struck so many people here in Islamabad to have something like this happen in such a major hospital in the heart of Pakistan's capital is fairly incredible. So we were at the scene earlier, we spoke to numerous families, as soon as we arrived, we were able to see that there were still families there who were grieving. It was only hours after this fire had been got under control. We have now heard from the officials that they have said that the bodies of all 14 babies that died in this fire have now been given back to Mae'n ei wneud sy'n ei gwaith i'w gwaith, mae'n ei wneud i'w gwaith i'w gwaith i'w gwaith i'w gwaith i'w gwaith i'w gwaith i'w gwa oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio. Mae'r gwaithio'r gwaithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio. Mae'r gwaithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio. Mae'r gwaithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio. Mae'r gwaithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio. Mae'r gwaithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio. Oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio. Gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd. Oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd yw. Oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n rhan. Oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn. Oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd oeddwn i'n gweithio yn ffordd. Mae'r roedd i'n meddwl i'n meddwl. Mae'n meddwl i'n meddwl i'r i'n meddwl i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r i'r rhanlion. En response local authorities started dispensing fuel straight from roadtankers that changed locations to minimais getting hit. Bithal i'r chefchenko, reports. Fylling up i'r car with fuel can be a dangerous endeva in Ukraine. And authorities are urgent drivers to be extremely careful when pulling up to the pump. I'r terhoff, the mayor of Ukraine's second largest city harkiv, wrote in social media, warning people to fill up quickly and move on to avoid becoming targets. Attacks come both in the form of smaller drones and much bigger and more expensive shahed drones. The Ukrainian government says 4% of the country's petrol stations have been damaged or destroyed. Oleksander Sirionko, an analyst with the Ukrainian Energy Think Tank NAFTA Rinok, says 246 so far. From April we have been seen a concerted campaign to implement orders or intentions to destroy frontline petrol stations, not just vehicles that turn up for re-healing but actual petrol stations in five regions, clauses to the frontline. Such attacks are getting more frequent. The Centre for Information Resilience and Unprofit Organization based in London says the number jumped by 72% in July. However, Ukraine has so many petrol stations to start with that there are still ways of getting fuel in the affected areas if you're willing to drive a bit further and take the risk of pulling up at the pump. Ukrainian soldier Andrei Kabanok says it's still possible to get fuel even right next to the frontline. Almost all petrol stations here in Donbass have been hit but some have been partly repaired by operators who try to keep them going so that people can fill up. Everyone knows which petrol stations to go to. I can go get fuel now, be it petrol, diesel or LPG here in Slovenia. Logistics got a bit more complicated but I wouldn't say it's a catastrophe. But still Russian strikes targeting fall courts have caused major issues locally. Some key roads have no functioning petrol stations left. After all filling stations were destroyed in one town in Northeastern Ukraine, the local authorities started dispensing fuel straight from road tankers. They keep changing the location to minimize the chances of being hit and petrol station owners are also taking steps to protect their customers. Here's Oleksandr Milnicuk, an executive from a Ukrainian chain of petrol stations called Beresem Nafda. The first thing we started doing is protecting fuel tanks that are not underground, liquefied petroleum gas tanks are usually located on the ground and that's what they are trying to hit. If they do, the explosion is going to be much bigger. That's why we're using sandbags or concrete blocks to cover such tanks. We are also using anti-drone nets in all the cities near the front line. It will help against smaller drones but it's useless against the heavy ones such as Shahids. Russian air strikes against Ukrainian petrol stations have so far failed to cause fuel shortages. But they are yet another way of increasing pressure on the embattled country. Vitaly Shevchenko with that report. This year in China, nearly 13 million teenagers sat their university entrance exams. It's an education system that is competitive, grueling and pressurised. Now the country's narcotics control commission has warned a growing number of young people are turning to large doses of prescription drugs to help them manage the stress. Our China correspondent Laura Bicker told us more. So there are a couple of problems with regards to young people in China and the isolation and the pressure that they're facing. One, we've been speaking to many of them to get an idea of this. But when we've spoken to experts, what they're telling us is that the situation that's unique here is, first of all, the one child policy. That was decades of family planning. where people here were told they could only have one child, which means that the hopes of an entire family is on the shoulders of one young person. And secondly, you know, the exam system here is like a pressure cooker. You have two main exams getting into high school and then getting into university. Your entire future depends on how you do in those exams. And a lot of pressure is put on you leading up to it. And I think the third thing that's happening here in China that it makes it a bit more unique is in the past, their parents followed a script set by the communist party. They were told to work hard. They were told they would be rewarded for that. Now, youth unemployment has surged around one in five young people are struggling to get a job, which makes that competition even harder, which means that entire pressure is growing. So the narcotics control commission, I mentioned earlier, what are they saying in what kind of prescription drugs are some of these teenagers taking? Well, we first started noticing this appearing on social media. A lot of young people sharing on check groups or experiences, not just with self-harm, but then taking large doses of what our drugs usually prescribed by a doctor. What we saw from the narcotics control division is that they're saying that this is surging among miners, which gave us an indication because there are no official figures. Then we started to speak to young people. And in these check groups, and there are dozens of them on various platforms, they share information about how they feel when they take large doses of drugs. These are drugs that are usually prescribed for a cough. Maybe you would take two tablets, while they're taking five, ten, in some cases, we heard of people taking up to 50. Other drugs that they're taking regularly are drugs usually used for epilepsy to kind of toll seizures. And we spoke to one young girl who for the last two years has taken various numbers of prescription drugs, and she turned to that one and took 50 of them, just months before her exam, and really overdosed and was rushed to hospital. She now has had a conversation with her parents. She says she feels better, and she says she now understands that she can deal with her stress in other ways. But the one thing many of these young people told us is that they did this to relieve pressure and to escape from reality. Laura Bicke in Beijing tributes from across the world have been paid to Dolly Parton, who's died at the age of 80. During her career, she released nearly 50 albums and sold more than 100 million records over more than six decades. Elton John said she was a giant of an artist, unique and irreplaceable with the kindest heart. Taylor Swift praised Dolly Parton's generosity and said she'd change countless lives for the better as a singer and philanthropist. Fans gathered at her star on Hollywood Boulevard. Donald was everything to me. Everybody was calling me when she has the way my sister, my best friend. She was like an angel of earth. She was so good for this world. She called me her just to be myself. I just have fun and don't care what people think. Fellow Tennessee singer Ann Rapper, Jelly Roll, also paid tribute to Dolly Parton saying she might be the last American everyone liked. La Correspondent Helena Humphrey is in Dolly Parton's home state of Tennessee from where she gave us this update. We've been here since yesterday evening. Locals tourists are like coming here to Nashville. This is the city where Dolly Parton arrived at the tender age of 18 one day after graduating from high school to make her name in the music industry here. We're just a stones throw away from the honky-tonk bars, but you know away from that kind of noise of the music seen here. A sense of quiet reflection. I'm outside the country music hall of fame. Dolly Parton star is just behind me around it. Flowers candles in tribute. Her star right at the center surrounded by other country music stars who have been inducted into the hall of fame. And in terms of who's been coming down here, what's so striking is that she has reached across generations across political divides. Last night when we arrived we found seven-year-old Nash. He had his violin with him or as he refers to it. His fiddle and he wanted to play her song "Cote of Many Colors". That's the song about growing up poor in rural Tennessee that she wrote and it's spoke to. It speaks to so many people here in Tennessee. People mention Jo-Lean. They mention I will always love you, but that's the one that they keep coming back to. I also met teenagers wearing their sparkly rhinestone cowboy boots. The kind of boots of course that Dolly had worn. Just so many people coming out paying tribute, not just to her music and those brilliant words, but beyond that the brilliant deeds as well. The fact that she was a philanthropist as well and gave back so much to her community, you know, just a taste of the memorial that's going on here today. And she'd always been so proud to come from Tennessee and I think this date today is so proud to be remembering her somewhat you achieved so much and did it with such kindness and grace. And Helena, I guess there will be a lot of sadness, but also will there be people celebrating Dolly's life and really wanting to share wonderful memories of her and her achievements? Absolutely. So many people I have met here have been sad of course, but they have these wonderful memories of her. I met one local journalist on the music scene last night and said, look, I met her once and I had a chat with her about my daughter Charlotte. I bumped into her a year later. The first thing she said to me was, how's your daughter Charlotte? She touched so many people with that personal warm approach and I think people are celebrating. People have been playing her music as you can imagine coming past with boomboxes, with country music. As I said, that little boy Nash with his fiddle. So I think it will be a moment of reflection but also great celebration as well to be memorialising a daughter of Tennessee who went on to accomplish so much on a global stage. Helen Humphrey in Nashville. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch you can email us at [email protected] and you can also watch our episodes in full just search for the global news podcast on YouTube. This edition was mixed by Sid Dundan and the producer was Alfie Habishan. The editor is Karen Martin and I'm Uncrodesci. Until next time, goodbye. Support comes from wise. The smart way to manage the currencies you need around the world. Your life is global. Don't be fooled. Choose wise. Be smart. Get wise. Visit wise.com. Luigi Mancione has admitted killing healthcare boss Brian Thompson. After a shooting that sparked a nationwide manhunt and a since divided opinion of social media, he pleaded guilty to federal charges in New York. Telling the court, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died. Mancione continued saying, "I knew what I was doing." But the story isn't over yet. I'm Jordan Dumbar, host of the Mancione trial podcast from the BBC World Service. Join me to hear the story behind this story and to find out what happens next. Hello, Greg Jenner here. I'm the host of your Dead To Me, the BBC comedy show that takes history seriously. Every episode I pair up a top historian with a fantastic comedian and we have a lovely funny, fascinating chat about a different subject from world history. And in this new series, we're beginning with an epic voyage through the story of Homer, the Iliad, and the Odyssey. And that's with Kyle Smith-Bino joining us. And then we'll be learning about Francis Goulton and the racist, discredited pseudoscience of Eugenics with Desiree Birch. We'll meet many medieval saints in their bone boxes with Rachel Parrot. So if that sounds like your sort of thing, listen to your Dead To Me, wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you. Bye! LiveLess Ordinary is bringing you a special series of extraordinary love stories. LiveLess Ordinary Love stories from the BBC World Service. Your life is global. Don't be fooled. Choose wise. You can send, spend, and receive money in over 40 currencies. Be smart. Get wise. Visit wise.com. T's and C's apply.