Back on track with targets like ending extreme poverty and tacking climate change. And president s and Prime Ministers will take the opportunity to seize the global spotlight including us President Joe Biden who arrived On Sunday Evening in new york. To talk about all of this and what we can expect from the week ahead, im joined now from new york by michael bociurkiw, Global Affairs analyst and Non Resident Seniorfellow at the atlantic council. Lets talk about who is not going to be there, rishi sunak, emmanuel macron, and modi, xi jinping. Quite a list. What do you make of those absences . Quite a list indeed. Un Secretary General laid it down and says this isnt a chauffeur vanity fair. Show for vanity fair. Id more leaders are using that excuse, that they are very busy, so they are sure show up in certain summits. In the case of rishi sunak, if reporting is to be believed, he is not only very busy but afraid to be called out at the un Climate Summit for not performing well enough on the environmentalfront. Emmanuel environmental front. Emmanuel macron loves environmentalfront. Emmanuel macron loves to be in the spotlight at the same time as Justin Trudeau has the king coming to visit and as well as the pope. As for china, i didnt expect them to show up. Xijinping is facing difficulties at home and doesnt like these summits and focusing more on bricks and finally Vladimir Putin afraid to get arrested and doesnt like to take part in these western pack gatherings. So a situation in western pack gatherings. So a situation in which western pack gatherings. So a situation in which five western pack gatherings. So a situation in which five out of the five permanent members of the five permanent members of the security council, only the us is sending its leader. I just wonder there in new york, is there talk about the United Nations effectiveness in responding to global crises at a time when lets face it they are myriad. A time when lets face it they are myriad are myriad. Right. Well first of all these are myriad. Right. Well first of all these absences are myriad. Right. Well first of all these absences will i are myriad. Right. Well first. Of all these absences will give more of it. Im sorry, i forgot to say that an important show will be that Resident Zelensky of the ukraine will be able to give more recess asking for more recesses. And from the African Continent the United Nations, i heard a lot of that at the Brics Summit In south africa recently and in fact the Secretary General has promised to fight for a seat to africa. They are casting a much, much biggershadow africa. They are casting a much, much bigger shadow in the worlds stage. Their resources, their Growing Populations, they absolutely deserve a seat at the table and one more thing, i am a former spokesperson for unicef, i work for their organisation in many places around the world. There is a widespread feeling that the un is becoming less effective, doesnt have the backbone. In the old days when they were egregious acts committed by sake the myanmar generals or coup leaders in africa they would be called out by the un. That is happening less and less unfortunately. Unfortunately. Lets talk a little bit unfortunately. Lets talk a little bit about unfortunately. Lets talk a little bit about africa unfortunately. Lets talk a little bit about africa than j little bit about africa than because you were just pointing to that discussion about africa potentially having a seat at the un security council. Do you think that is something that will come up this weekend new york . ~. , york . When i sat there at the brics summit york . When i sat there at the Brics Summit In york . When i sat there at the Brics Summit In south york . When i sat there at the | Brics Summit In south africa, dozens of African Leaders spoke for a long time and all of them said that they would like to see this happen. The other thing that could bring them is more clout, not only to help for example authorise emergency un deployments to end conflicts but also development aid. A lot of them are complaining, helena, that they dont have the resources, even though they are paying the price, big time, for climate action. They want the developing countries to do more. They will be very loud at the different fora these coming two weeks. They will be raising their voice and they are also going to be reminding people, i think, that if they are not given the proper seat, for example, at the un security council, they will go it alone and they are getting the resources to do that in terms of minerals in the ground that can help alleviate climate change. These so called green minerals. It also their Growing Populations is going to give them a much bigger shadow on them a much bigger shadow on the world stage. Mei] them a much bigger shadow on the world stage. The world stage. Well on that oint, the world stage. Well on that point. This the world stage. Well on that point, this particular the world stage. Well on that point, this particular general| point, this particular General Assembly would also be a moment to measure progress when it comes to Sustainable Development goals. I believe that happens around every four years. How is it looking on that front . That front . Not very good. Whether that front . Not very good. Whether you that front . Not very good. Whether you use that front . Not very good. Whether you use the that front . Not very good. Whether you use the data | that front . Not very good. I whether you use the data to reach that conclusion or saying the lack of progress, for example, access to clean water. Poverty alleviation. Climate change, classrooms, we are about halfway through the sdg period and only about 15 of those indicators are on track. A lot of the countries were indicators have been reversed for example under, a lot of them happen to be in africa. And a lot of the progress in fairness was set back by the pandemic and also by the Global Economic crisis. So i dont know whether much progress will be made because these are, after all, be made because these are, afterall, commitments. Be made because these are, after all, commitments. They are not binding. And also we have to remember that a lot of cases, leaders of countries have to go back to their National Parliaments to get approval, they have to twist the arms of regional and local leaders to get things done it is a very collocated process. But of course i think were all on the same page that we hope that many of these indicators do reach their goal by 2030. Michael voss a cu there in new york. Great to have your analysis as ever. Thank you. Thank you very much. The United Nations says the number of People Killed in last weeks floods in libya has reached more than 11,000. Another 10,000 people are still missing. Two dams failed in a storm a week ago today which saw large parts of the eastern city of derna washed away. 0ur correspondent anna foster is there. Its one of the most vitaljobs in derna, and one of the most distressing. Doctors and detectives gather each day in this hospital car park, to process the dead. A black body bag is carefully unzipped. Expert hands gently probe, taking measurements orfinding identifying marks. Many victims are now beyond recognition, but their dna is taken and logged in case there are still families alive to find them. Many thousands are officially missing, like mohammeds sister and her husband. When he went to find them after the floods, their house had been washed away. Hes heard nothing from them since. Translation i saw cars coming down. L i came out running. I thought that was it, that im going to die. 0ur neighbours, we could see them waving flashlights. In just a few moments, the light went out and they disappeared. That was the hardest thing. He showed me a video he took that night, as the water gushed in. They ran up to the roof to escape the raging torrent. International aid is now arriving in derna in earnest, flights carrying vital medical supplies from around the world. And although earth and debris have enveloped the streets, there are still points of light. This is such a stark contrast to the mud and dirt that covers so much of this city. Piles of colourful clothes brought here to be donated to people who really need them. This is libyans helping libyans in one of their worst moments of crisis. Translation praise be to god, everything is good. Theyve sent lots of aid. A week on from this disaster, survivors are finding comfort where they can, in a place that has lost so much. Anna foster, bbc news, derna. A woman who claims the comedian Russell Brand raped her has been giving more details of the alleged attack. In an interview with the sunday times newspaper, she describes how the star asked for her forgiveness, and says she was scared of the implications for herself and herfamily if she went to the police. The woman is one of four making allegations of Sexual Assault against the comedian, when he worked at channel 4, the bbc and in hollywood. Russell brand denies all the allegations, and says his sexual relationships, were consensual. Heres david sillito. Russell brand, comedian, actor, Political Commentator accused of multiple Sexual Assaults and the rape of a woman that the programme dispatches called nadia. Hes grabbing at my, my underwear, pulling it to the side. Im telling him to get off me, he wont get off. I was distraught, trying to get out of the house with him being so much taller than me, like, holding me up against the wall. Further details have now been published about Nadia Reporting the incident to a Rape Crisis Centre and also a series of Text Messages that the investigators say Russell Brand sent to nadia. The exchange begins with him saying, im sorry, i will make this up to you. And then he goes on to ask, will you everforgive me . It was just as these allegations first began to emerged that he arrived for a performance in london. On stage he was met by fans with cheers and a standing ovation. He has these days, millions of followers on social media. This is anti establishment anti authoritarian. Where he has cast himself as a voice of dissent against mainstream media. But the catalogue of accusations and concerns about his behaviour stretch over his many years in Mainstream Tv and radio, and the Foreign Secretary says it raises wider questions about the entertainment industry. I think there are some real challenges where you have these very, very acute differentials in power. Whether that be in the entertainment industry, whether that be in politics and we see this in the commercial world as well. And i think we have to be particularly careful when we listen to the voices of the people who are relatively powerless. Only been locked up for four days and yet already. Russell brand made his name on channel 4s big brother. Dispatches featured claims that staff helped pick out girls for him from the audience. It felt like we were essentially taking lambs into slaughter. Channel 4 says it has no evidence that any of the alleged incidents were brought to its attention at the time. Oh, no, this is andrew sachs answer phone . And the bbc, which parted company with Russell Brand after a scandal over offensive voice mail messages, has also said its making urgent inquiries. Meanwhile, Russell Brand has issued a statement in vehemently denying all the allegations. I was very, very promiscuous. Now, during that time of promiscuity, the relationships i had were absolutely always consensual. I was always transparent about that then. And to see that Transparency Metastasised into something criminal, that i absolutely deny, makes me question, is there another agenda at play . However, in 2020, a woman the programme called alice who said a relationship had begun when she was 16 and that shed been assaulted by brand, contacted his agent. I phoned the offices and i asked to speak to his agent. They say they now believe that they were misled by brands denials. And as his tour continues, many others are facing questions about what they were told and what did they do . David sillito reporting there. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories making news. One of sudans most recognisable landmarks, the Greater Nile Petroleum operating company tower, caught fire, after heavy fighting between the army and rivalforces in the countrys capital of khartoum. The senior architect who worked on its design described the destruction as senseless and truly painful. Nearly one Million People have fled sudan since fighting broke out in april. Over 15,000 protesters in new york city kicked off climate week, ahead of the start of the un General Assembly this week. They are calling for World Leaders to end the use of fossil fuel and drive action to combat climate change. Sundays demonstration is a part of 500 planned protests across the globe. Co founder of Rolling Stone magazine, jann wenner, has been removed from the rock and roll hall of fames board of directors, after controversial comments he made about female and black musicians in a New York Times interview, promoting his new book. Wenner apologized for his remarks, through his publisher, little, brown and company. Youre live with bbc news. In the us, more people than ever are dying from fenta nyl overdoses as a fourth wave of the Opioid Epidemic sweeps the country. In 2022, deaths due to Drug Overdoses hit a new record, killing more than 100,000 people in the us, according to data from the centers for Disease Control and prevention. Of those deaths, more than two thirds were tied to fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin. The drug is illegally manufactured and sold by criminal gangs. Most of the illegal fentanyl found in the us is trafficked from mexico using chemicals sourced from china, according to the Drug Enforcement administration or dea. Earlier, i spoke with prof carl latkin, vice chair of the department of health, behaviour, and society atjohns Hopkins University in baltimore. Prof latkin, thank you for joining us to talk more about this issue. We have had some extremely worrying numbers out this week, when it comes to the scale of the sentinel crisis in the united states. Just talk to us about the size of the challenge at hand. Us about the size of the challenge at hand. The internal crisis is really challenge at hand. The internal crisis is really horrific, challenge at hand. The internal crisis is really horrific, in crisis is really horrific, in terms of numbers. There are over 100,000 individuals dying each year. Thats over 300 individuals a day dying from overdoses, and almost all of those are front and all related in the us. So its a massive problem. Its only gotten worse in the last decade. The last two years, it has plateaued, but at such a horrific rate you wouldnt consider a Plateau Anything to see in a positive light. Anything to see in a positive liuht. ~ , y anything to see in a positive liuht. N, light. Absolutely. Some shocking light. Absolutely. Some shocking numbers light. Absolutely. Some shocking numbers that l light. Absolutely. Some shocking numbers that youre giving us there. Just talk to us about why this drug is so dangerous. Us about why this drug is so dangerous us about why this drug is so dangerous us about why this drug is so dancerous. ~ � ,. ,. , dangerous. Well, its dangerous for several dangerous. Well, its dangerous for several reasons. Dangerous. Well, its dangerous for several reasons. Some dangerous. Well, its dangerous for several reasons. Some is for several reasons. Some is the physiological aspects of it, in that it is exceedingly potent, 50 times more potent than heroin, 100 times more potent than morphine, meaning that one 50th of that amount, you can overdose, compared to the same amount of heroin. So what happens is the drug users get drugs that are cut with other substances, and they never know how much fentanyl is in it, so one batch may have a little, and the next batch may have enough that any dose is going to cause an overdose, and potentially a fatal overdose. So theres that aspect of it, there is also that drug use is so stigmatised, people tend to hide their use, so if they do overdose, they cannot be revived with naloxone in a timely manner, and it is also in the us, most people who are dependent on opioids arent in effective drug treatments, so i would say those are some of the major issues while you have this phenomenal rate. 50 major issues while you have this phenomenal rate. So from what youre this phenomenal rate. So from what youre saying, this phenomenal rate. So from what youre saying, there this phenomenal rate. So from what youre saying, there is i what youre saying, there is also the risk here that, in terms of Drug Shortages of pharmaceutical drugs can also potentially push people to