Venezuela races to find earthquake survivors
6/28/202631 min
The Venezuelan government says 1,430 people are now known to have died following Wednesday's twin earthquakes, and many thousands are still missing. More international search and rescue teams have arrived in the country to help with efforts to find survivors. A 72-hour window of opportunity that rescuers believe is the best chance of finding people alive is ending.
Also: the United States has launched a wave of strikes on Iran, following a drone attack on a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has responded by attacking US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Heavy explosions and gunfire have rocked the Pakistani city of Karachi after militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the headquarters of a paramilitary unit. Ice in the Swiss Alps is melting at an unprecedented rate, as a record-breaking heatwave continues to grip Europe. Thousands take part in Hungary's LGBT Pride parade in Budapest, the first since Viktor Orbán was ousted as prime minister. Proud Vespa owners celebrate the Italian scooter's 80th birthday by riding around Rome. And how do tiny biting flies called midges help the world's billion dollar chocolate industry?
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Photo: Rescue workers conduct a search-and-rescue operation in a building damaged by the earthquakes in Caracas, Venezuela, 27 June 2026.
Credit: RONALD PENA R/EPA/Shutterstock
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First 90 secondsPete Ross· Host0:00
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. [upbeat music] I'm Pete Ross, and in the early hours of Sunday the 28th of June, these are our main stories. More than 1,400 people are now confirmed dead following twin earthquakes in Venezuela, as public frustration at the government's response grows. The US military says it struck military sites in Iran in response to a drone attack on an oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has retaliated with strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain. And tens of thousands take part in a Pride march in Budapest, the first since the end of Viktor Orbán's government. [upbeat music] Also in this podcast, as a record-breaking heatwave continues to grip Europe, ice in the Swiss Alps is melting at an unprecedented rate.
Speaker 20:50
We're losing as much water from the Swiss glaciers to fill up one Olympic swimming pool every six seconds.
Pete Ross· Host0:59
And [horn honking] thousands of scooters travel through the streets of Rome in a parade to celebrate 80 years since the invention of one of Italy's best-known exports, the Vespa. [upbeat music] As Venezuela enters the fourth day since the two earthquakes that have devastated the country, a crucial window of opportunity to find survivors is closing. Humanitarian