and to netflix, the streaming company that has told the bbc about its plans to move into the gaming world. more now from south africa — where at least 73 people have died after fire engulfed a block of flats in johannesburg. more than 50 others were injured, and rushed to hospital. many are suffering from smoke inhalation. firefighters were called to the five—storey building in the central business district in the early hours. reports suggest the occupants of the abandoned building were mostly undocumented immigrants. our reporter samantha granville has just sent this update from the scene of the fire. i'm standing outside the apartment building injohannesburg that caught fire last night and the air here is still ashy and the building is still smoking. firefighters are still trying to make their way in for search and rescue operations. we've learned that the city owns this building but it has been abandoned for quite some time.

people have been moving in during the cold winter months to seek some shelter, but there's not an actual formal housing agreement with the tenants who have been living here. the building is old, it's a lot of informal settlements, with debris, walls have been crumbling inside, so it's very flammable material that could spark very easily. i've spoken to some residents who say that this happened during load shedding, which means the power was out, it was pitch black. but the sound was what was most terrifying for most people. it started with what sounded like a lot of gunshots and then one big explosion, before the fire started to ripped right through the area. many people are still waiting here for family members to come out. they can't get in touch with them and they're worried that since this happened in the middle of the night, that they were burned while they were sleeping. that was my colleague samantha granville, reporting from the scene. i think we can bring you live pictures from the scene at the moment. you can see lots of police

their standing outside the building. you can see the charred remains of that coding. the fire authority say it started around 1.30 in the morning local time. they say they still don't know what the cause of the blaze was at that five—storey building and the authority say that firefighters evacuated the building on arrival but the search and recovery of bodies is continuing. to discuss the broader issue of the migrants in south africa, i'm nowjoined by my colleague catherine byaruhanga. let's talk about this building and who was living in it. this let's talk about this building and who was living in it.— who was living in it. this is a buildin: who was living in it. this is a building that _ who was living in it. this is a building that was _ who was living in it. this is a building that was in - who was living in it. this is a building that was in an - who was living in it. this is a building that was in an areal who was living in it. this is a i building that was in an area of johannesburg called marshalltown. it used to be the former central business district. it had been abandoned. what has happened over

time is that you have unscrupulous landlords who really have taken over these buildings and made them informal settlements for migrants, for homeless people in south africa. the firefighters have been saying as they going to try and recover bodies and try and save people from the fire, they have found debris, pieces of wood and that is because people had really been crammed into these... are essentially a condemned that the information we are getting from thejohannesburg city authorities it was actually the city who had owned this building. it had been left abandoned so we have seen people crammed into these small spaces. people crammed into these small saces. �* people crammed into these small saces. ~ , , ,_ , spaces. and presumably these informal settlements, - spaces. and presumably these l informal settlements, buildings don't idea to the same safety standards as other buildings? the? standards as other buildings? they don't. in some _ standards as other buildings? they don't. in some cases _ standards as other buildings? tue: don't. in some cases you standards as other buildings? tte: don't. in some cases you might standards as other buildings? tt3:1 don't. in some cases you might have water, electricity and gas connected to these buildings illegally which might be a contributing factor to the fires. and you have a large

undocumented migrant population looking for cheap accommodation, homeless people in south africa looking for somewhere to stay. this has meant these buildings have really offered shelter which has turned out to be deadly for people there. :, turned out to be deadly for people there. ., _, ., .,, there. some of the conversation has been uuite there. some of the conversation has been quite controversial— there. some of the conversation has been quite controversial as - there. some of the conversation has been quite controversial as well, - been quite controversial as well, it's over this term hijacked building. explain what exactly that is and why it is so controversial. you have these buildings that were previously part of a busy business section ofjohannesburg. they have now been abandoned. so what has happened over time is that you have business people sometimes gangs who then go in to try and collect rent from people. so they draw in undocumented migrants and homeless people to live in these buildings. there is pressure on city authorities to actually clamp down on this problem. we are hearing from authorities they believe there are around 700 of these hijacked buildings in the city and now the question is going to be for the local authorities as to what they are actually doing to stop the

problem and whether they are accountable for perhaps some of these deaths we are seeing today. just briefly, the authorities were saying there is a chronic housing problem in this part of johannesburg, in this province and they say there are 1.2 million people who need housing. so it is a problem that impacts south africans as much as people who have come from other countries. find as much as people who have come from other countries.— other countries. and it really oints other countries. and it really points to _ other countries. and it really points to the _ other countries. and it really points to the massive - other countries. and it really - points to the massive challenges south africa is facing. it is africa's most developed economy but it's africa's most developed economy but its services are facing challenges. rolling blackouts, water problems and contamination parts of the country and also now questions about the fire authorities, whether they had enough resources to try and stop this fire in time. so it really points to the ongoing challenging that not only migrants are facing but also south africans themselves. catherine byaruhanga, thank you very much for bringing us up to date.

the former energy secretary grant shapps has been appointed as the new defence secretary. mr shapps has previously held a number of other cabinet positions. he succeeds ben wallace, who has resigned and is standing down from parliament at the next general election. writing on x, formerly twitter, mr shapps says: so let's take a closer look at grant shapps�* rise. the welwyn hatfield mp has been a fixture in the upper reaches of the conservative party for more than a decade. he moves into his next post from being energy secretary — focussing on energy security and bringing down the cost of bills. and while he did very briefly serve as home secretary, before the resignation of liz truss, he is best known for his time as transport secretary — a role he is known to have enjoyed. he built a reputation as a reliable media performer. he was regularly sent out to defend the government

during periods of crisis — under the former prime minister borisjohnson. so what will does the uk's defence community make of mr shapps�* appointment? let's start with grant shapps, how much other surprises this announcement? his much other surprises this announcement? , . ,. ., , announcement? his name is certainly never really — announcement? his name is certainly never really in — announcement? his name is certainly never really in the _ announcement? his name is certainly never really in the frame _ announcement? his name is certainly never really in the frame for - never really in the frame for defence secretary. we have been expecting the reshuffle now for a number of weeks, since before parliament broke up for its summer break because we knew that ben wallace, the now former defence secretary, was standing down. he will be standing down from parliament at the next election, said there was going to be a vacancy. there were various names bandied around as people are going to be in the mix and grant shapps was not one of them that has been around in westminster. so it is a

surprise in that sense, in terms of grant shapps moving to that particular role. having said that, he is a very experienced minister and has held a number of cabinet roles, including quite a few even in the last year, but he has been a minister long before rishi sunak even became an mp. so he is considered a competent person to run a government department. defence portfolio is clearly a very important one. we have the war in ukraine and grant shapps said he will be supporting and continuing the policy that. he is also a very close ally of rishi sunak. he is someone who has stood by rishi sunak since the leadership campaign last year, while rishi sunak lost the initial leadership campaign to liz truss. he is a loyal ally of rishi sunak so they will have been a calculation here someone rishi sunak wants to bring closer in government. so we have grant shapps moving to the ministry of defence, that leaves his formerjob in the department for energy security and net zero. that has been filled by claire coutinho.

that might not be a name that is familiar to many of our viewers. she was currently a junior minister in the education department that she again is a very close personal ally of rishi sunak. she worked for him as an adviser before she even became an mp. she is a relatively new mp, only came to parliament in 2019 and now she has leapfrogged one ministerial rank and gone into the cabinet, so a big promotion for her, a reward for loyalty. herjob at the department for education gets filled ljy department for education gets filled by a junior minister in the department for levelling up, david johnston. the reshuffle as we understand it is over. there are a couple of other ministers going into number 10 behind mejust a few minutes ago but that we understand it is unrelated. that is a ministry ofjustice reception going on in downing street at the moment. that we understand is the reshuffle over. it is quite limited. there had been a lot of speculation there would be a lot of speculation there would be a more widespread reshuffle but they say is a tight reshuffle, just moving around a few ministers into

key roles. remember, we have the tory party conference coming up in just a few weeks. that will be where rishi sunak sets out his stall because we are in election mode, even though we have a year or so probably to go before there will be one. rishi sunak is going to use the conservative party conference to try and start this campaign, getting his key ministers in post and setting out a vision for the country. so the reshuffle is over, grant shapps goes to the ministry of defence and claire coutinho to the department for energy security net zero. we have had some political reaction from the other parties. we have heard from shadow defence secretary john healey who said the first duty of any government is to keep our country safe. i will always work with a new defence secretary on this basis, especially on ukraine but after 13 years of tory defence failures, change at the top will not change this record. alsojust looking, we had a statement from the

liberal democrats as well. the party's liberal democrats as well. the pa rty�*s defence liberal democrats as well. the party's defence spokesperson richard ford mp says, the conservative government merry—go—round has to stop. they have taken the armed forces for granted for too long and we are all left less safe as a result. at a time in the armed forces need someone to stand up for them, rishi sunak has appointed a yes man. so what is the reaction broadly? we have heard from the two parties there but what do you think the reaction will be more broadly, even from within the party? t the reaction will be more broadly, even from within the party? i think it will be quite _ even from within the party? i think it will be quite obvious _ even from within the party? i think it will be quite obvious this - even from within the party? i think it will be quite obvious this is - even from within the party? i think it will be quite obvious this is a - it will be quite obvious this is a sort of personal appointment, if you like. two very close personal allies of the prime minister rewarded with promotions. i don't think we will see any policy change, certainly not when it comes to the war in ukraine. clearly there is some political argument going on about the state of the armed forces' funding but in terms of the big policy that grant shapps is going to have responsibility for, the war in ukraine, that i don't think we will see any change of direction at all.

rishi sunak clearly regards him as a safe pair of pants to take on that importantjob. he has of course very recently been in his previous role as secretary of state for energy because very closely connected policy area. the energy brief is an interesting one. there has been, the full department title is department of energy, security net zero. net zero of course has become a bit more politically contentious, certainly within the tory party. you are starting to get little cracks emerging in of how people think the government should go after that net zero targets is that that will have to have some political nous for the new secretary of state to deal with those questions and arguments that will go on in that portfolio. but i think it will be seen as a limited reshuffle. we sort of had the expectation that there was not going to be a huge cabinet shift around. remember, reshuffle are quite difficult. you start getting these comments about ministers taking on portfolios left, right and centre

are not having expertise or going into departments long enough to make a difference. this is a crucial reshuffle for rishi sunak�*s government. he has spent the last year trying to stabilise things after liz truss' premiership. now he is looking ahead to a general election campaign and he clearly wants those people close to him, grant shapps was considered a very good communicator and out there defending the government, that is something rishi sunak will be looking for as we go ahead and look ahead to the general election. so i think it will be seen a sort of gathering the troops, getting the front line ready for the conservative party to fight this general election.— conservative party to fight this general election. leila nathoo are in a slightly _ general election. leila nathoo are in a slightly rainy _ general election. leila nathoo are in a slightly rainy downing - general election. leila nathoo are in a slightly rainy downing street, j in a slightly rainy downing street, thank you for now. so what will does the uk's defence community make of mr shapps�* appointment? let's ask professor michael clarke — former director of the royal united services institute think tank. thank you forjoining us here on bbc news. what is your reaction to this appointment? well, it was a way is going to be a

caretaker appointment, someone who would hold the fort in the ministry of defence from now until the election, year, maybe 18 months, something like that. grant shapps is a great caretaker. he did six months in energy. he did three months in business. he was home secretary for six days, so everybody knows him as the man who... in transport for three years and before that, his longest job three years and before that, his longestjob was in conservative central office, chairman of the conservative party. he is often called the minister for the today programme, who make statements, upbeat statements and caretaker. we don't know how good he is at running a big department but we will find out. nobody expects defence to change very much between now and the election, so it is sort of caretaker role, steady as she goes and prevents the —— present defence in the best way possible in the run—up to the election. this the best way possible in the run-up to the election.— to the election. this will be his fifth role in _ to the election. this will be his fifth role in cabinet _ to the election. this will be his fifth role in cabinet but - to the election. this will be his fifth role in cabinet but he - to the election. this will be his fifth role in cabinet but he has|

fifth role in cabinet but he has never held a position in the mod, do you think that matters? tt never held a position in the mod, do you think that matters?— you think that matters? it does and it would matter _ you think that matters? it does and it would matter for _ you think that matters? it does and it would matter for the _ you think that matters? it does and it would matter for the longer - you think that matters? it does and| it would matter for the longer term. ben wallace was a very good defence secretary but even, ben wallace was up secretary but even, ben wallace was up against the conventional wisdom in downing street and the treasury that the ministry of defence can't really have more money even though they want defence to do more things. there is a structural problem of defence expenditure which we have had now for over a decade and that won't get any better. so there may be a few announcements to be made about a bit more money here or there but it all depends on the rate of inflation. but if inflation is at 2%, the treasury's original target, then the defence ministry can balance the books. but if defence inflation is above that and we all expect it to be some way above that, then they can't and that is a problem that no defence secretary will make between now and the election. d0 will make between now and the election. , :, ~ election. do you think the transition _ election. do you think the transition from _ election. do you think the transition from ben - election. do you think the i transition from ben wallace election. do you think the - transition from ben wallace to election. do you think the _ transition from ben wallace to grant shapps is going to make a significant difference when it comes

to policy? significant difference when it comes to oli ? ., ., �* ~' to policy? no, i don't think it will make any difference _ to policy? no, i don't think it will make any difference at _ to policy? no, i don't think it will make any difference at all. - to policy? no, i don't think it will make any difference at all. it - to policy? no, i don't think it will| make any difference at all. it may make any difference at all. it may make any difference at all. it may make a presentational difference. ben wallace was a pretty good presenter but grant shapps is a bit closer to the centre of rishi sunak�*s own government and he will make the best he can of the policies we have. our policy is for instance on ukraine are by most of you is pretty good but there is not much more we can really do for your crane that we are not already doing. we have given ukraine pretty much all we have that is relevant to them and we have that is relevant to them and we are doing some training in trying to lead diplomatically. we will continue to do that. in terms of restructuring the military forces towards a much more modernised force, particularly the army, that is more or less on hold at the moment. all the forces have their plans, there was a defence white paper earlier this year which said what we're going to do but nobody expects us to be able to do it any time soon. expects us to be able to do it any time soon-— expects us to be able to do it any time soon. what do you think the reaction will _ time soon. what do you think the reaction will be _ time soon. what do you think the reaction will be from _ time soon. what do you think the reaction will be from members i time soon. what do you think the reaction will be from members of time soon. what do you think the - reaction will be from members of the armed forces? t reaction will be from members of the armed forces?— armed forces? i think they will shru: armed forces? i think they will shrug their _ armed forces? i think they will shrug their shoulders _ armed forces? i think they will shrug their shoulders and - armed forces? i think they will shrug their shoulders and say, | armed forces? i think they will. shrug their shoulders and say, this makes no real difference was that we all know nothing is going to change

until the election. whoever is elected next time around will have to grip defence in a different way. the fact is, we have defence ambitions which are above our level of preparedness to fund it. the government always assumes that the public don't want to spend more than about 2% of our gdp on defence. in reality, the public never gets asked about this. i think the public might have a different view about it now we are in the middle of a big war in europe. but the government, or governments have said, labour and conservative, that they assume the public has no appetite to fund defence more than we are now. i don't think members of the armed forces will expect that to change unless a new government takes a look at our —— fresh look at our security and i think our security will be a worse state than it is now given what is happening in the rest of europe. what is happening in the rest of euro e. . ~' , what is happening in the rest of euroe. x' , ., ., i. what is happening in the rest of euroe. , ., ., ., europe. picking up on what you are sa in: , europe. picking up on what you are sa inc, it europe. picking up on what you are saying. it was _ europe. picking up on what you are saying. it was in — europe. picking up on what you are saying, it was in february - europe. picking up on what you are saying, it was in february ben - saying, it was in february ben wallace told the bbc the uk needed to start investing in defence

properly. he said the army had been hollowed out over a period of three decades and that the ukraine war had exposed our vulnerability. that is sort of picking up on what you are just saying. yes sort of picking up on what you are just saying-— sort of picking up on what you are 'ust sa inc. , ., ., :, just saying. yes and our involvement in ira: and just saying. yes and our involvement in iraq and afghanistan, _ just saying. yes and our involvement in iraq and afghanistan, whether - just saying. yes and our involvement in iraq and afghanistan, whether it i in iraq and afghanistan, whether it was a good or bad thing to do, bent our defence out of shape. it actually changed the shape of a defence policy and that will take some years to put back into shape, which is our defence policy is fundamentally to defend ourselves in our neighbourhood and our neighbourhood is europe. it is not asia or the far east. we have all sorts of things we can do in asia and the indo—pacific, useful things to our benefit but our defence is about europe. 0ur neighbourhood is what matters to us and we are in no shape at all, army, navy or air force, to make a real contribution, structurally important contribution to that. everyone welcomes the brits when we turn up, welcomes british forces because they are very good at what they do but they don't make any difference to anything. that is the

problem we have arrived at now. we are strategically not very relevant even though we are welcome. professor michael clarke, thank you very much for sharing your insight. live now to henry hill. he's deputy editor of the right—leaning news and analysis site conservative home. good to speak to you. what is your reaction? ~ , ., , ., reaction? well, it shows that the prime minister _ reaction? well, it shows that the prime minister probably - reaction? well, it shows that the prime minister probably doesn'tl reaction? well, it shows that the - prime minister probably doesn't have any grand plans for defence between now and the election. grant shapps, a loyalist, a very effective media performer. almost certainlyjust going to stay the course from what ben wallace was doing, in terms of mod policy but not really perhaps the sort of person who might be expected to grip the enormous challenges that the ministry of defence faces, especially on things like procurement. so steady as she goes appointment. good ahead of the election but...

oh, it looks like we have lost henry oh, it looks like we have lost henry from the website conservative home. technical difficulties there. just to remind you of the breaking news here in the uk, which is that energy secretary and former transport secretary and former transport secretary grant shapps has been appointed as the uk's new defence secretary. he has replaced ben wallace, who had previously said that he would quit and mr shapps said he pledges to continue to support ukraine following what he described on x, the website formally known as twitter, he said he was —— it was rush hour's barbaric invasion. you can see him there walking into downing street now. the vacancies at the energy department has now been filled by education minister claire coutinho, who has

been promoted to energy secretary and net zero secretary. ben wallace, we're still looking at pictures of grant shapps. he had been defence secretary for four years and he a minister for secretary for four years and he a ministerfor nine years. secretary for four years and he a minister for nine years. there you 90, minister for nine years. there you go, you can see him walking up downing street there. he had played a key role in the uk's response to the war in ukraine. so we will of course be bringing in more on that developing story here in the uk. we do have a live page with plenty of comment and reaction to the appointment of grant shapps. there you can see it. there is analysis as well from our political editor chris mason, if you want to hear his take as well. in this mini reshuffle, you could call it come here in the uk, in downing street. for now, let's move on. let's look at the video gaming industry. it is now a very big business set to be worth $300

billion a year by 2025. so it's not surprising that global media companies are turning their attention to games in their battle with more subscribers. netflix has been telling the bbc about its plans to move in on the gaming world. thanks to shows like stranger things, squid games, the crown and others, netflix have changed to the entertainment landscape. now if i said to you i was on the set of a netflix production, this isn't necessarily what he would have in mind. you would be thinking of big spaces with cameras, actors and directors making television and movies. but it is development studios like this one in liverpool that could hold the key to the streaming giant's future. aha, lat that could hold the key to the streaming giant's future. a lot of camers streaming giant's future. a lot of gamers play _ streaming giant's future. a lot of gamers play chess. _ streaming giant's future. a lot of gamers play chess. do _ streaming giant's future. a lot of gamers play chess. do not - streaming giant's future. a lot of gamers play chess. do not fall. gamers play chess. do not fall behind its _ gamers play chess. do not fall behind its rivals, _ gamers play chess. do not fall behind its rivals, netflix - gamers play chess. do not fall behind its rivals, netflix is - behind its rivals, netflix is talking to companies that create video games. irate talking to companies that create video games-—

talking to companies that create video names. . ., ., ., video games. we wanted to tap into that and learn _ video games. we wanted to tap into that and learn chess. _ video games. we wanted to tap into that and learn chess. since - video games. we wanted to tap into that and learn chess. since 2021, i that and learn chess. since 2021, the streaming — that and learn chess. since 2021, the streaming service _ that and learn chess. since 2021, the streaming service has - that and learn chess. since 2021, | the streaming service has offered subscribers the chance to play games on its app. the offering hasn't captured the imagination of the games industry so far but there are now 70 titles and more being made. games is a really huge part of entertainment. so it really is a natural progression for us to start thinking about how to offer games to our members. so to stay relevant, netflix is trying to leverage its famous franchises to have a stake in an industry which sees mobile games like candy crush make £135 billion a year. but success is not guaranteed. 0ther year. but success is not guaranteed. other mainstream entertainment companies have tried. earlier this year, google's service was shut down and amazon laid off workers at its games division. i think when mainstream entertainment organisations have tried to enter the game race they've

struggled a little bit. i think most of that comes down to the fact they fundamentally misunderstood what it is about games that people love in the first place. they had these big budgets behind them but ultimately lacked the creativity and uniqueness we have come to expect. netflix is trying something slightly different, focusing on mobile games that are cheaper and quicker to make commisso easier to build up a big portfolio. but the risk is this approach could lack the scale and ambition to grab players�* attention in a crowded market. but in liverpool, the belief is involvement will open doors.— will open doors. netflix has an audience of — will open doors. netflix has an audience of 238 _ will open doors. netflix has an audience of 238 million - will open doors. netflix has an audience of 238 million people will open doors. netflix has an - audience of 238 million people now, many of which have probably never experienced a game before. i think it will make the games audience bigger. so in this fierce battle for subscribers, netflix hopes this game big gambit is a good move. of course, remember we will have more on that developing story here in the uk on the announcement that

grant shapps is the new uk defence secretary, replacing ben wallace. we have more on the bbc news website as well. now it is time to take a look at the weather with carol. hello again. we have a bit of a split in the weather today. we�*ve been watching rain coming in from the southwest, pushing northeastward courtesy of this clutch of weather fronts. a ridge of high pressurejust keeping things more settled across the north and the east and this is where we�*ll have the driest weather through the rest of the day and also some sunshine. but the rain�*s continuing to advance slowly, northwards and eastwards. it is weakening as it does so, there�*ll be a bit of a gap behind it across south wales and south west england. but by the end of the afternoon, we�*ll be seeing some heavy thundery downpours coming in across the south west, with top temperatures in plymouth, 20 degrees. 15 in birmingham, and then we go into the sunshine on the other side of the weather front in newcastle, with 18 degrees. patchy rain continuing across northern ireland, getting into south west scotland, but a lot of sunshine in scotland. here�*s where we�*ll have some clear skies overnight, as we will across some southern areas. 0ur frontal system continuing

to move northwards. it�*s going to be a mild night for most of us, but a chilly one in sheltered glens, with temperatures slipping down to about 3 or 4. so potentially a touch of frost tomorrow morning. so here�*s our weather front tomorrow across northern england, southern scotland and northern ireland. ahead of it, we hang onto the sunshine. behind it, there�*ll be some sunshine with the early morning heavy thundery downpours clearing away. temperatures, 1a to 22 degrees north to south. then as we head into the weekend, high pressure really does establish itself across the uk. but we are watching the progress of this weather front. it�*s going to bring in a bit more cloud on saturday into the far north of scotland through the day. here, too, it�*s going to be pretty windy. we�*ll have low cloud, mist and fog in southern england and northern ireland to slowly lift. but in between, a lot of dry weather and also a fair bit of sunshine, with temperatures 15 in lerwick to 23 in london. then as we push on into sunday, high pressure still very much with us, but that weather front encroaching a bit closer, bringing in some rain.

and again, gusty winds out towards the north and the west. any early morning mist and fog lifting to leave most of us with a dry day, again with a fair bit of sunshine and highs, 16 to about 23 celsius north to south. then as we move on into next week, well, that high pressure is still very much with us now. we could see one or two showers getting into the south of england on tuesday, still open to question, but it�*s going to be pleasantly warm for the first half of the week.

live from london, this is bbc news. many killed in a block of flats in johannesburg. these are the live pictures from the city as the emergency services continue to search the building. former transport secretary grant shapps has been named the new defence secretary. tropical

hurricane idalia trails destruction as it moves up that us coast. streaming giant netflix moves into the world of gaming. hello i�*m rajini vaidyanathan. we start in south africa, where more than 70 people have died in a fire at a five—storey block of flats in johannesburg. the emergency services said the building, in the central business district, had been abandoned and was used by homeless people. dozens of people were injured, and rushed to hospital. many were suffering from smoke inhalation. it has been described as one of the worst fires in the city�*s recent history. the head of the emergency services injohannesburg says the cause of the blaze is currently unclear.