idalia trails destruction 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.

it's a high tech building an abandoned building. they might be two options here. it might be illegal connection, or it might be other heating devices which they are using, because we are told that at the time when the fire started, they didn't have electricity. so it might be any other options between the ones ijust mentioned in terms of the cause of the fire incident itself. but our investigating team, they are on site. they will be starting to conduct that fire investigations as soon as we are done with our search and recovery operation. our reporter samantha granville sent this update from the scene. 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 rip 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. our correspondent, pumza fihlani joined us from johannesburg to tell us more. well, authorities here injohannesburg have told us that, sadly, it has moved from a rescue mission to a recovery operation, as they believe that anyone that is found

at this stage is unlikely to be found alive. it's also put a harsh spotlight on what is happening in the city centre ofjohannesburg, stories around abandoned buildings that then get taken over by what have been described as by authorities as criminal gangs who rent them out to desperate people are not new. but this is perhaps one of the harshest realities that we are seeing of what can happen in in such buildings there. at the moment, some of the city's authorities are down there wanting to speak to people, to try and work out what sort of help is needed. that death toll that we currently know sits at more than 60 people is feared that it is going to rise because authorities are still working through gaining access into different and deeper parts of that building. you mentioned a description that's been used by authorities that it looks like an informal settlement in there. and that's because when these buildings get taken over, scores of people are packed literally into every room. you will have families of up to ten

people living in a small room. so you can understand why it would have been difficult for many people to make it out of there for power. things like electricity, for example. for that to be powered, illegal connections are often used by these landlords to try and bring in power into the building, and those also pose a safety hazard. and that's what we're starting to see. it's unclear what caused the fire, but it is clear that the conditions that the people were living in were not helpful. let's is bringing the latest live pictures from the scene. the authorities are now trying to clear and secure the building after that fire which broke out at around 1:30am local time. they still don't know what the cause is. earlier we

saw many police officers outside that building. a press conference earlier described this as a tragedy of monumental proportions. it ties into what is a chronic housing problem with 1.2 million people in that province in need of housing. you can see officials there. this has been described as one of the worst fire incidents injohannesburg worst fire incidents in johannesburg in worst fire incidents injohannesburg in recent history. there are fears that the number of fatalities will continue to rise. rescue workers are making their way into the remaining floors of the building. here in the uk, grant shapps has been appointed as the new defence secretary. mr shapps has previously held a number

of other cabinet positions — including most recently energy secretary — where he's been replaced by claire coutinho as transport secretary. mr shapps succeeds ben wallace, who has resigned and is standing down from parliament at the next general election. who better to ask than our political correspondent leila nathoo. shejoins us now. we saw grant shapps arrived earlier today to meet the prime minister and formally accept thejob, today to meet the prime minister and formally accept the job, what are people in westminster making of this appointment? it’s people in westminster making of this appointment?— appointment? it's always a bit of a clue, who walks _ appointment? it's always a bit of a clue, who walks up _ appointment? it's always a bit of a clue, who walks up downing - appointment? it's always a bit of a l clue, who walks up downing street appointment? it's always a bit of a i clue, who walks up downing street on the morning of an expected reshuffle. we saw grant shapps earlier. it was surprising to see him in downing street. he wasn't one of the names in the mix when there had been a lot of talk about the reshuffle over the summer. we have been expecting a reshuffle since ben wallace announced he was going to stand down at the next election. he said he wanted to relinquish his

position, before he stand down as an mp. we always knew there was going to be a vacancy as defence secretary. grant shapps was not one of the names discussed. there were morejunior ministers of the names discussed. there were more junior ministers who had tipped for promotion. he was not in the best of that. he said already there is going to be no change in his support for ukraine, so there's not going to be any significant policy difference in terms of him taking over. ben wallace has been widely praised for his conduct for his volley the war in ukraine. she was previously a junior minister. a very big promotion for her as she only became an mp in 2019. what's both

grant shapps and claire coutinho have in common, they both loyal allies of rishi sunak. clearly their loyalty has been awarded by a big promotion. she seems to have done well in previous proof of having been ministerfor well in previous proof of having been minister for childcare. well in previous proof of having been ministerfor childcare. it has been ministerfor childcare. it has been a big issue for governments. she has been awarded a cabinetjob. grant shapps moves over. they will seen as trusted, loyal allies for rishi sunak to have around the cabinet table. there have been options available for him to do a wider reshuffle, huge speculation of who is going where, lots of pieces of the puzzle to move. in the event that the prime minister does a major reshuffle,... this is going to be rishi sunak readying for the coming yearin rishi sunak readying for the coming year in the lead up to the next general election.— year in the lead up to the next general election. year in the lead up to the next eneral election. ., ., ~ ., general election. you talk about the aeneral general election. you talk about the general election, _ general election. you talk about the general election, what _ general election. you talk about the general election, what have - general election. you talk about the general election, what have we -

general election. you talk about the general election, what have we had | general election, what have we had from the opposition parties for the announcement.— announcement. there is a merry-go-round, - announcement. there is a merry-go-round, the - announcement. there is a i merry-go-round, the liberal merry—go—round, the liberal democrats of going in and out of apartments. it shows how often differ ministers are in different departments. grant shapps has been in five different departments in the last year. there have been complaints about having reshuffle is like this. this is something that is a political move from rishi sunak to try and get the best people around the table. we are only a few weeks away from the party's conferences. it's about getting his key troops in positions. we are expecting a labour reshuffle, as well. there has been a lot of talk about that since the summer recess, too. certainly in terms of here, this has been a more

limited reshuffle, a surprise appointment to the ministry of defence. someone that rishi sunak feels he can rely on. we defence. someone that rishi sunak feels he can rely on.— feels he can rely on. we “ust had a statement — feels he can rely on. we “ust had a statement from h feels he can rely on. we “ust had a statement from the _ feels he can rely on. we “ust had a statement from the afp _ feels he can rely on. we just had a statement from the afp agency. l feels he can rely on. wejust had aj statement from the afp agency. it feels he can rely on. we just had a i statement from the afp agency. it is said that ben wallace are lead by example on ukraine. here is former chief of general staff of the british army. what is your first reaction of grant shapps taking up the role of defence secretary? here is a very experienced _ the role of defence secretary? haze: is a very experienced cabinet minister. he has held many major portfolios in time, and now he's become the secretary of state for defence. this will be a real challenge for him, going into any

new department i'm sure it is a challenge for any minister, but the world of defence is particularly complex. it's very difficult. he will have to work very hard to understand his portfolio at the whitehall level, and what the culture is in the armed forces. his resignation pointed out to the prime minister,... the big question here, is grant shapps going to be a political appointee to create a task, to be supporting the promising cabinets, is he going to understand the needs of the fans. if he believes defence needs greater funding, will he be willing to enter that discussion when the treasury and i do the task force greater. that's what the ministry of defence

needs. he that's what the ministry of defence needs. ., , ., that's what the ministry of defence needs. . , ., ., needs. he has never held a role in the ministry _ needs. he has never held a role in the ministry of _ needs. he has never held a role in the ministry of defence, _ needs. he has never held a role in the ministry of defence, but - needs. he has never held a role in the ministry of defence, but he i needs. he has never held a role in | the ministry of defence, but he has many other cabinet roles. does it matter he's never worked for the ministry of defence? we matter he's never worked for the ministry of defence?— matter he's never worked for the ministry of defence? we have seen many ministers _ ministry of defence? we have seen many ministers go _ ministry of defence? we have seen many ministers go over— ministry of defence? we have seen many ministers go over the - ministry of defence? we have seen many ministers go over the years. | many ministers go over the years. the important thing is their willingness to learn and understand. because politicians have their responsibilities within the political world, responsibilities within the politicalworld, but responsibilities within the political world, but when it works best in the fence is when the politicians do theirjob. they work together as a team. i think what grant shapps will find out quite quickly is that the ministry of defence has many challenges, many decisions over numbers and so on. is he going to understand the decisions quickly enough to really fight on the behalf of the ministry of defence to the government, or is he

going to go quietly, supports the prime minister, keep the ship and rattled and that'll mean the defence will go through a period of stagnation until the next general election. t, stagnation until the next general election. ., ., . ., . election. you touched on defence s-tendin , election. you touched on defence spending. as _ election. you touched on defence spending. as you _ election. you touched on defence spending, as you said _ election. you touched on defence spending, as you said ben - election. you touched on defencel spending, as you said ben wallace had spoken about his concerns that the army had been hollowed out over a period of three decades, and that ukraine war exposed the army's vulnerabilities. what you make of that? fits vulnerabilities. what you make of that? �* , ., ., vulnerabilities. what you make of that? ~ , a, t, a, , vulnerabilities. what you make of that? t, a, _ vulnerabilities. what you make of that? a, a, _ a vulnerabilities. what you make of that? a, a, _ that? as a former army chief, it's a toint i that? as a former army chief, it's a point i would _ that? as a former army chief, it's a point i would normally _ that? as a former army chief, it's a point i would normally make - that? as a former army chief, it's a point i would normally make first. | point i would normally make first. the defence budget is under a lot of pressure, increase spending on high—tech technology, and so on, but annie has been underfunded for quite some time. it wouldn't matter if there wasn't a threat in a war. what we're seeing in ukraine over the last 18 months is the return to

old—fashioned fighting, a combination of high—tech requirements, drones and communications, and so on, very much part and parcel with the ukraine war, but we're also seeing the traditional forms of warfare. change the chain fighting between armoured vehicles. that is where we are underfunded as far as the british army is concerned. ben wallace knew that and he was being honest, he wasn't able to achieve the army as he matches he would like have done. the current chief of the general staff, he has been arguing the case for greater spending for the army. this is a case grant shapps will have to face. it is a problem for defence when new technologies come in, they are expensive. they are not at the expense of all technologies. we have to have a wider number of clubs in our golf but we will have to meet a range of demands. thank

ou for to meet a range of demands. thank you for sharing _ to meet a range of demands. thank you for sharing your— to meet a range of demands. thank you for sharing your insights. - around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. former mp is being asked to remove the limit be removed after links of slavery. sandwich chain pret—a—manger has been fined £800,000 after a member of staff was trapped in a walk—in freezer at one of its london shops for two—and—a—half hours. the woman was treated for suspected hypothermia, and says she feared for her life. pret a manger says they've "worked with the manufacturer to develop a solution to stop this from happening again." because experts are preparing a band for nitrous oxide which could see

helping hospitals. in a letter to the government, 15 neurologists and other health experts say possession of the drug should not be criminalised. you're live with bbc news. here, police officers found guilty of gross misconduct will be sacked — under new powers being given to police chiefs. the overhaul of disciplinary processes in england and wales was prompted by the convictions of former metropolitan police officers wayne couzens who murdered sarah everard, and the serial rapist, david carrick. our home editor, mark easton explained what the changes will mean in practice. well, until now, certainly since 2016, the disciplinary hearings that decide whether an officer is guilty of misconduct or gross misconduct and what the sanction should be have been independent of the police, basically run by legal professionals.

but the number of chief constables, including some mark rowley, the commissioner of the metropolitan police in london, have said that this isn't right, that they should have the control over who is in their in theirforce, that they should be able to sack people. and after those scandals, which you mentioned and other scandals which have emerged in the last few years, the home office conducted a review and have decided that they're going to change the way those panels work. so instead of having three lawyers, you're going to have in the in the chair, as it were, a senior police officer, a chief constable or one of his or her deputies. and then you will still have two independent people, a legal professional and a lay person. so it sort of gets us a little bit further down the road. i don't think in a way this is going to please anybody, because i've already heard chief constable say, well, that's not enough. we need to have real control of this. they can be outvoted by these independent voices and there's some frustration about that.

and then on the other side of the argument, people like the police federation, which represent rank and file officers, say that these will become a kangaroo court, that basically this is, as they say, a retrograde step. that takes us back to the days when senior police officers were acting essentially asjudge and jury. in these disciplinary cases, they were marking their own homework and came to these hearings, having already decided that these were officers they wanted rid of. now to the us, where millions of florida resident are struggling with the aftermath of hurricane idalia. it's now weakened to a tropical storm as it moves north—east, across georgia and south carolina. but it's still bringing dangerous winds and heavy rains. this is what people living in perry, florida, were met with when they returned home. it's one of the worst affected towns on the state's gulf coast. and this is the aftermath in keaton beach, also in florida, at least two people have died in the state in driving accidents in wet conditions.

work is being carried out to clear blocked roads and restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes. officials say dozens of people had to be carried to safety. 0ur correspondent helena humphrey has more from cedar key. idalia has already moved on from florida but, in herwake, a path of destruction. in the rural community of cedar key, hurricane winds ripped down walls with ease, some homes all but hollowed out, leaving the storm surge to pour in, washing away the everyday trappings of life. i don't think anybody can deny the impact of the climate crisis any more. just look around. historic floods. i mean, historic floods. more intense droughts, extreme heat. significant wildfires have caused significant damage like we've never seen before. federal authorities have promised whatever it takes to get the state back up and running. but, in florida and in georgia, nearly half a million people were without power.

here, in cedar key, one of the hardest hit areas, people have escaped with their lives, but not their livelihoods. hotels have been destroyed, shops have been submerged. and some residents i've been speaking to have been telling me that they've onlyjust recovered from other hurricanes in florida. and now this. and even as this storm weakens moving north, the warning from authorities is that the danger isn't over. this shows where the highest rate of flooding _ this shows where the highest rate of flooding is_ this shows where the highest rate of flooding is going to occur. all of this tropical moisture is wrapping around _ this tropical moisture is wrapping around and there is a front right ear~ _ around and there is a front right ear. jacksonville carolina, south carolina. — ear. jacksonville carolina, south carolina, columbia beach, they are all in _ carolina, columbia beach, they are all in the _ carolina, columbia beach, they are all in the swath of very heavy rain.

as residents of the big bend in florida recover from the strongest storm in over a century, they're also having to get to grips with a new reality — that disasters like this one are unlikely to be a once—in—a—lifetime event. helena humphrey, bbc news, florida. let's talk to william marquez of bbc mundo. tell us about the impact of the storm. there has been heavy flooding. trees fell, rooftop are torn, and a lot of power outages. in spite of these people not being used to these types of storms, it's typical of in florida, if there is a positive thing about this, it missed the large cities such as tampa, and tallahassee. the death toll was kept to a minimum, if at all except for

these two people who died in traffic accident. it didn't drop the amount of water that it could have. hundreds of thousands of people at this place now, tell us about the status of finding them shelter, and also being able to return to their homes. . ., , . , homes. the authorities are still assessint homes. the authorities are still assessing the _ homes. the authorities are still assessing the damage, - homes. the authorities are still assessing the damage, govern | assessing the damage, govern desantis is saying it will take a long time to recover and get back to normal again. the most basic thing, waiting for the floods to recede and return to see what sort of damage has been done to their homes. power has been done to their homes. power has to be restored, almost half a million people were left without power. hundreds of thousands of

people have received electricity now, but i have lived through americans in florida before, that operation could take weeks. there is a cleaning up of all the debris, the mad, trees and vegetation. you have to chop down the trees that have been damaged. there is a big operation ahead of them. you mentioned — operation ahead of them. you mentioned you _ operation ahead of them. you mentioned you live _ operation ahead of them. you mentioned you live through her accounts, tells more about your personal experiences and how they draw into what has happened recently. draw into what has happened recentl . ., , , recently. one of the things is wakint recently. one of the things is waking up — recently. one of the things is waking up and _ recently. one of the things is waking up and sing _ recently. one of the things is waking up and sing the - recently. one of the things is - waking up and sing the floodwaters. florida is a very flat set state,, i wasn't affected by the flooding. it is like a nightmare when you wake up and see other vegetation, the trees you, down on top of cars, were also fallen down, it takes days, weeks to clean all of this app. florida is a

very hot state, plus water can also be affected. taste very hot state, plus water can also be affected-— be affected. we know the storm is movint u- be affected. we know the storm is moving up the _ be affected. we know the storm is moving up the coast, _ be affected. we know the storm is moving up the coast, at _ be affected. we know the storm is moving up the coast, at other - be affected. we know the storm is. moving up the coast, at other areas in serious danger?— in serious danger? there have been warnints, in serious danger? there have been warnings. severe — in serious danger? there have been warnings, severe warnings, - in serious danger? there have been warnings, severe warnings, a - in serious danger? there have been warnings, severe warnings, a flash | warnings, severe warnings, a flash flooding in north carolina where the storm now has gone off into the atlantic. there is still some starch warning —— storm surge warning. they can still be quite a few metres of water. ., ~ can still be quite a few metres of water. . ~' , ., can still be quite a few metres of water. . ,, , ., ., can still be quite a few metres of water. . ,, i. ., , ., i. water. thank you for showing your tersonal water. thank you for showing your personal insights _ water. thank you for showing your personal insights on _ water. thank you for showing your personal insights on that - water. thank you for showing your personal insights on that story. i before we go, here at the latest pictures from johannesburg. many

people have died and many injured after a fire in this apartment block injohannesburg. the authorities are still investigating what caused that fire. emergency services told the bbc that the fire began at around 1:30am on thursday morning. people from the building has been evacuated, but the recovering of body still continues. still continues. stay with us here on bbc news. 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 1l 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.

a slowdown in the workshop of the world. we get an expert view on why china's economy has contracted forfive months in a row. and feeding inflation. india's food prices are soaring and attempts to control them are being felt around the world.

welcome to world business report. i'm ben thompson. let's start in china, where the latest economic data out shows the country's manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month. the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose slightly to 49.7 in august, which was slightly higher than many analysts were expecting. but, that figure is still below 50, which signals contraction. it's safe to say, the much anticipated post—covid rebound has not materialised yet. we're nowjoined by our asia pacific editor, celia hatton. celia, talk to me about why five months in a row, is clearly an issue, but at this time of year it causes problems? explain why we are looking so closely these figures. this is a real problem, because this

is normally the time that many