tropical storm idalia leaves a trail of destruction after moving up the southeast coast of the us. hello, i'm matthew amroliwala, welcome to verified live, 3 hours of breaking stories, and checking out the truth behind them. let start with news just coming to us here at the bbc, because we're hearing that schools england must immediately shut buildings made with certain types of concrete that is prone to collapse until safety measures are put in place. that is expected to be announced by the government in the next little while. some schools will have to relocate children to other teaching spaces.

more than 100 schools are being contacted before the start of the new autumn term. safety measures include propping up ceilings in buildings made with a reinforced type of concrete that we are talking about here. the department for education is not given a timeline for replacing that particular type of concrete, but school leaders have called for, quote, an urgent plan, to fix those buildings. a report you may remember back injune assessed the risk of injury or death from a school building collapse is very likely and critical, so those measures are expected to be announced by the uk government in the next little while concerning a certain amount of schools in england. lots of detail to explore when we get more details from that announcement, where exactly those schools are, what the contingency measures are, and the timeline that i was referring to, so a lot of new detail to explore through the course of today's verified live. let's turn to our main

story in south africa, where more than 70 people, including several children, have died in a fire, at a five—storey block of flats in johannesburg. the emergency services said the building, in the city's former business district, had been abandoned and was used by homeless people. officials said many bodies were found pressed against a closed security gate. dozens of people were injured, and rushed to hospital. it's been described, as one of the worst fire incidents in the city's recent history. the head of the emergency services injohannesburg says, the cause of the fire is currently unclear. a resident of the building, who managed to escape, gave us this account of what happened. we don't know how it started, but when we wake up, the whole building, it was fire. we don't know how it started. how did you get out? me, ijumped out of the window. i jumped out the window. someone threw me a baby, i catch the baby, and hejumps, i catch him. we are out, but all

of our things burning. really graphic account from just one of the survivors. 0ur correspondent in johannesburg, pumza fihlani, sent this report. piercing screams ring out in the dead of night as a fire rages through a building in the heart ofjohannesburg. home to hundreds, residents have described the horror of people clamouring to get to the nearest exit as smoke filled the building's narrow corridors. many were not that lucky. the actual fire escape was closed, so there was a lot of people, you know, a lot of people with smoke, people were suffocated, a lot of people died because of the smoke, because there was a lot of pressure, some of the gates were closed. as bodies are pulled out of the gutted building onto the street, grief sets in for some of the survivors. the reality of their

loss sinking in. many of those who have died are said to be burnt beyond recognition. hours later, and the flames are finally out. this has now become a recovery operation, emergency workers have said. officials have told the bbc that it is unlikely that any more survivors will be found. they still do not know the cause of the fire. since this is a hijacked or abandoned building, there might be two options here. it might be an illegal connection or it might be other heating devices they are using, because we are told that at the time when the fire started, they didn't have electricity. residents in the building were living in squalid and crowded conditions, described by authorities as an informal settlement with partitions. informal settlement

with shack—like partitions. the building was condemned, declared unsafe by its owners, the city ofjohannesburg, but had been taken over by property gangs who rent out old buildings to scores of people per room. this one was home to working—class migrants from neighbouring countries as well as south africans from poorer provinces who came tojohannesburg in search of better economic prospects. buildings like this, stay away from them, remove yourselves from them. and also, on the part of government itself, the justice system is also failing us. when we identify the hijackers, we want them to be prosecuted. somewhere along the line they are let loose. the investigation into the fire is in its early stages, but this story is only going to get worse for those affected, left without a home or any belongings.

left waiting for news on friends and family, as the number of fatalities increases. and pumza joins us now from johannesburg. brings us up—to—date in terms of the casualty figures and the numbers on that. �* ., , ., ., , ., that. authorities have told us that currently the _ that. authorities have told us that currently the number _ that. authorities have told us that currently the number of _ that. authorities have told us thatj currently the number of casualties sits at just over currently the number of casualties sits atjust over 73. they have also told us that they feel that number will continue to rise, as some of those recovery operations continue, with officials trying to get through some very crowded spaces inside the building to try and see if anybody else is still in there, and bringing them out into the open, where they can then handed over to mortuary services, and be able to get a proper burial. they have also described this as a recovery mission now, telling us it is unlikely that anyone at this stage will be found alive. we are starting to see a very grim picture of the people that were

living in that building, and the conditions they were living under, with officials telling us that some of them had about ten, between eight to ten people living in an apartment that should really only house to people. that is one of the things that has made it difficult, not only for people to escape, but for rescue workers to get in and get people out of that building. 0ne workers to get in and get people out of that building. one of the survivors told us how we came across what was meant to be a working security exit, and bodies had piled on top of each other. these are people are clamouring and trying to get to safety, and when they got there, they found that door locked. thank you for the latest. live now to johannesburg and the chair of the aid charity, gift of the givers foundation, dr imtiaz sooliman. thank you so much for being here in the programme. i will come to the help you're providing in a moment or two, butjust described to us what you saw when you got site overnight.

good afternoon. it is more what my team saw when they got there. this panic of people in the streets, they saw the raging fire with smoke all over, and of course the police had cordoned off the area. it was too emotional, too horrific rouble to see, charred bodies lying all around the ground, starting off at six, then eight, then 20, then 40, and then eight, then 20, then 40, and the number is climbing all the time. of which there are seven children, one child just 15 months old. people in distress, not knowing if their family members are alive. a brother, a son was alive, but they knew the condition inside the building. at some point, we got inside, and we saw what your presenter earlier mentioned, that this was an informal

settlement inside a building, where a two bedroom apartment was subdivided with cardboard boxes stop people in different family stay in the same department, but share a different room. i don't know about privacy, what is important, so much cardboard, so much flammable material, you're asking for a huge crisis to take place, which we saw today. mi crisis to take place, which we saw toda . �* ., ., ., , today. all of that detail is incredibly _ today. all of that detail is incredibly distressing. - today. all of that detail is incredibly distressing. i l today. all of that detail is i incredibly distressing. i said today. all of that detail is - incredibly distressing. i said that you have been helping both the firefighters and the survivors. take you through the help you have been able to give to them? let’s you through the help you have been able to give to them?— able to give to them? let's start with the firefighters. _ able to give to them? let's start with the firefighters. it - able to give to them? let's start with the firefighters. it is - able to give to them? let's start with the firefighters. it is very i with the firefighters. it is very standard practice in south africa that we get called by disaster management. we are the biggest disaster agency in the continent. we get called to support the

firefighters. the support is in terms of bottled water, energy drinks, energy biscuits, and at some point they get a full meal, especially when they're fighting for long hours. sometimes they need lip balm and masks for 1's going the fire. by now, the fire is over. it is search and recovery. the firefighters are done, we have supported him throughout the day. we can't do anything with the victims until they are placed in a place of safety, and an area where we can work in a coordinated manner. our trucks are kept with blankets, bottled water, fresh food being prepared, new clothing, sanitary bags, diapers, everything they require. we cannot distribute that in the streets. they have to have a place of safety. the settlement department has allocated a place. we are expecting them to move to that place in a short while. the moment

they get to that place, our teams will then move in and support them, and probably for the next seven to ten days, depending on where they are going to move after this. there is no certainty where they will stay after this. we is no certainty where they will stay after this. ~ ., is no certainty where they will stay after this. ~ . , . ., ., after this. we are expecting to hear from the city _ after this. we are expecting to hear from the city authorities _ after this. we are expecting to hear from the city authorities in - after this. we are expecting to hear from the city authorities in the - from the city authorities in the next 15 or 20 minutes, but briefly, is this a wake—up call that authorities have to do more about this whole issue of hijacked buildings? {iii this whole issue of hi'acked buildingsvfi this whole issue of hi'acked buildinus? , , . . ~' , buildings? of course it is a wake-up call. it is buildings? of course it is a wake-up call- it is not — buildings? of course it is a wake-up call. it is not something _ buildings? of course it is a wake-up call. it is not something they - call. it is not something they didn't know about. there are three categories of people who need to take responsibility. 0ne, those who have taken ownership of the building, and they need to know that you can't have inflated numbers in the building, it is a huge risk to life. secondly, it is going to be a bit brutal, but you need to understand if you are living here that you are putting your family at risk trying to stay in a building where at some point a disaster like this will happen. thirdly, the city

officials. they need to be more strict about the governance laws. the same city officials shut down one of the most important hospitals injohannesburg when there was a fire in april 2021. the hospital, at the height of a covid pandemic. it is not the only building, it is not the only city, it is not the only province. all across the country, you have buildings like this, which need to be regulated and controlled for human habitation, for dignity. so yes, they should be a huge wake—up call. a wake—up call is not good enough, we need to see implementation of rules. thank you so much talking _ implementation of rules. thank you so much talking to _ implementation of rules. thank you so much talking to us. _ implementation of rules. thank you so much talking to us. we - implementation of rules. thank you so much talking to us. we are - so much talking to us. we are expecting to hear from city authorities here on the programme for the next 20 minutes. we'll bring that to you live as soon as a news conference starts. here, grant shapps has been

appointed as the new uk defence secretary. mr shapps has previously held a number of other cabinet positions — including energy and transport secretary. 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 said... some have reacted to grant shapps's appointment with a degree of scepticism. grant shapps's appointment here's a former chief of the general staff of the british army, lord dannatt. the big question here is, is grant shappsjust going to be a political appointee whose primary task, if you like, will be to support the prime ministerand cabinet? minister in cabinet? or is he really going to understand the needs of defence? if he believes that defence needs greater funding, as ben wallace did, will he be willing to enter that discussion within cabinet, with the chancellor,

with the treasury, and argue the toss for greater resources for defence? because that is what the ministry of defence needs. for more on this, let's bring in frank gardner, our security correspondent. a hugely important job a hugely importantjob this, and it comes with really massive challenges, no bigger than what is going on in ukraine? yes. challenges, no bigger than what is going on in ukraine?— challenges, no bigger than what is going on in ukraine? yes, ukraine is the military's — going on in ukraine? yes, ukraine is the military's main _ going on in ukraine? yes, ukraine is the military's main effort, _ going on in ukraine? yes, ukraine is the military's main effort, but - the military's main effort, but there are plenty of challenges facing the new defence secretary. defence procurement is one, in other words, securing the supply of new equipment, much of which is delayed or is running over budget. it is an absolute staple that every defence secretary has to grapple with. when it comes to grant shapps, it all depends on whether you want to see the glass half—full or half empty. his detractors, of which there are many, say this guy doesn't know the first thing defence. why are we putting this guy in charge of one of the most important ministries in

britain, at the time where britain are supporting a european ally in its war against russian invasion. why are we putting somebody there who doesn't have any military experience. on the other side, that can be an advantage if the new defence secretary is prepared to listen to people, and he has some experience of logistics, which are unglamorous but hugely important parts of any war fighting. he unglamorous but hugely important parts of any warfighting. he has worked in transport and energy, and he was in ukrainejust worked in transport and energy, and he was in ukraine just recently talking about energy. it is perfectly possible, i don't know if he knew at that stage whether he was going to get the job, he knew at that stage whether he was going to get thejob, but it he knew at that stage whether he was going to get the job, but it has done him no harm to have already met some senior ukrainian officials. frank, ben wallace, a former soldier, of course. he talks not that long ago about british forces being hollowed out over time, so it notjust ukraine, they will want being hollowed out over time, so it not just ukraine, they will want the services to have a loud voice in cabinet, trying to get more resources to accommodate and combat all of that? i resources to accommodate and combat all of that? ~ , ~ , all of that? i think it is unlikely that we are _

all of that? i think it is unlikely that we are going _ all of that? i think it is unlikely that we are going to _ all of that? i think it is unlikely that we are going to see - all of that? i think it is unlikely that we are going to see grant| that we are going to see grant shapps putting his head above the parapet on that one. i may be wrong, but he is first and foremost a politician. hopefully he will listen to what people have to say, whether defence needs are. —— where the defence needs are. —— where the defence needs are. there are some critical shortages coming down the pipeline in terms of artillery, of ammunition, of missiles and so on, because britain has not completely, but it is emptied out a lot of the content of its warehouses and arsenals and sent them overland to ukraine. ben wallace was really forward leaning on this, he was one of the foremost figures in europe to say, this is what ukraine needs, this is what we will supply them. if anything, he was one step ahead of the americans. the americans were much more cautious. they were very wary of upsetting the russians to the point that this war could spill out over into nato's borders, into nato countries. ben wallace decided

that putin was bluffing, and he wouldn't retaliate in that way, so we started sending more and more lethal equipment. challenger two battle tanks, long—range missiles, giving the go—ahead for f—16s, even though britain does not have f—16 fighter planes, but it was one of this country to say yes we need to give this to ukraine, and let's help the dutch and the danes give them training for that. that was quite controversial. i think it is properly one of the reasons why the white house didn't back his bid to become nato secretary general. timer;r become nato secretary general. they rive takin: become nato secretary general. they give taking me _ become nato secretary general. they give taking me through all of that. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news. the former conservative mp antoinette sandbach has asked to be has asked to be removed from an academic�*s research, that connects her to a slave—owning ancestor. malik al nasir named ms sandbach as a descendant of samuel sandbach —

a liverpool merchant, who had a stake in plantations in the west indies, in a 2021 video. she argues there's no public interest in identifying her. 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." police trying to trace a poet who went missing at a music festival have found a body during a nearby search operation. gboyega 0dubanjo was last seen at the shambala music festival in northamptonshire — at around 4am on saturday morning. let's now turn to the united states — because search and rescue teams, have been combing through damaged properties in florida in the wake of hurricane idalia.

officials have warned it could take time to reach remote areas in the south—eastern us state — with routes blocked by high water or downed trees. efforts are being made to reconnect hundreds of thousands of homes without power. let's speak now to grace meinhofer, she's the national spokesperson for the american red cross. just take us through the biggest challenges you have on the ground as we speak. challenges you have on the ground as we seak. . ~ challenges you have on the ground as we seak. ., ~ i. challenges you have on the ground as we seak. . ~' ,, ., ., we speak. thank you for having me. the american _ we speak. thank you for having me. the american red _ we speak. thank you for having me. the american red cross _ we speak. thank you for having me. the american red cross today - we speak. thank you for having me. the american red cross today is - the american red cross today is doing multiple things. first of all, we continue to provide refuge to those in shelters, and then today, our 500 group of disaster responders are going out to assess the damages in different areas. i'm located today at the disaster headquarters in tallahassee. teams of life this morning to look at what the damages, and what they need is going to be.

—— teams have left. this is a difficult disaster, it is in different areas, so today will be a whole day of assessment and distribution.— whole day of assessment and distribution. what, as you view these initial _ distribution. what, as you view these initial hours, _ distribution. what, as you view these initial hours, is - these initial hours, is concentrating your mind must? is at the damage to houses? is at the lack of power, ? the damage to houses? is at the lack of power,? is it the... fix, the damage to houses? is at the lack of power,? is it the. . ._ of power,? is it the... a little... we are providing _ of power,? is it the... a little... we are providing support - of power,? is it the... a little... we are providing support in - of power,? is it the... a little... - we are providing support in georgia. the need is very different. we are disputing a lot of water, we are ready to eat meals. we have 100,000 ready to eat meals. we have 100,000 ready to eat meals. we have 100,000 ready to eat meals that need to be distributed. this is a very important part after a disaster like this happens. people return home, they need to make sure the areas are clean, the refrigerators are clean. we want to avoid infections, so that will be a crucial part of the recovery process, and also what sheltering will look like over the days ahead as people recover from

this disaster. in days ahead as people recover from this disaster.— this disaster. in situations like this, because _ this disaster. in situations like this, because hurricanes, - this disaster. in situations like i this, because hurricanes, floods like this, are not uncommon like this, what contingencies do you have in place on the ground ready to go immediately? irate in place on the ground ready to go immediately?— in place on the ground ready to go immediately? we pre-position not onl the immediately? we pre-position not only the loss _ immediately? we pre-position not only the loss of _ immediately? we pre-position not only the loss of lives _ immediately? we pre-position not only the loss of lives for _ immediately? we pre-position not only the loss of lives for the - only the loss of lives for the hospitals we have here, we have also mobilised 500 volunteers, while we are still also providing support in hawaii. we have multiple disasters happening at the same time, but thanks to the generosity of our volunteers and their generosity of those that donate to the american red cross, we are able to pre—position supplies and have them available prior to the stop, and people who need help can call one 800 red cross for any supplies they needin 800 red cross for any supplies they need in the days to come.— 800 red cross for any supplies they need in the days to come. thank you for talkin:

need in the days to come. thank you for talking us — need in the days to come. thank you for talking us to _ need in the days to come. thank you for talking us to on _ need in the days to come. thank you for talking us to on the _ need in the days to come. thank you for talking us to on the ground - for talking us to on the ground here. the overhaul of police disciplinary measures in the uk follows the murder of sarah everard, by wayne couzens, and the serial rapist david carrick. what is your relationship with vihaan malhotra? he's my cousin, ma'am... the frustration of pursuing bent coppers has seen sunday night tv drama echo the real world of policing. the head of scotland yard, sir mark rowley, is among a number of police chiefs have been pushing the government to give them more powers to identify and sack rogue officers. the further people are away from it, the more forgiving they are of the behaviour, is what i've seen. so i want the powers to be able to deal with this.

since disciplinary hearings became independent of the police seven years ago, the number of officers being sacked for gross misconduct has fallen significantly. but a series of scandals, including the jailing of former met officers wayne couzens and david carrick for murder and rape, has severely damaged public confidence, and now the home office has agreed to give top cops more say in what should happen to bent officers in their ranks. this package of measures will make sure that there is nowhere to hide for officers who don't deserve to wear the uniform. the new rules mean that instead of a completely independent panel, a chief constable or a deputy will chair the misconduct hearing, attended by an independent lawyer and a lay person. if they conclude an officer is guilty of gross misconduct, the individual will be subject to automatic dismissal. the mother of two sisters whose murdered bodies were photographed by a policeman, nowjailed, has welcomed to the new approach. we need this, this process needs to be speeded up, it needs to be changed, it needs to be more open and transparent, and so i'm really very pleased.

but the police federation, representing rank and file officers, has said the changes will mark a return to what it calls the dark ages of kangaroo courts. you're going to be marking your own homework, you're going to bejudge and jury. with a legally qualified professional and an independent member, and of course still route of appeal through to the police appeals tribunal, there are plenty of checks and balances to ensure independence. if the public�*s to be convinced that more is being done to root out officers who abuse their powers, they must also be confident that police chiefs deciding who gets sacked won't abuse their powers. before we take a break, let me show you live pictures coming into us from moscow. sergey lavrov is meeting with his turkish counterpart. you sing in the last few minutes that president putin and president erdogan will hold a meeting. no other details. he is

also talking about increasing gas exports to turkey, so we will keep an eye on that and bring you any significant lines as they come in from moscow. the other thing we are keeping an eye on is that news out of england that the government is due to shut some school buildings made with a particular type of concrete after concerns about collapsing buildings. we are still to get more detail on that. we will talk to our education correspondent, bat school story as you can see on the bbc website now, we will be constantly updating it here on bbc news. hello there. the weather is looking promising this weekend and indeed into much of next week. we've got high pressure building in to bring settled, sunny, drier and warmer weather for most of us. but back to the here and now, low pressure continues to bring a lot more cloud. outbreaks of rain for southern and western areas courtesy of these weather fronts. the heaviest of the rain will be through the channel, particularly later on this

evening and overnight. so this is how it's looking for the rest of today. northern ireland, much of wales, central and southern england will see thicker cloud, outbreaks of rain, but large parts of scotland, northeast and east england will stay dry with some good sunny spells here. variable cloud. up to 21 degrees in the east with some sunshine. generally, the mid—teens further south and west where we have the rain. now, this evening and overnight could see an area of thundery rain move through the channel, certainly for the channel islands. scraping along the south coast. further north would be rather cloudy. outbreaks of light and patchy rain, quite a mild, muggy night to come in the south. a little bit fresher across scotland where we have clear skies. for friday, then, we have that weather front lying across southern scotland, northern ireland, northern england, to the north of it, sunnier with one or two showers and an improving picture for the rest of england and wales. we should see the sunshine emerging into the afternoon. some good sunny spells around and just one or two showers. the odd heavier one. and feeling warmer, 22 degrees

across the southeast. as we head through the weekend, though, high pressure builds in. it will be largely dry and sunny for most of us. we lose that weather front as we move through friday night, saturday and sunday, high pressure with us. but these weather fronts will continue to flirt with the north west of the uk to bring stronger winds and outbreaks of rain, especially on sunday. saturday, we have some mist and fog to contend with, that should melt away. lots of sunshine, more cloud breeze across the northwest of scotland closer to those weather fronts. so we've got the high teens here, but it's warming up further south, up to 23 degrees or so across central and southern areas. sunday, similar story, early mist and fog clears, plenty of sunshine, but we will see outbreaks of rain, stronger winds for the highlands and islands. elsewhere, though, plenty of sunshine, top temperatures 24 or 25 degrees — it will be warming up. and then as we head into next week, high pressure continues to bring a lot of dry, and settled weather, particularly towards southern and western areas. but there will be increasing threats of showers or longer spells of rain as we move deeper into the week.

this is bbc news. the headlines: more than 70 people, including several children, are killed in a fire, at a block of flats injohannesburg. some schools in england have been told to close over fears they could

collapse. spain's world cup—winning goalkeeper tells the bbc she's disappointed that their victory has been overshadowed by the spanish fa boss kissing her team—mate. the stunning entries for this year's wildlife photographer of the year competition — we'll speak to one of the photographers and a judge. sport now and a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's will. hello from the bbc sport centre. uefa president aleksander ceferin has described the behaviour of spanish football federation president luis rubiales as "inappropriate" — but he's called for fifa's investigation to be allowed to run its course. rubiales has said he won't resign after he kissed spanish player jenni hermoso on the lips after their world cup win over england. a video has emerged of hermoso and her team—mates laughing and discussing the kiss on the team bus following the game but chelsea women's manager, emma hayes, says such a reaction isn't unnatural.

we all do lots of different things in shock.