this is d.w. news live from berlin devastated but still standing paris's notre. dame brings after firefighters thought through the night to save it to the roof and gothics fire may be gone but officials say the main structure should be intact. i'm sumi so must conduct good to have you with us. french president vowing to

rebuild the notre dame cathedral after a blaze destroyed much of the twelfth century church late on monday firefighters say the fire is now under control and partially extinguished let's take a look at some pictures now this is what's been left standing this morning authorities say because he was largely saved but the fire gutted its roof and caused this fire to collapse one firefighter was injured during the blaze many valuable artworks inside were lost and or damaged and people around the world are lamenting the devastation of an architectural jewel that has survived well over eight centuries and is a symbol of france's heritage. this hell were a place on earth this is what it might look like. the flames destroyed what two world wars did not ravaging over eight hundred years of history. as the spire of not to dom fell to the inferno.

people in france and around the world looked on. thousands gathered nearby in paris many in shock at the scale of the blaze. the french president call came to stand by them. we were able to build it more than eight hundred years ago and over the centuries to make it grow and improve. so i say to you very solemnly this evening this cathedral we will rebuild it all together. and this is probably a part of french destiny a project we will have for the coming years but i am committed to it starting tomorrow a national fund raising campaign will be launched and so i don't see. some four

hundred firefighters battle to save the church smain bell towers they also rushed into the flames to try to salvage religious relics and priceless artworks. the fire spread extremely quickly on the roof wooden beams dating from the twelfth century are thought to be to blame. later some measure of good news firefighters announced the church's core structure had been saved. their efforts honored by those who looked on at the unfolding disaster. if you did that. it's not just catholics but also believers and nonbelievers we share the same attachment to notre dame to poverty because it's a landmark it's a place of refuge in french history. it's where we have gathered in joy and sorrow throughout our history. when i started to suspect that it's the end of an era the end of a piece of history and docket it's incredibly unfortunate this is something that

will have the world mourning. the loss of this piece of world heritage is weighing on many will beyond the streets of paris. and let's go right to did barbara faisal she's following the latest developments for us at the scene and paris hi barbara so we can see the core structure there standing behind you this is the morning after so bring bring us up to date on the latest efforts to to fully extinguish the flames. firefighters are still working there on some sides of this huge edifice here behind us this still throwing water at the walls in order to cool them down because the danger with a fire like this is that it might seem to be extinguished but there could be small corners where it is just lowering because he's still smoldering and could really

night because the heat. was developed last night when the whole roof structure this huge is seven eight hundred year old new structure burned down it was so immense that is the not possible to say what the structural damage is now here behind as where you we see you see the two towers on one of them we could just make out a large group of experts who have been climbing the tar and who are trying to sort of the damage from there looking into the main structure of the towers where the first thing that sort of way out of danger last night after two to three hours first it seemed that they might also fall but then firefighters could sort of beat back the blaze and they are safe enough now for firefighters to sort of climbed up on and try to figure out what has happened in the main body of the church there right so as you're saying barbara it's difficult right now to really assess the extent of the damage to the structure we are seeing some first pictures emerge from

inside the cathedral what can you tell us about that what we know about the damage to the art and the artifacts inside. the the damage is absolutely extensive from this is similar to a house fire and snow don't do the heat through the original fire but if it's then the huge amount of water that had to be porridge in by the firefighters there is a huge hole in the middle a gaping hole where the roof structure the vault of the casino has really been torn up and that is where the spy of broken so there's one huge open part really and that sort of added to the internal damage paintings have been lost sculptures have been lost we don't know anything yet about the state of the century a century old organ that is one of the old was probably one of the treasures off not we do know that the huge particularly beautiful rose windows the big

round windows that graced the entrance side off not that dated partially back to the thirteenth century that they are lost the glass cannot withstand the tremendous heat so the damage is also extensive inside things that had been in the treasure vault they could be saved just some relics and some are good could be carried out last night early enough but then later on it was too dangerous and so much is lost inside and much that can never be brought back you know barbara's the work continues to say what still can be saved a lot of questions are being asked about how this could have happened what do we know at this point about the cause of the fire. the paris prosecutor has opened an investigation and he talks about negligence so what seems to have happened is what has happened before in old buildings as soon as you start working in those tinder

dry old roof structures he we had beams here going back to the thirteenth century huge oak beams they start burning slowly but once they do foreign they're hard it's hardly possible to extinguish them so they have been works there around the spire that was the first thing to go to break last night in the roof structure and something happened there either it was an electrical fault all there was a bit of heat or is some some sort of a bit of flame from welding we don't know who that is so but there must have been maybe the smallest nest of fire smoldering somewhere and then between the time at five o'clock in the afternoon when workmen seize working and seven o'clock at night when the fire was noticeable and the alarm went up it seems to have developed and once it got going then there was simply no saving the roof it was a devastating sight it's safe to say about that notre dame is really part of

paris's soul it's a part of its fabric how of people there been reacting to what happened. there was the last night a really small number sensurround people were coming out here to watch this is late after midnight and it was not in the sense of sort of gawking at the spectacle but it was a very quiet hardly anybody spoke and let's listen in to what people had to say how they comment this loss the strike at the heart of paris. you can see this when it's a monument you love and a monument you live in which you celebrate which represents so much in our history and it's really sad and i'm asking god wife. is. why. does that then we have gotten calls from all over the world because it's a tragedy for the whole. i've said it before of course not to the entire history of

paris heat not sure it's really the symbol here of who we. just couldn't see it's a part of our culture. it's a part of our lives that's a truly great cathedral and i've been there and i've seen it and there's no cathedral i think i could say this probably no cathedral in the world like it it's it's a terrible scene. as you said church and political leaders speaking there we also have our religious affairs correspondent with us here in studio to tell us a bit more about this story martin tell us about the religious significance. and i mean clearly this is a very very visible church and as a matter of fact it's not merely sort of a religious icon but in some sense really we find very much the way in which friends project itself as a catholic country has been the center of pilgrimage broadcasts also in part but i think that what is sort of important is to consider the fact that this church

really stands as a cultural heritage not just for friends but really for europe and in a sense defined sort of the religious character of europe the fact that europe was committed for many many centuries. to christianity in many ways it remains so but also the fact that this is sort of the cultural space that we have all the heritage and i think that in this sense it's really that we see at a time like this which is really quite catastrophic i mean we see the way in which people across the board not just christians actually mourn the loss of something that really stands at the center of in a way europe cannot. tell us more about how. not only for catholics but for people of all faiths i mean in a sense i think that what we have to in mind is europe europe. a very busy civil kristen a then to the end it's something that we see sort of through our urban spaces in which churches emerge i think the notre dame cathedral is obviously something that stands beyond sort of the very big dome of these and i don't think

that you need to be in any way and we've seen this in the streets of paris and across the board in europe even as far as the u.s. and so forth that sense of mourning in the sense of loss really exceeds the religious community it has a lot to do with the fact that this is not just a tourist dike and it's not just urban can but it's something that in the sense represents the cultural spirit it was a thousand years in the making what what this thing comes to you know to show for us as members of the european community and so forth right so a symbol of collective cultural heritage especially here in europe you know barbara coming back to you it's all the more important as the french president said to rebuild it and the plans are there according to a man who will not call it is there though a sense how long or how expensive that could be. nobody has any idea i mean this is going to take days maybe even weeks to figure out how extensive this structural damage is then you have to make plans for rebuilding then you have

to drive in the specialists not only for throughout france but from all over europe and it rather seems that the money side might be a minor consideration one of the biggest french companies owned by the are no family they have now up their offer to offer money to two hundred million for rebuilding the church so money will be pouring in also from crowd funding and from all sorts of private and public services bought how can you really rebuild something that it has such so historic significance and so much of it is lost it is simply gone and that is one of the big sadnesses here that is that if an artwork by layer naruto ruben's the rembrandt was destroyed it is in no way irretrievable even though you can rewrite the structure you can sort of imitate a lot of what was inside it is never going to be quite the same but apart from that

for. the french president this is a political necessity to sort of look to the future and say we will rebuild this he has to give people a sense of going forward because otherwise he would really become bogged down into the negative significance that this is a huge event has for him and his presidency you know we heard barbara say ask the question there how do you we build something of such historic significance tell us more about they historically of this building and what it survived of the centuries i mean i think that in a sense it is true that this is a retrievable but i think that also true for anything that we find sort of in the city space or anything with which we interact regularly i mean i was lucky enough to live very close to the cathedral and they say that in some sense what is quite curious about it is that it's. really becomes kind of invisible in the day today one of the things that is important to keep in mind is that there is no sort of integrity to the cathedral this is a cathedral that over

a thousand year period has gone through several disagree asians there was a huguenot revolution in the sixteenth century in which i can swear this created during the french revolution it was actually completely the file. have had their heads cut off by the mid one thousand sentry the. cathedral was quite literally in shambles it really was the hunchback of notre them that brought the cathedral into the public eye and then the rebuilding process began the spider itself which we just lost is really in a thousand year history about one hundred fifty to two hundred years old so in a sense it is true that much of what has been lost these are retrievable in a sense it is also true that i think that the reconstruction of these will actually entailed our own or our times sort of footstep or imprint on something that really belongs in the sense that i was talking about before to all of us so i think this is really a tragic moment i mean there is a sense of deep mourning i can say this personally i find that there is something

absolutely brutal about seeing this thing go up in flames at the same time it is true that the cathedral in some sense that's just public space which marks what europe as a culturally into the u.s. and how it projects around the world it's still very much a life and the reaction i think it's one that indicates very much that and given that context that the church has survived so many years and is still very much alive as you called it what is the best way forward to preserve this heritage well this will require an enormous barbara pointed out enormous amount of work this mill work in which we are going to have enormous numbers of experts because this is not only a matter of architectural patrimony and it's preservation but art works and really sort of we're really talking about a massive operation a church in a sense you know recruits everything that actually one wouldn't. internet society ards argued. that are so all of these people will have to be brought in. have the sense that you know the presence already of sort of construction companies and

government and public society and the church itself will actually in the future we don't know how long it will take but will give us back if you drill if not true that i don't think that the loss is absolutely rebirth will we most certainly can mourn something brushes that has been lost over our religious affairs correspondent martin gawked with us here and barbara vessel in brussels thank you both and we'll have continuing coverage of the noted on fire a little bit later in the shelf for now though we're going to move on to some other news a sudanese protest leaders say they have blocked an attempt by the army to break up a sit in outside its headquarters the demonstrators have gathered to demand the country's military hand over power to a civilian administration mass anti-government protests helped depose longtime president omar al bashir last week protesters now say they want a civilian government established in sudan within fifteen days. they've

come in their thousands to send a message to the military step aside a make way for a civilian government. the it's almost a festival atmosphere but there was no mistaking the sense of determination as the protests continued for a tenth day we will stop here until we are finished all will require not leave this. on monday the army sought to break up the protests video posted on social media appeared to show reinforcements heading to the scene. but the protesters stood their ground even as they found themselves surrounded by soldiers on three sides in the end the troops shied away from a direct confrontation with the crowds. the army has sought to cast itself a siding with the protesters it was in response to the mass rallies that the military moved last week to overthrow the country's longstanding leader omar al

bashir. in this footage posted on social media a soldier gives his cap to a young protester during cheers from the crowds. that. the army has promised the protesters it will hold democratic elections in two years time but the opposition group leading the demonstrations reiterated today it wants a civilian administration now. the earlier our first demand which is one of the main demands of the protest movement is for the formation of a sovereign civilian council we call on the military to protect the revolution and to guarantee the demands are met. with the group is also calling for associates of former ruler al bashir to face justice and for the dismantling of his regime structure. not all of our demands are that the officials should be made accountable for the rights and the money or. the sudanese people to be returned the protest

leaders have been urging more people to join the crowds come out side the army headquarters in khartoum and by nightfall many had responded to the cool once again swelling the crowds and increasing the pressure on the army. let's catch up now on some other stories making news around the world former massachusetts governor bill weld has become the first republican to challenge donald trump in the primaries for the twenty twenty us presidential election but well might have a struggle on his hands while trump's approval ratings have been mostly poor during his presidency he does remain popular with republican voters are you sure all powerful storms have ripped through the us south killing at least eight people and injuring dozens of others deaths were reported in texas mississippi and louisiana where tornadoes and flooding caused severe damage before heading towards the east coast storm warnings have now been issued there. people in capital are still

struggling with severe flooding after a state of emergency was declared earlier this month more than twenty thousand people were evacuated after heavy rains caused the country's main river to breach its banks. a german museum has handed over the remains of an aboriginal king to australia aboriginal representatives took part in the ceremony in munich where the remains have been stored since eight hundred eighty nine it comes as germany stepped up efforts to return human remains and artwork from former colonies to their places of origin it would be a new zealand's prime minister's just into art and says she disagreed with the international red cross decision to end a media blackout over a nurse missing in syria for five years the organization says it went public to seek information about new zealand nurse luisa a covey following a ports that she may still be alive she and to syria drivers were abducted in two thousand and thirty. that's been a month since cyclonic dice wept over southeastern africa the storm killed more

than one thousand people in mozambique zimbabwe and allowing hundreds of people are still missing as a result of the severe flooding that hit the region the world bank estimates that three million people are still suffering the after effects of the natural disaster one of the worst affected places was the port city of bayda in mozambique our correspondent adrienne krrish met with the mayor there a man who is fighting a daily battle to overcome the emergency left by the storm and for his city. every day. does it too of a city inspecting the reconstruction of beirut with the destruction of saigon the visible everywhere the mayor is determined to stay in close contact with the residents and the man who is trying hearts but he can't always help the mayor is part of an opposition party after the cyclon he strongly criticized the central government for its slow response the city's annual budget is only about thirty million viewers it was real very difficult when teaching heating heating to that

the needs. we need. we need need everybody that's why i spoke to the i spoke to the center told them that we need to join forces and i'm happy that. by now eight organisations active all over town the water supply has been restored to parts of the city have electricity again but they are also setbacks the number of malaria cases is on the rise and despite massive musicians has reported to more than three thousand five hundred cases of me a c. man who reads eight workers in an improvised hospital and gets an update on the situation and wants to know how he can help you have to talk to the people sensitized i mean you have to tell them how to avoid caller they have to boil their drinking. what the doctors working here is still whining because still some cases

coming in and we need to stop it i hope that we don't we are going to do that the most is about to myself and my team to be on the ground talking to the people advising them the care they need to do i'm sure that we're going to stop it. the next problems i waiting so see mungo is hitting the road again full of optimism and drive despite the difficult situation and to the challenge i think the challenge. i feel that something has to be done and i feel as a part of me as someone has to do something. so i feel great i feel. it's a blessing was a choice we face this disaster is a bit what joy is my god the first challenge is when people at the very start to mangos next week plan a donor conference in may he wants to collect more aids money for the reconstruction of his city so the people of prayer i can live here once again like

they did before so i can be done. now here in germany there is growing criticism of the so-called holding and processing centers where migrants are set when they first arrive in the country now let's take a look at the numbers in two thousand and eighteen if the word is that considered more than two hundred thousand applications for asylum more than a third were rejected but only one in three of those who were told that they can stay were actually deported now my can say that conditions inside the holding centers are her risk is tested clara walter reports from bavaria and southern germany. behind this fence nice the fearsome slowpoke refugee camp reporters are not allowed inside so for the residents meet us here because they fear of reprisals from the authorities they wish to remain anonymous you go to the bathroom and notice that about fifty or even one hundred people are using the same

toilet infections are everywhere if i want to see a doctor i have to get up at around one in the morning and get in line but when the clinic opens fifty people are already there and the doctor he only treats twenty a day how can you survive we're asking germany please help us here. moses' flat nigeria because of religious persecution he's been living in the camp for a year and a half together with his wife and child including one of his friends shows us footage shot inside the camp up to eight people in one room. showers and bathrooms in terrible condition and cleaned only rarely they tell us. when migrants leave the camp they have to hand over their documents inside there's

nothing to do no one's allowed to walk several traumatised refugees have already been committed to a psychiatric clinic according to the refugees that's been several suicide attempts . we wanted to take the refugees complains to the state government but it wouldn't grant an interview only this written statement. the residents of the first unfelt boat coding center are coming dated in accordance with current guidelines. on the whole there's plenty of space at the center. the local integration commission of rejects this assessment really that i has visited to come many times he confirms the place is unfit for human habitation and the long term basis and he says the refugees are condemned to a miserable plight than dust and i asked him what the standards for being up held. there are no standards at all these processing centers are supposed to be

uncomfortable and humiliating to motivate those who have no real need for protection to leave the country preferably of their own accord. to do the wonderful lawson good for everybody but with every month the refugee spend here the frustration grows fights and protests are part of everyday life at the camp in the beginning the authorities told me that this was going to be a temporary situation but this temporary situation turned into a year and five months. according to regulations refugees should either be trans food or deported within twenty four months but groups like the bavarian refugee council report this time limit is soft next ceded the move reasons they say to improve conditions in the camp as soon as possible for more on the story we are joined by carl copy is the director of european affairs for the n.-g. o. zulu which

a fight for the rights of those seeking asylum mr kopp thank you very much for joining us this morning what can you tell us things about this particular center that we just saw in our report what do you know about it it's one of these seven. varian so-called because center has. a very nice word for miserable conditions and it's ok's it's very it's not greece and by purpose the bavarian government creates these horrible conditions for miserable conditions as a form of de terence. it's a problem of stigmatisation of this kind of threat she kreutz and yet the key message is we don't want you here you create conditions you will not stand so maybe you will leave the country one too early or be able to report you so this is

the you not show the concept and it's easy to change this living conditions to decentralize. the reception system as we have before but this is the new policies it started in. two thousand and fifteen so now germany is in line with the european trent creating camps. and increase detention capacities ok that is an accusation that we heard in the report as well that these centers are meant to be dehumanizing we should mention that we did in a reporter did ask the state of bavaria for a comment on the center and they said as we saw in the report that there commentated in court in accordance with current guidelines on the whole there is plenty of space in the center so what are the guidelines. so that the official guidelines is e.u. law and we have laws.