>> this is dw news live from berlin. there has been a release of chemical fumes and two explosions. the white house says that about 100,000 homes have been affected by tropical storm harvey. the latest death toll stands at 35. monsoon rains ring disaster to mumbai and india. around 20 people are dead, and more are trapped under the rubble. and when home is a mattress

behind a curtain. two years after chancellor merkel threw open germany's borders, the future for refugees is uncertain. 20 years ago today, diana, princess of wales, died under and overpass in paris. we look at who she came to be known, from the public and those who knew her. i am brent goff. first they fear the waters, now it is fire. in houston, a city already paralyzed by tropical storm harvey, a blast and blaze of a chemical plant have prompted more it i can wish and's. the you -- have prompted more evacuations. the death toll in the region

affected by the storm is estimated at 35. authorities warn that the figure may rise as floodwaters receded antibodies are revealed -- and bodies are revealed. our coverage begins back at the chemicals palant. fires and explosions rocked the chemical plant northeast of houston. residents were evacuated from the nearby town of crosby. some authorities have warned that the public could be exposed to hazardous fumes. the plant operator is urging caution. >> what we have is a fire. when you have a fire, sometimes you have incomplete combustion and smoke. any smoke is going to be an

irritant to your eyes, lungs or potentially your skin. if you are exposed to to that, we are encouraging anyone to call their doctor or to seek medical advice. >> one local resident is worried about elderly neighbors. lisa told her it is too dangerous to check -- police have told her it is too dentist to check on the couple. >> -- too dangerous to check on the couple. i cannot reach them. i just want to make sure that they are ok. >> the floodwaters are slowly receding. hundreds have been pulled to safety by helicopter. in the city of rockport, inspiring words from the vice president, mike pence. >> we are with you. the american people are with you.

we are here today, we will be here tomorrow, and we will be here every day until this city and this state, and this region rebuild bigger and better than ever before. >> stories of dramatic rescue are still emerging. exhausted from the torrent. others are not so lucky. six members of one family died when their then was swept off a flooded highway. oil refineries has been hit by the flooding. the u.s. is losing 3 million barrels per day. as the authorities and residents take stock of the damage, the death toll look certain to rise. >> that chemicals plant is in crosby, just outside of houston. that is where alexandra

pis. we have conflicting reports about these explosions. how dangerous is the smoke coming from that factory? alexandra: it is difficult to say how dangerous the smoke is because of those conflicting statements. first, u.s. emergency officials said it is incredibly dangerous. local officials here and the environmental protection agency was quick to say that there is no real reason to be concerned because the levels are not a concern. but i was speaking with a family whose child started to cough tonight. they are concerned and want to know what is happening at this plant. the problem is, we do not know

what chemicals we are talking about, because that is something that the plant or the owners of the chemicals group would not reveal. one of the executives today did not want to answer the question about whether the smoke is toxic or non-toxic, just saying that toxicity is a relative thing. he added that they expect more blasts to occur because the containers that the chemicals are stored in cannot be refrigerated anymore. brent: what about the victims of the flooding? we know that there are about 30,000 people in shelters right now, justin houston alone -- just in houston alone. is it safe for people to be going home? alexandra: the national weather service today issued a statement asking people not to return to

their omehomes, unless local authorities indicate it is safe to do so. the plateaued waters are receding, and tens of thousands of homes are still underwater. authorities in the houston area decided to search block by block to make sure no one is left behind. brent: our correspondent in crosby, texas tonight, just outside of houston. now to another tragedy connected to bad weather. rent 20 people died when an apartment building collapsed in mumbai -- around 20 people died when an apartment building collapsed in mumbai. authorities believe extreme monsoon conditions contributed to the disaster. it is the second building to collapse in mumbai in the last month. >> after hours of searching,

rescue workers in mumbai pulled a survivor from the rubble. he is one of the lucky few. dozens more are still trapped under the debris. it flattened in a matter of seconds. >> our priority is to pull out all of those inside. rescue operations are underway. >> rescuers used diggers to sift through the remains in a desperate hunt for more survivors. the residential building was home to several families. volunteers joined in the search, digging through the rubble with their their hands. -- bare hands. the property came down in the early morning. >> we got here in two minutes. the building had just collapsed.

there was no chance. it just came down. to the side, there were about 150 people, mostly laborers in the restaurant. >> this is my grandson. he used to go to school in that building. it was at 10:00 a.m. he was studying in the nursery. thankful that my grandson's life was safe. >> emergency services have been overwhelmed rushing the injured to nearby hospitals. not everyone made it out alive. the building had been declared dilapidated by the city's housing authority, but officials say that it may have given way after waves of heavy rain in mumbai. more disaster responders have

been sent to assist with the rescue efforts as paramedics stand by, hoping for more survivors. >> here is a look at the other stories making headlines around the world. a court in pakistan has declared the former president a fugitive. he failed to appear in the mortar -- murder case of the former prime minister who was murdered in a suicide attack in 2007. he was president at the time and discharged with being part of the conspiracy to kill her. he lives in self-imposed exile. more than 2 million muslims are taking part in this ritual. thursday was arafat day when the pilgrims walk from mount arafat to southern khalifa. continuing tension between qatar and the saudi-led arab block

means that many qataris are staying home. there was a joint operation between two american nuclear-capable bombers. the u.s. pacific command said the exercises have been conducted in direct response to north korea's recent missile launch. you are watching dw news live from berlin. europe's biggest tech show gets underway on friday. we will take a look at some of the newest bells and whistles that smartphone makers have unveiled. two years ago, angela merkel threw open the country's borders to refugees from syria, and said that "we can manage this." as angela merkel seeks a fourth term, her refugee policy remains contentious. while many immigrants have made

new lives, for some it has been a disappointment. dw's oliver sala has their story. >> the place that he calls home lies behind a curtain. that closet shelf and is only place of retreat occupy two square meters at this old building in berlin. >> [speaking arabic] >> [translator} we don't have any furniture, just one bed. i have to put all my belongings on it and sleep here as well. >> the shelter at the airport has seen busier days. it was set up to a comment growing number of new arrivals in berlin.

they were supposed to stay for just a few months but some are still here. >> left record translator" those who still live here are probably doing so because they cannot find apartments. migrants who do not have a long-term residents permit find flat hunting particularly tough. >> abdul faces this dilemma. his request for asylum has been denied. german authorities say his home country is safe, but he is lucky, he has found work as a cook and can stay in germany for now. >> [speaking arabic} >> [translator} i am not complaining about living here,

but the question is, for how much longer do i have to stay? i am trying hard and i and her stand that there are many migrants and not much space, that authorities should remember that we cannot live like this long-term. reporter: in spite of his living conditions, abdul is thankful to live in germany. he knows he will be allowed to stay until he finishes his apprenticeship. note he can tell him what happens after that. his biggest fear is being deported back to afghanistan. brent: i want to bring in our political correspondent,, sparrow -- tomas. that man is worried he will have to go back to afghanistan. according to the german government, afghan refugees should be deported back to their home country. that is a controversial position

here. reporter: it is a very controversial position because it goes back to the term of "safe countries of origin." if a country is safe, it would make deportation more likely. in the case of afghanistan, you have to think that afghanistan is not a safe country, but german authorities have said that certain areas of afghanistan can be considered safe. a few months ago, there was an attack in kabul. as a result, german authorities decided to suspend certain deportations for now, with exceptions. those exceptions are possible terrorists or criminals. as you said, it is a controversial issue. brent: what about the german chancellor? she said two years ago, germany,

we can do this. we can bring these people into our country. what is the perception of that policy and the chancellor today? there are -- reporter: there are huge challenges. when it comes to the integration of those refugees in germany, there are huge challenges when it comes to family reunification. there are challenges when you can see that refugees are still trying to come to europe by crossing the mediterranean. germany has improved in certain areas, for example, when it comes to registering asylum-seekers, or the countries of origin. , there are challenges, that germany has improved. -- but germany has improved. brent: it looks like the honeymoon is over for mr. macron in france. reporter: his approval ratings

are in freefall, but emmanuel macron wants to try what no other french leader has managed, to reform the rigid labor laws. his measures include curbing the role of trade unions, limiting unfair dismissal payouts, and allowing bosses to negotiate more working terms and conditions strictly with staff. you can imagine the reaction from unions. >> trade unions had held out hope you might be able to quash the labor market reform, but the new law today makes it easier to dismiss employees. it ends the 35-hour work week cap. smaller businesses will be able to operate more freely. >> [speaking french] >> [translator] for the first time, they are giving priority to small and medium-sized enterprises.

we're putting it to companies to adapt to conditions on the ground as they see fit. we are giving new rights and protection to employees in a changing market. reporter: the labor market reform is the first major piece of economic reform to be implemented under president macron. they are confident he will drive down the stubborn unemployment rate which continues to hover under the 10% mark. it is an ambitious challenge and one that president macron's predecessors have been wrestling with for decades. president macron appealed for their patients, a call which appears to have fallen on deaf ears. the second-largest trade union has already announced nationwide protests for september 12.

>> time to cross to our financial correspondent on wall street. there is some fresh data on the u.s. economy. give us details. >> we had really good data in the last two days. the gdp growing 3%, and thursday there was adjusted data from the u.s. consumer. the u.s. consumer spending rose 0.3% in july, while personal income rose 0.4%. many traders are simply on vacation, so the trading volume is rather low. by wednesday, it was around 13 billion shares that have been traded. this week is the lowest weekly volume since last christmas. >> we know that u.s. president donald trump is trying to promote his tax reform. he seems to has -- to have

convinced the u.s. treasury secretary because he has voiced optimism. tell us more. reporter: trump's speech on wednesday was not anything that drew investors out. it did not answer important questions, for example, how he wants to pay for the tax cuts. on thursday, his treasury secretary steven mnuchin says that the administration has a detailed tax plan ready. he says it has been presented to members of congress already and will be released by the end of september. he expects the bill to be signed by the end of this year. >> smartphones are getting smarter. the quality has never been this good. some can even take 3-d photos that are printable. europe's tech fair starts tomorrow. >> faster, better, brighter.

that is what south korea's lg is promising with its new v30 smartphone. it has improved picture quality for photo and videos. >> it allows users to easily create and view video content with professional-level quality. with cinema mode, you can produce cinematic video content with a clarity and quality of the professional movie. >> experts say that the new lg model has joined the big-league. >> i think that the lg v30 is the only phone that rivals the samsung phones in terms of design. we have not seen the iphone yet, but until now, it is the only big competitor. >> sony has also come out with the new xperia smartphone. it features a special camera that takes 3-d pictures of objects and people.

the images can be used as a template for 3-d pictures. last but not least, samsung is unveiling something new in the wearables department, fitness bands, smart watches, and cordless headphones. the watch runs on u.s. and android. -- on ios and android. >> i'm sure some soccer players would not mind those smartphones. brent: germany's transfer window has closed but it is still open in other european countries. i knew player has joined paris and what could be a mega deal. many clubs were involved in a smattering of deals with divac joining vaux berg. and after signing a buy in

last year, this player has moved on loan to another team. kevin campo has also moved permanently. 20 years ago today, diana, princess of wales, was killed in a car crash in paris. in britain people have been paying tribute to the royal they knew as the people's consists -- princess. well-wishers have been laying flowers at her former home. her sons, william and harry, visited the garden created in her memory. diana was admired by the public for her style and her human touch, especially her work with the least fortunate in society. her death set off a wave of grief, and it also changed the british royal family.

♪ reporter: princess diana's shocking death set off an unprecedented wave of public grief. it was broadcast the world over. public interest in the princess was phenomenal. wherever she went, the photographers and fans were not far behind. august 31, 1997, diana and her companion dodi al fayed were leaving a restaurant. hours later they crashed in a tunnel. the paparazzi were said to be partly to blame. >> she had a severe head injury but was still alive on the backseat. those people who caused the accident, instead of helping, or taking photographs of her dying.

those photographs made their way to news desks in this country. >> diana had been the darling of the media since she was 19 years old when she became engaged to charles, heir to the british throne. >> i am amazed that she has been brave enough to coeme here. and we are in love. whatever "in love" means. >> five months later, around 750 million people worldwide tuned in to watch the fairytale wedding. their sons, prince william and prince harry, completed the picture of the royal family. diana dived into her role with enthusiasm, elegance, charm, and compassion. she committed herself to the cause of the disadvantaged and the outcast. homeless people, aids sufferers, and landmine victims.

>> people's -- people respect her as a humane person. >> she was a fairytale princess and the modern age. reporter: today, her sons have taken up many of the charitable causes once dear to their mother's heart. william and his wife live in her former residence. 20 years after her passing, white flowers commemorate her here. >> ♪ the candles burned out long before your legend ever will ♪ brent: here is a reminder of the top story, floods near a -- near a chemical plant threatened to explode. in houston, texas. the death toll for the entire region is estimated to be at least 35.

20 people have been killed and many remain trapped in a collapsed apartment building in mumbai. officials say that heavy rains and flooding in the city contributed to the disaster. after a short break, i will be back to take you to the day. starting is haunting houston. see you in a few minutes. ♪

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