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narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler undation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". ♪ >> i'm in washington and this is bbc america. an early morning fire kills more

than 70 people, including children, in south africa. >> i jumped out the window. somebody threw out a baby. i caught the baby. >> two leaders of the receives some of the longest sentences yet tied to the january 6 riot. and china and in the -- china and the philippines are in a territorial dispute in the south china sea that has become a global issue. welcome to world news america. two leaders of the proud boys received some of the longest prison sentences handed down in connection to the january 6 the riot. joseph biggs of florida received 17 years and zachary received 15. bigs apologized and said he was seduced by the crowd that day. zachary rail echoed the same, saying he believed political

lies. prosecutors are seeking a 3 year sentence for another leader. anthony zurcher has more. good to see you. how significant are the sentences? >> they are two of the longest sentences related to january 6 convictions. in both cases, the judge departed downwards from sentencing guidelines on what prosecution was asking for. so the judge was more lenient towards the two men than was expected. part of that was while the judge said there was terrorism enhancement that should add time to the sentences, he seemed a little skeptical about if that enhancement should apply to these click cases because it was not clearly an act of terrorism like blowing up a building. in one case, pulling down a fence to let people get into the

capital and zachary had sprayed a police officer with some sort of chemical and light on the stand. but in both cases the enhancements were not enough to push it up to 30 years or more, which would have been within the guidelines. >> what role did they play in the attack? >> joseph biggs was at the forefront of the mob. he was a gang them on. he spoke with someone at one point, and that person went up and attacked a police officer. he went into the u.s. capitol itself. he was one of the masterminds. a senior crowd boy members -- member in the proud boys. instrumental in leading the assault. zach rail attacked a police officer with a chemical spray and was at the forefront of the mob, leading the charge. so one of the reasons why the sentences were so high it --

high is because prosecution proved these individuals were leaders who helped provoke the attack, not just being swept up in the mob. >> some developments in trump's case in georgia. he has plead not guilty and waived his right to appear at the arraignment next week and has filed to separate his case from other codependents. >> no shock that he pled not guilty. i think there was speculation that he would be required to show up for the arraignment at the courthouse next week but there is a tradition in georgia law that there is the option to do so remotely, and that is what he exercised. i do not think he wanted to go back to georgia after going down last week. to separate his case from other codefendants, two of them have requested a speedy trial.

that is their constitutional right. trump's lawyers were saying they needed more time and a few months was not enough to prepare his defense. i think you will probably see other codependents try to -- codefendants try to separate themselves. >> thank you for the update. more than 70 are dead and dozens injured after a fire broke out in johannesburg, south africa. the fire ripped through a five-story building in the city center used by mignts. a locked gate prevented many migrants from fleeing the building. some people were throwing themselves out of windows. legal application -- the illegal occupation of buildings by miants is common there.

a warning, you might find this report distressing. reporter: the sound of screaming piercing the night in the heart of africa's richest city. fire, fire, they shout from a burning building home to hundreds of people. officials say many visitors were trapped inside by a gate, blocked by the bodies of those who had already died. >> i decided to jump out the window. i jumped down. someone threw a baby. i caught it. we tied a bedsheet and she came down it. reporter: relief and shock on the faces of those who managed to escape. but the rows of body bags are a grim reminder of those who did not. many who lived in this building were migrants from across the

continent. the residence here were living in overcrowded conditions without consistent electricity or water. authorities say it was an informal settlement with cardboard boxes and sheet that likely fed the fire. now that the flames have been extinguished, the realization that not everyone is coming out has set in. >> i could not get into the second floor because the fire was so bad. someone found my five-year-old and rescued him. i lost my two-year-old. i do not know what to do. i do not know where to go. reporter: the flames were so intense, people inside are said to be burned beyond recognition. >> 23 years in the service, i have never come across something like this in my whole life. we sympathize with the people who lost their lives. we must do something about this as a city, making sure we

prevent incidents like this one. reporter: this evening, a visit by the south african president, support for him evident even among those grieving. >> the province and ministers and city are working full out to make sure those who need assistance, from accommodation to trauma counseling hospitalization, are being looked after. reporter: the cause of the fire is stillnknown but authorities promise a thorough investigation as loved ones demand answers about one of the worst fires in south africa's history. >> president biden says he will visit florida friday as officials assess the damage from hurricane dalia, which -- hurricane idalia, which pummeled

parts of florida as a category three hurricane. insured properly -- property losses are estimated at nine point $3 billion. the carolinas were hit with torrential rain thursday. the storm could bring life-threatening flash flooding. the new military leadership in the bond says -- gabon will be sworn in. the african union condemned the military takeover. bbc's world has more. reporter: we have had another announcement from the military leaders in the bond -- gabon. the new military leader will be sworn in on monday.

authorities are trying to calm the international reaction to the coup by saying it will ensure the country sticks to its commitments, including paying off the debt it currently has. at the same time we have had an interesting development from the opposition coalition that was trying to defeat the president in the election this weekend. they are saying the vote count should continue and are appealing to the military authorities to install what it sees as its rightful candidate. it says they believe this coalition believes they won the election but i think the chances of the military leaders doing anything about that appeal are pretty slim. it looks as though they are here to stay. the person we have not heard from is the deposed president,

allie bongo, who we understand is still being detained. and we are waiting for a wider international reaction to the coup. the african union has been meeting and so have the centr african regional countries, trying to work out how to respond to it. they are in a dilemma due to the countries not only condemning the coup but do they go further and reinstate the president when that president is from a family that has been in power for close to 56 years. >> vladimir putin is planning to travel to china in october. his first trip since the international committee alleged him of war crimes. earlier i spoke with the ambassador at large for global criminal justice at the usa

department about what can be stopped -- about what can be done to stop. i want to start with the forced deportation of ukrainian children to russia. in march ukraine said more than 16,000 ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred to russia near that number could be higher by now. call it a violation of international humanitarian law that amounts to work crimes. do you agree? >> i do. this is the most cruel and one of the most egregious -- taking children from their families, far from ukraine, subjecting them to political indoctrination and military training. the ties to families are severed and there is no way to keep in touch with them and parents, usually mothers and grandmothers, have to go into russia to try to track down the

children to bring them back home. >> what recourse is therefore ukraine to make sure the children are returned and how can the u.s. help? >> they are trying to set up tracing mechanisms to determine where the children are. russian officials have posted photographs of them looking happy with their new families and adoption websites, putting the children up for adoption or foster care. so using these techniques, ukraine has been able to identify the children. there are a number of investigatio happening around the world because this is a violation of the fourth geneva convention, which protect civilians and children. so the international criminal court has issued arrest warrants for vladimir putin and his children's rights commissioner, a misnomer. they will be prosecuted for the unlawful transfer and deportation of children from ukraine into russian controlled

areas or russia. >> a bbc investigation looked into prisoners of war. they said they were tortured in russian prisons. is that something your office is investigating, and what can be done? >> that report is consistent with what we see regarding any individuals who find themselves in russian custody, civilian or prisoners of war. individuals who have been released or escaped have consistently reported they are receiving mistreatment, electrocution, sexual violence, torture. so the stories of prisoners of war being released are consistent. the laws of war demand humane treatment to anyone held in custody during a war and that is not what they are receiving. >> can russia be held to account for that? >> russian officials can. the perpetrators and those at the rank and file level and up the chain of command.

there is enough of a pattern and practice that indicates russian superiors and political officials either no or should have known or maybe ordered the crimes to happen. so any of those right responsible -- any of those responsible can be part -- be prosecuted. >> you said there are five pathways to justice for ukraine. cases in ukrainian court, international criminal court, european and other courts, u.s. courts, and a special tribunal to prosecute. with u.s. courts, could we see russian work crimes tried in u.s. courts? >> last term congress amended the law to allow the u.s. to prosecute work crimes when the perpetrator is found here, regardless of the nationality or place of commission. so with a russian perpetrator is here, we could press were crime

charges against them in the u.s.. the statute has never been used before in part because there were limitations that congress has now lifted. >> the arrest warrant for vladimir putin from the international court, how can the u.s. support the investigation and the work of the international criminal court? >> there are a number of ways we can support the work of e icc. we can provide information sharing, assist with witness protection and relocation, help identify, find, and transfer suspects to the court. we have done that before. we can apply a range of diplomatic suppo and congress

recently allow the u.s. to provide financial assistance if funding is available for that purpose so even as a nonparty state there are many ways to support the court which occupies a very important part in this system. >> critics say the u.s. has no moral authority because it is not party to this statute. should the u.s. be a member in situations like this? >> there is a lot we can do without being a member. we can participate as a full member of congress sees fit but even as a nonmember there are things we can do because court plays an important role in partnership with national courts around the world. >> ambassador, great to have you here. former -- president is being questioned by federal police. he and his we are accused of illegally keeping it and selling expensive jewelry given to them as gifts by saudi arabia.

thursday's interrogation is his sick since taking office at the end of 2022. this is one of many charges that former president of brazil is facing. he faces supreme court investigations, six for alleged crimes as president and one for inciting a riot after an invasion of the presidential palace to protest his election loss and he has been questions about one of his aides faking a covid-19 vaccine certificate for him. his home was raided and a phone was seized. katy watson is covering this story.

the former president and his wife and lawyer were supposed to speak today. >> it's important to understand his former personal aide, the one alleged to have sold the watches for $17,000, is speaking with police. so he has a story. the police were questioning bolsonaro and his wife in separate rooms and they are remaining silent. he has denied wrongdoing in the past. he says his former personal aide was never asked to do anything and had a lot of independence but clearly there is a story coming out from him and federal police want to find out from bolsonaro what his version of the truth is but they did not get to find that out today.

>> how are his supporters reacting? >> they are relatively quiet on this. the country is pretty divided still. now with president desalvo, politics have taken a u-turn. the country is politically divided. there are those who are very angry with what is happening with bolsonaro and others are glad to see justice being done. his supporters are talking online about it and of course do not believe the accusations against him. compared to what we saw towards the end of last year when he was still in power, it is relatively muted, the response. >> he is under multiple investigations. what should we expect? >> you listed the multiple

investigations. one thing we know is he is barred from power until 2030. all of the cases you mentioned are criminal cases. if they come to fruition, we could see him behind bars but it will be a multipronged long ocess. there are a lot of rumors that bolsonaro will be arrested. when that would happen is anyone's guess but the noise around the accusations, and they keep coming, i think, this is an ongoing scenario when we will constantly hear more information coming out of it, will we see him be arrested, everyone is waiting to see when that could happen. >> katy watson, thank you. officials in the philippines have told the bbc they will not be daunted by beijing in a standoff in the south china sea. earlier this month a chinese

vessel used a water cannon to deter the filipino coast guard from getting near it. the u.s. held joint drills in the region with japan and australia and denounced china's behavior as aggressive. reporter: on the edge of this filipino paradise, survival depends on the sea. if you do not fish, you do not eat. they are used to battling wind and tide but the country is also in a standoff with beijing over who owns which part of the south china sea. this crew used to fish near contested waters. from age 14, the deputy captain spent months on the shores. not anymore. >> we might not return there now. now we are scared. we are scared of china.

we were harassed and asked to leave. reporter: the fishermen have been asked to join a militia to help defend filipino territory. but life is already paved in saltwater and sweat while standing on boats made of bamboo. they have no wish to take on a local -- a global superpower. >> if we guard it, how could we feed our families? we need to fish. that is our goal. the chinese might fire their water cannons. we just have a wooden boat. we are really afraid of going back there. reporter: this is what the fishermen are afraid of. the chinese took this action against the filipino coast guard . these are filipino waters, according to u.n. law. resolved to keep hold of their reefs, manila deliberately ran

aground a rusted world war ii ship. but recent monthly efforts to supply trips on board with food and water have become increasingly tense. china argues it is doing what is necessary to protect its sovereignty, the claims over the south china sea. the problem is beijing's tactics and actions are pushing american allies in this region closer together against what they see as aggression. in a show of solidarity, australia held its first large-scale joint exercises with the philippines last week. they practiced retaking an enemy-controlled island. in manila bay, japanese and u.s. navy warships sit side-by-side, ready for joint drills. allied support has emboldened the philippines to speak out. >> is david versus goliath.

but like david, we will double down on the need to protect the resources, which are important for the fishing communities. reporter: this depute -- dispute could have a profound impact. once the future was determined by ocean currents. now it might depend on the resolve of world leaders. >> one note before we go. euro might remember the empty time capsule unveiled at west point last week. now the box supposedly held a metal and narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation;

pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

geoff: