it is 9:00 p.m. here in the french capital. you are watching france 24. hundreds of people are under fleast gabon and at least -- under arrest in gabon and at least two people have been reported killed. hundreds of thousands of flooding the streets of caracas, venezuela, calling for a referendum to remove their president maduro from office. and in france, at the beginning

of 9 school year, new security measures as people are returning to class under a heightened state of emergency. first, more than 1,000 people are under arrest in gabon after a second successive day of violence. clashes broke out last weekend after the presidential election chose the income bent only by a ,000 votes b of 6 overnight, two were killed the >> gabon's national assembly hours after it was set ablaze.

nearby the burnt-out shells of several cars and the streets littered with debris. this is the aftermath of deadly protests that engulfed the capitol wednesday. with gun fire crackling across the city and plumes of smoke bill owing from the buildings. today, heavily armed security forces are patrolling the roads against the opposition, which has accused the government -- of stealing the election the of the tired of the government. we've had this 50 years. now we're making demands. some of the -- >> the protesters were largely ispersed by the afternoon. the president, ali bongo, won

by a razor-thin margin, fewer than 6,000 ballots. meanwhile, authorities have called for calm. >> contesting the election results must be done by legal means, not through violence. e now ask the bongo government to publish the results bureau by broom. >> secretary general an can i moon and amnesty international have called on security forces to exercise restraint. >> for some analysis of the situation let's bring in the president of the institute for perspective and security. thank you for being with us. we've seen the unrest in gabon, not just in the capital but in the country for two days now. people are reported being killed. what is the situation currently?

>> there may be more than two dead. the way are the minister of interior says more than three dead. so we're fearing a third night of danger for the opposition but we also have to assess the reports from people in the government saying there say bit of stabilization in the daytime because everyone is fearing that the situation might go on. as you mentioned, a certain number of deaths. we have to assess the fact that the situation is difficult in the two major cities, libreville and the economic capital of the area. in which the two cities have a sort of dilemma because one is very close to the opposition, it has always been so, after the president elections in 2009 there was also riots which occurred immediately after the

results which gave the victory of ali boppingo at that time as well and of course we have the situation in which the two, um, the two candidates have been ry closely and tightly sessing damages and -- assessing the election and with a difference of 5,600 votes, that makes less than 2% of the voters. >> in terms of de-escalating the situation, which is still going on right now, how can that be achieved? there say call for a closer look at the election results. is that feasible or should we be looking at a full are you run of the election? >> a rerun would be impossible because it's not written into the constitution. it's a paradox, they have said

if there was protest it must not be on the roads or streets but by any legal means. that's why a certain number of external actors have mentioned the fact that if there was a partition it must be official and of course there is the situation on the ground where they have more -- france has more or less 10,000 of its citizens living in the country. 7,000 in the two cities with the potential insurrectional situation. o we must assess the fact that we have destabilization but of course the fact that the most eager to obtain that are the neighboring countries because destabilization of gabon, it's of utmost importance when the

next elections will be as essential and at risk. democratic republic of coppingo will go to vote in november. >> we heard from a correspondent in libreville earlier saying that people aren't just angry at the election, but they're angry at the station in general. that bongo has had too much power for too long and the rest of the elite are all too tightly bound up in the same club. >> there is this paradox where all of the 11 contenders have been participating in the same system for 50 years. so we have to have in mind that the gabon population is quite young. more or less 62% of its population is under 24 years so they've been living in one system and are seeing the same

faces on one side and on the other. so whether or not one has one or the other, the key question and motivation of the youth is to have more political and economic inclusion in a country which has been relying a lot on the oil economy, and we know that the oil prices have been shut down by three during the last four years. >> thank you very much for giving us your analysis of the situation there in gabon. the president of the institute for perspective and security meanwhile, in venezuela, they promised to flood the streets of caracas and that's just what they've done. hundreds of thousands of people joining a in the capital hoping to pressure authorities into allowing a referendum this year on recalling the president, maduro, from office. electoral authorities are yet

to set a date for the next stesm that would mean gathering four million signatures in just four days. let's get the latest live from caring aas from "the wall street journal's" correspondent in venezuela. thanks for being with us. organizers were hoping to get a million people together for the march. did -- can you give us the latest on how that has gone in >> yes, it was a very successful day for the opposition. they have flooded the streets. the turnout has been close to a million people. it's pble the biggest opposition rally since 2002 and came out -- in spite of the police and army presence, very good vibe on the streets. people chanting, singing, smiling, dancing. yes, a very successful and promising day for the

opposition. >> earlier today the president accused them of planning to use the march to have a coup against him. what have the authorities been say something >> president president maduro has called a separate rally downtown and only managed to attract a few thousand people, mostly public employees who were yanked out -- out of ministries and driven there. that and buying very cheap substised food. you could buy a traditional corn pastry and a juice for under a cent the but he accused the opposition of trying to stage a coup during the pro ess -- process and said that just wo days ago they arrested arms demonstrators trying get into the palace.

a very wild claim unlikely to be true. >> the opposition is already calling for another demonstration in support of that recall election for the 7th the >> yes, the opposition is trying to keep people motivated, keep people on the streets. the government controls the corkts the police, the electoral authorities. basically the only weapon the opposition has is street pressure. they're trying to keep it going and to show the electoral authorities that they are the majority and they need a referendum this year because passed.line has in no matter what, maurdoff will stay in power this and next year. >> thank you very much. staying in the region. venezuela, ecuador and bolivia has -- have all recalled their

ambassadors from brazil after the brazilian president herself was removed from office on wednesday. senators vote the 61-20 to convict dilma rousseff of illegally using money. with more reaction, our correspondent. >> first, the impeachment. now the soul searching. on thursday brazil woke up to its first cruyff leader in 13 years after leftist dilma rousseff was found guilty. using money from state banks to bankroll public spending. >> they did not respect the law and took advantage of the fact that they have a majority in congress and took advantage of an economic crisis too. i have no doubt this ways crime against democracy. >> for others, a rousseff impeachment should serve as a warning to other leaders.

>> it will be difficult for the situation to worsen. i only hope the president does what he is supposed to to, because if not, we will remove him, too. >> brazilians are justified in their skepticism. over the past two and a half years vast swathses of the brazilian political elite have een implicated in scandals involving the state oil tp, petro bras. rousseff has appealed to the supreme court to overturn the senate's overwhelming decision to remove her from office. analysts believe any such in junction is highly unlikely. >> moving on to the middle east, at least 25 people are reported dead in syria after air strikes suspected to be

carried out by the sass ad regime. that -- this as the regime feets back against a major offensive in hama province. >> it's damascus' response to try and shore up its position in the face of a rebel offensive across the province, ccording to a syrian expert. the syrian regime has suffered considerable defeats, leading to their use of air strikes. in just four days the regime lost control of 14 different localities the. hama is of vital importance for president assad's regime. it separates rebel forces and their link to the north from damascus and the aolite heartland to the west.

forces launched an offensive monday, their largest coordinated strike in two years. one hope is that they will relieve pressure on the embattled city of aleppo which has been under periodic government siege since jousm the fighting across syria has left much of the shattered nation's citizens facing a looming international daft. >> i -- disaster. >> i hope that these negotiations and discusses which have lasted too long will reach an outcome. the population is waiting the there is a lot of pressure. even before the g-20, syria planned for political transition at a meeting of ministers next week. >> new textbooks, bags, and

security mashes have been the order of the day for france for thousands of school children. people starting the academic year this thursday with new security protocols being put in place. france is under a state of emergency since last year's attacks in paris. are this report is on one school in the north of the country. >> people -- pupils and teachers here looked relaxed on their first dave school. but no less than six policemen are standing guard around the building. many seemed reassured by their presence. >> i think it's a good thing. it might seem expose -- excessive, but with what's happening, it's good. >> it's a relief to see the police and know that our children are safe in their schools. >> security is the first priority of the staff in the 2016 school year in france.

teachers and parents have been briefed and security forces as well. >> before the series of terrorist attacks that happened, the start of the school year was already an important event to secure. this year we've had to upgrade our deployment to try and prevent attacks from happening to schools. >> police met with the school plin to -- principal to check every detail. signs with the new security measures have been pinned to the walls in every room. metal posts have been set up in front of the playground's entrance. >> as you can see, the school has been fenced off. the gates are over there in the middle and it's never completely opened. we just open it fluff to let the students in and two adults are on the other side to check

that everyone going through belongs in the school. >> other measures might also be put in place, such as containment exercises and specific alarms for attacks. now, if you fancy yourself a wordsmith, this should appeal to you. the biggest-ever world scrabble championship is under way. hundreds of players from 27 countries are getting set with their blank piles -- tiles and triple word score bonuses. 24 rounds in six languages. euro prize pool. best of luck to all of them. just gone quarter past 9:00 in the evening here in paris. let's give you a reminder of the headlines. the second dave violence in profertse of the

results of the latest election. hundreds of people flood the streets of caracas, venezuela, calling for a referendum to remove their president from office. and in france, on the first day of the school year, fresh new security measures as people return to class under a heightened state of emergency. and we have been telling you about the explosion at cape canaveral in the united states. a spacex rocket has burst into flames there. you've got reaction from the companies operating that? >> yeah. very fortunately, as we've been telling our viewers, no lives lost in that explosion but certainly a great disappointment for those carrying out the test. the -- it was to carry a

facebook founder mark zirkberg says he is deeply disappointed that the satellite has been destroyed in the explosion. it will have a devastating pact on the rocket company's p bottom line. moving on now, apple c.e.o. tim cook has lashed out at the european commission, calling the ruling against its tax arrangements in ireland maddening and entirely political. the tech giants -- giant is appealing the order for dub in to pay $13 billion -- back taxes. >> two days on, apple c.e.o. tim cook says he can't accept the european commission's ruling and says he's confident the ruling will be a --

overturned on appeal. >> it's maddening. it's disappointing. it's clear that this comes from a political place. it has no basis in fact or in law. >> an argument backed by u.s. treasurely -- treasury secretary jack lew, who said the ruling seemed to unfairly target american companies. >> pattern of the action seems to be highly focused on u.s. firls. the largest combination -- actions do appear to be aimed squarely at our tax base. >> the commission rejected the accusations, saying their findings were based on tangible data and followed official procedures. >> the figures we use are the figures we get from apple themselves the the enforcement port -- part of the portfolio does not fit into any political

picture. >> the ruling's caused a stir in ireland, where the company is urged to pay $ -- 13 billion in back taxes. they fear it could set a precedent to deter other companies from doning business in ireland. a group of lawmakers said they want time to consult with tax officials and experts before reaching a decision whether to challenge the verdict. >> the stock markets now -- wall street has been choppy, stocks trading around -- around the flat line. new figures showed a slowdown in manufacturing. the i.s. im -- index for august, weakest reading for the .s. since january. tech tech was virtually flat.

the pound sterling jumped about 1% this thursday after manufacturing in the u.k. hit a 10-month high. it rebounded sharply from a slowdown in july mostly from currency fructwases. the brexit vote has boosted exports but also pushed up costs for tirms -- firms with international business. the international monetary fund has warned that the risk pose bid brexit is for from contained and could cause ripples across the global economy. mrks -- aid the i.f. i.m.f. would likely downgrade its forecast again. >> you could argue that brexit is not delivering the massive crisis we expected and that local prices have gone up a little bit. so this is on the surface.

however, when you look deep down at the economic growth prospects, at the growth potential, at the productivity, we are not getting very good signals. >> gambling revenues in macao rose for the first time in more than two years in august. monthly earnings at casinos had lowed to five-year lows. >> macau's fortunes may have finally changed. gambling revenues ended a 26-month straight are streak of contractions. ast week a u.s. tykeoon opened their most expensive casino yet , with floating fountains and

dancing cars. >> the amount of roirvings the right of -- rate of growth was unprecedented, historic and in mamany cases not just extraordinary but outrageous. >> later this month, another $3 billion resort will open with more multibillion ones to follow over the coming two years. all these projects were initially budgeted for earnings about four times bigger than what is currently being generated but the slowdown in the economy as well as the crackdown on corruption has lead -- led to a steep drop-off in high rollers and deep pockets customers. they're trying to diversify by focusing away from gambling and more on shopping, dining and entertainment. not only will the new products put added competition on existing hotels and casinos but

regional rivals like the flip ines and vietnam are -- philippines and vietnam are eagerly trying to lure away customers to their own clubs. >> many ports are refusing to ships to dock and unload, fearing they won't get paid, while han jin tries to find a solution. some vessels have been seized by creditors using them as collateral over unpaid bills. worrying situation there. >> indeed. i hope they have plenty of food and water. >> thank you so much. our latest business update. tame inferior -- for a short break now.

09/01/16 09/01/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, ththis is democrcracy now! mr. trump: are you ready? are you ready? [cheers] alongl build a great wall the southern border. amy: in a major speech on immigration, donald trump repeats his call for building a massive border wall, creating a deportation force to target millions of