♪ anchor: in niger, military leaders who took control of the drug -- government two weeks ago seek to consolidate their power. the u.s. is warning americans in niger to -- in place. and 41 migrants are dead after a boat capsized almost a week ago,

with 45 people on board. survivors say the boat overturned in rough seas. and in eastern france, investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire that ripped through a vacation home for disabled people, killing 11 people. prime minister elisabeth borne traveled to the scene of the tragedy. thank you for joining us on "france 24." it's been two weeks since the military of niger staged a coup and despite massive international pressure, the junta is showing no signs of backing down. international mediators have been barred from entering the country. meanwhile, the west rep african -- west african regional block is set to meet on friday. our correspondent has the latest. reporter: the military junta is

still resisting the pressure to negotiate. on monday, they resisted the overtures of the u.s. acting secretary of state, despite threats to cut military assistance. >> she did not achieve any breakthroughs and it is not all clear that they will choose diplomatic pass forward. she also made it clear that there will be consequences if they didn't, there are hundreds of dollars of u.s. assistance at stake. reporter: closures have yielded little so far and leaders are digging in. analysts say the roads to removing them are narrowing. west african countries will discuss the use of force at the second emergency ecowas summit on thursday, but a spokesperson for the nigerian president said the block was leaning towards a diplomatic solution. >> along with his colleagues in the block, they would prefer a

resolution that is obtained through diplomatic means and peaceful means, rather than any other. reporter: former colonial power france, meanwhile, faced anti-french sentiment in the region, has its hands tied. >> france is facing an allegation that they are the power behind the throne, that they are a neocolonial influence in west africa, so they are unable to do anything directly. reporter: other countries ruled by military who does -- juntas -- anchor: meanwhile, the u.s. state department says it is greatly worried about the health of mohammad bin -- of

nigeria's president, and have warned americans in the region to shelter-in-place. david, what are u.s. officials saying about all this? reporter: earlier in washington and yes, macky miller, the spokesperson says the u.s. is greatly concerned about president -- the president's health and personal safety. this follows some reports that his house arrest the conditions are deteriorating and food supplies are low. that's a bit of a change, because it was quite surprising in the early days of this coup and his arrest, the president still had access to a phone, was posting on social media, and even wrote an editorial column for the washington post. some people were surprised by that. more recently, he has had conversations with secretary of

state antony blinken and others. but a senior u.s. diplomat who was just in niger, she was denied access to him, so i think there was certainly growing concern over the conditions he is being kept in and what direction this coup is going to take now. anchor: what about the warning for american citizens to shelter-in-place? reporter: yeah, it's clearly a very volatile situation and a reflection of u.s. interests there. there are about 1100 troops, a certain number of american citizens and the british government as well advising people not to travel to niger. this is a situation that washington is watching very closely. if a junta remains in place here, the that means a domino

effect will happen, military juntas could result in neighboring countries, a revival of the islamic state and terrorist attacks, and the other long shadow being cast here is russia. we have seen on the streets, anti-french sentiment and pro-russian sentiment, warnings for antony blinken and others, that this situation could be exploited, as we have seen in neighboring countries. some suggestions they could have been involved in this takeover, but the wagner group and russia could try to exploit this situation. anchor: david, thanks as always. meanwhile, france is denying accusations made by niger's military leaders that it violated a ban on niger's airspace and freed what they called "captured terrorists." we get more on this from our

correspondent. reporter: it's a fast-moving situation here, several developments happening this wednesday. the junta in niger has put out a statement accusing france of several things, of having a plan to destabilize niger, of breaching its airspace by flying in a military plane from chad, and releasing and supporting terrorists in the country, as well as attacking a guard post. we have had a reaction from the french government, who has firmly denied these allegations and said that they had flown a plane in, but that was in agreement with the nigerian army. they categorically deny having released any terrorists there, so a fast-moving situation that is causing quite a lot of reaction on the ground, as you can imagine, and it is something

we will be keeping an eye on. meanwhile, the u.s. embassy has, a short time ago, released a warning to its citizens, advising them to shelter-in-place if they are in niger and avoid going into downtown the -- near the presidential palace. they are warning about demonstrations and the security risks of that. there are calls for another demonstration on friday in the capital and lots of reports that the situation is tense and volatile down there in the center of town. anchor: that was catherine nora's trend, reporting for us from benin. next to pakistan, where there are growing concerns about violence ahead of election in the fall. the u.s. is monitoring the situation, which has become more volatile in recent days. imran khan has been banned from running in those elections. he was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year and convicted on

corruption charges this past sunday. he is now appealing his conviction. nations parliament was set to be dissolved this wednesday to be -- to make way for a caretaker government. at least 41 migrants are dead after their boat capsize off the coast of lapid do so. it happened in rough seas and four people survived. a huge wave overturned the boat six hours into the voyage. survivors say they were able to climb onto another vessel nearby. charlotte hughes has the story. reporter: 41 people are feared to have died in the central mediterranean following the shipwreck off this italian island on tuesday. >> four migrants arrived at the hotspot this morning. they said they left tunisia thursday afternoon and were

shipwrecked on friday morning. according to them, there were a total of 45 people, including three children. reporter: originally from the ivory coast and guinea, the fourth survivors were suffering from exhaustion and shock. >> what struck us was the duration of there upheaval. they came across the first ship that ignored them, and one hour later responded by a helicopter. one hour after that, they were picked up by an old tanker. reporter: on investigators and -- an investigation has been opened. for the 4000 people have a ride on the island -- arrived on the island after being rescued by

the national guard and patrol boats. attempts to leave tunisia have been on the rise. anchor: next to norway, where a dam partially collapsed to this wednesday following days of heavy rains and floods. the dam gave way after its control room leaded and workers were unable to open the hatches. thousands of people have been evacuated in recent days as waterways swelled to their highest levels in at least 50 years. here in france, at least 11 people are dead after a fire ripped through a vacation home for disabled people. the blaze took place in eastern france. the prime minister and president macron have both expressed condolences to the victims loved ones, and the cause of the fire is under investigation. emerald maxwell has the latest. reporter: fire fighters got the

call at 6:30 in the morning. by the time they arrived 15 minutes later, the house was consumed by the flames. of the 28 people inside the home, only 17 managed to escape. it was early afternoon when fire fighters, with the help of search dogs, could begin to retrieve bodies. >> the people who managed to get out were on the ground floor. the people on the first floor were able to escape, but not all. there is a huge amount of rubble, huge collapsed sections and a floor that is very unstable, which makes search operations difficult. reporter: the people staying at the guesthouse were people with disabilities, on holiday with their caretakers. fire fighters says one person was hospitalized and the owner of the guesthouse, who raised

the alarm, was treated for shock. at the scene, the prime minister said the thoughts are with the victims and their families. >> this is an appalling tragedy, and i would like to express my solidarity with the families who have suffered so much. it is too early to draw lessons from this tragedy, but an investigation is underway and will shed more light on the matter. reporter: work is underway to shed light on the identity of the seven -- of the victims and the cause of the fire. anchor: -- has died. he retired not knowing that his music and song "sugar man," had gained a huge following in south africa, new zealand, and australia. his daughter found websites

devoted to her father and he played a successful south african tour in 1998. sister rodriguez was 81 years old. that's it for now. stay tuned for more, coming up on france 24. ♪ >> ♪ all those colors to my dreams ♪ ♪ ♪ >> yes, folks, this is not any cheap --, this is the show you want.

>> take whatever you like. anchor: that was a taste of some of the work of the pope of trash, john waters. welcome to the show. >> thank you for having me. anchor: we associate your body of worth with bad taste, seating is, but in the past few years, you have become very respected, not just accepted but embraced, even. are you still the pope of trash? >> william burroughs called me the pope of trash, so god himself really stowed it -- bestowed it upon me. i use bad humor to get your attention, and i do know the rules of good taste. you have to know the rules before you can break them with any wit. anchor: your novel was published last year and published in france this year.

can you read us an extract of the book? >> the mind is like a camera. visualize, click. your minds depends on these details. address, date of birth, especially the zip code. a steel trap. that's what marsha's mind is, and she could pass as a dimwitted airline worker if the tsa security officer is distracted long enough. marsha knows how to do that. she is a better actress than meryl streep. it's time to win the liar oscar. anchor: this book has your artistic fingerprints all over it. it has perversions, pop-culture, iconoclastic characters. marsha sprinkler is a character that loves lying.

in this world of post-truth? >> she spread lies for no reason. she said in an airline, did you hear this flight is canceled? she things lying makes her prettier, more glamorous, and gives her more control over others. anchor: liar mouth is being optioned for the screen and you are involved in the film adaptation. you have been doing performing, writing, all sorts since 2004. what is it like being back in the directors chair? >> i was paid to write four different sequels to hairspray, one that never happened, and also a children's christmas and venture that did not get made -- adventure that did not get made. i have never taken a book and gone the other way, made it into a movie. you have to eliminate a lot and change things, because in a movie, you show it or say it, but in the novel you can think

it. that's the difference. it's like writing in reverse, in a way. anchor: among the many eccentric characters in "liar mouth," there is a trans pet, dr. cat or cat to dog, but more seriously, the transgender community has found itself at a central debate in the united states, legislators going after what they see as deviant sexuality. do you take this seriously? >> i take it seriously because trans people are being killed at alarming rates, but also everyone is trans, at all the rich kids schools. you can be whatever you want to nowadays, so i don't know why that threatens anybody. it makes people so angry.

i think of them having drag queens with storytime in school, and that makes people crazy in america. it's not like billy comes home and says, i learned to put on bottom lashes today. get it, girl. kids love drag queens. they are like clowns. anchor: that's an interesting comparison. speaking of drag, one of the psychotic rag queens of -- the most iconic drag queens of the 20th century was your friend and collaborator, drag queen divine. >> drag queens hated him because he made fun of drag. he had fake scars painted on his face and would show up with a chainsaw and was overweight and

had nudity, which is what lizzo does today. nowadays, every drag queen has an edge or an anger to it or a kind of humor to it. they make fun of themselves with some of the names. but divine was not trans. divine dressed as a man in real life, i never said he wanted to be a woman, he wanted to be godzilla. anchor: crybaby had a special screening at the cons film festival -- cannes film festival , starring a baby faced johnny depp. he is playing king louis the 15th there and his return to the spotlight has raton did that has prompted some criticism after

the defamation case with his ex-wife amber heard. some suggest he be canceled. what do you think about this? >> i am not sorry harvey weinstein is in jail, but i help people get out of prison committed murder. who am i to judge other people? that has already happened. that is up to the courts and other people, johnny depp was found not guilty. so he is certainly eligible to get everything back he may have lost. anchor: you are very fame dennis did u.s. reader as well -- famed and a studious reader as well as a writer. i know you have revisited one of your famous quotes -- >> if someone has books in the bathroom, that's really disgusting. don't sleep with them either. [laughter] anchor: speaking of books and how we consume culture today,

the writer brett easton was asked whether books have become obsolete. he said, they already are for young people. do you agree? >> i don't agree. i like him and i like his last book, but when all the big chain bookstores opened, they thought they would put the independent bookshops out of business. but that is the opposite happening. people like the community. the only real job i ever had in my life was working in an independent bookstore. if i had to get another job today, that is what i would do. i even went home with customers. [laughter] anchor: speaking of the creative industries and the opportunities they offer, divine wasn't an all unscarred artist you are -- was an avant-garde artist you were running within the 1960's and 1970's. >> especially true in baltimore,

which is cheap. you have to have a cheap neighborhood to have bohemia. there is a place in paris where everyone tells me where it is, but cheap rents have a lot to do with this, people living together and mixing together. i am not a separatist. i believe straight, gay, everyone should hang around together and you should hang around with everybody. i don't know why the gay community is fighting with each other -- you are weakening the brand. anchor: briefly, one last question. if you had to live out your days as one of the characters in your films or books, who would it be? >> i guess it would be the talking [expletive] i hope i get to do the voice. anchor: from liar mouth. we asked you about a very

specific art collection -- you donated some of your pieces to the baltimore museum, call john waters coming attractions, and it is based on a specific condition. tell us about that. >> i gave 900 pieces to the museum, but this show was curated by the artist. i said ok. they said, we want to name this gallery after you. they thought i was kidding, but it wasn't kidding, and they did. they named bathrooms after me, they are non-gendered, the first ones in the museum. we had the ribbon-cutting ceremony, they urinated for the first time in the toilet, cut the ribbon, everybody applauded, public officials were there -- it was great. now you can visit baltimore and the museum and relieve yourself in the john waters bathroom.

anchor: john waters, thank you so much for joining us today. we will leave you a glimpse of the art collection on the walls of the baltimore art museum. liar mouth is now available in english and in french. there is more news coming up on france 24 in just a moment. ♪ ♪

♪ [inaudible] >> it's possible to get out of the life. you are worth it, no matter what you have been through and no matter what it looks like. but there is hope. ♪ >> you know, i was kind of ignorant before -- when i heard about sex trafficking, i thought, that's not here. that's in another country or whatever. to find out that it is happening

in our own backyard, my heart broke. so yeah, when she said they had these branded tattoos, if you want to donate some of your time and efforts to give these women back there body -- t their bodies, i said yeah, 100%! ♪ >> it's just freedom.

i don't have to look down every day and be like oh yeah, him. oh yeah, that was my life. these were all coverups and i can be like oh, it's beautiful. i don't have to think about what is underneath. ♪ ♪

08/09/23 08/09/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> hello freedom fighters. amy: voters in ohio have overwhelmingly rejected a republican-backed effort to make it harder to amend the state constitution ahead of a november