>> this is dw news, live berlin. within seven to people died in the building fire. officials say at least 12 children are among the dead. the building was used. a leader of the problem much in the u.s. 17 years in prison.

and counting the past of working in dalia. welcome. good to have you. the south african president has sent his condolences to the families of people killed overnight in a fire. he helps an investigation can help prevent a repeat of the tragedy. officials say living spaces have been rented that illegally. >> is still night when the fire broke out. firefighters rushed to the scene and began rescuing presidents.

with dozens of bodies recovered from the gutted building. up to 200 people are believed to be living in the dilapidated five-story structure. officials have made it harder to escape the flames. quick the chances are very much higher. quick survivors confirm that making it out of the smoke filled was hard and dangerous. >> it was so difficult for us to get out. the others watch corridors with beds but i managed to get out with my kids. we managed to escape or we didn't have a lot of smoke. and we got out.

>> firefighters are working their way through the building floor by floor with the death toll expected to rise. >> ever to identify victims likely difficult with somebody's left burnt beyond recognition. the cause of the fire is not yet clear. the investigation into the tragedy is already way. -- away. >> officials say they are still investigating the cause of the fire. i think what has been helpful is painting a picture of what may have caused the high number here. this is because the building was

hijacked building. it was officially owned by the city of johannesburg but taken over by some syndicates. they also partitioned the building into smaller rooms using informer -- informal material such as cardboard, zinc and other pieces of wood. that also made it more difficult to get through the building. this had the effect of igniting the fire further. >> can you give us a bit of background on the area of that building? this is one of the many bunny set up in that style that you just described. >> yes, that part of the city center is called marshalltown.

in that area, there are some streets that have numerous hijacked buildings. some of them are former factories in the area. some of them are office blocks from a time when the city center was much more used by businesses and many of them have been taken over by the syndicates that have partitioned them, rental prices can be around 1003 rent. it is about 68 euros or a little bit higher. up to about 80 euros. that is the most reasonable rental they could get in the area because it is close to businesses where they work and close to public transport. >> the president visited the site let's listen to what he had to say. >> johannesburg has never had an incident like this where so many

people die as a result of a fire in the center of the city. this is tragic. it is a wake-up call for us to begin to address the situation of housing in the city. quick this is a new problem. do you think they will deal with it? we will see real changes? >> this is something we need to address. some would argue that the issue of illegal housing has been a long-standing problem. something that has been dealt with for over 20 years. politicians have complained for

a long time that they need more resources. they should really find a way for the different levels of government to operate effectively with issues like this. often times is left to the municipality. of course, there are nongovernmental actors who can also assist. this maybe the opportunity for government to do something about this problem. it will require decisive action and political will. quick former leader from the u.s. extremist group, proud boys has been sentenced to 17 years in prison over the january 6 capital attack. he was accused in the attempt to overturn the results.

they were already convicted of conspiracy in may. in washington, we have the reasoning for the decision. >> this is one of the harshest penalties handed out in relation to the january 6 cases. worth pointing out there are over a thousand of these cases. it really has to do with the gravity with which the judge sought this role with helping to instigate the attack on the capital. the judge in this case called it a national disgrace. he says that they harmed an american custom that was going to support the rule of law and the constitution. he said it harmed the american tradition of the peaceful transfer of power. he also said that because they tore down the fence that allowed riders to get through, that was a deliberate and meaningful step to disrupt the counting going on

in the capital and that brought him to a sentence of 17 years. only the second harshest with the first blog to the oath keepers who got 18 years. >> many see former president donald trump as partly responsible for the ride. it is have an effect on his legal troubles? >> donald trump case related to january 6 is ongoing. just to refresh our members, he has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the united states and with attempting to obstruct official proceedings. that is the vote count in this case. his name came up in the trial as well.

it is hard to say for sure how this verdict will impact from his own case but what it does do is it immense and narrative of comparable in january 6. worth noting also that the january 6 case for donald trump was complicated logistically. his trial date is set for march 4. that is a day before super tuesday when several state hold the republican primaries. it is really difficult to assess. but it will keep his name in the national attention and connection to january 6 which cannot be helpful for him. >> thank you so much. >> joe biden is to travel to the state of florida.

they moved northeast over the carolinas. it has since been downgraded to the tropical storm. cleanup efforts are underway. >> the store may have passed. category 3 tropical storm dalia move the path of destruction across the northwest. they've estimated more than $9 million in damage. and when the rest of the storm is over, residents began returning to their homes.

>> meanwhile, ron desantis announced measures to help those affected by the storm. >> we have requested from the federal government a major disaster declaration for all 25 counties that fell under the hurricane warning, this will allow us to start provide funding for individual assistance which includes shelter and temporary housing for these individuals. >> well-formed and of operation, organic dalia has heavy downpours causing flooding. all this is this tremendous way to the atlantic ocean. now, the worst is passed and covered in debris. the people of the southeastern states face the unenviable task

of rebuilding communities they call home. >> the convoy folk told us what is most needed. >> i think the power to get back on. that is the thing holding up a lot of people's lives. it is always a major first step in getting back to life. the power is out for thousands and thousands of people. especially in this area of perry. it is very rural. this is where the storm came ashore. a lot of people here wanting to get that power back on. until the power gets on, life really can't get back to normal. >> very difficult circumstances. how are the affected communities helping themselves in dealing with the situation?

>> organizations coming down to help relieve supplies. the people here are resilient. this is the strongest hurricanes ever hit the big bend area. the people we have talked to are hanging in there. they were honestly expecting it to be a little bit worse. request can you help us understand the extent of the damage that the hurricane is left?

>> every disaster is different. they did the things that are basic, food, water and tarps for their rooms. hurricane ian was the last major storm they had. that cause problems for a very long time. it was a slow moving storm. that made a big difference. it did not really sit on one location and dump water. it brought a lot of storm surge onto the shore. he did not dump the rain that other hurricanes have dumped. >> we are talking about rebuilding but also building more resilient structures. how can people dress themselves in the process of rebuilding for storms that may come after this one? >> it is tough because this is a

lower income area where we are. all those things exist. the hurricane windows, hurricane roofing. all that stuff exists but it is very expensive to build a house with those items on board. that is what makes it difficult for people in florida, trying to manage that financial discrepancy between one price and the other price for safety. they will tell you they had never seen a storm like this. >> thank you, ethan. let's have a look at some of the of the stories making news around the world. donald trump has pled not guilty in the georgia election fraud case. this means he has waived his right to appear in court next week. trump and 18 others have been charged with trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the southeastern state.

north korea has launched two ballistic missiles and what it cause a simulated nuclear strike. the missile has traveled more than 360 kilometers before landing off the eastern coast and the sea. ballistic missiles are banned by the un security council which has sanctions on the regime. south korea and the united states have wrapped up joint military drills. the annual exercises are designed to enhance the response to nuclear and missile threats. thailand's former prime minister has requested a royal pardon. they were admitted to hospital shortly after returning to thailand last week after years in xo. -- exile. the african union has suspended

a bond from the organization followed the ousting of the government by military. the removal of the president trump tower has sparked european leaders. they are under new leadership after the chief of the republican guard was called head of the transitional government. they have placed him under house arrest. a short while ago i asked our correspondent what signal suspension from the african union sends. >> is a country in africa in recent years has experienced this and then suspended. it is not out of the ordinary. it is normal practice.

>> it is international pressure. it is likely to have an impact on events on the military leaders there? >> there are a lot of international issues there would have to deal with before you even talk about the external pressure. his father was president for about 42 years. he died in office. he has been in office since 2009. the world bank describes him as one of the most stable and peaceful countries. this changes the level of

uncertainty that exists already. people seem to be happy about it. we will have to wait and see what happens. >> in the case here, they have essentially been in the hands of a particular family. this is a long time coming.

it was kind of like a gradual decline as opposed to the other thing that happened as a result of economic problems. >> thank you so much. another country in africa dealing with the aftereffects of the coup is niger. the military seized power there only a month ago. west countries have imposed sanctions. they experienced shortages and some people there blame sanctions for making the situation even worse. our reporter reports from the southwestern town here.

sanctions imposed are responsible for the dire situation. >> we are very happy that the military has done this. we have suffered so much because of regional insecurity. there are no jobs. we only lived on agriculture. then the terrorists took all the animals and killed our men and sounds. and the government has done absolutely nothing about it. >> at the local market, customers can still find staples like rice that fewer and fewer and people can afford to buy. >> what we really want now that the military has taken control is that they go to the shopkeepers and get them to lower prices. they need to have pity on us.

if the generals really love niger, they should at least lower prices. >> we pray to god that the high prices will come down. then our customers will be happy. even people on a good salary are struggling to make ends meet. every week, he says a bag of rice to feed his extended family. he is lucky to be getting any rice at all. >> rice we have here is niger's not getting to us anymore. without that, the local rise for

niger is not enough already -- everyone. demand is making the price shoot up. even with local rise. every week, the price goes up by 25 francs. >> although the price has gone up, this rice farmer says he is not the one making a profit. whatever government is in power. >> the high cost of rice is not direct -- directly related to the current situation. more to the availability of fertilizer that you use our plantation. >> whatever you look, trade has stopped, no goods are coming in. the situation is getting worse every day.

>> coaches of the year have been announced. the women's player of the year voiced support for her teammate that was cast by the president after the final. they led england to the world cup final. and dedicated -- dedicated it to the spanish team. and the draw for champions league groups has two some mouthwatering matchups. they are heading a group that includes manchester united. they will have to contend with a

couple of heavy hitters and record champions. they have drawn the group of death. they will have the pleasure of going against the defending champion's. police in the u.s. state of nebraska received a bizarre call that sounded like a pocketable story. it involved an actual bull. please pulled over the driver and they said they were clearly some traffic violations. they were let off with a warning. no bull. and as a reminder of our top stories. emergency crews in johannesburg say they expect to find more victims in the fire from

overnight. a former leader of the u.s. extremist group proud boys has been sentenced to 70 years in prison. prosecutors say he was a key figure in the violent attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. stay with us. after a short break, we will take you through the biggest stories.

>> it is 10:00 p.m. here in paris. welcome to france 24. these are your headlines -- the african union says it has suspended the country's membership after wednesday's military coup. niger's military regime have ordered the expulsion of the french ambassador while revoking his mimetic immunity. -- diplomatic immunity. and rare protests have continued against the assad regime in

syria with anger spurred by economic misery evoking memories of the 2011 arab spring. thanks for joining us. we are live in paris. the african union has announced the suspension of gabon from all activities, organs, and institutions and -- until constitutional order is restored following wednesday's overthrow of the long serving president who was toppled moments after winning a bitterly disputed election. the army says the general who led the coup is set to be sworn in on monday as gabon's transitional government. for a more thorough summary, let

us turn to our correspondent in cameroon. >> the situation in government is evolving -- the situation in gabon is evolving rapidly. we know a transitional government is already in place and will be officially sworn in on monday. meantime, the opposition, which has been silent, has finally spoken up. they are calling on the military coup leaders to continue with the electoral process which ended prematurely last tuesday. they want vote counts to continue normally. the opposition has been silenced since the military took over on tuesday night. on the streets of the capital, calm is gradually returning. people are beginning to go about their business while shops and other public ministers have gradually open. for now, we know the deposed president is still under house

arrest. >> it has been a companies regime -- big -- a gabonese regime steeped in family nepotism. the president has been in power for more than half a century. >> he is one of the wealthiest individuals in the country. his father had ruled for more than four decades, amassing a fortune of 66 bank accounts, over 180 luxury cars, and lavish watches. more than 30 properties in france, including apartments in paris and villas on the french riviera. his holdings became a subject of legal action in 2008 in a case that has come to be known as the ill-gotten gains affair. as his family steady build its wealth, he worked as his

father's faithful lieutenant, traveling the globe and forging contacts at the time of the second oil boom, eventually inheriting his political position and collateral interests, which he used to accumulate over $1 billion in personal wealth. the vast reaches of the family is no secret, a fortune primarily derived from cap on -- gabon's oil reserves. many have denounced the family for not letting the country's oil wealth trickle down to the population of 2.3 one million people. >> moving now onto coups in west africa, niger's ruling junta has ordered police to expel france's ambassador in a move which could further worsen relations. france said the military power did not have the authority to give such an order.

>> tensions between france and gabon -- tensions between paris and niameh continue to mount. the ambassador has been stripped of diplomatic immunity as well as ordering police to eject him from the country. paris do not recognize the government that was installed after a coup last month. earlier this week, the french government praised the ambassador, saying that he would remain in office. spokesperson announced that paris is ready to act in order to protect their diplomatic right to measure. >> french military forces are ready to respond to any upturn in tension that could harm any

premises in niger. >> there are calls for a march next saturday followed by a sit in until the 1500 troops stationed at the capital leave for good. >> to the south of the continent, at least 74 people are dead with scores injured after a fire early on thursday morning ripped through a dilapidated apartment in downtown johannesburg. at least 12 of the dead were children and 42 emergency services with many bodies burned beyond recognition. some witnesses say they even saw people throw babies out of windows to others below in a desperate attempt to escape the flames. south africa's president visited the site on the -- late on thursday as authorities continue to scramble through the wreckage. >> anxious residents look on at what used to be their home as

emergency services were bodies after a nighttime blaze tore through the peace building -- through this building in central johannesburg. >> it was so difficult for us to escape, but i managed to get out with my kids. one who is 13 years old and the other who is two. we did inhale quite a bit of smoke, but at least we managed to get out. >> some of the boys i found here, they got out through windows. women and children were left behind and died inside. we lost all our things and they got burned. our papers, our money. >> beginning overnight, fire ripped through five stories, spreading rapidly from floor to floor. the building was known as a hijacked building. it is located in a deprived area in what used to be the business district. according to the provincial government, the tragedy represents a deeper issue that requires stronger solutions. >> this, for us, demonstrates a chronic problem of housing in

our province, as was previously said that there is at least 1.2 one million people who need housing. we need to have an intergovernmental, comprehensive, integrated approach with this. >> in the city center, illegal occupation of disused buildings is rife, with many said to be controlled by criminal syndicates. though it is south africa's largest metropolis, johannesburg is one of the world's most unequally distributed cities, grappling with poverty, unemployment, and a housing crisis. >> 48 people have been killed in a crackdown on an anti-united nations protest in eastern drc. on wednesday, congolese soldiers to stop a religious sect from holding a demonstration against united nations peacekeepers.

some 10 people were initially reported killed after troops entered a radio station and a place of worship. however, an internal argument -- an internal army document on thursday revealed actual numbers. turning now to syria where hundreds go to the streets in the southwestern city to protest against bashar al-assad's regime. demonstrations have entered their second week with anger growing over economic hardships and living conditions. dissenters say they are fed up and want regime change. >> a rare show of dissent that has been growing daily from syria's religious minority as a protest against the regime of bashar al-assad.

the demonstrations now in their second week have spread across the province in southern syria and begun inciting valleys in other regions like rebel-held italy province and the government-held city where antigovernment protests would have once been unthinkable. anger has been growing over harsh living conditions. 90% of syrians live below the poverty line according to the united nations. the spark for the recent unrest -- a government decision to end cap selling -- and the gasoline subsidies this month which has protesters calling for change. assad blamed economic woes on western nations, but many are directing their anger at him, even tearing down his face from government buildings. for the moment, government forces have refrained from cracking down, but if protests

continue to spread, that could change. >> for more on this, let us turn to the former associate fellow at chatham house. thank you for joining us. these protests have largely been led by the minority community. how unique are they in the context of everything that has happened with the civil war? >> i don't think they are unique in the syrian context in that these slogans are slogans we have heard for 12 years and counting all over syria. the people want the downfall of the regime. it is true that there have not

been any significant demonstrations over the past 12 years, but what is happening today is that precisely the people in regime-controlled areas who have been so patient for so long, who accepted all the hardship, taking the word of the regime that it's going to be over, we are getting rid of the terrorists and islamists and doing everything we can, and still after 12 years, nothing happened, so what these people are saying is that you are not capable anymore. you are not governing, and we want to be rid of you. simplifying a little bit. the regime does not want any more to be doing that. many are negotiating behind the scenes with the elders, with the leaders, but it seems very unlikely that the regime is

going to be able to bring and subdue these people, so i think that we should get used to seeing these regions that are flaming again, and i don't know what anybody expects that the situation would have been different today. >> that leads us to the question of could this exacerbate -- could tensions rise to a point where we should be fearing something similar to what happened in 2011? >> why should we fear 2011? 2011 was a peaceful uprising. people were demanding dignity. this is what they want today. this is fighting against the indignity of the kind of life that the regime imposed on the people. i think what you are referring to is, of course, the violence and repression from the regime side.

today, we can expect violence to happen. people are still being taken away. there are still killings, still rates by the russians and the syrians. i have to appeal to all of us to remember that just because they are not making the news because they are not as spectacular as what we are seeing on your screen right now, that does not mean the regime has ever stopped carrying out the repression, so we should expect more indeed, but this time, it is going to be difficult to estimate from where we are sitting how much the regime is willing to show after it pretended that it won this war. is it going to send helicopters again? is it going to gas people again? is it going to take all these young people and throw them in jail? i think even make syrian regime realizes they are going to have to do a little bit more to

soften these protests against the situation in the country. >> quickly, a summary of what you expect in the days to come. >> more demonstrations, and i would like to bring your audience's attention to the fact that they are not just scattered demonstrations come but there's a new movement in syria called the 10th of august movement, which is changing a little bit on the ways that the revolution started in 2011. they are saying we don't need to dupe friday demonstrations anymore, and they are documenting what is happening all around syria from within damascus as well. i think this is what we should keep watching. these scattered peaceful demonstrations and these new young civil society organized demonstrations. >> thank you so much for your views. former associate fellow of the middle east program at chatham house. it is time now for sports. it is that time of year again. the champions league draw, and

all of a sudden, sandra mann is back. -- sandra mann -- saint germane his back. >> let's look at the full draw for you that have a few hours ago this evening. german powerhouse bayern munich are with premier league giant manchester united. come back to the champions league for the first time in 21 years. 14-10 champions real madrid are in group c along with italian champions. finalists in milan are in group d. group f, this year's group of

death, have three european giants who have reached file in the past 16 years. they're joined by newcastle who are back in the european top flight for the first time since 2002. the reigning champion's manchester city are in group g. finally, spanish giants barcelona are in group h. group stages will be running from september 19 two the 13th of december. the final will be taking place in wembley on june 1. time to bring you the latest from the u.s. open, aryna sabalenka has cruised into the third round. the second seed beat the brick

6-3, 6-2. andy murray was knocked out by grigor dimitrov in more bad news for brits this evening. casper ruud follows stephan tsitsipas. the work number five crashed out in the second round after being beaten. the dane struggled to handle his chinese opponent's fierce forehand. the 67th rank in the world won in straight sets. jannik sinner has just eased past his fellow italian with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win.

the belgian stryker is staying in syria after having spent last season on loan within milan. it is believe the 30-year-old accepted a wage cut. they rejoin chelsea in 2021, but the return to be -- proved to be rather unsuccessful. he has not played for the blues since may 2022. he is also reported to have turned off -- turned down a lucrative move to the saudi pro league. winco said beforehand he aimed to give away the overall leader stroke jersey at this stage. the decision sparked a frantic starter at the stage with several attacks on the

183-kilometer route. a huge breakaway group of cyclists formed, carving out a lead of even more than six minutes. lenny martinez takes the overall lead, two minutes and 47 seconds behind in the ninth. stage seven is a relatively flat 201-kilometer ride to libya, which is likely to finish with a pond. moving onto the formula one, lewis hamilton will stay with mercedes for at least two years. the 38-year-old has signed a new contract that will see him extend his time with the team 13 years. the move will allow hamilton to continue his quest for a record eighth world drivers title which both he and mercedes believe was robbed from them at the controversial abu dhabi world

pre-in 2021 where hamilton lost out to red bull's driver. hamilton's teammate, george russell, who joined in 2022, has also signed a two-year deal. finally, let us end with some remarkable images of a college volleyball match in the united states that has broken the world record for attendance figure for a women sporting event. a crowd of 92,003 fans watched the women beat omaha, beating the previous world record of 91,648 fans for a women's champions league match last year. organizers say they were aiming for the record when they announced back in february.

the previous record in the u.s. for a women sporting event was the 1999 women's world cup where the u.s. beats china. really incredible images there. it might not take that long to break the record because women's sport is well on the up. >> absolutely. just imagine massive crowds for the paris olympics watching volleyball like that under the eiffel tower. what a site that will be. >> i've already got my tickets. >> it is time now for truth or fake, our daily fact checking segment. a couple of videos have gone viral in the aftermath of the coup in gabon yesterday, which appeared to show officials being caught red-handed, trying to get away with suitcases full of cash. are they true or fake? >> for context, the army yesterday not only arrested the president but also some of his entourage and the charges range from high treason to misappropriation of public funds

and international embezzlement. with this in mind, these videos do seem credible. let's have the first one. here we have it. in it, we see a man being arrested and some guards checking his luggage. he has three suitcases. we scroll forward a bit, we see that they are full of cash. we also see in the back a sheepish looking man. the question is -- who is this guy? yesterday and today, it has been shared on social media mostly in english, who claims that he is a former senate president of gabon caught trying to escape the country. another claim that has been made is that he is the goblin finance minister stopped by citizens while trying to flee, but the problem with both of these claims is that both the finance minister and the president are

women, so he cannot be either. to find out who he really is, we made a search and came across earlier versions of the video online in articles dating from last year. this one is on french media and dates from september 18, 2022. we learn here that the person in question is a former president of the japanese -- former president of the gabonese national assembly and was arrested on his way back from the congo carrying in a suitcase the equivalent of nearly 2 million euros. here he is next to a still from that video. he was actually given a three-month suspended prison sentence and find for illegal possession of prohibited goods, so, yes, it does look like a case of a corrupt gabonese

politician. >> it is really like something out of a movie. there are other videos that have been doing the rounds since yesterday. they seem to involve an arrest involving more suitcases of cash. what about those? >> yes indeed. this is where you have to be a bit careful because another video is being shared on social -- on social media, but we have not been able to verify it independently yet, so we are not going to show it. in the video in question, we see the seizure of a number of facts full of cash allegedly from the home of a gabonese politician -- a number of bags full of cash. in the video, we see someone who looks like gabon's public

executor. we know this because coup leaders announced so in a public -- in an address on national television, and we don't have any information on their whereabouts, but the coup plotters promised that all those arrested will "answer for their actions." some of the things in this video do stack up with things we know to be true, but until we can verify it with witnesses or receive official statements confirm it, we will not show it, but it is something we can keep an eye on. >> emerald always keeping her finger on the pulse with what is true and what is fake. there is more coming up in just a bit.

we will see you then. >> follow our international journalists on france 24. douglas herbert. angela diffley. robert parsons. philip terrell. and armen georgian. from the newsroom to the studio or live on air, they are on standby 24/7 to analyze world events. tackling historic, geopolitical, economic, or environmental issues, or -- our experts get to the heart of international news stories and contribute to our special reports and scour the headlines for information. follow it live. follow the news. follow france 24. >> liberte, egalite, actualite.

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08/31/23 08/31/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> idalia is strong strong to make landfall in this part of florida and over 100 years. pres. biden: i don't think anyone can deny climate crisis anymore. amy: hurricane idalia has left a trail of flooding and destruction from florida to the carolinas. we will look at the climate emergency with nasa scientist