anchor: it is 10:00 p.m. in the french capital and here are the stories making world headlines. the death toll in morocco more than 28 hundred following friday's massive earthquake. three days ater and rescue teams have just begun to arrive in remote areas worst hit as the government pushes back on criticism of the slow response. we are tracking another national disaster in libya, 2000 are dead and as many as 6000 missing after devastating floods. the mediterranean storm daniel unleashing a deluge that swept through neighborhoods.

kim jong-un is expected to arrive in russia in the coming day to meet with vladimir putin. there are reports the north korean leader could already be on his way as western officials raise concerns about a possible arms deal between the countries. we will check in with our moscow correspondent standing by. ♪ thank you for joining us on france 24. we begin in morocco, where rescue teams have finally begun to arrive in remote areas hardest hit i friday's massive earthquake. the 6.8 magnitude quake has killed more than 2800 people according to the latest count from the nation's interior ministry. majority of the dead were in one province.

2500 others have been injured in the earthquake and the numbers are expected to continue to rise. emergency responders have been struggling to reach remote areas in the high atlas mountains where entire villages were flattened and access has been a challenge. rescuers have been able to reach some settlements but many others are still waiting for help. the village of asni in the foothills all but destroyed in the quake. villagers are doing what they can to survive after losing everything. reporter: the day begins with hot tea and breakfast after a third night sleeping in the cold. the men gather on one side, the women on the other. the village of asni has 600 residents and is located in the atlas mountains. rescue operations have sprung up in the center of town. nearly 200 towns were destroyed or damaged in the earthquake and the community is hoping to overcome the trauma together. >> we have received help from

another village as well as organizations. we started organizing meals for everyone but we need more flour, we don't have enough. >> our lives changed in a minute. we can no longer return home. we are very scared. my little girl is traumatized. reporter: residents here mainly lived off farming. the earthquake claimed the lives of at least 30 people while of the injured -- while at injured recover intense. >> i saw the doctor for the first time yesterday, they had omitted resources into many people to see. they just gave me a bandage. i have bruises everywhere, on my body and head. i am in pain. reporter: yusuf was born in asni and has taken to social media to issue a call for help. >> this is our house.

as you can see, there is a lot of damage. reporter: the home built by his grandfather is now uninhabitable. in addition for help rebuilding his home, he is asking for blankets to sleep, knowing that winter is around the corner. anchor: the moroccan government says it is working on a plan to compensate victims of the earthquake and is already looking ahead to the long-term recovery and what it will take to rebuild. here is the prime minister speaking earlier. >> there has been an agreement and clear instructions from his majesty to compensate the citizens who have been affected. an indemnity will apply to allow the people to take part in the

rebuilding of their homes. anchor: for more, let's bring in a professor of earthquake engineering at the university of bristol. thank you for being with us. before i ask you about technical engineering matters, you yourself were in an earthquake at a young age and that changed the trajectory of your life, can you tell us. anastastios: everyone in the area has experienced earthquakes. it is important to work as citizens to help society recover and be prepared. anchor: so you know what these people are going through. when you look at the buildings of morocco, especially in remote areas of the mountains, we are talking about structures not to withstand shaking of this

degree, isn't that the case? anastastios: exactly the case. morocco is not a high seismic region. it was considered moderate, a very large earthquake a century ago. the problem is the earthquake is very strong and the buildings are very weak. most of them are built with stone that make them vulnerable to earthquakes. this is the combination of the earthquake and the weakness of the buildings. anchor: what about the situation in marrakech, a big city with one million people? from an engineering perspective, were the structures in a better position to withstand a big earthquake like this? anastastios: not necessarily. first of all, when there is lack of awareness, there is no

preparedness. this applies to everyone, from the legislative framework, political control, type of construction. marrakech is a big city, which means exposure is higher, more people and more buildings to collapse. anchor: when you are talking about a building being seismically safe, it is expensive. as morocco looks to rebuild, are the relatively low cost ways to engineer buildings in a better way so the damage isn't as devastating if another earthquake strikes? anastastios: that's a very good question. there are solutions to strengthen structures, those that are not to the current seismic code, ways to protect new buildings from collapsing. the problem in morocco is that it is very hard to retrofit ahead of the next earthquake

because there are so many buildings. they are made from mud masonry. it's practically impossible to strengthen those buildings ahead of the next earthquake. this is not a technical problem, it is a financial and social problem. there is a safety cap between different countries -- safety gap between different countries, which we need to bridge. anchor: you mentioned the last big earthquake in morocco, 1960, 5.8 that killed 10,000 people. were any lessons learned from that earthquake from an engineering perspective? anastastios: the lesson we learned is an earthquake that is 5.8, not considered to be a very strong one, and yet thousands of people died.

in california or japan, it would be 1%. it is a culmination of how weak the buildings are with respect to resisting the earthquake. it is a social problem. anchor: how long do you think you will take them to rebuild? anastastios: i'm afraid some time. we need to obviously focus on search and rescue operations for the next 48 hours because time is of the essence, but then for the next several years i would say, the loss of the gdp would be 2%, 3%, 5%. it will take some years to recover. the most important thing in my opinion is to develop resistance, revise seismic codes, and force implementation.

and with the aid of the international community, will decipher, using local solutions that can help people in need. anchor: we have to leave it there. thank you so much for joining us. anastastios: you are most welcome. anchor: moroccan officials pushing back against criticism over a slow response to the disaster, saying they have been swift and effective. so far the government has accepted help from four countries, spain, britain, qatar and uae. another major story involving a natural disaster, floods in libya, were several thousand people are feared dead. mediterranean storm daniel unleased a -- unleashed a deluge that swept away neighborhoods. the death toll in the city of

derna has reportedly surpassed 2000 and there were 5000 to 6000 people reported missing. the collapse of nearby dams are reportedly to blame. we get the latest. reporter: after 24 hours, all that remains our flooded homes and floating debris. sunday and monday, mediterranean storm daniel swept through eastern libya, washing away entire neighborhoods. authorities fear a heavy death toll as they dispatch aid to cities. the prime minister of the parallel government controlling eastern libya deplored the losses. >> the dead have exceeded 2000. entire neighborhoods were swept into the sea. entire neighborhoods disappeared with residents. reporter: libyans showed videos on social media.

they pleaded for help as floods siege to people in homes and vehicles. multiple cities reported flooding, including benghazi and derna. local authorities believe over 5000 people have gone missing in derna, the worst hit city. they declared three days of mourning and ordered flags lowered to half-mast. troops were ordered to help people. a spokesperson for the forces said they lost contact with five troops helping besieged families in one town. anchor: switching gears to politics, north korean leader kim jong-un expected to arrive in russia in the coming days to meet with vladimir putin. both countries have confirmed the visit will happen and there are reports the north korean leader could already be on his way. western officials have expressed concerns that north korea is

considering providing arms to russia as it wages war in ukraine, but much remains unknown about the visit. for more, let's bring in our moscow correspondent. what do we know about the timing and location of the visit? daniel: the presidential spokesman has confirmed leaders will indeed be meeting. he said putin will host kim for a state dinner, and meeting one-on-one if necessary. he said building bilateral relations will be on the agenda and russia seeks to build good, mutually beneficial ties with north korea. russian ties to north korea run back to soviet times, when moscow supported pyongyang during the korean war, sending weapons and aid and later providing north korea in the 60's and 70's with humanitarian aid. that relationship cooled off in modern russian history, but in recent years has rekindled.

most recently, the russian defense minister visited pyongyang in july. in 2019, putin and kim met. that seemingly is where this meeting will take place this time. it is about 150 kilometers from north korea and the scene of a major economic forum. it is a major event on par with the saint peter's vic international forum, and a chance for russia to showcase its economy, as nessus, investment opportunities. that's where vladimir putin is right now. the forum will last until the 14th of september, in forces are saying the meeting could take place tomorrow or potentially wednesday between the leaders. for kim, it is a chance for north korea to get russian assistance in terms of food and technology.

for russia, the interests are perhaps more of a mystery. we've seen reports from western media and u.s. officials that russia is seeking to get weapons from north korea and that is something that the kremlin and pyongyang have consistently denied. they say there is no truth to the allegations. kim -- rather both leaders will be looking to show they have major partners in the region and russia will view north korea as one of the bricks in this wall if you like, building block in this wall of resistance to what it sees as a u.s. expansionism and growing u.s. assertive behavior in the pacific alongside china. what goes on behind closed doors will be hard to predict, what the leaders agree on in public, any announcements or official part, we will find out potentially over the next 24 to

48 hours. but kim reportedly from sources is on its way -- on his way. anchor: i know you will keep us posted. daniel, thanks as always. time for the business news, i am joined by yuka. starting with the word stagnation. the u.s. downgraded the growth outlook. yuka: with high prices affecting consumer sentiment, the european economy is stalling. reporter: another blow to the eu economy. the european union lowered its forecast for economic growth in 2023 and 2024. speaking from brussels, the european commissioner for economy blamed the slow down a variety of reasons. >> while we avoided a recession last winter, the multiple

headwinds facing the eu economy this year have led to somewhat weaker growth momentum than we projected. reporter: the 20 countries that use the euro are expected to see growth of under 1% this year instead of the 1.1% projected. next year, growth expectations are also lowered from 1.6% to 1.3%. the eurozone just about got through the winter without a recession, recording stagnant growth of 0.1% in the first two quarters of this year, with high levels of inflation restricting people's willingness to spend in shops. another factor to slow growth has been germany, hit by higher enemy -- energy prices. it is the only major economy expected to slow this year. >> germany was significantly

weaker than previously expected. declines in real wages weighed on consumptions. there were subdued exports. reporter: low economic growth has led to some economist to predict that the european central bank may avoid raising interest rates on thursday following nine straight hikes. yuka: the moroccan government says it wants to proceed with planned meetings with the international monetary fund and world bank in marrakech scheduled for october despite friday's devastating earthquake that killed nearly 3000 people. foreign aid has been pouring in after the 6.8 magnitude trimmer destroyed parts of marrakech with the eu releasing funds of over one million euros. the potential economic damage is up to 8% of morocco's gdp, roughly $10 billion. the economy had already been

under pressure this year, supply bottlenecks caused by the covid-19 pandemic and the war in ukraine caused commodity prices to surge, fueling inflation that peaked at 8.3% in late 2022. a severe drought and deceleration in main trading partners in the eurozone also added the problems. the economy rebounded strongly from the pandemic in 2021 but output shrank this year, it was expected to grow 3%, but how much impact the earthquake will have is still unclear. among the potential impacts on the disaster -- of the disaster on the wider economy is fertilizer supply. the country is the top supplier of certain kinds of fertilizer. morocco holds 70% of phosphate supplies. importers are concerned that the earthquake along with china's

ban on another fertilizer ingredient could lead to surging prices. for morocco, the initial commit -- estimate puts the economy impact at 8% of gdp. let's get a quick check on the market action. europe ended the day up slightly despite the downgrading of the growth forecast we looked at earlier. you can see, the ftse 100 rising a quarter of a point. wall street's main indices also closed up in positive territory. that is it for business. anchor: thank you. time for our daily fact checking segment.

we are looking at rocco and fake images circulating online with regard to the earthquake. catalina: that's right. following any natural disaster we see the same trend, and it is circulating online, falsely attributed to the event, the earthquake in morocco. we spotted the following fake images. let's begin with this first video circulating online and on mainstream media, where we see a building collapse that users claim occurred in southwest marrakech. conducting a reverse image search, we found the video took place in casablanca on august 5, 2020, it was registered in this news report reporting on a three-story building that collapsed after a series of housing collapses in the area due to aging of homes. a similar video, this user

claims occurred, showing the horrific moment house was caught on security camera footage in the marrakech region, it has been seen over 800,000 times on x, and the first publication of this video dates back to at least eight months ago, as moroccan media explains it was another building that collapsed december 26-27, 2022. another video that has nothing to do with the current earthquake. anchor: there were also claims strange lights appeared in the night sky over morocco right before the earthquake. catalina: several publications wondering what these strange lights are in the night sky of marrakech leading up to the tragic earthquake. the same video that has been

posted on tiktok has also reached over 5.7 million views on the platform. this is an alleged phenomenon we also saw circulating online, attributed to the earthquake in turkey and syria. many link the alleged activity to a program, some people believe a conspiracy theory that it is allegedly used to control climate change. in fact, regarding this video for morocco, it is an old video from 2022 created by a digital artist on a tiktok. he describes himself as a creative of apocalyptic videos, like the one we showed that was out of context. anchor: finally, videos of animals being rescued, are they

real or fake? catalina: these users claim this is a cat that hugs a dog after surviving the earthquake in morocco, seen over 42,000 times on x and tiktok. we traced the first instances of the image shared on a viral post on twitter at the time with over 1.7 million views, posted on february 9, 2023. the same time the earthquake hit turkey and syria. we haven't been able to find the exact origin of the photo but we can confirm it has nothing to do with the earthquake in morocco. this doesn't mean animals haven't been rescued. this dog was rescued from the rubble in morocco in southwest marrakech as reported on x as reported by the afp. anchor: it's also important to

pay attention to observers because as these tragedies happen, it's hard to determine what is real and fake. it is important you are here. thank you. that's it for now. more world news after the break. stay with us. ♪ >> [speaking spanish] >> 50 years ago, a bloody coup d'état left 3000 dead and missing in chile.

even today the country remains divided over its history. [speaking spanish] pinochet's dictatorship revisited on france 24. >> the world is ever-changing. the news doesn't wait. >> france 24 gives a global perspective that intelligent viewers want to have to understand the issues of the day. >> we will always be there to help make sense of world events. >> [speaking french] >> for the best international coverage 24 hours a day no matter what, france 24 is with you everywhere. all the time. >> liberté, égalité, actualité.

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09/11/23 09/11/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> there are still people buried in this house. they did not get the rescue they needed, so they died. i'm trying to get anything from the house. amy: the death toll from morocco has reached 2500 following the deadliest earth taken over six decades. rescue efforts have not even begun in some remote villages. g