Joe bidens message to american voters. Wrapping up this years up a virtual democratic convention, he vowed t to battle donald trup in novembers election. United nations represesentatives have been in contact afafter a military c cop forced him to resign on tuesday. Now plunged into o political ununcertainty with representatis from the u. N. Seeking to restore stability. N newsroom. To the have died inpeople Northern California due to the dozens of wildfires raging across the region. More than 30 firefighters and civilians have been injured in the blazeze, and tens of thouous of homeses are currently at ris. Fires were sparked by a rare phenenomenon, tens of thousandsf Lightning Strike for several days, the area was s also susuffering from high temperatures. Our correspondent has the story. The latest that episode of caliph on the california wildfire seasonn has been deadl. The blazes around the greater San Francisco bay area spreading rapidly. They have destroyed hundreds of homes anand are threatening mor, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. By tomorrow maybe, we will know more, but im thinking we are going to lose the house. That house wasnt burning a halfhhour ago. Neither was that one. I iperfect ststorm extreme ht and lightning caused by a strtrg ridge of highprpressure spark sparked to the fires. In the l last four days, almost 11,000 Lightning Strikes havee ignited within 370 new blazes, according to the state fire department. After declaring a state o of ememergency earlier ththis week, californias governor says the ongoing disaster serves as another reminder of the dangers of global warming. We are just coming off of a record week, a heat wave that led to 130 degree temperatures, the highest temperature ever recorded in california, arguably in the worlds history, in our state. The hots are getting hotter, the drys are getting drier. If you are in denial about climate change, come to california. Smomoke and bashar reducing s ability around visibility thend fire zones, hot in midst of a coronavirus pandemic. Out of the darkness and into the light that is what joe biden is offering americans after a rallying speech at the national mocratic c convention. Speaking from his hometown of wilmington, delaware, biden wrapped up the Virtual Event of what will be the biggest speech of his life. He vowed to bring the country out of a season of darkness under the trump administration. Former viceold president and accented are laid out his vision to unite the party, and is aware of somome divivisions over his nomination. Here is a closer look at the democratic candidate. Joe biden has been on the american political stage for almost half a century. Of 29, het the age was elected to the senate, representing the small state of delaware. He first launched a bid for president in 1988, then again in 2008. That year he did make it to the white house, as Vice President to barack obama. The two became close frienends, and the former president s endorsements of his former vp are often as personal as they are political. The best Vice President america has ever had, mr. Joe biden. Hisis political rise has been laced with tragegedy. A momonth after being elected to the senate, his wife and baby daughter were killed in a car accident. His toddler sons survived, but the politician said he was nearly driven to suicide. Biden i think suicide i understand. Got to the bridge. With a bottle of scotch, i would sit at a table and try to make myself. Son died ofhis brain cancer. That is the reason he decided to forgo the election in 2016. While he entered the 2020 race as the front runner, his campaign looked doomed until his overwhelming victory in South Carolina and domination on super tuesday. Im here to report, we are very much alive. Scrutiny such as allowing biden has also been accused of inappropriate interactions with female staff members. He committed to choosing a female Vice President and ended up making history by putting the first woman of color on a major party ticket, california senator kamala harris. While the pair doesnt represent the growing progressive wing of the democratic party, biden has offered to cast himself as a a ststable fororce in a chaotitic. If he beats donald trump in november, he will be 78 on inauguration d day and t the olt president ever sworn into office. To africa, you and representatives have managed t o gain accesess to the ousted presidenent after he was forcedo signgn this weweek. This f flows callsls fro the Economic Community of west african states, demanded that the ousted malley leader be returned to power after the military clue. Mary tyreek h hill. Military coup. For more on the situation, i amm joined by a professor of Political Science and law at the university of here in france. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you. This latest news from the via thethis reaches Us Peacekeeping mission there, and we have had the statement from ecowas as well. Why have we seen such a prompt respononse from the internationl community . Y . Well, the International Community, to use that exexpression, has a fixed decision, soso in n 2012, when e last coup detat i removed the previous president , ecowas, Thee International community, and france were e all opposed to it. And what solved the crcrisis lat time was that the military who staged a a coup p were running a transitional, holding operation. Theyey h held new electionons. The critical dififference is the position of the international theunity is to restore president power. Im afraid the International Community should c change that position and a accept neww elecections, because the last elections by all means were fraudulentnt, and they weree validateted by Constitutional Court t that was stacked inn far of the ruling party. Olivia that is what the june to has said they would the junta has said they would do. Can you give us an overview of the Political Landscape in mali at the moment. Mali, we can dividee we can divide into three parts. The north, there has been a move for independence of the tutuareg people. It is still not recognized by everyone by anyone. In the center of the country, you have three different jihadist movements as well as intercommunal violence betweenen hohouse and for lonnie. Those two thirds of the country, there is no government whatsoever. In the south of the country, you have a massive social movementt in the capital city that has been organized around its opposition to the president , the m five movement. This has been personified by an a moderate imam, and from what the reports have come out, this imam is now in talks with the military junta, and it will be likely that with this religious leader, who had been calming calling for the president to remain in office so he was not calling for the president s ouster. With his moderate religious findr, we migight compromised ground with what the people of mali want and what the International Community wants. France has a very Strong Military presence in mali. What do the latest developments mean for that mission . Well, akron is concerned because he has asked is concerned because he has inherited a policy of his predecessor. Francois hollande went into molly, and d the 1 into mali. Literally brains behind the french intervention i am certain right now that the juryy w would likike to maintain france of a commitment to the war on terror in the north of the country, and they are all concerned because they had invested so heavily in a data that whoever had come in next might want to break that relationship, and for france, the priority is the war on terror in the north. Thank you very much for that analysis on the situation in mali. Doug was speaking to us fromm paris. Next to libyaya, where the u. N. Supported government has announced a nationwide ceasefire. The news has been welcomed by the International Body in a separate statement, the speaker of the rival eastbased house of representatives in benghazi also called for a ceasefire. The tripoli based government calllled for parliamentary and president ial e elections to be held in march. Chaoswas plunged intoo was killed. Gaddafi the country has bebeen split factions in the sand the west. The European Commission has called on russian authorities to allow Opposition LeaderAlexei Navalny to be transferred to germany for medical treatment. They are alslso asking for an independent investigation into allegations that the longtime critic of Vladimir Putin was poisoned after drinking tea at a russian airport. He is currently lying in a coma in siberian hospital where a doctor the doctors treating him have said they have not found any indication that the opposition was poisoned. Brian quinn has this report. This small say. Hospital is where Alexei Navalny is fighting for his life. His supporters believe he was poisoned. As protested in support o of navalny brbroke out i in russiae his allies abroad have been working with his family to transfer him to a hospital in beberlin. A plane to take him there was sent overnight, but t russian doctors are refusing to release hi [speaking russian] navalny spokeswoman says those doctors are risking his life, accusing them of trying to wait until the poison in his system is no longer traceable. We demand the russian authorities being be transporting him to a facility. Transportation can lead to irrepaparable damage to life and health. Makes flight was forced to an Emergency Landing to rush him to hospital. Europe and leaders have expressed their concern and offered assistance. [speaking french] in 2017, Alexander Valley was was sprayedvalny with antiseptic died while in office. After said he had had an emergency reaction. His team believes he was poisoned. His supporters and other russian opposition figures believe this time is no different a and placd the blame squararely on the kremlin. Olivia svetlana says she will return to belarus as soon as she is just she feels it is safe to do so. She fled to lithuania last week following the reelection of president lukashenko, whihich hd been contested b by her suppororters. European authorities have the votethe results of as well as condemning the Violent Police crackckdown on te waves of protests that followed. Thousands of blogoggers h hae gone on strike to say enough iss enouough. Enough o of the lyiying, enoughf the intimidation, enough of the lawlessness and violence. Ththe violence m must stop. P. Political p prisoners must be released, add new elections must be orgrganized. Free, honest,t, be and tranansparent. This is what the belarus people are demamanding. They must be h heard. Olivia that is all for this update. Do stay with us onon france 24 there is more news coming up in just a momoment. Hello and welcome to the france 24 interview. Is a legendary indian activist, a cofounder of women of all written nations. Thank you for being with us on the france 24 set. India were born on in reservation in south dakota indian reservation in south dakota. He became active in the 1960s, you participated in some famous moments. Of the jail in california back in 1969, then inre was the wounded knee 1973. But you became an activist essentially because you were confronted as a very young child with the issue of being an American Indian in a country where there were tensions around the issue. Well, yeah. It started, i guess, when i was young, because the u. S. Federal government had they had American Indian pololicies throh the decade it depends on what party is in control of the government at the time, whatever. Theyey had a boardrding s School System for our people nationwide , different reservations. And there were boarding schools to take the childreren away from the f families and put them in these boardingng schools where they are taught babasically to e a nonnative. Right. You recount all those years through a documentary we see tshirts of warrior women the documentary, and you are front and center with your gughter, and the documentary it is coming into theaters here in france. Ththis week, this notion as a child, you were already ostracized and forced to move, then lead you to the 1960s, the movement where you felt that you and notay something, only to Say Something but to act. Madonna yes, and it was a progression, learning along the way. You have to rememberer, our ananstors did d not have a writn light whwhich. So anything g that was written over the decades was written by others other than our people. So for a long team, nobody really knew our history. Until basically the 1960s, and then all over the country, the United States, there was a cultural upheaval, so we had a chance to start learning what really happened to our ancestors, to our people, and why we were in the state we are today. We still have reservations, diminished landbased, but we still have a landbased in the uniteded stat. That is important. Right, and this led to some actions. I mentioned alcatraraz, wounded weeks. Ere several madonna 72 days. A sometimesf violent faceoff with the fbi, with the police. How did you live that time . Did you realize that this could be dangerous, but you felt like this was a thing that needed to be done to put your issue on the map, if i may use the expression. Madonna we were a core group of the American Indian movement. On invited trips on the reservation, the pine ridge indian reservation. We were going from one community to the next. We were invited to go and listen to their troubles, their problems, and just to make contact because we were invited to go. I had my 10yearold son with me, and we were going to makeke ouour rounds on thee reservatio, visit the communities, then go back to where we were in rapid city off the reservation. We were gathered there. And basically we were confronted in the hamlet of wounded knee. Which is a very symbolic place. Olivia very simple madonna very symbolic because theas a massacre there in 1800s. Many of the sololdiers in 1890 were given medals of honor for the massacre. That is the kind of history that we know the other side of the history. But the fact that we were literally surrounded and held there when we were onon our y to another villalage. But gunfire opened up and we all had to run for cover at that hamlet. It lasted for 72 days. Do you think it was a seminal moment . Would you say that indians through the years, progress was made in terms of the u. S. Recognizing what happened to the American Indians . Would you say that today your respected, more listens to, or is it still a struggle, that you still feel that the American Indians may have less fear of the government and other minorities, for instance . Madonna i say we because it is mostly people who are activist, of our people that i am involved with mainly. We do have tribal governments that are recognized by the federal government, and that is how the nation to n nation relationship is today. But, no, the United States government has never, ever honored any of ththe treaties tt whichatified by congress, by totally ignoring g the provisions. Then violating many of the provisions by stepping in a and kiking ld, o occupying land that is under treaty. Comes in whatever america, recognition of anything for our people, comes from our doing to make it an issue. A treaty rights issue of land and water we have to do that. We have to make the noise so that they look in, a a it is the people and organizations in america that makes the government notice. What is interesting, and we have seen this through more recent protests against oil or gas pipelines, the Dakota Access pipeline, for instancece. There is the keystone xl pipeline. We have seen the kind of meeting ands between environmental activists and the American Indian activists. We even saw the now famous young swedish activists go. Very recenently, to an Indian American reservation to really say ok, this is an important issue. Good this give a new life may be to your cause . Do you think it is important to join hands with them . Madonna we have always s had allies. Weve always mamade allies. In my younger years in ththe 196060s and 1970s, there was uranium mining that was a threat. In fact, they are still waiting. They are in the wings waiting to come in, the uranium mining corporations. But back in the 1970s, that was the issue then. So because we are landbased, we are always as a people concerned about the environment, and extracting corporations. But otherss arere involved as well. Especialally you. So this s gives you hope that ts could also help your cause. Madonna well, you look at it in terms of i have been in it for the long haul since i was young. But now i am an elder. Our generation of activists, we step back and we are there to support and advise. It is the young peoples time now. Is there era, their future. So we look to them to step up. It is also the era of donald trump, and clearly in terms of backing corporate interests, including those pipelines, we know the administration has been pushing. But more broadly, what do you make of himim, the way he talks about others, about minorities, about American Indians. How would you describe him . Donna from our point of view, american policy has always been a policy of taking. So just the fact that donald mouth anda bigger doesnt know issues is beside the point for us as a people because we are concerned always about federal American Indian policy, which changes p politic. So for you, trump is like obama. There is no difference except the bigmouth . Madonna bigmouth and policy becacause the ones backing him controlled the senate and the congress. That is the real danger. It is not trump. He is a big mouth thats all. But he has been considered a racist by many. Donna of course. Madonna of course, but we know politics. It has always been a politics of taking. The fact that he brings obama, you know, stops the pipeline and trump brings it back. K. That is the politics im talking about. The politics of taking. We understand that. For decades, you know. So it is nothing new. The last question. You have been an actitivist for the long haul. Are you more optimistic today than you were when you started . Mamadonna no. Why . Madonna because we are land based. This is a continuing politics of taking, so it really doesnt matter. Each generation of my people are responsible. They are responsnsible for youor time that you are here to do what you can. And handoff mentor to the next generation. It is their time, their future, and you are there to support. Madonna thunder hawk, thank you so much for coming onto the france 24 set. It was good to learn more about the issue we have been talking about, [indistinct radio chatter] newswscaster ththis is where it began. Thihis is where the fusee was lighteted, the dususty cornr in an Old Neighborhood of modest homes and new lowpriced apartments. Man after 6 days of rioting in s South Los Angeles in august of 1965, youve got 34 people who lose their life, 1,032 people are wounded and injured, and almost 30 milillion in mid196960s of capital and building destruction. Newscaster up the street a block or so in that direction, a churhe