Us here. Several european states have begun evacuating their citizens from niger with the first french plane taking off from miami niamey. The coup plunged it into the political unknown and the u. S. Has threatened to intervene if democracy is not restored. The evacuation of french troops is not on the agenda and the white house has added that there is no indication of direct threats to u. S. Citizens. I spoke to nicholas wescott, the professor of diplomacy, and asked him what the risks were to the region. The risks are rising very rapidly. As the stakes have been now raised by the neighboring states, burkina faso, and molly coming in to support the utah. John cho. Junta. This is existential for all of the states involved because countries like nigeria, like ghana are very worried about contagion when they are losing control of their own territory. Terrorist attacks, ostensibly the reason why they said they were taking over in all three countries, not worse since the junta was in control. Got worse since the junta was in control. They also see it as encouragement to take things into their own hands as a military for democracy. This is really turning into an existential threat to their own stability, so of course they are taking it very seriously and i think the evacuation shows that the assessment is the greater conflict which is going to come unless the junta backs down. France has 1500 troops stationed in niger, but it is not the only western to have troops there. The u. S. Has 1100 troops in the north of niger, underlying its strategic importance. It was a year ago that foreign defense ministers were in nigers capital to renew trust between the two countries. There is a political, diplomatic, and military will to pursue a highquality partnership between niger and the french republic on the security agenda. A strengthening of ties in view of successive coups in neighboring nations. The junta in mali and burkina faso have caused paris to redeploy part of its trip to the country where uranium has long been essential to the French Nuclear industry. Roughly 1500 french soldiers are currently present as well as the u. S. , who are also present with 1000 soldiers, including special forces. Washington, along with its allies, containers considers niger in linchpin to fight terrorism in the region. They have been backed up by 500 million of training since 2012. This holistic approach for our two countries is the key to success. Besides the french and the americans, some 300 italian soldiers and 100 germans art are stationed here. Berlin is the main contributor to the Training Mission launched last year by the European Union and. Protests broke out in senegal after the dissolution of the political opposition party, and the rest of its leader. Two people were killed, and the authorities are reporting comp. It was it is claimed that it was meant to keep the Opposition Leader from running a president ial Campaign Next year. Protests turn violent to as opposition supporters hurled petrol bombs at police. He was nearly indicted on charges which included undermining state security, fomenting insurrection, and disseminating false news. Adding to protesters anger, the authorities cut off Internet Access because of what they said were hateful and subversive axis on social media. Would demand his Immediate Release and that the authorities restore the internet. We call for an end to the demonstration. The leader was arrested on friday, and he called on his supporters to resist oppression, revealing he had begun a hunger strike. The political party, the patriots of senegal, had been dissolved for insurrection. It deputy of the party told us that it was a blatant effort to keep him from challenging the current president next years election. We have been raising the alarm about this both on and a national and international level, that the president s desire is to learn that anyone who opposes him, and hes doing that with the biggest challenger with false accusations. The spokesman for the president denied that this was politically motivated. There is no privilege nor immunity given to potential candidates for a president ial election. They are subject to law just like anyone else. All the accusations made where the result of his actions, filed by the prosecutor, and the adoption of his party has long been document to, which is a call for insurrection. Doc documented, which is a call for insurrection. The situation deteriorated after he was sanctioned in absentia. Violence has left at least 16 people dead. Russia has hit back at ukraine for targeting a tower in moscow for the second time in under 48 hours. Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement but an advisor for the president to get that moscow is getting used to a fullfledged war. The strikes come a day after russia targeted the president s hometown president soleskys hometown. A president ial building torn apart by missile attack in ukraine. Care plan kyiv blamed russia for the attack, in which a 10yearold girl and her mother were killed. Dozens were wounded. Rescue crews moved through the rubble looking for residents. Those who survived were in shock. At the moment of the explosion i was standing right here in the apartment. Looking over there. Before that, there was another explosion and then it just lit up like a fire. I automatically close my eyes. Closed my eyes. The door opened behind me and everything was hit. A University Building was also damaged by missile in the city, which is the birthplace of the ukrainian president. A rocket attack also struck in kars on, a frontline city in southern ukraine, and in kharkiv, troops repelled eight drone attack which left one soldier injured. A drone attack which left one soldier injured. It was a difficult night. There were several drones flying around the city, and we managed to shoot them all down. The attack by the ukrainian may drones partially damaged a local vocational school. I cried all night. So much effort, money, love was invested in building this school. I dont even have words. These people are barbarians. X those attacks took place as the Russian DefenseMinistry Said that it would step up operations in response to a series of attacks on its Border Regions on annexed crimea and drone strikes that target the moscow financial district. Ukraine did not claim response ability but said that the war was gradually returning to russian territory. Point and ukraine called in each others ambassadors after what kyiv said were unacceptable, despite a policy adviser to polands president. The two countries have been staunch allys since russias invasion began, but there have been some divisions after forceout warsaw in limited a pan on ukrainian grain. They said that ukraine should start showing more appreciation for their support it has received from poland. The military hunter in myanmar has produced some prison sentences. Aung san suu kyi still needs to serve several years. She was transferred from person to government housing. The latest developments, after thailands foreign minister was granted rare access to her in prison. Emma maxwell reports. The announcement was made on state television. Aung san suu kyi would have her 33 Year Prison Sentence reduced, but only by six years. There have been concerns for her health, who has been detained since the 2021 military coup and was moved from prison to house arrest. She is appealing all of the charges for which she was convicted, ranging from Election Fraud to corruption, charges that Rights Groups call eight sham. A sham. Also tuesdays amnesty produced the previous sentencing, although her fellow inmate, a former president , will remain in prison. The army has struggled to assert its dominance since it booted the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi from power. Also violence has killed thousands. 24,000 people have been arrested since the coup, according to a local monitoring group. The junta extended a state of emergency for another six months, forcing a further day delay in elections that were promised by august this year. Police Tourism Sector has witnessed a spectacular recovery since the end of the covid19 pandemic. The countrys coast is no exception. People continue to flock to islands like sardinia. But it worries locals. Somewhat restrictions in place. Want restrictions in place. A former a piece of paradise, famed for its beaches, this location in sardinia is a great location for holidaymakers. I never seen water like it. Its crystal clear. For the First Time Since the end of the pandemic, the town council is restricting access to this tourist hotspot. Maximum of 1500 tourists are allowed each day to allow prevent oversaturation and protect the ecosystem. We want to work out how to protect the site. Studies have shown that the excessive rate of too many people poses a risk. A risk aggravated by a fragile environment. The beach stands on dunes that have been constantly eroding over time. The beach has changed a lot over the last 30 years. When i was young, it was three or four times bigger. We have lost at least 20 meters of sand in relation to the sea. A special Police Brigade patrols the beach regularly to ensure that no rules are broken. Here, smokers, dogs and sand thieves are forbidden. Only certain kinds of mats can be used on the sand to avoid carrying sand particles away. You have to put a mat under the towel. I agree. We have to look after the environment. They should be doing this everywhere. You also have to pay three euros 54 entry, the price to pay to preserve one of the most beautiful beaches in the mediterranean. They say that nasa says that the voyager probe has sent a heartbeat signal back to earth, after they mistakenly cut contact with the voyager probe. It was launched in 1977 and is over 12. 3 billion miles away from earth. Command a command sent in july inadvertently cause the antenna to shift by two degrees away from earth and was since unable to transmit data or receive commands. Thats it from me, thank you very much for watching. Yes folks this is not a cheap xrated show, this is the show that you want. [indiscernible] that was a taste of some of the work of filmmaker writer and performer and socalled pump of trash john waters. Welcome to the show. We obviously associate your body of work with see venus and bad taste, but you have become very respected, and not just accepted but embraced even, are you still the pope of trash . While Wayne Burroughs called me the hope of trash and a take that mike got its himself has started on me. I use bad humor to get your attention, but i know the rules of good taste and you have to know the rules before you can break them. Youre a writer as well, and your novel was published in english dear, and chin french this year. Could you read us a little extract . Your mind is like a camera, visualize, click. Your life depends on these details. Remember them. The dress, date of birth, especially for zip code. A steel trap. Thats what marshas mind is. And you know it, she could pass as this dimwitted Airline Worker at the tsa security officer, distracted long enough, and marsha knows how to do that. She is a better actress than meryl streep. Instead its time to wind the liar oscar. This book has your artistic finger puts all over it. Perversions, pop culture, iconoclastic characters. That character that you are reading about, marsha sprinkle is a ruthless thief, she loves lying, and we live in a posttruth world. Should we be taking a leaf out of her book . She practices lies. She does it on purpose to see if she can spread lies for no reason. She said that did you hear this flight is canceled just to cause trouble because she thinks lying makes her prettier and more glamorous and gives her more control over others. She seems to be having fun. I believe it is being option for the screen and you are involved in the film adaptation. Your most recent film wasnt 2004, since then you have been doing performing, writing, all sorts. What is it like being back in the screenwriter chair . I never left because i was too make for sequels to hairspray, they never happen, but i was involved. And also a childrens christmas adventure. Its great. But ive never taken a book and then gone the other way and made it into a movie. What you have to do is illuminate a lot and change things because in a movie, you show it or say it and in a novel you can sync it. Thats the difference. Its a different kind of challenge, like writing in reverse. Self translating. Among the many eccentric characters, there is a transparent, dr. Kat or cap the dog, but the transmitter community has found itself at the center of a wider debate in the united states, a lot of politicians seeking to legislate anything that they deem to be deviant sexuality, which includes drag queens. How do you see these kind of attacks. You take them seriously . I do because trans people are being killed and stuff. But at the same time it seems like everybody is trans now in rich kids schools, 90 of the students. At the same time, i think you should be able to be whatever you want to be. I think youve want to be a woman today, i meant to mark, i dont care. Good. Why does that threaten anybody . I dont know why it makes people so angry, it makes them, i try to think if they have drag queens storytime and school which makes people crazy in america, billy comes home and dances how was school and he said fine, i learned to put on water lashes today, you try to imagine. To me, i dont understand why it is so threatening to people. People love drag queens, they are like clowns. Thats an interesting comparison. Speaking of drag, one of the most iconic drag queens is a close friend and collaborator of yours, divine. Start in your films multiple maniacs, pink flamingos, just a few heard tell us about working with divine. Were you aware that you are working with a unique oneoff in terms of performer . Drag queens hate him because he made fun of drag. He would show up carrying a chainsaw with big scars on his face and he was overweight and he had nudity like lizzo does today. Other drag queens were nervous because he was squared to them, they were square, they wanted to be miss america or their mothers. Every drag queen you see today has an edge like design, every drag queen has a kind of anchor to it and a kind of humor to it. Anthemic front of themselves just by some of the names, so, i was aware, divine was not trans, divine dressed as a man in real life. He did not want to be a woman. He said he wanted to be godzilla. Certainly an incredible legacy. Going back to your film work, crybaby had a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival in 1990, starring a baby faced johnny depp. Hes back at the festival 33 years later, opening it. Hes got his career back, great. Hes playing louis the 15th, his return to the spotlight has proctored criticism after the Defamation Case against amber heard. Some suggest that he should be canceled. What do you think about the woke debates, do you think they are legitimate or part of a larger cultural taking offense . Im not sorry Harvey Weinstein is in jail. At the same time, i taught in prison, i help people get out of jail that committed murder. Who am i to judge other people . That has already happened, that is up to the courts and everything, johnny depp was found not guilty. As far as im concerned, he is certainly eligible to get everything back that he may have lost. You are very faint and assiduous reader, as well as a writer. And you intimacy told out that advice that if you go to summits house and they dont own any books the counter should stop right there. I know that you have revisited that quote. You go home with somebody and you see books in the bathroom, dont sleep with them either. Speaking of books and how we consume culture, Brett Easton Ellis was asked whether he thought books would become obsolete and he said they already are for young people. You agree. I dont agree. I like his books, and i like him, i like his last book. But at the same time, everybody in america thought that when all of the big chain bookstores opened that they were going to put the independent bookshops are bigness. The opposite has happened. The big chains are closing and the independent bookshops are thriving. Because people like community. The only real job i have her hat was working at an independent bookstore. If i had to get another job that is what i would do. Uniquely people. I even went home with customers. You need great people. I even went home with customers. Speaking of what that offers. Divine was one of the seven guard officers in baltimore in the 60s and 70s that seems like a fertile creative artistic scene. Do you think it still has that environment for artists . Is that so possible . It certainly does, especially in its more, which is still cheap. You have to have a cheap neighborhood for bohemia. There is one neighborhood in paris forever but he lives, the only place left where that is. And i forget the name. But it is where that still is. The only person that is. What it is, i believe that everybody should hang around together, and then you learn about each others career. And i dont understand what the Gay Committee is fighting with each other, gay straight, trance, we used to hang around together, now were whitney we can think the pervert rain. Just very briefly, one last question. If you had to live out your days as one of the characters in your films or books, who would you be . I would be the talking venus. Venus. Penis. That would be an amazing role to fulfill. And we asked you what was on your cultural radar, and you pointed us to a specific Art Collection, you donated some of your pieces from a substantial Art Collection to john waters coming attractions. Tell us some more about that. I gave 900 pieces to the museum, but this show that was up now was generated and i said ok, we want to name this gallery after you and everything, i said no, name the bathrooms after me. They thought i was kidding. I was not kidding. And they did. And they named the bathrooms after me and they are nongender, the first ones in the museum. We had the repayment, museum, the first transperson i ever worked with cut the ribbon, everybody applauded, Public Officials were there, it was great. So now you can visit baltimore and visit the museum and relieve yourself in the john waters bathroom. Pioneering artwork on the walls there and the facilities, john waters, thank you so much for joining us today. We will leave you with a glimpse of that Art Collection on the walls of the baltimore museum, otherwise, liar mouth is available in english and in french. You can get more arts and culture on our website and on social media, otherwise there is more news coming up on fred circuit ready for just a moment. France 24 in just a moment. [spanish] the world is everchanging. The news does not wait. That is why at france 24, we will always be there to help make sense of world events for the International Coverage 24 hours a day, no matter what, france 24 is with you everywhere. All the time. A program about women who are reshaping our world. We need those who seek equality, be it in the boardroom or the village well. The 51 brings these stories from across the globe about the women who are challenging the way we think. 51 , presented by ed young, on france 24 and france 24. Com. Amy from new york this is democracy now. In the event authorities demands are not met within one week, take all measures necessary to restore Constitutional Order in the country of niger