officials say many residents were trapped inside by a gate, blocked by the bodies of those who had already died. i was watching out of the window, all of the building was on fire so i decided myself to jump first. ijumped down, my wife throw for me the baby, i catch him. i tell her to tie a bed sheet. she tied a bed sheet and came down it. i catch him. relief and shock etched on the faces of those who managed to escape, but the rows of body bags are a grim reminder of those who didn't. many who lived inside this building were migrants from across the continent. the residents here were living in overcrowded conditions without consistent electricity or water. authorities say it resembled an informal settlement with shack—like partitions of cardboard boxes and sheets that likely fed the fire. now that the flames have been extinguished, the realisation that not everyone is coming out has set in. translation: i couldn't get into the second floor- because the fire was so bad. someone found my five—year—old and rescued him but i lost my 2—year—old. i don't know what to do, i don't know where to go. the flames were so intense that people inside have been said to be burnt beyond recognition. i have got about 23 years in the service, i have never come across something like this in my whole life. we sympathise with the people who have lost their lives, the residents who have lost their lives here, but we must do something about it as a city, working together to make sure we prevent incidents like this one. this evening, a visit by the south african president. support for him evident even among those grieving. the ministers and the mses and the province and the city are working now full out to make sure that those who need assistance, from accommodation to trauma counselling to hospitalisation, are being looked after. while the cause of the fire is still unknown, authorities are promising a thorough investigation as loved ones in mourning demand answers about one of the worst fires in south africa's history. shingai nyoka, bbc news, johannesburg. well, for more, i spoke with patrick gaspard, former us ambassador to south africa. patrick gaspard, former us ambassador to south africa and president and ceo of the center for american progress, thank you forjoining us. during your time as ambassador and since then, i believe, you have been in buildings like the one that's been involved in this tragedy. can you tell us a little bit about what the conditions are like there? thank you for having me on. unfortunate circumstances though and let me just first say, condolences to all the victims of this horrible fire and to the people of johannesburg and south africa who are working to recover. i have precisely been in that community, around marshalltown, which used to be the central business district in the apartheid era. i saw it first in 1990 and then over the years as it deteriorated. there is a particular building which is not very far from that location, that i had the occasion to visit. it was full of migrant workers, a lot of struggling women with children, completely dilapidated, no running water, no electricity, people living literally one on top of one another inside the complex, but a complex that was taken over by a cartel that built out a kind of scaffolding, township type housing within the building that they then, under real threat of eviction, leased out to the workers at extraordinary sums per day, per week. all illegally. some of what happened today, unfortunately, one could see coming for a long time. earlier, the city of johannesburg confirmed it owned this building but that it had been taken over by cartels. can you explain to us how that situation comes about? sure, let's talk about this specific building because it actually is really tragic that the city allowed it to fall into such disrepair. that it is the albert street pass office where black south africans during apartheid had come through to get their papers to designate who is eligible to work in the city or not. it was a place of oppression. following apartheid, it was turned into a shelter for women and children, to build a new kind of legacy for the future of south africa. regrettably, the ngo that ran that shelter did not receive the kind of support it should have received from the municipal government. they eventually left. the space was abandoned. squatters moved in and cartels which have taken over close to 57 abandoned buildings in the city ofjohannesburg, then moved in and created a kind of corrupted market for shotgun housing for migrants and for very, very poor, low—income south africans. they divide these properties, they bring in illegal wiring electricity, and end up taking them over and charging exorbitant fees and the city, which regrettably and shockingly has gone through six different mayors in the last 22 months, has really lost the ability to govern it effectively, in those spaces and not long ago, actually disbanded a task force that was intentionally put together to help deal with the crisis of these squalor buildings. in your view then, should the city have seen a tragedy like this coming? civil society groups injohannesburg have been warning about exactly this kind of tragedy for a long time. your viewers should understand that the city ofjohannesburg is facing multiple crisis. it is a vibrant city that i love passionately, i am a joburg nationalist but it is going through lots of crisis. electricity crisis, with load shedding constantly through the days, through the weeks, and a water crisis, plus an economic crisis that has driving some folks out of the city and has driven up significant spikes into crime in certain hot pockets of the city, like marshalltown. civil society groups have been advocating against this challenge in housing in the city for some time. there are 20,000 people who are designated as homeless injoburg in approximatelyi million that are seen as having insufficient housing throughout. there has been a gentrification crisis injohannesburg where old buildings have been knocked down, newer ones put up and the city has not moved quickly enough with their resources that it has received from private sector development to build low—income housing for core johannesburg residents and it has toppled a challenge into a crisis so, yes, they should have seen it coming. yet, you had the president visiting there today, describing it as a wake—up call to begin to address the situation of housing in the inner—city. why would he say that given everything you have described? i expect rapid government action in partnership with ngos and the private sector to try to turn around this crisis in that city but the writing has been on the wall for some time that something like this could happen. former us ambassador to south africa, patrick gaspard, thank you forjoining us. thank you for having me. the african union has strongly condemned the military takeover in gabon. it also suspended the country from all participation in its activities. previously, the gabonese junta said it would phase in what it's calling transitional institutions, after the removal of president ali bongo. the soldiers gave no details on how long these institutions would remain in place or whether power might be handed back to a civilian government. bbc news regional africa editor will ross has been following developments. we have had another announcement from the military leaders in gabon saying general brice oligui nguema will be sworn in before the constitutional court on monday. the authorities have also tried to kind of calm the international reaction to the coup by saying that it will ensure the country sticks to its commitments, including paying off the debts that it currently has. at the same time, we have had an interesting development from the opposition coalition that was trying to defeat the president, ali bongo, in the election at the weekend. it is saying that the vote count should continue and it is appealing to the military authorities to install what it sees as its rightful candidate, albert ondo ossa. it says they believe that this coalition believes it won the election but i think the chances of the military leaders doing anything about that appeal are pretty slim. it looks as though they are here to stay, as it were. the person we have not heard from for over 2a hours is the deposed president, ali bongo, who we understand is still being detained. we are waiting now also for a wider international reaction to the coup. the african union has been meeting and so have the central african regional countries, trying to work out really how to respond to it but they are in a of a dilemma. do these countries not only condemn the coup but go further and say we must reinstate the president, when that president is from a family that that has been in power in gabon for pretty close to 56 years. a us court has sentenced two members of the far—right proud boys militia to long prison terms for storming the us capitol building injanuary 202i. joseph biggs, a former leader of the proud boys, was given seventeen years — one of the longest sentences among the hundreds convicted for the capitol attack. prosecutors say biggs was a key figure in the organised attempts to forcibly overturn presidentjoe biden�*s 2020 election victory. for more, here's our north america correspondent, anthony zurcher. these are two of the longest sentences in a january 6 related conviction. although, it is interesting to note that in both cases, thejudge departed downward from not only the sentencing guidelines, but what the prosecutors were asking for as far as sentencing goes. so thejudge asking for as far as sentencing goes. so the judge was more lenient towards these two men than i think was expected. part of that was, while the judge said that there was a terrorism enhancement that should add time to the sentences, he seemed a little bit sceptical about whether that enhancement really should apply to these cases, because it wasn't clearly an act of terrorism, like blowing up a building. in one case, it was pulling down a fence to let people get into the capitol. and in the other case, where he was spraying a police officer where some sort of a chemical spray, and also lying on the stand. but in both cases, the enhancements weren't enough to push us up to 30 years or even more, which would have been within the guidelines. joe biggs, the prosecution said, was at the forefront of the mob. he was egging them on. he spoke to someone at some point and that person then went up and attacked a police officer. he went into the capitol, itself. so he was essentially one of the master minds. he was a senior proud boys member there, a lieutenant in the proud boys. so he was instrumental in the prosecution's view in leading this assault on the capital. and zach, he attacked one of the police officers with a chemical spray. the police officers with a chemicalspray. he the police officers with a chemical spray. he was also at the forefront of the mob leading the charge in. so in both case, one of the reasons why these sentences still were so high and why they were convicted of sedition is because the prosecution successfully proved that these two individuals were leaders that helped provoke the attack on the capitol — notjust been swept up in the mob, which is what their defence attorneys had asserted. former brazilian presidentjair bolsonaro, and his wife, opted to remain silent thursday after being questioned by federal police over allegations of trying to selljewellery and other official gifts from foreign countries. it's the latest legal case mr bolsonaro is facing, with the couple denying any wrongdoing. our south america correspondent katy watson has the latest. jair bolsonaro and his wife, michelle, were questioned in different rooms. it comes after the homes of several people involved in the case — their homes and offices were raided. the accusation is that his former aide, the accusation is that his formeraide, maro the accusation is that his former aide, maro sigi, the accusation is that his formeraide, maro sigi, sold these two watches in question and gained about $70,000. the question is — where did that money go to? and why were those watches sold? those are just some of the questions that they wanted to get to the bottom of. but jair bolsonaro and michelle refused to talk. he has said in the past that he's denied any wrongdoing and that sigi, his former aide, wrongdoing and that sigi, his formeraide, had wrongdoing and that sigi, his former aide, had a lot of autonomy, so he didn't tell him ever to do anything. but this isjust one of ever to do anything. but this is just one of several cases against the former president. earlier this year, he was barred from running for office after being accused of sowing doubt in the electronic voting system, and was accused of an abuse of power. he also has several supreme court cases against him. i'll list some of them now. they're — interference with police. the leaking of official data. false accusations over the pandemic. anti—democratic acts relating to the run on congress back in january. all of these cases could actually land him in jail. around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. let's look at some other stories making news: a new texas law banning gender—affirming care for trans youth will go into effect on september 1st, after the the state's supreme court overturned a lower court's ruling. under the new law, transgender minors will be prevented from accessing hormone therapies and transition surgeries. more than 20 states have adopted similar laws banning this type of health care for minors. grant shapps has been named as the uk's new defense secretary grant shapps has been named as the uk's new defence secretary in a mini reshuffle of prime minister rishi sunak�*s cabinet. shapps replaces ben wallace, who is leaving politics. the appointment was not widely expected, with shapps having held five ministerial jobs in the past year. us supreme courtjustice clarence thomas has disclosed he took three trips aboard a republican donor's private plane last year. justice thomas cited security concerns as the reason he accepted the travel. the conservative judge says failing to previously report the hospitality had been inadvertent. supreme courtjurists are required to file annual financial disclosure forms. you're live with bbc news. us presidentjoe biden says he will travel to florida on saturday to survey the damage from hurricane idalia. in remarks at fema headquarters, he thanked staff for their response during the storm — also formally approving a major disaster declaration for the state. our digital team takes has been looking at the scale of the loss as residents come back to find their homes mostly destroyed by the storm. um... ..it�*s... it'sjust ruined. i mean, everything in there's kind of lost. you don't know where to start and so, you know, we'll get it assessed and shoveit know, we'll get it assessed and shove it off and try to make plans on what we're going to do today. plans on what we're going to do toda . ., . , plans on what we're going to do toda . ., ., , u, ., today. normally, we can handle three or four— today. normally, we can handle three or four feet _ today. normally, we can handle three or four feet of _ today. normally, we can handle three or four feet of surge. - three or four feet of surge. but — three or four feet of surge. but this_ three or four feet of surge. but this looks like it was about_ but this looks like it was about eight or nine feet. so we pretty— about eight or nine feet. so we pretty consistently had four feet — pretty consistently had four feet of— pretty consistently had four feet of water throughout the entire — feet of water throughout the entire house. my neighbour had the same — entire house. my neighbour had the same. and it'sjust through everything. everything shook. and things that were _ everything shook. and things that were up _ everything shook. and things that were up top _ everything shook. and things that were up top started - that were up top started falling _ that were up top started falling on _ that were up top started falling on the _ that were up top started falling on the floor. - there's new evidence of tension around long—standing territorial disputes in the south china sea. officials in the philippines have told the bbc they will not be intimidated by a chinese ship using water cannon against filipino coastguards approaching a contested reef. china has long claimed a considerable expanse of the sea as its own waters — the area within the red dotted line you can see here. that's in contrast to the internationally recognised system that you can see marked here in blue — assigning countries in the region waters 200 nautical miles out from their coast. in the centre of this part of the sea are the disputed spratly islands. our asia—pacific correspondent, laura bicker, sent this report from near there on the island of palawan in the philippines. on the edge of this filipino paradise, survival depends on the sea. if you don't fish, you don't eat. they are used to battling wind and tide but this country is also in a stand—off with beijing over who owns which part of the south china sea. the crew of this ship used to fish near contested waters. from the age of ia, the deputy captain spent months on those shoals, but not any more. translation: we might not return there, ma'am. - we are now scared. we're scared of china. we were harassed and even asked to leave. the fishermen have been asked tojoin a militia to help defend filipino territory. but life is already bathed in saltwater and sweat while steering boats made of simple bamboo. they have no wish to take on a global superpower. translation: you feel guarded. how can we feed our families? what we need is to fish — that's our goal, out in the sea. the chinese might fire their water cannons. we just have a wooden boat. we're really afraid of going back there. this is what the fishermen are afraid of. the chinese took this action against the filipino coastguard. these are philippine waters, according to un law. resolved to keep hold of their reefs, manila deliberately ran aground a rusting world war ii ship on what is known as ayungin shoal. but recent monthly efforts to supply troops on board with food and water have become increasingly tense. china argues that it is doing what is necessary to protect its sovereignty, its claims over the south china sea. the problem is that beijing's tactics and beijing's actions are pushing american allies in this region closer together, against what they see as aggression. in a show of solidarity, australia held its first large—scale joint exercises with the philippines last week. they practised retaking an enemy—controlled island. and in manila bay, japanese and us navy warships sit side by side, ready forjoint drills. allied support has emboldened the philippines to speak out. really, it is a david—versus—goliath issue. butjust like david, we will continue to pound and double down on the need to protect the resources which are important for the future of the philippines. the outcome of this dispute could have a profound impact here. where once their future was determined by ocean currents, now it may depend on the resolve of world leaders. laura bicker, bbc news, palawan. it's back—to—school season here in the us — the time of year when kids put away the care—free days of summer and hunker down for another school year. but this autumn, battles over what's being taught inside the classroom are threatening to overshadow the actual schoolwork ahead. according to the american civil liberties union, 17 states have passed more than 30 new laws that restrict lg btq—related education. florida is among those states, with an expanded law that restricts health educators from teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation. here's us secretary of education miguel cardona. we recognise that the attack that public school is under in places like florida and we recognise that when politics enters the classroom, our students lose. the last remaining british royal navy veteran who took part in the dunkirk evacuation during world war ii is being remembered. lawrence churcher died at the age of 102. duncan kennedy has more. from dunkirk to d—day, lawrence churcher was present at some of the most defining moments of the second world war. today, his family mourned three years ago, lawrence marked the 80th anniversary of dunkirk, in may 1940 he sailed with the royal navy into dunkirk, part of a great fleet to save those fleeing. helping rescue 300,000 british and frehch_ helping rescue 300,000 british and french soldiers _ helping rescue 300,000 british and french soldiers surroundedl and french soldiers surrounded by germans _ lawrence, here in the middle, knew his mother is edward and george were among 300,000 british and french soldiers waiting to be rescued from the germans. incredibly, in the confusion, lawrence found them. his emotion as all three made it to safety one he never forgot. all three sailed home to safety. all three sailed home to safe . g , safety. relief. just relief. cos there _ safety. relief. just relief. cos there were _ safety. relief. just relief. cos there were so - safety. relief. just relief. cos there were so many l safety. relief. just relief. - cos there were so many soldiers there, you know? continuous aircraft coming over, dropping bombs and things, you know? this is a photo of my father... speaking before today's funeral, lawrence's daughter moira saying helping save his brother is that dunkirk always stayed with him. i don't know exactly how it happened, whether he found them all they found him but they came home, they all came home together. the newjames webb space telescope has captured amazing new images of a supernova closest to our galaxy. a supernova is an exploded star, and this one blew up back in 1987. at the time, it was the nearest and brightest supernova to been seen from earth in almost 400 years. these new images will help scientists study the end stages of a star, as well as the potential impacts a supernova has on surrounding planets. stay with us here on bbc news. good morning. well, with the change of month, once again, we're likely to see a change of weather fortunes. high pressure is going to build as we head into the weekend and for the first week of september. yes, we'll see some early morning mist and fog first thing but on the whole, for most of us, it will be dry, sunny and increasingly warm. ahead of that, though, we've still got to get rid of this messy—looking weather front that's going to produce some low cloud and some drizzle first thing in the morning, particularly through northern ireland, scottish borders, down into the north of england. now, to the north of that, clear skies and a chilly start but sunny start for scotland. to the south of that, a cloudy start but the cloud will thin and break and a few scattered showers break out. one or two of those could be quite hefty. top temperatures generally between 17 and 22 celsius. now, as we move into the weekend, we are likely to see that frontal system easing away and the high pressure starts to build from the west. we could start off with a little bit of patchy low cloud, mist and fog across central and eastern england. clearer skies further north here. single figures to start off our saturday. so, that mist will take its time to clear away but on the whole, it's all about high pressure. a weak weather front will bring some breezier and wetter conditions to the north but with lighter winds first thing in the morning, it could start off a little bit murky and disappointing. it won't be long, though, before we see some sunshine breaking through and the warmth starts to build. so, as we go into saturday, yes, a grey start for some. more sunshine further north and west. this weather front trying to push in but really, not making too much of an impression for the first half of the weekend. as we go through the afternoon, there'll be some decent sunny spells and temperatures will start to climb, 23 or 2a degrees — that's into the mid 70s fahrenheit. now, as we move out of saturday into sunday, there's that weatherfront, bringing some breezier conditions and rain to the far north—west but on the whole, sunday will be a dry day with plenty of sunshine coming through and a degree or so warmer by the middle part of the afternoon — mid 20s quite possible across central and southern parts of england. warmer still as we go through the week ahead — in fact, some places could see temperatures into the high 20s by the middle part of the week. take care. voice—over: this is bbc news. we'll have the headlines and all the main news stories for you at the top of the hour, straight after this programme. that surfing dream. the perfect wave. the perfect look. but beneath the surface lies a murkier side. for every pristine peak, broken boards and piles of cheap polystyrene dumped on our beaches. it's really disheartening to see this amount of waste come forward. surfers may enjoy the fresh sea air, but the industry relies on toxic chemicals, producing suits and boards derived from oil. and living that dream of being at one with nature is getting more and more difficult. we do want to encourage people to get outdoors, but at the same time, at what cost to the planet? so i want to know, can surfing clean up its act? i've surfed for more than a decade, but this is my first day on the water for over three years.