>> hello and welcome. i am françois picard. are women more or less empowered by the arab spring? the fallout of the serious conflict to the ballot box. we ask a palette of women who include the daughter of the founder of the islamist party and a human rights ctivist. women and the arab spring. coming up in our debate.

let's start the hour in the newsroom and say hello once again to christopher. >> thanks very much, the headlines. johnti in geneva. can they break two years of diplomatic deadlock over syria? elsewhere, world powers voice alarm as north korea restarts their nuclear reactor. an electric planes, cleaner automobiles, the french government unveils projects designed to revive industries. bashar al-assad says he expects to hand over information on the chemical weapons within a month. if the threat from the united states. . making his comments in an interview with russian television. the u.n. says it has received documents from damascus. this is barack obama opening for a positive outcome as john kerry

and the russian foreign minister to down in geneva to discuss the plan. the un security council members remain split over the content of the resolution. a russian newspaper has reviewed details of how moscow wants to proceed with its plan. france 24 has more. >> banning, inspecting, and destroying. the elements of a plan revealed on thursday with a central thrust to deal with syria's chemical weapons. the nation would have to join an organization for that prohibition and declare what it had in terms of reduction and stockpiling. damascus would permit a means for their weapons distraction. ahead of the meeting between the u.s. secretary of state and his russian counterpart, american

officials described the position as a starting point. information was needed. the rebels have dismissed what they see as a gambit to give bashar al-assad even more time and power. >> we announce our rejection of the initiative that foresees placing chemical weapons under international control and requested the author of the crime he judged before the international criminal court. >> beyond existing questions of who ordered the use of chemical weapons, the issue remains of had to establish a program for in their structured. >> the fighting continues in the ancient chris can town. security sources say -- christian town. security s sources say most of the important towns have fled to

neighboring villages. elsewhere, egypt interim president has extended a state of emergency in the country for two months. it has been in forest amid deadly unrest. a spokesman citing the security situation in egypt after a spate of attacks, including last week's bombing. world powers have been reacting with alarm after north korea started a nuclear reactor. the u.s. says it would be a serious misstep. the situation remains unclear but russia says work is underway, sounding the alarm bell. >> this is what experts say could be the smoking gun.

this satellite image taken in august appears to show steam rising from the power generator. experts in the united states say this also suggests north korea's nuclear plant is active. >> north korea is in the process or has begun operations of a small reactor that is able to produce plutonium from nuclear weapons. >> researchers say it would be no surprise. angered by south korean and american military drills, pyongyang threatened nuclear attacks and promised to restart the reactor. south of the border, officials said restarting the reactor is proof the north has no intention of abandoning its nuclear weapons program and urged international inspectors to be allowed access. >> i think the agency inspection

team should be sent to north korea and its findings the publicly disclosed. >> the five megawatt reactor was closed down in 2007 under the terms of a disarmament agreement. in 2008, pyongyang destroyed the cooling tower as they entered it into talks. experts estimate it could be fully functional october. >> japan has forced its anger at a french circle newspaper. it published cartoons featuring its take on a games affected by the fukushima nuclear disaster. when depicted a fight between a sumo roster and another a radioactive swimming pool. he said the images would offend those affected by the disaster. >> the character hurts the

feelings of people affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. it is also inappropriate that gives the wrong impression about the problem of contaminated water. we truly deplore it. >> building a better future for french industry. that is the idea of the 10-year plan to pump new life into a sector that has been flogging for a decade. he has outlined 34 areas to focus on, focusing on changes to come. >> concorde, and the aryan rocket, projects on the cutting- edge of french engineering and all in the past. french authorities want to usher in a rebirth. >> we have lost 750,000 industrial jobs in 10 years. workers, technicians, engineers.

our project is to re-create factories and get involved again. >> francois hollande has put forward a plan to tackle 34 key areas over 10 years. from a new generation of high- speed trains, fuel-efficient cars, to biofuels, alternative energy, textiles and medical technology. far from previous decades where the state led the way, he is pushing for much of the drive to come from the private sector. 10 euros for every one dollar spent from the state. >> industrialists know the markets, the clients, and the technology. it comes down to the state to define a framework to go along with that and stimulate it. >> so far, economic stimulus measures have failed to take off. 44 firms returned over four

years from 2009, compared to 267 which outsourced their activities overseas. >> salvage workers will attempt to raise the sunken cruise ship. the operation is unprecedented in scale. it has been on its side ever since it hit rocks and killed over 32 people in january of 2012. the largest biceps and smallest dog and the fastest 100 meter in high heels all to be found in the guinness book of records, it's also most 3 million copies its -- each year. we take a look at some of the more bizarre entries. >> a guinness record is something people bend over backward for, literally. this person's exploits have

earned her three mentions in the latest edition of the guinness book of records. the latest compendium has just been released. it contains more than 3000 weird and wonderful compass wins. >> the british are well represented. a rss -- they are as eccentric as ever. >> the smallest car and the largest walking robot. this monster from germany. also making the grade is happy, who holds the record for the farthest distance came courted by a goat, and achievement her owners said has got to her head. >> after she became a skateboarder, she is a little bit of a diva. >> over 130 million copies have been sold in over 100 countries, making itself a recordholder as the best-selling copyrighted book series of all time. >> all its flu in the afghan capital this wednesday night.

celebration, not in anger. 13 years after 9/11, the football team won the south asian football federation final. a rare moment of unity for a war weary nation. congratulations to them. time to go to françois picard. >> many thanks, chris moore in the newsroom. many times over the past two and a half years, this show has been a foreign to stop and take a snapshot of the arab world. with the return of the military in egypt, tunisia's constitution and syria's dissent into chaos, it is time to take that's snapshot. this time from another perspective. that of women. at a more empowered now than they were two and a half years ago? after places like libya and

tunisia, strongmen who were secular, what policies and role for women, what is the trend in arab society? today in our debate, women and the arab spring. with us, reem abu hassan. you are a newcomer to politics because you are a human rights advocate and an attorney. do you feel -- what is it like making that switch to part of the government team? is a difficult? >> it is difficult in the sense that the expectations are different. aspirations are different. definitely the challenges are more severe than they appear to be from the outside. >> is it frustrating, you have to watch what you say? >> the idea of being accustomed to consultation with parliament

on a daily basis, the issue of really -- a new trend in that country has been established with the issue of having a parliamentary government. that, in itself, for a human rights activist and a lawyer, you feel you are part of a team and that you can't be outspoken as much as you want to me. >> as she did a lot of her growing up in london. but she is no longer exiled there. the spokesperson for the ruling party. yusra ghannouchi. the question i have to ask, when you went back to tunisia for the first time in 2011, what was it like? >> it was something we had planned for 22 years.

i left to tunisia as a young child and had not been able to go back, as well as the rest of my family. and after the revolution, we were able to get back. it was obviously very emotional and a very happy day. but the beginning of a more challenging phase in history. >> and later i will be asking you if the tunisia you saw back in 2011 is the same tunisia you are witnessing now. also with us, a political refugee in paris. lina al chawaf. she runs radio rosanna. run by syrian exiles. you describe how you are an executive at a private television station. just after the uprising began in your country, authorities came to you and said, this is the propaganda you have to play. >> yes, actually i was working

in the private media. when the revolution began, we had asked for many different positions that we have to do the same as they did in public media. that is something we refused. >> was it an easy decision to refuse or did you have to think knowing what the implications might be? >> for me, right away, no. for me, yeah. i could not think about it. i know what is really happening in the street. i saw them, my friends. i know how they went to the street to just ask for their freedom and the dignity. so i could not do it in the

media. or do it to journalism. so that is something, he even i did not think about that. actually i did not accept this would be the reaction. it was very, for me, it was before then. i am not a political person. i am just a media person. when they act like this and they try to throw me out of my work, so it was a shock, the reaction. >> it is interesting. you did not see yourself as a politics junkie. suddenly it was forced upon you. also with us, a journalist, sonia terrab. you published your first novel, which shows the contradictions

of today's youth in casablanca. that the novel, you describe the contradictions of growing up in an urban place in the arab world. >> exactly. it is a contradiction because i am describing the working society. some people, when they finished in high school, they, brought to finish their studies and then they come back to the country. so it is a cultural reverse shock. when you come back, you find you don't really know who you are. you grow up but then you become an adult. you have been used to a certain amount of freedom, for example. and then you come back.

that is the time of your life, who you are. and how to cope with it. this is about this young woman, who is 26, the whole book is like, i hate it. i hate it. >> is that your personal experience? >> i was in this situation. i chose to come back to france. some people, they just have to confirm to the psyd, to do what they have to do to be well. the thing is, my main character, she is revolting but she is not acting. it is sufficient to revolt, you come back and do something. >> it is not enough just to be angry. also with us, her casework as a legal consultant and a human

rights lawyer takes her all over the mediterranean and beyond. celine bardet, welcome back. i will put to you the question, places like libya, jordan, in the two and a half years, i guess i could ask you the question we put today to the viewers on facebook and twitter, do you get the feeling people are more or less empowered they were when the uprising began? >> people or women? people in general, i think it was interesting what you said about, it is not enough to be angry. when you get to the post- revolution, women, they were very much involved. we don't talk much about that. most of the time you say men. i met women and we do not see them during the revolution. i think they do not want to be seen.

the question is now, in libya with the discussion surrounding the cost of tuition, women tried -- the constitution, women tried to get empowered. it is extremely difficult. it is still difficult. it is a long process. this is what i am working on in libya. >> we have a comment on twitter that came to us saying -- as i see it, muslim women are more involved in demonstrations but still kept out politically. yusra ghannouchi, do you agree with that statement? >> absolutely not. i would like to focus on tunisia because that is where my experience is. it is true that women took part alongside men in the revolution. after the revolution they continue to take heart in all

ields and in politics. they are participating in all fields. we have in the national assembly, the elected national assembly, which is writing a new constitution as well as legislation. and managing the endemic -- democratic transition. we have 30% women represented here it which is higher than france, the u.k., america, and most of europe. and this is true in other fields as well. there is a lot to be done in politics, in the area of representation of women. and that is true of countries that are not part of the arab spring or the arab region altogether. that is a challenge that continues for the rest of the world. >> 30% of women in parliament,

i'm going to put this to reem abu hassan, we did some checking. three seems to be the agic number for jordan, tunisia, and egypt. the number of female cabinet members. it seems as though it does not extend to much to the level you are at. >> actually, you are right. three is the magic number. but the idea, i am always a believer. if you want to change the issue of gender and women's empowerment, you don't look at who is appointed. you look at middle management, where you can change perception and stereotypes. about women. i believe in a country like jordan, ministers are appointed.

and members of the parliament, the house of representatives, our elected. in that house we have 18 women out of 150. 15 were elected and three were elected on their own merit. this is where the attention should be. a representative of the people are hopefully going to form a parliamentary government. >> it is a question we ask because we have these debates here in france. women are not well represented in the french parliament. although now in the cabinet they are. do you feel as though you are part of a quota or that you're there on merit? >> i think a combination of both. i am frank about that. i hope i represent women well. at the same time, i am a

specialist in development. so i have that aspect. and i think we aspire for the day where women are chosen, appointed, elected on their own merit. the idea of credibility and professionalism is also important. >> sonia terrab, is this symbolic or does it matter? >> of course it matters. in my opinion, tunisia is a special case. they have a strong regime but it gave rights to women. it educates people. when they make the revolution, women went to school. it is not like morocco. they don't even have what we have. for example in morocco we have less -- i don't want to say something wrong -- but they, it

is not a problem of quota. we have to look at the big picture in the country, 50% is literate. >> listening to sonia looking at tunisia with envy, would you say this is a positive part of his legacy? >> i think, yes, women in tunisia, and men, had enjoyed certain rights others had not enjoyed. there is a myth surrounding how perfect the situation was in tunisia. yes, education and literacy is higher in tunisia. sometimes we have them there it is the highest in the arab world. that is not the case.

and there are many problems in relation to the situation that existed previously, before the revolution. however, nobody talked about it. also, politically, the question of women and women's rights were exploited by the government and no one within tunisia or outside focused on some of the areas that needed improvements, whether it has to do with education or access to politics or access to adequate health care. what we discovered after the resolution -- revolution is there are many areas where women continue to suffer, as well as the problems that are shared with man. injustice, corruption, etc. in the girl areas, women tend to

have equal access, to even water facilities, and these are areas that need more attention. i would also like to add, it is not a direct consequence that once you have 100% literacy and higher education that means equal access to politics. as i mentioned, in the non-arab world, women are not equally represented in the political field. education is important but it is not the only problem. >> you are mentioning that libya and the women who were in the revolution in charge of those councils or militias. what has happened to the ones that were no longer at the forefront, the visible face?

>> linking to that what is being said, it is also a question of been educated and all of this. when you have that, things are easier. this is also a question of how to empower women and women encounter specific issues. and when it comes to this issue, the example of libya. women are active. but they are in the shadow. i think there is an issue of culture and mentality and an issue of women. they don't dare yet or they don't want to be upfront. so it is very complex. i kind of agree with what you are saying. it is more complex, the issue of quota, i have no opinion on that, for example. on the other hand, it works.

the issue of being for or against quota, i do not have an answer. but you need them. of things -- a myriad of things to empower women, to have access. to be a leader, etc. >> if there is one place where they do not have access it is serious. we will talk about it when we come back. stay with us. ♪

>> welcome back. before we resume the debate, a sample of the stories we will be following for you at the top of the hour on france 24. bashar al-assad calls on the u.s. to say it won't strike

before he hands over chemical weapons, weapons which he says he will hand over one month after the signing of syria to an international ban on chemical weapons. funerals follow bloody scenes at a mosque in baghdad. bombs killing dozens. despite a security cramped dan -- crackdown in the capital. russia is among those sounding alarm. north korea apparently restarts a creaking nuclear reactor. we will have those stories and much more for you at the top of the hour on france 24. welcome back or welcome if you are just joining us. we are taking stock of whether or not women or more or less empowered since two and a half years ago started the arab spring. with us to talk about it reem abu hassan, a spokesperson for the ruling party, yusra

ghannouchi. lina al chawaf runs a radio station for syrians in exile. it is based here in paris. journalist sonia terrab's first novel, and she is working on her second. >> may be the beginning of next year. >> and a french legal counsel in human rights attorney, celine bardet. the conference of the union for the mediterranean dedicated to women's rights, a conference where on wednesday the french president spoke, naturally drawn to be 100,000 killed and the millions displaced in syria. >> in syria, women are the primary victims of what is happening.

violence is a part of this terror campaign, inflicted by the regime and jihadist groups. numerous women are there for finding themselves displaced or in refugee camps. >> violence inflicted by the regime and various jihadist groups. when you look, the longer the conflict has gone on, the power vacuum has been filled by radicals. for women inside of syria right now, there is a feeling of regret for the way it was before? >> actually, to be honest, it began from the beginning of the revolution and it has come mostly from the regime. when a woman is arrested, and the prison they have a lot of

terrible things inside. it began from the beginning of the revolution and starts from the side of the regime. now with the islamists, of course we have these bad things with women. but after two years of the revolution and people screaming, shouting in the streets saying we want our freedom, we want our dignity, and nobody listens to them. open for, anybody who wants to come in, they can come in. >> so do you fear at this point if bashar al-assad felt

tomorrow, would it worsen the plight of women? >> we will have a difficult time, i am sure. the country is in a difficult situation. but after this, i am sure we can handle it ourselves. that is what we fought for before the revolution. we fight for the women all the time. we do not have laws in serious that protects women. we do not have good laws. we would have a difficult time after the filing of assad. >> we know that jordan has front-row seats to what is going on. even in the refugee camps, there is a battle for hearts and minds between those that are secular

and those that are more islamist. how do you feel about that in terms of the values that are preached in terms of how you raise kids, how you treat women in those refugee camps. we're told it depends on who is the dominant force. >> actually, i would like to point out in the case of jordan as a hosting community, most of the refugees are in refugee camps, which is not the case. about 1.2 million syrians that we have in a country, maybe 200,000 live in the camps. the other camps that were opened. and so the frustration is not actually what happens just within the country. also that the syrians have

natural resources of the country as well as the burden on the health system and the education system. before going into the dominant party within the refugee camp, it is very important to highlight also the hosting community is the local community , they are suffering as well. that is my concern. what will happen later on? we are sharing water, we are sharing resources. the characteristics of security that jordan is the asset for jordan, -- >> what is your premonition, isn't going to get worse before it gets better? >> for the syrian women in refugee camps, i also have to point out as a lawyer, because jordan is not a signatory to the

gym -- geneva convention, the issue is dealt with other agencies through a memorandum of understanding with the jordanian government. what happens is the responsibility of the u.n. agencies, not the jordanian government. however the jordanian government assumed responsibility of taking people from the boundaries, ringing them into that camp and also establishing police stations and family protections centers within the camp. there is also the issue that the conflict between what is applicable according to jordanian law and according to syrian law. one example of that is marriage. if you look at jordanians, although the age of marriage is

18, exceptions are allowed from the age of 15. however, this syrian community allows 13 and 14 year old marriages. in our law, this contract of marriage is considered null and void. and so the syrians will never be convinced, which is the first way of safeguarding the rights of women and children. so these social issues will, later on, will appear to the surface. that is when we will have more social issues to deal with. >> we have done debates on morocco and the secular minded panelists have felt to the reform -- the reform made, envious at times of change they have seen.

in other nations of the arab world, now with what is going on in syria, are people having second thoughts? >> of course. and egypt also. people are not going into the streets, even if they have the right. it was more in the social network. it was not in the streets. even the ones we used to get on the streets, they were likely have associations. we have other ways to protest. not to go to the streets. that is happening. i think that is for empowering the women, the most important thing, religion is really strong.

you can't empower women as you might want to and not be a secular state, and not force them to be secular. and make them understand this, you know? i don't know if you see what i mean. >> we are going to have to interrupt this conversation for now because we have to go to geneva where the u.s. and russian heads of diplomacy are about to speak. they have been talking all day about that plan that is being put forward to get a breakthrough at the united nations. we can now perhaps go there in a moment and listen to the u.s. secretary of state john kerry. >> president obama thought it would be worthwhile for us to work together to determine if there is life in this concept.

this challenge, obviously took on grave urgency on august 21 when the syrian regime used chemical weapons in a massive and indiscriminate way against its own citizens. president obama and dozens of our partners believe that action is unacceptable. and we have made it clear we can't allow that to happen again. in light of what has happened, the world wonders and watches closely whether or not the assad regime will live up to its commitments that it has made to give up their chemical weapons and whether two of the most powerful nations can, together, take a critical step forward in order to hold to the regime to its stated promises.

i have seen reports that the syrian regime has suggested as part of the standard process they should have 30 days to submit data on the technical, on their chemical weapons stockpile. we believe there is nothing standard about this process. because of the way the regime has behaved, not only the existence of these weapons, but they have been used. and the words of the syrian regime, in our judgments, are not enough, which is why we have come here in order to work with the russians, work with his delegation in order to make certain this can, in fact, be achieved. the united states and russia have had, and continue to have, disagreements about the

situation in syria, including a difference about the judgment we just offered with respect to may have done that. what is important as we come here is there is much we agree on. we agree syrian men, women, and children died grotesque deaths due to chemical weapons. we agree no one, anywhere, at any time should employ chemical weapons and we agree our joining together with the international community to eliminate stockpiles of these weapons would be an historic moment for the multilateral nonproliferation efforts. we agree on those things. we agree would help to save lives if we could accomplish this. it would reduce the threat to

the region. it would uphold the norm established in geneva almost a century ago and it would achieve the best of all of our aspirations for curbing weapons of mass destruction. the foreign minister and i have come to geneva today to begin to test these propositions, not just behalf on our countries, but on behalf of everybody interested in a peaceful resolution. so i welcome the delegation and i am proud we have a delegation here, which i lead, of some of the foremost chemical weapons experts. people who dedicate their lives every day to countering the proliferation of these weapons and to bringing about their eventual elimination from this earth.

the russian delegation has put some ideas forward. we are grateful for that. we respect it. he have prepared our own principles that any plan to accomplish this needs to encompass. expectations are high. they are high for the united states. perhaps even more so for russia to deliver on the promise of this moment. this is not a game. i said that to my friends when we talked about it initially. it has to be real. it has to be comprehensive. it has to be verifiable. it has to be credible. it has to be timely and implemented in a timely fashion. and finally, there should be consequences if it does not place. diplomacy is and always has been president obama costs first resort. and achieving a peaceful

resolution is clearly preferable to military action. president obama has said that again and again. it is too early to tell whether or not these efforts will succeed. but the technical challenges of trying to do this in the context of a civil war are obviously amends. -- immsense. despite the difficulty, with collaboration and compliance from the assad regime, we believe there is a way to get this done. we have come here to define a potential path forward that we can share with our international partners. together we will test the assad regime's commitment to follow through on its promises. we are serious, as you are,

about engaging in substantive negotiations, even as our military maintains its current posture to keep up the pressure on the assad regime. only the credible threat of force and the intervention of vladimir putin and russia based on that has brought the assad regime to acknowledge, for the first time, it even has chemical weapons and an arsenal and it is prepared to relinquish it. president obama has made clear should diplomacy fail, force might be necessary to deter assad's capacity to deliver these weapons. won't get rid of them but it could change his willingness to use them. the best thing to do, we agree, is remove them altogether. our challenge in geneva is to test the viability of placing

assad's chemical weapons under international control, removing them and assuring them forever. -- destroying them forever. the united states has made clear that the debts of 100,000 syrians and the displacement of millions, he internally or as refugees, it remains a stain on the world's conscience. we all need to keep that in mind and deal with it. that is why he and i continue to work with the special envoy, under the auspices of the geneva convention, the foreign secretary mentioned this, we share those hopes. that could foster a political solution to a civil war that undermines the stability of the region, threatens our own national security interest, and

compels us to act. that is our hope and that is what we hope can come out of this meeting and these negotiations. thank you very much. >> with your permission, to words. [speaking russian] our approach is clear and they have been stated in the last statements. vladimir putin and in his article in the new york times, i am convinced you read this article, our diplomatic position, the intent to find compromises and i am sure that his presentation of the american position shows that they would like to find mutual consent.

i hope we will achieve all of these successes. >> you want me to take your word for it? a little early for that. thanks. >> all right, that was the u.s. secretary of state and the russian foreign minister meeting in geneva. john kerry saying the u.s. accepts it will be complicated and take time to stockpile all of the chemical weapons. but words alone are not enough, his response to the charlotte side saying it would take 30 days -- two bashar al-assad saying it would take 30 days. as for the foreign minister, much more sick sink. diplomacy likes silence. more on this at the top of the

hour. lina al chawaf, this is -- the chemical weapons attack is concentrating the world's attention in a way where syria had fallen off the radar for many. because the situation seemed to be dragging on and dragging on. now it is back with a sense of urgency. we are taking a hard look and seeing it could be years before things are settled. those years, what is going to happen when those millions of people have been chased from their homes? is there any plan, in your view? >> actually, the opposition does not have any plan. as you say, as you said it now, a lot of people were killed.

it is too long. every day, every day we have at least 100 syrian killed, civilian syrian. >> 165 is the average. >> at least 100 every day. before the chemical weapons, they killed with all kinds of weapons. so now you can kill, it is like this. they keep killing every day. that is the problem. it will not finish with the chemical weapons. it is never finished because the killing, every day with the syrian people. it will not finish with the chemical weapons. >> before we go to -- went to geneva, we were talking about the issue of how the role in arab societies, the role of

women has also, i guess you would say rethought along with all of the upheaval we have seen. i have a question i want to put to you, yusra ghannouchi, we have seen there has been, in tunisia in particular, we talked about there is a strong secular tradition and women's rights tradition that existed. we have seen there is a bit of to and fro-ing over whether or not they could take exams in schools, for instance. that is one of the issues that has been a major bone of contention. we have seen the case of this young woman who was raped and arrested after reporting it. that caused outcry. in what direction is this conversation going inside of tunisia and how do you feel

about this? >> as i mentioned before, tunisia previously was presented as a problem-free country where women had no problems at all. and neither man. and generally, internationally as well. now after the revolution, with the ability of women and men to express themselves freely and talk about their demands and their aspirations and their differences, we have seen an explosion of expression and of problems as well. and challenges. the ones you mentioned are just a few. perhaps they are the ones that have caught the attention of the media more. there are many other challenges.

the only way to deal with them is to allow all tunisian women and men to express their opinions on these matters and then to use democratic means to reach resolutions that respect everyone's writes -- rights. >> expressing opinions, something we agree with. unfortunately our conversation curtailed by that press conference. what i want to thank yusra ghannouchi for joining us from london. i want to thank reem abu hassan, lina al chawaf, celine bardet, and sonia terrab. thank you for joining us on the france 24 debate. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

>> germans go to the poll on september 22. could angela merkel when a third term in office? will the outcome affect the austerity in europe? don't miss our special edition of europe now. we will bring you all of the latest results and analysis from our correspondence.

 >> the global debate over nuclear power and questions about its safety continue as japan prepares to restart its nuclear power plants. i'm mike walter in washington dc. >> the nasdaq markets in times square new york, tweaking for billions of dollars in market value. twitter said the social media world on fire as it prepares for its highly anticipated ipo.