>> u.s. secretary of state john kerry is in geneva to try to hammer out a deal on syria. he will sit down with his russian counterpart in hopes of dismantling syria opossum of weapons. meanwhile, the fighting -- syria hoss chemical what -- syria's chemical weapons. meanwhile, the fighting goes on in syria. >> it is happy 40th birthday to paris' other famous tower. you're watching "france 24." u.s. secretary of state john

kerry is in geneva, set to meet with russian foreign minister sergey lavrov. they will be hammering out the deals of a plan on stopping syria's chemical weapons that was put forth by russia earlier this week. the plan aims to avert u.s. military action on syria over a chemical at -- what -- chemical weapons attack. brock obama made a speech saying he still preferred a diplomatic solution -- barack obama made a speech saying he still preferred a diplomatic solution. syria says it will not give any of its arsenal over unless the international community agrees to a deal. even then, it is not giving any guarantees. >> the diplomatic wrangling is well under way at the united nations. envoys from the five permanent security council member states met wednesday to hash out details over a proposed remote

-- resolution. >> i hope that the current discussions related to safeguarding syria's chemical weapons stocks will lead to the security council playing an effective role in promoting an end to syrian tragedy. >> support for the idea has temporarily pushed the possibility of military action off the table. the u.s. is now relying on russia to help broker a deal, a feat that could prove tricky. moscow is against any resolution that allows the use of force. >> it will take some time. there are technical aspects involved in developing a plan for securing syria's chemical weapons and verifying their location and putting them under international control. but we also are not interested in delaying tactics, and we believe it is very important to

hold assad accountable. >> the u.s. and france are keen to keep up the threat of military action, saying it was such a threat that prompted the assad regime to consider russia's proposal in the first place, a claim syria denies. the u.n. secretary of state -- u.s. secretary of state, john kerry, is set to meet with the russian foreign minister on thursday, in the hope of reaching a new u.n. resolution that forces syria to hand over its chemical weapons to the international community. >> russian president vladimir putin has made a direct, personal appeal to the american people. it was an op-ed piece published in the "new york times." in the article, he warns that a u.s. military strike against syria could unleash a new wave of terrorism. he says millions of people see the u.s. not as a model of democracy but as an instrument of brute force. also speaking not long ago, the russian foreign minister, sergey

lavrov called the russian plan a chance for peace in syria that the world must not let pass. russia is playing a key role in this new negotiation over syria and its chemical weapons. let's go to geneva, where the meeting will begin later today between the u.s. secretary of state and the russian foreign minister. our correspondent has more. what would it take to dismantle syria's chemical weapons if a deal is reached? >> it is a very complex process and very technical and very costly. the question is, if the weapons are considered old or leaking, that could be very dangerous to transport them to other locations. the ideal situation would be to destroy them inside syria, if that is possible. the complexity here is the country is in the middle of the civil war. the experts have to see how many locations, how many weapons systems, the volume of the weapons.

if it is thousands of tons, it could take up to a decade or longer. >> the rebel free syrian army has categorically rejected that russian plan to place the regime's chemical weapons under international control. there military commander -- a military commander made the comment on youtube. laurent fabius said the much awaited those -- awaited report by u.s. inspectors would finally be released next week. >> we will have the publication of the u.n. inspectors' report. i have not seen it. it's going to say there was a chemical massacre. taking into account that only the regime had the stocks, only the regime had the means of distribution only the regime had any interest doing this, we can draw conclusions. >> the french foreign minister's comments come as the fighting

continues on the ground in syria. rebels and the regime are in the midst of all week long battle for a christian town in the north of damascus. it has caused many inhabitants to flee the region. the rebels there are being backed by the al-nusra group which has been linked to al qaeda. as the fighting continues, the humanitarian crisis brought on by the syrian war is only getting worse. 2 million people have fled the country. another one million are on the run inside syria. pressure is growing on countries outside the region to welcome some of these many refugees. germany has taken the lead. >> from beirut to hannover, this pain arrived carrying 107 refugees -- hannover, this plane arrived carrying 107 refugees who will receive access to services and authorization to work. >> it is the first time ever we

are feeling something like this. our only wish is our child can have a future particularly in regards to education. >> 200 other syrian refugees have already settled in germany. the plan is to temporary how some 5000 refugees which will arrive in the coming weeks -- temporarily house some 5000 refugees which will arrive in the coming weeks. >> we must worry about how to cope with the entire set of problems. >> austria has agreed to accept 500 refugees. humanitarian groups are calling on more countries to join in. >> there are 2 million people in the region who have left syria right now. there's only a population of 4.3 million people, with 700,000 syrian refugees. europe could do much more. >> syria's neighbors have been

strained by the massive influx of refugees. united nations is trying to reset all 12,000 this year. so far it has only found places for 7000 people in 12 western countries. >> let's go to iraq, where the violence has been the worst since 2008. 4,000 people have died in clashes this year alone. today, three more people were killed in a car bomb explosion near a military base. not 24 hours before that, a suicide bomber struck a shiite mosque in baghdad, leading 30 dead and 50 wounded. -- leaving 30 dead and 50 wounded. this latest surge in the violence in iraq has sparked concerns the country is slipping back into the all-out sectarian war that plagued the country several years ago, leaving tens of thousands dead. is this the case?

>> [inaudible] this cycle of violence is caused by both domestic factors and [inaudible] since the time of the u.s. invasion of iraq, [indiscernible] the [indiscernible] exacerbates the tension. it polarized the community. the sunni population [indiscernible]

the baghdad central government and [indiscernible] strengthen the shia identity of the iraqi government. this violence will not be at that level [indiscernible] >> thank you, maria fantappie. we apologize for the poor quality of that phone line coming out of iraq. turkey has been rocked by new protests against the government here clashes broke out for the third night in a row. the new wave of anger was sparked by the death of a 22- year-old protester. it has renewed protest -- a protest movement in turkey that

last ended with a police crackdown in june. >> protesters and the police face off in istanbul. officers fired tear gas. demonstrators respond with rocks and molotov cocktails, prompting the police to hit back with more tear gas, causing injuries and making passes -- [indiscernible] it's not the first time antigovernment protesters have hit the streets in recent months. the death of a 22-year-old demonstrator on monday reignited anger and prompted a review of the protest movement, which came to an abrupt end in june. demonstrators carried portraits of people killed in the june demonstrations. >> this can't go on like this. how many more people will die? we are here to change it. >> the young protester died

here. protesters claim he died after having been hit by a tear gas canister. the interior ministry claims he died after falling from a rooftop, from where he had been throwing stones at the police. the president stepped in on wednesday to try to calm the situation. >> i extend my condolences to his entire family. the necessary investigations will be carried out. whatever the result is, it will be shared with everyone. >> but the president's words did little to anger -- to calm the anger on the streets. protesters have varying demands but they are united in their stance against the government. >> the u.n. nuclear watchdog is aware of reports that north korea may have restarted a nuclear reactor. it says it does not have a clear understanding of the real situation. analysts say this latest development is the -- a slap in

the face in the effort to get pyongyang to avoid -- abandon its nuclear program. russia went so far as to describe the aging facility to being in a nightmarish state that could provoke a disaster. meanwhile, moscow's newly reelected mayor is set to be sworn in today. he is a close ally of russian president vladimir putin, who is set to attend the inauguration. russia's most prominent opposition leader and election opponent -- he is set to send the truck -- s end a challenge to the vote. today marks a special day for a unique power -- power in paris. it is not the eiffel tower. the monument was much criticized

when it was made. it is still greatly reviled in france. it has long been seen as an eyesore in the paris skyline. it has been plagued by reports of asbestos. >> 40 years ago, construction was underway for one of paris' largest landmarks. it was not popular at first. >> i think it is awful. >> it is still standing. is it -- it is among the most visited places in paris. >> with our builders' comments and the rubble everywhere, we were pioneering. >> but now the skyscraper has

competition. several large-scale projects in paris' business hub are seeking to steal the title of paris' tallest building. yet for now, it is still the mont parnassus -- the m ontparnasse tower that gives the best views including of the eiffel tower. >> hello. welcome to the week in the americas here on "france 24." we will be heading to mexico for a look at the most [indiscernible] we will have a look at the very latest from new york's mayoral primaries.

and we will look at a man who went from trader to international -- to internet education group -- guru. pemex is the world's seventh largest oil company. it has long been considered something of a national treasure in mexico. the country's president, and rick a penny in industrial -- the country's president, henry k pena nieto -- enrique pena nieto, now wants to open up the industry. >> in mexico there is no need to fix gas prices. they are the same everywhere around 70 euro cents per liter. pemex is the last public bastion . people say it is sick and mismanaged, even though it is the eighth oil producer in the

world. the country's refineries are barely enough to process half of the crude oil extracted. then we produce fuel for the center of the country and nothing more. demand is greater than the supply. this is why we need to import fuel. >> the solution for the problem for the government, would be to open pemex to the private sector to take advantage of more advanced technology. on the left, they say the state should remain the sole winner -- the sole owner. >> oil is the prime source of revenue for the state. this money educates us, provides health care and infrastructure. if the oil revenue is removed,

our hope leaves with it. >> mexico went through a privatization process in the 1980's and 1990's. this gave mexicans a bitter aftertaste. >> history has told them that this is terrible. but the way things have been privatized has been completely done based on politics and political incentives, rather than economic. >> oil fields near the coast in the gulf are depleted. according to the government, private investment will be essential to explore deeper waters. in addition to economic growth which seems weaker than expected

, many expect the arrival of private capital. >> it will create many jobs. that is what we need the most here. >> they have to get 2/3 of the vote in congress. in the meantime, a heated debate is sure to arise. >> to chile now, where commemorations have been held to mark the 40th anniversary of pinochet's could the top -- pin ochet's coup d'etat. bodies continue to be found. they continue to try to identify them. we see the forensic specialists at work. >> these scientists are cutting into human bone, in the ongoing search for chile's disappeared.

they are trying to identify victims of 17 years of military violence waged under pinochet. it all began on september 11 1973. examining bone fragments from people killed in the 1970's and 1980's, specialists struggle to identify the victims. >> we find little pieces of bone. some bones were complete. but the hands, like this, the feet like this. mostly everything was fragments of bigger pieces of bone. >> bodies were blown up with explosives and buried in unmarked graves by pinochet's forces but traces remain. fragments were discovered in 2001 in an abandoned mine northwest of santa iago. it took more than a decade of

dna analysis -- of santiago. it took more than a decade of dna analysis to identify some of them. one was beaten to death in 1976 by state agents. she is grateful that her father was identified last year, three decades after his death. >> we now know the truth of what happened. but there are hundreds of people who are still searching. i am privileged. it is so unjust. everyone should know what happened to their family. >> ♪ >> marking this year's international day of the disappeared, chill a -- chileans mourned those who were arrested, killed, and kidnapped by the military and secret police. this woman's father disappeared when she was 10 years old. >> never again. we will continue to fight for truth and justice. >> they refused to release information that might help them

locate their lost loved ones. >> the reason why most of the day. -- the disappeared are still missing is because there is a pack of silence. those -- there is a packed of silence -- a pact of silence. those responsible have never shared information. >> it continues to haunt the country. >> it was the first time since 1997 that new yorkers were facing a mayoral ballot that did not have michael bloomberg's name on it. voters were choosing the democratic and republican nominees for mayor. billd e de blasio's rise has been quite spectacular. >> he is just above the 40% threshold to win the democratic primary outright. among his assets, an ethnically diverse family that got involved in his campaigning about social

issues in the fight against discrimination. during the race, the 52-year-old portrayed himself as the opposite of current mayor and billionaire michael bloomberg closer to the american middle class, pushing for an increase in taxes for those who earn over $500,000 per year. >> there's a lot of people struggling in this city. the middle-class is not just shrinking. it's in danger of disappearing altogether. >> the speaker of the new york city council had wished to become the first female and openly gay mayor of new york. after leading the polls at one point in the race, she ended third with under 16% of the vote. but the results were much better than another democratic candidate, anthony weiner. he botched his political comeback that was painted by scandals, involving sexual material that he had sent to three women from his cell phone. he had already given up his seat in the house of representatives in 2011 for a similar scandal. his relapse was not taken lightly by new yorkers.

>> that's a charming guy right there. charming. >> charming. >> takes one to know one j ------. >> sex scandals do not go over well from --w with voters. eliot spitzer used high-priced prostitutes while he was attorney general and later as governor. he was running to become democratic comptroller of new york city. he lost to scott stringer. >> now to the story of a traitor who used to help his cousin in the evenings with his schoolwork. he would post videos online to help her. videos that began being watched by more and more children. videos that have now been seen some 200 million times. what was help for the family has become something of an empire.

>> he might be the world's most famous math teacher. most of his near 6 million students would not recognize his face kid that is because his classroom is virtual. he records his lessons at his office in silicon valley, california, and they are accessed around the world. >> let's say that this side right over here is three units long. and my question for you is what is the length of this side? >> over 200,000 people access each of his free online tutorials. his nonprofit academy employs 43 people. their salaries paid for entirely by donations. >> these are our offices. >> as the online teachers get down to work, the real-time traffic counter keeps track of the current number of students here it it is not even noon and already 800,000 exercises have been completed.

>> even if you're a very good teacher, when someone is explaining something to you, it is stressful. you're afraid to say slow down a little bit. with the video, there is no judgment. you don't feel like, i'm wasting their time. they won't think i'm smart. you can watch it as many times as you need to. >> mass is not the only course available. students can take -- math is not the only course available. students can take hundreds on the website. she and her friends are getting ready to study. they started using the service three years ago with the tutoring sensor -- center offering them free computer access. >> it is very difficult. we only hear it once. here we can see the exercises again and again. it helps us to better understand them. it does not matter how you -- who is teaching you.

it matters how you are being taught. this system teaches us really well. >> the children from privileged backgrounds have tutors, parents who can help them at home. but the children from -- who do not have that privilege -- for them, this is a great tool. >> courses are only available in english. but french, portuguese, spanish and mandarin editions are in the