>> is why are you bugging my phone, demands or men chancellor angela merkel. washington facing backlash from key european allies. police officers killed in clashes with militants over the country's transition to democracy. australian firefighters continue their battle amid high temperatures. a military exercise using live ammunition is thought to have

caused one of the largest blazes . hello, welcome to "france 24." here are our top stories. the furor on the scale of american mass surveillance has reached a new level. on color merkel has demanded explanations over reports that the nationalist purity of a -- angela merkel has demanded explanations of reports that the national security agency has bumped phones. >> the allegation in just one week. berlin on wednesday said the nsa may have tapped angela merkel's phone. she called resident obama to demand immediate verification. >> she unequivocally disapproves of certain practices and regards them as completely unacceptable. >> washington did not deny the

charges. it simply said it was not currently monitoring her phone. >> the united states is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of the chancellor. >> the opposition social democrats accused angela merkel of not doing enough to protect germans from u.s. surveillance. this latest scandal is a boost for those seeking greater eu electronic independence. >> we have to protect our strategic autonomy. that means the satellite navigation program, the european cloud, european standards. technology we are in charge of instead of depending on american and chinese know how. >> privacy is on the agenda at the latest summit of european leaders. they want to assure internet

providers obtain the consent from customers to use their personal data. >> asked how it was the case that everybody seem to be spying on everybody else. >> it is not just empty words. in the u.k., its own intelligence service was spying at the g-20 servants -- summit to the point of setting up internet cafés so they could read participants' e-mails. dgsa spy service has a giant supercomputer tapping its own citizens' data. the germans collaborated with the nsa to spy on german citizens. everyone knows that has been the line out of the u.s.. let's not be naïve or hypocritical. >> pakistan's prime minister has

talked to president obama about drone strikes. >> barack obama and the prime minister tried to put a positive spin on their meeting. but differences remain between the two leaders, especially on the issue of drones. the pakistani prime minister has called for an end to the drone strikes. >> the pack -- the united states and pakistan will seek cooperation. i brought up the issue of drones and emphasized the need for an end to the strikes. >> the unmanned aircraft are operated remotely and used mainly in the mountainous region of northwest pakistan, a safe

haven for the taliban and al qaeda. islamabad considers the drone strikes illegal and their use have been denounced by human rights watch. a touchy subject for washington. >> we need to find constructive ways to partner together, ways that respect pakistan's sovereignty, that respects the concerns of both countries. >> as a gesture of goodwill, obama released $1.6 billion in aid. the financial support had decent -- had been suspended as a result of the 20 11 raid that killed osama bin laden in pakistan. the bow -- 2011 raid that killed osama bin laden. >> talks to end months of political deadlocks continue.

talks have been postponed until friday. people have been killed in clash es with militants. >> tunisia's opposition party agreed that the minister was not convincing when he agreed to step down. >> we will not believe conditions are right for national dialogue to begin. >> the prime minister said he would resign him but only after his coalition and the opposition agreed on a new comp -- a new constitution and agreed on a date for new elections. >> we repeated today our commitment to the principle of relinquishing power in line with a different status envisaged in

the roadmap. >> the opposition has waited four weeks for the prime minister to say he and his government will step down. hundreds of protesters called on the government to resign. talks between the -- between tunisia's parties were delayed until friday. the talks were triggered by the assassination of the opposition leader. >> bushfires in new south wales have caused a plane crash. defense officials say they will cooperate with the fire services'' investigation. our australian correspondent has more. >> we have been eagerly awaiting a response on this.

the defense force has admitted causing the fire. they have refused to say whether there will be compensation for those. defense forces were conducting training. the rural fire service says this caused 50,000 heck cares -- hectares to be destroyed. this news has not gone down well from the -- with the community. one mayor says he does not want to get into a blame game, but he does not understand why the defense force was conducting that exercise on a day with such hot and dry conditions. >> thursday saw cooler weather

in new south wales. there are still more than 60 fires burning across the state. >> that is right. many of the fires are contained. some have flared up again. the concentration will be on to major fires. osiris are still threatening towns. people have been told to pack of family if necessary or seek shelter in a hurry. in the latest of date, a 43- year-old pilot has died. the aircraft he was using to water bomb an area crashed. a 63 --year-old man had a heart attack. -- 63--year-old man had a heart attack. 63-year-old man had a heart attack. >> the number one priority is to

reduce the time between filing a case and getting a response from the administration. we have the details. >> the story starts with her family's extended stay in france, four years and 10 months. it included multiple applications and appeals for asylum. the family could settle in and send kids to school. this makes the family's expulsion during a school trip all the more dramatic. the interior ministry wants to avoid repeating this. >> his campaign commitment was to speed up the asylum application process. >> there were crowds at the windows of the office that deals with the requests. these are the goals for of --

for reforming the application process. the average response from the french government takes 16 months. the reform is proposing to cut this down to nine months. step two, better prioritize applications to address does not relevant to needing asylum. third, share applications across branches. the right agrees with the reform , with some conditions. >> they still have to apply and they require resources. >> the government will have to move quickly if it wants to have reforms in place for 2014. >> attention all comic book lovers. thomas waterhouse has more on

the cult hero's latest trip to scotland. >> outside a central paris bookstore. french favorites are back in town. they are here again. their latest adventure when on sale at midnight. the long wait is finally over. >> i am looking forward to a good read. >> if the book is good, it's really well survive as one. >> they are the most famous cartoon characters. after taking an eight year break , it heads to ancient scotland for an adventure. they are not to be written by the character's original creators. >> they were happy we thought

about them. a asked me, why scotland? they thought it was because of the referendum. that is not the case. i learned about that later. we had no hidden intentions. >> since 1961, more than three hundred 60 million folks have been sold worldwide in more than 100 languages. this latest outing is expected to sell over 5 million copies. >> a reminder not to miss our selection of the best artwork from the fair. snapshots of the most striking pieces of contemporary art. you can check out the slideshow at france24.com. please stay with us here in the newsroom or "france 24 -- for "france 24."

>> welcome to the week in the americas. obamacare hits another hurdle. now it is technological rather than ideological. will the city of detroit have to sell its cultural heritage as it struggles to pay back if it? reforms continue. but first, sloppy contractors were blamed for the technical glitch that dealt another blow to obama care this week. the president's historic health care legislation was signed into law three years ago. it has been dogged by bitter opposition in congress. when it was finally up and running, users were dismayed to find the website did not work properly. that was glee formrepublicans in another headache for the president. -- glee for republicans and

another headache for the president. >> obamacare was at the heart of the government shutdown, which crippled public services for more than two weeks. to add insult to injury, the i.t. systems for the website have been failing. if there is a reason for why people should persist because of the leeches, this is it. >> there is a pervasive fear that because of one illness -- i got you. you are ok. this happens when i talked too long. >> obama is hoping his health care lan will offer -- plan will offer the same safety net for americans that he provided for this pregnant diabetic woman. >> the website that is supposed

to make it easy to apply for and purchase insurance is not working the way it should for everybody. the website has been too slow. people have been stuck during the application process. >> why is this happening to a site that happens -- that cost the federal government $300 million to set up? healthcare.gov triggers too many invitations to the server and simultaneously. if you managed to and click the application, there have been multiple instances of corruption. >> we are doing everything we can possibly do to get the websites working better, faster sooner. we have people working overtime 24-seven to boost capacity and address problems. >>-- 24-7 to boost capacity and

addressed problems. >> the website has had 24 million visitors since the first of october. >> want to the heartland of the american dream, detroit is at its lowest ebb in debt to the tune of 18 billion dollars. officials are having to contemplate what was previously unthinkable, selling off the city's world-class art collection. the detroit institute of art is home to works by matiste and rembrandt. the chargers are desperate to hold on to their cultural history. >> painted in the 1930s, they capture the energy and drive of the city that made it great.

the museum's collection is threatened by bankruptcy. thousands of pictures bought with city money are said to have to be valued. gallery officials are using nonprofit advances to save the city money. >> we do not use city dollars for anything. the city does not pay for this institution. if we keep this museum open for the city of detroit and we saved them 31 million dollars a year, which is our annual operating budget. >> the museum has built a world- class collection. there is a rare work by a flemish master. some works were the first to ever be published by a public gallery.

there is a property tax that residents and read nearby counties agreed to pay. if some works are auctioned that source of revenue will be lost. >> if they stopped that tax, we will descend into a death spiral. >> city hall was still keen to safeguard the gallery. >> leave it alone unless there is something else. >> a survey carried out by a people -- local newspaper says 78% of the chargers feel the same. -- detroiters feel the same. >> since the mid-1990s there

has been a to currency system. those who worked managed to earn a better wage. that system is being scrapped in favor of one unified currency. it will make life more fair for all. >> april 2011, fidel castro and his brother paved the way. they would in the dual currency system. two and a half years later, the cuban regime took a symbolic step that was announced on national television. >> unifying currency demands rigorous and limitation. the council of ministers has adopted measures that will go

toward unification. >> cuban authorities have yet to disclose the details of the measures. according to their official newspapers, the government will do business in ordinary pesos. in the time being, dollars received from tourism and foreign trade can be exchanged for convertible pesos. footie for ordinary pesos equaled one dollar. the dual system has been in place since -- 24 ordinary pesos equaled one dollar. doctors earn 500 ordinary pesos and a self-employed mechanic can make twice as much. all important goods require payment in convertible pesos.

>> for a refrigerator, a tv set, the currency is more expensive. the exchange rate is very high. >> it means our purchasing power is low paid in ordinary pesos. -- is low, paid in ordinary pesos. >> it will take up to 18 months to unify the two currencies. the currency has been distorting economic reality. i hope the change will help improve the government's business policies. >> racing is usually associated with the north of england. the sport has taken hold far from the gray skies of manchester. there is a serious motive behind it. they want to keep teenagers from

falling into the hands of many of the city's file that organizations. we have this report. >> it is 6:30 a.m. in the again -- gangs-ridden area of south los angeles. dozens are awake staring at the sky. today is the super fly. ermine ham rolling pigeons. it is a particular breed of pigeons that perform aqua words somersaults. >> it is inbred into them. the birds break in unison. at least five role in unison to score. >> competitors complete -- compete 25 minutes and judges rate snowbirds for style and the quality of their roles. >> 5, 1, 6.

>> it is a hobby popular in the horror -- poor were -- poorer and more violent areas. judges and aficionados go from house to house to see the pigeons fly. south l.a. is still an area plagued with violence. los angeles has 450 gangs with more than 80,000 total members. -- 50,000 total members. >> that is my coffeecake. >> this man is a champion in south l.a.. he has transformed his passion into a job. he is a breeder of birmingham roller pigeons. >> it is the responsibility of taking care of something.

it gives you patience. you have to be patient. >> he organized an auction in his backyard. >> 65 going once. 60 five going twice. sold, 65. >> pigeons were able to unite communities torn apart with territorial fights. some members have words to keep young members off of the streets. he took damien under his wing at a time when he was approached by a gang. >> you have a group of guys here. we say, we see you every day. what are you doing? you should be hanging out with us. >> today, he has three dozen pigeons. he hopes he will be good

>> three british workers -- a buster ever, a midwife, and a paramedic. i have all accepted the challenge to do their job under some of the most stressful and dangerous conditions on the planet. >> that was a really, really horrible birth. >> how you guys do this in these conditions -- >> josh west is leaving his home and his job as a london bus driver to work in manila one of the most densely populated cities in the world.