>> you are watching live from paris, "france 24." we will be together for the next hour for the latest headlines and news analysis from around the world. our headlines this afternoon -- the syrian regime and opposition sit down at the same table for the first time. no opposition was that if progress is made in this round of talks, there will be no third round. on the ground in syria, efforts to get more people out of homs today. warned theani has military threats against iran are delusional.

the iranian president vows to press on forever with iran's and calls form constructive talks on the 35th anniversary of iran's islamic revolution. it is day three of francois hollande's visit to the united states, the first by french president in 18 years. today he will highlight the national security dimension. , theop story this newshour syrian regime and syrian opposition are at the same table today, according to the united nations. this is a first this month in the second round of talks in geneva, and the session that began earlier this morning is

being chaired by joint u.n.-arab league envoy lakhdar brahimi. the opposition warms that they will not return if no progress is made this week. on the ground in this area, it workers are trying to get more civilians out of homs after the truce there was extended until tomorrow. civilians were given safe passage out of the war-ravaged city, bringing the total number to someone thousand 200. our international affairs correspondent will this more -- told us more. >> it is perhaps significant this is happening on the second day of the talks. it didn't happen yesterday, on monday, when this round open. the 2 sides have been in the same room several times. that in itself is not a huge event. they were already in the same room in the first round of talks in late january. but the fact that lakhdar brahimi, the u.s. -- u.n. special envoy come and decided

not to bring them together as soon as things kick off on monday suggests that there are real blocks in this round of talks. he has clearly a few days to try to sort something out. there isn't a lot of time, because the schedule is basically that everyone keeps talking until this friday, with the possible extension the weekend. as far as i know, no plans to go on beyond that moment. >> the first round of talks were remarkably fruitless even on the arrow question of helping the siege people of homs. there is been no progress made in geneva. instead, it is a locally arranged truce that seems to have been extended until tomorrow that seems to have made a difference to the 1200 people left made it out -- you have made it out. >> if you look at the numbers more closely, and this minute -- an estimated 1200 people from the city who have been allowed

out, according to humanitarian organizations involved in bringing medicines and food to the civilians there. 2500 andut of between 3000 people trapped in homs. we are getting to just over half of those people waiting for help. the truce has been extended for another 72 hours. chance, at least a despite the political disagreements over the truce in a geneva and new york at the un security council, there was a chance that this could continue, despite the cease-fire violations and the truce violations on the ground, because this has been worked on very hard by the governor of homs-- by the governor of and the united nations in syria. we have to be mindful of the big picture, melissa, because we are talking 2500 to 3000 civilians trapped in homs, and the u.n.

estimates there are people trapped in syria in similar situations. this is a war of attrition, with the siege is a key instrument in that war of attrition. in some areas, the rebels, too, have been accused of using that instrument and cutting civilians off. >> in iraq, 15 soldiers have been killed overnight in the north of the country. a dawn were killed in attack. it is the latest bloodshed in a country where the unrest is at its worst in nearly 6 years. warnednt rouhani has that -- hassan rouhani has warned that military threats against iran are delusional and the iranian president has vowed to press on forever with iran's nuclear program. he was speaking in tehran to mark the 35th anniversary of the country's islamic revolution. the iranian president also called on world powers to match tehran's "fair and constructive

attitude was go to nuclear negotiation "fair and constructive attitude" to nuclear negotiations. they agreed to diebold information that could -- divulge information that could shed light on past research. it made the front page of most national newspapers. the iranian ministry of foreign affairs, this weekend's agreement is another step towards a peaceful resolution of the diplomatic row over the country's nuclear program. some of the more sensitive issues have yet to be addressed. the seven step program doesn't, for instance, allow for the full inspection, despite the international atomic energy agency insisting for the past 2 years its experts should be granted access to the site. >> this is a military base. it does not have anything to do with the nuclear activities. aea inspectors have visited

at least twice in the past. they couldn't find anything, any wrongdoing. >> authorities insist they have nothing to hide. inspectorser, visited a heavy water plant to allay concerns over the site's true purpose. the regime refuses to be pushed around. >> we cannot accept any closure site that weany have. accept even the idea of closing it. approach toran's negotiations with the west, the international community is looking closely to see if iran is serious in addressing concerns over its nuclear program. although most of the sanctions are still in place, people here are confident that the future will bring peace and economic stability. costshave hope that the

of living will drop. it has been very difficult for us. the situation isn't ideal, but we are optimistic. >> frozen assets will be made available and the economy will pick up. >> but not all are as enthusiastic. >> people are tired. who here has a job? look around. do you see them buying anything? they are all jobless. >> last november's deal was the first up for residents here, but it will take time before iran assigns a final agreement as international sanctions are altogether lifted. >> it is j 2 of the french of thent -- day 2 french president's three-day visit to the united states, which began yesterday by 82 or by francois hollande and president barack obama to thomas jefferson's residence in the united states, a reminder of the

bond that links the 2 countries. it is a welcome break from the romanticf hollande's troubles and france and also an opportunity to shore up business ties with the united states. it is the first full state visit by a french leader since 1996. our correspondent is traveling with the french president and he joins us now live from washington. tanks very much indeed for joining us. date 2 of this visit. this is the big day. >> you know, this is the day that every foreign leader dreams of an washington, d.c., about to with francois hollande. it is important to underline that these full honors are not granted all the time to just any leader. this is only the first time there has been an official state visit. they have done it with india and china and south korea and mexico, and brazil canceled their own state visit. it is a rare opportunity that

will get underway in just a couple of hours, when francois hollande pulls up of the white house and he will get the full military regalia come at the 21 gun salute, the works, so to speak. it will be playing of national obviously with obama standing there, smiling by his side. later in the day, while they go to the oval office, they will have behind-the-scenes chatted. they have a lot of hot topics to discuss, obviously. they are going to emerge, faced the press for the first time him and take questions from hollande willore be heading to the state department, not too far from the white house, with a lunch with vice president joe biden, secretary of state john kerry, and the end he will be rejoining barack obama and head off to arlington cemetery to the tomb of the unknown soldier, pay some respects there, and then pay some respect to world war ii veterans. obviously, the capstone, a marquee event, is going to be the glittering,

porcelain-clicking state dinner, the black-tie banquet at which hollande, the bachelor, will be presumably sitting alone at his table alongside the u.s. president and the u.s. first lady. >> this visit has been all about reminding the world of the strength of the franco-american relationship and the fact that historically, they have been , and thatr the years today, perhaps more than over the course of the last few years, they are once again very keen to late great emphasis on that particular link between them. absolutely. the headline that just keeps popping up -- everyone keeps repeating it -- it has become a cliché, that yes, the u.s.-french relationship has come a long way since freedom fries. this is a relationship that, especially on the military level, the diplomatic cooperation level, whether we are talking about iran or syria or, before that, libya,

afghanistan, and of course, the big issues of africa and fighting terrorism, these are issues where the french and the u.s. are really much working side-by-side at a time when the u.s. doesn't really have that many strong allies right now in stepe that are willing to up to the plate in a visible way as the french have been willing to do. there really 22 that rocksolid cooperation in the sense that the french up with the troops on the ground in places like mali, the central african republic, the u.s. providing back up in the form of intelligence, reconnaissance, and that side-by-side relationship is what the 2 leaders want to put forward. they want to say that we have had our differences over the years and there will always be speed bumps in any relationship as old as the u.s.-french one, going back to the u.s. revolutionary war. at the end of the day, for all of those ups and downs, they are allies who have counted on each other time and again and that is what they are continuing to do in what they say are the new

challenges of a global world. >> finally, you alluded earlier to the state dinner tonight. whererse this is the trip his girlfriend had been intended to go with her partner, the president -- she was his partner. that of course is change. how much attention has been given by the press to the absence of the former first lady? , a lothe american press of the paper editions of the newspapers have not really been giving that much coverage to the story. and again, this is the first day of the first official visit so perhaps we can expect more coverage in the days to come. the americans are much more interested in the private life. this morning on one of the big american networks here, msnbc, seen as more of a left-leaning network, they were actually asking their viewers as the question of the day on one of the new shows, who should francois hollande bring to the state dinner tonight? there is a sense of poor holland

e, the bachelor, who are you going to dance with, is he going to be sitting there all for lorn and alone at the table? yeah, the french leader is here, he is all alone, since he, where's the lady? there is a sense of that overshadowing the meat and potatoes issues that we were talking about a little earlier. those are a little bit off the radar for your average american. the whiteck obama and house want to stress positions and will be studiously avoiding any mention of the private life in discussions today, for a lot of americans that is the headline-grabbing issue of interest, the more sensational side of the strip. the president traveling alone. i want to remind our viewers that nicholas sarkozy also showed up as a bachelor after living with his former wife back in 2007 when he was visiting george w. bush. it is not the first time that a french president has shown up of the white house without a significant other sharing his hand. >> freshly disengaged.

a rather chilly looking morning there in washington. as douglas was just saying, wanted issues on which the americans and french are seeing eye to eye is french involvement .n africa it is one of the places where frances involved, and of course, the central african republic, it has 1600 men deployed. the commander of the french armed forces in the country has called the mainly christian militias the main enemy of peace and large areas of the west. indeed, attacks by the fighters who are opposed to th mainly muslim fighters have driven tens of thousands of muslims from their homes. our report is -- our reporters

750 kilometers from the capital. in the west of the central african republic, the marketplace is half empty. every single muslim resident has fled in fear of an malicious. to help -- in fear of militias. to help, police have returned to the streets but there are few in number and fax the underequipped. >> -- vastly underequipped. it is not enough. the police are under arm. >> only 21 police officers have her turn to the job, armed with just 8 shared kalashnikovs. security forces went into hiding during the lynching and villages. we weren't doing anything. it was only when the french forces arrived that we are there

to present ourselves. french troops are deployed here and are trying to get the local police back in action. their main job, to help local officials deal with the militias still at large. >> what is the relationship between them and the police and the population? >> well, there was a moment where we were at a stalemate because they don't want our presence here. >> there is still more than 100 fighters posted around the town, with no real resources, the police seized dialogue as the way forward. >> we need to approach them, to bring them in, so they develop a sense of patriotism to rebuild the country. >> to help local authorities, the french armies busy disarming the militias. at this checkpoint, they seized three rifles, ammunition, and a machete. >> we have to make them understand that they are not the

police year and ey don't carry out any attacks. >> the french army is stepping up its crackdown on the militias . the head of the french forces in the central african republic has declared they are the main enemy to peace in the country and they will be treated as an and its -- as bandits. >> here in europe, the river thames has burst its banks after reaching its highest level in years. london, hundreds of residents were evacuated and thousands of homes are still at risk. the disaster has sparked a political storm, with the prime minister's conservative government facing criticism from many residents for allegedly failing to take flood prevention measures. it was exactly one year ago today that pope benedict retired as the head of the catholic church. in the shock announcement from february 11, 2013, he said poor health meant he could no longer

lead the world's one billion catholics. a year on, a look at the discreet lifestyle the former pope has chosen. i renounce the ministry of the ship of rome. -- of bishop of rome, successor of st. peter, entrusted to me by the cardinals on the 19th of april, 2005. >> speaking in latin, pope benedict sent shockwaves through the catholic church when he announced his resignation. he became the first pope to step down in 600 years. 85 at the time, he chose to stay hishe vatican, swapping papal apartment for this residence in the garden. monastery in the middle of the vatican garden. he is living like a monk. he never goes out of his very simple and modest surroundings. he is living the life he always wanted before becoming pope. ratzingerl joseph spends his days studying and receiving visitors and playing

the piano. his personal secretary, seen here dressed in black, says he has no regrets about turning over the papacy. in the year since his retirement, he has kept out of the limelight. his last public appearance was in december, when karen pope francis -- when current pope francis paid him a christmas visit. catholics might get another chance to see them both together on april 27, when the pair's predecessor john paul ii and john 23rd will be declared saints. >> iconic child star shirley temple has died at the age of 85. the dimpled great depression actress veda became a u.s. diplomat, and died late last night. 1938,s between 1935 and when she was a very small child, america's top box office draw, a record that no other child star has come near. to act to oneo go .f our top stories

hassan rouhani has been speaking to a crowd in tehran to mark the 35th anniversary of iran's islamic revolution, and inolution that took place the wake of the departure of the shaw of iran -- shah of iran. and the proclamation 35 years ago today of the world's first islamic state. we're going to take a look on the occasion of the 35th 1979ersary back at the revolution. i'm joined in the newsroom by anna riney in -- by an iranian author and intellectual. thank you for being with us. 35 years ago you were there at the time. the extraordinary enthusiasm, one imagines, in the days just after the shah had left but

before the atomic revolution was proclaimed. there, basically, i was during the years of the revolution and three or four years after the revolution. the victory of khomeini and the clergy. and during the terror period, what we call the terror period, with mass executions that followed immediately after taking power by khomeini. >> it was initially a popular uprising against the shah that might have gone another way. >> absolutely. there were good reasons for the uprising. you had economic growth, you have the growth of the middle class, and the middle-class have access to education opportunities, economic opportunities, but what lacked seriously back then was social reforms in terms of their political anger.

, which the middle-class had grown up economically and demographically with no say in political matters, and the social classes demand lyrical participation. >> there was the time at the arab spring when people spoke of the popular uprising as one of the first uprisings -- of course from outside the arab world, but a model for what followed in the arab world afterwards. ayatollah khomeini returned from exile in paris. and then it was a different turn of the iranian revolution. >> you could very reasonably say that back then, the only politically organized and socially organized force, political force in iran, was the shia clergy. that clergy, led by ayatollah khomeini and the religious intellectuals who were around in paris during those years

, these religious forces were the only organized forces in the country. that is one reason why many ah was think that the sh the second meter, if not the leader of the revolution, because it was because of the dictatorship of the shah, the sectarian nature of his monarchy, that no other political force have anything to say. therefore, it left of the religious forces the only organized force. >> what about those first few days after khomeini had taken power? routes of those who wanted a different revolution in iran? what happened? basically --ned, there were so many things that happen, but towards the end, the shah started a series of reforms, incarnated mainly by

the dashed by his last prime minister, who was assassinated -- incarnated mainly by his last prime minister, who was assassinated 10 years later. you had an agent of reform, and that was an historic moment lost in a very, very high cost. we lost the opportunity to make meaningful reforms in iran, even constitutional reforms that would've changed iran from a monarchy to a republican system. having lost that opportunity, we engaged into what is known as the islamic revolution, which has been going on for 35 years and whose balance has sadly been calamity, disaster. is an estimate -- 50% of iranians live below the poverty line. do you see hassan rouhani within that same system which remains intact with whom i -- with olli, any above -- with ali

khameini above? >> no, hassan rouhani has never pretended to be a reformist. with oneo power campaign agent ending the sanctions. there is another fundamental reason for that. back in the time of the shah, prior to the revolution, the autocracy was unconstitutional. we had a fairly good constitution. we have gone from the revolution from an authoritarian system to a totalitarian system, and the all the difference is that -- the totalitarian system is perfectly constitutional. it is the constitution of the islamic republic, totalitarian constitution. the only way toc