x now >> now, the united states may be lifting sanctions on cuba, but it is increasing them on russia. the ruble has -- dropped 45% against the dollar, sliding rapidly in recent days. that, plus the drop in oil prices, is taking its toll on the economy. putin insists he has a two-year plan. >> the global economy will

continue to experience growth. i'm speaking about the rates of growth slowing down, but the economy itself will slow down. our economy will overcome the current situation. i estimate that will take about two years maximum. >> vladimir putin spoke for a little over three hours in moscow today. we have the main points of the speech. >> i suppose there never has been or never will be a good time -- now is as good a time as any in his final two years. he is doing what he finally believes in, acting on it. his values are converging with the policy he is pursuing. i think he has the advantage of public opinion on his side. >> our apologies. a technical gremlin there. that was interview about cuba. we will try to get that back for

you later in the show. how to deal with russia was at the top of the agenda of the european union summit in brussels. eu leaders calling on putin to make a radical change in his policy towards ukraine and learn to be more cooperative with the rest of the world. he is calling for a tougher stance in his role as european council president. hungary's prime minister has warned the eu not to be too harsh. our correspondent is covering those talks and joins us live. is the eu expected to widen sanctions against moscow, or have they gone about as far as they can go? >> quite symbolically, european leaders adopted a package of new sanctions against crimea. i'm saying symbolically because these sanctions were announced by the eu foreign ministers a couple of weeks ago.

now that they are endorsed by the leaders, they will come into force on saturday. they target tourism. crimea is a popular holiday destination. eu companies and eu citizens will no longer be operated -- allowed to operate in crimea. they will not be allowed to buy properties, hold sales restaurants in the crimean peninsula. to talk about the sanctions more broadly, as you said in your introduction, among the 28th member states, the official line from the european union, from the new eu diplomatic chief is that europe needs to keep up the pressure, and they are calling on vladimir putin to radically change his attitude. upon arrival here, the french president, francois hollande, floated the prospect of maybe scaling down the sanctions.

if we are getting the right gestures, he said if, which is not the case at the moment europe could well be tempted to scale down the sanctions. different messages. we are in a wait and see situation in brussels. the dramatic event in moscow, with the ruble plummeting, is changing the picture. the eu wants to see beyond the press conference, what mr. putin has in store. >> the other aim of the summit is to boost investment in the struggling eurozone. has any progress been made there? >> jean-claude juncker is here to present his 315 billion investment plan for europe. he says that the money in the pot is not enough. he does not have 315 billion euros, only 21 billion euros

starting with that money, he hopes to invest 300 billion euros worth of private investment to europe. he is calling on the member states to set -- step up to the plate and add money to the front . so far, no commitments have been made, talking with the french delegation. we are waiting to see whether this plan really works. we will see what it has to do with the 21 billion euros on the bank account. he hopes that these will generate 15 times more private investment. there -- >> thank you for that report from brussels. a french arms deal has fallen afoul of those worsening ties between europe and russia. russians sailors have left the support without the vessel they were supposed to sail away on. france is suspending delivery of the warship until further notice . >> farewell, france.

on thursday, 400 russian marines left the city without the french-made warship they were supposed to take home. the helicopter carrier will stay docked here in the french port. it's the latest development in the diplomatic employment between paris -- embroiled in between paris and moscow -- embroilment between paris and moscow. >> conditions have not been met for the ship to be delivered. what are the conditions? a cease-fire and a political solution. today, these conditions have not been fulfilled. >> vladimir putin did not mention the ship during his annual press conference on thursday, but he had already spoken a profitable sanctions -- spoken of possible sections against france if it was not delivered. the contract includes two carriers for a total of 2.1 billion euros.

before leaving, the failures went grocery shopping in the city. -- the salyers -- the sailors went grocery shopping in the city. the crisis drags on. >> u.s. president barack obama is floating stiff opposition to his -- is facing stiff opposition to his plans to restore ties to cuba. some democrats are opposed. yesterday, obama announced an end to the 54 --year-old policy of isolating the communist -- the 54-year-old policy of isolating the communist state. ending the trade embargo can only be done by congress something that is unlikely to happen anytime soon, given the current level of opposition in washington. our international affairs editor armen georgian is here to discuss this in detail. it seems obama is half a policy -- has half a policy here. he will end his isolationist era with cuba. at the same time, he can't really first -- fully restore trade, can he?

>> he has a lot of leeway. his executive powers could go much further than he has chosen to take them so far. he could, for example, further expand the categories of people authorized to travel to cuba. he could also further loosen trade bans. some voices are actually calling on him to go further. there are, however, six provisions in the sanctions passed by congress, which limit what obama can do. those things are very clear. they relate to telecom investments, dealing with specific ports in cuba. but there is a kind of division of responsibility here. there is, as you say, a pretty bad political mood on capitol hill, which means that some leading republicans say that they will look at blocking funding for the planned u.s. embassy in cuba, and also look at blocking the nomination of a u.s. ambassador to cuba.

remember, the republicans themselves are divided. you have the ideologues who oppose any concessions to the regime. they call it appeasement. on the other hand, you have the free marketeers, who want to expand business opportunities in the emerging private sector on cuba. >> there are key democrats opposed to it as well, interestingly. what would it take for a full normalization? cuba being like any other country in the world that the united eights can do business -- united states can do business with. >> congress would have to legally repeal the sanctions. obama can chip away at them, but only congress can fully repeal them. the condition for that total repeal in the 1996 pounds burton act -- 1996 act is not cuba transitions to a democratic government that does not include the castro's. at some point, the government won't include the castro's. that doesn't mean the government

will be democratic. you might be well -- you might well be looking at the chinese-style economy. a private sector with a powerful communist hardy with vested economic interest -- communist party with vested economic interest. one could imagine the full normalization between cuba and the u.s. is still quite some years away. >> thanks very much, armen georgian. the news coming in, the deputy leader of the islamic state group has been killed in a u.s. airstrike, according to senior u.s. army officials -- according to a senior u.s. army official. he was killed along with the group's military leader in iraq and a leader in the iraqi town of mosul. their deaths are said to be the result of multiple strikes which go back to mid-november. it has taken until now to determine that they were killed. the islamic state group having ceased 00-- seized swathes of

territory in war-torn syria and iraq as well. an attack being blamed on boko haram. 32 people were killed on the -- in the raid. poor communications in this rural part of the country mean the news is only just being reported. >> sunday last saw the latest deadly attack by boko haram in nigeria. eyewitnesses fled the assault in the village of gumsuri. gunmen killed 32 locals and kidnapped dozens of women and girls. the village is located 70 kilometers south of my degree -- south of maiduguri. the village's anti-jihad militia was overrun by boko haram. cameroonian army troops rebuffed

a boko haram attack, killing 116 islamists. at least one soldier was killed. they are separated from boko haram-controlled territory by a bridge. northern cameroon has been the target of attacks before. tens of dozens of soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base. they have been threatening incursions into cameroon. a few dozen soldiers have died in the attacks. >> twoo tunisia, where people are preparing to vote in the presidential runoff. it comes as the islamic state group which operates in syria and iraq, claims responsibility for the assassination of two tunisian politicians in 2013.

we have that story on the tunisian campaign. >> after three years in power and despite widespread witticism, the current president defends his -- widespread criticism, the current president defends his legacy. >> we've been asked to create institutions of a democratic state. we've been asked to turn over to you, the people, the decision to turn your own -- the decision to elect your own leader for the first time in history. we've done all this. >> the party has decided not to endorse him in the second round of the presidential elections. smaller parties have vowed to support him instead of his rival, a former member of the old regime. >> he is a human rights activist. he finally against the dictatorship. he is a symbol of the dictatorship in tunisia -- his opponent is a symbol of the dictatorship in tunisia. >>'s opponents accuse him of being -- >> his opponents accuse

him of being -- >> has been on the political stage for 30 years and on the human rights international stage further -- for years. he has a real project for the country that is based on power-sharing. >> at political rallies and during tv interviews, he wants to prove he is relaxed and close to the people. >> he has worked towards finding a solution to an important problem, which has become one of our slogans the fight against poverty in tunisia. he is an upright man and intellectual man, but has opened the doors of the presidential palace to everyone, young and older people, to everyone. >> he wants to be seen as the protector of the revolution's advances, but he now has to convince voters. >> a reminder of our top stories. vladimir putin has been shrugging off the effect of western sanctions and the plunging value of the ruble in

his -- ruble. in his three-our address he insisted he wasn't to blame for tensions over ukraine -- his three-hour address, he insisted he wasn't to blame for tensions over ukraine. lawmakers have said they will block efforts to create an embassy in havana. boko haram seized -- poor communications mean the news is now only just being ordered -- reported. let's get some business news now. kate moody is with us in the studio, talking about the vladimir putin three-hour event. >> or it will be within two years. one of the main messages for the russian president was an attempt to reassure the russian people in the wake of this battering of the ruble this week. vladimir putin said external factors, including western sanctions, falling oil prices, were the primary causes of this

week's turmoil on the currency markets. he says he believes it will take less than two years for russia to rebound, whether or not there is a change in oil prices. the ruble, which has lost a 5% of its value this year, and has taken a real battering -- lost 45% of its value this year and has taken a real battering, did while he speak -- dipped while he speak but did rebound. >> the ruble seems to have found a bit of stability around .60. that is being assisted by the degree of stability in the price of oil. this doesn't mean that the present -- the problems that russia faces in terms of its economy are, by any means over. it has plentyy to worry about in terms of the potential for

inflation, the interest rate hikes it has undertaken this week, how that will affect the consumer base of the russian economy, how that's going to affect businesses going forward. >> the russian markets were boosted following the president's address. it rallied following the speech and closed up just about 4.5%. the dollar dominated the rts index. we did see a continuing flood of consumers hitting the stores during -- the stores. while the markets may have been reassured, the public was less so. the ftse and the frankfurt dax ended the day up over 2%. european investors boosted by a fairly upbeat statement from the u.s. federal reserve yesterday. the positive trend continued on wall street as well. investors have been encouraged

by signs that fewer americans were applying for weekly jobless benefits, combined with the reassurance from the fed. all markets trading up close to 2% at the moment. about 45 minutes left of trading on u.s. markets. in france, 13 companies have been fined a total of nearly one billion euros over price-fixing. the company -- countries antitrust -- the country's antitrust body says -- >> they are household staples, shampoo, detergent, toothpaste. supermarket prices for necessities like these were fixed years by multinationals, according to france's competition of authority. among the culprits, colgate l'oreal, and gillette. >> they were so well known, made by companies that were so powerful. you couldn't take their products down from the shelves. >> in 2006, for example, prices

soared between 4% and 6%, a decision negotiated during secret meetings held in restaurants. they published the handwritten notes. eight manufacturers who produced household cleaning supplies like fabric softener's, liquid soap, or surface cleaners, were slapped with a 345 million euro fine. five more companies were fined 606 million euros for price-fixing on hygiene products like toothpaste and shampoo. they are among the biggest penalties imposed by france's competition authority to date. unilever and l'oreal have already announced they will appeal the decision. >> experts say the hack of sony pictures may be the most expensive cyber attack to date on a u.s. business. threats from hackers forced the studio to cancel the release of a film called "the interview," a fictional, satirical plan to kill the north korean leader. it costs $80 million to make and

market. other leaks have damaged the studio's reputation. damage could top $200 million. they are already struggling to restructure based businesses. this has raised questions among some analysts about whether the firm can cut it in the glamorous world of hollywood. >> i doubt whether sony, which is the hardware and electronics company, can manage sony pictures entertainment. i don't think sony's management of that branch is really functioning. in this sense, there is a chance that its brand image could be tainted. >> some harsh words about the future of sony pictures. different opinions on how lasting the effect of this hack will be. >> thanks very much. we are going to take a look at the best of the internet over

the past 24 hours. it is "web news." >> hello, and welcome to the "web news," with our pick of the stories making the online headlines. coming up on today show, -- today's show, india shows solidarity with the people of pakistan. actor samuel l. jackson sings against violence in the u.s. -- police violence in the u.s. it's the time for contemplation and reflection on pakistani web following the attack on peschel are -- on peshawar. it has been widely condemned by pakistani web users and neighbors in india many of whom have shown solidarity with the people of pakistan. thousands have posted under the #indiawithpakistan hashtag

sharing their sadness and sending condolences to the families of victims. the hashtag was taken up by ordinary members of the public and indian politicians, pledging support to the people of pakistan. prime minister narendra modi has joined the movement with a series of tweets strongly slamming the terrorist attack. while many social networkers are announcing that they would like to donate blood to help those injured for the attack -- in the attack. they want to support pakistan through this difficult time. samuel l. jackson has reached out to other famous folk via his

facebook page, urging them to sing against police violence. the song, composed in tribute to eric garner, who died after being held in a choke hold and wrestled to the floor by police, growing the list of black men who have died at the hand of police officers in recent weeks. >> ♪ i can hear my neighbor crying i can't breathe now i'm in the struggle and i can't leave ♪♪ >> the initiative is growing more support online. scores of regular web users have already gotten on board, loving the actor's idea. there are numerous scripts now available on youtube, as we can see here. >> ♪ i can't breathe still i'm in the struggle and i can't leave ♪ >> a number of famous faces have

responded to samuel jackson's challenge, like this english band that had a series of hits in the 1990's. >> ♪ calling out the violence of the raging police we ain't goinna stop -- >> it was inspired by the famous ice bucket challenge. he poured showcasing over his head to draw attention to gun violence and how police officers use disproportionate violence against african americans. this was extremely popular with web users. on-demand car service uber has been facing backlash in australia after increasing fares by up to four times normal rates during the hostage siege in sydney. uber said the cost increase was

to encourage drivers to pick up more passengers from that area but the move was met with strong distaste from users, who felt the firm was only doing it for financial gain. the firm has issued an apology. as is the case with a white --, over 1/4 of the world's mammals are at risk of extension. it is featured on the info graphic put together by a journalist. it is available on the 5w gr aphics blog. an italian photographer takes pictures of dogs looking like famous writers. the collection called poetic

dogs, sees man's best friend taking on the heirs of world-renowned -- the hairs of world-renowned writers, like edgar allen poe. the aim is to promote animal shelters and raise awareness about abandoned dogs.cccccc

m pacifica this is democracy now. >> today the united states of america is changing its relationship with the people of cuba. and the most significant changes in our policy in more than 50 years, we will in an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests and instead, we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. >> president obama announces the