' ering that is going on. ukraine, africa, the middle east, condemning jihadist's. part of the fallout on the taliban attack in peshawar. over 140 people were killed there, mostly children. the controversial film "the interview" screened this christmas.

thank you very much for being with us. a very merry christmas to you. let's bring you our main story now. tens of thousands of people filling st. peter's square to hear pope francis deliver his traditional christmas message and blessing. in contrast to the usually jovial man, he appeared austere as he talked about human suffering across the world. in his christmas message, pope francis delivered her somber lament for those suffering from war and upheaval in ukraine, africa, and the middle east. condemning islamic state in all but name. >> i asked the savior of the world today to look upon our brothers and sisters in iraq and syria who for too long have suffered the affect of ongoing conflict and who together with those belonging to other ethnic and religious groups, are

suffering brutal persecution. an unusually grave pope francis went on to decry the kidnapping and killing of innocent people in nigeria and the democratic republic of the congo askingresponsible to commit to dialogue and to overcome differences. the pope bemoaned the widespread suffering of children and singled out the brutal killing of more than 130 students in pakistan last week. the pontiff also thanked the people who were trying to help, not least, victims of the ebola epidemic in west africa. >> i thank all who are courageously dedicated to assisting the sick and their family members. i once more make an urgent appeal that the necessary assistance and treatment be provided.

>> pope francis deplored the troubles afflicting mainly poor countries but he also prayed to an end of the differences in the world and a softening of hardened hearts. >> we heard pope francis speaking and the british queen has also spoken of the ebola epidemic in her annual christmas message. speaking of the sacrifices by medical teams in the face of the virus. >> it takes different forms. in scotland after the referendum , many felt great disappointment while others felt great relief. mending these differences will take time. it is an even harder task. i have been deeply touched this

year by the selflessness of aid workers and medical volunteers who have gone abroad to help victims of conflict or diesel -- diseases like ebola, often at great personal risk. >> it was delivered a little earlier in the u.k. celebrations have been muted in sierra leone this year as the country struggles with banning festivities to try to prevent the spread of the disease. >> bringing the spirit of christmas to ebola patients health workers in this red cross center gave a concert to celebrate the day. most cap a safe disk and but one worker in full protective gear

joined sick children with a little dance. the celebrations were an exception to an otherwise somber holiday season in sierra leone. christmas decorations are out at the residence are not really in the mood for celebrating. >> we are not enjoying festivities. there is no joy there. >> authorities banned all public celebrations to prevent the spread of the ebola outbreak in a country that accounts for nearly half of all declared cases. >> one way we can break the chain of transmission is at the community level, and once we do that we can scale down the area. >> the government also imposed a lockdown in the north in an effort to contain the spread of the deadly virus. shops and markets have been shut down and all non-ebola related travel has been suspended.

>> the fallout over the taliban an attack on the school in pakistan continues. a court has been set up to review the suspected terrorists in the wake of the slaughter over 140 people in that school attack. most of course were children. pakistan has already vowed to execute 500 militants as a result. >> in a midnight addressed to the nation, pakistan's prime minister announce further steps to crush terrorism. >> in the past criminals involved in heinous acts of terrorism took advantage. therefore that the courts will be established so that terrorists can be tried without delay. the special courts will operate for two years.

>> pakistan's political parties were unanimous in their decision to amend the constitution in order to establish eshelman military tribunals. the prime minister has also pledged to ban terrorist communication from its airwaves, create a special antiterrorism task force, and ban the operation of armed organizations as well as cut off funding for terrorists. it comes after the massacre of more than 100 schoolchildren by an offshoot of the pakistani taliban. this comes with a reversal of a six-year moratorium on the death penalty. up to 500 people are said to be executed in the coming weeks. despite this, he has long been accused of playing a double game, supporting militant networks for his own agenda. critics say these new measures may not stand -- extend to the organizations but focus exclusively on the pakistani taliban. >> no gift of peace in ukraine

this christmas. the talks in minsk have yielded little. separatists have told reporters there could be called locations that might stretch into the weekend. some 1300 people have been killed since the so-called truce on september 5 in eastern ukraine. kiev said the civil war sponsored by russia. >> russia is angry at ukraine. the russian foreign minister is voicing this anger. he said it poses a threat to european security. according to him, it is fueling confrontation between russia and ukraine. it will have to undergo some

serious reforms before joining nato. also saying they will take adequate measures, whatever that may be. >> after all the hype, the and the cyber attack, international incidents and allegations of critics, -- critics are apparently less than impressed with the film "the interview here go -- discerning movie watchers have been underwhelmed. >> the unorthodox premier of accompanied by the codirector, seth rogen came out to thank fans in person for supporting a film which many thought would never be released. >> if it was not for people like

you guys, this literally would not happen. >> sony pictures has decided to show "the interview" in over 300 independent cinemas across the united states. it's also available on the internet. the comedy centers on a fictional plot to assassinate north korean leader kim john kuhn. -- kim jong un. >> we would love it if you could take him out. >> it's a satire that has taken on a distinctly political hue. many see the film's release as a victory for freedom of expression. >> people are saying i'm going to watch the movie, but i don't know. but after being subjected to the worst cyberattacks ever directed at an american company, sony pictures canceled the release of the movie. the fbi points the thinker

squarely at north korea. u.s. president barack obama had expressed his concern at hollywood's apparent decision to self censor. now he was all smiles on holiday in hawaii. >> merry christmas, everybody. >> with the film itself embroiled in a heavy cocktail of hacking, terrorist threats and agitation, it has become its own publicity campaign. >> money falling from the air, a christmas gift for some people in hong kong. banknotes taking from an armored car because the rear doors were open. police are asking those who may have profited to hand it all back. >> just in time for christmas millions of hong kong dollars lay strewn across this major road on wednesday. cars slammed to a halt and

pedestrians dashed onto the tarmac to grab banknotes that had fallen out of an armored van and spilled out of their containers. >> two of the three plastic containers broke. they probably broken that fell to the ground. >> hong kong police secure the area and the superintendent issued a statement warning citizens they were committing a crime if they held on to the money. >> i ask every member of the public that if they picked up any money to hand it over to a police officer or a police station as soon as possible. police have recovered 500,000 euros out of the 1.5 million that went missing. >> you should really return the money to the police. >> i saw an old woman who could not run away. >> reportedly driving for half an hour before he realized one of the van doors was open, the driver will perhaps be seen by some as an unwitting santa.

but the remarkable story there from hong kong. >> next, vladimir putin has ordered a price freeze as russia faces his most serious economic crisis in a decade. sanctions imposed by the west and the ruble is in freefall. >> vodka named after the man who ordered the price every bottle of vodka in russia to be frozen. vladimir putin has told the government to cap the price of the drink. the move folks to ensure that russians will still be able to off-road -- afford their beverage of choice. in the pasture, the price of vodka has gone up by 30%. that's three times the average rate of inflation in 2014.

for the kremlin, stopping the increase in vodka prices is just as much a public health policy as an economic one. the price hike has seen an explosion in the consumption of alcohol which is more dangerous than alcohol that is easily distilled. russia is the fourth biggest consumer of alcohol after belarus, and lithuania. it's not the first time the kremlin has tackled vodka prices. during the same time in 2010 they imposed a minimum price. the reason is simple, the time between christmas and new year is when russians drink the most vodka. >> for more news, stay with us. you're watching "france 24."

hello and welcome to business interview. today we're meeting a french entrepreneur who in just over three years has grown from scratch to expected revenue this year of 3 million euros. they make ursulines jewelry that sells online. he is the cofounder and director. thank you for joining us. >> thank you very much for having me. >> tell us why you wanted to create this company. >> it all began with a personal story because my now husband actually proposed to me. like a lot of friends couples we realized that the experience was not as magnificent as we expected. of course the jewelry was superb, everything was beautiful, but it was very intimidating. it was not always the dreamlike experience we thought it would

be. very expensive, of course. the choice was pretty limited to diamonds and white gold. we decided we wanted something different for this engagement ring. it's one of the most important pieces of jewelry you will have in your life, one of the most expensive things you buy when you are that age. we ask our friends, how did it go? people in french usually go to little local jewelers, but the experience is very old, not always very modern. we want to create something modern, something that would change the way people think, by and really relate to jewelry. we created an internet website or you can customize your jewelry so you can really have a piece of jewelry you would never find elsewhere. you can personalize with gemstones and with the metals of your choice to have something that is unique for you, for experience that is also unique. >> when 11 was the year you

started the business not the easiest time. what was it like at that particular time? >> it was difficult, but it was probably also a chance for us because the jewelry market was not going very well. jewell loyd crashed in france -- jewelry crashed in france. it was difficult to find people who are ready to make jewelry in a maid to order manner and a very high-end way and in a very short time span. our jewelry is made into-three weeks. it was very difficult to find these people. >> we finally found some people who make our jewelry pieces in two or three weeks. >> her story of -- her story is interesting because you followed what is a well trodden path here in france. what made the change to becoming entrepreneurs?

>> i like to think of myself as someone very spontaneous. i was probably a little bit pushed by my father, who really wanted me to do some great studies in france. he wanted me to work for the civil service. in the end, i realized after failing at one school that i was really not made for that. i wanted adventure and risk. i wanted to live my life and wet wanted it to be and not to just dream the dream of my father. it was difficult to tell him and to actually come to that idea, but i started eking for myself and decided i wanted to create my company. today i'm very happy about that but at the time it was very difficult. >> your first job in disney's wasn't in a big company. -- her first job in business. >> i am a parisian girl, so who

would not want to sell chocolates? i like things to be very detailed and well made. i was really wanting to have a first experience in a small company to really understand it. i like that experience and i realized i only wanted to be in a small company because i really want to see the effect of my actions, and only in a small company can you really do something and see directly via fax, and really see what will happen next and be responsible for your actions. that is the reason why i wanted to create my company. chris there are many french entrepreneurs they go to the united states to get that kind of experience. >> i did study a little bit in the united states, but france is my mother country. my parents live here. in the jewelry business, i still believe that france is one of the places where craftsmanship is the most excellent, so i wanted to create my company here

for the jewelry business. france is a country where life is not easy for entrepreneurs and the market is not always very good. growth is not perfect, but i wanted to contribute also to making the french country better for entrepreneurs. >> you have written about this before. what is it like when you're starting out? >> of course the market is not going well in the jewelry business but also everywhere else in france. we talk a lot about it in the media, but administration is not always helpful for young entrepreneurs like us, so we had a time of controls and are company, which is fine. you need to have controls in a country like france, of course, but the timing was not the best. people didn't really listen to what we had to say. it ended very well, but it was

very time consuming. we are not always really helped by the administration. fixed the problem many small business owners bring up is the cost of hiring people. you have 13 employees. click for going to have 16 in a few months. a must say, the cost of employment is so expensive that you cannot employ that many people, or you have to employ people and stretched them maybe a little more than you should. probably also not paid them as much, because if a person would pay 2000 euros, my company would actually pay 4000 euros. that cost is directly out of the pocket of my company. >> the efforts we are seeing from the government, is that something you welcome? >> i'm hoping it will change not

that much to read my fingers are crossed and i hope it will change. >> this is something a lot of new companies face difficult here in france. what is your experience? >> it's not as difficult as you would expect, if you have a good project and a good team, you work hard and prove that your execution is good, i think there is a lot of capital, even in france. it's probably the lack of good projects that is more of a problem. also because of all the hardships of administration etc. it's very difficult to start your business. but there are good funds to help you raise a lot more money. it is still possible to do it in france. >> you talked about how it led

to where you are now. is that important process to go through, to fail? >> i don't advocate failure. i would hope people never have to fail because it is always a very difficult and strenuous moment. for me, it was life-changing. it was the moment when i decided i wanted to take risks. i believe that failure is a proof that you took a risk. in that regard it's very important to learn how to fail. in france, fortunately i think maybe because of the way school is made, it's not always a good thing to fail and i think people focus a lot of bad things about that. i'm pretty sure failure can sometimes do good and change lives. maybe it is a good thing in the in. >> when you're starting out you need to make sure you have the best people around you. >> i married my associate and my

other associate is one of my best friends. the other is the brother of my husband, so it's a very family like business. i just wanted to have very smart people around me, people who believed in the project and really wanted to live the adventure. when you create a company, it's always about that, it's about investing yourself. i can tell you, you really breathe, sleep, and eat when you are in the company. and for the people who are really in the company, we need to have people that really want to be part of the project and that believe we are changing the rules of the jewelry business. i think it's very important as part of the process for hiring new people. we are going to the u.k., that will be in march 2015. maybe germany also. we believe that building a brand in france would also be very

interesting a broad in the u.k., and of course being a bigger company, having more of a top-of-the-line products. >> thank you for joining us. thank you for watching. stay with us.

f 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 and an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries. >> as president obama ann