♪ >> the palestinian leadership has taken a decisive step in a confrontation with israel. president mahmoud abbas signed 20 international agreement yesterday, including one paving the way for palestinians to become members of the international criminal court. in syria, the icc could then prosecute -- in theory, the icc could then prosecute israeli officials for any war crimes of the last 20 years. >> a new member for the

international criminal court. palestinian president mahmoud abbas signed a statute joining states recognizing the icc as an international tribunal combating genocide and crimes against to maddie. guaranteed to spark controversy with two non-members of the court, the united states and israel. prime minister netanyahu warned that joining the icc exposed the palestinians to prosecution for supporting hamas. >> they have more to fear, having formed a government with hamas, a known terrorist organization. >> the palestinian decision comes a day after a stinging defeat at the un security council, where members voted down a resolution calling to an inend to israeli occupation and the custodian -- establishment of a palestinian state by 2017.

the united states said that dialogue would be a more effective solution than diplomatic confrontation. but palestinian leaders insisted they would continue their battle for recognition on the global stage, with abbas signing on to 20 international agreements. >> i spoke to our correspondent in jerusalem. i asked him about israeli reaction to the news of the palestinians joining the icc. >> the israeli prime minister was quick to issue a statement saying that the palestinians essentially have more to fear about joining the icc than israel. he said that the palestinians have formed a government with hamas, a terrorist organization according to his words. he also likened hamas to the islamic state. a very quick response, a reactive response from the israeli prime minister, and a warning, in fact to palestinian

president mahmoud abbas, that if he in fact goes ahead and registers a complaint to the icc with regards to israel's settlement building or possible war crimes committed in gaza that israel would go ahead and file charges against palestinian officials, relying on that the palestinians recently formed a government with hamas. >> do we know whether palestinians have concrete elements, has been concurrently building a case against israel these last few months or years? or at this stage, is it more of a threat, more of leverage against israel? >> i do not think that this is a threat or leverage. various u.n. inquiries have been coming and going to the occupied palestinian territories to investigate possible violations,

u.n. violations, human rights violations, investigating the settlement building. so i would imagine that palestinian officials have a good idea of what they can go after if they decide to go after officials for settlement building or possible war crimes in the gaza strip. we know that immediately following the gaza strip, there was a mission in gaza to collect evidence of possible war crimes. so there is a good chance that they have a good idea about what they can go after if they decide to. >> close to 800 migrants, most of them syrian, are being processed by italian authorities in gallipoli after a massacre was very nearly averted, in the words of the italian coast guard. they managed to take control of

the ship just a few kilometers before it crashed into the shore. >> scared and exhausted, the migrants were assisted by italian rescuers. hundreds of people mainly from syria, made the desperate journey hoping for a better life in europe. in nearly ended in tragedy. the ordeal started tuesday off the greek island of corfu, where the ship blue sky m set up a distract -- distress signal. the greek authority says it was a case of humanitarian aid. >> the person on the phone said the passengers did not have food, water, or blankets. >> greek patrol boats were dispatched. the cargo container was inspected, but authorities found nothing suspicious. the ship continued its journey heading to croatia. but instead, it changed course making for the italian coast. fearing the ship was set on a collision course, the italian coast guard intervened. boarding the ship, authorities found the crew missing.

they took control and ended the nightmare journey. human traffickers who organize operations like this often abandon the ships before they reach sure to avoid arrest. >> the first bodies of victims from the airasia crash were flown back to indonesia. two corpses were recovered for identification. relatives have taken dna tests to facilitate the process. search efforts continued as sonar images reportedly located large portions of the plane 60 meters underwater. bad weather prevented divers from entering the water. conditions are expected to worsen on friday. the ebola virus in sierra leone is far from defeated. the latest numbers from the world health organization contradict recent reports that the spread of the disease had slowed. there were 337 reported cases in the past week, almost half in the capital. the highest incidence of ebola in freetown in a month.

calm has returned to gambia after an attempted coup d'etat yesterday. the president was traveling abroad at the time of fighting, and he is now back in the capital. security has been increased, but there has been no word from the government or the president. no clear explanation of what happened at the moment. ban ki-moon has called for an investigation to shed light into yesterday's events. every 31st of december the french addresses the nation and presents his wishes for the coming year. it is an opportunity to cast an eye on the year that was, and layout a vision for the coming months usually the style of his speech is scrutinized as much as the content itself. here is an excerpt. fronts along once to finis -- wants to end negativity in france. >> i am aware of what we face. this evening, i am thinking of

families who worry about their children's future. when faced with unemployment and exclusion. but i want to see an end to all the negativity and despond and see. france is a great country. it is the fifth economic power in the world, and france fulfills its responsibilities every timepiece is threatened. thanks to our soldiers in africa and iraq. they make their country proud. >> the latter main french soldiers in afghanistan can now come home -- last remain french soldiers in afghanistan can now come home. they have officially handed over responsibly to a turkish contingent, putting an end to the french war effort in afghanistan, which saw 89 soldiers killed in combat. kate moody was at the ceremony in kabul. >> a monument was unveiled in the shape of the ipo tower commemorating the 89 french soldiers who lost their lives there since 2001.

soldiers also marked the end of france's military presence in afghanistan, handing over the military airport to a turkish unit, part of nato's two-year support mission. 13,000 military personnel, mostly americans will remain in the country to train afghan forces. french troops will no longer play a role there. >> a considerable amount has been accomplished in 13 years. in terms of governance development,. security obviously -- development, security. obviously there is a lot to do but i think troops can leave with the satisfaction of a mission accomplished. >> they were fears sparked by a renewed state of attacks by the taliban in 2014. nearly 4600 afghan army and police were killed by insurgents. overall, 3500 foreign soldiers died in the afghan war

including over 2000 americans. >> the political transition in tunisia is now almost complete. a new president was sworn in today. the first time since independence that the country was able to democratically elected leader. he has a tough task ahead -- shoring up the economy and reconciling rebel factions. charlotte hawkins has more. >> a historic moment as the interim president hands over power to the newly elected head of state. the handshake between them, and tunisia's first democratic transition. winning with 56% of the vote, the new president wreck -- committed himself to reconciling the population. >> as head of state, i pledge to be the president of all tunisian men and women. i will be the guarantor of national unity. [applause]

>> central to the public's concerns is security, particularly the fight against militant extremists. >> terrorism is a major national and international issue. we should all unite and work together to fight against it. >> terrorists have taken advantage of the situation in our country. stricken by poverty and the high on planet rate -- unemployment rate. >> struggles with security will go hand in hand with economic development. among his tasks, reducing social inequality regional development, and fighting unemployment, currently over 15%. in order to not disappoint the expectations of a population dreaming of stability and prosperity, four years after the country's uprising. >> political dissidents are still being targeted by the cuban regime. it seems that has not changed

since the normalization of diplomatic ties with the u.s. earlier this month. a prominent opposition blogger says her husband was released from jail after being detained earlier this week, for several other dissidents are still behind bars. >> on sunday, the cuban dissident group ladies in white processes -- protested in havana, asking for the release of political prisoners. cuban leaders authorized the march, but two years later chose a different approach as other dissidents planned a new demonstration. cuba's best-non-blogger was placed under house arrest. her husband, the leader of an opposition group was detained with a dozen other people. on her website, sanchez reports of the arrest of an artist who was organizing tuesday's banned open mic event. dozens of activists are seen

waiting for her at revolution squas come two -- two weeks states planned to normalize relations with cuba. the state department said -- >> we strongly condemn the use of arbitrary detention to silence critics, disrupt peaceful assembly, and intimidate citizens. >> washington adds it will continue to speak out about human rights as it restores ties with cuba. the process will begin in january, when the u.s. will send a delegation to havana for the first official visit in almost 50 years -- 60 years. >> parts of the world have already stepped into 2015. let's take a look at some of the early new year celebrations. starting with dubai the most recent. there you go. that is at one of the tallest towers in the world. then we can look at hong kong, which arguably had one of the best shows so far.

that would be hong kong, with the recognizable day -- bay. followed shortly by bangkok the capital thailand. and last but not least not to be outdone pyongyang. that's what we're looking at right now. pyongyang ringing in the new year. let's take a new look at headlines on france 24. palestinians moved to join the international criminal court as president money would abbas signs a statute mah --moud abbas sings a statute. italian coast guard managed to take control of a ship moments before it crashed into the coastline. the ship was carrying 700 migrants, most of them syrian.

a historic day for tunisia -- the first democratically elected head of state says he promises to reconcile rival factions. let's get a round up of the day's business news with marcus, who is back with this onset -- us on set. it has been a difficult year for the euro. but 2015 start on a high note. >> we have been talking about the eurozone in negative terms all week because of political turmoil in greece. that has waned in global markets. the latest difficulties increase seem to highlight the difficulties that still lie ahead for the eurozone in 2015. but the year's end has a vote of confidence in the currency. lithuania will be joining as the

19th member of the currency area. with a population of just over 3 million people lithuania is relatively small. but it's economy is relatively healthily -- healthy. with a growth rate of 1.3%. polls suggest more than half of lithuanians support the adoption of the euro. their considerations may not just be economic, though. they are also political. >> we are in lithuania's capital, vilnius. he runs a company that makes solar panels. most of his customers are in the eurozone. >> poland, germany -- >> the introduction of the single currency is smooth. the lithuanian litas has been pegged to the euro for 10 years. but people still see it as a big step. >> it shows the progress of our country, how we are moving. our economy has grown in the

last three years. >> after its first attempt to join the euro in 2007 failed, the country embarked on austerity to meet conditions. the vice chair of the bank of lithuania sold the benefits of euro membership. >> the eurozone is the core of the european union and from a political point of view it is a very important step. because this is another line of defense for our economy. >> when russian intervention in the ukraine began, they were membered bloodshed in the country's fight for independence in 1991. today, the new currency reassures that they will retain the design that signifies the country's independence. >> there are the european stars,

and he rides across the stars. entering the eurozone gives us additional security. we will not be alone. the russians are just 40 kilometers away. they can be here in an hour or two if we don't get properly organized. >> lithuania joining the euro deepens its membership in the eu. 24 years after independence, lithuanians still have moscow's imperialism very much on their minds. >> we will move on to the stock markets next. in the united states, there is less than an hour to go before the markets close out 2014. before that, let's bring you up-to-date with where the american indices are this session. as you can see we are looking at a negative session this wednesday, the last session of the trading year. investors are digesting a reading of weekly jobless claims that was slightly worse than

expected. on the upside, a gauge of home sales was better than expected. let's also bring you european figures. on this side of the atlantic the cac 40 and ftse ended higher. the dax was not trading. traders there had their last session on tuesday. if we summarize 2014 on the european markets, it has been lackluster. the dax gained, and the cac and ftse traded down. f thetse -- the ftse is pretty much dominated by oil companies which is why the index took a hard hit. let's bring you up-to-date with a few other stories we're watching for you. manufacturing in china contracted in december. a reading from hsbc came in at 49.6. a reading under 50 signifies contraction.

this is the first time since may the figure came in below the key threshold. it is a sign the chinese economy is cooling off when it comes to economic growth. the russian government is taking action to prop up companies struggling with western sanctions and low energy prices. they bought 40 billion euros of shares in gazprom bank. , separately they are pumping rubles into an arctic gas project. russia is a loser as oil prices fall, but they are also -- there are also winners. american drivers saved billions in 2014, how much less they spent on petrol during the year in comparison to 2013. so says the alto association aaa. most of the savings came in the last quarter, as prices tumbled towards the end of the year. on average, every american

household spent $150 less on petrol. a pretty astounding ride when it comes to oil prices in the last few months. 12 months ago, brent crude was trading at around $110 a barrel. this session, it is trading around $57. a halving of the brent crude price. >> and $14 billion saved in the u.s. economy. a sizable chunk of money. >> a lot of extra cash for a lot of people. they can go out and spend that money on other things. >> and it helps the economy, no doubt. thank you very much. stay tuned to france 24. let's take a quick look at what is making headlines on the internet. ♪ >> welcome to the web news.

the stories making the online headlines. coming up on today's show, responding to the fall of the ruble with satire and jokes. an online campaign to help a homeless man in the u.s. and a behind-the-scenes look at an animated movie. falling oil prices have seen the russian ruble lose about half its value against the dollar over the past few weeks, plunging russia's economy into recession -- recession and raising the cost of living. it has become a popular topic online with russians coming up with imaginative ways to overcome the gloom. many have taken to social networks to respond to that follow their currency with irony and humor. these poke fun at russian coins and notes that are worth very little. you see the ruble symbol at the

very bottom. one site is looking to bring down web users' stress levels by providing live updates of heavy ruble is faring against other currencies against a soothing backdrop and music. the online initiative is proving extremely popular. others are using instagram to simply deny that the country is facing any financial difficulties. posting under the russian translation of "crisis" -- they shared images of wads of money and luxury items reminding that the financial crisis is not affecting everyone in russia in the same way. american -- an american video blogger wanted to find out how a homeless person would spend money given to him. as a social experiment, he handed $100 to a person living

on the street in anaheim, los angeles, and followed him with a hidden camera. he spent all the money on food, which he then went on to share with homeless people in a local park. the video blogger was so touched by what he saw, he came over to the home man to admit he had been filming him and asked him his story. he said he gave up his job to look after his elderly parents who then passed away. he had to sell his home to pay the bills. the video was uploaded to youtube on december 22 and has since been viewed over 27 million times. the blogger started a crowdfunding campaign, hoping to raise $10,000 to help get him back on his feet. he has more than met his target, with 6000 web users responding to the appeal, collectively donating over $120,000 in just a few days. not everyone is convinced by the story, saying it looks too good to be true. one platform wondered if he

perhaps orchestrated the whole thing. he says he did not and he is simple he determined to get the homeless off the street. this photo appeared in a number of british dailies in december. it reported a white teenage boy going by the name of jonathan edwards joined the islamic state terror group after failing to get a place at university. the story has been exposed as a hoax. one user started the rumor by pretending to be a journalist and sharing the story with newspapers. "why are you yelling at the hot dogs?" these are just some of the strangest and funniest things sent two and by three-year-old

harper. her dad shared his illustrations. the pictures have proven hugely popular online

m pacifica this is democracy now. >> lord of heaven and earth look upon our planet. frequently exploited by human greed. help them protect all of the victims of natural disasters especially the beloved people of the philippines gravely affected by the recent typhoon. >> pope francis is set to make history by issuing the first-ever conference of vatican teachings on climate c