' th his french counterpart. it is part of a push for a new deal on creek debt. the new far left government in athens is looking to write off half the debt, arguing that europeans must work together to find a solution. the greek finance minister is now in london. >> he is popular at home and now he is on a charm offensive for the rest of europe. the new greek finance minister yanis vera fact is that his -- yanis varoufakis, met his french

counterpart. he is eyeing a deal by may on a bailout program. varoufakis has ruled out taking on any more debt. >> the last five years as i said, we have resembled drug addicts, craving the next dose. what this government is all about is ending the addiction. >> all eyes her on ger -- all eyes are on whether germany will be a stop on the tour. varoufakis said he expects to meet with the german finance minister, although nothing is officially been scheduled. >> i received a very gracious letter congratulating me on our election, stating that he was

looking forward to meeting with me and the areas of opportunity and i responded in precisely the same way. one side or the other is going to make the first move. >> president obama said there was no used in squeezing a country and called on europe to agree on a strategy. >> back here in france, the sex trial dominique strauss-kahn is getting underway. the former imf chief has been charged with involvement in a prostitution ring operating out of french luxury hotels. strauss kahn was once thought to be a front-runner for the french presidency, but his career went down in flames amid accusations that he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in new york. the charges here in france are just as shocking. >> once thought to become resident of france, his political ambitions were

eclipsed by scandal and these days, the former imf director general is a consultant on economic issues. he faces another trial pointing to predatory sexual behavior. he knowledged in 2012 he has paid a political price. >> i have made some mistakes that least you can say. the way things turn out effectively distanced me from the french presidential election. >>'s career has been dogged by a series of scandals, one concerning alleged irregularities that a student insurance group prompted him to resign as finance minister to clear his name. >> i'm resigning. i insist it is not at all because i feel guilty. >> acquitted two years later, he went on to become head of the imf. then in 2011 he was arrested in new york amid allegations of sexual assault. and cap, he was -- handcuffed

him he was escorted to presented his hotel maid accused him of rape. he went on to reach a financial settlement with the plaintiff. as that was going on, a french journalist accused him of having tried to rape her. prosecutors dropped that case, citing statute of limitations. the case now known as the carlton affair hinges on a prostitution ring. strauss kahn faces charges of pimping. he is accused in the procurement of female escorts for or jews. >>-- for orgies. >> dominique strauss-kahn is one of 14 people in the dock. give us more details on what the case is about, exactly. >> indeed, top businessmen, a police commissioner, and of

course, the former head of the international monetary fund and former presidential hopeful dominique strauss-kahn are all on trial here. all of them were up on charges of being part of a prostitution ring. dominique strauss-kahn himself is accused of not partaking but part of the reasons that these evenings were organized and instigated. after the two-year investigation, the magistrates as these were women being paid to have sex with him and he was the main beneficiary of these evenings. this is part of dominic strauss kahn's defense -- he says he never himself paid a penny. he admits to taking part and said that for him everybody was a consenting adult so no harm, no foul. if he is found guilty of maintaining a prostitution ring he could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of

1.5 million euros. >>'s trial is meant to go on for three weeks. what else can we expect in the days to come? >> indeed, over the next three him up potentially four weeks we could see a flurry of witnesses taken to the stand including, we are expecting, four prostitutes to tell their side of the story. they have over the past two years given some indication of where they stand. they say that dominic strauss, would be naïve to not have understood that they were prostitutes, that they were being paid to sleep with him and they describe violent sexual behavior he has had. we are expecting their lawyer to ask for at least part of the child to be held confidentially to relieve them to speak as they will. the first people to take the stand will be the pr manager of the hotel along with the owner

and manager and date were the first to be investigated for the prostitution ring. they are accused of working with a man indulgent and bringing them up to take part. as for dsk we are expecting him to take the stand as early as the start of next week. >> thank you eve reporting from the trial in northern france. the conservative opposition party has had a by election setback. they came in third place in a vote in the eastern constituency for a seat left vacant by a socialist. eump came in last behind the far right party the national front and the socialists. it was the first election since the paris attack that left 17 people dead last month. more on the effect the attacks may have had on the vote. >> the socialists but this would be yet another election loss.

they had not much of that they would even make it to the second around. then this terrorist attack happened and we saw a big bounce for francois hollande and the prime minister and they went to that area to campaign, hoping that they would benefit, and indeed, they benefited to a certain extent in that they were second. they can run in the second round sunday to the have -- so yes, there is to a certain extent a "charlie hebdo" effect benefiting the socialists. let's keep in mind, however, that the national front still ahead. this is not news in france because it has become fairly common. they won the european elections and they now have someone who is garnering a third of the votes and is a chance of becoming a member of parliament, so yes, it is better for the socialists but it is still good for the national front and a setback for

the ump. >> setback not only for the ump but for former president nicholas sarkozy. he is facing a very difficult decision, backing his rivals the socialists in order to make sure that the national front moment. >> to our right, it is a setback -- you are right, it is a setback since he was elected to head the ump, the conservative party. now faces a difficult position. from what we're hearing w he will tell voters to do what you want them i will not back one candidate or the other when you do whatever you want. but within his party, some are saying we are supposed to be against the far right could even if it is a problem for us, we don't like them, it is better to go for the socialists when he is facing a national front candidate. there are divisions within the party and nicholas sarkozy will have to make decisions that will be criticized whatever he

decides. he is facing a very difficult situation right now because he is not fully in control of his party and the selection is a crucial test dish -- this election is a crucial test for hundred >> for him. >> in ukraine dozens have died over the past three days as pro-russian separatist several new their push for more territory. fighting has occurred all over the country, the worst centering on one town. pro-russian separatists said they were ready to mobilize up to 100,000 fighters for the latest east ukraine offensive. to talk us through a bit of that, let's bring in our international affairs editor. with this announcement coming on the heels of violence in ukraine, teams like -- it seems like peace talks are looking more of a distant memory. >> you had the russian ambassador to kiev show.

the separatists said very low-level officials. peace talks were -- it was a joke basically. they didn't even get off the ground. wherever you look right now in eastern ukraine, there is fighting just about everywhere, not just the council we are talking about. -- not just the towns we are talking about. the port town last week. fighting in a real junction, strategic area, now surrounded apparently on three sides by separatist forces. dozens of cities throughout this entire region, mostly in donetsk but also in luke hon - luhansk. we are not seeing the rebels make any pretense of not trying to grab back territory. they have relaunched an offensive and they are cheering to grant back village by village as much territory as they can. why are they doing this? it is not just warfare for the

sake of warfare. they want to have an economically viable public good. the original capture of the airport outside contacts, the zoster gene -- outside donetsk, these are seen as strategic hubs . since the minsk agreement in september, what you have seen is that line is no longer the negotiating stance to depart from in any talks. but the separatists say again and again is we are ready to talk but we want to talk on the basis of actual line. the problem is, they've captured up to 500 square kilometers, almost 200 square miles of territory. that is not the line from which we start. from which any talks need to start is the original agreement which everyone supposedly agreed to in september. what people basically say -- the

former swedish prime minister has been very outspoken, we see vladimir putin -- very bluntly, his revisionist agenda at work. the leader of the kremlin explicitly trying to change the postwar settlement of europe, that everybody has agreed to up to now. it's a military force is do that, so be it. >> we are getting talk out of washington about supplying weapons to ukrainian sources. >> first of all, let's be clear you very wisely used the word "talks" out of washington. this is just in the draft stages. but based on what we're seeing, pushing an all-out offensive and not even trying to hide it. you have vladimir putin having snubbed the sanctions and the sanctions are not pushed him to back down in any way, shape, or form. if anything, it seems like putin is stuck in the field and is

going after this with more determination. it is more of a siege mentality, the west out to get russia. he has talked of ukraine being infiltrated by legions of nato troops. the rhetoric is being stepped up military, on the ground by the separatists, the russian backed separatist being stepped up. what they are suggesting is that until now, it has been night vision, first aid kits. they are saying it just is not going to work right now. ukrainian army is facing forces very sophisticated weapons, able to detect the location of ukrainian artillery. this is why they have been taking such bad hits. the ukraine army says they need to have more sophisticated weaponry. they need reconnaissance drones they need radar detection to locate where the artillery and gunfire is coming from, just the way they see the russian-backed separatists are able to do. they didn't want the war, they say could they say that this is what we are right now facing, the reality on the ground and we

want defensive weapons, and more and more washington leaning towards john kerry possibly visiting kiev and moscow later this week. it could be on the agenda. could be on the agenda. >> thanks for that. greece's new finance ministers going on the charm offensive in paris, london, and then rome to push on a new deal for greek debt. the former imf chief dominic strauss kahn, is going on trial for sex charges in france, where he was once a top presidential contender. an al jazeera journalist is now home in australia after more than a year in jail in egypt. time now for a look at the business news. the greek finance minister is in london. tell us about that. >> in the past few minutes, we had yanis -- i forget his surname -- yanis varoufakis

left, where he had been meeting with the british prime minister david cameron. we heard that he is going to be london next to me with banks and financial institutions, around 100 of them. he will be discussing greek debt and he says it will not be affected by greek debt. interesting appeal to this private investors. let's see the effect is having on greek shares. the athens stock it change opening up some 4%. shares are bouncing. back on those statements from the greek government that the will not be any massively detrimental effects to banks. all across the rest of the european market, worries about greek debt are waiting on the spanish and italian markets. you can see the imf down almost 2%. this is after goldman sachs withdrew recognition to buy shares in those indices in the wake of potential overspill from the greek debt crisis.

>> let's go to the u.s., or the government has unveiled details of the budget plan. >> before chilean dollar budget puts the middle class and -- the four chilean dollar budget puts the middle class in her stage. among the measures proposed is a new tax on american companies' overseas profits. the idea is to secure tax revenue from the estimated $2 trillion that american companies are and stashed abroad. >> the 2016 budget proposal that will have corporate america sitting on the edge of their seats. the u.s. president plans on closing a tax loophole which currently allows u.s. firms to avoid taxes on foreign profits. barack obama will call for a one-time 14% tax. this will be increased to 90% in the future. he expects to raise $238 billion company which will then find investor -- fund infrastructure

projects. it requires approval from the republican-led congress, part of a campaign to strengthen cap between the very rich and the middle class --- shrink the gap between the very rich in the middle class. >> middle class economics does work. the other side tells us that this would kill jobs and explode the deficit and health care costs would explode. none of that happened. >> companies included ge, microsoft, pfizer, and market the proposal includes -- as part of a plan to boost the domestic economy brian reinvesting at home. obama also plans on flattening the u.s. corporate tax rate to 20%, a level that is still considered high compared to other major economies. >> a quick look at other top business stories. steelworkers at nine u.s. oil refineries are bringing meaning strike actions, the biggest walked out in three years.

they fail to reach an agreement on labor contracts could the full walkout would affect more than two thirds of u.s. oil production. ryanair has raised its profit forecast for this year on the back of falling oil prices and increased passenger numbers. the budget airline saw profits of 40 99 euros to the end of december. they say they'll expect modest profit growth next year with expected cut fares due to falling oil prices. the chairman and chief executive of the third-largest bank -- the banks of the massive outflows of deposits after recent elections. the share prices of 19% short time ago. >> last night was the super bowl but the action wasn't all with the athletes. >> it was on television as well. the super bowl is the biggest advertising event of the year could 61 32nd slots aired during the game come with $4.5 million each. it attracts the biggest brands,

and this year's offerings try to sell by tugging at the heartstrings. >> daddy! >> stirring emotions with big budgets. brands spent up to a record $4.5 million for 30-second ads for the super bowl to some capitalized before the game picked off. one was watched 42 milligrams before sunday night. -- one million times before sunday night. ecuador is targeting a tv audience larger than ecuador itself, note was the decision. >> it is the right thing to do. we expect the number of american tourists to go up by 5% because of this commercial. in terms of income, that a $16 million for this year. >> not all brands that advertise on the super bowl and a big winners. nationwide insurance spark a social media backlash with a

spot that showed a boy who would never write a bike or get married because he died young. the ad was meant to highlight preventable injuries. in an effort to boost lagging sales, fast food giant mcdonald's used their slot to launch a promotion where customers can pick their orders with love. >> thanks much for that look at the business news. thanks to you for watching "france 24." time for the press review. oliver perry joins us to look at what the french press and international press have been saying. the big news today is the start of the stress can'that -- the carlton trial. >> dominique strauss-kahn is one of many on trial in connection with a prostitution ring. this paper has a bit of fun on

its front page. "to be in a bad way or tricky situation." "passes" is also slang for a prostitute with his or her claim. -- client. it asks in editorial "is dsk a pimp? in the generally accepted sense, no. he drew financial benefit from his alleged involvement in the case." it continues that "there is little doubt that he will emerge from the case with his image further damaged less by the escapades in his private life. it prohibits one from using

others as material." "le figaro" writes, reminding its readers that the implications for pimping in the legal sense involves all who aid and abet the prostitution involved, not just those who profit from it. >> dominique strauss kahn is not the only person in french politics who is in a bad way. the conservative ump had a setback. >> the ump wound up in third place, behind his socialist and the national front. it is a severe one for the center-right party. marine le pen's party says it is here to stay and the ump needs to deprive the national front of the arguments that the ump and

the socialists are one and the same. >> let's look at the international press. greece is making headlines. >> the "financial times" reports that despite the softening tone by greece in recent days, athens scene -- athens still seems set on rejecting the bailout plan. one rejects the -- "the consequences of greece leaving would be as damaging to the euro zone itself. he could send investors fleeing and wondering if portugal or italy or spain could be next. he wonders if unnecessary compromise will be reached in time. -- if a necessary compromise

could be reached in time for they could seek closer ties with russia. "i struggle to see how the eu could find undesirable." -- could find undesirable." >> the united states is stepping up its support for ukraine. >> u.s. officials now support arming kiev with defensive weapons after months of resisting calls. an independent report prepared by a number of pentagon insiders recommends that the u.s. send $3 million in equipment to ukraine. most of ukraine's military equipment -- some of it dates back to the soviet union even. the army has suffered a number of alarming reversals. president obama has yet to decide, but there is growing

pressure inside washington for him to do so. >> all right, thank you so much for that look today. if you want to get a closer look at any of the papers that offer was talkingúça

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