llegiance to islamic state. arrests have been made in the killing of boris nemtsov, shot dead outside the kremlin 10 days ago. the first flight around the world, a historic launch to prove it is possible to fly without fossil fuel. you are watching "france 24." thanks for joining us this hour. i am genie godula. troops from niger have joined

chad on a mission deep into the heart of neighboring nigeria. the militant group has increased its cross-border raids in recent months. that has pushed nigeria's neighbors to retaliate. our reporter explains it has been hard for the nigerian government to accept. >> another one of nigeria's neighbors enters the arena. sunday, joint air and ground strikes marked the push into nigerian territory to boko haram. until now, it had only defended itself against militant incursions in border areas. for instance fighting on nigerian soil, something -- foreign troops fighting on nigerian soil, something abuja had been reluctant to see. they have launched military offensives in northern nigeria before sunday's joint operation with niger. the militants' pledge of

allegiance to the islamic state group's weekend was the last straw. nigerians government -- nigeria's government appealed for international help. >> it is time for the government of nigeria to mount of its power from other countries to be able to fight and slaughter the insurgents. >> the african union recently endorsed the creation of a regional force of up to 10,000 troops to combat boko haram. for now, the operation is set to be limited to areas on the nigerian side of lake chad which represent only a fraction of the militants' zone of activity. 30,000 people have been killed during 30 -- six years of insurgency. genie: 30 people were killed in an airstrike on an oil refinery run by the islamic state group that strike by the u.s.-led coalition targeting the syrian refinery that's it near the border with turkey -- that sits near the border with turkey.

international forces often target oil refineries held by islamic state. meanwhile, troops in iraq are making progress in their push to take back the town of tikrit from the i.s. group. 30,000 soldiers and shiite militiamen are taking part in the operation that has now moved into the southernmost outskirts of secret. -- tikrit. our reporter explains. reporter: closing in on tikrit. they say they have been able to cut supplies heading to the islamic state group. they have been fighting fierce clashes for several days. the soldiers have managed to recapture the town, according to our correspondent in baghdad. >> the enemy is using car bombs and suicide bombers to deter us, they -- but they have proven their failure. we have detonated many car

bombs. reporter: about 1/3 of the village has also been recaptured by iraqi forces. battles are continuing to the north of the city. the iraqi interior ministry visited the area on sunday. despite these pockets of resistance the strategy to encircle to create -- tikrit appears to be working. >> we have advanced. now we are very near to tikrit and the surrounding area. in the coming hours, we will move towards it and go on to tikrit. reporter: campaign to retake saddam hussein's -- the campaign to retake saddam hussein's hometown is being seen as a test for an even bigger push to wrest back control of mosul. genie: authorities in russia have charged two men with

involvement in the murder of boris nemtsov. the outspoken and one critic was shot dead 10 days ago -- outspoken kremlin critic was shot dead 10 days ago. one of them has admitted involvement in the crime. another three men have been arrested as suspects and are being held in custody. reporter: heavily armed police escort the five suspects in boris nemtsov's murder inside the moscow courthouse. only one of them, started i have -- one of them zaur dadayev, did not hide his face from the cameras. >> [indiscernible] reporter: russian media has reported that dadayev has confessed to taking part in the assassination, but the judge gave no specifics on his role. a former policeman in chechnya his relatives refuse to believe he is guilty. >> he was very respected and

police force. he is a courageous man, and i will never believe that my brother did this. reporter: arrested at the same time, his cousin, seen here covering his face. his family says they were shocked when detectives came knocking on their door. >> they turned everything in the house upside down. at first, they did not explain anything. then they started asking about the boys. reporter: three other men are being held in custody, including gubashev's brother, for the murder of boris nemtsov, gunned down just over a week ago. while the motive remains unknown, some think nemtsov was assassinated because he was a strong critic of vladimir putin. others believe his local opposition to -- vocal opposition to the charlie hebdo feelings led the assassins --

charlie hebdo fkillings led to the assassination. genie: local media say that the victims ranged in age from 60 to 80 years old. in japan, the german chancellor is making her first visit there in seven years. today, angela merkel is holding talks with the japanese prime minister -- climate change, war terrorism, and the new free-trade agreement, all expected to be on the agenda. prior to the meeting with shinzo abe, she met with the emperor akihito. venezuelan shoppers will soon have their fingerprints scanned at the supermarket checkout as part of a dramatic new move aimed at stopping chording -- hoarding and panic buying. rationing is being rolled out in some areas.

now, to a swiss -- now two swiss adventurers have embarked on a journey they hope will change the face of travel. they took off from abu dhabi in their solar-powered plane. they want to travel the globe without using a single drop of fossil fuel, just sunshine. our reporter was in the derby for takeoff. -- in abu dhabi for takeoff. reporter: the plane, powered by 17,000 solar cells flies -- behind this adventure are two swiss pilots. they will fly first to oman. how do you feel? >> it is amazing. it hasn't really sunk in yet that i'm getting into this plane

. [inaudible] reporter: by achieving their incredible journey, the cheetah adventurers -- the two adventurers want to prove that solar energy can replace fossil fuel in every sector of the economy. they have been dreaming of this day for the last 12 years. >> we simply believe that we can achieve in possible and incredible things, like flying around the world with -- achieve impossible and incredible things, like flying around the world with no fuel. we can make a cleaner world. reporter: this aircraft will fly around the globe, making 12 stops without one drop of fuel. if all goes well, it will be here in abu dhabi in five months. genie: thank you for watching "france 24." stay tuned.

more headlines in 20 minutes. reporter: major cities across the globe are constantly battling for the title of fashion capital of the world. new york has announced its investment in the sector. $15 million into the textile industry alone. today, paris is taking center stage. gary shilling next -- it is showing the next ready-to-wear collection. >> we compare ourselves with others, west forgetting we have something they don't -- whilst forgetting we have something they don't. we have really held onto our link to fashion. reporter: at this label, they are showing their first ever collection. they have been collaborating

with a wide range of artists since 2012. >> it is great. that's the direction i was going in two decades ago. now i'm seeing is brimming with art -- seeing it brimming with art. reporter: it is the brainchild of a fashion designer and an artistic director. they produce exhibitions and clothing. >> with collaborations, you actually have to become quite minimalist with each element. we really focused on fashion in its purest form, which is to say the cut, the silhouette, and the fabric. reporter: this fusion of masculine lines and feminine twists is a well-worn sartorial trope. at the arab world institute,

another young designer has chosen an androgynous concept. >> the masculine tailoring transition to feminine tailoring was stretching out. here, the base remains masculine and has a rather imposing structure. there are details of deconstruction of the proportion. we never pulled the shape close to the body. it is always very graphic and subtle. reporter: creating a great election is all about silhouettes -- collection is all about silhouettes. they are fascinated by prince -- prints. >> this was made by a print -- inspired by a print of a flower. i find it beautiful.

>> for me, it remains simple well-being chic and intelligent -- simple while being chic and elegant. reporter: this japanese label loves playing with fabric. it is all about light and shadow. >> when you first see it, it is black. but there are a lot of things hidden inside. with the uv light, we review all of those hidden elements. -- we reveal all of those hidden elements. reporter: rest assured, if you purchase one of the pieces, it will come with a uv-emitting broach. does sexy still have a place in today's world?

versace is -- the helm of the collection -- slowly, our understanding of sex appeal is changing. they want the industry to open up to diversity. >> i thought about it. seeing that my sister is mixed-race, i thought, what is the message you want to be sending out? i thought about it differently. i wanted the black model. reporter: how does this work? >> i am in my underpants in front of the show room, and i cut things up. it is like patchwork. nothing to do with sexiness, just trying different items on top of each otherk -- each other. reporter: sometimes, there are

just fewer clothes. >> it is not supposed to be sexy. >> it's about the woman, not to he clothes. reporter: adding to the sense of occasion they added some impressive talent, including the ever young snoop dog. >> it is fun and playful joyful, generous, just like the brand. it is for everyone. reporter: showcasing at paris' townhall this designer whose work is in a mosh -- is an homage to freedom. >> it's about passion for creating clothes fabric -- all of it has a history. i'm not afraid to use that cash and create things that can be worn today -- that passion to

create things that can be worn today. reporter: paris, fashion capital of the world. >> welcome to encore's weekly music show, coming up. >> looking for some madonna's album, "rebel hearts," out this week. and a debut musical album "sixth sense." he has been making music for two decades. now he is going solo. he appears to talk about his debut album, created without a

single instrument. welcome to the show. thank you for being here. thank you to our music critic taking us through the weekly news. we start by talking about madonna's new album, her 13th. she has been in headlines because she fell over at the british awards. and she had a racy outfit at the grammy awards. >> i used to be a big fan of her. it is amazing the way she is carrying herself and retaining her audience. she is incredible after all these years. it is crazy how she is maintaining herself. >> i adore her too. she spoke about her fault on stage -- her fall onstage. she said it was not a publicity stunt, despite the fact that it

fit perfectly with the lyrics of the song. >> the universe is trying to teach me a lesson, i guess. i know how to fall. i have fallen off my horse many times. i have good core strength. i had a little bit of whiplash. i smacked the back of my head. there was a man standing over me with a flashlight until about 3:00 a.m. reporter: she still looks good. she is still making headlines. she caused a stir in france recently as well. >> she called out the far right leader marine le pen as fashion. she says france needs to be about freedom of expression, but now it feels more like nazi germany. let's hear more from that interview. >> i said this two years ago. it's like we are living in crazy

times. it feels like, you know, nazi germany, all of these people like, you know, the intolerance the level of intolerance that is going on is really scary. and it is not just happening in france. i have felt it all over europe but specifically in france, anti-semitism is at an all-time high. people are becoming -- behaving and reacting in an extremely fearful ways. it is scary. reporter: madonna getting political. "rebel heart" is her 13th album. is she still the queen of pop? >> absolutely. she is still the unrivaled queen. she may be in her 50's, but she is as edgy and controversial as ever. she has lyrics comparing her vaginal fluids to holy water.

always in vogue. she is touching on some of today's trends. she dials it up on an electronic dance number featuring nicki minaj. kanye west she has called him the black female version of herself -- reporter: and fashion week. >> it's the perfect collision of his love of art, fashion, and music. it was on the outskirts of paris. it is a sign that he has made up with the fashion house after calling for fans to boycott the label in 2003. he had a fallout with some of the top executives -- a falling out with some of the top executives.

he has a video directed by steve mcqueen, the oscar-winner for "12 years a slave." reporter: you follow fashion week? >> no. but i am a big fan of fashion. i used to work for some designers based in africa and paris. reporter: your hat, you always wear that, don't you? >> it is a personal choice. i like the people -- the way people were dressing in the 30's. i think it is classy. reporter: you look very smart. we are going to talk quickly about kanye west. his new album is out. do you think he has found his voice? >> he has stepped up his game on this record. there were lots of naysayers after his last album failed to live up to the hype.

it was inspired by his very public breakup with hollywood starlet -- with a hollywood starlet. he did not even have to play up the whole gangster narrative some rappers play up. time for some music. this is from big sean's latest record featuring kanye west and drake. >> ♪ i'm here for a good time not a long time i'm way up way up i feel blessed ♪ >> that is run big sean -- is fr om big sean's new album. and these twin sisters have a db -- debut album doing well in

france. >> it is one of my favorites. it's a mix of jazz soul, and electronic. -- electronica. i would not be surprised if it explodes around the world. ibeyi is from the language, meaning "spirit that exists between twins." one vocalist sounds like a cross between lauryn hill and regina spector. music is in their blood. their father was a master percussionist. he performed with when it is the social club -- with buena vista social club. honoring their father, they sampled his sounds on a track.

here is ibeyi. ♪ >> ♪ come to river come to river i will to river wash my soul wash my soul ♪ reporter: you were saying you are a fan? >> i performed with them. it was great. reporter: really good sound. you have your first debut album as a solo artist out. it is a record without any instruments. how did you do that? >> it is just the body percussion. to produce the bass drum, the

snare, the bass, the vocals, the trumpet, the voice. that's how i organized the whole concept of the album. i was very blessed to have guest vocals, even great body percussionists other artists, just crazy artists. in the beginning, everybody was saying it was not possible. making and other without instruments -- making an album without instruments -- reporter: it is a challenge. >> when i am performing, people

take part. there is no social class or color. we are all one big ÷ñ ♪

he founding fathers of the united states of america-- lay dying. a couple of days earlier he had been out riding in cold and wet weather. he developed a sore throat. early on the saturday morning, he said to his wife, "i am feeling very ill." within hours, his personal physicians had arrived-- the finest in the country, the best money could buy. they had all sorts of suggestions