>> you're watching live from paris. the headlines this hour -- armed with a new plan to help resolve the crisis in syria, the iranian foreign minister is in lebanon for talks before heading to damascus later on wednesday, as rone positions itself as a key player to solve the syrian conflict. has he resigned or hasn't he? a spokesman for the libyan prime minister says he's not stepped down, this as tense u.n.-brokered peace talks between the country's rival factions continue in geneva. and debating the nitty-gritty, greek m.p.'s will pore over the

details of a bailout deal before the rescue package heads toward parliamentary vote on thursday. >> armed with a new plan to help resolve the crisis in syria, iran's foreign minister zarif continues talks in lebanon. he's meeting with government officials there after discussions with a lebanese prime minister, as well as the leader of tehran-backed hezbollah. later this wednesday, zarif heads to damascus as iran markets itself as a key player that could help resolve the syrian conflict. tehran is a steadfast ally of the assad regime and is insisting on a diplomatic, not a military, solution to the onflict.

reporter: in his visit, zarif has one particular goal in mind -- getting support for iran's new four-point peace plan to resolve the syrian conflict. despite international pressure for assad to go, iran is the syrian regime's strongest supporter,providing security, intelligence, financial, and military support, notably through iran's proxy, the lebanese militia hezbollah. an estimated 5,000 of its members have been fighting alongside the syrian army since early 2013. western nations want to see assad removed from power. iran has always urged that he stay, but a recent breakthrough in talks on iran's nuclear program has raised hope of finding some middle ground between the west and iran. in any case, it's built momentum. u.s. secretary of state john kerry and his russian counterpart held recent talks in syria.

labrov has also met with the saudi minister this week. like the peace plan approved in 2012, the iranians are also proposing a national unity government followed by democratic elections in syria. but such an accord would have little effect on the syrian battlefield where the most powerful forces against the assad regime are the jijaddist oup, like islamist state organizations. richelle: government air strikes in rebel-held areas of eastern damascus have left at least 27 people dead this wednesday. it also says that central damascus was bombarded by rebel rocket fire, this ahead of the iranian foreign minister's visit to the syrian capital. now, turkish authorities this wednesday have detained at least a dozen suspected members of the islamic state organization. this as they press on with a

two-pronged anti-terrorist offensive, one that's seen the country launch air strikes against targets from both the i.s. group and p.k.k. militants. it just -- news just in, the turkish president has vowed to continue the fight with determination against kurdish realize. it also comes after he said the country would continue the campaign until "not one terrorist was left." now there's confusion over whether libya's prime minister has stepped down in an emotionally charged tv interview. the libyan premier said he would resign, but a cabinet spokesman later claimed the announcement was not an official one. it comes as warring factions enter a second day of u.n.-sponsored peace talks in geneva. the government has come under fire in a country that's been plunged into political chaos with two rival parliaments vying for power. reporter: it was a painful

interview for abdullah. libya's internationally recognized prime minister was grilled by the presenter and confronted with questions and criticism from angry citizens. in the end, the pressure was oo much for a visibly rattled. >> what would do you if the libyan people asked to you resign and answer for your actions before parliament? translator: i carried out my responsibilities, and my conscience is clear, and i ask everyone to forgive me if i mid mistakes. i also ask everyone to spare me from this responsibility and, starting sunday, i will officially submit my resignation. reporter: he said he'd resign once before, in april 2014 after his family was threatened before eventually changing his mind. this time again, a spokesman from his cabinet later said that the prime minister would stay on, but then the statement, broadcast on live television, may have further

damaged what little was left of his credibility. in office since march 2014, his cabinet has struggled to make an impact after it was forced to flee tripoli. now working out of hotel rooms, his administration has been criticized for frequent fuel shortages and continued insecurity across libya, as well as for its irrelevance and inefficiency. it recently decided to rename the tripoli international airport, which has been out of use and under the control of islamists for over a year. his latest outburst comes as peace talks aiming at creating a unity government resumed in geneva on tuesday, and it could prove additional leverage for his islamist rivals. richelle: to the conflict in yemen, where the dominant shia heatee rebels appear to be losing ground in some key proff inces. while the separatists still hold the capital, clashes with tribal militiamen on tuesday forced them to loosen their

grip on territory they previously held unowe foesed. we now get this report. reporter: the loyalists' counteroffensive is working. after recapturing four major southern provinces from heatee fighters in recent weeks, the retaking of the two cities are the latest advances into territory the rebels had held unopposed for months. >> we say to the popular resistance, continue, victory is coming. reporter: also behind the loyalist fighters, the arab gulf coalition, gains made by forces backing the president have relied heavily on saudi-led air strikes and weapons. the allies are keen to hold what they see from rival iran, ho's allied with the rebels. increasing on the back foot, pro-heatee crowds took the

capital streets on tuesday. they denounced the gulf arab military alliance. >> we remain steadfast, and we will never retreat from our decision or our positions. we will stand against these new colonies. reporter: goldened by the loyalists' recent gains, exiled officials have gradually pledged to return to yemeni soil. foreign diplomats, meanwhile, are pushing for a solution to the crisis, which has claimed nearly 4,300 lives since march. next, greek m.p.'s are set to debate the details of a third bailout deal ahead of a parliamentary vote on thursday. greece and its international creditors reached a so-called technical agreement following marathon talks earlier this week. the 85 billion euro rescue package would save greece's stricken economy from collapse. athens needs the deal to mick a more than three billion euro

debt repayment to the european central bank. earlier i spoke to our correspondent. she has more on what will happen in the greek parliament over the next few days. >> firstly, we need to get this vote in order, and essential the speaker of the greek parliament needs to convene with the political party leaders, and that's been proving problematic, as they set a meeting for tonight, which essentially would entail the vote to take place late tomorrow evening and basically the vote should be concluded in the wee hours of late tomorrow and early friday. so that's what the prime minister himself is trying to avoid with spokesmen trying to set up a meeting earlier. anyway, in short, basically all this because it's from the bottom, it's quite opposed to this loan agreement and is deciding for the rebel m.p.'s. now, once the vote takes place,

debate will start tomorrow afternoon with a vote, again, as i said in the wee hours. after that, we'll have, of course, once it clears through the house parliament and it's likely to do so mainly the pro-european opposition party, then we'll have the sanction of the eurozone official expected, the eurozone finance ministers, rather, expected on friday when they hold the meeting there to discuss the greek debt. and, of course, then we'll have to see each individual eurozone parliament approve all this, get to the fun for greece. michelle: that was our correspondent in athens. now, they're accused of pocketing millions of dollars in an insider trading scheme that went on for five yearsment the u.s. justice department has come down on an international team of computer hackers and stock traders for allegedly using stolen financial information in illegal trades.

prosecutors brought charges against nine people. let's take a listen. >> for more than five years, hackers largely operating in ukraine repeatedly penetrated the networks and servers of market wired, p.r. news wire, and business wire. three of the leading companies that provide those news release services. after getting the necessary access, often only hours before the release was actually made public, the traders then took some very sizable positions in the securities of the companies. hi she will: the head of the u.s. environmental protection agency says the department takes full responsibility for spilling three million gallons of mining waste into a southwest colorado river. the contaminated water contained high levels of arsenic, lead, and other toxic-heavy metals. >> three million gallons of toxic waste dumped into a colorado river by the people charged with protecting it. a major embarrassment for the

u.s.a.'s environmental protection agency, now at the center of an investigation into the accident. >> this is a tragic incident. i am absolutely deem sorry that this ever happened, but i want to make sure that we react positively and in a way that's credible and we move this forward. reporter: the spill was unleashed during a routine attempt to stem a slow toxic waste from an abandoned mine. it was initially bright owner in hue, but is now harder to detect. with the contaminated water flowing through utah, into the colorado river, and the grand canyon, extensive water testing is now underway to assess just how dangerous the spill could be for water quality and wildlife. but the governor of colorado is already optimistic about the results. >> put in simple spots along the river, and only one died, and that died right in the very beginning, and that complies that the level of toxicity was

not at a dangerously high level. reporter: the spill prompted states of emergency to be declared in colorado, new mexico and a vast navajo reseverages officials have said two tributaries will remain closed for recreation until at least august 17. are you chill: let's turn to -- richelle: let's turn to areas as british tourists cancel bookings in hotels and camp sites. that's cost the local tourism industry tens of thousands of euros. our correspondent explains. reporter: finding an unavailable pitch at this camp site was nearly impossible last year. most had been booked months in advance. but since the beginning of the summer, occupancy rates have dropped drastically. >> each day, only 200. reporter: the same is true for mobile homes.

>> these mobile homes are also there. at this point, they should all be full. we're getting cancellations each day because of the migrant crisis, like this message. we've got young kids trying to get on the ferry. reporter: 90% of the clue en till at this camp site is from brisbane. >> we show what is happening -- reporter: footage shown of migrants jumping on the back of trucks have put off many tourists. a scare factor that is criticized by some regular british campers. the camp site owner says he's lost about 30,000 euros in earnings and many other camp sites in the region are also feeling the pinch at the height of summer. richelle: their wedding in 1981 was one of the most watched tv events ever, but now never before seen pictures from behind the scenes of prince

charles and princess diana's nuptials is set to go under the hammer. a set of snaps kept by the royal photographer will be going on display ahead of a sale in boston this september. the candid shots are described as outtakes, shoth royal couple and their family in between the public moments that were broadcast to millions around the world. let's get a quick look at the headlines this hour. armed with a new plan to help resolve the crisis in sir i can't recollect the iranian foreign minister is in lebanon for talks before heading to damascus later on wednesday. iran positions itself as a key player to solve the syrian conflict. has he resigned or hasn't he? a spokesman for the libyan prime minister says he's not stepped down, this as tense u.n.-brokered peace talks between the country's rival factions continue in geneva. and debating the nitty-gritty, greek m.p.'s will pore over the

details of a third bailout deal before the 85 billion euro rescue package heads to a parliamentary vote on thursday. now it's time for the latest business news. thanks for being here. reporter: nice to see you. very good fashion outfit today. got the same memo. we're going start out with china here, the chinese central bank, surprising international markets again by devaluing its currency for a second consecutive day. this was unexpected because iran is a very tightly controlled currency. the government essential sets the rate, which it will trade against the u.s. dollar. on tuesday that value was allowed to slide 1.9%. on wednesday, it was set at 16.3306 to the dollar, weaker than the previously day. it's seen that the yuan fell to a four-year low. that sent some shock waves across the asian markets. you can see red across the board at the closing bell. regional currencies also slid. the australian dollar hit a six-year low, while the

malaysian and indonesian currencies fell to their lowest levels in nearly two decades. that negative trend is continuing on the major european indices. the dax and cac both down over 2%. exporters are seeing big losses as they think chinese purchasing power could dip for the weaker currency. luxury brands and automakers in particular weighing down midday trade. for more on this, we can turn to james foley, a senior currency strategist in london. thanks for speaking to us. we know that the chinese central bank traditionally keeps the occurrence so i a fairly tight rein. how significant a move is this, nd what's behind it? reporter: well, it is very significant. i think there's a couple of factors behind it. we had the news yesterday that we had this new regime. now what this new regime is is to allow market forces to set at the rate, or at least have a greater play. now, like you said, traditionally the people's bank of china keeps a very close

rein over where the movements of the chinese are. but what they announced yesterday was that the markets, 34, 35 different banks would set a reference point and put these numbers into the central bank, and they would be used to help determine whether the central rate the following day would be. we've now got the market playing a big force in where that rate will be. for that reason, i think it's probably wrong to say that the chinese central bank weakens their currency for a second day. in fact, the reason that it's fall front second day was because the market prices that came in. the reference rate will weaken. so there was appreciation today, not a devaluation. now, if we look ahead, there's a lot of uncertainty about how far this currency could fall. there's various reports out there saying that perhaps -- we're looking at a 10% fall this year, others say, well, that's not politically acceptable.

they prevent the fall, because remember, the central bank will still only allow the band to move 2% around it, the central rate every day. so a huge amount of uncertainty, and this, of course, as you mixed, is having a knock-on effect around the world, stock markets and in the currency of china's trading artners too. reporter: there's been some concerns this could spark a global currency war. do you think those fears are founded? jane: i think you could probably argue and say that china is probably coming in on the tail end of a currency that's consisted for at least 12 months. if you look at the other currency in the asian region, for instance the japanese yen, the yen has weakened very significantly over the past couple of years. obviously the yen is a winner in that war because of the amount it has fallen. now, that, of course, has given the japanese a competitive advantage. if you look at the eurozone,

again, another country, using quantitative easing, we've seen the euro fall an awful long way in the last 12 months, again, another competitive advantage for the eurozone. the australian dollar, another currency that's fallen a lot in recent months. so what we've seen in this period is actually the exchange rate of china appreciating. there has been a de facto peg of the choin ease currency against the u.s. dollar, and as the dollar has appreciated ahead of an anticipated interest rate hike by the federal reserve, well, it's been dragged higher. so the chinese economy has been suffering from inflation forces, from weakening growth, and yet the exchange rate has been relatively firm. so you could argue and say, well, actually, there has been a currency war, and china is coming in late to the party. reporter: jane from london, thank you so much for that update. richelle, as you said, this is going to have an effect on the global markets throughout the

trading day. we'll be following that for you right here on france 24. richelle: thanks very much for being here with the latest business news. it's time now for the press eview. time take a look at what's grabbing headlines around the world, and i'm joined by florence. thanks for being here. let's start here in france. lots of papers are focusing on a deepening in france's agricultural crisis. reporter: that's right. we wonder, are we headed for a pork war? you can see the photo of the agricultural minister. yesterday he spent the day trying to put out fire between essential pig farmers on the one hand and retail sanderds food processors on the other. why is this? well, on monday, two of the country's leading pig processors decided to boycott

french pork. essentially they didn't turn up to the livestock auction market, and this drove meet sales down 20%. why did they boycott french pork? well, they say that a price set by the government last month for a kilo of french pork, the government set that price at one you're sandrow 45. well, they say that's too high, especially given the competition in neighboring countries like germany. in germany, german producers sell pork for 25 cents cheaper for one you're sandrow 15 euros -- for one euros and 15 euros, so they said the french price is way too high. richelle: the french minister has called on all parties to assume their responsibilities, but the government is drawing criticism from all sides. reporter: from all sides of the spectrum. that's what's interesting. let's start with the right wing. not a big fan of the socialist government, and it must be said, they say that it seems like the government just really isn't taking this crisis seriously enough.

you can see here the prime minister is on vacation with a glass of wine here. he says, well, he did give a comment about this agricultural crisis. he said the government is keeping a close eye on the situation. he says that's really not enough. what's interesting is the communist papers, so usually they don't really agree. they also agreed, though, that the government is completely out to lunch on this crisis. and in the meantime, well, it's farmers who are suffering. they remind read there's 10% of livestock farmers are on the verge of bankruptcy. richelle: staying in france, christian paper lacroix focuses on a growing trend in the tourism industry. reporter: that's right this has nothing to do with beaches or the eiffel tower. let's take a look at l.a. croiks. they're talking about medical tourism and how france is opening itself up to medical tourism. this is a very lucrative market across the world. it represents about 60 billion euros at the global level, and

france wants to take a bite out of that. lacroix takes a look at what the government is doing. essentially the government wants to encourage rich foreigners to come and get medical treatment near france, so earlier this month, the foreign minister and the health minister announced a series of measures to make french hospitals more attractive, because it must be said france is way behind other countries, especially germany, and lacroix takes a closer look. across the border, you have web sites in foreign languages, translators that are readily vavenl you have services to help patients get accommodation and visas. so this could serve as an example for france. but they say this concept of medical tourism really does raise a lot of ethical questions, and there are fears it could lead to a two-speed medical system, essentially one for rich people and one for poor people. richelle: let's move on.

japan, the country prepares to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of world war ii. reporter: that's right. all eyes are on the prime minister abe. he's expected to release a statement on friday, so that's one day, august 15, the official day that japan surrendered to the allies in 1945. he's been criticized by a lot specifically in china and north korea, for watering down japan's imperial path and also trying to expand the role of japan's military. this is an interesting piece in the japan times by a former defense minister for abe, and she calls on the prime minister to put aside politics and apologize, straight out apologize for the events in world war ii, express sincere remorse. this is the only way to move forward, according to the author of this piece. what's interesting is there's a surprise critic in japan of the

prime minister. you can read about that in "the washington post" today. and that is actually the emperor of japan, so this is akiko. he usually stays out of japanese politics. he's 881 years old, but he's just started voicing his displeasure with the path that abe is leading the country down, specifically its drift away from passivism. he's expected to deliver a statement on saturday, and a lot of people say8úxú