36 people,ay including children, were killed. reporter: videos posted by syrian activists on social media.

these images are believed to show russian warplanes bombing the province of homs. the kremlin says islamist positions, vehicles, and warehouses have been targeted. according to syrian state tv, at least seven provinces were struck. the russian parliament approved the military operation. the russian foreign minister said the decision to launch airstrikes came after bashar al-assad asked moscow for help. >> in response to a letter from the president of syria, the president of russia requested the use of the armed forces of the russian federation in the syrian air republic. reporter: u.s. sources say that russia, the regime's longtime ally, is also targeting syrian

rebels, who have been fighting to topple assad for four years. >> as you know, russian forces have launched airstrikes in area . this is now public knowledge. interestingly enough, they did not strike the islamic state group. i will let you come to your own conclusions. reporter: russia has always insisted bashar al-assad retain power. hisimir putin called on counterpart to come to the table with all parties in syria. laura: armen georgian told us why russia is intervening in syria now. armen: in terms of the overall timing, i think it is a very different environment from this time last year. the last u.n. general assembly, u.n. and -- ukraine and crimea were important issues. now they have receded a little bit. which has beenn,

brought in from the cold, to some extent, thanks to the nuclear deal, and the syrian migrants coming to europe and , ifing europe into a twist you will. so, all those factors make this propitious timing for russia to act and take advantage of this extremely unwieldy international coalition against i.s. and the cracks that have appeared in that international coalition. you have the u.s. still clinging to what many people will say is the fantasy of moderate rebels in syria. you have some of the gulf states backing the islamic coalition that i mentioned, which includes al nusra, which includes al qaeda's branch, which is too extreme for washington to work with it.

and today, we are seeing cracks between the french and the americans, these close allies takingg, with the french a hard line on a side -- on assad and barack obama taking a more ambiguous line on assad's future. laura: france is strongly against russia's plan to keep president al-assad in power. they are looking into crimes against humanity by the al-assad regime. allegations include the use of chemical weapons and the repression of peaceful protests. oliver: french prosecutors are the first to take on the syrian regime in court. an investigation into crimes believed to have been committed was opened on the 15th of september. foreign minister laurent fabius

revealed the investigation. he said, "it is our responsibility to act against impunity -- the impunity of these perpetrators pic." the man speaking here at the u.s. congress defected in 2015 with 55,000 images showing dead body and torture in syrian prison -- showing dead bodies and torture in syrian prison. the prosecution comes as france remains firm in its demands that evenr al-assad step down as other western allies are opening up to the possibility of dealing with the syrian leader. laura: to talk more about that inquiry, i'm joined by geraldine from human rights watch. thanks for being with us on "france 24." why has it taken so long for

anyone to go after the syrian regime? why is it happening via the french initiative and not via the hague? >> that's a good question. crimesre very serious committed by the assad regime. gue cannot takeha the case is because syria is not a state party. it would have to be referred to the criminal court. that should have happened years ago, but unfortunately, rock that is -- unfortunately, russia is blocking that move. that leaves us with not a lot of options. 14 syria aren't doing anything about what's going on there -- doing in syria aren't anything about what's going on there. courts of other countries can investigate crimes that shock

the conscience of humanity by their seriousness, their gravity. laura: realistically, what are the chances of this case going anywhere? >> these investigations are very hard. it is not like french investigations -- investigators can go to syria. they have to investigate through witnesses that can be found abroad. one thing that is going to need to happen is that one of the suspects of these very serious crimes, the people involved in torture, would need to be in france in order to be arrested and brought to trial. laura: france clearly is maintaining a very tough line against the assad regime. given the extent of the allegations, what is your reaction when you hear what's going on at the u.n. this week? when you hear the u.s. president

barack obama softening his tone toward the assad regime and possibly considering that assad might be able this day in power if the war in syria ends? subject toes are not statute of limitations. these are the most serious crimes in the world. these are not going to go away. there will be accountability for these crimes one day in one place or another, be it france or the icc or another local court, but there will be justice and these allocations -- allegations won't just go away. laura: thank you for joining us. the u.n. headquarters in new york is flying the palestinian flag for the first time. it is a symbolic gesture of support for the palestinians who have nonmember observer status at the organization. president mahmoud abbas spoke at the ceremony earlier. abbas: on this historic moment

in the struggle of the palestinian people towards freedom and independence, i say to my people everywhere, raise the palestinian flag high, because it is the symbol of our identity. reporterrance 24's" told us what the flag flying means palestinians. reporter: proud day today for the palestinians right after abbas gave his speech to the u.n. general assembly, the palestinian flag raised here behind the general assembly building in a symbolic gesture. the palestinians won their bid f or nonmember observer status. the flag has been taken away and will be sent to the palestinian museum in ramallah. a flag will be put up next to

see.of the vatican i spoke to a palestinian employee. i asked for his reaction on the raising of the flag. he said it was mixed emotions. whilst he was happy to see the flag go up, what he really wants is a real flag on the other side. what would that mean? that would mean statehood for the palestinians. laura: nato special forces have joined government troops in afghanistan as they battle to retake the city from the taliban. it was the taliban's biggest victory in 14 years. the takeover spells disaster for afghan president ashram bonnie -- ashraf ghani. unraveled promises of peace and stability. ghani to called on

step down as they lasted his handling of the crisis. >> the leadership are unable to manage the situation in the country. the people must stand against them. reporter: afghan forces are locked in battle for control of windows -- of kunduz. according to the local police chief, government troops are finally gaining ground. now.e situation is better some of the areas have been retaken by afghan security forces, but the operation is continuing. we have taken control of the police headquarters, the prison, and some other parts of the city. reporter: a third straight day of fighting has forced dozens of whilents just -- to flee, the provincial hospital is struggling to cope. >> the situation is very bad. the residents are fed up.

thousands of families are escaping. violence hasitant skyrocketed since the departure of most western forces at the end of 2014 with the afghan troops struggling to hold off a multipronged assault. laura: government troops in burkina faso are hunting the generals behind a short-lived coup earlier this month. members of the presidential guard agreed to hand power back to the civilian government, but have so far refused to dissolve. the country is due to hold elections within weeks. a civil war in the african republic. callingask for its are on the government to present a realistic and concrete plan for disarmament -- u.n. experts are calling on the government to present a realistic and concrete plan for disarmament. the central african republic has been rocked by instability after a coup in 2013.

to italy, and it took a local bishop to -- to persuade migrants and refugees to climb down from rocks on the shoreline. around 50 people fled for fear of arrest. police say the migrants had been illegally using electricity and water. >> dismantling a makeshift camp along the italian-french border, police carted away tents and belongings. they said the migrants had been warned ahead of time. to avoid arrest, many headed out on the rocks along the shoreline. activists say they are worried about the consequences. >> they cleared all the tents. everything people had with them. they arrested a 16-year-old minor this morning. not everyone can swim.

reporter: the mayor of men to make the -- mayor of ventimiglia said he understood why they were protesting but the situation could not continue. occupants were using electricity and water without paying for it. it is not the first time migrants have been moved on in the city, which has acted as a bottleneck for the france-bound refugees who arrived in italy. tried to implement controls to stem the tide of refugees crossing the border. hundreds have been taken back to italy. state of georgia has executed a woman for the first time in 70 years. kelly planned her husband's murder in 1997. numerous appeals for clemency were ignored, despite her lawyer's claimed that she was a model prisoner who showed

remorse for her actions. ly was the only woman on george's death row. early on wednesday, she was given a lethal injection at the state prison injection, -- prison in jackson, making her the first female to be executed in seven decades. not even a plea from the pope could put a stop to it. during a recent speech to congress, he spoke out on capital punishment. from the beginning of my ministry, this has led me to advocate at different levels the global abolition of the death penalty. >> outside the prison, scores of supporters kept vigil in the rain. during her last moments, she broke into some.-- song. >> she apologized for what she

did. she said she was sorry that amazing man lost his life because of her. when the execution started, she began singing "amazing grace" and sang it all the way through. >> she was convicted for the role in her plot to murder her husband. the series of botched u.s. executions has led to scrutiny over the drugs used in lethal injections and reignited the fierce debate over the death penalty. laura: the party of former president nicholas sarkozy has dropped a candidate from regional elections because of comments she made about race. she said that france was "a judeo-christian country for the white race," a statement that sarkozy said does not tally with the party's ideals.

with controversy swirling around his party, nicholas sarkozy made the call. she is off the list, unable to represent the republicans in her constituency in the east of france. >> i and the head of a political faction with many different -- i am the head of the political faction with many different elements. >> she came under fire for comments made on french television. >> france is a country of white race where we also welcome foreigners. >> remarks about ethnicity and race that sparked scandal in her center-right party. >> you got to be careful with words. words are like bullets. france is a nation made up of people of different origins. >> fundamentally, i think her remarks are unacceptable. france is not a skin color.

france is not a race. it is a shared history, culture, and a desire to live together. the french republic is not based on principles of apartheid. >> on learning she had been sanctioned, she stood by her comments. is astounding, really, because we are allowed to disagree on things. in the past, i have not agreed with people from my political faction, but this one phrase, a couple of words merit this kind of public punishment from your fellow party members? get some business news with mark six -- with markus karlsson. here in france, you will tell us about uber, the taxi application.

they have fallen foul of the law once again. markus: we know that uber france and two of its executives have gone on trial this wednesday. the executives went on strike -- trial for a string of charges. the case is closely watched for clues on what french justice will make of uber and other members of the so-called sharing economy. the firm was banned. it connected nonprofessional drivers with passengers. we will have to wait for more clarity. the case has been adjourned until february at least, as the judge says he needs more details , simply. clare murphy has more. clare: in the brave new world of low-cost car services, two executives have faced a parisien courtroom. wednesday's adjournment means

any verdict is some way off. they were briefly detained during a summer move. violence spilled onto the streets as taxi drivers unleashed their anger at unlicensed drivers circumventing regulations. proponents argue the digital revolution is no excuse for illegal practices. >> this sharing and collaborative economy needs to revelation --r evolution of the current regulations, which will ask them to respect the rules of the game simply to respect -- to protect the consumer. clare: it says it should get a slice of the pie. >> taxis and their licenses, stations, buses -- all on one side. servicesher, the car designed for the upper class clientele.

we should also have the independent drivers, self-employed on a more low-cost business model. there is room for everyone. with legalfor uber decisions going against it in a slew of european countries, the firm has reverted to the more traditional professional driver services for now. markus: steady as she goes was the message from france's finance minister. he is signaling that the french government is making progress when it comes to cutting down the deficit and boosting growth. taxes and other charges for businesses will be reduced by 9 billion euros next year. french households will see their income taxes diminish by around 2 billion euros. france is under pressure to cut its deficit and reduce debts. the tax breaks will be outweighed by lower spending. the government is outlining savings to the tune of 16 billion euros next year, to be

specific. the finance minister says that france is making progress. >> with the savings we are making, a good portion of spending gdp will decrease -- spending-to-gdp will decrease. year, even55.1% next as we are ensuring the financing of our priorities, which are security at home and abroad, justice, education, and culture. fears of deflation are rising again in the eurozone. figures from the month of september show consumer prices fell for the first time in half a year. the drop is being attributed to lower oil prices and it is seen as a disappointment. this as the european central bank has launched a stimulus program to boost inflation since march. it has been buying bonds.

lower prices may sound good for consumers, but the fear is that the expectation of even lower prices makes people postpone their purchases. that, in turn, could lead to lower growth and lost jobs. we are going to take a look at the stock markets. in the united states, some healthy looking things this session -- looking gains this session. the dow jones up 1.1%. this follows a pretty bleak stock market run so far this month on concerns of a slowing global economy. despite today's gains, u.s. stocks are on course for their worst quarter in four years, the third quarter running that we have seen u.s. stock markets lose steam. that hasn't happened since 2009. this year, 2015, is not shaping up to be a good year for stock markets stateside. european stocks ended the day higher with the cac 40 up 2.6%,

similar figure for the ftse 100 in london. european shares had a bad third-quarter. the dax in frankfurt lost nearly 12% between the months of july and september. we are seeing these fears of slower global growth creeping in and they have done so in the months or so.f let's bring you up-to-date on a few other stock market stories. shares of ralph lauren are winning following the news that ralph lauren himself is stepping down as ceo of the company that bears his name. he must stay on -- he will stay on at the company. his successor has been running gap's old navy brand. investors hope you will help boost the brand ashok he will help -- investors hope he will

help boost the brand. results from the probe are expected at the end of november or december. eu trade ministers will hold their first discussions on the volkswagen scandal on thur sday. twitter shares are higher following reports that jack dorsey is about to be named twitter's permanent ceo. he is a cofounder and has been running the company on an interim basis for three months now. dick costolo resigned in june. twitter has not commented on the report. switzerland is the world's most economic -- most competitive economy. the rich and powerful gather in doubles -- in davos.

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09/30/15 09/30/15 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> we think the evidence is good. we think it is strong. it shows richard glossip's innocence. amy: is oklahoma about to execute an innocent man? we will look at the case of richard glossip. he is scheduled to be killed this afternoon despite mounting evidence he may be innocent. we will speak to his attorney and leading anti-death penalty activist sister helen prejean. then as donald trump and jeb bush propose s