genie: this is "france 24." i'm genie godula through these are the headlines. the latest international talks on syria get underway at the u.n. they are trying to lock in a way to stop the civil war that has gone on for four years. people in rwanda vote on a referendum that could extend the rule of long-term president paul can, a for close to 20 years. the vatican says mother teresa

of calcutta will be made a saint. the nobel laureate dedicated her life to helping the poorest of the poor. up, in business we will be telling you how growing security fears are driving government spending decisions, and defense budgets are set to rise by billions next year. that and more on the way. first, our top story. the latest round of international talks on syria are being held today at the u.n. the united states and russia are heading up that security council meeting to push efforts to try to end the war that has been dragging on for over four years. a main sticking point, it is still the future of syrian president bashar al-assad.

for more, let's bring in our international commentator, douglas herbert. there have been multiple attempts to use. this crisis. what about hopes from the you can seeof doug: some positive signs going into it. you had vladimir putin in moscow saying to a news conference that the differences have been narrowing between the two sides, and he believes russia and the u.s. are seen as absolutely necessary players for any negotiated solution, that they share the same view. this is vladimir putin speaking. given what we have reported about the big differences over the future role of bashar putinad, when vladimir says that, you wonder what he is talking about. a lot of people have seen that the u.s. is perhaps coming closer, softening its own position. some see it as being conciliatory toward russia.

we have had signals from john they in recent days, saying u.s. does not seek regime change in syria, using those words. emerging, anan emerging sense that the u.s. perhaps would be willing to sort of turned the other way and let bashar al-assad stay for a transitional period. out, the deal being hashed among other nations, is this idea of having a cease-fire, a political transition process for six months, followed by elections within 18 months. the u.s., would they allow assad to be standing -- staying on during the transition process? and with the russians be able to --y, we will let him say on we will let him stay on an mount pressure. none of this has been said publicly so far. perhaps they are trying to come

to some sort of working agreement, but now they are agreeing to disagree on the future of assad. genie: it seems to have changed very much for bashar al-assad. started backey then, the airstrikes, assad's air forces were losing territory on the ground in the face of rebel advances on the ground. there is no question, no matter what you think, if you sympathize with the u.s.-led coalition or the russian coalition, there is no question the russian airstrikes have given bashar al-assad more momentum. assad himself -- we keep thinking about what the u.s. is saying about him, what the russians are saying about him. what is interesting is what assad is saying about a side. he has interviewed that he has indicated that he will run again in elections pretty does not see

himself out of the equation. he is still very much in defiant mode, and it will be interesting to see -- although we might not see it publicly -- how much pressure russia will or is inclined to bring to bear ultimately at these -- as these , as hisions go on allies say, we are your allies but we will not support you forever. group the islamic state that controls large parts of syria and iraq has been called the best financed terrorist outfit in the world. the u.n. is also now trying to step up its efforts by cutting off some of i.s. resources. our correspondent explains. >> the unanimous vote at the u.n. security council has financiers from 50 nations, adopting a resolution at disrupting the revenue of the islamic state group. we haveesolution which

just adopted proposes a number of concrete responses. it recognizes daesch as the enemy to combat, identify specific means of financing for the group. oil -- theking, trafficking of oil, into .oodies, and artwork organizations provide financing for the group. resolution elevated the islamic state group to the same level as al qaeda. jacob lew stressed that i.s. needs assets cash needs access -- needs access. of the critical part u.s. strategy is the use of counterterror financing tools and authorities to stop isolate's operations.

military power helps. tagger trucks were destroyed in the last month. that hurts the group has revenue stream. the group is increasingly relying on its revenue stream that is harder to hit from afar. taxation and extortion of the population in control. in brussels -- genie: in brussels, european union leaders have agreed to fast-track and e.u. order and coast guard force. leaders are urging each other to implement measures agreed to curb migration across the mediterranean. saying the flow of people into greece remains robust and dangerous at 4300 per day. refugees number of into europe this year looks set to hit one million in the coming days.

now to rwanda where people are going to the polls, voting on whether to change the constitution. that would allow presidents to serve more than two terms in office. if the measure is passed, and it is widely predicted that it will to pave the way for paul kind, a powerl kagame to be in for 20 years. ricks are saying that the vote is a move to stifle the opposition and to hang on to power and for more on what it means really, i am joined by our africa specialist, emanuel dupree. we are hearing that disapproval of the constitutional reform looks to be a sure bet. do you agree? of thee was not so much campaign because the announcement of the referendum was only 10 days from the polling stations open today. authorized the only party, the green democratic party, was the only one to be

front. to the democratic the ruling party, withdrew from that position. not to mention the campaign. they have already voted abroad. this was the case yesterday, and there seems to be huge participation in the results which opened not only mandates put maybe a fourth or fifth mandate which would bring agame to be a power until 2024. genie: is that all this is, a unique case about the president that most of the country truly likes, or is there something else going on? emmanuel: there are a number of issues on which he can rely on. first of all, a stable economic situation.

rwanda has set up an emerging economy, very dynamic economy. that is the first issue. the second issue is that it has gone to peace. the international court sustaining and again working on justice and the -- and the third issue on which president kagame can work on is the reliability on the security. a certain number of rwandese troops are present in the central african republic, and it is a guarantee for the burundi crisis, as we all know. and the african has -- the african union has decided a peacekeeping operation, that will be sustained and that will be rivaled --

genie: yet human rights groups are still criticizing the government from muzzling the press, the opposition. is there truth to that? certainly there is reliability on that, that is for sure. but again, the issue here is to focus on the roll of the international community. hasinternational community not put so much pressure on the way the referendum has been organized. as we know, 6.4 million voters are going to -- are supposed to be taking part in this referendum. prior to that a month ago, half voters,oting, of the 3.7 million already asked president to came -- president kagame to run again. so it is a constitutional tool. by the way, the population is only going to say whether or not it is in accordance with the

provision of two articles allowing the president to run for a third mandate and to shift from a seven years mandate to a five-year mandate, and then again for two other times. chance ofthere any his own the lycian that he might step down, as the u.s. wants them to -- is there any chance on his own that he might step ?own, as the un's wants him to emmanuel: of course, the fate of rwanda is linked to stabilization of the rondae. that is for sure. if there is pressure from the united states as well as the european union, there may be as well a sort of democratic ownership, sort of pressure that could be put on rwanda. that is for sure. genie: thank you for sharing your expertise with us here.

said motherican has teresa is going to be made a saint. pope francis just clear the way by officially recognizing a second and new miracle attributed to her. mother theresa was a nobel who was dedicated to helping the poorest of the poor. she died in 1995. philip willan has more now on what the second miracle announced by the that again entails. the examination of the case of a 35-year-old engineer from brazil, from the diocese and sent talks has showed that mother teresa intervened on his behalf in a miraculous way. he apparently was suffering from eight rain tumors -- eight brain tumors and was about to undergo an operation on his brain when

members of his family and friends prayed to mother teresa for her intercession. he was immediately and miraculously cured in a way that cannot be scientifically explained, according to the vatican. genie: tell us a bit more about this symbolism, this final move by pope francis to make mother teresa a saint. she did so much for the poor. the pope has made that a real focus for himself as well. >> that's right. mother teresa's canonization is likely to be a high point in this jubilee here of mercy that the pope has declared, and again recently. she is exactly the kind of model that pope francis is seeking for the kind of church that he wants to promote around the world. concern for the poorest, concern for the peripheries, and there has even a minute suggestion that he even might want to go to , the for a celebration

message that his is a church that reaches out to the far corners of the earth and to the poorest and most discarded people. genie: that is philip willan reporting. has justtar wars movie come out in the united states. two fans made sure that screening would be a real day to remember. carolyn riley and andrew porter got married in front of the iconic chinese theater in los angeles. they were surrounded by a wi wookie, a droid, and darth vader. the happy couple had a honeymoon before they camp down in front of the theater since december 5. let's take a quick look at two of our top world stories for you today. the latest international talks on syria are getting underway at the u.n. lock in a wayg to

to stop the civil war that has gone on for four years now. people in rwanda vote on a referendum that could extend the will of paul kagame for close to -- on the rule of paul kagame for close to 20 years. time for businesses with stephen carroll. let's start in spain, where the economy is expected to be a big issue in the election sunday. stephen: the economy in 2011 was in pretty bad shape, but after years of austerity and 100 billion euro bank bailout, things are starting to look up for the eurozone's fourth largest economy. it has returned to growth, although many in spain still are not feeling the benefit. josh has more. : spain has gone from a problem economy to one of the fastest-growing on the continent. shop keeps in barcelona say people are buying more and there is new optimism. >> it has been very very hard.

for the past two years it has gotten better but slowly. there may be better consumer confidence in spain, but unemployment still runs high at just over 21%. >> they say it is getting better, but the young people are all leaving. they cannot find jobs here. >> there are not any good jobs. i do not think this is a good way to relaunch in a country. josh: there are still some jobs to be had, particularly in the growing automobile center. at this car factoring or barcelona, management has decided to employ annexed to 100 people to keep up with orders -- to employ an extra 100 people to keep up with orders. >> we made some 700 cars in 2012. this year we made a little more than a million. josh: the factories now open seven days a week. adapted tos have demand. productivity has gone up, manufacturing 50 more cars a

day. but workers remain on the same salary. >> we have been able to get out of the crisis mostly thanks to the sacrifices workers have made. josh: the right-wing government has repeated the claim that the government -- that the economy is regaining its vigor. many of the spanish people are waiting for -- waiting to feel the benefits of that recovery. stephen: european shares are trading down today per this is the picture on the european markets. paris is down by over 1%. oil prices are near a seven-year low. that is causing concern for some investors. one of those companies that is trading down in paris by almost 2%. this after the u.s. research firm muddy waters described it as one of the most overvalued and misunderstood firms. genie: that is quite a this regime. next you have a report on government defense spending. european governments

have spent 50 billion euros more over the next five years. part of a global increase in defense budgets over growing security fears, which are forecast increased by almost 20 billion euros next year. of the trend in european countries in recent years. they have been cutting spending in this area instead. for more, let's go to london and speak to paul burton, director of analysis. thanks for joining us. can you give us an idea on it is behind this trend? paul: absolutely. there are a number of factors that underpin trend. the changing security climate in byope, directly targeted islamic state, that is a key dynamic drive. but also if you look further concern arounds a number of states in the south china sea that china is starting to act in a more bellicose way.

europe is spending significantly more now, given what is happening with russia and ukraine. stephen: are wishing reaction from countries like france that have been targeted by terrorists acts? directly increasing their french budgets? >> there is a direct correlation between the very present and direct security threats facing france, and its government's security spent. therefore, a decline that we have seen not only in france, but also in the united kingdom and germany. it is starting to be arrested, both in terms of the core budget and extraordinary measures in spending that are a direct reaction to what is occurring on the streets in the cities. analysis, areur you looking at what the governments are spending money on as well, or just the overall figures. looks at every facet of

spending, from the top level to what countries are spending among various defense budgets. right down to significant programs. we find there is a real uptick in european states, not only on of theonal procurement air force, army, and maybe, but also on the low level homeland security systems that are intended to make police and palace very -- police and able totary forces counteract these acts on the streets. stephen: how does the united states compared to somewhere like china? paul: that is a key relationship. at the start of the decade, the united states outspend china by six or seven to one. by the end of the decade, we see that the united states will have jumped to around 550 million,

and china up to 350 million. that gap is closing rather quickly. china's defense spending this year is around $190 billion. the u.s. is still by far and totaling thate, of the largest nine vendors combined. stephen: what about the impact that oil prices are having here? we look at oil near a seven-year low today. is that affecting oil producing and how much they are spending? yes, very much. traditionally when we look at the global spending picture, you see the gold states being the engine of growth. these are the countries that are coming up with a 5%, 6%, 10% growth in year on year spending. we have seen that slow down over the last year. saudi arabia in particular has seen their defense budgets

stagnate. however, again, they are not falling to an alarming extent. we confidently forecast throughout the rest of these decades, these countries will return to growth. stephen: thank you for speaking to us today from london. genie: thanks to you, stephen. just to wrap up a story that warms my heart, it seems a traditional book still somewhat has a place in people's hearts. stephen: in the united kingdom, the civic's office shows that paper books sales rose by 7% last year. printed publications have seen rising sales despite the popularity of the readers. -- of e-readers. disappearingwere for amazon, so i am glad that real books are making a resurgence. genie: stephen carroll, thank

you. it is time for sports, sunning with the sacking of jose merino. a a second,cked for thursday. the 52-year-old portuguese returned to stamford bridge in june after a 16 year gap. this byte seven trophies during two separate spells in charge, he was fired -- despite seven trophies during two separate spells in charge, he has been fired. the premier league lead has been sent to five points. manager of chelsea hosts. one player could be out for two months after the french -- he was injured in munich's champion

league. he had returned from a nine-month ankle problem. the freshman has played just 15 minutes of league football this season. biathlon and simone shem's goes to victory in western slovenia thursday. the german finished 14th in the winter olympics in 2014. tohas shot clean on his way individual wildly -- defending champion can only manage fifth. this year's surfing world champion taught included

traumatic faction after a drama desousa won a third-place title. -- gabrielle medina was beaten to the title. desousa dedicated his winnings to a person who was killed by an off-duty police officer who was home in brazil. inre was history made somalia. the football match between two somali teams was broadcast live on local television for the very first time. with the east african country from decadesering of conflict, the games are played at the stadium, which was previously a training camp to al shabaab. coming up after the break, investigators say human error was behind a helicopter

crash in argentina last march. 10 people filming a french reality show were killed in that accident, including three top french athletes. stay tuned. @ @@úxgçnçnçnçnçoçoçoçoçoçoçoço