genie: you are watching "france 24." i'm genie godula, live from paris. these are today's top stories. barack obama delivered his seventh and final state of the union address. the president was in full "yes, we can" mode, urging americans to stay hopeful and not let fear set in. turkey is blaming the islamic state group leader suicide blast in the heart of istanbul.

the german interior minister is there paying his respects to the german tourists among the dead. iran releases 10 u.s. sailors who were held after their boats drifted into the iranian waters. that rattled nerves days after a landmark nuclear deal with iran goes into effect. also coming up this hour, is france getting tough after a group of former tire factory workers are getting prison sentences for holding their bosses captive -- we will ask if this is a shift in attitude. and a lottery joint in the united states. $1.5 billion are in play in the powerball. that and more coming up live from paris.

genie: it was a very optimistic barack obama who gave his final state of the union address on tuesday. this was one of his last public chances to get his point across, especially as most media attention in the u.s. will be honing in on the presidential race to replace him. the president urged americans to rekindle their belief in the promise of change that first carried him to the white house, and not fear the future. let's listen. tonight we live in a time of extraordinary change, change that is reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet, our place in the world. it is change that promises amazing medical breakthroughs but also economic disruptions that strain working families. it promises education for girls in the most remote villages, but slso connects terrorist

plotting an ocean away. it is change that can broaden an opportunity or widen inequality. whether we like it or not, the pace of this change will only accelerate. are washington correspondent philip crowther was listening in and joins us now from washington. a very early good morning to you . we heard barack obama sounding optimistic and at times almost lighthearted as he was getting that address. it is certainly a president who is pretty happy that this was his last state of the union address. he does like these big speeches, and this is a possibility that this was his last nationally televised speech, the one at the democratic national convention notwithstanding. the president was optimistic and believed he had plenty to say about what has happened in the

united states, and during the last seven years he is not necessarily as optimistic about the future as he is about his analysis of his legacy. he believes that the united states is doing a lot better than it did seven years ago. them --ples -- some of fact thatacts, the joblessness in the united states is still dropping. he says the economy is a lot better off than when he got into the white house seven years ago. he also mentioned health care reform as well, which is still an example of how divided the country is right now and how divided washington is between republicans and democrats. democrats believe health care reform is one of the best things that has happened over the last few years. republicans still hate it, and that has brought the president also to talk about the big regrets before him, the fact that there is so much rancor and divisiveness in washington. he admitted that he divisiveness is worse right now than when he

first came into office seven years ago. remember that one of his promises and big ambitions was to unite washington against -- was to unite washington again and lessen the divisions. genie: he also made a few veiled swipes toward the presidential campaign, particularly toward the front runner. tell us about that. some of them were even in attendance. marco rubio, the senator from florida, who is not the front runner but might turn into one. none of them were mentioned by name, but there was plenty to read between the lines here. for example, there was a clear criticism of donald trump, the current front runner in the republican race, and his attitude toward muslims, his proposal to ban all muslims from entering the united states. there has been a response from donald trump since then. he has tweeted and said, "this

was the most boring, rambling, and non-substantive state of the union in a long time." there was also a veiled criticism of senator ted cruz. he had suggested carpet bombing the islamic state organization in syria. that is something that was mentioned by the president in his speech. this is a president who knows for a much that clearly this is an election year in 2016. he has to mention the device of this happening on the campaign trail, and therefore also cannot propose the policy proposals that tend to be at the heart of the state of the union address. he could not do that this time around. that is why we saw more of a sweeping speech, an analysis of his time in the white house and what he would like to see in the next year, and also the next dozen or so years to come. they promise from obama also to

still keep fighting what he believes is the good fight. for example, he still wants to work on the likes of immigration minimum wage,gher for example, and closing the guantanamo bay prison camp. he only has one year left and that would be a difficult one to do. genie: philip crowther reporting from washington. to 17 has detained close 17cess that matters -- suspected members of islamic state group leader one day after a suicide bomber killed 10 people in the heart of this than bowl. -- istanbul. german minister, thomas de maiziere, is paying his respects today. he says there was no indication germans were deliberately targeted. for more, that spring in jasper

mortimer, who was there. what more did the german interior minister have to say? jasper: he said there was no reason for germans who wished to travel to turkey to change their plans. in other words, he was endorsing the view that these sort of attacks could happen anywhere. a bit more about turkish officials and what they had said today, and since yesterday when the attack happened. they have released more information about who the bomber was. yes, turkey has explained how they managed to identify the bomber so quickly. it turned out that the bomber, 28-year-old -- a 28-year-old, had registered with turkish immigration authorities here in istanbul, one week before his bombing. his fingerprints were taken.

in other words, he entered turkey as a refugee. now, one of the bombers of the paris attacks of november 13 also entered europe as a refugee. so it looks as if the islamic state group is using the refugee process as a way of smuggling bombers into target countries. to thell give ammunition anti-refugee lobby. added to your figures just now about people detained in the , thedown on islamic state turkish interior minister said at the same press conference with the german interior minister that turkey has detained one person in connection with yesterday's bombing. other security sources are saying that turkey is also

looking for the four men who wenttered with him when he to the immigration office down the road here in istanbul on january 5. genie: jasper, we are hearing now from the german foreign ministry that the number of germans killed there yesterday has gone up to 10. you were saying that the german interior minister is telling not to and other people be afraid and to keep coming to a place like istanbul, but i can only imagine what the feeling is like today there one day after the attack. what are people you have been speaking to saying? have beenll, there some very touching scenes. i saw what appeared to be a korean or japanese tourist crying while leaning against the

railings around the egyptian obelisk. it is there that the bombing occurred, and while other people had laid red carnations at the railings of the obelisk, she left a handwritten note. up, and some turks came they threw red carnations at the foot of the hospital is -- at the foot of the obelisk, and tied football scarves with the names of german football teams to the railings. why? to express solidarity with the german tourists killed yesterday. one german tourist, who posted a carnation in the railings, said he heard the explosion yesterday. he was in the mosque a few hundred meters away when it happened. lucky,iders himself very

but he finds istanbul a fascinating city and he will keep on coming, and he believes the germans will keep on coming to istanbul because they know, as he knows, that terrorism is a hazard around the world. jasper, thank you for that. jasper mortimer reporting from istanbul. have beenn marines released after being briefly detained in iran. they were held overnight after their two naval ships drifted into iranian waters. tehran originally accused the agreedf snooping, but with american authorities later that they drifted in after mechanical problems. >> they were asking the u.s. to apologize for crossing more than a mile into iranian waters and grazing near an island where a military base is situated.

sailors were released only after the apology was made. even so, there has been no confirmation yet from washington. media has also given the pictures of the crew while in custody. nine men and one woman can be seen sitting on lying on the floor on traditional carpet, apparently calm but tired. overall the impression this picture gives support american claims that the vote had gone extensive -- that's the boat had gone extensively into iranian waters. genie: this comes at a delicate time for relations between the u.s. and iran. why is that? it comes before the expected implementation of the nuclear deal. international inspectors verified that tehran had abandoned its nuclear program.

there is fierce opposition against this. in iran, the revolutionary guard corps is holding the u.s. vessel and their crews. that is a mile's hard-line line of work. they would have liked to see this crisis escalate. the fact that americans were released promptly is an important indication of the power balance within the country, within iran, and the positive sign for improving diplomatic relations between iran and the west. that is our correspondent speaking to us earlier. if you have ever dreamed of getting rich quick, you will love this story. it is the world's biggest lottery drawing that takes place later today in the united states. dreaming of becoming filthy rich? get in line. here in nevada, the hopefuls spend hours waiting to get

lottery's biggest gift. $1.5 billion could be theirs wednesday night. >> we are probably looking at a three hour wait. it took us a half hour to get here. i know it is going to be me today. >> what you will have to do is probably come back when i win. u.s. in the 44 states that have licensed powerball retailers, thousands have been putting down hard cash at two dollars per ticket to choose their six lucky numbers. tickets, were buying $700, $400. >> an ever-increasing number of people trying their luck. the jackpot ballooned to never seen before proportions. americans and foreigners alike can play, and the lucky winner or winners will have a choice between the full jackpot and in $15 million installments over 29

years, or a single lump sum of $930 million before taxes. life-changing cash that requires a lot of luck. statistically, your chances of winning are one in 292 million. nearly three times less likely than being hit by lightning. genie: time for our business news team. stephen carroll is obsessed with the lottery, aren't you, stephen? stephen: i cannot bring myself to do that. i am far too pragmatic. been: general electric has a massive job cuts in your. europe. 6500 jobs in the biggest cuts will be made in germany, where 1700 of the jobs will go. and in switzerland, 1200 staff will be laid off. 765 jobs are being cut in france, and that could prove very controversial. ge pledged to maintain jobs in

the country. general electric paid almost 10 m in an euros for alsto deal that was closed last year. genie: let's go to china, where there is good news for a change. they were up 2% year on year, the first time that has increased since june of last year. , you on termsy 4% terms. that is taken as a positive sign after turmoil in chinese markets. genie: the other big story of this week is oil. stephen: the american indexes went below $30 a barrel yesterday. brent crude is up over 2% in trading today but still below the $32 a barrel mark, which is still near a 12-year low for oil. russia is announcing budget cuts

as a result of the collapsing below -- of the collapsing oil price. , lifting europe in general. byis is seeing gains lunchtime of 1%. genie: jail sentences have been handed down for practices such as ball snapping. stephen: -- as boss snapping. snatching. stephen: it is the first time that sentences that were not suspended have been handed down during an industrial dispute. does this mean france's toughening its stance toward striking workers ec? >> nine months in prison for kidnapping her boss, a french rulingas handed down its to these men for holding their

boss prisoner for 30 hours. >> this is clearly an attack unlike anything we have seen before in the working world. never before have employees or union members been sent to prison. >> holding someone captive for seven days or less is punishable by five years in prison and 75,000 euro fine. but these penalties have rarely been applied in industrial disputes. employees at the american construction company caterpillar will face no criminal charges after they held four managers for one day and night to protest 733 job cuts. these workers were never prosecuted after blowing up sodium blocks and pushing a truck into the river in 2003 in a labor dispute. theers are appealing decision, but others say such actions should be punished. >> our right to work should be

free from all forms of violence. otherwise, what image are we sending to the world? >> the decision comes ahead of the trial of five air france workers charged with assaulting two company executives during a strike last october. one of the managers had his shirt ripped off and was forced to flee over a fence in images seen all across the world. detroit, go now to with news from google on its self-driving car project. stephen: we call it google, but it is alphabet, the new company. john crafting says they will need to partner more, not less, during the last phases of the project. the google car has given 2 drives.kilometers in they are getting closer to

moving from a to b with a touch of a button. cadbury has a controversial change. stephen: there was an uproar last year when they changed the recipe of the cream egg, replacing the dairy milk chocolate with a cheaper alternative. sales fell by 8 million euros last year. not said tohange is have an impact, but it is increasing its marketing plan ahead of this easter by more than one million euros just in case. note: you still have answered the question -- what is in them? stephen carroll, thank you so much for that look at cream eggs and other business news. it is time now for the press review. florence villa minogue is with us on this -- florence via minogue is with us. in the district of sultanahmet, 10 tourists were killed,

specifically targeted. all att's look first of the front page of the english language version of this newspaper, which talks about the suicide bomber 10 people in central istanbul. it also reports that in december and early january, turkish intelligence services actually posted two separate warnings about the possibility of attacks targeting tourists in turkey. it is important to note that turkish authorities maintain there was no security failure on their part. genie: many papers are andimistic about the future security so long as there is ongoing chaos in syria. flo: this is the gist of the editorial of "the wall street journal." it says, another week, another it is also gaining ground in

africa. as long as the trend continues, no city is safe. for an pessimistic editorial there in "the wall street journal." we are in a new kind of war. there are no longer battlefields or limited geographies like afghanistan, iraq, or syria. astead, the entire planet is battlefield, and it is necessary for all government to cooperate closely against this new kind of threat. genie: let's move onto another story getting a lot of attention , and that is the final state of the union address from u.s. president barack obama. flo: there is a great cartoon in showing obamant," looking like a lame duck, the traditional way of describing an elected official who is approaching the end of his 10-year. a whole bunch of guns here. to a lot obama talked

of republicans, and reactions are trickling in from the united states as well. if you did not get a chance to listen to it, there is an article you should check out in "the washington post," a transcript of his speech, but it is interactive. it is very useful. you can click on it to understand exactly what he said and what it end. genie: let's come back to france, were the jewish community is in shock after a teaching -- after a teacher wearing a traditional skullcap was attacked in marseille by a teenager, also claiming to be part of the islamic state. flo: lots of shock in general. you can see they are talking , and the jewish community the jewish community is in shock. jewish leaders in marseille have recommended that jewish people wearingring -- avoid the traditional skullcap during this troubled period.

it is essentially to avoid being targeted. these calls from local jewish leaders have sparked a national debate. some jewish organizations in france have lashed out against attitude,tist essentially. france's chief rabbi said we must not yield to anything. we must not give in to this threat. genie: another story getting a lot of coverage in france says that is the story of eight former goodyear employees in france have been sentenced to nine months in jail for taking hostage two company executives two years ago. flo: ball snapping -- boss -- you can read more about that sentence on the front page. nine months is very harsh. you can see justice is hitting hard. a law professor was interviewed about the punishment. at thea law professor

university and she says the reason the sentence is so harsh is because locking up your boss or anybody is a criminal offense. here in france, public opinion tends to be quite forgiving for this kind of activity, disgruntled workers who kidnap their bosses. bossct, in the wake of the snatching's, there was a poll around 2009 that said that 50% of french people approved of this method. here in france, it is seen as being a very harsh sentence. is outrage today. you can see this front page, that the sentence goes beyond reason. how is it that eight goodyear trade unionists are sentenced like criminals? genie: you have a bit of a positive note for us. flo: it is about the cincinnati zoo, which welcomed its first

animal in 2016, a baby penguin. wie, in honor of david bowie. they have been singing him to sleep with classicawúwóóóóó

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