from crossing into friends from belgium. we will be finding out more from our team on the ground. europe slammed for its response to the migrant crisis overall. amnesty international singling out the continent for its

handling of the crisis. the final day of campaigning before hotly anticipated elections in iran. team are reporting from 10 on -- from tehran. first, then, the latest crack in the free movement arrangement here in europe. more than 250 belgian police officers have spent the day checking vehicles crossing between brands -- france and belgium. there are fears that migrants camped in calais could head across the border and mass -- en masse. belgium's interior minister insisted the schengen free movement pack is, quote, "not

dead." our reporter has been on the ground all day. i asked him earlier how many people have been crossed from blocking. >> in the past couple of minutes, we have witnessed a small influx. police turned back 20 individuals that tried to cross the border. earlier in the day, we were on board one of those buses when the police turned away about six individuals, very young individuals. local poster says -- it had about 40 or so individuals they have turned away since the middle of the afternoon. the belgian officials said about 80 had been turned away in total. we can estimate that the total is in excess of about 100 so far on this first day of these tighter border controls. that's not necessarily a sudden rush of individuals and

migrants. it is more of a slow trickle, authority --at the the authorities fear. they are afraid that groups will travel from calais to belgium and that it will start building a new jungle in belgium, which is their main concern. catherine n.: meanwhile, there is a new ultimatum from greece over the migration crisis. threatening to block decisions at a forthcoming eu summit on migrants unless all member states sign up to equally share in refugees -- share refugees among them. there was a conference on the issue in vienna. they angered athens by not inviting a greek representative to join them. next staget is the in their journey, about carrying over 1000 migrants and refugees carryinged -- a boat

over 1000 migrants and refugees. >> where did you want to go? >> go to germany. >> you have family there? >> yes. i have my wife and my two children. reporter: greece is seen as a gateway to europe. this year alone, 100,000 migrants have arrived on its shores, with the intention of heading through the balkans towards northern europe. thisreece has just opened camp for people stuck at its border with macedonia. it says there is a bottleneck of 12,000 people who cannot continue their journey north, because some balkan countries have started only allowing syrians and iraqis through.the u.n. high commissioner said country by quarter -- country by country border rules will not be observed. >> we observed borders shutting

down, putting restrictions, especially the western balkan countries -- restrictions some of which we believe go against even european rules and regulations and certainly against the basic refugee protection norms. reporter: greece is also frustrated it wasn't invited to this meeting in vienna on managing migration. nine balkan countries took part. those at the table defended recent decisions to allow only syrians and iraqis through. migrations, greece's minister responded by saying the migrant bottleneck in his country could soon break. catherine n.: europe is being called out on its overall response to the migration crisis by amnesty international. they slammed the european response as shameful. some amber states are facing

more criticism than others, and a couple have -- some member states are facing more criticism than others and a couple have received praise. dheepthika long ru -- laurent. in therichest bloc world has not been able to come together and find a sensible, agreed, coherent, safe way in which people can access europe at a time when they are fleeing from war and persecution. on the whole, europe has failed human rights and failed migrants and refugees. hungary was singled out for building a wall of thought -- along its border with syria. european countries, including the balkans, germany, austria, sweden, and denmark, were taken for closing their

borders. the report also criticizes europe's joint action plan signed with turkey, which outsources migrant controls for unofficially turning a blind eye to turkey's growing list of human rights abuses. amnesty has called for safe legal routes for people to reach europe and urged the union to treat refugees on a case-by-case basis. germany was europe's only good student, praised taking in over one million refugees last year, but it has backfired politically for chancellor angela merkel. anti-immigrant sentiment is rising. refugee centers have been regularly targeted in recent weeks, like this one in saxony. angela merkel's policies suffered another setback after numerous sexual assaults and robberies on new year's eve in cologne and other cities, blamed on migrants. catherine n.: in spain, political deadlock looks to be thinning. on thecialist party has w

backing from the centrist party for its choice of prime minister. claire williams tells us where this leaves spain's nearly two-year-old effort to form a government. claire: they will back the socialist party candidate, sanchez, seen on the left. the centrist woo with pledges to and parliamentary immunity for mp's -- to end parliamentary immunity for mp's. >> step to generate political change -- it is the first step to generate political change in our country. claire: the socialist student -- the socialists still do not have the absolute majority they need to ensure he becomes their next prime minister.

46 seatsarties are short of majority. they are looking to put animals -- two podemos -- to podemos for support. the magic number is 176. report wants to stay -- mariano rajoy wants to stay on as prime minister. , has foundr, podemos itself a key player in spain's political chess game. leader has -- party turned down the socialist's coalition offer. they will vote on whether to elect sanchez as prime minister in march. he has less than a week to persuade podemos to reconsider. catherine n.: in syria, 21 tons of aid has been dropped in one

of the towns controlled by the islamic state group. theunited nations announced delivery earlier on. airdrops are the only way to get a into the town. they have landed in their intended target area. celebrations in libya today for opponents of the islamic state pro-government forces have retaken two neighborhoods of benghazi that had been seized by the militants in recent months. it's a major step from the but the jihadists remain a threat. dheepthika: the french defense ministry has launched an investigation over potentially sensitive information that was published. it reveals that special forces units are operating in libya. cracks people should know better -- >> people should know better .here there are citizens abroad

elite forces are gathering resources -- intelligence to prepare for strikes. jihadists control cities near cornfields -- oilfields. in libya, two rival governments are fighting for power. italy has given the u.s. permission to use a sicily airbase to launch operations against islamic state group, while french special forces are already stationed in chad and niger. benghazi residents celebrated after the soldiers liberated two neighborhoods previously controlled by jihadist gunmen. >> we will stay in benghazi until the last drop of blood we have.

we will come after you in tripoli. we will come after you. dheepthika: experts believe there are several thousand islamic state fighters in libya, and their number continues to grow. catherine n.: we have a special report for you from "france 24's" team in iran. our reporters are on the ground as the country prepares for hotly anticipated elections. there is much at stake. we have these reports from tehran. >> the last day of campaigning for two crucial polls. the streets are adorned with leaflets. candidates and councils are featured on posters. by law, there are no street gatherings. the gathering is in full

swing. with elected in hassanossein romani -- rouhani was elected in 2013. >> we want them to improve our living standards. reporter: the crowd was singing and chanting in support of their top representative. he upped the ante on his campaign trail by calling potential rec room -- calling for tangible reform. >> we want a parliament that can address people's needs across different sectors. time, it should prioritize women and increase their presence in the political scene. are bones ofse contention for the more conservative circles, reluctant new direction in

tehran's international relations. >> following the lifting of sanctions and the influx of foreign corporations, there are concerns that our economy will become increasingly dependent. this will be a major topic of discussion for the parliament. the conservative rally is more subdued. men, the priority is staying true to the islamic and resolution area -- revolutionary values. >> we can negotiate with the international community and do deals with them, while also maintaining our islamic values. reporter: ahead of friday's vote, iran's highest power, ayatollah khomeini, has urged those who live in the islamic republic to participate. the big question is whether the polls have managed to engage and which political powerhouse will be able to win this ongoing tug-of-war. he has come out on

top in nevada and donald trump has steamed on to the state of virginia, making new predictions that he will win the republican party's presidential nomination. rivals ted cruz and marco rubio, who are locked in an increasingly bitter race for second place. one of the big reasons voters are getting such support to trump is his economic policies. what is he proposing to do for the economies -- economy? what impact might he have? his tax: he promises reform will make america great again. cutting of the plan -- taxes, even removing them entirely in some places. according to his program, individuals who earn less than $25,000 per year will not have to pay any income taxes. others will pay less. even the richest's income tax

rate will drop to 25%. to pay for these cuts, he says he will cancel various tax deductions and bring back corporate money from abroad. critics say that plan will bring massive deficits and will mainly benefit the rich. trump's other main economic to boost business in the u.s. the candidate for the republican primary is also planning massive tariffs on importers -- imported goods. he says that for chinese imports, the tax should be at 45%. to increase terrace this much, he would have to renegotiate several historic trade deals -- tariffs this much, he would have to renegotiate several historic trade deals. this could lead to a trade war. american companies abroad could see significant tax hikes. mr. trump: i will create jobs.

reporter: economic experts doubt his proposals will create jobs or improve the economy. catherine n.: now for story that "artificialt" in intelligence." this robot is currently found rolling around the museum here in paris. his program allows him to record how other visitors react to different works of art. uses that information to build up his own individual taste -- he uses that information to build up his own individual taste. -- hisdeveloped developers are creating him as part of anthropological research into what makes humans human. i wonder what he would make of this next story. how much would you pay for an old secondhand hat?

what if it used to a door head of the former french emperor -- used to adorn the head of the former french emperor? the selection also includes outfits, letters, paintings, even the marriage certificate of the original napoleon, napoleon bonaparte, empress josephine. 0 items are on presale display in paris. they will be going under the hammer at the historic fontainebleau castle just outside of the city. sure to rake in quite a few euros, that selection. business news with markus karlsson. plenty of money rolling into the coffers of one of france's best-known car companies. markus: we're talking about one -- peugeot citron, one of france's biggest

car companies. it is also paying out a bonus to , butf its french employees union representatives say it is not enough to compensate employees for their sacrifice in the past few years. a 2000 euros bonus for every employee working for peugeot-citroen. >> we are indeed able to create more wealth. when we create more wealth, we can redistribute it. that's why we decided to announce these bonuses on the same day we release our annual results. psahe bonus follows peugeot-citroen's first profitable year since 2010. it's in stark contrast to the carmaker's performance two years ago, when it was on the brink of bankruptcy.

and theese manufacturer french state each purchased 14% stakes in the capital. the strong figures were reached at the expense of employees. >> 17,000 jobs were cut in france in the last three years. salaries were frozen. bonuses were canceled or slashed. this announcement is just for show. reporter: for many workers on the assembly line, 2000 euros represents more than a month of salary. the company produced more than 3 million cars last year in france , making it the number one manufacturer. markus: it is earnings season here in france. playmaker airbus -- planemaker airbus has posted a healthy looking at profit, $2.7 billion ash -- 2.7 billion euros.

6% last airbus grew by year, hitting 64 billion euros. underlining an out before cast, the planemaker said it would ramp up production of its a330 jet. just a few years back, they reduced the production pace of the jet as they predicted slower demand. around 16,000 people in the u.k. the chief executive has weighed in on britain's breakfast debate. he expects britain's competitiveness to take a hit in the u.k. votes to leave the european union -- britain's brexit debate. he expects britain's competitiveness to take a hit in u.k.ou -- a hit if the votes to leave the european union. >> what that could mean for our competitiveness --

from a pure business perspective, a brexit would not increase our competitiveness. markus: it was an upbeat start to the year for the french jobs market. the number of job seekers dropped in january by nearly 28,000. the jobless total remains above 3.5 million. near record highs. january was a good sign, but it is too soon to speak of a john -- solid jobs recovery. one month in over the number of registered jobseekers does not mean there will be a big decline. there must be several months in a row of decline to really get to a trend of improvement in unemployment figures. if we want a reversal, we blessed with for several months of decline -- we must wait for several months of decline. markus: the french government is trying to crack down on employment fraud, specifically

targeting the illegal use of posted workers. there are strict conditions attached. the government believes many companies are breaking the rules. catherine viette has more. catherine v.: this is the government's latest weapon in fighting against employment fraud, a professional id card, which will be mandatory for all construction workers and will include their names and that of their employers, subject to strict checks. >> to prevent abuses, for example, the issue of housing and unfair competition. a posted worker is one that is hired in one eu country to work in another. there are strict rules. a worker hired from poland must earn the minimum wage and be housed and fed by the employer.

in exchange, the company pays the social charges to the worker's home country. the situation can only last six months. employers like the program because it costs less to hire a worker from outside france. example,uction, for the savings can be as much as 20% per hour. there are 230,000 posted workers in france, another 300,000 working here unofficially, and the regulations aren't always respected. this polish worker says he has been in france three years, already a violation, and works longer than 35 hours a week, another violation. >> [inaudible] catherine v.: last year, the government estimated that fraud in the posted worker segment costed hundreds of millions of

euros. markus: fortunes reversed. the s&p 500 and the nasdaq now above the flatline. oil is taking center stage. it has pulled back previous losses. crisis settled higher at the end prices settled higher at the end of wednesday. european indices were dragged lower. ended thepeugeot session 1% higher. the company's shares ended 8% lower. let's talk you through a few other stories we have been watching for you. the british pound is under a continued -- under continued pressure on the prospect of a brexit. sterling has gone down below $1.40 for the first time in several years. there is a gap between the in and out camps that is narrowing.

39% support the brexit. british lawmakers, meanwhile, have criticized the tax deal who agreed in january to pay britain 130 million pounds in back taxes. the government hailed it as a major victory, but a parliamentary committee now says involved is disproportionately small. it coincides with her report that france is looking to pull back a substantially higher some -- sum, 1.6 billion euros. johnson and johnson told to compensate the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer. a jury has ordered the firm to pay $72 million. it is the first verdict of its kind. the woman was a long-time user of johnson & johnson's baby powder. the company failed to warn consumers that products could

cause cancer. johnson & johnson denies the claims. that's the business news for now. catherine n.: thanks very much. it is time for a short break.

02/24/16 02/24/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> keeping this facility open is contrary to our values. it undermines our standing in the world. it is viewed as a stain on our broader record of upholding the highest standards of rule of law. amy: seven years of a first promising to close guantanamo, president obama since congress a new plan to close the military prison in cuba. is obama exley calling for