>> it's 9:00 p.m. in the french capital. you're watching "france 24" your headlines at this hour. the british prime minister admits he did benefit from funds held in an offshore trust mentioned in the so-called panama papers this after four days of pressure on david cameron. we'll be getting more details and reaction live with our correspondent in london. there is a new appeal for information on the third man present at the brussels airport bombing. police releasing new security footage showing the suspect walking around the city in broad

daylight just minutes after the eadly blast. hundreds in bangladesh have turned out to rally and demand justice for a liberal blogger who was hacked to death on wednesday. first then that breaking news over the so-called panama papers. the british prime minister admitting this thursday that he and his wife did benefit from offshore funds set up by his late father. david cameron's father ian was himself personally named. the prime minister has come under persistent pressure from journalists and politicians this week to elaborate on his links. let's find out more with our london correspondent.

let's get the detail on this. can you tell us what kinds of sums were involved and how david cameron benefited from these offshore funds? >> well, this story is breaking news. i suggest it is going to be breaking news really for the next 24 hours. this is momentous. mr. cameron, david cameron, now says he and his wife samantha wned shares in an offshore property set up by his late father ian before he sold them in january, 2010, for the sum of 30,000 pounds. now, he bought these shares, he 12,497n april, 1997, for pounds. actually, let me correct myself. it is not 30,000 pounds. he then sold them in january of 2010 for 31,500 pounds according to downer street.

now, what is momentous about this is that on monday we were being told when this first leaked about the panama papers and this news about holdings and the fact that ian cameron, mr. cameron's late father who died in 2010, was one of the five directors of this company, we were told by downing street repeatedly this is a private matter. we then moved on to second and third and fourth statements yesterday. and let's remember mr. cameron said looking down the barrel of a camera that he had no offshore trusts, no holdings, etcetera. what was noticeable about that was it was in the present tense. and of course that is correct. because what he wasn't telling us about was the past. so this is extraordinary from a man who has been a high profile campaigner for more tax transparency, a man, a prime minister who next month is chairing here in london a major

international summit on people who try and avoid -- transparency in finances, a greater transparency across the world, and trying to stop having a haven where you can hide your money. this is absolutely momentous. we do not know if this is particularly in the light of the huge political pressure yesterday from the opposition leader jeremy corbin who said that he, really, this was not a private matter and that mr. cameron should publish his tax return. by the way, mr. cameron is saying tonight that he is willing to publish his own tax return and is saying he has nothing to hide in his arrangements. that he is very happy to answer questions about it and that he can't bear to see the name of his father being dragged by "through the mud" and he has chosen a divent path from his father, grandfather, and great grandfather, who were stock brokers.

>> surely as you say not the end of the story. thanks very much. our correspondent there in london. calls already on twitter and social media for david cameron's resignation. we'll have more updates as we get them here at "france 24." across the middle east now fears in syria for 300 workers kidnapped by the islamic state group north of damascus. obviously the call into syrian state tv backed up by the uk opposition group, the observatory for human rights. earlier this week the militants launched a surprise attack on government forces in the same area where the abduction is said to have happened. meanwhile, further north, antigovernment forces have reportedly won back control of the islamic state group's main supply route to turkey. this also according to the syrian observatory for human rights. so we can find out more about these latest developments in syria with our correspondent in the region who joins us live from beirut. adam, firstly, what more can you tell butts this reported mass umar. of civilians from d

>> there are reports suggesting several people were kidnapped following this attack about 40 kilometers northeast of damascus. originally the syrian observatory for human rates said the number was in the dozens then we heard from a news agency afp quoting one of the administrators at the factory it seafl saying there were 250 people. now syrian state media is suggesting the number is in excess of 300 people. the details are very vague. we don't know exactly how many people have been taken and we don't know where they are. what we do know is they were taken from their dormitories in the plant, itself. these were contract workers who slept on site. there's been no contact with them since they were taken. we also know something about the circumstances surrounding the attack. there were other attacks going on by islamic state group in the vicinity, also in a military air

base and on a power station nearby but there were no abductions from those locations. of course given islamic state group's track record, long-term abductions and worse, there is of course a concern for the safety of these individuals, these civilians who have been abducted. >> and in terms of the other news line i mentioned, opposition fighters reportedly retaking that supply route from the islamic state group, how mikely is this to impact the militants on the ground? >> well, this is the town which has been taken by a mixture of rebels and islamists. it was, according to the syrian observatory for human rights one of the main towns or areas close to the border where they were able to smuggle people to and from turkey. but i think as much as anything else what this says is just how squeeze the islamic state group is at the time. we're seeing losses in various places and they've made enemies

of everybody and are now fighting everybody. in iraq they're fighting in the north and also against the iraqi army and in syria in the northeast they're fighting against kurds, to the west more moderate rebels they're fighting well as other islamists who they've never been on good terms with and then of course in the south they're battling the syrian army, itself, that recently made progress for instance in palmyra. with this town, itself, obviously this was nothing of an official border crossing for them. they still had to smuggle people across clandestinely in this area and still have access in other areas. it is difficult to say this will make very much difference. and of course the lines are always fluid, the battle lines, the front lines where they are and what we normally see is when the islamic state group has suffered a loss like this on the battle field they try and hit back somewhere else in retaliation. >> thanks very much, adam, reporting for us from beirut.

now, turkey is vowing to pull oust the deal with europe that is intended to ease the ongoing migration process if its demands are not met shall the turkish president declaring earlier the e.u. failed to deliver on any of its promises. under the deal europe is to take in an equal number of confirmed syrian refugees in return. the european union has also pledged 6 billion euros in aid to turkey over the next two years, visa free travel around the e.u. for turks as of this june at the latest, and speeding up the access process to the bloc. a speech in ankara today erdogan said europe's gratitude is not enough. >> here there is a process to respect. there are precise conditions. if the european union does not take the necessary steps then turkey will not implement the agreement. >> now, could it prove to be the

key to finding the so-called third man involved in the bombing of brussels airport last month? police today releasing new cctv footage of the suspects clearly captured on camera with the two suicide bombers before the blast. now they're appealing to the public to help track the man down. >> the man in the hat is still on the run. belgian prosecutors launched a fresh public appeal for information on the third suspect in the brussels airport bombing. >> this specifically targets the third person who took part in the airport attack. >> referred to as the man in the hat, including the clothes he was wearing. we were able to chart this person's itinerary. we will now show you. we are asking everyone who thinks they may have videos or

pictures to come forward. >> the suspect was seen leaving the airport on foot and heading toward the town of zeventen before disappearing near brussels. authorities said they are particularly interested in his coats which they think he discarded on his way out. two people suspected of being the man in the hat have been arrested in the weeks following the attacks but both were released due to lack of evidence. a self-proclaimed journalist was apprehended on march 24 after he was identified by the taxi driver who transported the three alleged suspects to the airport. but his alibi checked out and he was released four days later. another man was also arrested on march 28 but was only held for 24 hours. >> to the netherlands now, where europe is on many minds today after a referendum on wednesday that signaled considerable

antieu sentiment among the public there. officially the poll was over whether to allow ukraine closer ties with the european union but for many a chance to express their views on the bloc as a whole. the final results have more than 61% of voters opposing the deal with ukraine. however, turnout was barely 30% and that was the minimum threshold for the government to be required to take the poll into account. it's not, however, legally binding. let's find out more about what the referendum means for the netherlands and europe with our guest. thanks for being with us. now the far right dutch politician said today this is a vote of no confidence by the dutch people against the elite from brussels. what message do you think dutch voters are sending to the eu? >> it's not a vote of no confidence, because then you have to look at the numbers. and they are not high enough to be a real vote of no confidence. but there's a lot of anger in

the netherlands about the eu. this specific case we really have to look at what it really is. the application agreement with the ukraine is a compromise basically between poland which wants to have accession and far reaching cooperation with the ukraine and france which really wants to have a trade deal. so we have a complex compromise, which is more than a trade deal, and that is hard to sell because the public really doesn't know what it really is about. therefore, it is a very big document with a lot of rather loose language which suggests a lot and it is that compromise, those suggestions which may not be legally binding which are irritating and the public thinks, are we being fooled? is there more european integration here than we can see? so it really -- the message is that the european ministers have to strike compromises, of course, but they also have to make sure that those compromises not only satisfy the negotiators

in brussels but can also be explained at home as a clear story. and that is the problem here. >> indeed, just looking at the wider antieu sentiment that has been evident for many people in the netherlands throughout the referendum campaigns, this was the netherlands, i mean, one of the founder members of the eu. what would you say has led to the increase in anti-eu feeling? >> well, the question is whether there is an increase in anti-eu feeling because there we see that as you said the turnout was %, a bit more, and of those, 20%, only 20% of the people, of the dutch public had an anti-e.u. vote. that has been a figure which is not very high and actually it is going down in that respect if you look at other votes. so we can't conclude from this

that the netherlands is becoming more anti-e.u. as a matter of fact, there is a lot of support for the e.u. an enormous gray area, and the people against it. that has been fairly stable. this is normal politics. >> thanks for giving us your point of view. now to bangladesh where hundreds of students have rallied today to demand justice for a liberal blogger who was hacked to death on wednesday. islamist militants are blamed for the attack on the 28-year-old who has been described as a great supporter of secularism. with more details, here's our reporter. >> he lived by the pen and died by the sword. he was walking home with a friend when he was brutally killed at this busy intersection wednesday night. the 26-year-old was confronted by up to four assailants.

they hacked the law student's head with a machete and shot him at close range before shouting "god is great" according to local media. an outspoken critic of radical islam, according to police, he was targeted over his posts. the student activist had organized campaigns to sem laherism on social media. >> some miscreants killed him after tracking him down. it may be the result of a personal clash. we are investigating and keeping such factors in mind. >> student protesters took to the streets outside the university where he was attending classes the evening of the attack. >> we're protesting here because one of our law students at the university was brutally killed. we want a proper investigation and justice for the killing. >> critics say the government has failed to properly address the attacks. he was on a hit list of 84

so-called atheist campaigners that a hard line islamist group sent to bangladesh's interior ministry in 2013. calling for better safeguards amnesty international released a statement saying, bangladeshy authorities must condemn these killings and take steps to end the cycle of violence. >> in the last year suspected militants -- islamist militants hacked to death at least five bloggers in a series of killings in the muslim majority country. dozens of other bloggers have been forced into hiding or xile, fearing for their lives. >> let's give you a reminder of our top news headlines this hour. the british prime minister has admitted that he did own shares in an offshore trust set up by his late father and details in

the so-called panama papers after four days of pressure on david cameron. there is new information on the so-called third man present at the brussels airport bombing last month. police have released new security footage showing the suspect walking around the city in broad daylight shortly after the deadly blast. hundreds of students in bangladesh have been rallying to demand justice for a liberal blogger who was hacked to death on wednesday. let's move on now with a check on the top business headlines. we'll start off in belgium. the tourism industry there. new figures are indicating it's in crisis at the moment. >> yes. you just talked about the brussels attacks. it's been just over two weeks since those attacks and now the city's tourism industry is under pressure from the fallout. some businesses say that

occupancy rates are down by as much as 50%. visitor numbers have fallen sharply they say and business owners say they need help and quickly. >> it's great like this with not so many people around. you can take very beautiful photos. >> just over two weeks since the attacks in brussels, which left 32 people dead, the city tourist industry is reeling. for tour guides finding work has been even more difficult. >> at the moment we have half the normal number of people coming. hotels have been hit as have restaurants. >> of the 14 rooms in this hotel overlooking the grand pass only five are taken. nheard of in holiday season. >> it's exceptional. we've never known this. it's exceptional.

i think our belgian government seriously needs to pay attention to this problem. it's not enough to say that it's bad. no, it's not bad. it's worse than that. >> it's not only hotels that have been affected. the city's principal attraction is also quiet. the week after the attacks the 22nd through 31st of march 98 groups canals led their visits, which i've never seen before. they canceled their visits. if you look behind me, there is no one here and normally during easter holidays we have loads of visitors. to reassure visitors a second security door has been installed. the tourist industry hopes the reopening of the airport will give it a boost. for now, the shock waves from the blast on march 22 are still making an impact. >> in an interview with france 24 the head of the world trade organization has warned about the consequences of lack luster growth in global trade.

w.t.o. ng came as the has slashed its forecast for global trade growth to 2.8% from 3.9%. just to put this into perspective the w.t.o. says it would be the fifth consecutive year that we see sub par trade growth. speaking to me earlier, i was told the slower rate is linked to a slowdown in the global economy and is calling on leaders worldwide to take action. >> we should be worried. and i think that countries should be looking at how trade can help. the reality is that as far as fiscal policy and monetary policy is concerned, there is so much that you can do by now. we have very special monetary policies and we hope that the effect of those in the e.u. will be healthy this year and next. but fiscal policy is also very limited. trade can do more. so to the extent that we can open markets and bring the costs

of doing trade lower, there is a possibility of improving the global economy by a few notches. >> that was the head of the w.t.o. let's move on now. public sector workers have been striking in greece since thursday. the walk out grounded flights, closed schools, and slowed down hospitals. it comes as greece is negotiating with its creditors for a deal to unblock more bail out aid. here are the details. >> while the halls of the athens airport were silenced, the streets in front of parliament were loud with the sound of protests. air traffic controllers were one of the many professions that joined in on the day of strikes called by the country's largest public sector union. in their cross hairs are the numerous budgetary measures that would need to be enforced as part of greece's third bail out

package. the deal was struck last year with the i.m.f. and european institutions. >> we demand that our hospitals remain open and offer their services to all, greek and migrants, that new staff are hired, and that we get the supplies and medicines we need to function properly. that's why we are out on the streets, because this government like previous ones, made false promises. >> of particular concern is the plan to lower the minimum monthly pension payment from 486 to 384 euros. and the maximum payment from 2500 to 2300 euros. the demonstration will apply pressure on the left leaning greek government as it is currently in talks with its international creditors. in addition to the issue of austerity, the negotiations have -- the n the issue of i.m.f. believes a greek recovery will require debt relief while

some on the e.u. side are not willing to consider this. a successful conclusion to these talks would unlock bail out funds and allow athens to repay 3.5 billion euros to its creditors in july as well as some domestic bills. >> okay. the stock markets are next. we're seeing red arrows across the board over in the united states this session. with the dow-jones industrial average essentially wiping out all of its gains so far this year down 1.3%. lower crude prices are putting pressure on energy related shares. we saw a similar picture to the down side earlier when the european markets showed up sharper. we saw once again energy shares coming under pressure. investors also digested signals from the european central bank that it could do more to lower interest rates and lower interest rates are not necessarily great for banking shares in particular. so we saw that sector under pressure and that sector was also under pressure as the french and u.k. officials asked

for more details from lenders after the panama papers were released earlier in the week. now, speaking of the panama papers, let's talk you through some other news that we have been watching for you. protesters have blocked the paris headquarters of the french bank association. activists cused the lender of fiscal fraud after he was named in the so-called panama papers and alleged the bank created hundreds of offshore companies via a law firm in panama. the association denies the accusations of fraud and tax evasion. electronics heavyweight samsung says it expects a 10% jump in quarterly earnings. the korean firm predicts its first quarter operating profit will come in at 6.6 trillion yuan which is around 5 billion euros, seen as a sign that its latest handset the galaxy s7 is selling well. samsung shares lost steam in seoul despite the higher profits.

and tesla says it's taken 325,000 preorders for its model 3. it's seen as a strong figure for a vehicle that was unveiled just a week ago and the first model 3 won't be delivered until next year. the all electric car has a starting price of $35,000 and tesla says the orders represent $14 billion worth of implied future sales. the model 3 is billed as the company's first mass market vehicle. sticking to this automotive theme, the swedish car maker volvo is accelerating plans to sell self-driving cars and wants to launch a pilot project in china and put up to 100 self-driving cars on chinese roads. self-driving vehicles have been touted as the next big thing in e global auto industry and companies are developing the technology. volvo is owned by the chinese car maker and it says china in particular will be a market and a key market even for

self-driving cars. >> this is probably the country where you will have the first really commercial market for this. i mean, here is where you have hundreds of

04/07/16 04/07/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >> i would bring back waterboarding and i would bring back a hell of a lot worse. >> is waterboarding torture? >> under thdefinition of torture, no, it is not. amy: as the republican presidential candidates embrace torture, we speak with a former u.s. interrogator at abu ghraib who remains haunted by what he did, what he saw and what he heard.