is "live fromthis me,s" on "france 24," with catherine nicholson. a frenchman is under arrest in spain, accused of selling guns but were used in an attack -- guns that were used in an attack in 2015. peace talks are due to restart in geneva. the vote and the resurgence of violence on the ground are both seen as threats to the fledgling negotiation. should muslim women be allowed to wear their religious headscarves at university? a debate reignited today by

france's prime minister, who faces immediate criticism from other members of the government. first then, a frenchman suspected of supplying the weapons used to kill five people in a kosher supermarket in paris last year is under arrest in spain. antoine denive was arrested on tuesday near malaga on the southern spanish coast. he has denied the accusations and says he is willing to be transferred to france to face justice. according to spain's interior ministry, a serbian man and a montenegrin were also arrested on arms trafficking charges as part of the same operation. with more detail, here is our correspondent in madrid. >> he is accused of being the

arms dealer that supplied the weapons with which amedy onlibaly used in that attack the french supermarket in january, 2015. as you said, he denies these the police, but think he could have been involved, along with serbian individuals, to provide those weapons. he was arrested, as you said, yesterday in malaga. his home was searched and a number of forged documents were seized, along with some computer information. all of that being analyzed. the judge of the court today decided to remand him in custody pending the transmission or the implementation of the european arrest warrant. in principle, spain has no opposition to extraditing him to france to face those allegations, but they will check that he does not have any allegations outstanding in spain before doing so.

in the meantime, he remains in prison. catherine n.: antoine denive is said to have fled to spain shortly after the attack. it took place in january last year. i'm sure people are asking how he went on captured for quite so long. >> that's right. it seems that several weeks after those attacks in paris, he and its way to malaga, looks like he was able to do that with a fake id. there will be questions about how he slipped through the net and how long police have been following him. there has been close cooperation between the spanish police and the french police on this investigation. catherine n.: three people arrested in brussels in connection with november's attacks in paris have been released without charge, that according to belgian prosecutors. they were arrested on tuesday during a raid in a southern neighborhood of brussels. -- the long concert hall

bataclan concert hall has announced its reopening, a due to be put on in november of this year, including pete doherty and youssou n'dour. saysataclan management that work to repair the interior of the building is now underway. looking across to the middle east, people living in government-held areas of syria have been invited to vote this wednesday in a parliamentary election, dismissed by critics, including france and britain, as meaningless and a sham. the government insists the boat is being held as -- the vote is being held in line with the constitution. reporter: an election of resistance -- at least that is the syrian regime's idea of wednesday's parliamentary vote after more than five years of civil war. >> the aim is to defend the

there are manyut martyrs who offered their lives and many injured to defend the nation, which honors the nation. what brings all these elements together is the constitution. reporter: strong words, but syria itself could not be more divided. the vote is only moving ahead in areas under government control, about 1/3 of the country with 60% of the population, who are collecting 250 candidates to a rubberstamp parliament. much of the international community has called this a sham refrain heldate, a inside rebel held areas of syria. rottinge, the regime is on the inside. reporter: it's an illegal and empty election. it's a lie. people here are living normal lives, but there are still

airstrikes and people are still being killed. reporter: fierce clashes have been reported around aleppo in recent weeks, as government forces try to wrest control of the city from the al qaeda linked al-nusra front and allied rebels. syria plans to launch a russian-backed counteroffensive there, putting the country's fragile cease-fire evermore in danger. catherine n.: today's poll is of theeld independently united nations peace process, due to resume in geneva. diplomats are stressing the importance of the next round of talks. this time, the u.n. special envoy to syria is meant to be working on the thorny issue of a power transition. a recent surge of violence in syria is seen as threatening a fragile cease-fire and, in turn, those peace talks. here is the special envoy, staffan de mistura. agreed thatra: we

it was very important, that humanitarian aid reach every --ian, and that political the political process leading to a political transition is now crucially urgent. onherine n.: for more info these talks, let's go to our correspondent in geneva. can you tell us what has been happening today? reporter: a very tense start to the new round of talks. mr. de mistura, the u.n. special envoy, met with the high negotiating committee, the syrian opposition, led by a general. the outcome was a very intense one. the general talked to reporters afterwards and highlighted that the regime of president assad had been destabilizing and undermining the truce. over 420vidence that

barrel bombs had been dropped in march alone and over 2000 violations of the cease-fire, that there was backtracking on humanitarian access, and that there was no release of detainees, especially women and children. regimelabeled the assad as a terrorist regime. mr. de mistura, talking to reporters afterwards, highlighted that, yes, there has been an increase in incidents in this is station of hostilities. he stressed serious incidents, and that was an issue of concern. but the first day, not a good start compared with the last round in march, when there had been the u.s. and russian-brokered cessation of hostilities. humanitarian aid was flowing into the besieged areas. there was an atmosphere that was conducive to talks. this time around, the start has been very rocky. catherine n.: at the same time

as these talks are restarting, the assad regime is holding parliamentary elections in syria. there has also been rather a flareup of violence on the ground. all things that could potentially destabilize the peace talks him it would seem. -- peace talks, it would seem. reporter: very much so. mr. de mistura stressed -- putting out a strong signal to washington and moscow, the principal sensors of the cessation of hostilities, he said, basically, they need to reaffirm their commitment to this process. and tomorrow, the cessation of hostilities task force, which is cochaired by the russians and the americans, will be meeting to examine all these violations. secondly, with reference to the elections that were held, the opposition leader said it was a farce and mr. de mistura isessed that the goal

political transition, a new governing body thomas presidential -- body, presidential and parliamentary elections. that's what they are following in these talks, but the government comes into geneva and flies into geneva on friday. we see where it goes from there. -- mr. de mistura will need all his diplomatic skills to try to pick up the pieces, because this has not been a good start, given that he has just come in from regional visit in moscow, tehran, and damascus. catherine n.: thank you very much. now, macedonian police have once again fired tear gas to disperse a group of migrants on the border with grace. according -- with greece. according to a witness, around 50 people were trying to pull down part of the razor wire fence separating the two countries. on sunday, hundreds of people

were injured when tensions spilled over and police fired tear gas and rubber bullets. josh vardey has the latest. josh: tear gas and stun grenades against migrants attempting to cross the border between macedonia and greece. macedonian police reacted with force to around 100 people shaking the fence between the two countries. greek riot police then moved into position themselves between the group's migrants and the fence, causing them to withdraw. hundreds were injured in similar circumstances on sunday, when over 250 people tried to cross into macedonia and on to northern europe. greece told the macedonian government they had acted with excessive force by firing rubber bullets and tear gas at the migrants, most of whom have fled war and persecution in iraq and syria to find safety in europe. greeceia in turn accused

of failing to intervene and prevent around 3000 people from entering their country. thousands have found themselves stuck in quality -- squalid conditions on the greek-macedonian border since macedonia and other balkan states refused to allow them passage through, on toward northern europe. catherine n.: back here in overe, a row has reignited the issue of muslim headscarves. this after the prime minister said he would support banning women from wearing them in universities. that has prompted criticism from women in his immediate government. he said the headscarf oppresses women when it is born for political reasons. veil is already banned here well -- here, while all ostentatious religious symbols are banned on schools and public buildings.

now, aring in our guest sociologist who has publicly opposed the ban on headscarves in the past. can you tell us why you are opposed to this idea? >> well, it used to be that discussions about veil were not people against the veil, but against it being in public schools, because we had both this definition of secularism that is supposed to leave at religion and, second, because this was people who were minors. but today, we are talking about a space, the university, where we have people who are of age, adults, and, in fact, the question of leaving out religion would be just like beating out politics. adults are citizens and they have a right to opinions. and the university is not outside of the world. back re is no reason to

the -- ban the veil. the president of universities have confirmed their is no problem -- there is no problem with the veil. the prime minister is making up a problem. catherine n.: why do you think the prime minister has spoken about this? in fact, he was not -- he was responding to a direct question from the newspaper. why do you think he did respond so firmly, that he would back a ban like this, which doesn't even seem to be on the table? >> not only does he say that he would support it, but that he knows the constitution makes it impossible. in fact, he is trying to educate a conversation -- agitate a conversation. the reason is twofold. he is hoping there is french cultural opposition to the veil, which has to do both with the colonial tradition and also with the other republican tradition,

that of secularism. that's one reason. but also, more simply, the fact is that the prime minister insists on saying that the next residential campaign will be based on -- next presidential campaign will be based on identity, national identity, cultural values. and why is that? because he prefers a conversation on this topic to a conversation, for example, on on hownomy, or, perhaps, unsuccessful he has been in maintaining order and preserving citizens from terrorist attacks. so, in fact, he is trying to engage in ground, to a discussion on something that will prevent people from talking about other issues. catherine n.: now, there are certainly issues here in france, plenty of debate about divisions in society. members of the muslim community feeling rather cut off from the rest of society at different

points. there certainly do seem to be splits and difficulties. as a sociologist, what would you suggest might be a way to try and bring about a more coherent french identity? as you say, the government does not seem to have been able to improve the situation up till now. >> it is quite remarkable that we have a prime minister who also keeps repeating that there is something called an apartheid in france. and he seems to forget that the apartheid is not just the result, it is also the policies that have been conducted. and in fact, what's going on today in france is that the tensions between potential communities are exacerbated by the government. so, in fact, the first thing that we should do is not to fuel on orfires that are going that could go on. what the prime minister doing -- is doing is exactly creating the conditions for civil

disturbances. so, in fact, the solutions are not very complicated -- treating people equally. the main problem in french society today that creates divisions within society are discriminations. so, fighting discriminations, making sure that people are treated equally. and the best way to make them feel that they belong. catherine n.: that's good. on the other side of the debate, people might say that religious symbols make people stand out and not be treated equally, but i'm sure it's a debate that could continue for a long time. thank you so much for giving us your point of view, eric fassin. something rather different for you now, a very special birthday celebration, this one for europe's oldest guerrilla -- gorilla. we are wishing her a happy 59th

birthday. she is a resident at the berlin zoo. fruitceived a delicious basket. she was brought to europe from west africa as a baby and has been at the berlin zoo since 1969. she is the second oldest gorilla in the world. there is another in ohio who is just four years older. she has lived far past the normal life expectancy of gorillas. she can still climb and hang from the trees in her enclosure. that's part of how she has been celebrating her birthday. it is just coming up to 9:20 in the evening in paris. a reminder of our top world headlines. a frenchman is under arrest in spain, accused of supplying weapons to the man who killed five people in a paris supermarket last january. much criticized parliamentary elections take place in syria as peace talks resume in geneva.

the vote and a resurgence of violence on the ground both seen as threats to the fledgling negotiations. and, should muslim women be allowed to wear their religious headscarves at university? the debate reignited today by france's prime minister. manuel valls facing immediate criticism from his own education minister and junior minister of higher education. business news time now with kate moody. hi there, kate. you are going to start us off with the international monetary of warnings from them. they are talking about financial uncertainty. kate: and it's going to continue according to the imf, just a day after cutting its global growth outlook. the fund to says that more action is needed around the kind of market turmoil we saw at the beginning of this year. the imf warning comes ahead of

its spring meeting, which gathers finance ministers and central bankers from around the world. our business editor markus karlsson is also there. he joins us now from washington, d.c. are right. yesterday, we heard from the imf when it came out to cut its global growth outlook for this year to 3.2%, which is lower than previously forecasted. today, the international monetary fund has been raising another warning finger. this time about financial markets and their stability. we will talk more about the so-called global financial stability report now with the man who is in charge here at the international monetary fund when it comes to these issues. thank you very much for speaking to us. >> my pleasure. markus: why our financial risks higher now than they were, let's say, six months ago, as you state in the latest edition of your global financial stability report? >> risks are higher because of

several factors. first, because macroeconomic risks are higher, because the economic growth -- outlook for growth and inflation has become weaker and more uncertain. second, because commodity prices are now much lower and there are also uncertainties related to transition, which is introducing some pressures on emerging markets and even advanced economies. third, because now we have higher political and geo political risks. risks like the refugee issue in europe. risks of brexit. terrorist attacks. finally, because there is lower confidence in the ability of -- politicsillingness of

to do what is required, going beyond monetary policies, which have been overburden. all of that has led to weaker competence, higher risk. -- weaker confidence and higher risk. markus: is there anything you will be watching over the next six months, any particular issue that is key for you? >> i would be watching for growth prospects and see whether they improve or worsen. also, i think there will be a lot of attention to be paid to china and how it manages its complex, but most important transitions. time is one of the two largest economies in the world -- china is one of the two largest economies in the world and whatever happens there is important for the rest of us. markus: much of what we saw at the beginning of the year seemed to emanate from china. there were concerns and it spread -- they spread to markets worldwide. collectively, stocks and shares lost trillions and trillions of

dollars. could we see that kind of turmoil as we saw in january and february again? >> the turmoil that we saw at the beginning of the year had to be initially in china, but then it was overtaken by much bigger concerns regarding the global , thanks outlook, banks in economies were under pressure -- banks in economies were under pressure, especially european banks. could we see balance of financial volatility -- bouts of further financial volatility? we could. they could be longer and more intense than the ones we have seen. this is something that would take a toll on the economy and set in motion another -- andeen financial markets the economy. we do not necessarily have to see that repeated. that can be prevented. for that, we need more balance in policy mix, which enhances

confidence, confidence that we are going to end up in a better place, rather than running the risk of running -- ending up in a worse place. markus: thank you very much for speaking to "france 24." jose vinal. with that, i will send it back from imf headquarters in washington, d.c., to you, kate. kate: markus karlsson, thanks so much. one other note on the international monetary fund, along with the world bank, it has welcomed a new member. the island has become the 189th state to join the international organization. that gives the small island nation access to financial and technical support. let's move on with a look at the markets. stocks have been advancing strongly across the globe this

wednesday after china reported a rise in imports in march. major european indices ended with strong gains across the board. the cac 40 up more than 3%. the ftse climbing above 6300 the first time this year. wall street also trading higher, despite an unexpected drop in retail sales in march. financial and transport sector driving things there -- financial and transport sectors driving things there. the economy is still expanding at a modest pace. that will give the fed a boost ahead of its next meeting. oil prices have pared back of it since hitting -- back a bit since hitting their highest numbers. saudi arabia says an outright cut was out of the question. returning -- turning to some other business headlines.

flights were interrupted at brussels airport is second day in a row as air traffic controllers continue a sporadic strike over labor reform. the prime minister condemned the timing of the walkout as irresponsible. it comes less than two weeks after the airport resumed limited service following the march 22 terrorist attacks. in the united states, some 39,000 verizon workers are on strike. they have been working without a contract since august. sticking points include health care, offshore call centers, and work rules and pensions. the telecom giant said most of its customers would not be affected because it had trained thousands of nonunion workers to step in. showedte bernie sanders up to support the striking workers, encouraging them to stand up to corporate greed. volkswagen has said it will cut top managers' bonuses significantly in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal. the board of directors is to approve the cuts and review

volkswagen's 2013 accounts later this month. facesrman carmaker potential fines and compensation that could total tens of billions of dollars.

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04/13/16 04/13/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from stanford university in palo alto, california, this is democracy now! you about like to ask policiesrica and the that you would likely involved in, the koran honduras. >> at the can retrospect, we managed a very difficult situation without bloodshed without a civil war, that led to a new election and i think that was