>> welcome to the france 24 newsroom. it is 1:00 p.m. in the french capital. north korea holds a rare political gathering. the political elite meet in pyongyang or a show of unity under leader kim jong un. the labour party is losing ground in regional and local elections and the dip in support could hurt opposition leader jeremy corbyn. wildfires continue to burn in alberta, canada.

south of the town of fort mcmurray. also coming up this hour in business, there is a cash crisis in zimbabwe. the central bank has limited daily withdrawals and mounts a new currency. that is coming up. first, for the first time in nearly four decades north korea is holding a ruling party congress. it is a major political event meant to show the country's stability under leader kim jong un. when thet even born last congress was held in 1980, but he is to speak. that speech will be combed over for any shift #of a policy shift.

myers belkin reports. concert northl korea style for the totalitarian country's most important gathering in nearly 40 years. and even adults, players were mobilized for a share of unparalleled patriotic thatr, a 70 day campaign has been denounced as a mass exercise in colors labor. the opening of the congress as people flock the central plaza, flowers in hand. >> holding the congress is a joyous thing. i will be showing my loyalty toward our dear leader. >> i will be participating in the event with these flowers.

the entire country is filled with enthusiasm. myers: the duration of the event is unknown but it is widely seen as a push to secure same -- secure kim jong un's status as supreme leader. tandemc development in with increased nuclear capabilities. since 2011 north korea has carried out two nuclear test, widely seen as ballistic missile tests. international condemnation and sanctions see have -- seem to have encouraged the politically isolated country. a show of power from a country that does not allow its citizens to leave, and has been accused of "unspeakable human rights abuses" why the united nations. mollyp: people in the united kingdom are still waiting for the final results in the

regional and local elections. numbers show britain's labour party is losing ground. it is the biggest test of the national mood since last year's election. jeremy corbyn needed a strong showing that he did not quite get it. >> no, he did not, but what experts were predicting what a disastrous grim night, and that has not happened. a disaster has been avoided. the scottish national party has won its third victory in the scottish parliament elections, but it is being qualified as a meltdown for the labour party because they have been pushed into third position by the conservatives, by whom that is an extremely good result. the welsh assembly, labor has held most of its ground.

jeremy corbyn spoke a little while ago and said the labour party has clung on and ground support in some areas. the fact is that he has averted a disaster but the fact of the matter is, as rumors swirled about the possible coup against him in the next month or after the eu referendum, they are not going to be out yet but were caught already this morning for more decisive leadership within his party and more appeals to go to the center ground. certainly for a party in opposition, it is not good enough when the conservative government is in disarray, divided by the brexit question and the labour party if it is serious about winning a 2020 general election should have far better results. molly: tell us in terms of the situation in london, not all is lost for labour party. beneficte: yes, that is right.

let's concentrate if you will on the big plum job. dual.is a traditional there are two men who are in , a former sadiq khan minister under gordon brown. and he looks set to win this evening. it is zac goldsmith, his conservative candidate who looks like he will lose. win and and does indeed succeed boris johnson, the outgoing for eight years london mayor, that will be a very big victory for the labour party. it will be the first time that a big --holds that con of

that kind of big job in a western city. we expect results around 1800 local time, 7:00 p.m. paris time. molly: thank you very much for that report a. joining me in the studio is our international affairs .ommentator douglas herbert we just heard a bit of a breakdown of the results but are still waiting for the final results. is inw that sadiq khan favor in terms of this brexit referendum. khan, who perhaps is tipped when he is in favor of the u.k. staying in the eu, what impact if any could it have on the brexit vote? douglas: i'm going to set you straight, i do not like to call it the brexit referendum. it is the british referendum.

brexit is for one choice. it is for that ms. -- british decision to leave. if you want to be neutral about it, let's just call it the british referendum. what is the take away from these u.k. local elections? city councils, mayors, crime commissioners, what does that have to do with broader european world issues and the referendum? concretely, not much but pollsters and pundits like myself are obviously looking what is going on in these elections for signs of where the wind is blowing. it is seven weeks until that tremendous and historical vote in britain which will literally decide its destiny in europe. people want to see where the party is leaning and who is for what. ,ou mentioned the london race and it is not a negligible

detail, the labour party candidate said he con is very much on board that british -- sadiq khan is very much on board that britain should stay in the eu. even though he is a labor man he is on the same side as the conservative prime minister david cameron who is the flagship campaigner for britain remaining in europe. zac goldsmith, the conservative candidate is very much pro-brexit and wants britain to leave. he is at odds with his own party. 300,000s a city where french citizens or more are living and it is almost like the sixth largest french city. there are big stakes on either side and what is interesting is in this location just election, the conservative party, one of the issues has been the fact

that it is so divided over this referendum issue. david cameron supporting britain remaining in europe and that is not what a lot of his party .embers believe the london candidate himself was. a lot of conservatives have been irritated the cause the prime minister is in favor of britain remaining so it has been very much an issue. i will note with scotland, where the scottish national party remains the dominant party, the third straight victory although it does not have its majority. they are very much pro-european and they have threatened if indeed britain ends up voting to leave europe, the brexit you were talking about, they will want to call another independence referendum even though david cameron says it is a once in a generation thing. they are trying to do it again if britain votes to exit so they can mend as an independent scotland and rejoin europe.

there is a lot at stake in these elections even if they are not specifically weighing in on that issue. molly: we have had someone else late -- weigh in on this referendum. donald trump says a brexit would be in the u.k. interest. i know you would like to china and but i have to say thank you for your time. the brits do not want donald trump telling them what to do. molly: donald trump has weighed in on the issue and he is not trying to unify the republican party behind his presidential run. it is proving to be a difficult task as house speaker paul ryan, the highest ranking elected republican official says he is not ready to support the real estate mogul. now that trump is the presumptive nominee after his

two remaining rivals dropped out of the race, we also have the former presidents george bush and his son who have rejected trump's run for the white house. now there has been cross-border unrest between israel and gaza. says theyicy military hit infrastructure but there were no reports of casualties. this comes after three days of violence after which gaza fired mortars. one palestinian woman has died. it is the first time direct classes -- clashes between hamas and israel broke out since the 2014 war. syria, reports that rebels have captured a key town south of aleppo. it comes as a cease-fire is said to be holding inside aleppo itself. at least 28 people including women and children have been killed in airstrikes in a camp

near the turkish border. the syrian government has denied responsibility. the culturally and has the details. nicole: a refugee camp or the turkish border of northern syria , scores of this place civilians . camp, lookere in the at what has happened. probably a body here, the body of a woman and we carried her away to the hospital. >> we are displaced people and people were set on fire. they set tents in restricted places a blaze. nicole: hundreds have found refuge in the cap after fleeing conflict. the attacks took place in territory controlled by the al qaeda affiliate.

it is still unclear who is responsible. the white house issued swift condemnation. >> there is no justifiable excuse for carrying out an airstrike against innocent civilians who have already once fled their homes to escape violence. nicole: meanwhile, the united nations has called for an immediate investigation with one top officials saying the attack could amount to a war crime. molly: pope francis is calling on the eu to build bridges and tear down walls. from the vatican city, this is where he is being awarded the charlemagne prize. europe's most prestigious wrote -- awards and he is being presented at for his message of hope and encouragement. in attendance is the german chancellor angela merkel, they are in italy for the next two

days for meetings on the migration crisis. the council president and european parliament president are also there. wildfires continue to rage in alberta, canada. were forced tos evacuate from the town of fort .cmurray earlier this week the out-of-control blaze has consumed entire neighborhoods in an area considered canada's energy heartland. surely sip on has more. mcmurray ravaged by flames. a blaze that broke out on sunday due to dry, hot weather has , at least 10 separate wildfires consuming neighborhoods and forests. authorities managed to evacuate

all residents to save locations. >> our primary focus is the safety of the town and the residents. >> two thirds of fort mcmurray's residents fled south, where locals have given them clothing, fuel, and food. >> it is very stressful. he do not know when you can go back. >> 20,000 other residents were forced to flee north and are now stranded in remote sites waiting to be evacuated. -- several sites are at risk although none have been damaged. as a caution, oil production has been slowed. the daily crude output is down by one third. after 16 minutes

past 1:00 p.m. in the french capital. i am joined by kate moody. we are going to start out with the financial crisis growing in zimbabwe with the banks have imposed a limit on cash withdrawals. the central bank has capped the amount people can withdraw to deal with the cash shortage and plans to print its own version of u.s. dollars, which will have the same value as american bills. they abandoned their local currency after hyperinflation made it relatively worthless. alexandra takata explains. ueingnder: hours of q outside zimbabwe's banks. from now on i will keep my

money at home because we have lost all confidence in the banks. struggling with a cash -- >> struggling with a cash shortage, the central bank has limited withdrawals and has announced lance to bring back its own currency. they have not printed their own notes for seven years after inflation spiraled. the constantly growing number of zeros make the paper almost worthless. trillion. up to $100 a multicurrency system was adopted after this. , as wellfrom botswana as the pound sterling became legal tender. more than 90% of the transactions in zimbabwe are in the currency of the world's largest economy.

>> right now we use only one currency. the problem is, there are not enough u.s. notes to go around. let's take a look at the markets. asian markets reported their ninth straight week of losses. arestries around the world waiting for u.s. employment data for the month of april, and the number of jobs added offers a glimpse into the health of the world's largest economy and plays a role in to win the federal reserve should raise interest rates. the london ftse not far off. oil prices have been moving pretty steadily throughout the week, up 20% over the past

month. they have been boosted by the drop in canadian supply because of the fire raging. a dropped a little bit this friday. brent and usda i crew down about a third of 1%. of steel in the u.k. is at stake is interested buyers try to stick -- seek financing. an is meeting with bankers on friday. the government has offered financial support and could offer a 20% stake in the firm to avoid job losses. liberty house has said it would try to maintain the workforce if its bid was successful. giant hasropean feel painted a gloomy picture of the industry. narrower than

expected losses. as its political problems deepen, so do its financial woes. beenl's credit rating has downgraded further into junk bond territory, and changing fiscal targets have undermined its credibility. kfclly, the fast food chain has a new take on its slogan, finger licking good. have launched a applicable and edible they'll polish for its customers in hong kong. it is apparently a real product. the pr firm saying it is designed to be intriguing and fun to increase excitement around the brand in hong kong. in twos in two colors

flavors, original and hot and spicy, and apparently tastes like chicken. molly: everything always does, doesn't it? kate: a new twist on chicken fingers. much forank you very the latest business news. it is time now for our press review. i enjoined -- that is so gross. that is hilarious. wherenorth korea that is he have a very rare political gathering. are heading that congress which the last one was in the 1980's so a major event in terms of the north korean politics. let's go to the daily beast -- no weddings, no funerals so kim jong un can party.

congress and an unprecedented crackdown on his beleaguered masses. that paper is arguing u.n. sanctions imposed early in march are having an effect. there are shortages of almost everything nationwide. diplomat, there is political instability, unexpected changes such as a regime collapse work who cannot be ruled out. we seeing this event covered in the south korean press? disasters areying piled up ahead of this congress. around 30 soldiers died when a tunnel collapsed during construction for a power plant because of unreasonably tight deadlines to achieve national targets for this congress. the quote from that paper is press gangyang has

to the population into sprucing up the country and such an extreme way it has only aggravated the problems nationwide." they say kim jong-un seems to be eager to get the legitimacy that such a congress can confer," an intelligence source saying kim his positionited but that does not mean he has the authority that we think he does. molly: let's cross over to the united states where they are focusing on the presumptive gop candidate, donald trump. >> we can go to the wall street journal europe, this caught my eye. the former republican presidential candidate ben carson is saying that democrats and independents may be on trump's target list of possible running mates. we willte there is that " consider people who are

americans and who put america first, so anything is possible." ben carson quick to add that he is not in the mix to be the running mate. let's have a look at the cartoon in the usa today international edition suggesting the u.s. he has one and we at the inauguration of donald trump. if you look closely you can see he's being asked to raise his right hand and place his left hand not on the bible but on the national inquirer. fact is at the bottom of things in that national inquirer. let's switch to things in france. papers focusing on president hollande. trump,jong un and donald why not switch over to francois hollande? it is his fourth year ending, his fifth year and -- beginning.

parisien says he counts on his lucky star and looks at his various emphasis when he came out smiling. 2007, may,t least in what happened with his socialist rival. he was arrested in new york for sexual assault of an employee that we all know about. that was fantastic news for francois hollande and that he gave him a clear way to become the nominee for this socialist and french presidency. the paper today you can see it saying that francois hollande is also benefiting from such things as the interest rate we brought down by the european central bank at the right time, the oil prices falling at the right time, and the military defense contracts as well.

it is looking at his lucky star. i thought the cartoon and the paper was fascinating. despiteill insisting 16% popularity rating, he is still insisting that thingqñg a:

man: one man one women, we need some back bone. speaker: let god arise and our enemies be scattered. darlene (vo): this is our campaign, this is about our lives, it's about our family and our friends, our neighbors and our coworkers, it's about all of us having the freedom to marry. marc: all you have to do is create doubt. you don't have to convince people that you're right. linda: if you don't stand up for what you believe in and you don't stand up for what the god's word says then why bother. sarah: you know it says in the bible that god created us in his image, i'm pretty sure god's a middle aged lesbian because that's who i am. marc: i just want to be remembered as the guy who's