anchor: you're watching "france 24." this is live from paris. the headlines -- the u.s.-led coalition protects special forces on the ground in syria. it comes after 48 hours of government bombardment of the northern city. germany considers a partial ban on the fail. conservative politicses say it prevents integration. and some of the biggest drama is happening off the tracks and outside of the stadiums in rio. u.s. swimmer ryan lochte says sorry but only to his teammates, for lying about an armed robbery.

good evening and thanks for watching. the u.s.-led coalition has scrambled jets to syria to protect its special operation forces. the regime began pounding kurdish fighters with air strikes and artillery bombardment on thursday. emma: the northern city is mostly held by the kurds. dozens of civililians have been killed. thousands have been forced to flee their homes. more on this we can cross now to washington. and "france 24" corpte philip. what more do we know about this deployment? reporter: yeah, this confrontation happened yesterday, thursday, above the city in the northeast of syria, as you say, it was an almost confrontation, according to the pentagon, with a u.s. fighter

jet arriving on the scene above the city just as the syrian regime jets were actually leaving. in other words, there was no fire exchanged between the two groups of fighter jets. that is the good news, but the pentagon goes on to say this, that this was done to protect the coalition forces on the ground. and among those coalition forces, of course, are those u.s. special forces that were not necessarily the aim, of course, of the syrian regime bombardments, but they are on the ground in the kurdish area in northern syria training those kurdish forces and that is why the u.s. military got so involved yesterday. emma: should this be seen as an escalation of u.s. involvement in syria? philip: it's an escalation of sorts. it's certainly something we haven't seen this directly before, and for the united states this is a bit of a

symbol, a warning that the u.s. is ready to defend its troops on the ground. so it's certainly a warning for the president of syria, al assad, in case he is to do this again or rather he actually did it again this friday with no clear involvement from the u.s. side this time around. these are getting dangerously close to a potential confrontation between u.s. jets and syrian regime jets in the air. there is no direct communication between these two air forces. there is communication between the americans and the russians who in fact act as the go-between between the u.s. and syria, so that angst adds to the complexity in the air over syria at this moment. and when we're talking about an escalation, well, there certainly was one on the regime of al assad because this is the first time they have staged bombardments of kurdish

positions inside of syria. emma: philip in washington, thank you very much indeed. sculptures from across syria have come together to re-create the artifacts deployed in the ancient city of pal mara. many of the city's culture riches were demolished. now, artists have built more than 40 replicas a sign, they say, hope for the future should not be lost. it will be on a tour of the cities across syria. conservative politicians in germany are proposing a partial ban on the full face veil. the interior minister said the burqa which cover everything but a woman's eyes are not part of our open society. the planned restrictions could be put in place in schools, courts and while driving. the move is part of a wide drive to increase security

after the face of terror attacks in germany. >> east berlin, it's home to people from a ride range of backgrounds who have been discussing the same question -- should the burqa be banned in germany? >> everyone should be able to do what they like, in my opinion. >> i do know some muslims here who think it's too extreme to wear it in germany, that it's covering too much of the body. >> the muslims, they want countries to become even more islamic. i'm against it. reporter: the man who sparked the debate is thomas, the german interior minister. he says the full veil should be banned for people in public, educational institutions, public offices or while driving. >> we oppose the full-body veil, not just the burqa by any full-body veil that covers everything but their eyes. reporter: there is broad

agreement from parties to the right, but the ruling's coalition partners are opposed to banning the full veil. it's also not clear if it would be permitted under germany's constitution and its provision of freedom of religion. emma: for more on this we can speak to a former diplomat and advisor to the former chancellor. thank you for joining us this evening. the full fail veil has been banned here in france for five years now. has this been a talking point for a long time in germany? >> it's another debate in germany. in france we follow this debate what the french call -- i ask my french friends whether we ike to see [speaking french] either french or the german way.

and we have had in the last -- for a long time in germany, for example, in the beginning of the debate whether the cross, the christian cross, should still remain in school rooms. a decision then taken by the constitution has underlined the neutrality of the state towards religious sectors and we have some procedures against the burqa in germany, but specialists were feeling a negative vote, a negative of sion about total defense the burqa. therefore, now this compromise of a christian democratic interior minister in germany and they will propose it to their colleagues in the democratic party and coalition. this compromise, let's say, have restricted defense in

public life. for example, in schools, in universities, in public offices. emma: do you believe this compromise, this partial ban is likely to get the go ahead in germany? is there an appetite to it from the public and the politicians as a whole? joachim: yes. i think politicians have to clarify now their position because of the rising right-wing party. the government has to show they're ready to sign, they are ready to decide certain steps, underlining who is the leader in public opinion. no more a right-wing smaller party but for government. emma: now, we've already seen tensions in germany, notably after the new year's eve sex assaults in colon. how do you think a ban like this could -- cologne.

how do you think a ban like this could affect the muslim community? joachim: mrs. merkel has said in the past days that the burqa will affect integration. the key is integration into society. it's not anti-islam. it's integration into society. therefore, there is not the absolute defense, the absolute -- but in parts of public life. and when you look at the measures proposed now by the interior ministers, it's not only a decision proposed on burqa but there will be a restrictive regulation on citizenship to be examined in the next years. there will be a strengthening in the number of police and security. re-examine -exam --

of using the german army in the interior instead of measures they are discussing now and clearly to underline the leadership -- no more populous parties outside of the government. and this is the importance. emma: joachim, thank you very much indeed for your insight today. former diplomat and advisor to the former german chanceler ohl. doctors without borders, they accused the saudi-led coalition that are fighting rebels in the country of carrying out discriminant bombings. the aid group says it's lost confidence in the ability to provept fatal attacks. 19 people were killed on an air strike in a hospital hospital in a rebel-held northern

province. hundreds of aid workers have signed a petition calling for greater protection in conflict zones. it's been launched to coincide with the u.n. world's humanitarian day. they're calling for the united nations to end a culture of silence and dishonesty that allows relief workers to be targeted with impunity. reporter: one humanity is the theme of the motto to recognize aid workers. they hope it reflects the need of global solidarity to deliver hope where it's needed most. the day aims to pay tribute to those doing dangerous work with n.g.o.'s. officials warn even though they can mobilize almost immediately, funds are lacking to meet the huge demands for aid. >> we have the capacity, we have the skills, we have the people to be able to deliver. people with real life-saving and protection needs tonight. we're nowhere near funded enough to meet the needs that will be identified and assessed. reporter: in the central

african republic, for example, where a civil war has caused millions to flee their homes. sudan too where n.g.o.'s delivers medication. aid is being blocked from reaching the key city of owe leapto. they can't get help to those who need it. they were granted asylum in germany. now, they're at the u.n. headquarters in new york to ask global leaders to take a hard look of their role in the syrian conflict. >> i'd like them to put themselves into my place, let them put themselves in my children's place. can anyone imagine seeing their child be torn into pieces in front of them? reporter: here, this family will be telling their story to make people far from conflict zones aware of the troors of war as well as the crucial work carried out by aid workers in laces hit by crisis.

emma: fresh peace talks are aiming to end the long-running rebelian in the philippines. two communist rebel leaders have been freed from maximum security jail this friday. the underground communist party of the philippines says they will be among 22 formerly detained rebels to have negotiations in oz low as consultant -- oslo as consultants. >> free to fight for peace. these rebel leaders are hoping that five years of bloody negotiations will come to an end. they say the release have boost confidence in the president's determination to reach a peace agreement. human rights activists point out hundreds of rebels remain in detention. >> there is still a loss of political prison -- lots of political prisoners, we are hoping, to be released. there are more than 500, and they are still continuously struggling and demanding justice with countless sham

cases, wasting time inside the jail cells. but we are hoping and we will be fighting. reporter: the president won a landslide victory in may, promising to negotiate the end he ong-running insurgences, even called on the communist armed wing to hem embattled drug lords the day after he was inaugurated. rebels have been waging an insurgency in the philippines since 1969. today the rebel army is down to fewer than 4,000 combatants from a peak of around 26,000 in the 1980's, according to the philippine military. it retains support among those in rural areas and the fighters regularly clash with the army and police. around 40,000 people have died in the conflict. emma: meanwhile, the president of the philippines has rejected criticism over a surge in

killings of suspected drug traffickers. the united nations has called on the government to protect all people from targeted killing and extra judicial executions. but he denies the government is responsible. police say many of those who died were shot while resisting arrest or by rival gang members. 900 suspected traffickers have been killed since duterte came into power in may. it's day 14 of the olympic games. plenty of action of both the sporting and the dramatic kind. "france 24" cat has all the latest from rio. reporter: the biggest story of the day came from the men's 50-k walk. the final podium was one of slovakia winning the gold medal. australia coming in second. and japan taking the bronze medal. but the real drama involved france's was in the lead

halfway through this race but then he suffered, becoming ill, having some gastric problems, forcing him even and there have been images going throughout social media of him having to relieve himself mid walk but he kept pushing. he kept walking and he even collapsed on the side of the road during that race. he doused himself in water, drank a glass of water and started walking again continuing. he had to stop a few times but he was addment he was going to cross that finish line and he did finish that race. he finished in the top 10 of that race. even with all the problems he had. unfortunately he collapsed again at the end of that race. he was taken to the hospital but apparently he is ok. he just is very dehydrated and is undergoing some physical exams but he should be fine but what a great performance by this athlete who refused to

give up and who managed to finish his olympic race. another great performance came in women's badminton with martin of spain becoming the first-ever woman outside of asia to win an olympic gold medal in women's badminton. she beat one from india. martin holds every single women's title in bad badminton. she's the world number one, the world champion and now officially the olympic champion. emma: europe's top olympic official has been taken to a maximum security prison in brazil. pat had an appeal denied. he was arrested in a dorm raid in his hotel wednesday amid an investigation into the illegal resell of olympic tickets. u.s. olympic swimmer ryan lochte has apologized for his behavior in rio.

the gold medalist has been accused of inventing a story about an armed robbery to cover for vandalism and bad behavior at a petro station. lochte has taken to social media to say sorry and that he should have been much more responsible. the apology is unlikely to appease authorities in rio. regrets are addressed solely to his american teammates. another of the swimmers involved, jimmy feigen struck a deal to pay $11,000 to a brazilian charity in return to the case against him to be dropped. time now for a look at all the day's business news. i'm joined by kate. we're starting of a revolution for london nightlife. kate: good news for night owls. two of london's metro lines will be operating all night on the weekends. the night 2 project has been delayed for years with union striking over pay and working conditions. but it will finally begin service this friday night.

kahn says it will be a boost both for the economy and the residents of the british capital. emeril maxwell explains. reporter: it's a familiar ritual. but londoners will be spared when the london downground rolls out a 24-hour service for the first time in its 153-year history. >> people will get to work, doctors and nurses, porters, security guards, also get people to and from the theater, home safely. it will speed it up by 20 minutes. it's a win-win for london. reporter: the service was due to start last september but was delayed by a series of strtrike by london downgroundworkers seeking better pay for the anti-social hours. the union came to an agreement in february. let's see if it will boost the nighttime of the clubs.

it comes at a cost of 26 million pounds per year. that's over 28 million uros. transport for london hopes to break even in three years. the scheme is expected to create 500,000 jobs. and at 7.4 billion uros to the london economy by 2030. the night trains will run on two central london lines, the viktoria and central. plans to extend to other lines and stations, including heathrow airport. emma: they have confirmed the extent to which france's tourism industry is suffering. the national statistics office say this friday that the number of visitors to hotels, guest houses and campsites across the country had dropped nearly 5% from april to june. that includes the period during win the euro football championship was taking place when thousands of fans descended on france. paris was particularly affected with 12.9% fewer tourists in the second quarter than a year ago. the terrorist attacks have

discouraged overseas visitors from choosing france while poor weather and strikes have weighed on domestic travel. staying in portugal, meanwhile, have reported soaring numbers of tourists which they are considered safer destinations. let's take a look at the markets now. european stocks finished friday in the red. it is down by .8%. the dax half a percentage point. sharp decline in mining and banking sectors weighed down trading throughout the session. wall street has been mixed but the major industries are dropped under the flat line now. you can see all down there in the red. about .2%. the nasdaq down slightly less. this as we wrap up a week that saw the u.s. federal reserve raise expectations of an interest rate hike by the end of the year, possibly as soon as next month. volkswagen is being forced to shut down or reduce production of some of the models in germany because of a legal dispute with suppliers who makes supplies for car seats

and gearboxes. four of the factories are affected, including the the main city. they plan to reduce hours at the factory plant. volkswagen is dealing with the fallout from the emission scandals which is costing billions of euros and experts say they will want to resolve this latest dispute quickly. >> volkswagen has been especially tough in negotiations with suppliers this year because of the pressure it's under. but i think there will be an agreement in one or two weeks because both companies will be under public scrutiny and losses for both companies will happen every day. kate: argentina's supreme court has blocked utility price hikes which have been ordered earlier this year by the president. it marks a victory for the thousands who protested against the austerity policies since coming to power in december. josh has more.

josh: a victory for argentineans furious over energy price hikes. the country's supreme court ruled against the country's plan to push up the price of gas. a key part of their reforms of rebooting the economy. >> we are going to reimburse all those who paid too much. they will receive an invoice with a compensation using the new scale which was counseled to the residential sector by the supreme court and the rate that came into force on the 31st of march. reporter: since the president hoped that the controversy measure would help at reducing the budget deficit, but the decision was taken without first consulting civil and business leaders. in just a few months, charges rose by up to 700% in some cases. with inflation already at record levels, argentineans quickly found themselves unable to pay the bills. >> i agree with the return to the old prices. it's impossible to pay with the salaries that we have,

particularly the poorest families. >> raising prices is necessary, but they should do it in a more suitable way, a gradual change which isn't brutal but well planned. reporter: popular protests across argentina spread across a few weeks. not only attended by the leftest on simple who were booted after 12 years at the helm. the president took over with promises of reforms to take the country out of recession and boost growth. kate: moving on to some of the day's other business headlines. australia's government has blocked chinese investors from buying the energy grid citing security concerns. the sale had been put on hold last week, beijing accused them to vowing to protectionist policies. reports suggest the chief executive of the american media company viacom has agreed to step down resolving a

long-standing dispute with the company's controlling shareholder. philip will reportedly leave with a $72 million payout. another has a controlling stake in cbs. they'll tighten their control over viacom's media assets including pair month pictures, mtv and nickelodeon. and goldman seahawks has rolled marcus. etail known as it haze homage to marcus goldman. they try to shift its focus from wall street to main street and begins offering relatively small consumer loans under its new brand. and for more investment bank trying to make a fresh start to another that's being held accountable by a former employee, the man who exposed false accounting practices at deutsche bank has refused to accept a reward for his whistle blowing. a former risk officer for the lender could have claimed about

$8 million from the u.s. securities and exchange commission after providing information that saw regulators fine deutsche bank $55 million. he said he was protesting the failure to punish executives at the bank saying they should have been held personally responsible rather than the bank's shareholders. a bit of an initial move there. emma: kate, thank you very much, indeed. time for a very short break now. we will be back in just a few moments. still to come here on "france 24." 8úxúññbq

08/19/16 08/19/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy y now! of a you are convicted federal crime and the u.s. and you are a noncitizen, consider it a low consider -- considered a low threat, you're likely to be separated. those presence are nearly really wants the federal bureau of prisons hahas privatized, is cocontracted out to private companies. amy: in w what someme are callia historic change of policy, the justice department says it will phase out the use of