♪ quick first of december, the bitter last chance battle for aleppo could amount to war crimes, that's from the u.n. human rights chief. heavy shelling and airstrikes continue to pound the syrian city as the deal to evacuate civilians caught in the crossfire crumble. world powers continued to trade blame over the failure of the short-lived cease-fire.

several was a pause for hours, and then the bombing resumed in aleppo. the nightmare is continuing for the thousands of civilians trapped in the last areas of rebel resistance. the agreement was aimed at giving them away to flee after the siege but the rebels opened fire, and turkey blames the regime and its allies. >> we are hoping the evacuation of civilians from aleppo can take place. has unfortunately continue to resume. in russia on aleppo have proved pointless and contacts with turkey and others prove more promising. >> we've had contact with fighters on the ground and the

armed opposition. i think this channel may become than what we've had with our american colleagues. saide syrian rebel leader the truce collapsed after the aside regime and iran resumed. insisting monitors must be in place. france demands the presence of you and observers during the evacuation. it is a priority for the people of aleppo as it is ensuring there's no massacre by fighters. observers are needed. thousandmated several have left the besieged areas in the last 24 hours. richelle: with at least 50,000 people still trapped in the syrian city, human rights groups say children are bearing the brunt of the violence. many have been separated from their families and have no access to food, water, or

medical care. reporter: children under attack in aleppo. the u.n. says at least 13 children have been killed by pro-government forces since monday. trapped underll rubble as they continue to face heavy bombardment by syrian and nes.ian airpla >> we've heard horrific stories of six children who were orphaned, the oldest 17 years old, who were found two days after their parents had been killed in an airstrike, and they hadn't had anything to eat in two days. children have borne the brunt of violence in aleppo. human rights groups believe they make a part of civilian casualties. schools and hospitals have been targeted by the syrian government and hundreds of families have been separated. food and water is a daily struggle.

last food aid was distributed over a month ago now, so we have children who have been malnourished to begin with, in the last few weeks with the intensification of the bombardment, we understand now that all of the medical facilities have been destroyed, so even getting medical attention to the children and civilians and others who are being injured in these latest strikes is nearly impossible. reporter: the bloody, dust covered face of a five euro boy who was uncovered in august shocked the world. hundreds of children are facing death. paris's iron lady has gone dark to show solidarity with the citizens of aleppo. the eiffel tower has turned off its lights this wednesday evening, to highlight the plight of the syrian people who have been caught up in the fierce battle for the city. the mayor of paris said the move

is a reminder to the international community of the need for urgent action. thousands of different -- desperate civilians are suffering through what has been called the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. could havego duterte blood on his hands. the philippine court said he personally killed suspects when he was mayor. it's the latest in a string of controversial comments. the philippine justice secretary said duterte was exaggerating to send a chilling warning to lawbreakers. shocking admission from philippine president rodrigo duterte. the formerine -- mayor said he personally killed criminals during his time as mayor.

>> if i can do it, i can't you? -- why can't you? i would just told the city looking for trouble makers. said he wantsrte to set an example to police. he's been accused of running vigilante death squads that killed hundreds of suspected criminals during his time as mayor, actions he had denied until now. duterte he was elected president on the 13th of may on promises of waging a bloody war on drugs. he is previously said he does not care about human rights and compared his campaign to the killing of millions of jews by hitler's. hitler. reporter: in september, rodrigo duterte testified on an inquiry

killings, saying he killed an agent with a submachine gun during his time as mayor. the allegations were magog former death squad member who said he was ordered by duterte to kill 1000 members of his rival party. a confidence vote in the senate this wednesday, paving the way for his cabinet to take office. the approval brings an end to the political uncertainty overshadowing the country following the resignation of matteo renzi. the former prime minister step down earlier this month after losing a referendum on constitutional reform. britainbritain is certainly notg

a quickie divorce from the eu. the country's departure could have been gradually and involved a transition deal, according to brexit minister david davis, who said the terms of the breakup could be locked in within 18 months. the government is set to begin the formal exit process by the end of march, telling a parliamentary committee that he hopes the u.k. will retain access to open markets. take a listen. >> people often conflate access and what really matters is the ability to sell our goods and services in europe and for european manufacturers and providers to sell goods and services here. i'm a big believer in free trade, and that is what we are after. richelle: next, mine your own business, from the saudi arabian king he used his annual address to slam what he called for an interference in yemen. regionalt mention rival iran by name. saudi officials in the past have accused tehran of meddling.

for nearly two years, the saudi's have led an error coalition targeting rebel strongholds. a bombing campaign killed more than 10,000 civilians. the spiraling death toll has sparked anger in the u.s. with washington on tuesday dropping weapons sales to its allies. reporter: a further straining of u.s.-saudi relations on precision guided emissions. raytheon would sell smart bombs but the united states has given support to the saudi that coalition that has been bombing houthi rebels. the united nations estimates about 6% of civilian deaths in yemen have been caused by saudi led airstrikes. the team was on site at the aftermath of a funeral bombing

that killed at least 140 people and wounded more than 500 others. flailing around on fire and we couldn't put it out until we got them on the street. people have been turned to ashes. it was awful. the attack, the u.s. government became concerned it could be implicated in possible war crimes in yemen is a bit support for the saudi led coalition air campaign. back in may, washington blocked the sale of munitions due to similar concerns. relations between the u.s. and saudi arabia have been strained since the iran nuclear deal. despite the white house announcing restrictions on some kinds of munitions, the u.s. has made record arms sales to saudi arabia during the obama administration. washington also continues to support the kingdom, military training and intelligence sharing. richelle: that stay with saudi arabia and bring in peter

salisbury, a senior research fellow with a north african peace program. thank you very much for joining i here on "france 24." as mentioned before that previous report, the saudi king sent a warning to foreign countries he accuses of interfering in yemen. who was the saudi king referring to when he made that statement? peter: i think it's pretty clear that he was talking about iran. the driving factor has been a thatthat the houthi rebels bytrol sanaa are backed iran. richelle: we also heard in that report that the u.s. has blocked sales of weapons to saudi arabia. do you think that will have any effect on diplomatic ties?

peter: i think it is quite likely to. the saudi-u.s. relationship has not been particularly good for some time. the saudi see the uss retreating from the region and not backing its allies, whereas the u.s. sees their relationship, or rather the obama administration sees the relationship with saudi deeplyas being problematic, especially since the campaign began, given concerns over the use of u.s. made weapons in alleged war crimes. richelle: why do you think the u.s. has done this now? the war in yemen began nearly two years ago, so why now? good: that's a very question, and why no one really knows the answer to get. it could be that because within the white house there has been some kind of legal documents have saidhere people

internally that war crimes are being committed, especially was bombed aeral couple of months ago. it may also be that the obama administration is now outgoing and has to less about the long-term consequences of the saudi-u.s. relationship being weakened, but does want to look at its own legacy. richelle: could we see any real difference on the ground? very goodt's a question again. initially, no, but in the longer term, the saudi's are going to need more arms if they continue this war. but with that said, the u.s. has not stopped all arms shipments to saudi arabia and will continue in air refueling for saudi jets. so the americans will continue to support the saudi's and they can buy these missiles from other countries. peter salisbury, thank you very much for joining us this evening. with thesearch fellow

middle east and north africa program there. and, rats, cockroaches, bedbugs. one prison on the outskirts of paris is infested with them. the federal prison watchdog has raised the alarm saying it's disgraceful and a violation of human rights. france's prison watchdog condemns conditions at a jail near paris, with dozens of rats roaming free, day and night. >> you can see at least 50 rats under your window each evening. the smell rises from 6:00 p.m. until midnight. you cannot open the window. we have to put up with fleas in the bed. >> the head of the watchdog body describes treatment for prisoners as in human and degrading. >> the situation cannot continue. it is totally unacceptable in a country like france, known for human rights.

it is worse than what we have seen elsewhere. >> the watchdog points to overcrowding. prisoners in 1200 cells. cell.leep three to a the prison is so run down that last week we saw that one inmate was able to smash in his door. he was stopped by a prison guard during his nightly rounds. >> the defense justice ministry and knowledge is there is a problem at the jail. the minister announced the newtion of 10,000-16,000 prison. your lightust off sabers, star wars is back. the latest installment has hit movie screens. wrote one, the first episode --

first spinoff in a new trilogy. the big bucks are not made at the box office. the huge moneymaker is the star wars branded merchandise. simon explains. simon: each time a star wars film is released, the fans are ready. this time, no luke skywalker or r2-d2. story, but the star wars world remains the same. >> imperial flags reign across the galaxy. simon: another two episodes are scheduled for release in 2018 and 2020, alternating with the

sequel set for release in 2017 and 2019. therefore, one star wars film will be in theaters for the next four years. and wars is now a business cinema tickets are not the main money earners. toys, dolls, and mask bring in lucrative amounts of cash. films scooped up three times less at the box office. toymakers have used the release release new to toys. star wars, that is the price if you want to control the force. richelle: you're watching live from paris here on "france 24." a reminder of our top stories this hour. fierce fighting continues in deal todespite a

release rebel fighters and civilians caught in the crossfire. stay out of our business, the saudi king sends a warning to foreign countries he accuses of interfering in yemen. the kingdom has led a coalition that carried out airstrikes against rebel targets during the nearly two-year yemeni conflict. and another shocking admission rum roderigo duterte. the philippine president claims he personally pulled the trigger on criminal suspects when he was the mayor of davao. time for business news now with kate moody. today is all about the u.s. federal reserve. kate: the americans and has raised its key interest rate by about a quarter of a percent. betweena target range .5 percent and .75%, the first rate hike since last december

and only the second in 10 years, as you see a mcgrath there. the u.s. economy is getting stronger. the unemployment rate has dropped to its lowest level since 2007 and insulation is inching closer to the bank's 2% goal, saying it forecast raising rates three times in 2017. he janet yellen said it represents a vote of confidence in the u.s. economy am a but says the average american will for some time.ve >> it could boost very slightly some short-term interest rates that could have an effect on borrowing costs that are linked to them, but overall, i think that households and firms will see very modest changes from this decision. we spoke to a senior fellow at the peterson institute for international economics in washington. thanks so much for speaking to

us. markets have been pricing in this move formats, so there is no big surprise in this announcement. what is surprising is that we've had to wait so long for this rate hike. >> yes, they didn't expect this a year ago, but i think the u.s.g dollar held the economy back somewhat this past year, so they held off on the rate rise. but the data are getting stronger again and they felt it was time to go ahead. say about does this the state of the american economy? janet yellen was fairly optimistic. do you agree? >> yes, i think even after this rate rise, interest rates are very low and they will not return to normal for another couple of years. , it's a slowg rush move. kate: what about donald trump's election? do you think it may have had an

impact on the fed's decision? >> no, i really don't think so. if you look at the forecast they themsed, you don't see factoring in much of that either. i think they will be in a wait-and-see mode. they don't want to jump the gone or anticipate what the administration might do -- they don't want to jump the gun. the president-elect himself has been critical of janet yellen. could his head -- could his administration change anything with her leadership? >> congress could pass a law that would change just about anything about the fed, but there is nothing proposed that is that radical right now, nothing i have heard of. he gets to choose a new chairman and janet yellen was asked about that. she said she had not given any thought as to whether she would stay if he reappointed her or

not, which is interesting. kate: what do you think the biggest challenge will be that is facing the incoming administration? is, willg question they do fiscal policy? will they cut taxes? will they increase spending or not? aey have not spoken with unified voice, so that is the biggest question. the second big question, what about trade? they complained about the trade deficit, but some of these fiscal policies would make it larger, and that seems to be contradictory. kate: do you think the federal reserve has taken the right course of action in recent years , first with how it dealt with the financial crisis and now as it emerges from it? >> pretty much. if anything, they could have done more, sooner. they were little cautious in terms of using these new policies, the quantitative easing policy, they eventually

came around. they got to the right place to her three years later than what would have been ideal, they are there now and happy with where the economy is. when they used to say america sneezed, the rest of the world caught a cold. do you think u.s. monetary policy matters to the rest of the world still? why would these decisions from the american central-bank really make a difference? in twooes matter, but different ways. on one hand, this is a good sign for the rest of the world, the u.s. economy is doing well, the dollar is stronger, which helps other countries export to us. that is all good news for countries that are struggling to grow. one of the bad elements is that a lot of companies and governments around the world borrow in dollars, and perhaps they shouldn't be, really, but they do, and they will have to pay higher interest rates, and that can raise some vulnerabilities if they cannot

pay them back. kate: thank you so much for joining us here on "france 24." investors had been waiting for months for that announcement from the federal reserve. did jump about 100 points earlier. it was trading not far from the 20,000 mark. as you can see it has now dropped acca little bit, trading about .64% down. nasdaq also both down. we will be getting the closing word from wall street in the next hour or so. european markets closed in the red as well as head of that announcement. international creditors have suspended their recently agreed plan to grant debt relief to greece. the eu body managing the bailouts said athens had not

asked for approval of a christmas bonus for pensioners, a move that will cost the state 617 million euros. they agreed month to reduce the country's unmanageable debt burden. that deal has now been put on hold while they study the pension payout. the athens stock exchange tumbled 3.2%. moving on to other business headlines, the french drug company is said to be in talks ctelion. johnson & johnson bowed out of a process to acquire the company. saidarent company of zara sales were up 11% in the first nine months of the year. they have set up a large

flagship stores in key locations focusing on its online business. , whotech titans meet trump knows what is happening behind those closed doors? a group of silicon valley allanies are meeting, walking into trump tower there. the high-tech sector widely opposed donald trump throughout the campaign. his plans for cracking down on immigration, for example, could impact thousands of workers who are on special pieces in silicon valley. hoping that -- we are hoping to get some reaction from some of those executives as they come out of those gold elevator doors we've seen so much of in the past two weeks. richelle: thank you very much for that, kate moody there with the business roundup. stay with us, lots more news

coming up when live from paris continues in just a few minutes. don't go away.

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12/14/16 12/14/16 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from papacifica, th is democracnonow! >> the city has fallen in the forces again. most of the city has been destroyed. amy: with the aid of russian airstrikes, the syrian government has retaken control of the city of aleppo after four years of figighting. russia calls it a victory against terrorists. the united states has the syrian govevernment s siege of alaleppo represents