"francewelcome to the 24" newsroom. vx highly toxic nerve agent was used to kill the half-brother of north korea's leader. pyongyang believed to have a stockpile of the lethal chemical. it is called a blatant violation of the chemical treaty according to seoul.

u.s.-mexico officials promise there will be no mass deportations despite president trump's promised to crack down on illegal immigrants. marine le pen refuses to speak to police until after the french election. the far right leader wanted for questioning over an e.u. fake jobs scandal. also coming up this hour, we will have a top business stories. over the next week, paris will be home to france's largest farm as the agricultural fair kicks off this weekend. anchor: to start this hour in malaysia where police have identified the poison used to monom.im jong u was used torve gas

assassinate the half-brother of the north korean leader. pyongyang is believed to have up to 5000 tons of the lethal chemical. reporter: one of the deadliest poisons in the world. malaysian police say they know vx nerveled him, the agent. >> the chemical is illegal. chemical weapon. we are investigating if and how injured country -- entered the country. reporter: the estranged older brother kim jong-un was attacked by women in a crowded airport in kuala lumpur. his face was wiped with the poison, he began to feel unwell. he requested medical help from airport authorities and died on the way to the hospital. actingne of the fastest fatal poisons according to scientists. youniscule amount can kill

with symptoms occurring within seconds. >> if the amount of the chemical brought in was small, it would be difficult to detect. reporter: odorless and tasteless, there is an antidote. the womenors believe arrested for the murder washed their hands after the attack and may have used the antidote on themselves. currently in custody, malaysian police are seeking several others including a north korean diplomat. the assassination has strained ties between pyongyang and malaysia, one of north korea's few international allies, with both countries questioning who is really responsible for the murder. in the philippines, a leading center and outspoken deadlyof the president's war on drugs has been arrested. is accused of drug trafficking and says her arrest is a political vendetta. reporter: the dramatic arrest of

a serving senator. after camping in the senate building where she sought refuge, she gave herself up to the police. she is wanted on charges of drug trafficking. an outspoken critic of the president and his brutal war on drugs, she proclaimed her innocence. she said it is nothing but an attempt by the government to intimidate her and others who have spoken out against the crackdown. if they think they can silence me, if they think i can no longer fight for what i am fighting for, especially regarding the truth on daily killings and other intimidations by the regime, it is my honor to be jailed for what i have been fighting for. just pray for me. reporter: a human rights lawyer before joining the government, she let a senate probe into alleged extrajudicial killings during the anti-drug campaign.

the charges against her go back to events which allegedly took place between 2010 and 2016 when she was justice minister. the president has defended his crackdown in the face of rising opposition, saying the country is plagued by illegal drugs. but his critics say the president has encouraged police and vigilantes to shoot suspected dealers on sight, circumventing due process. more than 7000 drug suspects have been killed. the death toll is attacking -- attracting intense criticism from human rights groups. anchor: officials in the united states are trying to calm tensions with mexico. hard-linetrump's stance on immigration and trade is hurt relations between the neighbors. earlier this week on the department of homeland security issued new orders to step up the arrests and deportation of undocumented immigrants, many of

the mexicans. president trump has described the measure as a military operation. but homeland security secretary john kelly as well as secretary of state rex tillerson have promised there will be no mass deportations. both the u.s. secretaries of state and homeland security seemed adamant on their trip south of the border. mexico had nothing to fear from u.s. immigration policy. >> let me be very clear. nore will be no --repeat -- mass deportations. no use of military force in immigration operations. none. yes, we will approach this operation systematically and in an organized way. reporter: meanwhile, shortly before at the white house -- president trump: we are getting really bad dudes out of this country at a rate nobody has seen before. and they are the bad ones.

and it is a military operation because what has been allowed to come into our country. reporter: the u.s. president's words seem to reflect his tough line on immigrants and the trade deficit despite flying in the face of previous u.s. efforts to mend fences with mexico. foreign minister appeared unimpressed. >> it is an obvious fact mexicans are worried and irritated for what is perceived as policies that might be harmful to our national interest and to mexicans in mexico and abroad. and to mexicans in reporter: next and authorities have already come under fierce local pressure for seeming too willing to engage with donald trump. the u.s. leader's plan to build

a massive wall along the shared border has sparked anger and ire, spurred by president trump's insistence mexico will foot the bill. at least 42 people were killed. it took place hours after rebels hailed the city's recapture from the islamic state group. the attack comes on the first full day of a fresh round of syrian peace talks being held in geneva. today, that u.n. syrian envoy held separate meetings with regime and opposition delegates to hammer out the format for the meetings. but on thursday, he did bring them symbolically together to launch the talks. during the three previous rounds of talks in geneva last year, the rivals never sat down at the same table. and that government forces have ultered western muscle -- mos

for the first time in taking full control of the city airport for it is part of the ongoing offensive to recapture the city from the islamic state group. eastern mosul was t declared fully liberated last year but many remain trapped. marine le pen is refusing to speak to police. the far right leader is wanted for questioning over a fake jobs scandal. it is alleged she made illegal parliament repayments to her staff in france. her personal ascendant -- assistant has been charged with breach of trust. she was summoned last wednesday for questioning but refused to attend. sherding to her lawyer, will not speak to police and laughter the french elections. i'm joined by our french politics editor. she says she is refusing to speak to police. is this legal? can she do this? >> for you and me, it is

illegal. you have to go and be questioned by the police. but marine le pen is a member of the european parliament and has parliamentary immunity. she would have been questioned only in a certain way. she can say i'm not going to the police. this is still legal. marine le pen is a lawyer so she knows the rules. obviously, this is a political decision because she has said from the beginning that this is just an attempt to torpedo her campaign because she is leading in the polls. making reale is progress in terms of how many votes she will be able to get in the first round and this is just a political cabal. she says i will not go to the judge because this is just and questions the

motives of the legal system in france. anchor: she is saying this is politically motivated. we do have one of her rival candidates also facing a fake jobs scandal. he has been hurt heavily in the polls. she has not. why is this? >> that is the million-dollar question everybody has been asking. the national front has had legal trouble for years. they have always said this is because we are against the system, so the system is exacting revenge by going after us. the reason for the polls is simple. marine le pen has hard-core supporters. they will follow her to the very end. when you ask those people who would vote for marine le pen are you still going to vote for her, 90% are certain to vote for her. this is not the case for other candidates. when they have legal trouble or misspeak, they are hurt immediately in the polls. that is not the case with marine le pen.

that said, this could hurt her for the second round because fringe ovoters are going to think she is just like the other politicians. she has corruption issues. there is suspicion, so i might not vote for her. it will not hurt her with her core supporters but it might for those she is hoping to attract to win the presidential election. anchor: thank you very much for on the far right in terms of the national front. the latest polls indicate marine le pen would ask the first round in front, however, she would lose in the second round. that is according to ongoing polls coming in. today, the independent candidate unveiled his economic program. former bankerce's turned presidential candidate fittingly chose the financial

newspaper to unveil his economic program. he is running on a campaign neither left nor right and has presented a program that is a bit of both blending fiscal discipline and public spending. ash stateto sl expenses by 60 billion euros over five years, reducing the number of citizens -- civil servants by up to 120000 and making savings in the social welfare budget and in unemployment benefits. >> there are in some regions different job offers that are not filled. you can refuse one offer but not two. if you refuse the second, you get out of the system and lose your unemployment benefits. reporter: the independent candidate also promises to bring the rate of unemployment down to 7% by 2022. he wants to reform the labor markets to give companies more flexibility in negotiating working hours and pay. the also suggests extending

unemployment benefits to partners and the self-employed. there will be good news for taxpayers. he would lower the tax bills of companies and households by 20 billion euros and exonerate 80% of low income households from counsel taxes. at the same time, he also wants to boost the economy. he has proposed a 50 billion euro public investment plan with a focus on the switch to green energy and skills training for jobseekers. the rest of his electoral program will be presented on march 2. anchor: it is time for business updates. i'm joined in the studio by charles. mixedl start off of signals coming from the united states on the issue of china's currency. >> the new u.s. administration is grappling with the question about whether or not to label china a currency manipulator, something donald trump repeatedly promised to do on the campaign trail.

to confuse people even more, the president and cap members are not holding the same positions. alexander has more. reporter: wires keep getting cross between donald trump and his administration. secretary walked back the promise to label china a currency manipulator which trump had failed to do his first day in office. mnuchin said there was a process of the treasure department to look at currency manipulation across the board and no judgments would be made until the process had been completed sometime in april. only to have the president seemingly contradict him just hours later during a phone interview. president trump: i think they are grand champions at manipulation of currency, so i have not held back. we will see what happens. as a candidate, trump frequently accused china of

maintaining artificially low value for its currency to make its exports cheaper. something the chinese government denies. china has no intention of seeking foreign traded vintages via competitive trade policies. there is no basis for the continued devaluation. want to attach the label grand champion, i think china is a grand champion but we are the grand champions of economic development. republicans in congress have proposed an adjustment tax on goods produced abroad as a way to boost your ex -- u.s. exports. trump has not specifically endorsed the proposal but has said it could lead to more jobs in the united states. >> let's turn to how the markets in europe are doing this friday midsession. they are all trading lower at this moment. the chemical sector is leading

in the losses and so our media stocks -- so are media stocks. the french media conglomerate sank after publishing disappointed figures. the chairman is reportedly under investigation by milan prosecutors for alleged market manipulation regarding the group's state building in the italian broadcaster. shares were over 4% lower. unit is self-driving taking legal action against uber's self-driving unit. at part of the story is a former manager who left to go found -- cofound the other. he is accused of smuggling from google to over information about a laser-based radar system which helps the car navigate on its own. they allege google's system bears a striking persimmons with resemblancegn --

with its own design. royal bank of scotland reported a 7 billion pound loss for 2016, it's night straight year of losses. .he company took a huge hit the company has unveiled a new cost-cutting plan is hoping -- it is hoping to return to profit in 2019. the losses amount to 250 billion pounds over the bailout it received during the financial crisis. the airline group which owns british airways and iberia has reported a 31% in pretax profits to almost 2.5 billion pounds last year, this despite the fall of the pound which cost of 460 million euros. rising profits came despite revenues dipping just over 1%, 22.5 billion euros. the french jet in newton -- engine maker reported a rise in

operating profit last year. it announced the production of the new engine is on track destined to replace the highly successful engine which you can find on boeing 737's. produced 1700 units. let's finish with a story in germany. telecom regulators are banning a doll because it could be a prime target for hackers. she is blog, has blue eyes, and could be spying on your family. that is what german officials think. ae can be activated by bluetooth connected to the internet and talk about her hobbies with her owners. that can be a way for hackers to spy on people and collect private information. they are advising to toss the doll and destroy its microphone. she has been pulled from shelves.

that is an interesting story because apparently germany is at the forefront of this kind of thing because they had an expense of having an intrusive surveillance issue in east germany. thank you very much for a look at the latest business news. it is time for our press review. studio by in the florence for a look at what is grabbing headlines. we will start off with papers focusing on the situation in syria in the fight against the islamic state group. >> turkish backed groups have managed to recapture what is seen as a major stronghold for the islamic state group. it is a city in northern syria. can read the article in the "daily beast." it says it is a big win for the free syrian army forces backed by turkey. it is a strategic win because it is the city that has served as s for the islamic

state group intelligence operations. it is from the city they planned terrorist attacks in europe, in 2015 and 2016. and it is also important stepping some on the way to the capital of the self claimed caliphate. anchor: the city was recaptured thanks to a stepping deal ankara andra -- isis. >> it is a lebanese article. he says according to his information, there was a deal between turkish officials and the islamic state group. according to this deal, isis would surrender the city at 10:00 a.m., which is just about what happened. and in exchange, their family members would be protected and isis members who wanted to stay as citizens could do so and they land.be given

land. it was a very controversial claim. [no audio] yemen, northern nigeria, and somalia are aslso at risk. >> 20 million people could start over the next six months. they say $4.4 billion by the end of march to avoid catastrophe. so far, it has $90 million on hand so it is far from a target. "regarding guardian" is focusing on the situation and says each individual case, the roots are complex but the common thread is conflict. these complex were man-made, predictable, and preventable. you can sense the outrage. why are we sitting by instead of saving lives is this catastrophe unfolds? it is a real call for action. in the editorial, it quotes the human secretary-general who says there is no excuse for inaction

in a world of plenty. this is a message "regarding guardian" agrees with and says it is just a question of basic human decency. anchor: in france, we do have the agricultural fair kicking off tomorrow. this is a big deal in france. >> a huge deal in france. a huge deal in paris. there is also a lot of pride around france because a lot of farm animals are coming from different parts of france to the french capital for this major fair. you can see the front page of the paper very proud of their cows coming to paris. this is one of the biggest farm fares. it is called france's biggest farm. you have about 4000 animals making their way to paris for this nine-day fair. we are talking about france's finest cows, sheep, chickens,

horses, dogs, cats. the best of the farm animals are in paris. you can see on the front page of the paper a lot of pride as well on their front page. understand one animal in particular will be in the spotlight. this is the mascot. .> that is a six-year-old cow that is a great name. you can see her on the front page. 'se is a breed from brittany, a lot of pride in those papers. you can see her getting a big hard from her owner -- big hug from her owner. "french connections" this week because i take you on an in-depth look. anchor: very shiny and the other photo -- in the other photo. there is another big event in

france. we have got the cinema awards tonight. >> kind of the french oscars. it is the 42nd edition tonight. professionals from the film industry are nominated for awards. you can read more about it. six of them say how they are preparing for the ceremony and how they are preparing if they win. you can see him on the top. he is nominated for best actor. he says he is not prepared anything because last time he prepared a speech, he did not win the prize. anchor: finally, a word on carnival which kicks off in brazil. >> if you're wondering what to wear, you can get tips from the brazilian actress on the left. she will be one of the godmothers of one of the carnival groups. you can see her outfit for that event. this year, there has been a campaign against street harassment during the carnivale.

lots of brazilian papers have safety tips. this has 10 safety tips to avoid getting robbed during the carnivale. one tip is to avoid taking selfies because your phone can get snatched out of your hand. i think the best advice is not to drink too much. sound advice for any occasion. anchor: even a work party especially. thank you so much. a pleasure as always. check out her website. stay with us. we are going to take a quick break. but the news continues on "france 24."

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narrator: this is grace, a business woman in kigali, rwanda. eight years ago, she was starving and unable to feed her children. many of her family had been massacred in one of the worst gegenocides of the late 20thth century. but today, thanks to an innovative program, life is good. she earns up to $200 a month from her furniture business and employs 11 people.