genie: you're watching france 24. time for 60 minutes live around the world. i'm genie godula. these are the headlines. the heads of the fbi and the nsa testified today in washington. they will break their silence on invevestigations into possible links between russia and donald trump's presidential campaign. five top presidential candidates go head-to-head tonight in a debate five weeks before the first round of the elecection. the man behind the attack at

orly airport in paris had high levels of drugs and alcohol in his body at the time. his father said the attacker was not a practicing muslim. we will take a look at a new report ranking the happiest countries in the world. and the winner is norway. french?u speak you are one of the 274 million around the world who do. first our top story live from paris. ♪ genie: the head of the fbi is getting set to testify in a public hearing in front of the house intelligence committee starting about one hour from now. talkingmey will be

about the fbi investigation into allegations of russian meddling in the u.s. presidential election. also expected to debunk donald trump's claim that the obama administration wiretapped trump tower. doug barber told us more. this wiretapped has insinuated itself into this probe. trumpitics say -- donald seemingly out of nowhere tweeting that trump tower had been wiretapped by president obama. theics saying it's equivalent of waving a shiny new object to distract everyone in the midst of the russia probe into allegations of russian meddling in the election and trump associates and campaign members perhaps colluding with russian government officials in the into allegations of russian meddling in the election and trump associates and campaign election. the wiretap has to get out of the way and you can expect them

denyk james comey, do you the claims of the president that barack obama wiretapped trump tower. it is reported that in private james comey has told officials that he has seen no evidence to support donald trump's claim. it is the first public intelligence committee heariring on these probes. both of the wiretap and the russia probe. is seen by a lot of critics as a distraction. saysanking member basically he wants to put an end to this and get the wiretapping stuff out of the way so they can get to the russia stuff. meanwhile donald trump reacted to the hearing today on twitter accusing democrats of making up the allegations that russia interfered in the election last year. he also said congress and the

fbi should be going after media leaks instead. also begin its hearings on supreme court nominee neil gorsuch. that will give democratic senator is a chance to press him on issues like abortion and the presidents travel dan. pro-business social conservative who is not independent of president trump. he is set to replace antonin scalia a who died last year. republicans in 2016 refused to even consider his left-leaning picked to fill the seat. a date has been set for the official start to brexit. a spokesperson for theresa may says she will trigger article 50 on march 29. in france, the first round of

the presidential election is less than five weeks away. the latest polls say the clear winner would be centrist a formermacron, investment banker. the polls say he would beat in the second round. three other main candidates are taking part in a live tv debate tonight. it is vital for the former front runner and now scandal p plagued conserervative candidate francos fillon. as for the left-leaning candidates, they are now just trying to stay in the game. martin pollard reports. heldver before has france televised debates with presidential candidates ahead of the first round of voting. this year there will be three. the first will be held this shoutednd it has been in controversy. that's because the private channel has chosen to invite only the five favorites even

though there are a total of 11 candidates. one of those not on the ticket is the man sixth in the polls, the conservative. then our republic we have principle of equality. there should be a debate with all theeandidates.s. they should not select candidates in advance. responded that this is an editorial decision w which does not breach french pluralism laws. a half hour debate will be a chance for the invitees to woo undecided voters. first and third in the polls are the far right candidate marine le pen and center-right candidate francois fillon. move attentionto away from financial scandals which have dogged their campaigns in recent weeks. left-wing candidates, benoit melenchonjean-luc

will look to increase their support. likely to attack the liberal independent who is favored to win the second round of voting, emmanuel macron. we will be broadcasting thatat debate for you u live in english. other countries are keeping a close eye on the french presidential election as well. kyle brown took a look. >> franaois fillon was formerly in front runner and seen britain as france's belated answer to margaret thatcher. that is until he was accused of receiving public money for fictitious jobs. allegation about his wife and the dodgy job. m marine le pen's national

front inspires europe's far right worries others who hahave seen underrated populist campaigns soar to victory with brexit and the election of donald trump. >> i think this event is important for france of course that also for europe. particularly if marine le pen wins. that the eu itself is under threat. with britain's exit from the eu there are only three big countries that remain. germany france and italy. if france were to leave as well that would be the end of the european union. former economy minister emmanuel macron may be tied for the lead with marine le pen. >> the least interesting

candidate. the least colorful is macaroon. i mean macron. >> untouched by the scandal that has engulfed his competitors, then one been all but eclipsed. has been all but eclipsed. genie: new details on the man behind the attack at orly airport in paris yesterday. the suspect took a female sosoldier hostage before being shot dead. the autopsy report shows he had traces of cocaine and cannabis in his blood as well as twice the legal limit of alcohol. the orly airport attacker had ingested narcotics and alcohol. that's according to a sunday

autopsy carried out on his remains. medicall analysis revealed a blood alcohol level of 0.83 grams s per liter and the presee of cannabis and cocaine. that would seem to indicate his involvement with petty crime. the prosecutor stated he had become radicalized as well. the first is the choice of target. he didn't randomly attack a soldier on patrol. we know that it corresponds to the general orders given out by jihadi groups. the second are the clear signs of radicalization that appeared around the time he spent in prison. national, he had nine cononctions to o his name involving thrift -- theft and

drug dealing. cousinher, brother and have all been released from police custody. genie: peru is still in a state of emergency as heavy rain and flooding continued to recap eric with more downpours -- rita have to wreak havoc.own - >> fast-moving floodwaters have caused the only glitch -- bridge in and out of town to collapse leaving the residence isolated. every day brings more tales of misery. >> we don't have food. children have been without fred days now.or 15

we can't go to work. we are isolated. we are always left to fend for ourselves. >> torrential downpours have devastated parts of peru since january, triggering mudslides that have swept away entire neighborhoods and people. the amount of rain falling has been 10 times higher than what is normal for the season. more than 70,000 have been left homeless. the catastrophic flooding has its origins in el niño, a weather phenomenon that causes the pacific ocean to warm up. clouds dump huge amounts of rain up and down coastal areas. their nightmare looks set to continue with forecasters predicting more rain ahead. presidentbrazil, the met with dozens of investors from countries that import brazilian meat. he's trying to minimize damage from a corruption probe that

says meatpackers bribed inspectors to keep rotten meat on the market. federal police issued 38 arrest brazil'sand a blow to reputation as one of the leading meat producers. it is francophone week. the celebration of the french language around the world. at a french immersion high school far away from france, in brazil's economic capital of sao paulo. it is a good ambassador for france as well as its language and culture. on n whatil team has morore is b behind the school's incredible success. one third of the students went in with no french at all. >> it's a french island in the heart of sao paulo.

people educated at the biggest french school in brazil. both portuguese and french are spoken. in the classroom, french is king. french is not just the language of france. >> most are the children of expatriates. >> at 8-year-old it is quite difficult to learn math or geography in a foreign language. >> the grammar is hard. network of french high schools in latin america was set up by general de gaulle. >> the difference is the quality

of our teachers. we have teachers that have come from france and others who were recruited locally. this pastoral care does not exist in all systems of education. >> they pay 1400 euros a month for both children. >> they have so much more space for activity and they can eat their lunch. they really benefit and learn more. it's an enormous difference compared to the brazilian system living dream of one day in france. the heads of the fbi and the nsa testifying today in washington.

the first public hearings will break their silence on investigations into possible links between russia and donald trump's presidential campaign. france's five top presidential candidates go head-to-head in a debate. at the man behind the attack orly airport in paris had high levels of drugs and alcohol in his body at the time. his father says he was not a practicing muslim. latest business news. we start in brazil with more on the story we were covering earlier. meat processors were selling bad meat on the market. right.'s three meat processing plants have been closed. this was the result of a two-year investigation. over 30 companies are accused of bribing officials to provide them with the required

certificates for the meat. it's a scandal that might literally make you sick. two brazilian meatpacking giant have been caught bribing regulators to certify rotten meat as fit for sale. with arrest warrants out for dozens of executives brazil is concerned about the impact of the scandal on its export oriented agriculture sector. >> brazil is a huge food exporter. if there was a strong reaction in those countries that would create a huge crisis in brazil. in 2016 brazil exported $5.9 billion of poultry to 150 different countries.

the scandal hits at a time when brazil along with its neighbors are trying to negotiate increased quotas. ofy a limited number meatpackers are concerned. >> information about which countries received these products. company by company. with the government battered by recession, the president has been eager to show confidence in brazil's meat industry. genie: what's happening on the market? >> investors are mulling over the main headlines of 20 summit.

finance ministers under pressure from the trump administration dropped a pledge to fight protectionism. the ftse is down .2%. also worth noting that in the wake of theresa may announcing she would invoke article 50 on march 29, the pound has lost a bit of value against the dollar. sterling is down .19%. swiss banking giant ubs will be standing trial in france facing charges of illegal practices and tax fraud. this follows failed negotiations over a plea bargain. its subsidiary will also go on trial for complicity. ubs denies wrongdoing and could face a fine of $1.1 billion. vodafone has struck a deal to

with idea cellular. it will create one of the world's largest telecoms companies. 45.1% of the own group. create india's largest telecoms group. at uber as the president quits after less than a year on the job. after manyn comes controversies at the company including charges of sexism and sexual harassment. founder had previously announced he was looking for a chief operating officer to guide him through these turbulent times. here's a piece of good news for you. the world happiness report has just come out here's and it turt that norway is the winner.

>> the scandinavian country moved up from fourth place to first place this year, beating denmark. thend this ranking is sustainable development solutions network and the united nations. it takes into account a host of social factors which explains why norway is at the top spot. the nation has suffered from the global drop in oil prices put public services and political stability are still strong. the other northern countries in the top five are denmark, iceland. switzerland. rising inequality, perception of corruption isolation and distrust means they dropped from 13th position to 14th position. france is an 31st position behind panama and guatemala.

particularly poorly in the area of generosity. it's an interesting measure. thank you for the business news. time for the press review. allison's arson is with us to take a look at the papers today. hearings thatblic are taking place today in washington into russian meddling in the u.s. presidential election as well as president trump's claim that his phone was tapped by barack obama. >> a lot of people are talking about the main man who is going to be in the spotlight, james comey. hoping heare really will refute once and for all those claims that donald trump that obama tapped his phone.

lawmakers from both parties have said there is no evidence to support these claims and republican lawmakers are even toing that trump apologize barack obama and the british government who he accused of playing part -- playing the role. genie: a former british ambassador to the united states has penned a biting editorial. >> that's right. he says donald and his press secretary's comments>> about british wiretapping are not only absurd, they are also dangerous. the u.k. foreign office would never authorize such an intrusion into domestic politics and the intelligence relationship between the u.s. and the u.k. is a crucial one based on unquestioned mutual trust. trust is a huge gift to enemies of the countries. tonight the top five

presidential candidates will be facing off in their first live tv debate. in france infirst general. you can see the five candidates on the front page today. it's going to be the battle of the programs. they have a lot of convincing to do because one third of the people don't even plan on voting. tonight's debate truly marks the start of the campaign. the talk has focused on scandals and there has not emerged to any dominant issue. papers are hoping tonight that is going to change and we will really get into the issues. tonight could change everything. people have been torn between choosing the candidate who best represents their convictions and making the strategic vote.

they have a cartoon that illustrates this today. we see people watching the debate and the man says this is going to choose who has the best chance of beating marine le pen. is responds, the problem it's not necessarily the person we want to be president. a controversial hindu priest in india has been named the chief minister of the most populous state. >> he was sworn in the sunday. this priest is a popular figure among right-wing hindus and he is facing criminal charges for inciting hindu muslim violence. a popular muslim volley but star a terrorist and he has praised donald trump's travel ban and said mother teresa was part of a conspiracy to christianize india. emphasizedad largely

economic development over the hindu identity of india. many see this as a normalization of the fringe. the french now risks taking hold of the center. the paper also has a cartoon that illustrates this. the hindu priest is sitting on the arm of the prime minister and he is able to move it in whatever direction he wants. he may be small that he does seem to be the one in control. last story out of india about a man with a very unfortunate name. saddam hussein. he legally changed it after he was unable to get the job. he says he thinks employers were scared of him. there he is behind me. the paper says he was lovingly named by his grandfather who hoped he would grow into a positive person and he probably has. his name was holding him back.

his school records still bear his original name so he is going back to court to get all of that sorted out. a closer look get at the press review on our qéaueeewep@1@1pxxxxxx