"live fromback to paris" on "france 24." a candlelit vigil for the victims of the london terror attack. inre have been eight arrests the wake of the attempt on parliament. a french national of african original has been arrested. the 39-year-old man was driving a car at people in a belgian

port city. donald trump as he tries to repeal barack obama's affordable care act. he may jeopardize one of his top campaign pledges. thank you very much for being with us. candlelit vigil has been staged in london's trafalgar's were -- trafalgar square. a police officer left -- lost his life. the other victims killed, a mother of two and an american tourist, both struck by the car on the westminster bridge. seven others remain tonight critical in hospital, among them

french schoolchildren. three are from brittany. the attacker has been identified as khalid masood, a british citizen, born and raised in central london. he was not currently under investigation nor surveillance. theritish police have named london attacker as khalid masood, shortly after the islamic state group claimed responsibility for wednesday's strike on the british capital. prime minister may had identified masood as a british national known to security services. prime minister may: some years ago he was once investigated by in relation to concerns about violent extremism. he was a peripheral figure. the case is historic. he was not part of the current intelligent picture. havelice investigators made eight arrests.

this house was one of six rated in connection -- raided in connection to the attack. police have been describing masood as a lone wolf with a string of previous convictions to his name. >> it is still our belief that this attacker acted alone and was inspired by international terrorism. >> after mowing down pedestrians, the man rammed through the gate of parliament, fatally stabbed a police officer, and was then shot dead. police continue their inquiry into the deadliest act of terrorism in the u.k. since 2005. >> let's get some more analysis on this story. us, senior joins research fellow at the royal united services institute in london. thank you very much for joining us. the perpetrator of this attack, 52-year-old colleague massoud,

-- kelly massoud -- khalid masood. theegrown terrorism" is phrase that comes to mind. a real and pressing problem now. , i hope you can hear me. i will put the question to you again. the issue of homegrown terrorism is what we are talking about. >> i got the question. this is a major concern. it is something that we would casewasn't going to be the , but all the hallmarks of -- erday's attacks we have the public symbolism, the mass casualties using everyday items, such as cars, in this case. >> indeed, cars, trucks. comes tok in nice

mind. this kind of weapon, let's put it that way, has been called for by senior isis members over the past couple of years. that is the inspiration and the command chain in some way. it begs the question, of course, how can you act to stop this kind of event? seems impossible. however, with each lone wolf attack like this, it then emerges there are a number of people linked to this person. some kind of network, loose or close, hard to say. intelligence -- is that the key factor to getting behind all of this? >> the secret to good security is good intelligence. this is the mantra of the counterterrorism sector. we are able to determine as much as we can about the life of this individual through understanding his pathways and his associations, where he spent his time. the means that counterterrorism strategy that

involves here has to be focused on all sorts of different levels. there is the behind the scenes security and intelligence work, the front facing policing and community engagement work to these elements need to work together in harmony. >> can you tell us about your experiences, your contacts, your knowledge of the sector, how could this man be known to the security services, as we are told? how could he not be under surveillance? how does that happen? i think that's what people will be asking at home watching this, how does it happen that this man is known to the authorities, but not stopped? >> he was not seen as a high risk individual, so, therefore, he was taken off the radar by mi5. he had a criminal record and was in prison for various crimes, none related to terrorism. so, there was no reason to suspect that this individual might be drawn to violent extremism. when it comes to trying to work

out methods of surveillance, the only solution is to serve ale -- surveil everyone. that has a role to play when we look at digital footprints, transactions, people's movements. we have all the data we need on people, but at the same time there is still no singular pathway from angry, young person, or in this case older individual, motivated enough to a situation of carrying out violent terrorism. and then there's the role of the internet. we know the internet is an echo chamber. it allows people to explore their ideas unfettered. obviously if there are attempts to try to take down problematic material on private sector social media -- >> easier said than done, isn't it? >> it is. but it has to be done. more and more social media companies are working together to coordinate. once one side is eliminated, it pops up very quickly.

>> it seems crazy that you are saying this, and these social network people, managers aren't all -- actually coming forward and being more open about these things. that seems a tragedy. >> it's a private sector domain, so they are not covered by the kind of legislation you would expect in terms of the general counterterrorism framework. i the more recent period, have seen these discussions. there is greater understanding and appreciation of the role of social media in determining these pathways and, therefore, also using these same platforms to counter narratives which are funded by various government and discourage people who might be looking for solutions, to questions they have no solutions for elsewhere. thank youor abbas, very much for joining us. andks for explaining for me for many people at home how a man can be known to the

authorities but still slip through the net in this tragic way. the very central point you are making their about social to make themselves more accountable, more open to peopley in some way, so can be stopped from getting to this point where they can carry out such acts. so, for the victims of the london attack, there has been a candlelight vigil held in trafalgar square. people still there as we speak. our reporter was at the scene. he joined us a little earlier. duncan, you are live. i thought we were going to something you had recorded earlier. tell us what you have been seeing. duncan: there has been a candlelit vigil here this evening beginning at 6:00 local time, 7:00 paris time, lasting an hour, but going a bit beyond that. it was masterminded by

the london mayor, sadiq khan, also in attendance were the home secretary and acting commissioner of the metropolitan police force. they all spoke on the theme of the need to come together, show solidarity, and to overcome the seeds of hatred. that was -- those were sentiments very much echoed by the people who gathered to hear those speakers. people,re perhaps 1000 maybe not even that. it's a cold evening here in london. also, perhaps the events of yesterday potentially made lender is -- londoners fear gathering in one place. those are two possible explanations for the relatively low attendance here. came from we spoke to diverse backgrounds, people from the jewish community, people from the muslim community, people from the christian community, and atheists as well. everyone having a dialogue and

talking with one another. there were candles lit by the main protagonists, but also by ordinary citizens and people just chatting away. they are continuing to do so now, although the numbers are beginning to dwindle. >> it's part of what people talk about in london as the spirit of being defeated, wanting to carry on, wanting to show that they won't be intimidated, even by such random acts of terrorism. duncan: that's right. people are very much coming together. that's what tonight's ceremony was all about. also this morning, there was the sitting of the houses of the houses of parliament. that schedule was not disturbed. there carried -- they carried on as normal. the vote -- not the vote, the triggering of article 50, the beginning of brexit, is still

scheduled to take place on wednesday of next week, march 29. ordinary londoners just going to work today in their normal routine on the london underground, on buses, in vehicles, cars. hundreds of thousands of people streaming into the city to go to their desks and go about their daily work routines. people won't be intimidated. the same is true in any city in the world, any major city now pretty much has that danger of such attacks attached to it. paris, berlin, madrid, of course, was hit over a decade ago by al qaeda. and the developing world as well, baghdad, mogadishu, the capitals of iraq and somalia. islamist terrorism is something that rears its head in many different locations. generally speaking, people just get on with it. that's the message that's going out here and also goes out

regularly in capitals around the world which are hit on a far more regular basis than london. >> the vigil taking place at trafalgar square. thank you very much. there has been this thursday an apparent copycat attack. someone trying to echo the events that we saw unfold in london. this attack taking place -- foiled attack taking place in belgium. frenchman of north african origin was arrested in the city of antwerp after driving his car towards crowds on a busy shopping street. weapons, knives were found inside the vehicle. the car intercepted before anyone was hurt. a close call after avoiding a police check. -- a close call. after avoiding a police check, this car sped down the street.

luckily, no one was injured. >> a car drove up the street, causing pedestrians to jump aside. our colleagues from the ministry of defense noticed the vehicle and tried to stop it. the vehicle failed to stop its routine check and drove onto meirbrug. our colleagues from the military informed the police. a fast response team was sent and was able to stop the vehicle. belgium's federal prosecutor quickly took charge of the investigation. after inspecting the vehicle and taking the suspect in for questioning, they discovered in the boot of the car bladed weapons, a pump action rival, and a container of as yet unidentified liquid. doubts remain over the suspect's identity. belgian authorities explain he is a french citizen. a source close to the investigation says he is a tunisian national, adding that

the man was not known by intelligence services and may have been under the influence of alcohol before trying to escape those employees -- escape those in police -- escape belgian police. >> a frenchman has been kidnapped in a remote region near the border of sudan's darfur. the man kidnapped in a mining area about 800 kilometers east of the capital. there were no immediate reports of anyone claiming responsibility for this. we will bring you more on it as we get it. next, the boost for emmanuel macron's presidential campaign. the current defense minister has publicly announced that he is going to back the center candidate's campaign. it is been -- being seen as a centrists. actual the french presidential

candidate who has never held elected office has picked up support for his campaign. the defense minister announced in the french press that he would be throwing his weight behind back room -- behind mac ron. >> in democracies, it is not acceptable that politicians only accept the will of those who elected them when it suits. >> it's a well needed boost for the federalist candidate, given previous criticism he was lacking experience in security and foreign affairs. minister and a biodiversity minister have already switched allegiance from the ruling socialist party. macron's centrist message appears to be transcending party lines, too. the former economy minister has from a former health minister. embattled francois fillon

still facing -- sought to downplay the magnitude of the defections. >> these are people who aren't really mainstream anymore. ago, mainlyng because they failed at everything. so, it's not so serious. >> macron has always insisted he will make no distinctions along political lines over those who support him. >> now to one of president trump's central campaign promises to repeal and replace the affordable care act. that was a central plank of the legacy of barack obama, signed into law in 2010. we discussed the various sections of the republican party. this vote is being delayed. for trump, the bad news is he

has lots of opposition to what he's proposing, opposition coming from within his own republican ranks. philip crowther has this. philip: this is where the real test comes in for donald trump, the man who is being called "the closer" by the white house. this is where his negotiating skills will have to come in some of because he has just met quite a few of those members who are leaning towards a no vote on this repeal and replace bill that should be voted on in the u.s. house of representatives in a few hours' time. we don't know whether he's managed them -- to convince them to stay on his side. that's what's going on at the white house, vote counting to see how many republicans are pretty to vote for this quickly assembled bill that is supposed to be the start of the end of obamacare, the health care overhaul that was signed into law exactly seven years ago today. there are those republicans who think that this bill does not go far enough, that it doesn't take

away enough of obamacare, and there are those who say that it is just too strict, that it will leave too many americans without health care here both of them might be right. donald trump -- what he needs is to get this through, otherwise this will be seen as a major defeat, a first major legislative defeat for the new u.s. president. >> more from philip crowther coming up on "france 24." the delayed health care vote is now to take place on friday. time now for some business news. the second appearance of kate moody in this slot, you lucky people. it is important to investors. why? kate: it's important for the prospects of what donald trump is going to be able to do, policies that he campaigned on, things like a boost in infrastructure spending, the overhaul of financial regulation

. those are issues that had boosted the markets since his election in november. on wednesday, wall street had its worst session of the year as opposition appeared to mount. we've seen stocks fall since the vote was delayed. analysts say the outcome could be pivotal to the president's future plans. there are some pretty significant promises and programs that are going to be put into place. it seems like the headwinds that he is facing now could translate to larger headwinds in some of the other initiatives that he wants to put in place. were reports of problems with the health care vote on capitol hill and wall street had been hovering above the flat line for most of the session, but stocks turned negative in the last hour of trade and have now closed in the red, only slightly underneath the flat line, but still a vast change from what we had been seeing the rest of the trading day.

investors will be watching to see if the vote is rescheduled for friday and if it is, indeed, passed. the dax leading with gains of over 1%. the cac 40 up about 3/4 of 1%. he may be facing a roadblock to his legislative agenda, but president trump has scored a minor victory regarding his business empire. the general services administration has said that the trump rand hotel -- trump brand hotel does not constitute a conflict of interest. critics had charged that visitors might use to stay at the hotel in an effort to curry favor with the administration, but they believe the issue has now been resolved as the president's son, donald trump , jr., took over the company that runs it. a proponent of global free trade. its partners are trying to fill the void.

since the u.s. withdrew from the transpacific trade deal, australia seeking to expand its trade with regional players like china. >> cautioning against growing protectionist sentiments around the world, the chinese premier once his australian counterpart to see him as a champion of free wants-- chinese premier his australian counterpart to see him as a champion of free trade. australia pass exports outstripped china's by over $24 billion -- exportsa's outstripped china's by over $24 billion. >> we need to continue to expand trade. that is the solution. we cannot close our doors. that is not the solution. >> australia's top export to minerals, which are used by china's manufacturing industry.

in these talks, it sees an opportunity to bulk up a smaller, but still important sector -- it's cattle industry. china must feed 20% of the worlds population, but has only 7% of the world's arable land. it's middle class is growing at a staggering rate -- its middle class is growing at a staggering rate. australia is seizing the opportunity divide -- to provide consumer goods and high-end services to meet china's needs in this century. >> last year, brazil and uruguay overtook australian beef exports to china. australia is hoping that these talks can help it retake the lead. kate: the french government is cracking down on corruption in political and business spheres. president hollande has opened the doors of a new anticorruption agency. giants havetrial

received huge fines for bribery and other issues in recent years. this year's presidential race has been upended by allegations of corruption. it creates an atmosphere in desperate need of regulation. >> it is vital for the french inple to have trust, trust procedures, trust in institutions' inner workings, trust in their companies, and trust in officials and government agencies, as well as in the justice system. kate: moving on to some of the day's other business headlines. mixed signs for the british economy as it prepares to -- it wasn't enough to offset short declines -- sharp declines in december and january. sales dropped 1.4%, the biggest three-month fall in seven years.

fuel prices have risen nearly in the past year. pounds turning has plummeted since the referendum in june. u.s. wireless carriers verizon and at&t have suspended their advertising on youtube and other google properties due to concerns that there ad -- their ads appeared next to videos promoting terrorism and hate. google has pledged a policy update and a hiring spree to deal with the situation. frustrated venezuelans are queuing up outside petrol stations this week as yet another gasoline shortage hits the oil-rich country. venezuela has the world's largest crude reserve, but the state run -- says internal problems were causing shipping delays. the public has struggled with shortages of food, medicine, and basic household goods. an iconic american department

store chain is facing a possible shutdown. sears is one of the best-known stores in the u.s., dating back to 1886, but it hasn't turned a profit since 2011 and is struggling to keep pace with shifts in consumer trends. >> it was once the giant of american retail, but today the future of sears is in doubt. in 1886, the chain sells products across a huge range of sectors, including home tools, appliances, and toys. analysts say its failure to --pt -- adapt to the modern a point has reached where the potential for it as a company to continue to exist, either as a retailer or as a financial institution -- that's just all gone. there's been so much change in 12, 18, 24he last months. especially we saw it this last

holiday season, when shoppers around this country certainly have chosen to spend their money differently. >> sears holdings lost a staggering $2 billion last year. in february, the company announced a plan to slash ands by shutting stores cutting jobs. it is hoping to restate -- to million.dditional $1.5 american malls have been shuddering shops, with macy's announcing in january the closure of 100 stores after a 9% share drop. sears will begin shutting outlets in a bid to reverse its financial fortunes and stay afloat. >> times are a changing. thank you very much. we will take a very short break. after that, more news.

03/23/17 03/23/17 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! you know, certainly big-money players. what you have is him was like a third-party that is the money party. it is a conservative, outside pressure group that i is actings a foforce field, pulling the republican party, particularly, to the right. amy: today, jane mayer on robert mercer, the reclusive hedge fund billionaire who helped trump