>> welcome to the france 24 newsroom. the headlines, the united states dropped an 11 ton bomb in afghanistan, the country's largest nonnuclear explosive device. a targeted a tunnel state network of the islamic state group. nigeria marks three years since the schoolgirl abduction with 195 girls still believed to be held captive by boko haram fighters. with just nine days before the

first round of the french presidential election, we take a look at back at how the young people plan to vote in the campaign beat. ♪ >> straight to our top story, the u.s. military dropped a massive bomb in afghanistan with the target a tunnel by the islamic state group. the afghanistan president back to the bombardment which struck a remote area. this is the u.s.'s largest nonnuclear bomb in the first time it was used in combat. donald trump said the mission was "very successful" and u.s. officials see no evidence of civilian casualties.

>> this was the correct weapon against the correct target. our surveillance over the area before, during, and after the operation and now we have afghan and u.s. forces on the site and see no evidence of civilian casualties, nor any reports of civilian casualties. >> for more let's go to our correspondent in kabul. this is the united states' largest nonnuclear device. officials say no indication of civilian casualties. as anyone independently verify this -- has anyone independently verified this? >> the problem is no one can get to the site of the attack, an area that is contested, you have front lines, afghan forces, isis , at some local journalists have been trying to get to the site. what i have been able together

from afghan local police commanders is that there is still fighting in the area, the same targets have been pounded twice, today by fighter jets, helicopter gunships, and drone strikes. what we know on the ground, there is the resistance. one afghan local police commander told me that this isisict was an area where cap prisoners and where they stored -- kept prisoners and the stored weapons. fighter jets could not simply destroy it. that is a military perspective. from a civilian perspective, in an area where people have been the victims of war on both sides , this created panic and fear. we are hearing doors and windows broke as far as three or four

kilometers away from the area of the attack. whenthe operation ends, the afghan government tries to go back and provide some basic services that a government should and must provide, it will be difficult to convince the local population to work with the government. i know of some farmers who lost cows. other people lost agricultural farms. life was already difficult because of brutal isis militants in their. you have a weak government. also people trapped inside their homes that are being used as a battlefield. that is what i saw in 2016 when i visited the area. >> you have been to this area where the bomb took place. tell us more about the islamic there? presence >> a mountainous area, a very

rugged terrain on the border with pakistan tribal areas. you are talking about valleys and villages where the government has not been feared. an area where hasish is cultivated. what we see, for an jihadi fighters -- foreign jihadi fighters coming back. using telegram and facebook to recruit younger afghans. isis is almost like a lifestyle for people in those villages. we had golden breaks last year that were seized. there is a lot of money coming in. i think the attacks that isis claimed, three or four deadly attacks in kabul, were seen as coming from this district. for the afghan government, this was a threat.

what sort of damage this caused and who was killed from the group, are the civilian casualties? we do not know. things stand in terms of the relationship between campbell and washington, and the working relations -- kabul and washington and the working relations to see her -- secure the country? >> the taliban in 2016 got a lot of territory. we saw deadly attacks that isis said they were responsible for. it is a signal. in many ways, a show of force. you have to remember that afghanistan will be seeing a lot of violence. because of the areas these groups control. isis has been able to recruit younger afghans, educated afghans on university campuses and bigger cities, in urban centers. this will be a very deadly battle. a very difficult one.

at the moment, the afghan government is in those villages and districts across the country, only militarily, not there to support basic government services. often, people turn to the taliban or these groups for speedy justice. challenge.e a huge the more airstrikes you have, it helps the afghan forces but they can be counterproductive because, if the kill civilians or destroys property, that would undermine the effort for winning hearts and minds. >> thank you for that report from the afghan capital. president trump promised a tougher approach to the islamic state group. there are concerned about the u.s. rules of engagement and potential risks to civilians. more. 24' tells us >> the u.s. led strike was meant

to hit the islamic state group but instead fit their allies, the syrian democratic forces, killing 18. it follows a surge of civilian debts in iraq and syria -- deaths in iraq and syria. tollighest civilian death in the u.s. campaign. in syria, 49 civilians killed in a march 16 strike on a mosque. the pentagon is investigating the incidents. as questions are raised about whether strict rules of engagement are meant to minimum -- meant to minimize civilian casualties are being r relaxed. donald trump has vowed to fight the islamic state group more aggressively. during the campaign, he indicated he would give the u.s. military more autonomy to carry out airstrikes without having to go by the white house. after taking office, he ordered the development of a new plan to

stop the islamic extremists. he relaxed rules from preventing civilian casualties. officials say the rules have not changed in iraq and syria. perspectiverom my because of the change of administration, we have the same rules of engagement. those authorities were delegated before any change in administration. >> the u.s. attributes the spike in deaths to the fact that the fight is moving to densely populated areas. the use of civilians as human shields by the islamic state group as well. amnesty international says the u.s. military is not taking adequate precautions to prevent civilian debts. -- deaths. a group said mark was the deadliest -- march was the deadliest in iraq and syria. >> today is three years since the schoolgirl kidnapping in nigeria. 276 girls were abducted by boko

haram. 195 are believed to still be in captivity and the government is trying to negotiate the release. talks have stalled. the president wants to make good on his campaign pledge to bring the young women home. >> three years on from their kidnapping, these trees are planted not as a sign of remembrance, but one of hope. a tragedy which shocked the nation and recently branded by the nigerian president as one of the worst crimes committed against nigeria. rememberg -- we will the girls. everybody -- it is to remind them, we are waiting for your voices. make sure the government does the right thing and brings them back home. >> and 2014, 276 secondary schoolgirls were abducted by the jihadist group and the northern province of nigeria.

confusion at first surrounded the fate. a ransom video was released by boko haram, asking for prisoner exchanges. the video received worldwide attention, which shocked the international community and led to the bring back our girls campaign. over the next few months, 57 chapters and is to escape -- captors managed to escape and highlighted the military's inability to find the girls. the families of the victims have complained about the authority's efforts to bring back their children. since the president came to hasr in 2015, the group been losing ground and one of his main pledges was to deliver the girls and eradicate boko haram. his biggest success in 2016.21 of them were released after successful negotiations. the fate of the remaining girls remains a source of concern, they have been used as sex slaves were confirmed by the testimonies of those who had escaped.

a startling new report by unicef alleged that the terrorists have been using them as suicide bombers in addition, nigerian authorities have reportedly helped dozens of the girls port vila they have been indoctrinated and likely to carry out terror attacks. the current situation is that a road that stand still. the president has said negotiations are underway to obtain the release of the remaining girls and other captives. coastcrossed to the ivory where the suspects in the 2011 murders have been sentenced to jail. a former commander of the republican guard and his two kernels will serve 18 years in prison. they serve the then-president at the height of the country's political crisis in 2011. security forces abducted for people, including two frenchmen. simon harding as the story. >> their sentences are severe but not as tough as those

demanded by the prosecution, 18 years for a general. a regime during the post-electoral crisis in 2010 and 2011. 20 years for a police commissioner accused of murdering one of the two french captives. a verdict criticized by the defense attorney. >> we still do not know who killed to the it is a failure for us for the ivorian justice system. there have been sent to just defray some people but can you tell me who killed these four people? we do not know, it is a true failure. >> in april of 2011, at the height of the postelection troubles, anti-french protests state, four people were kidnapped, including two french nationals, the hotel the ceo of the biggest agricultural industry of the country. after six years, the outcome of the trial is a relief for the families, even though some

details remain a mystery. >> we will never know why they wanted to take them. why they were tortured, killed, and where the parties were discarded. that's where the bodies were discarded but we do know someone was responsible and justice has prevailed. justice has the power to appease pain. >> the investigation found that the poor captives were taken to the presidential -- four captives were taken to the president trump palace where they were beaten. the death of the other three victims were established because of witnesses. >> an update of the headlines. the united states dropped an 11 ton bomb in afghanistan, the largest nonnuclear explosive device to target a tunnel network of the islamic state group. turkey gears up for a historic referendum, voters will decide

whether to replace the parliamentary system with a presidential one. we will speak with our p.m. inndent at 1:30 nigeria, they mark three years since the schoolgirl abduction of at least 195 girls still believed to be held captive by boko haram fighters. ♪ it is time for the campaign beat, our daily round up of the news from the french presidential campaign trail. we will start off with big news, french prosecutors have asked the european parliament to lift marine le pen's community over a fake scandal. >> sheet is excused of misusing -- accused -- she is accused of misusing public funds to pay to assistant at the european parliament for allegedly fictitious jobs. she used her parliamentary

immunity to ignore a summons from an investigative judge. she has described this .nvestigation as a vendetta she spoke on the radio this morning and shrugged off this request to lift her immunity. take a listen. >> it is normal, the normal procedure, not surprised at all. >> you are not upset about the timing, you could say it was to harm your campaign? >> i think it is normal. >> do you regret not going to the judge? >> we will not go back to that one. we are eight days away from the election. >> a fake job scandal has not affected marine le pen as much as it has fillon, who is involved in a financial scandal. marine le pen remains a front runner with over one week to go. >> they are both facing major scandals. marine le pen seems unaffected while fillon has been affected

and has dropped in the polls since the so-called penelope gate scandal. and analysts say marine le pen's scandal involves the european parliament which is further from the europeans -- french people's heart and mind. analysts say it's because the national front has a very steady and loyal support base, including a growing number of young people. we have been following the far right. let's listen to his report. >> it has been 15 years since the national front shock to the second round of the french presidential election. ever since marine le pen took over from her father, she has been trying to break from his way of doing things. it seems to has worked, a message resonating with old and young alike. >> the image of the national front has changed.

young people are patriotic and proud to wear the colors. conviction, it is the france i want to be like it was before, as i knew it. >> i am not racist. all the immigrants who are here will say, obviously. i condemned the refugees who arrived in mass every day, there are no jobs and no housing. we have to stop it in -- we have to stop it. >> marine le pen is a top candidate for people aged 18 to 35, when people go to the real world and see how part it is, marine le pen has the right answers. >> that kind of support the feature of today's national front. after the failures of successive governments of the right and left, waning, the party knows that attracting disillusioned youths to its policies should pay dividends in the years to come. a lot of young french people are rapidly starting to notice

the failures of the policies of our predecessors. if there is not a radical change, they know that they will have problems finding a job or pursuing their studies. they are the first victims of these policies. >> it is the national front giving a look to what may be coming ahead. 40% of french youth aged 18 to 24, its numbers have more than doubled over the last five years from 10,000 to 25,000. even if marine le pen fails to carry the election this year, with that kind of growth, she may only need to wait for the tide to come in a little bit higher next time around. >> you may think you miss heard but that statistic that he was talking about is very real, 40% of 18 to 24-year-olds plan to vote for the national front in the election which is a real change. traditionally, young people have voted for the left. the far right is clearly no longer taboo. analyst say it is proved that

marine le pen has whitewashed her party's negative image. also a sign that lots of young people are frustrated because of the economy. youth unemployment hovers around 20% in france. >> young voters are going both to populist parties and on the right with marine le pen but also on the left in terms of the left. elenchon rising in the polls. >> one recent poll suggested that he is the candidate that young people trust the most. seems like he is the end with marine le pen. our reporter followed his supporters in the northern town of data in a northern town. -- supporters in a northern town. >> and one of france's poorest -- says he25 polls

went into politics to help the young. >> the youth are the worst hit by unemployment and economic crisis and social crisis in poor neighborhoods, they feel forgotten like these elections do not concern them. despite his promise of wealth redistribution and approved welfare, convicting young people to vote is not always easy. >> i voted for francois hollande in 2012 but people are disillusioned. you will a president but nothing changes. -- you elect a president, but nothing changes. .> voting did not interest me then i talked to my family and we decided to vote for mel enchon. putut -- we hope he will his policies into practice. >> yes they can over marine le pen for the battle for young

people's votes. faced with poverty, apathy. >> this fight their best efforts, young people are not the only ones who feel frustrated. >> in this election, so crazy in terms of polls, one that caught my attention this week. according to a poll, 67% of french people feel disappointed, disgusted, or angry with respect to this presidential campaign. they cannot wait for it to end. i have a message for them, almost over, we are in the home stretch and will know pretty soon he will make it around to. >> that is sunday, april 23, the first round vote. check out the election compass, a tool developed by france 24 which topics have your political views compare with those of the french president for candidates.

that could lead to some surprising results that have to be said. let that it is time for the business update. -- it is time for the business update. news out of china. beijing hoping for a favorable report on the economy next week. on monday, china will release its estimate for the first quarter of economic growth. some positive figures this week, some analysts did the economic recovery may not be sustainable with chinese exports adding a biggest jump in two years in march according to figures released thursday. a sign of growing global demand and the u.s. sought rhetoric toward china. concerns about rising debt which is growing at more than twice the rate of the underlying economy and threatens to destabilize the financial system. listen to a chinese economist of what we may be expecting moving forward. >> china can be expected to import more from the u.s. to reduce the trade surplus.

overall, we have decided to race our trade forecast -- raise our trade forecast. anda is a big part of asia if china's growth remains resilient or better than expected, it could be of great help to the rest of asia. >> the market started the week with uncertainty and ended with more uncertainty. markets in asia closed out across the board as investors had tensions in the korean peninsula, reports north korea was further hardening on his position on nuclear tests, accelerated the session. the neck a fell to the lowest of its year and the south korea down 3/5 of 1% with shanghai the biggest loser of the session with fears that china's economic recovery could be losing steam. some markets are closed for the holiday including hong kong, european, and u.s. market. let's get other business news making headlines around the world.

the ceo and board of directions for switzerland's second-biggest bank, credit suisse have decided to cut their own bonuses 40% before a shareholders meeting. amid pressure from swiss lawmakers and shareholders to address executive -- excessive executive pay. tesla close-out a big week by announcing it would roll out a new electric semi truck in september, their stock jumped nearly 3% on the news. they briefly became the largest u.s. car maker by market cap, beating out general motors. a european plane manufacturer signed a $536 million deal on thursday to sell at least 20 propeller aircraft to iran air. the company is the third western aviation firm to do business with iran after sanctions were lifted through a nuclear deal with world powers. iran had deals with boeing and a ryanaire ceo of says they will get nine aircraft of year and the rest in 2018. >> thank you for that business

update. the news continues on france 24. stay with us. >> a program about women who are reshaping our world. we meet those who will seek --- the 51% brings you stories from across the globe about the women challenging the way you think. 51%. the french will elect a new head of state on april 23 and may 7. 11 candidates are in the running. who will be the next french president?

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♪ >> i in this episode, kim stringfellow's project documents -- documenting the diverse communities of the mojave desert. . >> my practice isis really soci practice. it's about conversations with peoplele. shsharing ideas, educating,