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tv   France 24  LINKTV  July 4, 2017 2:30pm-3:01pm PDT

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>> welcome back. you are watching "live from paris" on "france 24. -- "france 24." firstkorea announces its successful long-range missile launch. some experts claim the communist state is now capable of striking alaska. the french parliament votes overwhelmingly in favor of the government's policy agenda. back prime lawmakers minister felipe eduardo -- prime minister ãdouard philippe. narendra modi becomes the first indian prime minister to visit
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israel. the two countries are expected to sign them -- defense deals worth some $2 billion. first, u.s. president donald trump has urged china to act after north korea claimed to have successfully tested its first long-range ballistic missile. north korean state tv made the announcement early tuesday, claiming the communist state was now capable of striking any country in the world. northxperts believe a korean missile could now reach as far as alaska. trump said via twitter, it was time for china to, quote, "put an end to this nonsense once and for all." reporter: these images show what north korea claims is a breakthrough for the rogue state.
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pyongyang says this rocket is an intercontinental ballistic missile that could have enough range to reach the u.s. mainland. state media quickly claimed it was a success. >> [speaking in foreign language] >> [translating] under the direct orders of our loving supreme leader, an intercontinental ballistic missile was fired. officials from both japan and south korea say it was launched at an airfield some 100 kilometers northwest of the capital. it flew just over 900 kilometers for 39 minutes before landing in japanese territorial waters. north korea boasted that it's missile -- its missiles are now capable of reaching any target in the world. to bethat's unlikely true, experts say the u.s. state of alaska could be within range of a missile. the launch comes ahead just -- just days ahead of the g 20 summit.- g20
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what thehat will be international committee can do to rein them in. laura: it is being seen as a watershed moment in their quest to develop a weapon capable of reaching the united states. kim jong-un has overseen three nuclear tests and multiple rocket launchers. some experts believe the country may now be in possession of some 30 nuclear weapons. so, how did it come to this? we take a look. reporter: he is determined to fulfill his nuclear ambitions. north korea testfired its first missile in 1984. since kim jong-un took over, the pace of ballistic missile testing has picked up. he conducted 24 last year and 12 so far this year. the successors have also multiplied -- the successes have also multiplied. kim has made a point of
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attending every test. four months into his rule, north korea launched a long-range rocket into orbit, similar in design to carry -- to capability of carrying a rocket to california. this time, they launched it successfully. pyongyang's nuclear capabilities increase apace. north korea has conducted five underground nuclear tests so far. three of them under kim jong-un. in january 2016, seismic activity measuring 5.9 magnitude was detected. they announced conducting their first hydrogen bomb test. wo months later, kim posed in front of what he said was a miniaturized warhead, a claim that has never been independently verified, but would make the north capable of fitting a nuclear device on the ballistic missile.
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the tests continued for the rest of that year. in april, the secretive state announced it had launched a missile for the first time from a submarine. another breakthrough came in may of this year, when north korea fired a missile which landed in the sea of japan, which experts say had a range of 4500 kilometers, meaning it could reach the u.s. territory of guam. intercontinental ballistic missile tests could bring alaska within reach. laura: in france, the parliament has voted overwhelmingly in support of the government after prime minister felipe laid out his policy plans -- prime minister philippe laid out his policy plans for the next five years. there were over 100 abstentions. philippe vowed to bring down the level of french debt, which he called unacceptable. his plan would slash corporation tax to make france more attractive to international business. reporter: how to breathe life
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into france's economy. according to prime minister ãdouard philippe -- edouard philippe, it starts with the government tightening its belt. french]king >> [translating] it requires strong will and courage to overcome. reporter: france's public debt clocks in at 2.1 trillion euros, nearly the equivalent of an entire year's economic output. going tobudget is exceed the cap for the 10th straight year. philippe pledged to bring that number down this year. he said the government must cut it spending by 3% of the gdp over the next five years. next on the to do list, boosting corporate investment by getting companies incentives to set up shop in france.
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>> [speaking french] >> reporter: corporations need -- >> [translating] corporations need to want to come here. reporter: the tax burden would be cut by 1% of gdp over five years with corporate taxes cut by 8% by 2022. in order to reign in the deficit, two key tax reforms promised by -- to rein in the deficit, two tax reforms promised by president macron were put on the back burner. laura: narendra modi has become the first indian prime minister to visit israel. modi says his three-day visit will be groundbreaking. the two nations are signed -- poised to sign defense deals worth nearly $2 billion. israel's prime minister benjamin netanyahu says modi's visit is a diplomaticic coup for the jewish state. we go to our correspondent. a red carpet welcome for
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narendra modi today. it seems the israelis are pretty excited about this visit. reporter: that's right. we saw a bear hug, such as you rarely see in politics, between the israeli prime minister and the indian prime minister. it was a gushing welcome. it is the first visit by an indian prime minister here, and it has taken 25 years organize. what took so long, said israel's prime minister. he said also that they were two close souls looking to build a better future together, a reference to technological advancement in both states. there was a huge response also from narendra modi. he said that he spoke -- he spoke a few words in hebrew. he said israel is one of the greatest partnerships india has. after that bearhug, israel's prime minister is not letting go. he is spending most of the remaining two days of this visit by the indian prime minister's
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side. israel's foreign ministry says it is very unusual and it is a sign of how important this visit is. laura: besides the smiles and hugs, a lot of cold hard cash and defense deals on the table, right? irris: some israeli newspapers have said that this indian prime minister is not coming to the state of israel. he is coming to the startup nation. but what unites these two is their joint economic interests and their joint technological advancement. india is a huge landmass with a huge population and a developing economy. israel is a tiny landmass with a tiny population and a clever economy. they will be discussing where those two overlap and what deals they can do, and that includes agriculture, water, israel's drip irrigation is becoming to be in great use in india, other technological advances, computing, software, biotech. all those things will be discussed.
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in silicon valley, the two lynwood is you most here are hebrew -- most hear -- the two areuages you most hear hebrew and -- i think narendra modi is saying to israel, "this is your moment in the sun. we didn't have relations for years. india has a long relationship, long diplomatic relationship with the palestinians. this is the time for the repair of our relationship, of israel and india." that's the focus of this visit. that also shows the focus is not diplomatic, it's economic. i think that's what really from the close ties -- what we really see from the close ties. laura: thank you very much, irris. qatar from the close ties -- what we really see from the close says it is ramping up gas production by 30% in what is being seen as a bid for economic
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independence as a diplomatic row with its neighbors continues. qatar will meet with saudi arabia and its neighbors tomorrow in cairo, but a deal is far from certain. qataris are learning to live with the daily realities of being cut off. supermarket shelves are full in doha, despite the embargo, but customers are having to adjust to new products. items from saudi arabia have been replaced with imports from turkey. have fruit juice, and eggs all been flown in by qatar's ally. prices have gone up, but these shoppers on complaining -- aren't complaining. >> all products are available. thanks be to god. there's even more than before. >> we are not afraid, because our government makes everything, year, maybek one two years.
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you're not afraid from anything -- we are not afraid from anything. reporter: as the blockade continues, stock is dwindling. if for the crisis, most food was imported by road -- before the crisis, most food was imported by road. qatar's neighbor has closed its borders. but that is not the message that the authorities want to show. in this press clip, the director of the report is keen to say it's business as usual. >> the message we want to deliver, everything is running smoothly. it is not just food that is running low. building materials are also in short supply, which could pose problems as the country prepares to host the world cup in 2022. >> some materials are not coming. reporter: saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, egypt, and
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bahrain have severed all land, air, and sea links with qatar, issuing a 13-point list of demands. toy gave qatar 10 days comply, including cutting diplomatic ties with iran and shutting down the al jazeera news network. qatar has rejected the demands, claiming they were so extreme they were never meant to be accepted. laura: there's been a major advance by u.s.-backed forces trying to retake the syrian said raqqa fromn city of the islamic state group. they have reached the walls of the old city, setting them on course to reach the city center. thousands are thought to be left in the city. it was once declared the capital of the isis caliphate. reporter: advancing towards central raqqa, these troops are closing in on the islamic state group, five punching through sections of the wall surrounding the old city -- by punching
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through sections of the wall surrounding the old city, finally able to gain ground. the wall was first constructed in the eighth century. it surrounds the old city on three sides. 25 meter sections were targeted by strikes, aiming to allow stf forces through while keeping most of the wall in tact -- intact. forces have circled the city, entering the east and west for the first time in june. the islamic state group first 4, declaringa in 201 at the syrian capital of their self-proclaimed caliphate. around 100,000 civilians are thought to be trapped in the city. laura: across the border in iraq, government forces say the area under isis control in mosul is now down to a few hundred square meters, but the jihadists are not going quietly.
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they have been using civilians as human shields and sending suicide bombers, many of them women, to attack troops. we have more on the situation in iraq's second-largest city. reporter: a city in ruins and on the cusp of being freed from the islamic state group. this is what remains of mosul's old city. once the jihadist stronghold, the very place where the group declared their caliphate three years ago, there are now only a few hundred islamic state fighters left. iraqi officials said they should be able to declare victory by the end of the week. >> [speaking in foreign language] >> [translating] now we are almost 450 meters from the tigris river. this is the i.s.'s group lastt hideaway. reporter: the final push to take iraq's second city is proving difficult. booby-trapapped buildings and densely populated winding streets, suicide bombers hiding as fleeing civilians. men, women, and children are asked to undress as they escape
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to make sure they are not carrying suicide belts. said sevenials have women gave himself up on monday alone -- blew themselves up on monday alone. >> [speaking in foreign language] >> reporter -- [translating] this is an able and cowardly attempt to inflict the greatest number of losses on civilians and security forces. reporter: even if iraqi troops are on the verge of victory in mosul, the battle against islamic state is far from over. while their presence is shrinking, the terrorist group controls swathes of territory in iraq and syria. laura: italy has summoned the austrian ambassador over vienna's plans to station troops at the border to stop migrants from crossing over. italy is struggling to cope with the number of migrants and refugees crossing the mediterranean sea from libya. 100,000 people arrived during
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the first half of this year. the u.n. says that is an increase of 20% compared with the same period last year. the austrian defense minister says troops could go to the past to prevent people crossing into austrian territory -- go to the pass to prevent people crossing into austrian territory. >> the defense minister has been at pains to underscore that they are not talking about sending tank columns to the border. we are talking about armored personnel carriers. at the height of the refugee crisis, when tens of thousands of refugees were moving northward across the balkan roots of austria, those same armored personnel carriers have been used at a different border crossing. this is not an aggressive posture by austria's military. at the same time, he is also at pains to underscore that this does involve the military and, if the need arises, if the flow
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of refugees is not stand, then -- not stemmed, then the military could be involved in conducting border checks. that is presumably what has annoyed italy, which says it is contrary to the spirit of freedom of movement within the european union. as i say, it appears as though the defense minister, who is considered to be among the hardliners of the social democrats, is possibly -- has one eye on the upcoming election and may want to win back some voters from the far right who will no doubt be pleased at this firm stance on the possible use of the military. venezuela, the chief prosecutor is expected to be fired. becomeime has increasingly authoritarian and has used excessive violence. reporter: standing her ground,
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venezuela's embattled attorney general refused to attend her own hearing on tuesday, claiming the outcome was decided in advance by the pro-nicolas maduro supreme court. validate a going to circus that will stain our history with shame and pain. reporter: the former maduro supporter, luisa ortega diaz emerged as one of the president's most vocal critics during the recent political crisis. in april, she opposed the government's decision to strip congress of its last hours and to rewrite the constitution -- of its last powers and to rewrite the constitution. the case against her for alleged serious error was brought by a pro maduro lawmaker last month, and could lead to her ouster. in another blow to ortega's authority, the supreme court has appointed its own deputy attorney general on monday, katherine haringhton, a maduro
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loyalist, who was sanctioned by the obama administration in 2015 for hearst -- her the suit -- her pursuit of opposition figures. it normally falls to the attorney general to name her own deputy. laura: let's get to business news. kate moody is with us in the studio. starting with some pretty serious allegations against the world's biggest steelmaker about how it deposed -- it disposes of toxic waste. kate: allegedly, acid being dumped into the countryside in eastern france. he said he was ordered to do so while working for arcelor mittal. they have denied the wrongdoing, but have launched an internal investigation. >> [speaking in foreign language] >> [translating] this is how we recycle waste at arcelor mittal. dumpedr: hundreds being
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into a waste site. [speaking in foreign language] >> [translating] it is acid we use for cleaning metal. it is dumped out in the open. i had no protection, no mask. my eyes were stinging. sometimes i would find dead animals. reporter: this truck driver says he was asked to dump 50 cubic meters of acid into this open dumpsite every day for three months. when the acid was supposed to be recycled in a dedicated factory. >> [speaking in foreign language] >> [translating] i notified management, but nobody cared. reporter: arcelor mittal denies any wrongdoing and says its activities pose no risk to the environment. reporter: the management of arcelor mittal is not responsible for any alleged irregular discharges into the dump site. arcelormittal is considering firing -- filing a complaint.
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reporter: local officials who met with senior officials of arcelormittal were not convinced. >> it is a criminal act that raises the issue of protecting these sites, which are not sufficiently monitored. reporter: local authorities have launched an investigation to determine who is responsible for the illegal dumping. the truck driver who was fired for breach of confidentiality could also face charges. closed as street is the u.s. marks independence day. european indices closed lower on tuesday. the cac 40 losing 0.4%. dax down about 0.3%. shares in the french utility giant dropped after it said its nuclear plant would be over budget and over schedule. rldpay shot up 28% in london as it confirmed it was fielding takeover bids from j.p. morgan chase and -- moving on to some other business
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headlines. the european union has given former all approval -- given formal approval to bail out monte dei paschi. they gave the green light for nearly 5.5 billion euros in state funds. monte dei paschi is committed to a five-year restructuring plan. there has been concern in recent months. qatar plans to increase its production of liquefied natural gas by 30%. the small gulf state is the world's foremost producer of lng. raise to 100 million . sellingen will start cars in iran for the first time in 17 years. they signed a contract with local importers to sell two models at dealerships in the tehran area.
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iran is seen as a major opportunity for manufacturers struggling with stalling growth in europe and china. most international sanctions were lifted last year. uber is facing another legal roadblock. an advisor to europe's top court has said that eu member states can bring charges against uber executives for running an illegal taxi service. allowedion of the app unlicensed and nonprofessional drivers to connect with passengers. it was ultimately suspended after huge protest kate:s -- protests. the decision is not binding, but is likely to be adopted by the judges, who said uber should be subject to appropriate regulations. >> [speaking french] >> [translating] the law
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prohibits a system which puts customers in touch with people in carry passengers contravention of the rules which apply to such transport activity . ceo andst month, uber cofounder travis kalanick resigned. that sparked a broader discussion about silicon valley. hashead of 500 startups stepped down following claims of sexual harassment. reep.g entry, "i'm a c sorry." some commentators say that the tide may be turning. celebrate july 4, watching or setting off their own fireworks is among the most patriotic and expensive activities.
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last year, american consumers spent $825 million on fireworks. that does not include the fireworks for impressive formal displays organized by cities. the sector has grown steadily for over two decades. it is not just american retailers reading the benefit. according to the american pyrotechnics association, more than 95% of america's fireworks are, in fact, made in china. a contradictory message, perhaps. laura: to celebrate their independence day with lots of fireworks displays. thanks very much, kate moody. we are taking a short break.
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