♪ >> welcome to the france 24 newsroom. 1:00 p.m. in the french capital. let's take a look at the headlines we are following. emmanuel macron's french labor reforms set to be signed into law. union protests against the changes loose steam. pyongyang hints of a possible hydrogen bomb test over the pacific ocean. --. president donald trump the leader kim jong-un says u.s.

president donald trump pay dearly for his threats. and a looming referendums that they province in a tug-of-war between the federal government in baghdad and the iraqi kurdish capital. ♪ molly: now, signed, sealed, delivered. that is the tune president emmanuel macron will soon be singing. that is because this friday, he will put his signature on his controversial labor reform decrees. the changes aim to simplify employment rules and make hiring and firing easier. unions say it weakens workers rights. >> when it comes to the in's and outs of work in france, this is the bible. the french labor code.

-- thents to the text text, emmanuel macron on planned to reform this past april, but has been faced by months of protesters. he decided to go another route. he packaged his reforms as by the cabinet and signed by the president, they just need to be published publicly to be applied. so how macron has enacted reforms is part of what has his opposition up in arms. >> if one can govern against the people, they can put something in place that has not been approved. they can push aside the parliament to pass labor reforms. this is important. what exactly has the macron government changed, and how will it affect workers? some of the main alterations include putting a one year time

limit and a financial cap on damages. if a worker is wrongfully sacked, another big change. a boost of 25% in how much an employee receives as severance pay. and a reform that will make it easier for international companies to fire people for economic reasons. businesses now only have to prove losses in france to rollout layoffs, even if the company is profitable abroad. molly: emmanuel macron is expected to sign these decrees in the coming hour. i am joined here now by our labor law specialist and part her with -- partner with labor law firm. we have seen these measures, these decrees and they have really divided public opinion. we have some say that they will help france competitiveness, but failed to improve workers'

conditions. what do you make of the reforms? >> i think the most important thing in the label reform is the ability to sign agreements on a company level, when you do not have any unions. until now, employers and employees have had take advantage of -- no ability to the -- advantage of the flex ability of the law. this will definitely change a lot of things. molly: you have the current labor reform, thousands of pages said it isome have too complex. some are saying that this leads to much to interpretation and that it will, down the line, lead to confusion. what do you make of that? >> i am not sure about that. look, the main are about the ability to cap damages, for ability to employees to get higher separate -- severance and

damages. ,nd as far as the implications it depends on what we, the unions, and employees want to do on the company level. molly: when looking at one of the key aspects, how to hire and fire, many employers say that penalties are too high when you want to let an employee go. how does this impact the law moving or were? -- forward? >> it was very expensive. you could get damages very, very high from the labor courts. when you are an employer, it would be very difficult. let me give you one example. if you had three years of service and a company, instead of getting six months, you would get three months. in a company with more than 10 people. what does that mean? it means employers wilma longer

be afraid to hire people because they will know that if for some system is being abused by the court, they will ing three months only, and we will reduce the high unemployment rate we still have. 9% of french people are and 25% of young people are unemployed so far. andy: we have unions leftist groups saying they are not giving up the fact -- giving up, despite this is being signed today. they are not giving up, they will charge forward with the resistance. where you think we will see future ports of contention? >> everybody can protest, is a constitutional right. think they will protest. but in my view, and will not change. again, there is no surprise in this ordinance. -- of macron.

speaking, are there any areas where we can see actual protest against in the court of law? wrecks -- >> there are still some aspects of the law that will end in negotiation. for instance, how many employee representatives will we have in the emerged employee representative body? there is something that the unions that the unions are very attentive about. we will see. so far, you are not in a position to merge. we are expecting a decrease. so yes, there will be still some positives for unions to explain their position, and for the government to take advantage and to listen to what the unions want to say. we will see. .olly: indeed we will as many say, this is not yet over, but we are waiting for him to sign these degrees today.

-- decrees today. thank you very much. korea and to north warnings of a possible hydrogen bomb test in the pacific ocean. that is the latest from the country, as the foreign minister says pyongyang is considering exploding the powerful weapon. this is the latest in rising tensions between leaders of north korea and the united states. alexander all caught has the story. >> hitting back at donald trump, north korea's pink lady delivered a statement on behalf of kim jong-un. the u.s. president announced even tougher economic sanctions on north korea. kim called trump mentally deranged, and promised the st possible countermeasures. the foreign minister indicated what that might be. >> i think it could be an h-bomb test at an unprecedented level, perhaps over the pacific. >> alarmed by the prospect,

south korea called on its neighbor to stop its provocations and begin deeply -- denuclearization talks, one china said it would not accepted a wmd flying over its territory. >> if they decided to conduct a hydrogen bomb chest -- test in , based on previous tests we cannot deny the possibility if they may fly over our country. these actions cannot be tolerated. >> meanwhile, pyongyang's closest ally and key training partner china called upon the u.s. and north korea to exercise restraint and stay committed to alleviating tensions instead of irritating each other. only when thethat relevant parties show their due responsibility and meet each can we really solve the korean peninsula issue and truly realize peace and stability.

>> the foreign ministries spokesperson also said that u.s. president donald trump's announcement, that beijing to stopchinese banks dealing with north korea, is not consistent with the facts, but --e no in relation information on what steps china is taking. molly: in mexico, rescue teams are working nonstop to trap -- find people trapped in the rubble. areeast 273 people confirmed dead. more than 200 people are still missing in the capital, mexico city. clock to against the find survivors as a death toll of the mexican earthquake continues to rise. time is of the essence to find anyone still stuck under the rubble. the rescue missions are mostly coordinated by volunteers or have the same tired --, all have

the same tired expression on their faces. some have not set for days. provided byis is normal people, not by companies, but normal people. anybody who comes here wishing to help should be told that there are too many of us. i would advise them to stay home and rest, and then come and take over at night, becaususe this is going to be a long haul. volunteers and rescue workers have been searching relentlessly for days following magnitude earthquake. hundreds are still missing, with the average survival time in these conditions approximately 72 hours. 28 people have already been pulled from this collapsed factory. for the moment, no reported deaths, but family members have complained that they are left without any information. >> the authorities are not facing up to the situations. there is no coordination, no information for the people. we do not even know what work

has to be done. we do not know anything. getting anyt information from the side of the collapse. there are practically -- there is practically no information at all. they only tell us when they get someone out. that is all they tell us. elite team of's rescuers, known as "the moles," are leading the rescue efforts. the team was formed in the wake of the devastating 1985 earthquake that killed up to 10,000 people. maria isxt, hurricane heading to the southeastern bahamas. now i category three storm, maria has killed at least 32 people and devastated several small islands, including dominica and the u.s. virgin islands. 15 people died in puerto rico after maria made landfall as a category four storm on wednesday. millions of people there lost power. this as dangerous floods turned

roads into waterways. this is what some residents had to say. ,> of the little i had everything is broken. also, i asked the government to -- ourr us and not houses again, because it will make more work for us than we already have. what will we pay with everything is lost? holmes, the crops are lost, and we do not know what to do. i'm not know what to do, or what the government will do with us. to a rock now.ed this is where forces have launched an offensive to drive the islamic state group out of the region. situated north of baghdad, this is one of the last pockets of resistance held by the group. iraqi authorities say two dozen villagers in the area have already been captured. this ethnically divided kurdish city, preparations were overshadowed by the disputes between baghdad

and iraqi-kurdish leaders over their plans to hold an independent referenda and -- referendum in the city and surrounding areas. >> this is the center of the and thebetween baghdad state over the referendum going ahead as planned. this is also a disputed region -- thisbaghdad referendum never took place, so the uncertainty over here cook's s status isirkuk' uncertain. the we were told is that people here are being caught up in the spite between baghdad and they want to have a

dialogue with all of the communities in kirkuk to talk about the part of their future, whether they want to be part of iraq, part of kurdistan, or their own independent region. not happen in the referendum goes ahead, there is a real risk that there may be a conflict between kurdistan and iraq, and that kirkuk, the the issue between the governments, might be at the center of the violence. there is a lot of fear and uncertainty over the future, and a lot of anticipation of what will happen over the next few days. in with theing headlines, emmanuel macron's french labor reform set to be signed into law. a possibleints of hydrogen bomb test over the pacific ocean. and the looming referendum in uk andovince of kirk

between the federal government and baghdad. time for a business update. we are joined here by brian quinn. ryan, we will start off in london. that is where there has been a major legal blow to uber. brian: the city's main transport regulator says they will not renew the license after it expires on september 30, citing public safety and security concerns. listsort from london attaining medical certificates, the use of software known as "gravol," used by uber to identify and deny service to inrs if believed to be violation of the terms of use. the loss of this license will affect over 40,000 drivers and some 3.5 million passengers. to appealy intends

the decision immediately in court, and that one of -- london authorities have caved to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice. the iphone eight has made its debut, and it seems that some apple fans are lessened there is then they have been for some previous virgins -- less enthused then they have been for some previous versions. this is adding up to concern for apple as it looks to the iphone to keep revenues on track. >> the long-awaited day for these shoppers. finally able to did their hands on the -- get their hands on the new iphone eight as it launches in asia and australia this x.day ahead of the iphone >> i got the iphone eight before everyone else. .t is sprawling -- thrilling >> but not everyone is excited by apple's latest offering. anticipation and sales have been muted, with less social media

buzz than normal. this is likely to be customers holding out for the flagship act model, but poor reviews have also put a dampener on the eighth debut -- eight's debut. even some in the queue to buy it were disappointed. >> it is not much of an upgrade. it is a lack of innovation, it should be called seven s, not an eight. that is a disgrace to the name. leadserts say apple healthy iphone eight sales to meet its revenue predictions between $49 billion and $52 billion for the current quarter. sales need to increase from last year by 4%. next quarter's more significant. holiday shopping season. analysts expect the tech giant to top revenue from last year. brian: time for a check on the market. european indexes gaining in uprsday training, the dax

3/10 as the latest survey of purchasing managers in europe privatee french sector and german factory activity growing at their fastest paces in six years. shares of l'oreal fell 4% after witheath of the eris, concern that nestle could take a majority share in the company. let's take a look at more of today's top business headlines. knowing says turkish airlines plans to order 40 of its 77 dreamliner airplanes. the deal would be valued at nearly $11 billion at current boeing prices. it comes as turkish airlines looks to boost its fleet to demand for widebodied planes. they hope to increase production a month and 2019. this chinese search engine leader will invest in nearly 100 of thomas driving projects in the next three years. this is a larger plan by baidu

to compete with american firms in these sectors. and hewlett-packard enterprise plans to cut at least five thousand jobs. bloomberg reporting the company will reduce its global workforce of 50,000 by 10% as it seeks to cut costs amid rising competition. lay-ups are expected to start before year's end. the chief financial officer said the company is looking to save $1.5 billion over the next four years. now finally for business, a story of sports and gambling, not necessarily together. madrid star cristiano rinaldo said he has partnered with a thatspace online brokerage focuses on small retells investors -- retail investors. they can bet with as much as 500 times the money they actually have. while that means gains can be

higher, so can losses. studies report small investors lose money over 80% of the time on such bets. regulators are thinking about eu wide regulations to rail them in. plenty of other stars also have promotional arraignments -- arrangements with these investment systems. however, some say using sports to advertise these times of -- kind of services is a good way to target people with gambling problems. not necessarily the most ethical. molly: 500 times the amount of money that you have in your pocket. brian: they are not usually using that -- losing that much. molly: but that is painful either way. it is time now for our press review. ♪ by joined here in the studio our reporter to have a look at what is driving headlines around the world. we will start with the war

of words between the united states and north korea. >> a war of actions that keeps escalating between donald trump and kim jong-un. now, donald trump is announced new punishing economic sanctions on north korea, and the north korean leader reacted pretty angrily. he threatens to test and h-bomb in the pacific, and took a swipe a donald trump, calling him "mentally deranged u.s. dough tart." dotard." now what does that mean you go -- mean? the dictionary, they were quite helpful. a dough tart is a president to his and mental decline. molly: and they have a different

spin on things. >> it is interesting to look at the conservative press, because they already have a -- they always have a different spin on things. they are framing this in terms of donald trump major diplomatic victory. he managed to persuade china to freeze all financial connections with north korea. they hail what is called his "tightening of the screws", which archers and more international pressure. let's move on to germany, where they have key elections coming this sunday. angela merkel is that to win the win, and march -- set to the poll and march into her fourth term. >> but this will not be easy. that is the message we are getting. a german vote with high-stakes for europe, merkel's center-right party might win,

but they will have to form a coalition and this will be tricky because depending on the votes, she might have to form a coalition with a party that pushes for a more hawkish foreign policy, or she might find yourself having to govern with somebody who does not necessarily share her pro-europe vision. so it is complicated. this is according to "the independent." and there is an article from the times of india, one that calls merkel germany's "guardian." she has helped germany experience economic growth at a time when the rest of the area is struggling. but cross from germany to new zealand, and we have the kiwi scaling up for their -- kiwi is gearing up for their national election. has been an entertaining and surprising electoral campaign, least of all because of one woman.

she has blossomed as a leader of the labour party. a youthful, dynamic candidate that has many rendering if the trudeau-macron affect might also spread to new zealand. according to one writer from the herald, she may -- she has created hope on the left that the prospect of a labor leader is not a matter of if, but when. looked like she might win the elections that one point, but that appears to be slipping away. >> according to the last-minute polls. her momentum seems to have swung back and favor on the incumbent conservative leader, bill english. as the guardian reports, one of the reasons could be that voters are opting for the safe option, and bill english is the status quo. he is a career politician, and toher and see -- end seemed green, too untested for kiwi voters. their key occupations are health, housing, and it seems like bill english is a safer

option. for the moment, it could swing either way. we will wait and see. molly: know what happened with the government in togo, shut down the internet? that youngpened is people started mobilizing between togo's president. so the government shut off the internet, and politics aside the -- is fascinating, showing how dependent we have come on the internet. first came the confusion, then the denial, and then the fear about what they would do because they had no internet. shockingly, people stopped going out, drinking, and having sex because in togo, a country of sexual freedom, young people are so dependent on the internet for their hookups and casual sex partners. on the flipside, productivity wasocketed because there nothing else to do. people started having ,onversations, reading again

life returned pretty much to the way it was 20 years ago. sometimes, that is not such a bad thing. molly: interesting stuff. thank you for everything. you can head to our

>> my name is philippe vergne. i am the d