molly: welcome to the "france 24" newsroom. here is a look at the headlines we are following. a breakthrough. written and the e.u. finally agree to the divorce terms, paving the way for phase two of negotiations. lebanon's prime minister, saad hariri, is back in paris. a bid to shore up beirut's political stability. fierce wildfires prompt

major evacuations in the u.s. state of california. 200,000 people forced to flee their homes. ♪ ♪ molly: we do start with the latest movement in the brexit negotiations. it was a long night for british prime minister theresa may, after back and forth phone calls with irish and e.u. leaders. she took a last-minute flight to brussels to announce that the deadlock has been broken. says enoughmission progress has been made to move on to phase two. >> i believe we have now made .he breakthrough with this as in any negotiation, both sides have to listen to each position,ust their

and show a willingness to compromise. this was a difficult negotiation for the european union, as well as for the united kingdom. sufficient progress has now been made on the terms of the divorce. molly: jean-claude juncker, president of the e.u. commission, speaking on the so-called divorce. what exactly are the terms? citizens rights, a major issue. a guarantee meant the rights of citizens living in the u.k. and one million britons in your country -- in e.u. countries. between ireland and northern ireland, there will be no hard order. irish citizens maintain e.u. citizenship. e.u. prime minister said this a necessary step in the right direction. the main question is the cost of the divorce. they say they have agreed on a

theodology to reach financial settlement, but no price tag has been agreed on yet. let's bring in duncan woodside, london.s us live from one major sticking point has ireland,and, northern and this whole issue of borders. it's take a listen to what the british prime minister had to say on the matter today. may: we will work to achieve the trading relationship between the u.k. and european union that we want to see, that we believe will also be a good trading relationship for northern ireland. if that is not the case, we will look for a specific solution to what are the unique circumstances of northern ireland. but i am confident that we can, in negotiating the future trade relationship -- we can ensure that we both have a hard -- we will not have a hard border in

northern ireland, but will maintain the integrity of the single market of united kingdom. molly: theresa may speaking there. duncan, what should we make of this? sayiying no hard bordeder in ireland. duncan: it is quite difficult to make sense of this for a lot of people. obviously, theresa may has given that major concession to the irish government, saying there will be no hard border. that was a key demand of the irish government. at the same time, it seems she has placated the democratic unionist party, the main party inin northern ireland. she depends on that party for support in parliament, because she has a minority government. what made the democratic unionist party come on board in effect is a pledge that there would be no new regulatory barriers emerging between northern ireland and the british mainland itself, and the result of brexit. it seems theresa may has been trying to give all thanks to all

people, trying to please everyone. of course, there is a question here. if northern ireland are happy, if the republic of ireland are happy in terms of the border situation for now, that begs the question, where exactly will that border go? at some point, that issue, that big question, will have to be addressed. now, it seems it will have to be addressed during the trade negotiations rather than during the divorce settlement. molly: duncan, coming up at -- and wethe u.k. have the flurry of activity and talks overnight. what sort of reactions are we seeing now today? duncan: we are seeing very diversion reactions across the political spectrum. i think what is that for now the tory breaks appears -- brexiteers who want a hard brexit within the government conservative party seem to be lining up behind the prime minister to offer their support.

brexiteer,on, a key the foreign secretary, congratulated theresa may on this deal. to michael gove, considered be the brains behind the brexit campaign -- he is the environment secretary. he has also been singing the praises of the deal. what is important down the line is whether the conservative mp's, those outside the cabinet, those hard brexiteers, can be brought along for this ride. they are going to have a lot of doubts about concessions that have been made, including on e.u. citizens' rights and the role of the european court of justice. molly: duncan woodside reported from london. we did hear from the european council president, donald tusk, saying the hardest part was still yet to come. more from our european affairs editor, kent nicholson, with more on the tougher negotiations down the road. key sticking areas.

paying to settle accounts was a huge issue and seems to have faded into the background. it seems more or less agreed it is going to be between 45 billion euros and 55 billion euros. we have not really talked about that the next few days. we have talked about citizens rights. there are about 5 million people who are either e.u. citizens in the u.k. or u.k. citizens living in the e.u. there has been a lot of talk about how their votes -- their rights are being guaranteed. the last person in the chain of speeches and statements giving a lot of detail about how these people were in the u.k. currently, french, bulgarian, whatever passport -- they are going to be able to stay there, able to live there, claimed health care, pensions, social security, for personal qualifications. if you are a nurse in bulgaria, you will still be able to be a nurse in the u.k., that sort of thing. we know the real tricky one of issue of has been the

ireland, specifically the relationship between northern ireland and the republic of ireland. nobody wants to see a hard border. that is what we are hearing from all quarters. however, how is that going to work if the u.k. leaves the customs union and they are a different customs arrangement to be dealt with? you are talking about moving to the second phase. there has been some kind of a resolution on the island issue, and we have some quite lowly y wording in the joint report by the commission, saying everybody is going to try to safeguard principally the peace process in northern ireland, which has been in place 20 years. a major plank of that was removing the border. however, there is no detail on exactly how this is going to work. the wording in this document is woolly. it leaves the door open to specific circumstances for which there will be a unique solution. what does that mean? nobody knows. they are going to find out what those circumstances are as they come up against them.

that second phase is going to be a specific -- on the island issue, phase two, a lot of talk about the relationship between the e.u. and u.k.. it is a trade issue, that border. the irish issue will be given a specific highlight and focus during phase two, which we are assuming will be rubberstamped next week. molly: that was our european affairs editor, catherine nicholson, with the latest on the situation concerning the brexit negotiations. not to an update on the situation out of jerusalem. the images you saw a moment ago in the corner of your screen, that indeed from ramallah. israeli security officials have deployed extra troops as the region is bracing for unrest this friday. we did see clashes rocked in the occupied west bank on thursday. in gaza, demonstrators set fire to posters of u.s. president donald trump, as well as to the

american and israeli flags. these protests you are seeing continue into this friday, as we have had the palestinian group hamas calling for "days of rage." prompted byts donald's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. we will bring you more on the situation on the ground a little later on in the program. next, to a bid to secure lebanon's stability.y. that was a goal of a meeting in paris held this friday. we saw major powers try to issue a warning to saudi arabia and iran to stop interfering in beirut's politics. they are also urging hezbollah to rein in regional activities. last month, lebanon plunged into crisis when saad hariri resigned under unusual circumstances while in saudi arabia. just this week, he rescinded that resignation.

representatives from the united states, united nations, and france are calling for all lebanese parties to implement an association policy. showed how much the international community values lebanon's stability. it was also possible to judge the will of the lebanese people to protect their country from the surrounding regional conflicts. indeed, all of lebanon's political parties have reaffirmed their commitment to respect the principle of distinguishing regional conflicts from their policy of not interference -- noninterference in the affairs of arab countries. stability is not just votto for inhabitants. it is for the entire region, which already has been deeply

affected by the violence of these conflicts. protected frombe these crises, it is vital that all of the lebanese and regional parties respect the fundamental principle of noninterference. recent events have shown the involvement of lebanese armed groups in the ongoing clashes cannot continue without exposing lebanon and its component parts to collateral damage. molly: french president emmanuel macron along with lebanese president saad hariri, speaking this friday. emergency evacuations have spread in the u.s. state of california. 200,000 people forced to flee their homes, due to wildfires. the flames have been raging in the south of the state for the past four days. hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and many los angeles area schools closed. our correspondent reports. reporter: california

firefighters struggled to contain blazes as powerful winds from the north pushed the flames 200 kilometers south, to san diego county. many highways remain closed and hundreds of schools shuttered. 200 30,000 people in los angeles and ventura counties have been forced to evacuate their homes since devastating wildfires broke out on monday. most of them do not know when they can return. >> i thought we were done yesterday. we evacuated the night before last. we came home and a fire was down that direction. was a lullg, there of fire reporter: over here. reporter:since the start of the week, california has endured hurricane-force winds of up to 130 kilometers per hour. the mayor of los angeles warned residents to stay in high alert. mayor: these conditions combined with the heat that has come into the area -- the dryness, the

amount some areas have not burned, makes this a dangerous environment. even as you see inroads being made, they're going to have an abundance of caution. reporter: this has been california's deadliest year ever for wildfires. in october, 43 people lost their lives and 10,000 hectares were destroyed north of san francisco. molly: four more you can head to francei-4.com. here in france, the festival of lights kicked off on thursday. throughout the weekend, dozens of luminous art installations will light up buildings, squares, and streets in the city. take a look. as the sun went down the city lit up. but this is no ordinary night. this is s the beginning g of the stival of f lights. ,very inch of the ancient city

transfsformed. >> it is a wininter wonderlandn. it is magic. we wanted to come here from years. we have come all the way from brittany to see the city of lights. it is like a fairytale. festival hasn's been going more than 160 years. itit started as a celebration of the ststatue of the virgin mary. since then, candles have been replaced by l.e.d.'s. for four nights a year, international artists take over the city, creating light installations in public spaces. the festival has to be canceled -- had to be canceled in 2015 after attacks on paris. thisis year, the crowds are bac. >> with everything that has happened in the last few years, there are even more security measures. there is no need to be worried about going into town. it is trtraditional l for us too out like this, and we mustn't lolose that. reporter: 1.5 thousand police

officers are out this weekend, allowing the city to focus on lighting up. molly: it is time now for a busineness update. byare joined in the studio brian quinn. i imagine we are going to be talking all things brexit. walk us through -- how are we seeing markets react to this, let's say, and of the first phase of talks? brian: the european indexes seeing a slulump on the news. it is one of the key hurdles to a future trade relationship, now cleared between the u.k. and e.u.. banking shares rising on news is you u.s. regulators have reached an agreement over capital requirements and risk measurement. almostnkfurt dax rising one point 3% by midday. the ftse 100 lagging a bit. the ftse is being held back a

bit by strengthening crown sterling. it picked up some value as news of the deal broke. but markets are also remaining cautious. investors noting that while this stage is clear, it is by no means game over. there are plenty of variables still at play as a trade deal is negotiated over the coming year. >> the next few months, we will see far more analysis of what the effects of the u.k. being outside of europe will be. for instance, one example will be just in time manufacturing. how is that going to have to change with customs posts set up across the e.u., with border posts that will require documentation? that will change the way the manufacturing u.k. operates. brian: the concorde took its last flight 14 years ago, but one u.s. company is putting supersonic travel back into the spotlight, with an airplane they say will take you from london to the big apple in three hours.

reporter: faster, quieter, and more affordable than the concorde? that is the promise of denver-based startup supersonic, which has built an aircraft twice as fast as traditional planes. on tuesday, japan airline said it was i investing in these startup. they have already ordered 20 airplanes. they are 175 million euros each. they are more efficient than the concorde, with better fuel efficiency. the c concorde was never abableo recover after one of the paris-new york flights crashed on takeoff in 2000, killing more than 1000 people. 17 years on, aircraft expxperts say they are s skeptical about these ambitions. extremely ambitious task. this is not the first time we have seen n a manufacturer teamp with a start up to try to build

a plane like this. we have not seen any manufacturers successfully embark on this kind of project on their own. boone says it will start running test flights next year, and hopes to enter commercial service by the mid-2020's. look at more business headlines. european regulators are urging the vatican ii prosecute money-laundering cases. the european financial watchdog said friday the vatican has made good progress investigating corruption, embezzlement, and abuse of office, b but it has nt been matched by legal action. pope francis made rooting out corruption a priority since his election, that he faced numerous obstacles in that effort. holcimmer ceo of lafarge has been placed under formal investigation. during thewas ceo time the construction firm allegedly paid of militants from

the islamic state group so the company's factory in syria could continue to operate. three other former lafarge officials were charged in the case last week. the philippines is seeking the return of roughly $59 million to fi based -- from sanof on a faulty vaccine. related toys no deaths the vaccine have officially been reported. business changes in the marketplace could have a major effect on how w we all eat. tyson foods is the u.s.'s largest animal meat processor, but it just raised its investment in plant-based protein maker "beyond meet," like vegetableat- likees in major groceries safeway. as of january,y, it's burgrgerse so be on thehe r restaurant menu at tgi friday's.

-- toforecast to eat reach $2.2 billion in sales. having a bit of a moment, the plant-based meat industry. molly: good to see. it is time now for our press review. studioined here in the for a look at what is grabbing headlines. we are going to start off with the continued reaction to u.s. president donald trump's decision to recognize jerusalem as israel's capital. paper focuses on a call by the gaza strip militant hamas rulers. they called for a new intifada, which is an uprising in response to this decision by president trump. this would be the third intifada or uprising. you can see it on the front page. the lebanese paper says this has

been laid out. what are the actors going to do? this cartoon shows it does not bode well for the peace deal in that region. you can see the united states and israel here pointing a gun at the peace dove. inwe look a at another cartoon "the new york times," it is also focusing on the fact this does not bode well for the peace deal. trumpthe table, donald clearly on the israeli side, saying, now peace. molly: what pushed donald trump to break nearly 70 years of american foreign-policy with this decision? it --ce: "ha'aretz "ha'aretz" says look at the image of the president. there is a huge christmas tree behind him. while the american jewish community has been split on whether to recognize jerusalem as the capital, evangelical christians in the united states have been very uniform in their

hope it would be jerusalem. they supported this move and they lobbied for it. manyretz" points out that of these evangelical christians see it as a biblical imperative that apparently would move the world closer to armageddon. it says, will this bring armageddon? ring it on. ha'aretz" calls this a poisoned gift from trump that is moving israel further from what "ha'aretz" believes is the only possible solution -- a two state solution. states,n the united democratic minnesota governor al franken has announced he is resigning after accusations of sexual harassment. florence: the washington post examined what happened behind of the democratic party. why did the democrats decide franken had to go? franken is very popular amongst democrats. the washington post points out that democrats are eager to draw what it calls a bright moral contrast with the republican party, and particularly

president trump, who has also been accused of sexual harassment in the past, and bragged about it on tape. president trump drew a lot of attention this week by endorsing alabama republican senate candidate roy moore. you might remember that roy moore has been accused of sexual harassment by women as well, including women who were minors at the time. the contrast between what the republicans are doing and what the democrats are doing with al franken is what is getting a lot of attention in the u.s. media. if you look at the conservative paper "the wall street journal," they are talking about how the democrats have created what they nightmare, anmoore mix of names. according to the conservative paper, it is time for the presidency to protect itself and disown moore. molly: in france, you have papers focusing on the 30th anniversary of a tv charity that raises money for rare genetic diseases. florence: it is called the peloton, a --

television marathon. it is 30 hours of nonstop live television on the public broadcaster. it kicks off tonight. apparently, it is the longest tv show in the world. teleton tribute to the of has raised millions fors, franks, in research rarere genetic diseases. it has really given a boost to medical research. could this year's teleton be tricky because of the national ceremony tomorrow in honor of johnny hallyday. florence: his passing has been a major story in france. that could be hard to understand because he is not famous outside of france. if you want to know why french people love johnny, there is a special report on why we love

him so much. yesterday, french authorities said they will pay a national en toche! -- a national homage the rockstar. there was a thought that he might get a state funeral, and honor usually reserved for french heroes. the prince there's the french presidency stopped short of that and invented a new ceremony for him, called a popular homage. thousands of people are expected to flock to this spectacle on the iconic shamsul is a. ps elysee.nic cham there will be a ceremony at a church in the middle of paris. i will be there to bring you the details. molly: in france, it is -- middlefor medical school students to get experience in the working world. florence: it is during the equivalent of the freshman year, but you are still in middle school in france. you are about 14 years old.

it usually takes place in december or february, and it is a right of passage. there is advice for these new interns.

miranda: to manyny outsiders, culture in los angeles is something that begins and ends with the movies, but the city has always been home to radical voices and new ideas that have stirred things up, in art, in literature, in architecture, and urban lifefe. in recenent years, the city's artistic profile has grown bigger and brighter with new cultural institutio, , new proaoaches to art, and new ways of thinking about the landscape. join me as we hit some of the city's most important cultural nerve centers. i'm carolina miranda, culture writer for the "los angeles times," and this is "arartbound." woman: los angeles is an infinitely inspiring city. it feels like you can just explore