it was the life of her some france24 on. the top stories this hour. iran sends in la closest to crash anti government protests with ministry to declaring the unrest of us state television plays position people marching. in front regime rallies. even write scripts welcome toto s surprise me byy ethia thisis is as you will freree thousasands of p pitical prisoners journalist. is an activist are among those audience. and the palestinians accuse donald trump may let's see friends describe millions of dollars in funding unless

from all agrees to resume peace talks with israel. we begin in iran where a week of the anti government protests erupted across the country a thirty say it's all of us state television has been airing footage of people marching in support of the regime. with the head of iran's revolutionary guards declaring the momovement defeated official biggest kind twenty o one people died in the unrest that was civic restrictions on reporting and on social media sites. it is difficult to know exactly what is happening under the has will discovery. the romanians shouting god is great. and denouncing t e united states. on wednesdayy run state television aired live images of pro government rallies across the country. they say the rallies were held to protest the violence

seen in anti government protests over the past week. was unclear whether the gatherings were spontaneous or organized authorities. what is sure is the images are stark contrast what's in seen over the past three nights? gunshots and people being dragged to safety. amateur footage cleaning to show the latest demonstration in the province of the southern by john. iran sipping leaders spoke out for the first time on tuesday. letting the protests on foreign enemies who see to destabilize country. had a look at what's been happening in the past few days or those who are against the islamic republic those with money or in positions of power. those with weaeapons and intelligence. very good about that joining hands so they can smoke chaos in the islamic republicic we is the who handed over the phone wawas. on. the e biggest protests in te countryy since two t thousad ninineegan last thursdaday n second city of mashhad.

other comomplaints against e nation's weak economy and a sudden rise in food prices. it now spread nationwide and become increasingly deadly. i had attack runs revolutionary court one that is violence grows solutions for demonstrators will get heavier. intekron alone hundreds of people have been arrested in some could face the death penalty. more then i'm joined by sam's friends out i et a professor of mine state university and the author of a quest for authority in iran the presidency for revolution to re hadi thank you for being with us. on france24 tonight at is this the end of this protest movement the biggest threat to the regime in a decade. well is down. the protests appepeed live quieten down and it's. the momentum appears to have the answer shift in the way and the world we seoul today many cities walls a repeat of. what we saw in other instances of protests

in nineteen ninety nine and in two thousand nine? thee authorities a. trying to r recapture contrl of the streets of the stream through a. major rallies. in which. their goals reporter isn't also. and government employees and more participated. and i nevertheless these rallies. and provided a as souls of. cosmetic i if you ng. and tatakes the proros and e ownened gold. far inn. in meeting the grievances of the people in protest at in in over as seventy eveningg in cities o on thee establblishment from presidt rule on you all who is still has to show. signs all needing an addressing these grievances in a more concrete way. now the official and the figures

which come from the regime all the twenty one people were killed in a crackdown on protests. how accurate all those figures given a the restrictions on reporting inside iran will we ever really know what happens? as the golden tell the a this is what happened to thousand lines well. that's one thousand anecdotal evidence of the dance came out and then progressively biographical details. at all those killed the emerge as well from the internet and that's happening to them twenty an. and and this time around as well we have some photographs we have some details on all the people that of was you some of them appeared on the very young. teenagers. and and the i think it will take a considerable time and usually the families the relatives of those killed happen the initiative on th.

island form. the wider. public all now on whether as their loved ones had and he died. and that i'm all the circumstances are so i don't think we'll have a clear sadistic or not because of his ex in the in a shorter amount that you can friendse continual. resuming business size and who wrong. and because of course they are looking for stability and the. decides either we can debate whether these protests were participate. as large and small amounts of of people they arere in e case and if you w want of instability in iran. . and n

the eyes of all of the west anand bususiness addresses o they might be reluctance more reluctant to engage with a long. and they will of course wait to see what the next measures on the white house's and went on from will slap more sanctions on iran as a consequence of these protests and of course some problems very erratic. as i'm talking blake so att the knees factors in mind the pe countries this hopelessness it's a surprise move in a country that is ofoften criticized byy rights groups was starting to sense. prime minister heidi marry amd's

sally s says he's also causg and a tourist d detention cecenter where peoplple are allegedly tortures. is not clear when the prisoners will be released for more that i'm joined by felix horne he's the easier if you have sent jack human rights watch thank you for being with us tonight. at. would you say the government in ethiopia has suddenly decided to do this now. well it i is a very good question. i mean i think there's there's lots of. lots of unrest lots of protest over the last two years. and is getting to zero the crisis stage i think we in any other groups of the question a government the take sort of drastic steps to to release political prisoners to show. that they are willing to engage in political dialogue and open up political say so i hope that is the reason why is because. now the the ruling coalition anything of his way to powerful for twenty five years now and can we expect that this might lead to. more opening up the more human rights in the country.

well i think that's the question anynyone the key isissues about the house and today is how.. so there are manany thousans of political prisoners in ethiopiaia. will be released o or w wit be the sort of the higigh profile politicians easasier under pressure to releasasef the internationanal communi. obseserving whatt will be ky in the coming w wks terms of whether this is sort of a shshift in direction from te paparty. is how m many polil prisoners arere released and rights r reforms that are to be a key and h housing is vy clear that these announcements other positive are not able is largely a repressive authoritaririan government into righthts specting what. it is a there is a positive step in the. right direction what with the international community was put more pressure on easier if you had a country's a close ally hear aboutut ethiopia a gret

deal in that he's doing. no we e don't and i i think that's one off our on sendig criticisms is b bause he i s such an i important ally. to ththe wesest o of the west e he refrains f from criticism these public criticism. it t ll be seseen ass at ta pupublic criticism can actually h have a positive.f you look a at some of the te reforms a limited reforms of come about the last f few years itsts been after us or strorong public crititicism. ethiopia's relationships the west. development and security on peacekeeping all requires stability inside ethiopia as as in the out the passages either of his allies to ensure that stability is maintained. by unofficial increases actor human rights and our voices is a powerful one and that includes utilities to make these reforms. felix on thank you very much indeed. now palestinians are accusing donald trump of blackmail of he threatened to cut off aid if they didn't return to peace talks with israel the united states is the most generous started to the palestinians giving around five hundred

million dollars every year. relations with ramallah are on the strain off to trump recognize jerusalem as israel's capital last month. we cannot be bought. senior palestinian officials were on moved by donald trump's threat to cut us aid to the palestinian authorit. aid that's worth more than three hundred million dollars annually. say that palestinians are not for sale. will not succumb to the act. these. president trump has the story. trump's attempts to strong arm palestinians back to the negotiating table appears to have backfired here in the palestinian territories. gaza's dominant islamist group hamas consider to terror groups body you and the u. s.. called for an end to the peace process altogether the mother that we hope this is a powerful message to the palestinian authority to stop the peace process withth the israeli enemy. a spokesmann for palestininn president mark what i said palestinians would only return to peace talks under the condition they can establish their own state. which includes the west bank east jerusalem and the gaza

strip. many people in the west bank in gaza rely on money from the u. s.. washington provide some three hundred million dollars to run programs in the disputed areas. but despite the risk some refugees in the camps say they'll continue fighting for their rights. yeah. he's many us presidents came before trump by kennedy and all this no one gave us all rights. we had our hands and we will never give it up. it. several israeli ministers voiced support for trump. further debating the rest of the region as a whole for a two state solution quickly fades. the other side of the seoul in relations between north and south korean out pyongyang has agreed to restore cross border communication with self the hotline which came through in order to close to two years ago is now back up and running this is north korea considers sending a delegation. to the winter olympic games in south korea later this month lex on

oracle has. a step towards improved relations between the two koreas as double a hotline we opens for the first time in two years. in his to be next month's winter olympics in the south this behind the flooring of the icy relationons. home so he can you do it kim jong un hahas given in orde. to open the pound moon gm hotline between the north and size. to contact south korea regarding a right time for talks. on sending a delegation to the p. on shine windsor olympics. in his new year's address kim jong extended an olive branch to the south say his country might take part in the competition. south korea's unification minister responded with an offer to hold higigh level talks with the nor. . at homee g gym pe house on the night of january. and has supported the latest statement. someone on the south korean government welcomes north korea's response to

yesterday's offered to restore the power. cation channel or move discuss practical affairs regarding yesterday's offered the whole south and north great seoul city on. while many are welcoming the move washington has questioned the motives of the north korean leader. who's been engaged in yet another war of words with the u. s. presidents donald trump in john and maybe try to drive a wedge of some sorts. between the two nations between our nation on the republic of korea i can assure you that that will not happen that will not occur. we are very skeptical of kim jong on sincerity and sitting down and having talks. despite the opening of the dialogue there is no guarantee the tensions with ease. repeated it happens i north and south korea to hold elections meetings in the past of often ended in recriminations and stalemat. in his initial help mumbai has been severely disrupted for second day because of protest bonn and is all the

country's lowest hospitality says that cools pelted buse. rail lines and shut and shopping centers they say please don't to protect them from an attack by hindu nationalists in the city of pain on monday. at least one has is being killed and fifteen injured often went to seoul elena back to the uk france and germany fight from paris is charles will apple cancelle. and a gust of wind of up to a hundred and seventy four columns as per hour has what it would have been severely disrupted. tens of thousands of people and how about electricity across and has more. phones scaffolding cost colors. until late flynt's. the reach of winter storm a little was felt throughout the french capital on wednesday. sixty percent of reporters a child at all airport were delayed while all parks will close over fears of falling trees. the awful tower was also closed because of the strong winds which reached a hundred

forty kilometers an hour. in northern france two hundred thousand homes were left without electricity. but the powerful winds didn't stop local residents from coming out to see the storm on its peak. policy so what are you able says opponent we know it's gonna cost them if that's the problem the seas rising. this is solid but when you see this it can let loose at any moment that seniors. but that's nature on. i leave here just on the main streets. ascham see it. it's too important. it's important see it's. it's so beautiful isn't it. beautiful but also deadly. a skier was killed in the french alps after a tree fell on him. at least fifteen others have been injured across the country. thousand was put on orange alert third a for warning levels fall several main roads were closed in the netherlands. don't be down on tuesday where repeal ireland and the

u. k.. the city of galway was one of the worst hit. major streets and shops was very flooded. and two thousand troops were deployed to assist with the response. was a of brown's resident emmanuel macron has announced plans for crackdown on so called fake news he says the spread of pulls information on social media poses a threat to democracy. michael recently criticized russian m media d in particular the tv channel russia today serving this information about him during his presidential campaign he says new legislation. will strengthen the role of france's media watchdogs. zanu favored religious with you can foregoing to make our legal framework of all of in order to protect them across like life from fake news. a draft law on the subjects will be introduced shortly. decline so you performing electoral campaigns online content will no longer have the same rules. courtesy has you know spreading fake news on

social networks simply requires thousands of dollars. and this can be done anonymously. so these platforms will be required to submits to increase transparency requirements. on all sponsor content. so that the identity of the sponsors can be made public. and also to limit the sums allocated to the contact ordinances you he. says it will. it statarted updates on database is usually has has had rise with since you had a child. stock markets absolutely a the question this one's a in europe is how are markets reacting. the implication of new regulations for the financial industry. well this says to instead of reforms in as if it to was set in motion motion after the two thousand a crisis. is not to provide more transparency to how and when assets are traded. there were concerns that this is costly but there hasn't been a reaction at the close in europe. remain in european in this is have all ended

the session higher with retail stocks leading the gains with the in london is up of by third percent while the dax in frankfort. finish the session up zero point eighty three percent attack out in paris at zero point eighty one percent. over on wallstreet u. s. stocks a rose who. and all time highs this wednesday continuing their sent from last year because it thousands of by a third percent. nasdaq up zero point seventy six percent and the s. and p. five hundred up by over half percent. french manufacturing sector was in very good health in twenty seventeen reading levels and hadn't seen since the turn of the millennium. this is according to the pmi manufacturing index which side strongest growth in seventeen years in december. one of these factors has been doing well is based in the southern city of toulouse. longer sector has thousands more. of all the merchandise produced in this factory. this is one of the bestsellers. an anti police dog collar made from organic materials

to which the company owes much of its recent succeces. yeah multiplied alternative that by full scale sounds wins the million euros. we hope these growth is little changing to innovation. innovation and research represent ten percent of the company's yearly turnover. an there especially crucial to attract foreign clients. this we colors are headed the south africa. one of thirty countries in which there seoul. our your order books full right now. yes. is is how long has this been the case. we always have seasonal activity it's true that for the past few years older books have been full. many factories picking up and not just in france. a global trend that represents good news for the industrial sector at large according to t this economy. jim is. it impossible to please we've never seen a

fracture is with these kinds of profit margins. when the margins of t this high. businesses can start to invest and hire local say apple per year. of the one hundred and thirty five employees working in this factory ten were recruited last year. mostly on long term contracts. of my resume. on monday and stuff wednesday. the company hopes to hire some more in two thousand eighteen. and is even planning to open a subsidiary. in the united states. well there also some good figures coming out of germany this wednesday where the unemployment rate hit a record low in december. of this rate stands at five point five percent the lowest level since german reunification in nineteen ninety. all such of liver market is up with the successfully support the country's growth led by consumption rising exports and investment. head of the federal labor office explain the outlook for twenty eighteen. positive side having to find jobs for the million or so refugees

arrived in twenty fifteen and twenty sixteen. the decency and in the us is we expect yearly unemployment figures to full and we also expect a strong increase in work subject to social security payments. incisive refugee immigration this will affect unemployment somewhat but overall unemployment a jimmy will also full in two thousand. and the u. k. has reportedly started informal talks about joining the trans pacific partnership trade pact in a bid to help british exports afafter brexit. junior minister at the ministry of trade explain did the the financial times that there weren't any geographical restrictions the deal and that the u. k. could join the eleven members of the tpp. which include australia mexico and japan. lalast abt this a british trade minister lee in fox's spine that it's a. was too soon to seek memembership to the tv. we don't know what the successor to tv please go into yet look like. . becaue itit isnsn't yet negotiatedo

be a l little bitremature. for us to be willingng t to signgn up something that wee not sure what the final details will look like however we have said. that we will to be an open i would l look in country therefore it would be foolish for us to realize. any particular. comes for the future. some of the other stories making headlines in the world of business. another rival the big korea brutal world second second largest cryptocurrency by value. has reached an all time high on wednesday about two dollars and ninety cents ripples also the name of the company which creates the korean promotes it as a way for large enterprises and financial institutions. a quick international payments brutal has seen its value increased by a hundred twenty percent in the last week. and china could overtake japan as the world's biggest importer of natural gas and twenty eighteeeen accordingo analalysts. all the dating the anti pollution strategy in which coal is your place by gas for millions of households

and businesses. in twenty seventeen chime court sixty seven million tons of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas. that's twenty five percent more than a year earlier. and russia's gas exports to europe rose over eight percent last year reaching a record level of. cubic meters. is announced by the chairman of gazprom which has a monopoly over russia's gas pipelines europe. impressive performance in the face of rising competition from the five major natural gas from qatar. prince harry and meghan markle sweating on may nineteenth will be watched around the world. is likely to be a massive boost the british economy. in windsor where the wedding will take place locals and businesses are already getting ready for the potential financial windfall. longer center. the royal wedding that could be worth its weight in gold. in the picturesque town of windsor locals are eagerly awaiting the union between prince harry and meghan markle. as well as the

economic opportunities that it will bring. overall rating selected bug myself the self over cool. looking people of wins a a really realllly excited so we're looking forward to is going to be a massive boost to the holiday. according to a recent study the wedding could generates up to five hundred million pounds for the british economy. two hundred million from terrorism travel and hotels. a hundred and fifty million from parties and celebrations. three million from