♪ >> welcome to "france 24." time right now for 60 minutes roman numeral pure and i am genie godula. these are the headlines. north and south korea will hold their first peace talks in a decade. sanctions on nuclear north korea will not be eased for the sake of that summit. rex tillerson on a diplomatic in africa.sive the u.s. secretary of state trying to make up for derogatory comments made by president trump two months ago.

and we will bring you part three of our focus on lebanon this week with a look at how the thriving economy has pushed many working-class citizens out of beirut. hour -- is way this the u.s. and the eu heading war?d a trade the eu commission says it is ready to "fight back" if president trump carries out his threat to impose import duties. and the world's oldest message in a bottle washes up on a beach in australia. more on how old coming up, but first, our top stories. first, north and south korea have agreed to hold their first summit in more than a decade.

the two sides that are still officially at war will sit down next month, and north korean leader kim jong-un saying he willll stop nuclear tetesting dg the talks. they are also ready to talk about denuclearization with the u.s. that is the latest development in the relationship between washington and the north korean regime, one that has seen many twists and turns over the course of the trump presidency. we take a look back. >> >> in approaching the north korea, the trump administration has not exactly taken a typical path. kanishka bektash torkystani -- ump: these are obviouslyly tough people, and obviously he is a pretty tough cookie. u.s. president -- on a from aggressive position with the u.n. as the whole world watched on. pres. trump: the united states

has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself for its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy north korea. a suicide is on mission for himself and for his regime. >> months following has been a war of words, at times aggressive, at times bizarre with both insults thrown awa around in equal measure. trump's administration has since taken a more conciliatory approach. a key role for traditional diplomacy has taken occasion, a dialogue with the northern regime, and trump is said to welcome the inter-korean talks. neither side agreed to not hold sides agreed to withhold military drills during the olympics. news of the historic summit

between the two koreas in april has followed with pyongyang saying it is willing to discuss denuclearization with the u.s. negotiations may well depend on if south korea's president can keep both sides from producing insults and stick with the dialogue. genie: u.s. secretary of state rex tillerson has kicked off his weeklong visit to africa. it is his first trip to the continent since trump took office last year. it comes after the president reportedlyly called some african nations "shithole countries." tillerson will also be doing some damage control. let's go to johannesburg with johnhn strickland from the cartr center. thanks for taking ththe time wih us. john: good morning. i am at the university now, but i am delighted to speak with you. genie: john, how much is this

trip going to be about damage control, would you say? i i cannot see that i it will accocomplish thatt objective, if you see the way the state overallment progrgram announced it, tillerson is going to very few countries concentrating primarily on matters of counterterrorism and security, soso he is not going o places like south africa, ghana, tanzania, or a host of other countries, which i think are more viable long-term partners with the united states. there is a r real difference bebetween the way the u.s.s. is approachching africa and, say, china is approaching africa. genie: john, people are hoping rex tillerson will be able to give the countries where he is visiting what u.s. for policy really is in africa. does h he have a clear position? have athe u.s. does not

form policy toward africa. it does not have a formal secretary, and even n in places down here, there is not an ambassador. we have no idea what this governmentnt, the u.s.s. administration, thanks about africaca, beyond thehe commentso mentioned inin your opening remarkrks. we do know they are interested in counterterrorism, but they are intereststed in counterterrorism and a lot of places. happens of the band of insecurity is where tillerson is going, becausese this is the ony agenda they seem to be able to work on. genie: what kind of work might that be for the u.s. long-term? when you look at the relationship between china and africa, for example, it seems like china has almost scooped the u.u.s., so to speak, particularlyly when it comomes o trade. from of course it is, and an african perspective, i think the more foreign powers are being positive about working on

developing issues, infrfrastructure, health, agriculture,e, the kind of thins that france, great britain, or has been doing since the end ofof the cold war. very y difficult to figure out where thisis is going or wht itit even means, because he rarely's week with one voice -- they rarary speakak with one voice, and they contradict themselves a and even engaged in lying so often that it makes the rest of the world very confused. africa is no different in that regard. genie: john, thank you so much, john stremlau speaking to us from johannesburg. meanwhile, the african nation of sierra leone is votingng for the esesident this wednesday. there are 16 candidates in that race, dominated d by the struggling economy and the a bullet crisis -- the ebola crisis. let's go to "france 24's"

leeann. how is it going today? >> i am outside the polling station where the british mp, the head of the european union observer mission here, has just completed a media greeting, which has been going very smoothly. , andommended sierra leone many of them got some stations as early as midnight already. said that the commission itself has acted swiftly on a à la box that was tempered with on the east of the country. she said they move very swiftly to get those out of the circulation to the numbers on the ballot papers being given. she said polling stations opened on time as far as initial information is concerned.

things have been going rather smoothly for the day. there have been no major incidents, at least in the capital. it is very hot today, but people are standing in the qs, quite jovial. the one comment i found this people are saying you know what, this is our chance. we do not want to be the african country where things have gone awry again. ghana, neighboring liberia. leanne, it seems like young voters could be playing a pivotal role this time around. tell us more about that. leanne: young voters are playing a pivotal role. ,000 newe 600 young voters out of 3.1 million voters, so they will play a role.ularly pivotal the national coalition is saying "we are appealing to the young people and trying to break the

two-party system that we have seen since independence or co- ." we have seen in the last hour a media statement saying despite a vicious rumor on social media that a candidate has pulled out, it is not true, and it may be mischievous. they are appealing to the youth, saying they are providing jobs for them and getting the economy kick started once again. , -- l leanne: genie: leanne, take you for that. it is time for part three of our series this week focusing on lebanon. that country's capital is rapidly evolving with stability after years of conflict, bringing a spike in investment and while that may be good for the economy, it is driving beirut's 14 plus residents out with many calling for more regulation. our team in lebanon reports. >> from the sky, the lebanese capital is shiny and new. just read buildings have given

way to the wildest architectural projects. leave theon cranes dance, and property speculation is rife. it is the only fixture in which it is possible to invest in lebanon, and over 300 towers are currently being erected, though most will stay anti-. -- empty. >> there is an appetite from promoters and also from buyers for flats in beirut. it also came from ex-pats returning. there has been a slowdown. the prices have increased so much of the last decade that they are no longer incompatible with the budget of an average family. per squaree meter has surged, at least $6,000 in a building like this. people are moving to beirut's outskirts. just a few weeks ago, this was a working class neighborhood, known for its garages and artisan workshops. now our galleries and

restaurants have replaced them. this workshop was set up in 1975. >> of course the people are sad. the neighborhood has changed. the e social life that we had hs disappeared. character, the way people would interact with each other. the people who live here cannot afford to live anywhere else. >> it is the people who live the for years deserting area. the old buildings fall into the hands of property speculators. part of a collective founded during the local elections in 2016 to stand against what they say is poor governance. >> what is happening is collusion between a very dynamic private sector and politicians in the administration, laws and regulations. they implement and remove them as they please, to maximize their profit.

for years, property was a safe investment for lebanese fortune, but now it is on the decline. some will be trying to use this lull to save their city's soul. genie: now in paris in the wake of the me too movement, the french government is looking at genders to tackle inequality. new plans to end the gender pay groep over the next -- pay gap over the next three years. loss for sexual consent at 15 would mean sex with anyone under that age would be statutory rape. this after outcries regarding soso-called "consesen" sex x with 11-year-o-old girls. >> statutory rape, something that is not fit in french law. prosecutors must now prove there

is right, violence, or an element of surprise against the victim, implying the act was forced. now the government wants to create a minimum age of sexual consent and set it at 15th year this means children under that age will be considered victims of rape as they would be givelly unable to consent. this after two high-profile cases involved an 11-year-old girl. a man was acquitted of rape after a jury decided there was not enough evidence with current law. the parents accuse a 28-year-old man of raping their 11-year-old daughter. he insists the sex was consensual. deciding on a threshold age is not without its controversy. the judge's union says the new law should stay away from automatically convicting the adults, especially if their ages are not too far apart. inin the u.s., somome states use so-called romeo and juliet laws,

the provision that will protect young adults from sexual activity with teenagers while still upholding the principles of statutory rape. details of the new law will be unveiled march 21. genie: a lighter note for you now, and you may have thrown a message in a bottle out to sea in your life. i know i have with the hopes that someone might find it someday. well, the world's oldest message in a bottle has washed up onto an australian beach. it was found in january, and it has been put on display at the western australian museum yesterday. the bottle was found 132 years after it was first thrown overboard. the message features a form with the handwritten date of june 12, 1886, and the name of the german ship paul appeared it was actually a drift bottlee experiment from years ago from the naval -- german naval observatory. ."u are watching "france 24

nonorth and south korea set to hold her top level -- first peace talks in over a decade. sangin is s one of be eaeased fr the sake of the summit. -- tillerson is on a sanctions will not be eased for the sake of the summit. rex tillerson is on an african trek. election cycle focusing on the struggling economy in sierra leone and the ebola crisis. time now to check with stephen carroll. you will talk about the latest tension between the eu and the u.s. over trade. stephen: the eu says it will fight back against president trump and his terrorist on steel and aluminum. iffs on ststeel and aluminum.

catherine has the story. >> peanut butter a and cranbnbes could soon be hit with hefty duties into the european union. the eu says donald trump's proposed tariffs on steel and .luminum imports they have drawn up a list to counter that, while making sure none of the items harm their own industry. wethe president has said will do this very forcefully the last two days, but i do not want to speculate. i truly hope that this will not happen, because a trade war has no winners, but if it does happen, we will have to take measures to protect european workers -- european jobs for workers. >> trump has repeatedly argued that the u.s. has been taken advantage of by other countries for decades. he singled out the eu for

criticism. uninionump: the europeann has been particularly tough on the united states. they make it almost impossible for us to do business with them. >> trump has vowed to increase duties on europe and go ahead with the countermeasures. pres. trump: they can go ahead and do whatever they like, but if they do that, we put a big tax of 25% on their cars, and believe me, they will not be doing a very long. >> with this latest tit-for-tat, a transatlantic traits that seems more likely. the head of the international monetary fund is the latest to try to calm tensions, warning that nobody wins in a trade war. stephen: let's check out how the markets are reacting to all of that with fear of a trade war escalated among investors could last year, trump's top economic advisor resign. gary cohn is pro-trade and

anti-tariff and is seen as the market man in the white house. we have seen significant falls on asian shares. cohn's departure means it is more likely donald trump will impose those terrorists. -- tariffs. inton is nudging positive territory. carmakers are trading down. ehat is effective if tariffs ar introduced. genie: blackberry is suing facebook. stoleims that the company some of their technology. stephen: that is right, it says facebook used stuff that was created for blackberry messenger. facebook intends to fight the ' case affectsthe

thes state of blackberry business, claiming that since they are no longer innovating, they look to attack the innovations of others. it is gettingd out of the smartphone business to focus on cyber security. genie: next now, some movie news and the potential of the sale of harvey weinstein's production company. stephen: a company had tried to purchase the struggling company, which was founded by the now disgraced producer. it offered $500 million for its install a planned to majority female board of directors. the plan fell through. just to wrap up now, stephen, coca-cola is breaking with a 125-year tradition with its newest drink in japan. testing the company is out its first-ever alcoholic drink as it tries to cash in on the huge japanese market for alcopops. the "financial times" says the company will be experimenting with these kind of drinks.

has beenarket that growing steadily in japan, according to one company's estimates, as much as 25% a year since 2013. we will have to wait and see what it tastes like. genie: i had never heard of an alcopop. stephen: there are a lot around here usually hard alcohol mixed with soda. they have brighter colors. genie: thank you, stephen. it is time now for our press review. stay tuned. a huge defeat for football fans in paris, dheepthika laurent. eepthika: that is right. they are essentially out of the champions league, and the

spanish media is ecstatic -- you might even say less than gracious. a spanish sports paper says the european champion real them a run. they have eliminated the new money or nouveau riche of new york. paper, there is also a little bit of bitterness on the front of their front page, they say all that for that, noting that despite the "extraordinary recruitment of not players", they could once again pass the round of 60. football fans at our number one story is the talks between north korea and south korea, historic talks making headlines, obvioususly, n south korea.

dheepthika: this is the front page of the "korea times," looking forward to the inter-korea summit announced for late april. the two officials from north korea met with kim jong-un -- from south korea met with kim jong-un yesterday, and really hailed kim jong-il's "warm welcome" to the officials, who were able to visit the buildings that house his official quarters, inching closer and closer into the life of their neighbor. the paper does urge north korea to carry on the "post-olympic momentum of peace by considering denuclearization." genie: the u.s. press is a little more skeptical about why this may not be as hopeful as everyone seems to think. dheepthika: the "washington post" has a theory, looking at possible reasons for why north korea is suddenly interested in denuclearization. one is that there is a natural gas pipeline between russia and north korea that has been in the works in whihich russia would tt this pipeline

through north korea. so if the talks go well with ipe would p reactivate, and they would therefore have the protection of russia. genie: to the u.k., they are aflutter with speculation about these poisoning of a former -- the poisoning of a former russian spy and his daughter. dheepthika: the big question is who did it. russian president vladimir putin had previously vowed revenge on the spy and his daughter. you can draw the dots from this cartoon. you can draw the gods from this cartoon and kind of get an idea of who that image is the real message from vladimir eaton, as he said from time to time, is "it was not me, i had nothing to do with it." otheraily express" and british dailies are looking at the row between the u.k. and

russia. boris johnson, for instance, has threatened that british bmps, including prince william, could boycott russia should marco be responsible. genie: what about the russian press? dheepthika: when the story broke on tuesday, the russian press pretty much glazed over it until very late on tuesday when they started reacting to comments from the british press, pointing the finger at the kremlin feared the "moscow times," which is a paper seen as a bit more liberal, says "it is not surprising that moscow's hand is being pointed at here. it is up to the west to ditch the old cold war tactics of dealing with russia. if you want to change the way that they behave, you need to look at more modern tactics, like targeting kreremlin officis or leaking informamation that could be embarrassing for the kremlin." genie: belgium beginning to see the fruits of the movement in

the fight against sexual harassment. dheepthika: they pass anti-sexism loss back in 2014, well before the global backlash against sexual harassment. the first person has been fined under these laws, and this incident data back to june 2016, according to the "huffington post." a motorist was pulled over by a female police officer. he told her she should be in a profession "more suited to women." this very charming gentleman has been fined 3000 euros, convicted of several offenses under the sexism loss, and if he does not and if he does not pay in time, he can face conviction. sending a very strong message. genie: and you have got more on the world's oldest message after it wash up somewhere? dheepthika: that is right, the message enclosed in a gin bottle in australia that to 132 years to get to a beach, dating back to june 12, 1886. the thing is, the message was quite ordinary, basically called

for an experiment to track ocean currents. people were naturally a little more disappointed that there was not more of a soft message, so internet users have come up with their own possible modern messages. one user

narrator: 2008, discontent turns into confrontation. around the world peoeople take o the streets. ♪ music momar: they use tear gas, electric batons, plastic bullets. it was a very, very hard day. narrator: protests like these in dakar and senegal spread to many other cities. there were similar riots in egypt and in india. in haiti the president was overthrown. the reason? high food prices. one of the major causes: climate change. villagers are leaving their homes simply to survive.