>> repression and poverty. 24."visited on "france thank you for joining us. i am molly hall in paris. you are watching "france 24." violence or routes as protesters gather along the gaza border a week after similar demonstrations turned deadly. israeli forces killed 19 palestinians, the bloodiest day since the 2014 war. for an update.is from president prisoner. south korea's former leader is

sentenced to 24 years in jail for bribery and corruption. plus, corruption a problem for jacob zuma as the former south african president's trial is postponed until june. the leader facing charges linked to a multibillion-dollar arms deal in the 1990's. clashes have erupted as protesters gather along the gaza border this friday, a week after demonstrations led to violence in which israeli forces killed 19 palestinians. let's get an update of the situation this friday. , whooss to irris mackler is on the border in israel. what is the situation, from your vantage point? irris: i am going to look behind

me because i have been seeing black smoke all morning. within the last 10 minutes, icy water coming from the israeli side, trying to put out the 10,000 tires, as the hamas slogan has it -- the tires burning onon the gaza a side ofe border, with the proteststs. the aim m of that is to fool the snipers and sharpshooters on the israeli side, who caused so many deaths last week. it also has the side effect that it is noxious and toxic. at the moment, israel is trying to dampen those fires, and we do see that black smoke heading into israel behind me. this is the middle of the gaza strip. there are five more points of protest like this, and at the moment, i have no reports of fatalities.. but i do hear the sounds of protest, and i also hear shots being fired. this follows last week's

demonstrations that didn't see violence breakout. we had the united nations and the european union call for an independent investigation into that violence. that was actually the deadliest since ththe war in 2014. that is right. there have been calls. there e was a u.n. s security council special meeting, and the united states voteted against an inquiry, an independent investigation. nevertheless, we have heard during this week t to further inquiries -- - two further inquiries requeuesting the secretary-general hold a lower-level inquiry, to make sure there is an inquiry. that was a move from some arab nations and from tunis. we will see what happens, if that comes to any kind of frfruition. but even if it does, israel has indicated it will not cooperate with such an inqnquiry. "where are the inquiries

into, for example, what is going on in syria for the moment, or "urkish actions in afrin? that is why israel says it will not cooperate. kler joining us with an update between gaza and israel. south korea's former president, handed a-hye, has been sentence in prison, following a trial that lasted 10 months. work was found guilty on multiple criminal charges, including bribery and abuse of power. alex jennings reports. alex5 5: a guilty verdict televised live to the public . -- alex: a guilty verdict televised live to the public, a spectacular fall from race for former president park geun-hye. to 24entence the accused years in prison and 14 million euros of fines.

alex: park was elected in 2012, becoming the country's first female leader and a conservative icon. however, in march 2017he was impeached and arrested, following months of street protests calling for her resignation. park has been found guilty of colluding with her longtime friend and taking tens of millions of dollars from conglomerates, including the world's biggest maker of smart phones, samsung, in return for policy favors. her friend was sentenced to 24 february, butn in park still has legions of supported. outside the protest -- outside the courtroom, protesters who park is aart is -- victim of political revenge. others at seoul station thought the verdict was mania. >> it was generous. she should be sentenced to l li. was nowhere to be

seen. she has boycotted her trial, refusing to appear in court since october last year. >> this is just the verdict of the first trial. we believe the judges will get the right verdict in the appeal trial. ex-presidentgraced has a week if she wishes to appeal the conviction. molly: the clock is ticking in brazil as former president lula da silva has been given until this friday afternoon to turn himself into police. a federal judge ordering the former leader to begin serving a 12 year prison sentence for a corruption conviction. at brazil'sglance wanted man, lula da silva leaving his institute in sao paulo on thursday evening, shortly after a federal judge ordered he must turn himself into police by 5:00 on friday afternoon. this kept a mad 24 hours for lula and brazil.

they get it the night before to hear the supreme court rejected a plea from the former president . to critics, he is a symbol of political corruption after his conviction for accepting drives. for his supporters, he is the champion, who came from nothing and lifted millions out of poverty. prison inentenced to january. he hoped to delay while he appealed, which would allow him continue -- to continue campaigning in this year's presidential race. there was news this would no longer be a possibility. in sao paulo, some residents on the way to work were convinced the court made the right call. be arrested, and many more needed to be arrested. reporter: other commuters were not so sure. >> this decision is ridiculous, because it was applied for only was theon, as if lula only thief in this country. we know there are many of them

in their houses, happy and content. reporter: in the city, as it is across the country, the mood is tense. resilience were divided. ina is currently leading polls for elections in october, the reelection will be impossible if he is behind bars. the court decision could hugely at -- hugely affect the coming elections, causing chaos for his party over who will replace him. world news in brief -- catalan separatist leader carles ofgdemont is set to walk out jail later today. judges rejected an extradition request from madrid. puigdemont is wanted following his role in the contested catalan independence movement. donald trump has spoken on his relationship with stormy daniels, insisting he did not know about a $130,000 payment made by his lawyer before the

2016 election. trump's longtime lawyer admitted to making the payment and has accused daniels of breaching a nondisclosure agreement she signed in return. malaysia's prime minister says parliament will be dissolved saturday, paving the way for general elections, expected to be held >> -- next month. long-running coalition is pitted against a revived opposition. the cross to south africa, where jacob zuma made a short appearance in court in durban to face corruption charges linked to a multibillion-dollar arms deal back in the 1990's. el joinedmale -- isma us from durban with the latest. asia: it was a very brief court appearance. we saw former president jacob zuma sitting side by side, next to a representative from the

french arms company, the defense beingy tallis, jacob zuma accused, tallis being accused, and this about a 200 million arms deal. the state prosecutors in south tender,re saying thiss this arms deal that was entered llis wash callous -- ta done fraudulently, and they talked about corruption. this forms the basis of the court case involving former president jacob zuma. prosecutors are also saying that jacob zuma had benefited from this fraudulent and corrupt deal and tender that he entered into with the arms french company tallis. the court case is now been postponed to the eighth of june, and the prosecutors have indicated this is in all likelihood going to be a long and drawnout court case. some people are talking about

three years, and saying that the earliest date for a trial to start would be in november this year. we saw earlier today thousands of jacob zuma supporters coming to court, dancing and singing outside court, and saying they are here to support jacob zuma. they were singing songs in praise of him, and after his brief court appearance, he went to address them and talk to them about the fact -- about his innocence. he says he has always maintained he is innocent. he is being persecuted and prosecuted because of his stance on what he called radical economic transformation. and he also said that he is fighting for the land to be returned to the rightful owners of south africans. to that, he got a loud applause from his supporters. more than two hours later, there are still hundreds of jacob zuma supporters milling around outside the durban high court. .olly: a reporter from durban

a key witness to the allegations against zuma is a former lawyer who worked for talus. "france 24" met with the was a lower before his day in court. >> we met with him in a praetorian hotel. the local press cacall him mr. , the main witness giving evidence against thales and south africa. he is a lawyer, having worked with thales for six years. he says he hasas evidence of backend payments from the french company to the former south african president, jacob zuma. >> there are these various facets of money parting hands. it ran into tens of millions around. -- of rand. as well as the one millioion euo groupthat the thales

donated to the anc in 2006. reporter: his affidavit contains hundreds of pages. on the eve of the largest arms deal in postapartheid south africa, a representative of thales promised jacob zuma a yearly payment of 50,000 euros in exchange for his favor. this will be used in the trial. but financial transactions are not only linked to the arms dealers. was invited to the world cup semifinal by the thales director, who allegedly paid the bill. >> he paid for the hotel stays in paris as well as purchases in paris by mr. zuma. reporter: in n 2008, jacob zuma managed to have the corruption charges dropped. this was ao ajay, result of high-level pressure from the french authority. the was presidential interference in eaearly 2008 in paris. , , i accompanied.

he met mr. sarkozy a at the elia -- at the palace. mr. sarkozy repeated the same request that he would like the charges to be drdropped. reporter: the stakes on high for thales. if the group loses the trial, contract in south africa will be declared void. thales officials refused to comment. l says that if he speaks it is because he was not paid by thales for his legal services. molly: a japanese animation legend has died at the age of 82. his distinguished career as a producer, director, and animator began in 1959.9. he cofoundnded the studio ghibl, and directed "grave of the fireflies," a world war ii what -- drama that received universal acclaim. an update now of the headlines we are following. aslence has erected

palestinian protesters gather along the gaza border with israel a week after similar demonstrations turned deadly. from president to prisoner. south africa -- south korea's foformer leader is sentenced to4 years in jail for bribery and corruption. and in south africa, corruption also an issue him about this for jacob zuma. his trial is postponed until june. the leader facing charges linked to a multibillion-dollar arms deal from the 1990's. it is time now for a business update. i am joined by yuka royer. trade tensions are escalating again. we have seen u.s. president donald trump doubling down on his threats on tariffs on chinese income -- imports. yuka: china says it will fight back after the was president proposed even more tariffs on chinese goods, worth 100 billion dollars. this comes two days after the u.s. and china both announced a 25% due to -- duty on 50 billion

duties worth of import. reporter: the trade fight continues. china says it will fight back at any cost, following the latest threat from donald trump. this a after beijing filed a complaint with the world trade organization. >> we don't want to fight. china will respond in a new and comprehensive way and will pay the pririce to resolutely defend the interest of f its country ad its peopople. -- reporter: the strong words, after u.s. trade officials talked about further tariffs on chinese imports worth $100 billion, in addition to those already proposed on hundreds of goods. preses. trump: i think we are going to have a fantastic relationship long-term with china, but we have to get this straightened out. we have to have some balance. reporter: tension started in

march, with the president announcing tariffs on steel and aluminum, which beijing thought targeted chinese trade. it threatened an appropriate and necessary response. on monday, beijing increased tariffs on 128 u.s. products, including frozen pork, wine, and fruit. in response, trump proposed 25% 1300fs on around industrial, transport, and medical products on wednesday, worth $50 billion. the next d day, china anannounct was imposingng reciprocall t tas on another 106 u.s. goods, including soybeans and corn. these latest tariffs have not yet come into effect, with the prospect of a trade war between the world's two largest economies is keeping global markets on edge. yuka: china's commerce ministry is giving a press conference very shortly. it is an unusual move, considering it is a public holiday over there.

meanwhile, experts are warningng any further escalation could lead to increased business inestment and disruption supply chains. it could fuel nationalist settlement among chinese consumers. >> the key issue for me is, how will the multinationals react? they are at the center of the gang here. what will apple do? we are to see strong sentiments from china's public if this breaks out. the. buying starbucks and iphones, and this is their biggest market. yuka: the latest of elements are weighing on the stock market. european shares are all in negative territory, although there is no massive selloff. the u.s. dollar has also weakened. the broader ups and downs for markets this week suggest investors are not too worried the route will escalate into full-blown trade war. more of the business headlines. factory outputs in germany fall by 1.6% in february, weighed

down by week demands in manufacturing and construction. it is a surprising figure. analysts had predicted a 0.2% rise. the only bright t spot came from energy firms, which climbed, boosted by a snap of cold weather. india's central bank has banned financial institutions from dealing with cryptocurrencies, because of high risk. those already providing digital currency services must and them within the specified time. the move comes as financial watchdogs around the world are struggling to find ways to regulate highly volatile market. a major online securities broker is buying coin tech, a virtual currency exchange hit by a cyberattack. it will buy all the shares for about $34 billion. the digital exchange has been under intense regulatory pressure since hackers stole more than half $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency back in january.

finally from me, germany's bmw has launched its first monthly subscription service in the united states. members will have unlimited access to a fleet of luxury bmw $2000or a monthly fee, for a basic service, $3700 for the memo offers. users can choose from a range of high-end models, delivered to their doorstep by a bmw concierge. phase and only available in nashville, tennessee at the moment. the carmaker could expand through the united states. molly: interesting stuff. yuka: if you have extra cash. molly: thank you for the business update. time now for our press review. solange for a look at what is grabbing headlines in the written press. we are going to start with what we are seeing in terms of increasing tensions between the u.s. and the united kingdom. solange: this comes on the heels

of a security council meeting -- after the british press woman spoke to the british press, debunking claims and russian media, such as that her father is in normal condition. hospitals are saying he is still in bad shape. molly: "the guardian" is saying russia has an agenda here. solange: this is an opinion piece in the guardian that says that had russia let the dust settle on this issue, it could have quickly become old news. "the guardian" says that instead moscow has "decided to fight with a propaganda and misinformation more on all fronts." a stance the guardian might have said is on display in an article in "rt." the article points out "inconsistencies in british of thegence" and a fear

absurd by theresa may's government. atly: you have taken a look a lengthy exclusive by "the new york times" concerning the islamic state group. took 15 this article months for "the new york times" to uncover. they went through thousands of documents that were left by the islamic state group in iraq. from them, the reporters found that they got to have a better understanding of how the jihadists managed to create a government so quickly, and how they managed to stay in power for so long. it is a fascinating article. the group did not just rule through brutality, the brutality they are known for. they also used bureaucracy. it explains that holding onto previous institutions with key. the group had everything from a traditional dmv, birth records, titles of property sales. through these tools of bureaucracy and brutality, they managed to create a state and stay in power. molly: interesting. french papers are focusing on

autism, as the french government plans to unveil its new plan to help families and children. solange: this was a campaign promise by emmanuel macron before he became president, and something he promised to fix after reports came out saying that france was way behind in helping autistic children and adults. us theistian paper tells goal of the government plan is to better accompany autistic children, and to ensure they have a place in society, through measures such as ensuring spots in schools. "liberation" also went with autism, choosing a powerful photograph of a child stuck in a box, like many autistic children struggle to express themselves. i say it is time for the government to wake up. they say the government has vowed to help families through research programs. molly: we're going to turn our attention to japan, where we are seeing tribute coming in not just from japan, but from around the world, for animator talk

have to does for the animator who has passed away. solange: tributes are rolling in from "the japan times" to "the guardian." this is one of the masters of japanese animation, and he was nominated for an oscar, an academy award, four years ago. he is best known for his 1988 film "grave of the fireflies." if you do not know his work, this weekend might be a time to go look at his films. molly: we are going to stay in japan, a story that is making headlines that has to do with sumo wrestling, sexism, and heart attacks. solange: a lot of things that have to do with salt. you will see why. the story is -- the japanese 4,er -- it happened on april when the mayor of a city in central japan collapsed of a heart attack. he was giving a speech at a sumo wrestling championship. female medics rushed to the center matt to try to help him

and revive him. but when the announcer and organizers -- the announcers and organizers repeatedly asked the women to leave, even though they were trying to save his life. why did they do that? in japan, women are not allowed traditionally to be on the sumo mats, because they are considered impure according to sumo tradition. the story has gone viral, and is making major newspapers in japan and abroad, creating some embarrassment as well as discussion about japanese women's role in society. tells us news agency the japanese sumo association has apologized, and a large amount of salt was poured on to the sumo ring to purify it. the good news is that the city's mayor is alive and well, and recuperating in hospital. molly: one question -- they apologized for their reaction to women or for having women touch the ring? solange: they apologized for the reaction, for asking them to leave. molly: very interesting.

for that and more, you can head to our website. to take a quick break. stay with us. the news continues on "france 24."

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