24.": this is "france i'm genie godula in paris. italy is waiting on confirmation on whether or not a law professor with no political experience will be its new prime minister. italy's president, who confirms the post, has put off his final decision until today. south korean president moon jn in washington,

trying to salvage the meeting between washington and north korea planned for june 12. france facing another massive strike today, which some say could be the biggest in 10 years. all unions representing civil servants are joining in. also coming up this hour, yet another trade dispute. marketse, it is rwandan suffering from new tariffs. the details and our business update. and critics say india's most famous monument, the taj mahal, is dying. more on the culprit, pollution, on the way. first, our top stories, live from paris. after months of political paralysis in italy, a coalition

of the far right league party and eurosceptic five star movement finally came up with a name for a prime minister. that was yesterday, but the little-known law professor has no political experience, and italy's president, who will confirm that post, has yet to give his ok. for more, let's bring in our rome correspondent, josephine mckenna. there have been new developments concerning his cv, with some things he might not have done. josephine: this has been extorted near a few days. as the president was meeting leaders of the presidential palace, "the new york times" was publishing reports suggesting that giuseppe conte may not have been to new york university as he claimed in his curriculum vitae, saying the university had

no record of him as a student or a faculty member. the five star movement has responded and said that is not true. as he said on his resume, he was fine-tuning and updating his studies at nyu. the five star movement says they feel that they are under attack by people out there who think -- you are simply afraid of change and this new coalition between the five star movement and the league, and are trying to undermine this appointment. there is a possibility of president mattarella excepting as a candidate someone who hasas no politicical experience. genie: the european union and the financiaial markets have had strong reactctions to this announcement as well. josephine: yes, the bond spread dropped slightly this morning, and drops were studied. we have seen more comments from the european trade commissioner,

saying she is very worried. the foreign minister of luxembourg appppealed to the n w political coalition not to destroy what has been achieved by the european union. and we sawaw an immediate reactn on twitter from matteo salvini, the head of the league, saying back off and keep your nose out of italy's business, with the huge photo. very strongeing reactions from five star and the league. they are d dermined toto put a govevernment together. the same with the controversiail income taxes,ut introduce a basic income for the poor andnd unemployed. they are determined to get the candidate pushed through as prime minister. on that point, we are not likely to see any kind of announcement, i don't think, from the president this afternoon. he may hold off until tomorrow.

there is no doubt he is keeping and i on those financial markets , -- keeping an eye on this financial markets and reports about the status of giuseppe conte. josephine mckenna reporting live from rome. the south korean president is meeting with donald trump today in talks that could decide whether or not trump's summit with north korea will go ahead. south korean leader moon jae-in is in washington on a mission to save a rare meeting between the u.s. and the north. trump had agreed to meet kim jong-un in singapore on june 12, at the summit is in serious doubt, with both sides wavering on the details. here is bruce harrison in seoul. bruce: president moon korea, where he has high approval ratings for his diplomacy with north korea. he is in washington, and they are not as happy with him at the moment. there are suggestions that he

may have overstayed -- overstated assurances that north korea would be willing to give up nuclear weapons. on the other hand, perhaps president trump simply misread the situation, he was too cocksure, and ignored skepticism that north korea would do this. presidenent moon has t to convie trump toto go forward w with ths summit. president moon has staked his presidency on this diplomatic plan. number one, , a meeting between nortrth and south h setting thee thehefor a meeting between u.s. and north korea, , the firt time the leaders of those countries would meet. tosident moon perhaps needs sit down with trump and maybe readjust his expectations, because all alalong the u.s. administratition has beeeen sayg verifiable denuclearization. now it appeaears less likely because of what north korea said last week that the u.s. will be able to a compost that in one swoooop, as trump has said he wanted to do. it is unclear what man is going to say exactly.

genie: bruce harrison reporting from seoul. the palestinian foreign minister is in the hague, asking prosecutors to open an immediate investigigation into israel settlements and the palestinian territories. they have been conducting a preliminary probe since 2015 into alleged crimes in the territories. those include israel's settlement policy and crimes allegedly committed by both sides in the gaza conflict four years ago. today, may 22, 2018, the state of palestine took an important and historic step toward justice for the palestinian people, who continue to suffer from ongoing widespread and systemic crimes. the state of palestine exercises its rights as a state party to the rome statute to refer the situation to the international criminal court for an immediate investigation.

genie: israel is calling on the move for ant that investigation, saying the palestinians are exploiting the world's top court for political gain. here in france, we are facing another massive strike today, which some say could be the biggest in 10 years. public-sector workers are joining real workers in protesting the french president's business-minded reforms. their walkout will affect schools, flights, and some energy infrastructure. it is the third major stoppage since macron's election one year ago. for more, let's bring in catherine norrison trent, in the heart of paris. how bad are things today? so far, the workers who are coming out on strike enjoying the protest march in paris are still gathering in the place de la republique.

the unions have their vans and loudspeakers blaring music. we have to see how many people join this protest mark -- march. the unions were hoping to get more people out than they did three months ago, march 27, the latest previous big, major walkout. but this march is one of 140 planned throughout france. joining the walkout, we have got public-sector workers from various walks of life, saying it will affect public schools and nurseries. even hospitals, although the government says treatment won't be affected. they have got energy sector workers, so that could involve the gas and electricity sector, in maintenance. there are police joining the stoppages. they say to go slow on the motorway, the ring road outside paris this morning. you have got air traffic controllers joining the protest movement. french authorities have asked airlines to cancel around 20% of their flights in and out of france.

the most affected airports are going to be paris orly as well as lyon and marseille. this is the third big day of action of public sector workers coming together to show the government they are not happy with planned reforms. genie: you say this is the third big day, but this day is unique, in that for the first time in a decade all the unions representing civil servants are backing the strike. reporter: that is right. all nine trade unions representing france's public sector workers have come together and backed this strike, and that is pretty exceptional. there is a lot of infighting between the unions. there are at loggerheads most of the time. as is the first time they have , whenogether since 2010 france's retirement system was up for reform. the fact they have come together today is significant and shows

the strength of feeling in the public sector against french president emmanuel macron of the government trying to push through a raft of changes. essentially, the reforms the government is trying to get through are about pay. they are trying to lay off 120,000 of look sector workers by 2022, mainly through voluntary redundancies. what people here today fear is that the government wants to get rid of their whole special status, and wants to get rid of the fact that they kind of have jobs for life. they fear those sweeping reforms that could come. genie: they certainly do. thank you for reporting for us from the heart of paris. ceo mark sucker berg is in brussels today, where he will be defending his social media giant to you parliamentarians. -- e.u. parliamentarians. that will be live streamed. zuckerberg will then set down with -- sit down with emmanuel macron.

this is fallout from the privacy scandals that hit facebook this new, and comes before the data protection regulation comes into effect. julia kim has the details. julia: one month after appearing before congress, lawmakers in brussels are getting their turn to ask mark centerburg burning questions -- mark zuckerberg burning questions of their own. namely, how the social media giant plans to protect the personal data of its 2.2 billion users in light of the cambridge analytic a scandal. -- analytica scandal. it will be live streamed. the european parliament president confirmed the decision on monday. >> i have personally discussed with mr. zuckerberg the possibility of web streaming the meeting with him. i am glad to announce he has accepted the new request, great news for e.u. citizens. i thank him for the respect shown for r the european -- iament. julia:

admitted datak was shared with our users consent, then allegedly used to target voters in the 2016 u.s. presidential election. since then, brurussels has rolld out the e general data protectin regulation, rules decided to give 500 million europeans control over their personal data.. from may 25, users can choose to withdraw their permission for companies to store their information. i can also request access to their data or delete it from sites altogether. obtain explicit user consent for collecting personal information, and risk heavy fines if they don't comply. genie: in afghanistan, a blast in kandahar has left at least 16 dead and close to 40 wounded. fighting across the country is showing no sign of easing during the holy month of ramadan. aboutwas some confusion

the cause of the kandahar explosion. officials initially said it was caused by a bomb packed into a minibus, the later said the explosives were in containers stored near a mechanic's workshop. in india, tourism has been slowly dwindling as the country's -- at the country's most famous monument, the taj mahal. the reason? pollution -- air pollution from the city as well as garbage have tarnished the formerly pristinie white walls. it has been called the crown jewel of india. built by an emperor in memory of his favorite wife, the tosha home is famous -- the taj mahal is famous for its immaculate white facade. but this footage was shot back in the 1970's. over the years, the marble has turned a yellowish gray as surrounding acra has become one of the world's most polluted cities. >> it is dying because of

pollution. that is not right. a lot going the other side. somethingle should do to protect the taj. reporter: it is not just exhaust fumes discoloring the walls. the damage runs deeper. the nearby river is drying up, weakening the foundations of the building, even leading marble to crack in some places, while open sewage is drawing insects whose excretions staying -- stain the white domes. many visitors are concerned about the conservation efforts. >> i think it would be better to be cleaner. >> it is beautiful and it should be preserved. reporter: the government has already taken steps in the right direction.n. in the 1990's, hundreds of

nearby factories were shut down, and automobiles are no longer allowed within 500 meters of the muzzling him. -- mausoleum. genie: let's look at today's top stories. italy is waiting for confirmation on whether or not a law professor with no political experience will be its new prime minister. italy's president, who confirms that post, has put off his final decision until today. south korean leader moon jae-in is in washington for talks with donald trump, trying to salvage the historic meeting between the u.s. and north korea planned for june 12. france facing another massive strike today, , which some sayay could be the biggest in 10 years. show of unity, all unions representing civil servants are joining in. time now for our business update with stephen carroll. you are starting with a big deal in the music industry. sony is taking a

controlling state in emi, which will show it gain rights to artists including queen and for rail williams -- phaharell williams. it is a major investment in music by the japanese conglomerate at a time when revenues in the industry are being boosted by streaming services like spotify. the acquisition of emi will add more than 2 million songs to the database including acts like kanye, sia, and hosier. genie: after pulling back from threats of a trade war ovever te weekend, the u.s. . and china could be clolose to another dea. stephen: this is to do with a chinese telecom firm. washington had banned the sales of u.s. components to the company, which nearly destroyed its business. reports in various media now saying a potential deal would see the ban lifted in exchange for management changes and the payment of another large fine by the company.

announced it is cutting import duties on 15%enger cars from 25% to from july y this year. genie: staying with trade issues, this time in rwanda. stephen: second hand clothing markets are facing an uncertain future after the government hiked import tariffs on used close. -- clothes. industry groups in the united states have lodged a complaint abouout the tax, which could damage the country's relationship with the world's largest economy. gina robertson has this -- georgina robertson has the story. the market, haggling for the best prices, but business is suffering. markets shut last year asas the government bids to phase out use clothing- used imports. they say the market has been stunted by cheap imports, and they want to stimulate local production. >> one thing to do is to support

the local producers. we are not just opening up the markets. we also want to think of how they can benefit. georgina: consumers are already feeling the effect. -- ie each some children season children walking around naked because their parents cannot afford to buy clothes. others are walking around with torn clothes. that never used to happen. georgina: rwanda slapped its import tariff on clothes, raising them from a few cents to over two euros. rwanda currently enjoys duty-free treatment on clothing exports. this will end if they continue with their tariffs, after the u.s. used clothing industry complained. it could cut off kigali's preferential relationship to the world's largest consumer market. textile sector currently supports around 7 million east africans. this threat has already forced

other east african nations to roll back similar policies. but rwanda is committed to growing its s local industry, ad has madede no moves to lift the tax since the ultimatum was issued. theyst: the -- stephen: e.u. commissioner in charge of the euro has warned italy's new government must be responsible with their budget. he was speaking to a newspaper after the five star movement and the nationalist league agreed on a government. the commission is advising the new administration to stay on course in its spending policies, and to stimulate growth whilee keepining the budget deficit unr control. the political tensions are changes in italy have caused some directions in the market yesterday. the footsie was trading up ftse was3% -- the trading up around 0.3%. london seeing small gains while paris is trading flat. genie: the new york stock

exchange is going to get its first female leader in 226 years. 'sephen: stacy cunningham surname. she is currently the chief operator officer of the new york stock exchange and will become its next president. beand the nasdaq will soon run by women. ms. cunningham started with the company as an intern in 1994. back then, she said the women's restroom was inside an old phone booth on the seventh floor, compared to what she described as palatial quarters for the man next door, with couches and a full-time bathroom attendant. today, she points at the bathrooms are on par at the new york stock exchange. genie: how nice that you can start as an internrn and end ups ththe first female leader.r. at the you for that look busineness news. let's take a quick look at the press review. laurent is with me on set for what the papers are saying today. you are when to off with south korean president moon jae-in,

who is heading to washington today to talk to donald trump. dheepthika: that's right, he will be meeting with donald trump in their fourth summit so far. this seems to be the most important one, amid threats of the north korea-u.s. summit being canceled next month. "the korea times" called on president moon to act as a mediator and narrow the differences between pyongyang and washington. the paper redirects -- reiterates the importance of denuclearization, while offering incentives to pyongyang. the left-leaning korean paper say that moon and trump need to clarify what kind of denuclearization they want to ,ffer or impose on north korea that would satisfy the north koreans but also the u.s. they say in doing this, this would be a win-win situation for south korea, because it would ease korean tensions as well. genie: that summit is scheduled

for june 12, but is in jeopardy. for some people, it is the south koreans who are to blame. dheepthika: that is according to a professor in south korea, robert kelly, a university professor who has been breaking down the situation quite well via twitter. you remember last year when donald trump was threatening war with north korea -- was threatening war with north korea. according to kelly, president moon was flattering donald trump to prevent him from starting a war. he says in fact trump is loath hed in south korea. he put together tweets to explain it has been a shell game. he explains that president moon could never change the fact that the u.s. and north korea fundamentally have different interests. what what he basically did was flatter trump to avoid the u.s. declaring war, even going so far as floating this idea to trump that he could get a nobel peace prize if his efforts were successful. genie: let's move to saudi

arabia, where several women's rights protesters have been arrested. dheepthika: the kingdom is set to lift a ban on women strivinig next mononth, but "le monde" reports -- the french paper -- that several women who campaigned for the band to be lifted were arrested on suspicion of being "national traitors." it is the paradoxical message to saudi women from the kingdom. "shut up and drive." there is an angry editorial from "the guardian," which says saudi prince mohammed bin salman has gone to great lengths to revive movie theaters and give an appearance of rights to women, this appears to be a "window dressing" for the real repression going on there. editors deplore the treatment of women treated as second-class citizens in saudi arabia, and say these female activists must be congratulated for finally taking a stand. genie: "the guardian" also looks

at the situation in sweden, where millions of households were sent "prepare for war." dheepthika: this is worrying. swedish authorities have been sending -- they are not evenly flits. they are 20 page booklets, public information booklets, in which citizens are warned about fleeing their homes in case of attacks,r, or terror crime and change conflicts, and given a briefing about fake news. it is the first time since the second world war that swedish authorities are sending these information booklets to citizens. the reason for there were he appears to be russia. after the annexation of crimea -- the reason for their worry apappears to be russia. after the annexation of crimea, sweden notices increasing intrusions into their airspace, which has them issuing these booklets, considering joining nato, and partnering with

denmark to counter russian information campaigns. genie: the british tabloids cannot stop talking about the royal wedding. dheepthika: you see the front page of "metro." this picture has been splashed across many of the british tabloids today, official pictures released by buckingham palace after prince harry and meghan's wedding on the weekend. "bride and joy," the headline says. there is another looming wedding in the u.k., a briton eternal bachelor, hugh grant. he is finally getting hitched at the ripe age of 57. when he turned 60, he told "-- "thehe turned 50, he told daily mirror" he feared becoming man., lonely old he is in a relationship with a swedish entrepreneur and a former producer who runs a sock company. i am pretty sure his bachelor days ended a long time ago, because the couple have three

children together. genie: george clooney, hugh grant -- what bachelors are left? dheepthika: very few. genie: you can get a closer look at the papers on our website, france 24.com. weççóo÷÷ñññgç>>?????@ zñvpx]

[music playing] eric: climate change. it's arguably the world's biggest problem and greatest challenge. in this program, we're taking you around the world to see what's at stake and what could be done. from a revolution driven by the californian start-up culture... emily: it'll be a trillion-dollar industry in the years to come, that people can power their lives with sunshine. danny: the solar industry has employed 55,000 californians. that's more than twiwitter, google, facebook, google, facebook, and apple combined.