>> you can get rest in peace. >> live from paris, these are the top stories. the u.s. president donald trump made conservative judge brett kavanaugh to the u.s. supreme court, a decision which looks set to top the judicial body further to the right. in leyland, rescuers say they freed a 10th boy who's been trapped along with his teammates and coach. we bring you the latest from the sea. and china allows the widow of

the nobel peace prize laureate to be free from the house arrest and leave for berlin. also coming up in the show, airbus shows off its new fleet and new acquisition. we'll be live, plus coming up in the program, neighbors france and belgium gear up for a titanic world cup semifinal later with both teams hoping to book their place in the final. all that and plenty more. you're watching france 24. >> first to our top story. be the words of president donald trump is naming brett

kavanaugh as his nominee for the u.s. supreme court. the move sets the stage for a battle of democrats. critics of the 52-year-old say he could weaken abortion rights and beef up support on the court for capital punishment. trump's nomination could put the court on a more conservative court for years to come. we have the latest from washington. reporter: brett cav nauf might very well be popular with both, if you will, within the republican party. social conservatives who might see brett kavanaugh as an opportunity to stop some of the abortion rights that exist throughout the uniteted states. they might also to want see someone on the supreme court who would have opposed same-sex marriage. it was the supreme court that legalized that in the end. then there is the establishment part of the republican party. brett kavanaugh is very much an establishment candidate for the supreme court position. he was -- or he is still an

appeals court judge for the federal government, and he went to the likes of yale and harvard, very much an establishment type who might please pretty much everybody within the republican party. one other really important detail, he's very young, only 53, in which in ththeory mean h can stay on the bench for a very long time. the u.s. president and the white house, what they want to do is get brett kavanaugh confirmed as quickly as possible. that would mean before the midterm elections in november. now, the reason why is because he will be confirmed by the u.s. senate, where there's a very slight republican majority right now. that could in theory change with the midterm elections, hehence why there'e's a little of haste on behalf of the republicans in the u.s. senate and on behalf of the white house. now, democrats want to oppppose any supreme court justice who would have been nominated by donald trump, and certainly brett kavanaugh, because they believe thatat maybe in the future he might want to go back on a supreme court decision

from 1973. that is precisely the decision that made abortion legal throughout the united states. that is something that democrats would definitely want stopped. they need to get just one republican voluntary to have vote against brett kavanaugh for this whole process to fall apart. but the white house is optimistic this can be a pretty straight forward confirmation battle far brett kavanaugh. it will be ugly, but it is pretty likely that he will be confirmed before those midterm elections in november. >> president trump kicks off a four-nation european tour in brussels this tuesday. his visit comes at a concern for allies that he could damage the decades-old nato alliance. he maintained a trade surplus with the u.s. and his nato summit back in 2017, trump urged allies to spend more, and focus on

illegal immigration. afghan authorities say a suicide attacker killed at least 12 people and left five other injured after blowing himself up near a security forces vehicle. health officials say several victims have been transported to hospitals suffering from severe burns. the explosion is the latest to roil the country. they reportedly claimed that responsibility for the attack and propaganda agency. in thailand, russ accusers say they freed an 11th boy trapped in a flooded cave in the country's north for over two weeks. it's all part of a risky mission to save 12 boys aged between 11 and 16 and their football coach. the boys have not toured into the tunnel and cave after football practctice and were unable to get out during heavy rains. >> headed back into the cave for the third day of their

rescue mission. it's one authorities hope will also be the last. >> we expect that if there are no irregular conditions, we confirm that the four children, their coach, as well as a doctor and three navy seals who have been with the kids since day one will come out together today. it's become a familiar path, but remains a treacherous one. the cavern where the boys and their soccer coach were found lie some four kilometers inside a labyrinth of flooded passageways. one section is so narrow, divers must take off their air tanks to pass through. over the weekend, a rescuer died placing oxygen tanks along the exit route. authorities have been pumping water from the tunnels and are racing ahead of the annual monsoon season, which could send water flooding back in. thailand's health ministry says all of the rescued boys will

have to stay in the hospital for a week for observation. some were able to see their families, but remained separated by a glass window. all are in high spirits and suffered only minor infections. >> thesese kids are fooootball players and are h healthy and strong, which means they have good immune systems. >> when the boys arrived at the hospital, one of their first requests was for spicy basil with rice. health officials say they can now eat normal meaeals, bubut aren't ready for anything too spicy. >> japanese officials say more than 140 people have been killed after deadly floods and land slides hit the west of the country. rescuers are now digging through the rubble and carrying out house to house searches to find survivors or victims. record downpours which began last week stopped, and receding floodwaters are laying bare the extent of the destruction. flooding and land slides are one of the worst japan's

eather-related in history. france and belgium are gearing up for what's set to be a titanic world cup semifinal in st. petersburg later this tuesday. france will unleash their attacking talentses against the gifted belgium fight. they'll be thoping put their place in the final for the first time since 2006. the red devils, meanwhile, will be hoping to make history having yet to reach a world cup final. o bring us more on this, we go to st. petersburg. luke, what can you tell us bout the lineup for tonight? reporter: well, when it comes to the lineup, you reach a world cup semifinal and you're not going to find any ordinary opposition, particularly with france going head to head against a team like belgium. now, both teams are relatively

evenly matched. there's an array of talent on both sides here. though france, of course, had something of a slow start to the competition, whereas belgium, on the other hand, has proven remarkably solid right the way through. now they'll be seeking the win for the first-ever world cup semifinal, where france is certainly going to have its work cut out facing that. now, there's a player no longer success sended, so he is set to return. they also have the starting spot despite not having any shots on target throughout the world cup. didier has, of course, previously said just how useful he can in the match, allowing other players to open up and gain opportunities from him. last monday, he was receiving care elsewhere to make sure he was well rested for tonight's simply d, they were running around the pitch,

again, keep them rested for this match with belgium. now, the question to ask is are we going to see the same lineup as we saw against argentina? ththat will be confirmed in the hours ahead. now, we hope that those players are all well rested. of course, against a ferocious belgium side, got players, they are world-class players on the team that didier and captain has said has the best strikers with the semifinalists, so it means france is definitely going to have to work, not just to attack, but to defend against a team that has proven itself remarkably adept at adapting -- at coping with changing situations on the fly. >> all right, luke, exciting times in st. petersburg. thank you.

let's talk more about sports. i'm joined in the studio by simon from our sports desk. simon, he touched on france and belgium there and what's at stake for tonight. france has been criticized for, until now, not really reaching a top team, not meeting a top team. >> absolutely. thee been criticized for not reaching a top team, and they've also been criticized for the way they've dealt when they've played what we consider lower-caliber teams. just going to take you through the results up till now. they beat australia 2-1 in very difficult circumstances, then peru again very slight winning margin, a draw against denmark, which has been branded as the most boring game in the world cup so far. and, of course, they came to life in the argentina match, when they won 4-3. but the problem is that many people regard it as an argentina team that couldn't defend, you know, that had a lot of problems of their own, and it wasn't, you know, the usual argentina teams full of flair and with the attacking

flow going forward. they played a uruguay team which was certainly solid, but missing one of their best players, of course. and even in that game, it was a header from a free kick, which is very unlike france in a competition, even though they do have that presence and threat, and a fluke goal, who scored with a horrible mistake by the goalkeeper. and they're now coming up with the belgium side, which as luke was saying just a moment ago, has got plenty of talent, whether it be in attack and defense, and it's going to be france's real test, and they're going to have to deliver, because so far they have delivered, but in p patches. never throughout the whole 90 minutes. >> all right, staying with controversy, henri is one of the biggest french goal scofferers of all time, and he's also a secret weapon for belgium. that has loft people talking. >> absolutely, with words like shameful, embarrassing that he's managing belgium against

the french side. so he's actually france's all-time leading goal scorer with 51 goals, so above the likes of michele, all these iconic french players throughout, you know, the year, the decades, and the world cup, the euros and so on. the problem is, as you just mentioned, that he is now one of the assistant coaches for roberto martinez. where the controversy really comes to light, france never offered him a position, whereas ari always made it very clear that he would have loved to have part of the french coaching setup, and one of his teammates when france won the world cup in 1998 never considered him. so the debate comes to life when you ask yourself whether you turn down an opportunity to manage a team such as belgium, and with the probability of you facing your side in the world cup, which is now come to happen, of course, and didier was saying that it is a delicate situation, but he'll be very pleased to see him. as far as it goes in secret

weapons, yes, he knows his football inside-out. he knows the players inside-out. but at this stage of a competition, you really kind of focus very much on the task at hand. you look towards your own camp and focus on your own things, because otherwise it's very easy to get, you know, divided into these mind games and so on. what is certain, it's dividing a lot of people in france, and if belgium do manage to win, a lot of the cameras, mark my words, will be turned on henry to see his reaction at the end of the match. >> his reaction, yes, of course. people will want to know. who's your money on for tonight, simon? >> bearing in mind that france have only performed in patches, and i think belgium throughout the competition have shown that they can come back from really dire situations against japan. they were down 2-0, then they won 3-2. they beat brazil, of course, even though brazil knocked on their door in the second half. but i would see a belgium making history for the first time. >> all right, simon from our

sports desk, thank you. we are live blocking that match today on our france 24 website, of course, france24.com. in other world news, china has allowed liu xia to be freed from house arrest and leave for per engine. the green light from beijing ends an eight-year deal which sparked international condemnation. the release of liu xia, who's never been charged, comes just days before the one-year anniversary of the death of her husband. >> on the issue of liu xia leaving the country, i said earlier she went to germany to receive medical treatment of her own will. i don't see anyy connection to the ongoing high-level diplomatic meeting. >> a quick reminder of the top stories that we're covering for you at 1:15 here in the french capital -- the u.s. president donald trump named conservative judge brett kavanaugh to the

supreme court, a decision which looks set to tilt the top judicial body further to the right. in thailand, rescuers say they've freed an 11th boy,. &neighbors france and belgium gearing up for what's set to be a clash of the titans in the world cup semifinal later today. they want desperately to book their place in the final for the first time since 2006. the red devils for the first time ever. all right, change of pace now. it's time to get the latest business news. charles joins me in the studio. hello to you, charles. we're starting with a big announcement by the european aircraft maker, airbus. >> absolutely. yes, back in october, airbus announced that it was buying a majority stake in bombardier's c-series programam. the first product of this new partnership with the canadian group was presented, a rebranded aircraft, the airbus

8220 based on the c-300 series am the group also opopening a factory in the u.s. in order to overcome some of the new american protectionist hurdles. france 24's chris bachmann is with us live from airbus headquarters. he's with the head of sales at airbus bombardier. tell us more about this partnership. >> indeed, charles. well, behind me, the plane just landed about 15 minutes ago, and that is the new airbus aircraft, the a-220300. basic it will hopes that by buying this canadian aircraft maker that it can sell up to 6,000, the potential market, 6,000 of these aircraft. i can't do my calculations very well, but i think that adds up to billions and billions of dollars for potential sales. they're right next to america the head of sales. hello. good to see you. why have you bought this aircraft?

>> we bought this aircraft because we have a market with other seats that is significant, 6,000 more aircraft, and for which the airbus so far a little bit small to address. >> you can be building it in the u.s. explain the reasons behind that. >> we've been doing it firstly close to the main base, and we will be doing also an assembly line to serve our u.s. market because of the type they imposed to us from the u.s.a. >> so this is actually a way of getting around all this kind of , this fight between europe and the states at the moment about taxes and about unfair subsidies. >> no, it's just a way to avoid our customers to pay tariffs on aircraft series, and that would be imported from canada. that's all. >> why should i buy this airplane rather than the competition? >> well, this one is just designed for the market, just

an evolution of a aircraft, and then became this one. this one has been designed from scratch for the market, so it's actually tailored for the range and for the comfort of the passenger inside. >> your rivals, boeing have, just done a deal. is that co-ince kens? >> no, i think they realize the the market exists, and they need to address it correctly. so we have a head start of six months to a year, and we intend to get a lot of intention from our land in the meantime. >> when you say this is potential market of 6,000 of these aircraft, you don't think you'll get all 6,000, but what does that mean in terms of billions? >> the price is $5 million on average, so it makakes billion indeed, but that's over 20 years, so it's not what we will actually earn each year, unfortunately. >> now, you bought this for your family. is it going to be -- i can go to airbus and actually buy one of these if i wanted to directly? >> yes, absolutely.

you can come to airbus to meet, and if you want to buy one of these airplane in a couple of years from now, i'll be more than happy to sell it to you. >> is this a risky strategy? i guess there is risk in doing this, because nobody expected this a year ago. >> no, i think we do nothing. there are a lot of new players in this market that realize the market there, and doing the thing to avoid us to get a share, a great share of this market. as you know, our family is growing in size, so there's new a bigger segment that needs to address something specific, and this c series is actually designed again for this specific market. >> ok, thank you, the head of sales here for airbus, who has the pressure to try and sell as many of these as he can over the next 20 years. reporting on extremely hot day from airbus headquarters, back to you, charles, in the studio. >> thank you very much, chris bachmann reporting, and we're

just going to end this business bulletin by having a quick look at how the european markets are faring this hour. investors on the main european indices seem to have put their political concerns aside and focused on earnings season. stocks are trading higher in spite of international trade tensions and political uncertainty in the u.k. over brexit. the fits knee london up 0.23%. paris cac up half a percent. dax in frankfurt up just .4%. that's it for the business news there. >> still mulling over the idea of investing in airbus myself. thank you very much for our business roundup. time now for our press review. >> we have a look through the papers. let's start with reaction to the u.k. and boris johnson, of course, with his resignation. >> that's sparked a lot of creative front pages from the british press, it must be said. "the independent," let's start

with them. they're taking their cue from the hit tv show "24," four tgoing and incoming brexit officials in 24 hours of mayhem, and it's left theresa may clinging on for political life. now, if there's one phrase to sum up "the guardian's point of view, it could be good riddance to boris johnson. few at the foreign office will mourn his departure. the paper says he was " distracted and discourteous and should never have been foreign secretary in the first place." and even the conservative paper "the times" reminds us that while boris johnson has his merits, he leaves behind him a rich history of gas, comparing former french president holland to a nazi prison guard, and calling turkish president erdogan, i'm quoteding here, a banker from anchor." >> you found reactions from the press as well. >> it comes up with boris johnson just hours after the

brexit secretary resigned, leaving the government in disarray. for "the times," both men are brexiteers, but others. perhaps there's one person who can stop this political bloodshed, and that's jordan pickford, the british goalkeeper, who's not here, not stopping goals, but stopping a walkout from 10 downing street. "the sun" has got to be my favorite of the day. this is the message to warring politicians, don't you know there's a bloody game going on, the tabloid asks, rather crustily, i guess suggesting that england may have more important things to deal with than political chaos. >> all right, before that england-croatia semifinal, france, of course, plays belgium tonight. >> that's right, and we're starting with the front pages here. the belgium paper says long live tonight, as you see a black, yellow, and red pitch

fork preparing to spear this french football-playing rooster. while the gazette from belgium, they're pretty combative on their front page, going with the headline that says we're going to beat them, rather triumphantly. meanwhile, the french sports papers going with a colloquial expression from belgium, which symbolizes belgium's hopes of entering its first-ever world cup final. >> all right, viewers outside of france and belgium, there's an interesting piece that explains the neighborly rivalry, if you will. >> politico talks about this deep-seated, but friendly across the border reevel are you between france and belgium. the french are sort of condescending in a big brotherly way, while the belgians accuse france of being arrogant. tonight, though, it's time to stop laughing at the belgians, because they've played handsome, free-flowing football, that's what this writer says. now, frenemies might be the

best way to sum up their relationship. that's what this headline translates to. they look at the similarities between both teams. they're young, multicultural, many of them play in the same u.k. club. they know each other quite well. some of them are friends. even the belgian captain there even played for the french club. so they know, both sides know each other quite well. let's end that with a really nice cartoon from the swiss artoonist, inspired by the belgian comic. this time he's on the pitch in st. petersburg right as the match begins. >> all right, more reaction on the way for footbalall. what reaction has there been to trump's pick for the u.s. supreme court? >> brett kavanaugh, that's right. he got the nod, but now comes the spectacle, that's what the editors at "usa today" say, who conceded he's a highly accomplished judge and deserves the thoughtful consideration of

the senate, but the paper is predicting that now the circus will begin, the spectacle, if you like. it's kind of a similar opinion from "the wall street journal." the editors there approve of donald trump's pick, calling kavanaugh the intellectual leader on the bench. but the paper predicts, "a political brawl quds aren't the nomination as it heads to the senate because, i quote, "this is the polarizing america of 2018." >> all right, let's end on a story that's not about football. it's about a new game in the u.s., starting where the prize is not what you might imagine. >> it's a quiz show basically, a tv quiz show. it seems orwellian. it debuts today in the u.s., where the prize is not money, but the chance to get part of your student debt paid off, as this briret says, rather sarcastically, isn't this what we all need, unchecked capital greed that's rendered higher

education unaffordable, and now a tv show exploiting our desperation. >> well, thank you very much for the roundup of the papers. if up to the see more, you could always log on to our website at france24.com.xñ

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