genie: welcome back to the france 24 newsroom. i'm genie godula. the senate in argentina rejects a bill to legalize abortion. the issue has divided the mostly catholic country with protesters clashing with riot police after the vote. russia lashes out at the u.s. linked to theions sergei skripal affair.

deports one of zimbabwe's main opposition leaders who fled wednesday in for asylum. tendai biti is being detained in what the u.s. is calling a serious violation of international law. the senate in argentina has voted against what would have been a landmark bill legalizing abortion. 38 to 31 and came after the end of a marathon debate that stretched late into the night. it was a major deception for abortion rights campaigners particularly as it came after the billll was passed in argentina's lolower house of parlrliament in june. debatateover 15 hours of the vote was called just before

3:00 in the morning. >> the votes in green are in favor. the votes in red are against. a final tally that rejected legalizing abortion in argentina in the first 14 weeks of urgegency. currently the procedure is only allowed in the cases of rape and risksk to woman's health. the former president -- for the the oututme wasnt the outcome was a shame. she said theivivisive issue is t just going to go a away. >> we arare not just pposing ann alternate e solution to o a problem that exists. >> foror others the problem is about the sanctity of life. leavingization would be a human being's life to the mercy of the unquestionable will of another human being.

>> outside the congressional palace antiabortion advocates cheered at the outcome with f flags waving.ue their recent pusush to hinder a growing movement for women's provedlegalization successful. in the homeland of pope francis their fervor and the vote underlines the continued weight of the catholic church. on the other side of the esplanade pro-choice candidates chanted ins disappointment. they vowed not to give up the fight to legalize abortion and put an end to clandestine ones. they are the leading cause of maternal death in the country. and 500,000 illegal abortions are performed every year. the u.s. has slapped new sanctions on russia linked to the poisoning of a russian spy and his starter in britain last march. the u u.k. -- his daughter in britain l last march. moscow has called the allegations far-fetched.

i'm joined by douglas herbert. this decision from the u.s. months after the incident took place really wasn't driven by president trump himself. >> almost not at all. there's a big difference between donald trump and the trump administration. this was a decision made by the state department. part of the ministration. why did they make it? they were basically required to impose sanctions under a 1991 acts. it was called a long name. control -- the chemical and biological weapons control and warfare a limitation act of 1991. it basically means under this provision that if the government determines that any other country and government is in violation of international law regarding the use of chemical and biological weapons, it is required to impose sanctions governmentcountry or

alters its behavior. in this case we are talking about russia. the british government made a determination a while back. blamed russia for the poisoning in march of the former russian spy on english soil. his daughter also was poisoned. the u.s. basically agreed with the british assessment. they reached a determination that russia was to blame. they didn't say any specific but they said russia was to blame. that triggered the necessity of this act. ultimately for a whole range of potentially very harsh measures. this is a very limited and technical first round of sanctions which basically which couldorts have national security usages or implications. that there are already sanctions in place along these lines preventing the export of technology that could be used for military purposes. during theimposed

barack obama administration. these are limited in nature. russia has not had a massive response yet. there are more serious possible sanctions pending. airlineussia's national -- are these in anticipation of what the newer sanctions could bring? the first round has been imposed it gives russia 90 days to respond. it means that it has to tatake measures to show that it is not using chemical or biological weapons or preparing to do so in any way. it also o requires international monitors to be allowed in to ensure that russia is complying with what it says it is doing or not doing in this case. if that happens what we basically have is the prospect of the withdrawal of u.s. bank fors, u.s. support

international loans. the prohibition of landing rights for russian airlines. this could affect the national carrier which is one reason why its shares have been falling. also thehe suspension of diplomatic relations is down the road grid 90 days tax. remember trump himself has hardly woken up in outrage saying we must go after putin. he has been n seen as mumuch moe conciliatory in his approach to putin. this comes weeks after his summit in helsinki with a lot of democrats anand republicans both tookok umbrage and were alarmedt the fact that donald trump seemed to trust vladimir putin's word over the word of his own national intelligence agencies when it came to their conclusion that russia had interfered i in the 2016 election in order to help tip the balance in favor of donald trump. far trump is still seen as conciliatory, soft, reaching out to russia.

genie: thank you for that, douglas herbert. lombokonesian island of has been hit with a third big earthquake in little more than a week. the latest aftershock was almost as big as the first quake on sunday, prompting more panic.c. close to 260 people have been killed in the quakes so far. >> 152,000 people have been displaced by these quakes which is about half the island's population. many of those have been forced to sleep outside or in temporary shelter often with young families. these aftershocks are going to havcomee biggest today. they will be r racking p peopl's nerves. there's going to be plenty more over the next couple of weeks as the seismic activity dies down.

will be very difficult for authorities on the ground. in addition to the goverernment seeieing international aid to working with local partner agencies to set up tents for pepeople. indonesia has also been providing emergency field hospitals. situationy difficult for many of lombok's residents right now. zambia has deported one of zimbabwe's main opposition leaders who fled from zimbabwe on wednesday. tendai biti has been sent back to zimbabwe where he is being detained. spent last night in a police cell after being refused asylum in zambia. the opposition is accusing the government of cracking down on the opposition after the

presidential election last week. the democratic republic of congo is on its way to getting a new leader after the president announced he would indeed be stepping down after 17 years inn power. he put an end to month of speculation wednesday announcing that he would not be seeking a third term. he did handpick his former interior minister to run in his place. >> the democratic republic of congo is set to have a new face in power come december. it could be this man. handpicked by president joseph kabila himself. hardlinerly seen as a and close ally of the longtime leader. so much so that the opposition says if he does win the election kabila could be able to cling onto power behind the scenes. also want to thank his

excellency the president of the republic joseph kabila. an exceptional man in africa and even throughout the world who has kept his word. he said there would be no issues. there wouldn't be a third term. and today he has kept his promise. the 57-year-old has extensive political experience. he was interior minister from 2016 until february of this year. during that time he oversaw a period of political crisis and widespread public anger triggered by kabila's decision to push back on elections twice. widespread protests were violently repressed and activists and opposition members arrested. in his capacity asin his capaci, forld re: was responsible

the activities of security services during the instability. he was among a group of congolese officials sanctioned by the eu in 2017 for human rights violations. in its six-year for history since independence, the democratic republic of congo has never seen a peaceful government transition. the upcoming election is widely considered crucial for the country's future. the country has begun vaccinations to fight the latest deadly outbreak of ebola. people have died in the new wave of the virus. health officials scramble to contain the 10th ebola epidemic hit the democratic republic of congo since the virus was identified. the latest outbreak presents a particular challenge. it is occurring in the middle of an active war zone. virus has broken out along the eastern border with uganda. the province has seen decades of

fighting between dozens of militia groups find for control of the reason -- vying for control of the region's rich mineral deposits. parts of the neighboring province are difficult if not impossible to access because of violent clashes. authorities have begun the so-called ring vaccination campaign during which health workers will be vaccinated first. >> it's true that you want us to carry out mass vaccinations of the whole population. the scientific recommendations are thatt this is not the way we will stop the epidemic. if we want to stop the epidemic we must respect the rules, the codes that have been established. >> the ring vaccination strategy is the same method that was used to contain the last outbreak in the province during which 3300 people were vaccinated. another 3000 doses of the vaccine have been sent from

kinshasa. after health workers are vaccinated, residents will receive their doses. say a u.s. prosecutors man arrested in a raid on a squalid compound in new mexico was training children living there to carry out school shootings. to 15 were aged one living on the compound in filthy conditions. there was no clean water or electricity. >> charged with 11 counts of he made his first appearance on wednesday along with another man and three women believed to be the mothers of the 11 children discovered in a squalid new mexico compound last week. duduring the hearing prosecutors accused him of training the children to carry out school shootings with assault rifles. he is also under investigation for the death of a 12th child, possibly his son, after a body

was found in a second raid on the compound monday. >> we did find remains of a young boy. have been turned up to the office of medical investigations. no positive identification of the child has been made at this time. discovered the remains yesterday. >> authoritieses searched the compound on friday after receiving a distress message asking for help. the area had been under fbi surveillance for weeks. but ents hadn'n't found probabae caususe to raid the property.. upon entering, they found 11 one to 15 living f filthy conditions witith no clean water or electricity and barely any food. a man was taken into custody without incident. investigators have so far not found any evidence linking him to a terrorist organization. genie: you're w watchining frane

24. let's takeke a look at the headlinenes. the senate in argentina rejects a bill to legalize abortion. the issue has divided the mostly catholic country with protesters clashing with riot police after the vote. russia lashes out at the u.s. over new sanctions linked to the scribble affair -- skripal affair. our focus segment today takes an in-depth look at india were forced marriages are on the rise. women are usually the ones being kidnapped and forced to marry a stranger. but in the northern state, one of the country's poorest, men are also being targeted. this little-known phenomenon resurfaced recently with media coverage of a young engineer who was forced into marriage at one point. -- gunpoint. forced marriages are on the

rise in india. 2016, 34,000 people were kidnapped and forcefully married. majority of them were women under 30 years of age. almost half were minors. sometimes men are victims, too. a term used to describe a forced marriage were one of the partners has been abducted and when these images from his wedding were eventually broadcast on indian television they shot the entire nation. tears pleading with his captors to release him. thee 29-year-old was abducted by a friend who was looking for a groom for one of his sisters. >> he asked me to meet him at the station. and when i got there he and his family members forced me to go

to their house. me and threatened me at gunpoint to go through with the marriage. they told me if you do not accept this, we will kill you. confinenement,h of his family managed to get him released. he is now trying to get the marriage annulled. >> we put t the video ononline d wanted it to go viral. they wanted people to know i had a wife so i could not get married again. end and is story to want to get back to my life without having to think about it any longer. i want the culprits to be arrested as soon as possible. >> the accused are still absconding. his family have received press and they blame the police for not intervening on time. mark. the perfect engineers, doctors and highly paid officials are often targeted in such kidnappings. in one of the poorest states in india, the dowry paid by the

bride's family to the groom can be quite high. euros fetch up to 30,000 and a doctor can easily demand doubled amount. this continues despite the practice of dowry being outlawed over half a century ago. on the e hand youou have so much poverty. on the other hand, families continue to o dend huge dodowri. the largest t in the country. parents who arare despererate to find a good match for their daughter will turn to violence without asking her opinion. and arrange a kidnapping to avoid paying the dowry. >> is difficult to quantify the extent of this phenomenon. fearing violent

repercussions, a couple forced into a marriage will accept their fate. 18 years ago, they were strangers to each other. in this family alblbum, there ae no photos of t their wedding whh was held secretly under the guise of a religious celebration. people forced me to drink alcohol. and then to follow them to a place which was decorated as if for a wedding. and in the end they told me they were going to get me married. if i resisted, they would hit me. i was surrounded by members of her family. little by little, we accept the situation. we had a baby. we prefer not to remember that day. despite the hardships, we want to keep the good memories. today they hope for a

different future for their children. >> i do not want my children to suffer the same fate. i want them to have a happy marriage. what happened to us was a mistake. this is not the way things should have been. but in the v villages people hae very traditional beliefs. cases have -- people to the practice disappearered for good. campaign is a small step that could go a long way to changing attitudes in this part of the country. is a small step that could go a long way to changing attitudes in this part of the country. genie: alison sargent joins me to take a look at what has been going on in the papers today. you're going to start with the latest exchange of rocket fire on the gaza strip. >> israel launched rockets on gaza overnight, killing three people including a mother and young toddler. this was in response to what to

the jerusalem post calls a barrage of rockets fired from rockets -- from gaza. and hamas leaders have been discussing the possibility of a long-term five-year truce. something the security cabinet and continue to discuss today. the jerusalem post repeat the words of one israeli minister who said the situation in gaza is nearing a decision. either an arrangement or more. genie: another story is getting a lot of press in israel. it's the country's controversial nation state law. >> the law defines israel as a nation state of the jewish people. it was adopted in july but it is still being very heatedly debated in the country. you can see the jerusalem post quotes and opposition leader who said that with this law prime minister benjamin netanyahu is dissolving the glue of israeli society. describes the very stormy session as lawmakers

discuss the law on wednesday. one of the arab minorities that has been making headlines in recent days is the druze community. for their very dedicated service in the israeli military. they held a big protest last weekend. you can see a photo from it on the front page of the lebanese paper. the paper says the people are torn between loyalty and sent over this law. one army veteran told the paper, we have given our lives and now the government wants to make a second-class citizens. genie: you have been looking at the french papers. let figaro is focusing on the oceans. specifically the high seas and the questions of who owns them. the paper reports that the u.n. will be holding a summit in new york to discuss the parts of the ocean that don't fall under any country's jurisdiction. the high seas take up 45% of the planet's surface.

any part of the ocean that is not in light or dark blue. with this u.n. summit they really hope to lay out some rules for protecting the biodiversity of the sea life in the high seas. moment when it comes to exploiting these resources it is first-come first serve. genie: you found a heartbreaking story about an orca whale who has been getting international attention for the way she is mourning her dead baby calf. >> the orca calf died just minutes after it was born. since then that the mother has been carrying her body around on her nose. it has been over two weeks that she has been carrying her. just spotted wednesday off the coast of washington state. it's a devastating story and it has been getting a lot of attention in local press for weeks and bringing national attention to how dire the situation is for these organs. the main problem they face is food shortage. they eat only salmon which has

been killed off by humans through pollution and fishing. there is hope that it will inspire action. the guardian writes, seattle's organs are dying. that they are dying publicly and painfully might actually save them. the oscars, the academy has announced a new category. >> that's right. next february the academy will be giving their first award for best popular film. this was announced with a few other changes to the oscars ceremony that the site in the wire calls a desperate ratings move. oscar ratings have been plummeting in recent years. how will the academy differentiate between best picture and best popular picture? there are instances when those things coincide. you might recognize that photo behind me from the film lacked panther. this writer worries that black panther and other films like it could get robbed of the chance to win best picture because they

will get sequestered into the meeting was popular film category. -- meaningless popular film category. american football will get a historic first tonight. it's not happening on the field. >> the nfl will be having its first male cheerleaders dancing on the sidelines. these ones will be doing the same moves as their female counterparts. their big are making debut at tonight preseason game. you can see two of them pictured here. they will be cheering on the l.a. rams as they take on the baltimore ravens. thank you for that look at the papers today. thanks to you for watching. we will take a quick break and be back in just a minute with more headlines. don't t go away.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

- hey i'm darius rucker, coming up onreel south. - [marlise] and boom ye peoeopl checkcke out. - ararius]hehen a pregn collses braidead, it ste law th keeps h alive - e painf watchi what w going on shshe's passeded ay, she'sead. - arius]s] family fights forhis young motherer'sight to didi. this time in "62 days," onreel south. - [femalale narrator] support for this program is provided by south arts, sponsors of the southern circuit tour of independent filmmakers, with funding from the national endowment for the arts. [bluesy guitar rock] ♪