>> you are watching france 24. these arare the headlines. russssia holds its biggest ever military drirills. hundndreds of thouousands of run soldiers meet with chinese troops in a jojoint display y of foforce. syrian regime forces get ready to watch an assault on idlib. the u.s. says that could prompt the worst humanitarian catastrophe the century. donald trump says -- donald

trump's security advisor threatening sanctions against the international criminal court. it is looking into a legend war crimes by u.s. troops in afghanistan. we will be telling you how nike has bounced back from criticism by using colin kaepernick in their advertising campaign. and a look at the northern lights. the dancing and the sky at the northern circle. -- at the arctic circle. russia is holding the biggest military drills in its history. nato has slammed the event calling it a rehearsal for a large-scale conflict. hundreds of thousands of russian troops are taking part along

with chinese soldiers. russian president vladimir putin also met chinese leader xi jinping today. here is more from douglas herbert. china and russia were enemies. they clashed quite often over their shared 4200 kilometer border. you ask, why would they come together right now? it is part of a pattern we have seen recently in the past decade or so. as we have had that tensions building between russia and the west. things like russia's aggression in eastern ukraine, over the syrian conflict, allegations of meddling in a western elections. you have had russia give it to the east. china also not having the best of relations with the u.s.

while these are massive exercises, most of them are russian material entries. -- amateurs. -- and troops. it was like it is all of russia. the concentrated part of the exercises is really concentrated in the eastern part of siberia and russia's far east. you can see the gold-based region along the chinese and mongolian border. that is where it is concentrated. it is taking up a third of russia's army soldiers. to bring up the other chart, we can show some of the armor involved. like i said, the biggest military drills. ? back to 1981. ronald reagan -- you have to go to act to 1981. tanks. mongolia as i said also taking

part. the chinese contribution relative to the people's army is relatively small, but it is symbolically significant. it is russia and china teaming up at a tense moment. russia also being defiant and saying your sanctitions and aggresessive to the west is not hurting anything. here is what we can get back. u.n.xt now to what the says could be the worst humanitarian catastrophe this century. that is the growing g crisis in the syrian region of it live. syrian -- of idlib. heavy airstrikes and bombings have pushed 30,000 people to flee in 11 days. white helmemet workers clear away the d damage of the latest regime bombing in the idlib province. task and onenting

they're likely to repeat over and over. bashar al-assad's f fces have stepped up their bombi campaign in preparation for a major ground offensive. >> we were sitting and heard a helicopter so we entered the hohouse. we had barely got inside when the barrel bomb fell. it struck here and completely destroyed the car and the property. the children are scared. don't not save us -- do not save us, save the children. >> the strikes, after a three-way summit between tehran and turkey failed to produce a cease-fire agreement. officials from the country will continue a second round of talks in hopes of revitalizing the peace process. meanwhile, the united nations has warned the military operation could provoke an

unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. >> there needs to be ways of dealing with this problem that do not turn the next few months and idlib -- in idlib into the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the biggest loss of life in the 21st century. >> the province is home to nearly 3 million people. since the start of the air assaults, more than 30,000 have fled the region. many have settled in makeshift shelters new the turkish border. says it has house received what it calls a very positive letter from kim jong am -- kim jong-un. washington says that it is a sign of their commitment to denuclearization. the outcome in j june was shortn concrete details.

more scenes like this to be on their way. the white house says it is already looking to coordinate a second trump-kim summit. >> it was a very warm and positive letter. the remains have come back. the hostages have returned. there has been no testing of missiles or nuclear material. this letter is further indication of the progress we hope to continue. >> progress has been slow since the singapore summit. the two sides have been at odds over how to begin the denuclearization process. the u.s. insisting on complete disarmament and north korea insisting on security guarantees. south korea president calling on both sides to do more. >> in order r for us to move

forward, the two leaders must have big ideas. should abolish its north korea -- its nuclear program. the united states should fund the right conditions with corresponding action. moon will have his third meeting with kim this year. vladimir putin has invited the north's leader to visit moscow. kim jong-un was also keen to highlight his friendship with china. >> while all of that comes as donald trump's national security adviser came out swimming against the criminal court, there was a request for an investigation into war crimes

committed by u.s. troops in afghanistan. john bolton threatened sanctions against the itc -- icc. they say they will remain undeterred in their investigation. >> a threat made loud and clear. sanctionsill have over alleged war crimes in afghanistan. john bolton promised the u.s. will not stand idly by. >> the united states will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court. we will not cooperate with the icc, we will provide no assistance to the icc, and we would certainly will not join the icc. we will let the icc die on its own. inin his speech, both

slammed the probe as totally unjustifiable. he says the u.s. is ready to take action to ban its judges and prosecutors. the icc defended itself noting it has the support of its 123 member states. >> the icc as a judicial institution acted strictly within the legal framework of the statutes and is committed to the independence and impartial exercise of its mandates. >> the icc is the world's first permanent court set up to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. its chief prosecutors announced in november 2017 it plans to investigate the allegations of war crimes in afghanistan including torture by u.s. forces. u.s. never signed up for the icc. bolton speech marks a ramping up against the rhetoric. the national security adviser

says the objection of the administration is that the icc could have hire a party than america's own constitution. --the white house says it is the phase department says the palestinians have refused to engage with israel. >> it is only a modest building. yet for many activists, the palestine liberalization -- liberation organization was without a doubt a leading institution. the official representative opened in 1994. a second palestinian immigrant was -- >> this is an attack on international community. what the peace process represents. what palestine represents is an

international consensus and the decision to close this office is an attack against the global mandate. it is trump versus the world in so far as he is effective. it is up to the international community. the -- >> the u.s. government accuses palestinian leaders refusing to take part in ongoing peace talks with israel. they also oppose palestinian efforts to get the international courts to prosecute israelis for allegedly crimes. they say the closure of the mission undermines the peace process. >> the palestinians are being punished solely for the purpose of seeking to hold israel accountable for war crimes under international law. i do not think there has been another example. >> palestinian leaders have reacted with frustration

denouncing eight dangerous escalation. -- denouncing a dangerous escalation. spain were hundreds of thousands of people in catalonia are set to take to the streets for the regional holiday. that day marks the fall of marcil on a to madrid three centuries ago. it has been used as a protest day for separatist to promote their cause. this year's holiday is the first since catalonia's leader declared independence. >> holding up the independence flag, protesters gathered in about -- in barcelona demanding the release of separatists jailed. as the spanish region marks its nationalal day, catalonia's lear took over from his -- called for a mass rally. our government is committed

to making a republic the reality. we will do it for all the political personalsls and those- the political prisoners and thosose in exile. >> the secession vote plunge the country into conflict. catalonia unilaterally declared --ependence prompting madrid leader is still living in belgium. socialist prime minister took power from the conservative has taken a softer approach to the issue. he still stands firmly against allowing the referendum to

secede. -- catalonian's are deeply divided. 45% wanted to remain part of spain. >> hungarian prime minister viktor orban w will face a challenge from european lawmakers. a as aver what they see populist threat to the founding values of the european union. he plans on delivering a frank defense before the european parliament. they will decide whether it to start steps that will lead to political sanctions against hungry. -- against hungary. take a look skyward where the northern lights seen dancing over the arctic circle for several hours. the beautiful auroras could be seen above finland.

one photographer said it was the best display of aurora borealis for what will be a good season of over watching -- a good season of aurora watching. while it is known as over a borealis, itaurora is the southern lights in the southern hemisphere. this is france 24. let's take a look at totoy's top stories. russia is holding its biggest ever military drills. hundreds of thousands of russian shoulders with chinenese truth - russian soldidiers with chihinee troops. the syrian regime gets ready to launch an all-out assault on it live. the u.s. -- on a blip -- on idlib. donald trump's national security adviser threatened sanctions against the international criminal court calling it illegitimate.

the icc is looking into alleged war crimes committed by u.s. troops in afghanistan. time now for a business update. you are starting with the economic side of the summit. the would love to focus on military exercises. the e two countries are e also lookokg to s strengthen n their econic ties. chinina has ththe biggestt foren delegation at the economic forum, which is aimed at in -- aimed at boosting tradade. >> having both received the cold shoulder from washington, vladimir putin and xi jinping are looking for new friends and trtrading partners. >> i'm glad to have an opportunity to welcome you to russia. the chinese delegation is the biggest among all the guests.

it is because of the great attraction of the forum. >> russian and chinese media claim the trade increased by 20% last year. hope to hit the $200 billion mark by 2020. a closing of ties and trade that is already bearing fruit. >> some of our attic -- of our agricultural products go to russia. >> with the russian economy still recovering from a recession, looking to increase trade with beijing could bring a much-needed pickup. the development project t would like asia, a africa, and europe. >> we can make joint efforts to promote the chinese road initiative. >> at the eastern economic

forum, some 73 joined ventures with china together with $100 billion are also under consideration. >> shares for nike had fallen colinthee company revealed kaepernick as the face of their newest ad campaign. their shares bounced back. say sales were up by 31% and the long weekend after the -- in the long weekend. >> next now to ryan airir whichs facing a new strike. carrier may be forced to cut jobs and close german bases if the industrial action persists. pilots and cabin crew are stating a one-day strike

tomorrow. this comes after ryan air so the biggest cut -- biggest right in their history last month. >> what is happening on the market? >> european shares trading down. investors waiting for news from president trump on the latest round of tariffs. you can see london ftse 100 trading down. seen sterling trade stronger after comments from the chief or exit -- chief brexit negotiator. one euro trading for 89 pence sterling. >> one company bucking the trend on the market is a british sportswear dealeler, jd sports. >> they are reporting a rise in half year profit of more than 20%. other retailers are struggling.

jd says it does not plan to materially change. just a wrapup, a village in switzerland that was to go against the national trend and try out a basic income. >> the swiss actually rejected the idea of paying everyone money regardless of whether they are working or not in a referendum. the jerk -- new the german boarder has g gotten more than half of them to support the idea. aey are going to pay everyone basic wage. only some people will get the 2500. an interesting idea. >> thanks for that. it is now time for the press review. alison sargent is with me to

look at the papers. you are going to start in catalonia where papers are marking the regional holiday. >> we can start by taking a look at the front page. they say still year in spite of everything -- still here in spite of everything. mentioning after the events of last year, it has become another lost symbol. according to them, the independence movement no longer has a clear plan. the divisiveness is taking a toll on regional unity. they write that the estimated half the population that is not support independence has become excluded from what used to be a big celebration. there is a cartoon and another spanish newspaper that speaks to the new proportions. here one catalan ready to

go into battle. in other words, this is not a work. >> reactions to donald trump's decision to close the washington office of the plo. >> in reaction to this, there is one writer talking about donald trump's war on the palestinian. they note that this is the fourth hostile decision from donald trump after opening the u.s. embassy in jerusalem cutting the funding to the agency and cutting funding from hospitals in east jerusalem that mostly treated palestinians. many reacting to this announcement with defiance as we take a look at this cartoon. the arabic letters spelling out the word trump. the palestinian child is wiping

out the word -- the letter am to make the arab word for land. >> how our papers in the u.s. reacting? >> the wall street journal is to -- is applauding the decision. they write that the point of all of the administration efforts is not to be vindictive but to show the plo that they cannot continue writing anti-israel terrorism without consequences. we read that it will raise tension within the region. they say that the move away from the oslo accords that allowed for the opening of the plo offices in the first place. >> this decision comes as the oslo accords are set to turn 25. >> many papers are marking the anniversary. at the piece look

from the left-wing newspaper. looking back at the hope that he felt when the first accord was signed in 1993. he writes that he slowly awakened from the dream and realized the accords did not go far enough. he said they left out the civil -- the issue of settlements. >> let's come back now to france where the education minister wants to expand the teaching of arabic to schools. >> this would have helped us all out a second ago. this is a somewhat controversial proposal here in france. the paper writes that many people equate learning arabic with learning the koran. the paper points out that this is unfounded. argues that studying arabic could help students think more critically about what some might think to them -- might present to them.

about by abrought young man in canada who is very determined to track down a young woman nine -- named nicole. >> she gave him her phone number, but she gave him the wrong one because she was an exchange student from holland. this headline from the national post explains what happened next. woment an email to 246 named nicole at the university of calgary hoping to track her down. touchedhe women was so that she set up a facebook group to find the right nicole. the story has two happy endings. all of the calls got together and had at -- all of the nicoles had a big meet up. the one he was looking for got wind of the meeting. she got into contact with him.

they are finally going to get to go on a date. >> and lessie gave him the wrong number on purpose -- unless she gave him the wrong number on purpose. thanks to you for watching. you can get a closer look k at e press review on our website.

osówzñv0x]

[indistinct chatter] female nararrator: a prerecious delivery arriveatat a dock k in the mediterranean... years of ambition and determination, wrapped up in cardboard and tape. [tape ripping] man, voice-over: this is something that we've put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into. you connect this one into here. the pump is over there, also. woman, voice-over: it't's really exciting, but at the same time, we're all sort of on edge. man: and we only have one bag this trip because of my sewing machine. [woman chuckles] man: broken. narratorat