host: you a are watching "france 24." president trurump edges closer o declararing a national emergrgey to fund his border wall of impasses a political lead to a federal government shutdown at 800,000 workers pay.ut the former nissan boss indicted on new charges of financial misconduct in japan with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. pay. outcomeemain over the

of the presidedential election d the e democrcratic republic of o . i will be speaking to our corresespondent with the latest. also coming up, in our business update, another weekend of protests from thehe yellow vest. thousands of low-paid workers are applying for the subsbsidy announced by the pririme minist. also in the next half hour, a a tetearful moment for tennis plar andy murray as the former world number one says ththe australian open c could be his last. ♪ steven: thank you for joining us. president trump says he is close

to declaring a national emergency in the united states to procure funding for his border wall with mexico. this is a political impasse over finding money for the $5.7 billion project continues. it led to a shutdown of a federal government which h is nw in the 21st day. on a visit to the texas-mexico would useump said he emergency powers to fund the wall of the democratic-controlled house of representatives did not agree to it. he insisted a wall is necessary. >> we are not tatalking about oy mexico. all over the world they come in. it is a weak spot. the laws have to be strong and wewe need securirity. we need the kind of backup we want. we have lists of things. they n need the barrier, t the . call it whatever you want. whether it is steel or concrete, we don't care. we need a barrier. steven: government workers will

not see their paychecks this friday. this as the shutdown enters its 21st day, just shy of the longest suspension in history. detroit, toom kentucky to the gates of the white house, federal employees are protesting. and putting pressure on lawmakers to end the partial shutdown of the u.s. government. elected officials say they are still at an impasse and morale in the capital is low. a lalast-ditch effort broke dow. >> more and more depressed about moving forward. says he will not back the budget unless his wall is greenlighted. democrats are refusing to cough up the $5.7 billion needed. an increasingly divided republican party is looking to other options to fundnd the wal. >> we are down to four options. number one, the president links. ain't gonna happen.

speaker pelosi blix. i don't think she is going to blink. number three, the government stays close. number four, the president uses emergency powers. reporter: it would allow trump to use money allocated for the army corps to fund the wall. it is possibly a face-saving measure for trump's signature campaign promise, that the move would undoubtedly be challenged in court for bypassing congress and for possible overreach of executive powers. for the democrats the issue of the government and the issue of the wall should not be tied together. >> in n terms of the soap opera that the president's abstinenene is creating, we all support border security. we take an oath to protect and defend the american people, and to defend the constitution as we do so. reporter: the democrats say trump needs to stop holding federal employees hostage over

his border wall. the president says working with the democrats is harder than negotiating with china. steven: i enjnjoyed by william jordan. thank you very much for coming in to us. as a former federal government employeeee what is it like when the federal government is shut down? >> it is verery nerve-racking, especially if you have bills to pay. if you have medical expenses or havave got to make different t plans r hohow yoare gogoing to spendnd christmas any presents f for people.e. they can be very disruptive in taking your holidays becauau all leave isis canceled. it can be very nerve-racking. it is worse for those people who are literally living paychececko paycheck. it is worse for those people who have not had the chance to save up foror this kind of eventuali. even though this has become the new normal, i would say this is

for a lot of p pple unusual.. it is exceptional. if you just joined t the governmement or if you are y yog or contractor,r, which is s mord more the case working for the government, you are really without much to fall back on. it is very difficult. to the what happens government during these shutdowns? the money has been stopped.. does work along is normal? >> some things just don't happen. to more critical functions continue. there are so people at the state department, which is shut down -- i know people at the embassy in paris are still at work. but at a skeleton staff level. you still have people in the operations center, the 24 hour nerve center watching what is going on. the principles are continuing to come in and pay attention to what is going on. but traveveslows to a crawl, or

stops. it is unusual to the secretatary of state out traveling at this time. there are a lot of basic functions that stotop, admiministrative f functions tht stop. this is one of the things talking about other agencies like the department of agriculture, whihich funds thehe food stamp program, whichch is food aid to people, that is at risk and nobody knows how that will continue as the crisis goes on. steven: president trump says he getting closer to declaring a national emergency to end the political impasse. what are your views on that? using a national emergency to resolve not for many people in emergency? >> for many people, certainly in washington, this wouldld be considerered an abuse of power. this of f the an attempt by the president to circumvent the congress, which has

constitutionally the power off the purse. it has the powower to allocate money for the wall or other think the president wants. otherher things -- things the president wants. he seems to be abusing the power. i very certain the democrats and others will mount l legal challenges immediately. we couldld find this before the supreme court probably not for a few more weeks, which means this good drag on while it is -- steven: is it realistic to look at the shut down for several more weeksks? >> i i think so. donald trump is not conforming to normal political logic. normally after a certain amount of times politicians wouould wat to find some kinind of agreemen. the agreement on the table, that has bebeen on the table since le last year was not to resolve this once and for all for the fiscal year, which runs until october. but only untilil februarary so t a longer-term resolution could

be worked out. you are already in completely new territory but the problem senators, including mitch mcconnell, leader of the republicans in the senate, and i understand this logic, he will not negotiate a deal or try to bring something to fruition if he thinks donald trump is not going to accept it. he will not be undermined by the president as he has already had happened. steven: william jordan,n, thankk yoyou very much. the process of withdrawing troops from syria. and american spokesman did not give details on timelines or how many troops have been moved, , o the britishsh-based syrian observatory for human rights has seen an oddly -- and envovoy of -- a convoy of armored vehicles moving.

nissanmer chairman of has been charged with two new financial m misconduct offensesn japan. he has been in custody since of ever, accused of underreporting his income over a pereriod of fe years. the charges carry a potential maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. nissan has lost a legal complaint against him for what the company says is misuse of its funds. he has denied all wrongdoing. reporter: as expected, public prosecutors in tokyo have leveled further charges. he was charged several weeks ago concerning allegations he misreported or underreported his salary to the tune of about 5 billion yen. that was up to 2016. one e of today's charges relates to the same cririme, that he

continued to undnderreport his salary for three years through march of last year. there is a third slightly different charge and arguably more serious charge, the misisue of nissan funds and caused his former employer, the japanese carmaker, large sums of losses by connectcting to transnsfer personal invnvestment losses hee mamade to the company at the height of the global financial crisis in 2008. is is the end of his latest period of f the tensn that he can be held in tokyoo detention center on these charges. prosecutors have until the end of today to release him unveil -- on bail. he has been charged, indicted on these other charges. he now faces three charges altogether.

steven: ahead of japan's olympic committee has denied all allegations of corruption at the reports he was placed under formal investigation by authorities in france. in a statement, he said he has not been charged and that no improper actions such as bribery took place in connection to tokyo's successful bid for the 2020 games. saidial sources in france he was under formal investigation as part of an inquiry by the french financial prosecutor's office. that's a step the proceeds being charged but often leads to know for the prosecution. the international olympic committee's ethics commission is opened a filing on this case. news -- with more headlines now. myanmar has rejejected an appeal by two journalists from reuters, jail for violating the state's

secrets act. they were arrested for investigating -- that have been sentenced to seven years in prison. they say that the charges were trumped up. aresands of argentinians protesting austerity measures. it is the first in a series of planned demonstrations after he cut subsidies for things like electricity and gas. slashina has agreed to spending with the international monetary fund. heavy snowfall in austria has closed manany of the country's t miss areas -- mountainous areas. of the threeee meters of s snowl was s an event seen only o once every 30 to 100 years. seven skiers and hikers have died saturday in the extreme conditions. turning to the democratic

republic of congo, governments over the outcome of the country's presidential election. at least five people have been killed in postelection protests in the west of the country -- vote.0% of the 35% andval s scored almost called the results and electoral coup. the catholic church said it did not reflect it eclectic by its observers. foreign popowers have reacted cautiously. many choosing not to country right -- congratulate him.. we can speak now to our correspondent in kinshasa. what is the latest were you are? reporter: the latest is a press conference that opposition leader was supposed to hold on friday morning. his militants had been waiting for more than an n hour and a hf at the mlc headquarters in

kinshasa. they were facing an impressive number of policemen waiting and making sure that the crowds did i get any bigger. he just arrived a couple of minutes ago. it looks like a political rally than a press conference. there are a few hundred people chanting, dancing. he is about to speak to the press and the crowd at the same time. everybody is waitingng on his dedecision. is he going toto announce he wil file an appeal to the constitutional court to try to change as the results the outcome of the presidential election? is he going to call on his militants to march or protest or take any kind of action in the streets while he takes more formal and legal action?

everybody is waiting to see what he will have to say. he is convinced since the beginning that he won this election. he is about to speak in kinshasa. steven: there have been appeals for calm reactions to these results. the violence appears to be quite limited. is there a fear that if he says he will challenge these results, the situation could change? look --: he does not want to look like the opposition leader as the country falls in the chaos. he wants to look like a calm and reasonable opposition leader. i don't think it is in his interest to actually call on the people the protestst. he knows it might get bigger

than he wants it to. steven: speaking to us on the latest on the presidential election in the democratic republic of congo. theyey will returnrn next. scottish tennis champion andy murray says he is likely to retire this year due to a hip injury. he b broke down in t tears at a press conferenence in melbourne. he said the paint for the injury has become almost unbearable. he s said next week's australian open couldld be the last tournamement of his career. >> i'm in a lot of pain. tough.been >> does that m mean this might e your lasast tournament? yeah, i think there is a chance of that for sure.

steven: andy murray speaking. the top stories this hour. president t trump edges closer declaring a a national emergeney to fund his border wall of mexico. the federal government is shut down and 800,000 workers are without pay. former nissan boss indicted on two new charges of financial misconduct in japan, facing the maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. doubts remaiain over the outcome of the presidential election and the democratic republic of congo as the candidate who placed second calls foul. the is expected to speak shortly. time for an upupdate on the business news. france, a here in weekend of protests. yellow vests getting ready for demonstrations this saturday. people are looking at some of the measures announced in response. >> one of the memeasures annound

by preresidentnt macnn at the ed of lasast year wasas to make a e subsidy to l low paid workers me widely a available. thee government is expxpected to d 1.2 millllion hououseholds to the r rolls. six times morerepplicationons compmpared t to the same periodt year. reporter: it was one of the key concessions to j jell-o best --- yellow vest protesters. now the state subsidy has become a reality. thousands are applying. >> eye here to request the wage subsidy. reporter: in just one week, 120,000 requests s to be enrolld in the program. that is six times more than during the same period last year. jean, a plumber in heating specialist is now eligible for 576 euros. >> and encourages me to keepep going. it is valuable extra help.

reporter:: since the french government moved to expand eligibility, tens of thousands have done the same as jean. up until now workekers needed to earn less ththan 1.3 timimes the monthly minimum wage, roughly 1500 euro to follow five. and up to cover about 3.8 million households. the threshold is now one point -- 1.5 times the pay. in order to handle the influx of demands state welfare services had to make changes. >> we have added reieinforcemens to help aide recipients on the spot. we recruited new employees to help over the phone. reporter: t the expansion comest a cost to ththe statete of 2.5 billion euros. steven: those protests have dealt a tough blow to the retail sector in france. people staying away from the shops before christmas. >>ststeven: the world's seconont xuryry group says the protests

weighed on itself in the final quarter of 2018. the compapa still posted a 5% increase in sales over the october-december period globally thanks to china. than ononets for more ththird of sales of thleleisure industry as a whohole. steven:: we have talked about te latest news from japan about the new charges over financial misconduct. what is in the market's reaction? >> nissan was also i indicted fr a second time but the shares closed up almost 1 1%. 3%.ult is down almost afteragen shares down reporting a a record number of sales for 2018. european shares panned negative on the whole. there is in frankfurt both dowon

over . .5%. some more of the business headlines at this hour for you now. authorities in poland have reported the arresest of an individual on allegations of cyber spying. it follows similar arrests made in canada as u.s. intelligence agencies suspect the chinese technology firm of having links to the beijing government and installing backdoors in his telephone equipment by government spies. the company has denied the claim and the chinese government is greatly concerned over the latest report. england-based regional airline flight me hasn't rescued by a consortium led by virgrgin me has beenly rescued by a consortium with a virgin atlanc.c. they put themselves up for sale in november after taking a major hit from weak passenger demand and rising fuel costs and a

weakening british found. japanese industrial giant hitachi is freezing is 24 billion euro nuclear project in britain after posting a loss of 1.5 billllion euros for the yea. the companany will vote on a planned sususpension at the boad meeting next week. papataki has a struggling to fid investors for the new powerr plant in n northern wales. busininesswill end t the onon a sweeteter notote. >> talalking aboutut chocolate d chocolate production. is a m mtibillion dollar industryry. ghana is the world'ss second largrger of exrtrter after ivovy coast. they looking to ramp up their domestic production of chocolate. reporter: it is the world's second-largest exporter of cocoa. farmers in ghana are hoping to see the market for domestic chocolate production grow. >> if demand increased locally, that would only help us.

it would be better to produce chocolates locally rather than exporting beings. --beans. reporter: until recently almost all the cocoa beans were exported for finisished chocolae elsewhere. >> we are in a moment of change in ghana. when i first came to ghahana in 1999, i saw only one brand o of chchocolate. when i came bacack in 2018, i ws soso surprised and happy to see many chocolates available. in 2017, it began making its own chocolates and plans to increase production. [indiscernible] 2% to 5% of our output. we believe that the confectioner

busisiness is a way to go. reporter: tax breaks are available for companies operating in government tax-free zones, of most of the new chocolate producers are t too small to benefit. nianite the challenges, gha chocolatiers have an eye on the expert market, opepen to crereae international demand for their sweet treatsts. steven: we wiwill wrap up busins on the note of a new streaming service, any rivalal for netflix coming from amazon. >> f from amazonon indeed, for s subsidiary imdb. amazon has launched a new streaming at-based streaming service called free dive. it will only be available in the united states and allow viewers to add to collections of tv shows in hollywood movies.s. unlike amazon prime, it is free

to watch for that is subscription and it is supported by commercials. it had been widely effective amazon would tap into the market to i irease its advertisingg revenue. --ven: just one more paying place for us to try to spend time to watch.. e especially if there are commercials to watch. stevenen: thank you for that latetest round of the business news. this is "france 24." france heading to another weekend of yellow vest protests. we will assess the strength of it headsent as into what it calls act nine. stay with us.