anchor: h hello and welcome t to this come alivive from paris. thank you for joining us. french senates, a report into the so-called benalla affair highlights a deeply dysfunctional practice at the highest level of government. the probe sparked when a former presidential bodyguard was filmed i impersonating a pololie officer and beating up protesters during a may day demonstration. if pushed, moscow is prepared to deploy weapons against american

decision-making centers. the russian president issuing his toughest remark yet on a potential new arms race in response to a u.s. decision to quit a cold war era arms-control treaty. we will speak to our correspondent in moscow. londoner who-old left thehe u.k. to join the islamic state group when she was 15 years old has had her british citizenship revoked. her family insisting they will do everything in their power to appeal that decision. also coming up this hourur, the swiss bank ubs awaits the verdict of a french court. and we take a look at a dazzling light display in beijing's forbidden city in honor of chinaa's annual lantern festival. ♪

anchor: we begin with a sharp blow for the french government delivered by the senate. the upper house of parliament has concluded the french presidency's response to the so-called benalla affair reveals deeply dysfunctional practices at the highest level of government. a bodyguard was discovered unlawfully wearing a police helmet and roughing up protesters. here's more from the senate commission. >> there is not just one benalla case. there are incidents that took place, the case of weapons being carried unlawfully, the case of the russian contracts, the case

of the devil medic passports, the case of an official -- diplomomatic passports, the case of an official who interfered insecurity apparel. >> we focus on the prediction of the president of the world's fifth most powerful country at a time in history where terrorism threats are particularly high. more on the latest on the benalla affair, we speak live with >> paulson -- with lex paulson. what you make of thehe senatee commission's f findingngs? is there anything g you think is particularly significantnt here? guest: there are clearly some matters of substance that need to be addressed regarding the tranansparency around the presidenent's security. these are what you might call

operational responsibilitieies f government, shining l light on this kind of issue. , theall investigations senate commission likes toto dramatize a bit beyond the meririts of the situtuation, ani think we saw come wiwith all of these different a affairs, one f them was using a passport the wrong wayay, another was exaggeratiting the u use of the passssport. individudually, i wouldndn't say meritseach one of those a name of itself. the final point, why is this scalen out of proportion relative to this case? it is because it is about privilege. fundamentally, i think the french p political class is fascininated with privivileges,o has them and if they deserve to have them. , mamaybease, benalla

because he w was young or dididt come a a background habitual to power, was not looked on as someone necessarily deserving of power. anchor: what lessons do you think the government is likely to learn frorom this case, if indeed t the governmenent should learn any lessons at all? guest: there a are certainly lessons. if t tre is onee direct lesson, it is be very c careful with h e respsponsibililities that youu e to folks from your campaign. clearly y benalla and d macron a personal rapport. he was with the candidate all the time. a someone who's been on presidential campapaigns and worked in government, we have a tendency to trustst people we ce to know during the campaign, whether or not they are necessarily fit for an official government role. i think if thehe president had o do it over again, he might think differently. but this is not a mistakake in polilicy. nobody died, think goodness, and

i think the president can learn from this and move on. anchor: the affair has rumbled on and on. on the campaign trail, macron promomised a simplerer, cleanerm pololitics. how mumuch damage do you thinknk this has done e to the presisid? guest: it has done some damage, and i speak as someone who supported the president, but has a little bit of distance from the e situation. i think it has done damage in the sense that it fed the appetite of the french public and press for a scandal. this was the first serious term.l raised in macron's i think it was taken out of proportion, but it allowed the story to shift from constitutional reform he was propoposing to this question of benalla and security, and that good for the president at all. very much foryou speaking to us here on "france 24."

guesest: you are very welcome. anchor: russian president vladimir putin has used his annual address to the nation to issue he's most strongly worded threat yet to the usa, insisting if the usa deploys short or intermediate range missiles, it would target the u.s. itself. this in reaction to the u.s. decision to quit a cold war era arms-control treaty. another kekey focus s of the ads is two lifts thousands of russians out of poverty and hardship. let's take a listen. pres. putin: now to a greater detailing of our tasks, but first of all the most crucial, ththe preservation of our peopl. that means providing overwhelming support to families , for our society, for our multinational population, and specifically the family unions, the raising of children and procreation for all generations that has been and remains the

powerful moral core. anchor: for more on that address, we can cross to moscow to speak to our correspondent, nick holdsworth. these are the strongest remarks we have heard from president putin in reaction to the u.s. pulling out of a cold war era arms treaty. president putin used tos opportunity to speak policymakers to outline all of the social and economic measures, and in the last 10 minutes of the address, he turned to the nuclear issue and got himself quite worked up. emotional at quite times about this. he warned american policymakers that they should think very carefully about what they are doing.

they should count the speed and range of russian weapons that have been developed now or have already been deployed. russia would not orloy new weapons in europe america unless america did first, but that it would not only target those territories where weapons were deploy but decision-making centers, by which he means washington andnd other cities in america where they make weapons that are now being developed after america withdrew from the cold war treaty of intermediate range nuclear missile treaty. hehe went on to say that russia was developingng a new range of weapons, that it would launch a new nuclear powered submarine drone in spring. that has been devoted successfully and passed all of as tests, he said, and that

new nuclear tipped missile has a range of 1000 kilometers and can fly at nine times the speed of sound. he held out an olive branch to the europeans. he said he wanted to have better relations. he urged the european union to work with russia to o overcome their differences and build peace. he again asserted that russia would not be the first to use nuclear weapons. he's been very clear about that, and said that russia would not engage with new talks with washington unless washington started those talks first. he was very firm about this, and got a lot of applause from members of the upper house, the ministers and other government leaders. anchor: as you mentioned earlier, putin spent the majority of this address speaking about tackling poverty and boosting the economy. reporter: that's right.

this actually is an opportunity for russia's domestic issues. he started the speech by saying he would only address domestic issues. it was only the last 10 minutes he turned to international relations. he said that russia needs to grow its economy, pay more poortion to supporting the , supporting families with more than two or three children. he outlined a range of tax measures tother help those families. he said that the health of the nation is very important. he said not enough people could ask a's health -- could access health care facilities. in rural areas, for example, where people cannot always immediately access health care. he said the business climate neededs to be freer. tosent a very clearar messagege those inin power that they shoud

stop interfering with businenesses. it is almost a as if busininesss should be free from prosecution, he said. he specifically mentioned a new railway link would be opened this year between russian mainland and crimea across the crimean bridge opened by mr. putin himself last summer. anchor: thank you very much indeed. for britishlow prime minister theresa may as three conservative mps announced they are resigning from her party in order to join a recently formed independent group in parliament. this news coming as an eights labor member of parliament has quit the main opposition party to join that new breakaway group. joan ryan announcing via twitter she was leaving under party sincelabour

jeremy corbyn became its leader. 11 numbers have quit over corbyn's allegations of anti-semitism and handling of brexit. teenagery of a british who left the u.k. to live under the islamic state group has said they are considering all legal avenues after the u.k. announced it will beast's -- it will be stripping the 19-year-old of her citizenship. she is currently being held at a camp in northeast syria and wants to be able to return to the u.k. with her newborn baby. the teenager who fled london to join the islamic state group four years ago wowon't be able to return home. the decision to strip her of her british citizenship came after she gave birth to her third child this weekend and called on authorities to show compassion by allowing her to raise the bababy in the u.k. >> i think a lot of people should have sympathy towards me

for everything i've been through. i didn't know what i was getting into when i left. i just was hoping that maybe they could let me and my child come back. reporter: yet she didn't show any remorse, and her appeal didn't convince british authorities, which consider her a security threat. home office based its decision to remove her nationality on the 19-year-old's bangladeshi heritage, which could allow her to claim citizenship there. the move was hailed by conservative mps who had been calling on the government to make an example of would be returning jihadists. >> it t is the right decision because we have to show, one, that we want to have a deterrent to stop people e ever going to join extxtreme islamist terrorit grgroups, and secondly, thate will notot tolererate, under any circumstances, people joining

those death cults, and if the do -- if they do their will becomes a quinces. reporter: her family was dis--- there will be consequences. reporter: her family was disappointed by the decision and will consider all available legal avenues. they now have a month to file an appeal. anchor: as burkina faso takes over the presidency of a joint antiterrorism force, the country faces a humanitarian crisis. there are over 100,000 people currently displaced in the country. some have fled ethnic violence in villages. others are fleeing violent insurgencies. "france 24" went to meet some of those living in government adadministered camps. this camp for the internally displaced is in the heart of the people.obout 2500 most left their homemes after

their villages were rated -- were raided. violent memories still haunt him. >> i was at home when i heard shots. they burned the markets, shops and bars. they ransacked everything and killed people. i saw 12 peoplple die. we didn't have time to take our things. we escaped. reporter: this woman gave birth in the camp a week ago. at least 10 women are due to deliver their babies here. to cope with an increasing population, food is carefully rationed. everyone gets 400 grams of cereals a day, but supplies a ae low. >> we have food stores that have a capacity of 50000 tons because

we believe that is what we need to havave at all timimes. behind u us, we have no more thn 10 tons. therere is a huge need to stock food in the stores to help these displaced people. reporter: another camp has been erected about 30 kilometers away. around 300 children live here. staff offer all the support they many childrent have been traumatized. >> he told me he doesn't wawanto go back anymore because that's where his dad was killed. up, t toto cheer them keep them busy so they can forget about thehe expererience. reporter: the un's has about 1000 people have fledd theheir homes everery day of 2019. across burkina faso, that comes to about 16,000 -- 60,000

internally displaced people. anchor: saudi crown prince -- mohammad salman met the indndian presidentt. the visit provides an opportunity to try to build diplomat support against pakikistan folollowing a militat attack in the disputed region of kashmir. palace museum, alslso knknown as the for bid in city, was lit up by thousands of -- forbidden city, was lit up by thousands of lights for the annual lantern visit of -- lantern festival. it is the first time in the palace's 94 year history it has hosted the lantern festival.

a reminder now of our top headlines. into thesenate report so-called been allah affair highlights what it called deeply -- been allah -- benalla affair highlights what it called deeply dysfunctional practices at the highest level of government. if pushed, moscow is prepared to deploy weapons against america's decision-making centers. the russian president issue been his toughest remarks yet on a potential new arms race. that in response to a u.s. decision to ququit a cold war ea arms-control treaty. londoner who-old left the u.k. to join the islamic state group when she was 15 years old has had her british citizenship revoked. her family insisting they will do everything in t their power o appeal that decision.

it is time now for business nenews. i amam joined in the studio by stephen. starting in frfrance, itit's bea big day in court for the swissss bank u ubs. reporter: swiss c courts will hp hid billionsrer u u from authorities after an investigation. financial prosecutoto are seseeking a a record fine of 3.7 billion euros. catherine was at has the story. reporter: the swiss banking giant is accused of unlawfully soliciting clients and helping them hide their assets from the taxman. french authorities say that over an eight year period between 2004 and 2012, more than 10 billion euros w was tucked out f sight. the financial prosecutors office is seeking a 3.7 billion euro fine for the bank, the largest ever asked in france.

prosecutors also want ubs's french subsidiary to be fined 15 million euros andnd penalties of 500,000 euros apiece for the bank's six top executives. lawyers for the french state are asking for 1.6 bilillion euros n damages, meaning ubs could be on the hook for as much as 5.3 billion euros. ubs has denied the charges, saying its operations complied with swiss law. the bank says it did not know that some french clients had not properly declared assets in switzerland, and ubs says prosecutors have yet to prprodue proof such as client names or account numbers to back up their fraud claims. the trial is ththe culmination f a seven yearar long investigatin launched when former employees stepped forward with allegations of unlawful conduct. ubs and french authorities have been in settlement talks twice, but proceedings fell through two

yeyears ago o when both h sidesd not agree onon t fine amount. >> p president trump has e edge againn - -- has against adjusted the march 1 deadline with china to resololve the trade dispute could be pushed back. he threatened to more than double tariffs on $200 billion exports if a deal was not reached by then. optimistic about the prospects of a breakthrough. pres. trump: the talks are e gog very well. our group just came back, and now they arere coming here.. ii can't tell you exactly about timing, but the date is not a magical date. a a lot of things can happenen. the question will be will we raise the tariffs because they automatically kick into 25% on $200 billion worth of goods. i know that china would not like that to happppenso i thinknk thy

are trying to moveve fassoso tht doesn't h happen. reportrter: what is happening on the market, london, paris and frankfurt all trading up around 1/4 of 1%. almostin air france up 4% in paris. more on that any moment. the pound holding onto much of the sterlingthough moving against the euro and the llar. levelel fore the 1.30 thee dollar, seen as a significant gain for the currency. a merger of british supermarket chains could be on the rocks after u.k., edition authority warns it could lead to higher prices -- after the u.k. competition authority warns it could lead to higher prices. shares down 15% in london. operating profit at air france

asynn sunk 30% last year they grappled with the rising cost of fuel and strikes at its french arm. 15 days of walkouts at air france cost some 305 million euros. the company publishing its results the day after a new deal with the company for an average 4% pay raise. is scaling back operations in south america, shutting down a factory in brazil as it stops selling commercial trucks in south america. the company is undergoing a massive restructuring of its global operations, and has already made j c cuts in e euro. t to turkey,, where consumer confence has slumped for a third month in a row. inflation remains rampant in the country,y, despite a r recent rebound ininhe valalue of the lira.. inin response to the e crisis, e government has set up food

stalls in an effort to keep everyday items affordable. >> a sharp rise in food prices has shoppers in turkey's trembling -- turkey scrambling to make ends meet. >> you can't buy anything. everything is so expensive. we are really struggling. reporter:: accorording to o the turkish ststatistical l institu, lalast month's annual inflation rate was just over 20% as the value of the lira has fallen, making imports more expensive. the government has opened their own food markets, selling produce at half the price of retailers, to battle increasing inflation. while some have wewelcomed the move, others say it does little to solve the real problem. >> these are all temporary measures. they need to get to the root of the problem in support the farmers. these are all for show. reporter: there are other worries about the health of the economy.

>> looking at the data, we can see inflation is causing widespread distress. on the consumer confidence index, there is very serious decline. but there is a drop p in industy sales as well due to inflation. reporter: with local elections next month, the opposition has accused the government of using the discount food stalls to woo voters. reporter: oprah winfrey's purse slimmed down bsosome oher r bi invevestments. stake in weight watchers has lost some $550 million in value in the last eight months. oprah is the company's second-largest shareholder. it's shahares hit a record last june, but slumped i more than 2/3 then. are still worth more than $770 million more than

it was when she bought it. i wish the values were in pounds because of the puns. anchor: thank you very much indeed. that is all for now,

nakul mamahendro: itit never mae sense t to me that,t, like, yoyou walk intnto this resestau, everything is s super formal, ad thehen you go and you sit d down and youou're,, like, oh, i'lll e the 10.99 buffet. okayay. 10.99 buffet, you know. sso we were e just like, you kn, let's just scrap everything. let's starart fresh. like, what do we want our restaurant to look like? arjujun mahendro: we wanant to change the perception of indian culture in america. so how do we pusush th n needl forward and how do we grorow? nakul: we're going to seserve, like,e, the most t bomb tradidil indian food. '