♪ >> a very warm welcome to "france 24." you are watching live from paris. it is 1:00 p.m. in the french capital. a four-day summit at the vatican on sexual abuse saying the church has to listen to the cry of the little ones seeking justice. strongestetanyahu's challengers form an alliance ahead of april's vote to read

what does this mean for voters tiphow can the partnership the balance? senegal widely regarded as west africa's most stable democracy is holding a presidential election on sunday. our r reporters take a look at e importance of candidates receiving support from the country's religious brotherhoods. iso coming up this hour, it a smart phone a foldable screen. is it worth $2000? stephen carroll will tell you more about the device in our business update and visitors immerse themselves in the world of van gogh at a gallery in the french capapital. ♪ >> thank you for watching live

from paris. we start with the vatican where pope francis kicked off a child protection summit aimed at taca think -- aimed at tackling pedophilia being addressed by more than 200 church leaders. the pontiff helps to raise awareness through prayers, speeches, working groups, and testimonieies from the victims. let's listen to the pope speaking earlier this thursday. >> the burden of pastoral and ecclesiastical responsibility weighs onur meeting our meeting. we are obliged to speak and counsel on how we can fight this evil that afflicts the church and all mankind. >> we spoke t to our corresespot for the latest f from the summit and here is what she had to say. >> w what we knoww is that it

clearly is a call to action. he said veryry cleararly the pee of the w wld, the catatholics of the world don't want the obvious cocondemnation of thiss heinous crown, but concrete and respective measures. i think it is an extension of this idea from the beginning when he said very clearly a zero-tolerance on the issue of child sexual abuse e and that is why he has done this measure, inviting the world's bishopsps o ascend onto vatican and to listen and put their questions forward and come up witith best practitices. that is w wt they want, reaeally specific measures of w what they can do when thehey go b back to their dioceses, their parishes back h home, what they can do to spread the world about how to deal with this issue. how to deal with lisistening to ththese abuse survivors. it's also a about bringing grear

awareness of the issue. while we have seen many cases being repororted in europe, in north america, latin america, there are parts of f the world where the stigma is stronong. theyey need to be brought to t e bishops. >> we are now going to take a cases. somomof the -- has been approved of molesting more than 80 boys. by the grace of god has been polarizing with audiences. silver grand jury prize, but has had a complicated reception in france where it is finally cleared for release. here is that report. --40 years after the facts finally found the strength to speak out about his past. he s says he was sexually abused and raped by a father when he

was seven n years old. this mental image, this memory y of sittingng on te priest's knees. of being touchched by him. undereral occasions being his control and never saying to .yself, wait, this is not ok >> for years, he suppressesed te painful memories. in 2014, it a all came e bubblig back to the sururce. >> when i saw the f father on television for the first time, i almost lasashed out at my tv. i felt this rage, this terrible anger. letterecided to write a to the father and the archbishop , the cardinal. if he did receive a reply from the cardinal, it only made

mention of compassion and prprayers, notot of apologogiesr sanctions. >> they are applying their own justice, which means appeasing, moving the priest, covering up for him because this cannonot blowback o on the church. >> the cardinal was recently tried along with 4 -- fiveve formerer aides for covering up e abuse. the e father h haseen placed unr veststigation and admitted to sexually assaulting seral unung bo. his trial is set to take place at the end of the year. a muddy battleground is emerging in israel as the country approaches an april 9 election and the survey is the deadline for parties to register. among them, the two calendars to benjamin netanyahu have are a formerthey

armed forces chief of staff and a centrist politician. let's bring in our world affairs commentator, doug herbert, for analysis on that story. i want to dive into this centrist a analyst e essentially angling for b benjami netanyay's job. doug: the questioiobeing could a centristst ticket that combmbins the former heaof t the armed forces, alall the military badgs and credentials youu need, plusa former t tv personality whosose party is known for pushing social policies, healing divides . can those forces combine in a superhero fashion and take on the man who has so dominated the israeli political state for the past decade and has been for the past decade at the head of the most right-wing coalition government in his real -- israel's modern history? it is a tall order.

head of the military chief of staff, a man who will resonate with a lot of israelis who have been extremely concerned with and receptive to the insurance is about israel's security. he will be able to say with us in power, we will keep you secure and the other could bring the social credentials because one of the big issues in this election will not be just externally and israel possibility to project might and socialbut also those divisions in society. things like overcrowded hospitals, housing crunch in the big cities. these are big issues as well. perhaps this ticket has the right combination of what it takes to take on benjamin netanyahu who has been able to cast an umbrella over the entire political state and wrap up just about every election we have seen in recent years. >> you have been talking about

this alliance and some say it could tip the balance. how has netananhu been reacting? doug: he launched a visceral online campaign in which he basically branded -- this coalition as being weak left and himself as strong right. beyond that, you might say he has lashed out and tried to unite, he is already at the head of a religious nationalist government. he has been leading that government some say at the expense of his party's values, that he compromised values in the name of keeping in popower. what he has basically done is a united one of his coalition parties, he managed to entice his coalition party, jewish home, to unite with jewish power , a party based on the principles of the late radical rabbi whose basic platform

boiled down to expelling .alestinian arabs very hard-line, right-wing views and this is now a movement that is possibly being brought into the netanyahuhu under that umbrella in the name of the thing up his security -- beefing up his security credentials. >> thank you very much for that analysis, doug herbert. this thursday, the final stages of the evacuation of civilians from the north bastion of the islamic state group and the east of the country. these images are from previous days showing a convoy of trucks carrying hundreds including men, women, and children leaving the area and among them, reportedly summarizes members. the forces are expected to engage the remaining extremist .ighters h holed up inside >> this convoy has come from the

last bastion of the islamic state group in syria. normally the trucks would carry military material. today there cargo is jihadi brides and their children. some squeezed into dangerous positions on the loading gates. in the back, men, reportedly jihadi fighters who decided to surrender. hundreds of them have been detained among fleeing. the kurdish and arab militias fighting to wipe out the islamic state group are on edge. for more than two weeks, they have been waiting to launch their final assault in an effort to avoid civilian casualties. >> god willing, this will be over soon. in three days, there will be no jihadi's left. >> some several hundred people are still trapped in this have square-mile of territory. at the top left of this photo,

armed islamic state group fighters are visible. wednesday morning brought new airstrikes. c children badly wounded without medicall care as the lat pocket of what was once a self-proclaimed -- the size of the u.k. enters its final days. >> turning our attention to the neck all wear religious leaders -- senegal where religious leaders still have influence on everyday life. at the end of the 1980's, -- stopped voicing support for certain candidates. taking a look at how religion is playing a key part in the campaign ahead of sunday's election. this is part of a series of special reports from the west african country. >> the holy city is home to the most prominent muslim .rotherhood in senegal

no candidate can afford to ignore it on the campaign trail. presidential hopefuls come here one by one to seek prayers from the religious leader and present their platform in the hopes of gettining his endorsement. even implied support can impact the vote of the brotherhood's followers. it is a tradition that also means a lot to many voters. ifyouou cannot lead senegal you do not believe in god. whatever level of impurity of the person, there has to be a minimum of faith and belief. you have to charm the constituency to get a few more votes. the religious leader >> staff -- the religious leader's staff reject the idea he might influence the election. >> there are no instructions given for the election. the chief is neutral.

that is important, but it doesn't mean that in his heart he will not choose one or the other whose program he approves of. >> the influence of religious leaders over young voters has finished according to this researchers prayed however, it remains a tradition rooted in the culture. >> the role of religion is a constant as is the focht politicians are aware of the influence over voters. the influence of religion over public opinion is important. whether mathematically that translates into votes in elections, that is the big question we are working on and we don't have a specific answer. >> in senegal, 95% of the population is muslim and the majority of them belong to one of the country's main muslim brotherhood's. in venezuela, a standoff

continues between the country's leleadership and self-proclaimed aiaido who gavegu the armed forceses a three-day ultimatum. this days before plans to bring u.s. medical and food aidid into the south americanan countntry. the announcement raised fears of possible weekend confrontations. let's take a listen to why they are speaking to reporters. here.are not stopping we are going to stay out in the street. every going to mobilize garrison, border post, and send a clear message. as we have done since the beginning in a peaceful, but very firm manner. the 23rd of february we will go to every border post to demand humanitarian aid to be allowed through t to allow us to save lives in our country. story,ing with that

tensions have been mounting in venezuela since richard branson said he would organize a concert for the country this friday night. it is expected to raise funds for food and medicine. the event has been criticized by some who claim this is a u.s.-backed effort to "tarnish the socialist government." >> kid may not look like direct action, but the latest escalation in the venezuelan crisis. workers setting up a state. richard branson has organized a benefit concert to raise money for venezuelans suffering from medical shortages. hundreds of f thousands of p pee are expected to attend, and a nod to the historic concert that raise funds for the ethiopian famine in 1985. supplies from different countries around the world. i think we w will use that money

toto pay for doctotors and n nus who are fleeing venezuela to stay in venezuela and look after their people. >> while richard bransonon clais it has no political affiliation, it has been criticized by some with the former pink floyd singer accusing him of taking sides and president maduro said he would organize a rival concert hundreds of meters away. the border remains heavily guarded after maduro ordered the military to block any foreign aid from entering the country. the leader of the opposition has demanded they clear the access by saturday. the ultimatum received a hostile response from maduro's govevernment. >> we want peace, tranquility, and stability in our country. if they come at us with violence, they will get what they deserve. so far, he is refusing to bow

down to any pressure from the opposition. ever fantasized about entering the third dimension with your favorite artist? something like entering a painting? come to paris and head over to the studio of lights. it's the first digital art museum which specializes in immersive art displays. hiss vincent van gogh and sunflowers. plunge into the starry night no matter what time of day. from southern french harbors and field to scenes from native holland, 500 of instant van gogh's lights will light up the capital in a 10 month exhibition. >> you can see h his paintings f

sunflowers. they are like sunlight and ththanks to the digital productn , -- projection, we highlighted the subject which van gogh perfrfectly mustard.d. uses technology to provide art and music into an immersive experience. >> by enlarging it, we can see the substance, the strokes of the paintbrush, the thickness we don't normally get to see. >> anonother effect of the scal, visitors are almost literally drawn in to the painting. >> the audience are actors, part of the show, their shadows play with the images. >> an immersive charm that has been a hit with the public. grew in well over a million visitors. >> it is timime for business nes

with stephen carroll. let start with samsung, really tryingng to get ahead of i its competitors in the industry. >> they arare doing it by launching t the first smartphone for the next 5g networks ahead of an expepected annnnouncementm of f its version next w week. he galaxyturn n was fold, which has a foldable screen. >> beating its rivals to the punch, samsung unveiled two industry firsts on wednesday, including the first device able to run on ultra fast 5g wireless networks. >> it will have faster download speeds, a lot less latency. if you are watching live content , the time difference between it happening and you seeing it on a device is milliseconds.

5g is not expected in europe until the end of 2020. the unveiling of this phone is important in markets where the technology is being rolled out first such as the u.s., south korea, and china and gives samsung leads over its competitors. apple is an expected to have a 5g phone until the final quarter of 2020. it is yet to be priced and it will be released to summer. another innovatation for the korean phone maker is the galaxy fold, a tablet-sized phone that can bend in half unveiled days ahead of huawei's debut of a similar projeject. at nearly $2000, the device will not come cheap. >> there is a lot of different futures of the smartphone and right now the market is flattened down. it is interesting to me because it is one of the next generation features that is going to be

big. >> the s standard model willll n sale n next month for $900. by raising the price, samsung is following apple in the push-up market, leaving huawei to incrcrease its lead in the producuction of cheaeaper phono. >> it coululd cut the e u.k.'s credit rating over the risk of a no deal brexit. signaling the potential for a downgrade from the current aa rating. if the u.k. leaves the e.u. without an agreement, it will bring substantial disruption to the economy and trade. this coming after the meeting between theresa may and the u.k. commission president on wednesday produced no major breakthrough. major brands including nestle and mcdonald's s pulled out from yoyoube over c concerns the site has been facilitating pedophile networks. a blogger posted a video showing how users wewere making inappropriatate comments on vids

of chihildren which led to youtube's algorithms recommending this content to other users. nestle said it was investigating the issue after a small number of ads appeared on videos where comments were being made. youtube says it shutdown more than 4 accounts on the site. some more business headlines next, the boss of volkswagen learned u.s. tariffs could cost the carmaker billionons of euros evevery year after donald trurup said on wednesday he would impose tariffs on eururopean car imimports if he cannonot strikea trade de witith the e e.u. the ceo told the financial times the threatat created political instability. he estimated that tariffs could cocost volkswagen 2.5 billion euros a year. by 66% last year. includings -- events california wildfires and hurricane michael and triribbett

ininto a 200 billionon euro hit. the ceo sayingng the firm was compared to handle a no deal brexit. barklay's is setting aside the equivalent of 170 million euros to cover costs over brexit uncertainty. barklay's reported no growth in profits last year as the bank tried it to move on from ..evious contrtroversieses let's see how that news is going down on the stock mararkets. the big picture overall, london ftse 100 down after some company results weighed on the index, including the energy company down 11%. p paris after their results. keeping an eye o on the valuluef the british pound trading

strongerer after philip hammond suggesested a revised deal with the e.u. couould be possible. turning next to and a wherere te country's economic crisis meaeas manyny p people in b border tote giveven up using the lococ currencycy. the e colombian peso replaced it in everyday transactions. newhe peso has become the local currency. are opting for colombian banknotes instead of the bolivar, which has become next to worthless. in pesos, oranges sugar in pesos, glasses in pesos. amount to bolivar's just over one peso in columbia. as the severe economic crisis continues to grip venezuela, hyperinflation pushed up the prices of everyday items. a kilo of rice cost 220,000

boulevards, leavingg many ennis violent -- meaning many that -- meaning many venezuelans are going hungry. >> you can get flour, sugar, rice, oil. you cannot even buy a bag of rice. >> nicolas maduro's bids to bolster the economy has failed to slow down the economic freefall. for some, the worthless currency has other uses. across the border in columbia, this artist is transforming his boulevards into bagsgs and purs. >> google admitted i it forgot o tell users of the homeme alarm system that the technology contained a mimicrophone. the boy's assistant would be available on the nest guard which controls security sensors.

that came as a surprise to some users add -- as it hadn't previously been mentioned the equipment had a built in microphone. google said it was never intended to be

- [male narrator] coming up on reel south. - can i have a kiss? - [male narrator] a young transgender man finds love in rural north carolina, but finding a church that will accept him and his girlfriend. - i i really do worship the big man upstairs. - [male narrator] nonot so easy. - there's one way to come to god andnd only one way. - i i need to fifind a churcrh to w where i'm a accepted and d they know who i amam. i don't want to have to hidide who i am. - it's a gamble, it's a huge one. - [male narrator] next in deep run on reel south. - [female narrator] ] this progogram is made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by the following.