♪ >> a verery warm welcome to "frae-e-24." you are watchingng live from paris. you are the main headlines at 1:00 p.m., paris time. vladimir putin and kim jong-un meet face-to-facacfor the fifirt time in moscow, offering to break the north h korean nuclear standoff after eight yield summit with donald trump.

-- after a failed summit with donald trump. police in sri lanka raid houses overnight in an investigation into the deadly blast that continues. meanwhilile, churchehes have b n ordered to stay close until security improves. they closed until security improves. plus, a marchand said don to call on the military to give power to a civilian counsel -- in sudan to call on the military to give power to a civilian counsel. several members resigned after the demand from the opposition. news,oming up in business the proposed merger between two isjapan's largest banks now scrapped in the fear that the risks outweigh the rewards. ♪

>> thank you for watching live from paris, we start with a summit between the russian president and kim jong-un, who met in the russian city. meeting,e first ever vladimir putin offered moscow's help to break the deadlock over north korea' nuclear weapons programs. the meeting comes some two months after kim's second summit with u.s. president donald trump, in which he failed to ease economic sanctions. outlet saintedia pyeongchang is willing to give up its controversial nuclear arms, but it needs reassurances from the international community. for more, let's bring i in our chief foreign editor. how are you? how can russia try and help north korea, given that the u.s. faililed previviously?

> well,l, frankly, i don't think there is an awful lot russia canan do cecept to listen to offered services as a broker. there is not a l lot russia cano to end the s sanctions regime, o has already agreed itself. the united states has made it clear its position is that sanctions will continue until north korea starts to denuclearize. there is little that russia can do to persuade the united states to change its position, unless the united states itself determines it is in its interest to do so. i don't really see this as very much russia can do beyond offering reassurances and it has its interest at stake, it is willing to listen, but it is prepared to talk to the united states and explain the new wants his of north korea's position. ineffective terms, what can you really do? i'm not really sure that russia went into these talks with north

korea expecting to achieve very much more than that. its main goal i think was to remind the world it is a global player, but it does have a border with north korea and an interest in developing its pacific rim.it is not the big player like china, theously, or even japan, or united states, but it is reminded world that it is there on the scene. >> one question that has been asked is what can it do the other one is, why is it so important to vladimir putin? it is not really known when it comes to the national issue. a projects, but i think it is much more than that. to go back to what they were just saying above russia trying to project itself as a global player, and whether anybody like it or not, it is geography. it is stretching from the baltic sea in the west to the pacific

ocean in the east and it makes it a global player. times, it's economic crisis has sucked away from that to a degree, but putin is making sure russia stays on the scene, despite the fact it is unable to carry the cloud that china, japan and the united states have in the region, it does have the border with china and north korea, and it wants to be considered. from the point of view from north korea, it is useful to have a reminder to the united states that it does have other allies, potential friends, in the region who it can turn to who might be interested in trading with it, who might be interested in investing with it. although, quite clearly at this stage, russia does not have a partrticular interest inin inveg in north korea, which it regards as a dubious project for the future as things stand, but certainly for the north koreans, it is a reminder to the outside world there are other potentially interested partners.

>> we will keep a close eye to see whether this summit yields anything. thank you for that. diplomacy, which we have been speaking about, to punitive measures. moreresident elect emerged international sanctions against russiaia after moscow made it easier for people living in the eastern ukraine territory to obtain russian passports. those of the regions -- those are two regions. putin justified the decision, saying it is not the first time we have seen this kind of a model. a move criticized by the european union. for more, let's cross live to our reporter standing by in kiev. can we say that putin's comments are fair? is bebeingink putinin disingngenuous. he says there's no difference between what russia is doing and what hungary and romania are

doing because hungary and hungarian and romanian passportsts to small nunumbs of u ukrainian citizensn westerern and southehern ukrain. and canhose who have provove thehey have hungarian or romanian defense, the scale was much smaller. russia is proposing to make it available to hundreds of thousands of people. that is how it is understood in kiev, living in the areas outside of kiev government control. that is the other shoe.though raine seeses it, rusa isis occupying g areas of thahat regn that are under the c control becaususe russian completely controls the separatists in funds and ararms. the way y it is seseen in kiev,s is something russia is doing on the same model it did in the record geoiaia regions, which people c call a form of c creepg annexation, by just givingng russian passpoports that everyby oo wants one. of couourse, what a lot of peope in kiev are saying as it could

be used in the same way it was in georgia, , as a pretetext foa russssian invasion of their territories on the basis russian needs to protect its citizens. sincehas been a few days the elections in ukraine, and quite clearly already, russia is creating problems in the country. >> yes. the presidedent-elect wasas very mumuch criticized. the outgoing presisident criticized a mess someone who might be soft on russia or prprrussian tendencies. throughohout the electction campaign, he said he would maintain ukraine's pro-european stance, but he said he wanted to try to reboot the peace protest repression a and reach out to people living inin the occupupid territitories. thesmomoves by mososcow make itt much more diffificult for him to do that because e they areeieing seen in n the ukraine is extremy aggressive and dangerous moves, and d also as an a attempt to preempt hihis attempt to reach t to those people living i in thoe territories.

russia is now w offering themm somethining in the u ukraine wil have a harard time s showing wit has to o oer, as it t tries toto regain its territories f from supperer is controrolled thrhroh litary meansns has been ruled out. also, ththe agreement signed in 2015 has seen very little progress. the cease-fire is not holdlding and there does not seem to be much prospect on things changing in the near future. it is a big headache for the incoming presidents, who expects to take office at the end of may. >> one of many challenges. thank you for that update. over to sri lanka, where catholic churches have suspended all public services over security fears. overnight, thousands of troops were deployed to help search for suspects in the easter suicide bomber attack. the g government has acknowowled intelligence f failures as anger mounts in the south of the natition. lapse.s a major

it is a major lapse in sharing of information, especially intelligence information. as for the shakeup, the president made a statement, saying that there will be certain changes done in the hierarchy, whether the military is left to be seen. as the search for suspects continues, new details have emerged of several individuals involved in sunday's attack. two are from wealthy families. their father was arrested earlier on thursday, in suspicion of abetting his sons. we are taking a look at those two men. >> this is in the capital, where two of the suicide bombers were born and raised, and it is now at the heart of the investigation. it i is also a crime scene.

whenen authorities finally arrid on sunday afternoon, three police officers were killed after another suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt inside the house. >> i heard a loud noise when i was in m my room. then i r ran outside to see what was happening. i saw smoke, and there were lots of policeman who asked us to leave. >> he isis reluctant to say mor. is theilometers away famous district in colombo. it is here that the father of the two brothers met his fortune -- made his fortune. >> it was run by one of the four brothers.. >> their shops have remained closed since sunday, after family members were arrested by the police. on of their employees agreed to speak to us on the condition of the nominee. >> our customers are mainly buddhist. i fear retaliation.

if i show you my face, i will be threatened. what worries me most is the safety of my family. >> fellow trtraders are stunnedy ththe events of the last few da. >> their father was a very genenerous man and discreet. he helped people in need. we are all very surprised. we cannot imagine his sons are behind the attacks. lankannow, sri authorities are trying to pin down how a small group of local actors manage to get the resources to carry out one of the worst acts of terrorism is country has ever witnessed. >> overtone sudan, where protest leaders have called for a strong march to mount pressure on the country's military to hand power to civilian authority. earlier on wednesday, three members of the ruling military council resigned after it said it reached an agreement on most man's -- most demands.

we have the details. the right step in direction for the hundreds of thousands of protesters across sudan in recent weeks. late on wednesday, the current army ruler said they agreed on most amends made by protest leaders. >> we have established some important principles. we are partners. we will work together to pull the country out of the current crisis. our goal is to build a healthy foundation for our country. there will be no political games , relations and their future relationships. be no differences between us because our goal is the same. in the end, sudan must come out as the winner. >> the transitional military council has been empowered since the former president was overthrown two weeks ago, but protesters have become angry at what they see as reluctance on the part of the army to give power to civilian rule. wednesday's meeting concluded

with the decision to create a committee which would ininclude civilian and military players. we have confirmed that both the declaration of freedom and change in the military council hahave shared responsnsibilitie. we have agreed on the creation of the committee, which will aim to decide how the transitions will take place and how sudan's different bodies will take part in that transition. >> in addition, the military council says three members resigned because of their perceived ties to the album share receive -- al regime or regime. the african union has also demanded and they have threatened to suspend sudan if the army does not transfer power to civilians. >> to the u.s., now, where former vice president joe biden announced his presidential bid for his career

on various social media platatforms, including youtube.. the 76-year-old, the oldest candidate e to enter the crowded democratic race of f 20 candidates, had served as vice president under barack obama and serve 36 years in the u.s. senate. balalance in this nation. i i believe history will look bk onon four years of thisis presit and d all thatat embraces as an aberrant moment in time, but iff wewe get donald trump eightht ys in the white house, he w will forever and f fundamentallyly ar the characteter of this nation. who we are. lots i cannot stand buying that happened. that is why today, i'm announcing my candidacy for president of the united states. >> 21 years after his convention, he was executed wednesday night in texas as one for one of the worst hate

crime's he chained to the back of the truck and nearly dragged for five kilometers. it caused them to pass key crime legislation. -- hate crime legislation. deathnding two decades on row, john william king was executed via lethal injection at the huntsville, texas. he had a finalf statement, king responded with the word no. king did not open his eyes at any point when any witnesses were in the room. the end >> of the line >> for john king, nearly 21 years after his dissipation of the gruesome killing of james byrd junior. in 1998, king and two accomplices attacked bryd, eight 49-year-old black man.they chanted to the back of a truck and dragged him over five kilometers

. his dismembered body was f found lifeless the next day. a racist, hisdy body covered with tattoos referencing the ku klux klan and supremacy. despite repeatedly claiming his innocence, he was sentenced to death in 1999, along with one accomplice, lawrence brewer, who was executed in 2011. the third suspect in jamesburg -- james byrd's cueing was handed a life sentence. relatives were there to witness the long-awaited execution. >> king, the ringleader of the three, had a deeply ingrained hatred of lacks. king showed no remorse then and showed no remorse tonight. >> in october 2009, a law named dr. james byrd was signed into effect, affording greater protection for hate crime victims. >> it is time now for a reminder of our top stories this hour on "france-24."

vladimir putin and k kim jong-un met face-to-face for the first time before offering to break the north korean nuclear standoff after a failed summit with donald trump. the russian president says pyongyang needs security guarantees to give up its arms. raidedin sri lanka houses overnight as an investigation into the deadly blast continues. meanwhile, churches have been ordered to stay closed until security improves. sudan to man march in call on the military to give power to the civilian counsel. some progress has been made with the military council having three membmbers resigned after demands from the coalition. thank you fofor watching "france-24."." renovations,hs of

a french writer has reopened to the public -- the french writer's house has reopened to the public. "france-24" went to check out the house of the men who wrote classics like thehe hunchchbackf nonotre dame and les miserables. offhe island of currency is the e coast. for 15 years, victor hugo called it home. he lived here in exile, following napoleon roman 3rd hu jintao -- napoleon the third coup d'etat. this is where he wrote some of his best works. >> this is the second study. the first one is where he wrote les miserables. he could not see the se, so he had the idea toa open the room, cut out the roof, insnstall glas in its place and white with a view of the sea. >> he profoundly modified the house while he lived here.

not only by adding a lookout for well.nservatory, as on top of the structural changes, he methodically decorated every room, transforming his refuge into a time capsule, loaded with symbolism. thanks to an eclectic mix of the trend of his own taste. >> for him, the walls were pages of writing. but to himim, a room did not ony have four walls, he added the ceilings. the restoration was done under excellent conditioions and the result is fabulous. completed ino record time, considering i it ws nojujust a renovationn but recreation. workers needed to dig up original pieces for when he lived there. the house had been m modified several times in the 1980's. >> we began by looking at the lalarge collection of photos we have from the time hugo lived herere. that was an excellent strength for us for this type of building. >> over 15 years, victctor hugo

place.ed the bargain hunting for furniture and objects, transformining the, and even trying hihis hand at engravg. is that we doge not what this restoration to be too tacky.y. we want to keep victor hugo's diy feel. he was a decorator, but the poet, burst. it should not -- but a poet first, so it should not be too perfect. home can bego's visited. the foundation has capped the number of visitors at 20,000 per season. it is time now for a look at the e day'ss top business newsw. good evening, brian. you are starting us in china, where a three-day summit to permit the country's massive built-in road programs are getting underway. there's a great deal at stake. >> the goverernment roadad is china's multi-trillion global

infrastructure initiative. the brainchild of xi jinping, launched i in 2013, , to expanad commerercial mix b between asisd europe, , anbuild new oneses around the world v via major projects.critics now , it means t to spre c chine influence e abroadsasaying exexpensive prprojects a are drg poorerer countriries into dedebt traps. those are countries -- those are concerns beijing seeks to address. >> world leaders are flocking to beijing for the built-in road summit as a kicks off. 37 are expected to witness china's massive infrastructure policy tickets next major step. for beijing, it is a chance to address an international growing with criticism of cocountries binding to a scheme who are often saddled with unsustainable debt. beijing says they y plan to work with participating countries too make sure they can afford toto borrow. thee u.n. says progress is being made. quite active in finding solutions of different

debt, absolving into equity, and a few other measures, which shows that the chinese are attempting to assess it. it is the goal. >> the ininitiatives have added complications in your relations. it is an opportunity to take rank and look to beijing for support. is italy, the first g-7 nation to sign up in march. total cost of the initiative stand at 3.6 trillion dollars. in china, it has beenermed the project of the century. to critics abroad, it is an attempt to cement chinese influence around the world. >> you have also been taking a look at a massive rankingng merr in germany that has been called off now. >> it was deutsche banank and commerzbank. they have ended d the merger negotiations. ththey were the two biggest

announcing that it would not be that it would -- not be enough to justify the risk. it was looking at the merger to avoid a foreign takeover, but investors had serious doubts. the deal could have cost over 10,000 jobs, and with both bank still damaged from the financial crisis, they warned that two weak havles would not make e -- halves wouldld not make a strong whole. >> and h how are the banks looking? >> deutsche bank is up 1% and commerce down n around 2.2% at midday. europepean indexes, overall, in the red midday thursday as investors track a flurry of corporate earnings reports with asres down over 4% in london a merger is blocked by regulators. the ftse 100 down just under the flat line. c, added to the look

percent. significant risk from cancer lawsuits after the loss of monsanto. the dax is still down. gettinger story that is a lot of traction as thehe medil marijuana indndustry expandininn eueurope. canadian firmrm has inaugurated its first european cannabis production facility. the 76,000 square meter farm is portugal. central it represents a 20 million euro investment and roughly 100 new jobs with 100 more expected by year end. countries,to 13 including germany, croatia, and the czech republic. the ceo says it is looking to expand the list include ireland, the u.k., and one day france. portuguese officials hailed it as a win for the country'ss economy. we are talklking about making foreign invnvestments towards

expoports that creates jobs.s. it has great potottial for developmpment with the help of science, technology, laboratories, and the universities from across the country. it will also allow us to create opportunities, to promote talent. d did -- so more headlines were following, facebook has earmarkrked $3 billion to cover a potential sign from u.s. regulators over privacy violations.federal trade commission launched the investigation into the giants following the cambridge scandal. facebook says the final cost could hit $5 billion. teslsla has posted a $7 million loss for the first three months of the year. to ceo says they may seek raise outside capital once again with smaller lost souls -- with smaller losses in the second quarter. they have struggled with the mass-market of their model three sedan and slower sales of older

models. and carrying is reportedly nearing an agreement with italian tax authorities. the french luxury group is likely to pay between one .3 billion euros and 1.6 billion euros to settle claims against

- [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.