genie: talks back on in france between the government and unions over plans for the controversial pension n reform. thisis is the country's longest ever nationwide transportation strike hits its 34th day. up, we will get a first look at the design for uber's new flying taxi. that's in our business update. first our top story live e from paris. ♪

reports from iran say at least 40 people have been trampled to death and 190 hururt when a stampede rope out at a funeral processionon for general qasem soleimani according to iranian emergency services. thousands had turned out i in te military hometown of the chief who was killed last week by an american airstrike. today was meant to mark the final day of mourning after a series of tributes across the country. his funeral has been postponed to an u unspecified d date. soleimani'i's death hass brought tensions b between the u.s. and iranan to a new highointnt. >> huge crowds packed the central square e to honoror the iraniann generalal killed fridan a u.u.s. airstrike. the susurrounding streets were

alalso rampant withh mourners despairing at the loss of a national hero who once led the revolutionary guards expeditionary - -- various funeral processions throughout the country, notably here in tehran where ayatollah khomeini was visibly moved. soleimimani's remains were also taken to iran's holy city, turning out a massive crowd. body is finally laid to rest on tuesday, the tension between iran and the united states is not. iran has vowed to retaliate. the u.s. has warned it is ready to strike again. as defense comes secretary mark esper denies the u.s. military is preparing to withdraw from iraq. media reports said the u.s. had sent a letter to iraqi officials informing them american troops would be repositioned in

preparation to pullout. the defense secretary says there has been no american decision to leave. >> u.s. troops are not pulling out of iraq. that w was the definitive answer from the top u.s. geneneral. but for more than an hour this monday that wasn't exactly clear , after the release of a letter from u.s. command the iraqi government suggesting that the u.s. would be pulling out of iraq. the letter acknowledged the iraqi government's sovereign decision to order their departure. this afterer a vote by the iraqi parliament to end the presence of all foreign troops. defense secretaryry of mark esperer acknowledged the exisistence e of the letter, but said it was inconsistent with the current u.s. policy, further fuelining the confususion. the untntil the chairman ofof joint chiefs, general mark

millie clarified the matter, saying it was actually a draft that was released by mistake and that it was poorly worded in that it wrongly implied that the u.s. would be withdrawing from iraq. admittedy the general that some u.s. troops would be repositioned in the region inn the future but he refused to gigive more details a as to wher whatat that movemement would lok like. today,five years ago gunmen stormed the office of satirical magazine charlie hebdo in paris, kicking off a wave of terror attacks in france. the initial attack started at charlie hebdo and continued for two days with shootings at a kosher grocery store in a paris suburb. 17 people were killed. commemorations are being held in paris to mark the anniversary.

these ceremonies today are following the same steps as those attackers did in january 5 years ago. tell us more about that. >> here was the last event to commemorate those attacks that began five years ago with that terrorist attack against the charlie hebdo headquarters. bylowed a couple days later an attack here at the kosher supermarket. a very small supermarket just behind me went 29 people were by a man who claimed to be carrying out the attack in the name of the so-called islamic state. here you can see flowers laid on the ground in honor to pay tribute to those victims. killed and thee additional person killed was the terrorist. several people injured here also

during that attack. during this event to commemorate the fifth anniversary, you had several high-profile politicians . the justice minister, the mayor of paris as well as the former french president francois hollande who was in charge five years ago during those attacks. the need of unity. let's take a listen. france has to do more than just aaron t its security. we also have to promote and defend certain values and principles. that's the message we want to get across. especially with the huge protest 2015 for which many other world leaders were present. because france is a country which in the eyes of many nations and belies his freedom.

so when we have that responsibility of the country that represents freedom, we have to fulfill expectations. we have to be united, avoid , and avoid d stigmatizing certain citizens. that's former french president francois hollande speaking to france 24. took place attion the market that was targeted because it was jewish. jewish community been saying today about how things have evolved over the past five years? those attacks five years ago sent shockwaves throughout france. of course the jewish community was particularly affected, worried by this dramatic turn of events. this kosher supermarket was targeted it hadcally because

jewish clients and it was a kosher supermarket. i spoke to some members of the jewish community in this part of paris. notably a shopkeeper nearby who tells me that the situation has worsened over the years, that he's extremely worried for his community, that he doesn't even allow his son to go to the synagogue wearing his kipa. he's extremely worried by the situation and hopes the french authorities will do more to defend jewish community in france and that's also why you had president hollande call for unity of all communities here in and the mayor of president said -- paris said the same thing. that anti-semitism was of course intolerable and that everybody here in france had to stand behind the jewish community that is it had been so clearly -- as

it had been so clearly targeted by those terrorist five years ago. thank you for reporting on this fifth anniversary date of the attacks. day 34 of we are in the nationwide transportation strike against government plans for pension reform. the government is restarting negotiations with the unions today. catherine noris trent joins us live from the labor ministry. you have already had a chance to speak with some of those people coming o out of the meeting. what did they have to say? >> there were very different accounts being given of today's talks depending on who you listen to. wewe heard from the french prime minister adouard philippe. he called it a good meeting but he also said the government was going to plan ahead with drafting this very controversial reform reform france's pension

system and he said that would be put before cabinet as planned on the 24th of january. he also said he was open to further discussions. perhaps a conference this summer with trade union leaders to talk about the various modalities and details of the reform, but they wouldn't give up on its fundamental principles. trade union leader delegations s coming out of the meetings. a veryhave been talking in different way about today's meeting. union saidne trade there was absolutely nothing comiming out of today's memeetis which h would justify calling of further strikes in france. there is a big day of industrial action plan on thursday -- plananned on thursday. another trade e union said there had been no advances at all. very different accounts indeed. in the meantime, the transportation system is still

pretty shut down. tell us more about what's happening on the ground with the strikes. strikes are continuing. ofs is the 34th day continuing industrial action here in france. ththe longestst ever r in recent french history and it is hitting the paris region. the transport metro and rail and bus services in and around the french capital have been running pretty badly. people are struggling to get in and out of work. some hard-line trade unions say they are going to blockade all the oil refineries in france for three days starting from today. they are hoping to put pressure on authorities by producing fuel shortages so people can't fill up their cars from the petrol pump.

we will see whether it filters down the supply chain. genie: thank you. brief drop ina temperatures and some much needed rainfall have opened a small window of opportutunity fr firefighters. they are trying to create lines of defense before another heat wawave hits and there is one forecast for later this week. rainfall wasunt of not enough to quench the fires and dozens continue to burn across thehe east ofof australi. there are fears the blazes in new south wales and victoria could connect to make a new magnifier. -- mega fire. animal lovers are devastated after countless animals were killed by the fires that have raised to large parts of the country's bush land. >> deserted roads and scorched landscape. seen here are the burnt remains of dozens of animals that were trapped in the fires which have devastated australia's wildlife.

480 million animals have already been killed including 8000 koalas. it's a protected species in australia that lives in complete freedom in the wild. survivors were rescued while wildlife protection organization. >> this little fellow is too far gone. elsewhere this beekeeper could do nothing else but mourn the loss of his insect. >> it t hurts. this.ts to see >> if we can't get them onto o a resoururce where thehere's flow, nectar and pollen for them, the queens will stop breeding and they will just decline in numbers. t the fires onf australia's diversity could be in norma's. >> australia is a particular speciesontent which has

that can't be found anywhere else. >> the fires have left behind huge yellow clouds of smoke carried towards new zealand by southerly winds. the ash carried d in the smoke s already turning new zealand's glaciersrs brown, which experts say could accelerate glacial melting, causing more ecological devastation. in venezuela, the new would be leader of venezuela's congress has denied accusations that he facilitated a takeover of the country's parliament by allies of former president nicolas maduro. lewis perra insists he followed the rules. opposition leader juan guaido has called the move sunday a coup. >> juan guaido has pledged too preside over a session at the venezuelan national assembly afafter rivals proclaimed a

substitute leader. >> we will put oursrselves at rk tomorrow. we will do it becacause lawmakes have strength, because they he morals, values, dignity. ofguaido risks this kind thing happening again. sunday he was blocked from entering parliament for what was expected to be his election. even climbing a metal rating -- railing to gain access, only to be pushed back by police loyal to nicolas maduro. was recently banished from the opposition on suspicion of taking bribes disputes why does version of events. >> he didn't want to come. the opposition lawmakers didn't want to be counted. they didn't have the votes. guaido held a separate session elsewhere in which 167

lawmakers backed his bid.. the u.s. has reiterated support alsoguaido who is recognized as venezuela's interim leader by a dozen south american countries and the eu. russia remains a key backer of recognizezesuro and the resultction is of legitimate democratic procedure. genie: you're watching france 24. at least 40 peoplple have been killed in a stampede at the funeral of slain iranian general qasem soleimani. that's accocording t to iranian emergegency services. close to 200 more were hurt. thousandnds of people turned out in his hometown for the burial today after the general was lled in a a targeted u.s.s. airsrstrike. the stampede postponing his funeral to an unspecified time. today, gunmen stormed the offices of french satirical magazine charlie

hebdo. the attack left 12 people dead and marks the beginning of a wave of terror attacks around france. talks back on in france between the government and unions over plans for pension reform. this is the country's longestt ever nationwide transportation strike hits its 34th day. time for your business update with stephen carroll. you are starting with the very latest on ththe dispute betweenn francece and t t u.s. overer the french digital tax. >> the finance mininister has st a twtwo weeeek deadline with his american counterpart to resolve their disagreement over the tax. washington has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 100% on french exports including champagne and cheese after it found the levy would hurt american technology companies. the tax of 3% is imposed on digital revenues of major firms, momost of which are american.

he discussed his conversation with secretary steven mnuchin. agreed to redouble our efforts in the c coming days to try and find a compromise on the digital tax at the oecd level. we've given ourselves exactly two weeks, therefore until our talks on the margins of the dadavos meeting at the end of january. genie: carmaker nissan says it will conontinue acaction against former chairman carlos ghosn despite his escape to lebanon. >> this is the former -- first statement from the country since he fled to lebanon. he denies misconduct. f flight will nott affect the basas p picy of hohoing him responsible for

misconduct uncovered during an investigation. he is expected to speak to the lebanon media tomorrow. rolls-royce has reported record sales. >> they sold over 5001 hundred vehicles last year, the highest figure in the brands 100 -- 116 year history. the company saw strong sales of its new suv. can go to london and speak to the ceo of rolls-royce cars. thank you for joining us. these are strong results particularly at a time when other big names in the car industry are seeing falling sales. who and where are your buyers? >> first of all, thanks for being with you. number two, i think we are not in the car business industry. it sounds funny now, but we are in the luxury goods industry. reason, our clients are buying your product from different reasons.

not to go from a to b but just to enjoy life and do something special for their own souls and hearts. that's what luxury is all about. that's probably also the reason we are a little bit decoupled from w what you currently see in the car market. of course one reason for that stunning success, and it is a stunning success, plus 25% in one year, is of course that our sports utility first time ever we brought such a car into the range of rolls-royce is has proved to be an unbelievable successful product all over the world. and has contributed quite massively to that plus 25% growth. w we are highly delighted about such a successful business here. >> your main manufacturing base is in the u.k. where you are. are you worried about brexit affecting your goals? >> i think the recent election cleared a little bit the air.

it took away some of the uncertainty. brexit is now coming. that's for sure. and now brexit needs to happen. that is the next step. in that context very important need totrade relations be forged with the european union, but also the rest of the world, america, china. that's on the agenda now. and it's also necessary to get confidence back into the markets here particularly into the industry so that everybody understands the trade relations and conditions for the future here in the u.k. carmakersy other moving into electric vehicles. should we be expecting to see electric rolls-royces anytime soon? >> yes indeed. in this decade, rolls-royce will start to go electric. we are working on that already.

it's in the making how we say, and i'm not telling you when exactly but it comes in this decade. the brand is committed to go step by step into full electrification and we've announced that a couple of years ago when we launched our 103x.mental car, the we willur path and follow into that. >> looking ahead, where do you see growth coming from in the next year? currently in are that position that we have a well-rounded portfolio. we are well placed in oil markets worldwide. we operating in over 50 countries in the world. i stilll see some growth potential in oil markets due to ,he fact that our target group

the ultra high net worth individuals are constantly growing worldwide. potential for us. auto books all look very strong. -- that's great news. i think also black match which we introduced recently as playing a significant role for our business success. it is a strong year for motorcars in 2020. will it be the same growth levels? it won't. 25%.not plus but it will be again a very good year for us. launching a very important milestone again for the brand. a very worldwide important product. it's great what comes with rolls-royce motor cars over the next years.

>> thank you very much for speaking to us. >> thanks. >> look at whahat's s happeningn thee markets, intereresting news from anothther luxurury carmaker that's having a very badad day today. sherry's and aston martin have plunged after it issued a profit warning. they are down from 12% in london. gains on other european markets. was a flying taxi unveiled at the consumer electronics show i in las gagas. >> a contract has been signed with uber to massss-producece te vehicles. trial l flights are set to begin this year. ththe company says itt e expects commercicial operations to begin inin 2023. they are facing competition. a partnershship that both companies hope will transform urban transport as we know it.

presentedd uber concepts of a flying taxes -- taxi in las vegas to avoid road traffic. air travel.point we can reduce travel time groundally by averting traffic congestion. also we will be able to fly on demand. >> the taxis will be designed to of four passengers on trips 100 kilometers. is to make them completely autonomous. >> we are not an aircraft manufacturing company and wee have no intention of becoming one. we have -- we believe hyundai can build these taxis at a rate not possible in the industry. say they will carry passengers across los angeles, dallas and melbourne by 2023.

asre are logistics as well noise and safety concerns that have y yet to be clarified. boeing is currently working with porsche toto create their own flying taxis. a helicopter has already completed test flights. has beenon musk celebrating tesla's newest model in china. >> the sometimes controvoversial billioionaire got ininto the spt of the event with some awkward dancing. not entirely sure what he's going for there. it is significantly awkward. thisis is the $2 billion teslala factory that started buililding cars i in record time e in chin. the company hitting another milestone on monday when its market value s surpassed $80

bibillion for the first time. dance like nobody's watching, right? >> sadly, lots of us are. genie: the media world's take on the new movie musical cats is not kind, to say the least.

[drums beating rhythmically] men: hey! man: for more than 4 decades, papua new guinea was my home base to cover s some incredible stories from natural disasters, to political coups and cicivil wars. sean dorney on manus island for abc news. i even got to captain the national rugby league team. announcer: sean dorney sends a long pass... and it's a try for papua new guinea. [cheering] sean: now, i'm living back in australia and facing my toughest assignment yet-- trying to beat a deadly disease. but while i s still can, i'm