>> you're watching france 24, live from paris. opening statements begin in the high-profile trial of a white police officer accused of killing george floyd. video of the officer kneeling on the black man's neck sparked ouage around the world and will be a key pce of evidence in the case. this islamic state group is claiming which fonts about it for a deadly attack on this beach. they have taken control of the city of palma. thousands of people are dead d others have fled for their lives .

traffic is flowing through the suez canal again after a ship was removed. 400 ships have after a week of waiting. we will have more in our business report with kate moody. monte: i am monte francis, thank you for joining us. it is considered the most significant police brutality case in decades. the trial got underway today in the case of derek chauvin for killing george floyd. the prosecution began by showing the jury the heart to watch video of chauvin kneeling on floy' -- floyd's neck.

here is what attorneys on both sides had to say today about the cases they're trying to make. -- about the cases they are trying to make. >> we will learn that mr. derek shaaban -- chauvin betrayed this badge. he used excess blend unreasonable force on the body of george floyd. that he put his knees on his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him until the very breath -- the very life were squeeze ou -- squeezed out him. >> it is about the evidence of this case, the evidence of this trial. there is no social cause in this courtroom.

but the evidence is far greater than nine minutes and 29 seconds. >> we spoke to our washington correspondent who told us more about what the jury heard today during opening statements. >> the focus of the opening statement was the cause of death for the prosecution, the cause of death is clear, it is derek chauvin's knee on george floyd's neck. the prosecution dissecting every moment of that infamous video that went around the world. the cause of death on the other hand from the defense side was that -- they focused on other things, the drugs in george floyd's system, on his underlying health conditions, trying to instill doubt as to whether george floyd's situation that had nothing to do with derek chauvin, whether that led to his death and not chauvin's

knee on his neck. that was one of the main focal point was, what the cause of death was. the other focus was on use of force. for the prosecution, derek shaaban -- chauvin did not use appropriate force on george floyd, he should have removed that knee from his neck. the prosecution says that derek chauvin acted as he was trained to do. he was sickly being a police officer of the minneapolis police department and that he was applying all the training he had gone through. you see two sides of that story that millions of people saw around the video. >> dozens of people are dead and thousands of others have fled

for their lives in mozambiue. security forces say the fighting still ongng. for more on the story, we are joined by a researcher in the african division at human rights watch. can you start by telling us you assessment of the human toll this kind o terrorism is having on the citizens there? zenaida: it is huge. the past three years, we are lking about more than 1000 people dead. half a milli people displaced. we are talking about several children unaccounted for and kidnapped. we a talking about several

women unaccounted for and kidnapped. at this stage and for five days, thgovernments still talking about dozens killed. that means that they themselves have no idea homany people might have died since wednesday. as i speak to you, we are concerned that people are still unaccounted for. we don't know where these people have gone to. monte: the presence of jihadists in mozambique has grown in recent years. what can you tell us about this group, who are they and what is their objective? zenaida: i won't be able to tell you who they are and what their jective because we had not had an opptunity thear from the leadership of this group on what exactly they want from who and when.

isis has told this through their social media. this group started as a small group of muslim youth that were upset over the ways that they were being treated. they started initially by staging attacks in villages, targeting city people. then they move into attacking military positions and now we see them staging this type of attack. in some cases, creating the type of things that we saw. this is not the first case, palma .

we have seen several episode stri like it -- just like this. monte: you were saying the government does not know much about what happened in palma. they are still trying to understand that. what has the government done to protect the population? zenaida: in our opinion, it has done very little. our understanding is that this by the government saying that it is taking all the measures to regain control of the town and restore order and security, what we have seen on the ground is people arriving in palma on foot. they walked. we are seeing people volunteering to give them rides. we are seeing a scenario where relatives of those who worked in

palma are packing outsi thep ort in -- t port in pemba, waiting to see if their relatives will come off the ships from palma. it is not the first time a similar episode happened. whenever a group like this attacks a village and kills people, the govnment cannot account for civilians. whenever they see civilians having to go and hide, it should not be like this. the government should be responsible not only for security but also to make sure that in conflicts like this, people find sety, find shelter, find food and return to their homes once conditions are better for safety.

monte: thank you so much for your time tonight. zenaida: thank you. monte: three members of ivory coast security forces are dead following an attack on the country's order. islamic militants are respected to be behind the red. they have long warned that the -- the raid. they have long warned that there would be a raid in the ivory coast. nine soldiers were killed in the same area of the attack last year. a former belarusian mercenary and two soldiers are being tried. 16 years later, it remains unclear who ordered the attack.

families are hoping the trial will provide some answers. >> one of the first to arrive in court, hoping to find answers about a deadly bombing in ivory coast 16 years ago. this was a soldier that was injuredfter these jets fired rockets at a french military base. he is one of nearly 70 people who are civil parties to the proceedings in paris, including this one who lost her father in the attack. >> thurston a consensus as to 10 people dead in 2004.that left french troops have been deployed to the ivory coast. then-president ordered the army

to take positions held by the rebels. french intelligence later issued to these images of the alleged pilots leading the attacks being investigated. the french government is said to have ordered the release. three senior ministers from that time are due to testify during the trial. the accused are missing, dead or living in hiding. despite their absence, families of the victims and survivors are hoping the trial will finally bring them some answers. monte: now to myanmar where there is increasing international pressure to end the violence. they are continuing to kill

peaceful protesters by the dozens, including more than 100 in a single day over the weekend. the protesters were prompted by a military coup. several countries including france and the u.k. have urged their citizens to leave the country. >> in the words of a famous burmese song honoring martyrs, mourners have gathered to grieve the loss of this father of two shot dead over the weekend. with more than 110 catchers he's, saturday march the bloodiest day since the coup d'etat nearly two months ago. describing the weekend violence as brutal savagery, human rights watch called on international leaders to act swiftly. >> we need to see real action. this starts with un security council resolution imposing a global arms embargo and imposing

targeted economic sanctions against the myanmar luke perry. -- military. china and russia may try to block this. let them. let them make the excuses, justify the defending of the indefensible. >> following airstrikes on the villages, an estimated 3000 locals crossed the border into thailand, forcing authorities to prepare for an influx of arrivals. the prime minister said he did not want an exodus of refugees but he found to respect human rights. >> [speaking thai] >> despite the growing danger, many protesters remain undeterred. activists have called on ethnic minority forces to back the campaign against military rule

with thousands continuing to take to streets across the country on monday. monte: president joe biden is making an ambitious promise. he says 90% of all adults in the united states will have access to a vaccine on april 19. they are reinstating mask requirements citing what he called some reckless behavior during young people -- by young people during spring break. >> now is not the time to celebrate, it is time to do what we do best as a country, our duty, our jobs, take care of one another, fight this to the finish, we can do this but don't let up now. >> the single-dose vaccine from johnson & johnson suspected to arrive in mid april in europe.

the shot was the fourth vaccine given the green light, the io has signed an order for 200 million doases. -- doses. johnson & johnson says it has agreed to provide 400 million doses of its vaccine to african countries starting the summer. now to the u.k. where england has lifted his covid lockdown for the first time in almost three months. with rising infections in europe, prime minister boris johnson is urging caution. >> a return at this outdoor pool in london. across england, swimmers are delighted to plunge back into their old routine despite the chilly temperatures. >> i really happy that i'm back. >> we swim every single day

outdoors and we are beyond excited to come back and get back into the water. >> > as infection rates fall, outdoor sports are opening back up for england. for many, it is a major boost to mental health. > i think everybody is really pent up and frustrated. it has been about being indoors and this is about being outdoors. physical health, mental health, exercise, personal well-being is all on offer from your local swimming pool. >> people in england are there to meet up outside in groups of six for the first time in nearly three months and then from april 12, the vernment plans to allow outdoor drinking in public gardens and nonessential retailers such as hairdressers to reopen their doors. boris johnson is urging caution

due to rising coronavirus cases in europe. monte: the number of france -- people in france in intensive care has reached its highest point. the number of people in the hospital with the disease rose with -- by 600 today. the vaccine program -- several parts of france are badly rising infection rates, others are experiencing a rise in tourism. that is the case in the southwest of the country where people are flocking to enjoy the spring weather and these regions. >> with virus transmission low in different southwest, another tourist season against, looking forward to a 26 degree day in

the sun, these people did not waste anytime. the warmer weather even pushed these tourists -- >> in this tow people took tours of the bay while others took advantage of quite businesses -- quiet businesses. these people are not part of the 19th administrative regions under stricter coronavirus measures.

the area has not been badly hit by the virus but was recently put on a higher alert level due to a jump in the infection rate. monte: the french pharmaceutical giant found guilty in the deaths of hundreds of people who took a diabetes and weight loss pill. the cup and was convicted of aggregated fraud and involuntary manslaughter. >> a guilty verdict and a 2.7 million euro fine for french drugmakers after some several thousand civil plaintiffs accused the company of marking the weight loss pill despite being aware of the dangerously to it. the have ministry says at least 500 people died of problems in the country because of exposure to the drug. this is a learning authorities to the risks.

>> it became one of the biggest health scandals in france as the families of victims rallied around the cause. the drug was finally pulled from shelves in 2009. more than a decade after concerns were first raised. the former boss was handed a suspended jail sentence of four years this monday from here. france's medicine agency was fined 300,000 euros for israel in the scandal. monte: teams in egypt have managed to free a huge container ship that blocked the suez canal for about a week. kate: shipping has resumed in the suez canal. the delay has cost billions of

dollars to companies and egyptian government. >> after a mammoth rescue effort, the ever given is again on the move. the giant container ship had become wedged in the suez canal, blocking traffic in one of the world's most important shipping channels, causing a backlog of more than 420 boats. this has highlighted the ability -- vulnerability of global supply chains. >> factori pull supplies from the warehouses and the warehouses were filled and allowed to deplete and now these floating ships are the warehouse. >> it caused a colossal amount of disruption. the blockage held up an estimated $9.8 billion worth of cargo each day, including around one million barrels of oil.

egypt has lost out on 12 or $14 million in daily revenues from shipping tolls. the canals -- canal's remote location made it difficult for the operation to salvage. >> the difficultys you are in the middle of noere, stuc with a vessel and no equipment nearby. that is the big challenge. >> around 12% of daily global trade goes through the suez canal. that allows shipto travel between asia and europe without having to circumnavigate africa. >> let's check in on the day's action. the dow jones rallied to a closing high. u.s. investors shrugging off concerns in the european banking sector about u.s. hedge fund. earlier, those warnings saw

credits plunging 14%. moving onto some of the days, other business headlines now. 6000 workers at a warehouse in alabama have been voting on whether to form a union after a five month long campaign, monday was the last day of voting. results are respected in the next week or so. it would be the first site to be full unionized if the decision goes ahead. boeing shares rose 3% after southwest airlines ordered 100. it is a vote of confidence for the manufacturer and its beleaguered model which has gone around the world after together crashes killed 146 people. the u.s. could impose a 25% tariff on some u.k. goods in retaliation for new taxes on tech giants. other companies that push ahead attacks could be affected. the biden administration has

said it is in favor of a global framework rather than a piecemeal approach. a number of h&m stores in china were reportedly closed by authorities and the smartphone apps for adidas, nike and other stores were blocked. p were concerns about human rights abuses. chinese social media began circulating that statement you just saw from h&m on that matter. a statement that was issued last year, it sparked a movement to boycott the brands in question. the u.s. and the eu he -- earlier, i spoke to our marketing expert about whether more brands could take a stand

in china over human rights standards. >> consumers in the west of the brands they purchase from is that those brands do take a stand, that they do have this policy and societal governors. there is no that expert -- expectation that bnds speak up , ceos speak up. i do think that some brands will forfeit that temperature i really -- temporarily to make a statement about working conditions and i think that is actually progress, this level of transparency because of soci media means all of us as consumers can now apply that pressure and scrutinize what companies do. monte: thank you. that is it for now, stay tuned

for more world news here on france 24.

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[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york this is democry now! >> the blockage of the suez canal shows the complexity of global trade. we should be paying attention to who will beeld accountable for this major accident which is not only affecting train but the lives of people around the world . amy: hopes are rising that the suez canal in egypt may soon be reopened after a 200,0