anchor: ukraine's president pushes for a four-way summit with russia, france and germany as paris and berlin call on moscow to pull its troops out of eastern ukraine. russia starts counter sanctions on on the u.s. a day after the u.s. imposes sanctions for what it calls russia's role on undermining democracy. protesters and ethnic minorities, opponents of the myanmar military junta come together to form a national

unity government. its aim is to end military rule and restore democracy. you are watching france 24. ukraine's president has called for a summit with russia, france and germany to ease tensions with moscow. there was a meeting with president macron and chancellor angela merkel. they have demanded russia pull back its troops which have been amassing on the ukraine border. zelensky said he hoped to restore the cease-fire by next week. reporter: in a bid to de-escalate tensions, president of volodymyr zelensky met with emmanuel macron on friday. the two spoke with angela merkel by video link. the french and german leaders have been mediators since 2018. >> it's not only our problem. the safety of europe, point all of europe would understand its safety for all europe will move

together vertically from worse to direct steps. reporter: the lenski says he is open to meeting with vladimir putin. the ukrainian leader is accusing him of breaking the cease-fire as thousands of russian troops gathered near the ukraine's eastern border as well as annexed crimea. russia insists the soldiers have been stationed as a are result of threatening nato action, accusing ukraine and its allies of propaganda. [speaking foreign language] reporter: an uptick in fighting

since the start of the year has seen moscow and kiev blame each other for fighting in the region where conflict between the two factions have left over 14,000 deaths since 2014. the latest tensions come at a time when relations between russia and united states have become strained. this week, the white house, which has expressed public support for ukraine announced new sanctions against russia and the expulsion of several russian diplomats. russia has promised a swt response. julia: russian actions -- russian actions in ukraine are exacerbating tensions. the biden administration imposed a new round of sanctions on thursday. the u.s. accuses moscow of election interference and other activities aimed at undermining democracy. kremlin denies this and has pledged to step up more sanctions unless washington

changes what it calls its anti-russian course. reporter: an i-4 and i -- this was russia's message as it responded to the bidens punitive measures. >> you said 10 diplomats were included in the list which was transferred to us with a request for them to leave the united states. we will respond reciprocally to this measure and opposed 10 diplomats from the united states to the russian federation will leave our country. reporter: this, in addition to fresh sanctions against eight u.s. nationals and a and on high-level officials from entering the country, including the fbi chief and bidens top policy advisor, susan rice. moscow has also expelled five polish diplomats after warsaw's decision to send some of its diplomats home in solidarity

with u.s. actions. he warned of further measures, threatening to oust as many as 150 more diplomats unless washington changes its course. the retaliatory move comes one day after the by demonstration expelled 10 russian diplomats and sanction dozens of companies and individuals over these so-called solar winds hack and russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election. the latest tension comes as russia beefs up its milary presence on e you cane border, stoking fears of an invasion. president biden has expressed his will to de-escalate tensions in the hope putin will still agree to meet for a summit this summer. julia: let's turn to the u.s. where police have identified the shooter who killed eight people for killing himself at a fedex facility in indianapolis on thursday. he is a 19-year-old former employee but his motive is still

unknown. investigators have pointed out a significant number of employees rem -- were members of the sikh community. in a sign of mourning, president biden has ordered flags lowered to have staff at the white house and all government buildings. it's the latest in a string of mass shootings across the u.s. -- 18 people died in two separate killings just last month. it is the end of an era for cuba. raul castro has confirmed he will hand over the leadership of the all powerful cuban communist party to a younger generation. he made the announcement in the four-day congress. he did not mention who would succeed him he does have an expected replacement. it ends decades of rule following the 1959 left this revolution. reporter: cuba is poised to enter the post-castro era.

the country's president will take over as first secretary of the communist party as raul castro relinquishes the post during a four-day party congress kicking off this friday. [speaking spanish] reporter: the congress, which takes place every five years comes amid the worst economic crisis in decades. forced in part by the country's own management failures but worsened by tighter u.s. sanctions and the pandemic. now, with even the most a sick goods in short supply, the commonest party is under pressure to accelerate economic reforms. >> [speaking spanish]

reporter: let's hope -- there is hope there could be more pragmatic approach to reforms but analysts do not expect a radical change. well he seen as more modern than his predecessors, he remains first and foremost a party disciple. julia: opponents of the junta in myanmar have proposed a national unity government. they say the aim is to end military rule and restore democracy. it comes one week before leaders discuss the growing crisis in myanmar. more than 700 civilians have been killed since a seized power on february 1. reporter: it was another day of anti-coup rallies on the streets of miramar.

until his motorbike was rammed by a car. after being hit, he was detained by security forces. he's now one of more than 3000 people have been arrested in the military crackdown. security forces have not managed to silence their opponents completely. in a bid to resurrect democracy, some elected officials ousted in february have formed a parallel national unity government. the group includes ethnic minorities, many of whom have been in hiding since the coup. the unity government is a first for the country, which has been riddled by ethnic divide. have come together with one aim -- to rule out military rule in myanmar. >> i support the government of a national unity for the future. support the national unity government for the future of our

children. on the people will take place in the final battle. i believe we will win. the uprising must succeed. reporter: myanmar's military has yet to halt -- has yet to comment. met council hopes they will garner international recognition and support. wyatt has -- while it has announced the takeover, dave yet to unite a common respon. the militaries bloody suppression continues an expert say some 700 people have been killed since the start of the protests. julia: france 24 spoke to the new head of the unity government. here is he had to say. >> the way to prevent kind of civil war that could add up to genocide is to support and organize this national unity government we have formed. this was formed by the people of myanmar for the people of myanmar so that the international community and the

governments around the world which are free and democratic recognize us, the earlier we will stop this violence. julia: joining us tonight is the u.s. special rapporteur, tom andrews. thank you for joining us. will this parallel or shadow government, do you think it will garner much international support in the way venezuela did? guest: i think it will. if there is anyone who has legitimacy, it is this new national unity government. it reflects a wide spectrum of the people of myanmar, opposition leaders, those who want to overrun the election just this past november, and a wide range of group, including those leading the civil disobedience in myanmar. this is a truly unified group

and i thinkf aone, certainly in this country, deserves recognition and to have their voices heard in the international arena, it is the people of myanmar through this new government. julia: the announcement of this national unity government comes after leaders sit down for a face summit. how likely is it that myanmar's southeast asian neighbors will come out and support this shadow government? guest: the people of myanmar deserve a place at the table. the only entity that can provide a legitimate voice for the people and reflect legitimately the interests and the will of the people is a national unity government. to have this summit is a very good idea. it is a step forward but i think all the governments should be

reflected. the only way that can happen as far as the people of myanmar is concerned is through a national unity government. julia: what has been your assessment of the international community's response so far? guest: i think it has been, we have heard strong statemts of condemnation, of concern, calls for the release of all political prisoners, calls for the murder of an well over 700 people to stop. i think words are wringing hollow. what the people of myanmar want is firm action by the international community. recognizing a legitimate government is one step forward but exerting the kind of pressure that can take the revenue streams that flow into the pockets or to stop those revenue streams, stop the flow

of weapons, holding the junta accountablfor their crimes, these are all action steps the people of myanmar expect and frankly deserve. we spoke earlie head of the unity government. he said all it would take was one call from india and one call from china to essentially end this crisis. what is the likelihood of that happening? guest: china certainly has made it clear they do not want to see what's going on in myanmar go on and for good reason. they have a great interest in not seeing a conflagration right over their borders. they've called for the release of all applicable prisoners. i don't know what china is saying to e junta, but i believe they have a great interest in seeing them stand down and seeing this crisis

resolved. i certainly hope they will be doing so and perhaps are doing so as we speak. publicly, they have expressed their great concern and called for the release of political prisoners. i'm hoping that privately they will be speaking very directly and clearly about why this violence and mass murder needs to end. julia: we have to leave it there. thank you very much for that. more news coming up. 2♪ >> hello and welcome to the 51

center show about women reshaping our world. as president joe biden announces the withdrawal of all u.s. troops from afghanistan, afghan women fear the return of the taliban which could see the end of female education. as attempts are made

it begins with a few words and then evolves into an inappropriate actor gesture and then worse. this is behavior that forces victims to relay with insecurity because they do not know the person in front of us or how far they will take it. >> depending how serious the incident, people who receive a statement can risk when you're in jail.

this pilot scheme could be expanded soon to other belgian cities. >> finally, the first black woman conductor, to study here in france, is now being seen as one of the young leading light of international music. she hells from that is well and shot to prominence and to after taking part in a paris competition for female conductors. we have the story. ♪ >> full of magnetic energy a passion, her unique style was evident as she directed the symphony by verdi. the competition in paris for female orchestral conductors. less than 5% of conductors are women. >> >> peaking spanish] >> making it all the way to paris was note mean feet.

-- feat. the products the patient fee is 150 euros. she also had to juggle her music with her legal studies. >> [speaking spanish] >> she came out on top, have a pool of 200 candidates. then she had to overcome another obstacle, as all flights in venezuela were suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. >> [speaking french] [laughter] [applause] >> the young conductor does not speak french or english. >> ok? >> so, communication with the

orchestra was initially difficult. but they were quickly won over by her enthusiasm. ♪ >> [speaking french] ♪ >> she is now part of the regional conservatory of paris, where she continues her musical studies. [applause] >> that is it for now. you can connect with us via our facebook page, france24.51%. or send us a tweet. bye for now.

om

04/16/21 04/16/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> videos speak for themselves. adam, during his last second of life, did not have a gun in his hand. amy: newly released police bodycam footage shows 13-year-old adam toledo had his hands in the air when a chicago police officer shot him dead last month.