anchor: welcome to paris. these are the headlines. 130 rockets fired at tel aviv in retaliation, following a day of death, 28 dead, nine children, two jewish women killed by roct fire. nine children did in the school shooting in russia, president clinton saying we need to talk about gun control. chinese couples having fewer

children, the scrapping of the one-child policy has not led to a rise in population. this live from paris. ♪ thank you for being with us. we start with the unrest in the middle east. 130 rockets fired by hamas in response to an airstrike on the palestinian apartment block. it has been a day of death. 28 palestinians, including 10 children and women, were killed, mostly by israeli airstrikes. two women were killed, as hamas fired 130 rockets. i reporter is live -- i reporter

is live now. thank you. what is the latest? reporter: israel has closed its internatiol airporat tel aviv. planes flying in have been turned around to land at cyprus. israel took that step because rockets were landing on the runways at the airport, so they decided that was the only safe option. it has been a night of chaos and tel aviv. i can't remember the last time rockets have been landing there, a long time ago now, and it felt like total chaos. sirens warning of incoming rockets, from fire inches, ambulances --engines, ambulance, and people were killed and wounded during the barrage. it changedit has changed the

temperature of this and you feel this escalation has risen another step. anchor: in terms of what people have been saying about the death toll, 28 dead, nine children, israeli strikes on the gaza strip, this fact is an extremely serious situation now. reporter: you know, it is not long, is it, we were just at the start, d it is barely 24 hours this round, if you want to call it that, this round habeen ongoing, and yet, the death toll is high. the fear and chaos on both sides is high. i guess wt is interesting about this because i do feel thatsrael is on the back foot, you can see from this rocket

fire that hamas had been claiming they are better equipped than they were in the past. this had been long in the planning, so i don't think israel was aware of that. i feel that hamas has the itiative, so far, but it is very serious if you are a civilian in either place, no doubt about that. anchor: you were warning 24 hours ago that this is going to get worse. do you expect to get worse from here on in as well? reporter: yes, i do. the chaos in central israel today has, first of all, it has been unexpected, and second, severe, and i can't see that israel won't respond, but because hamas has raised that

level by taking this step so early in this, i think, first, i think israel will raise to level two. i had hoped that by the end of the week, which would be the festival muslims celebrate at the end of month of ramadan, i hope that would change things. i am now not certain. anchor: benjamin netanyahu saying the militants will pay a heavy price over the rocket fire. it seems that a heavy price is being paid on both sides. reporter: it is. benjamin netanyahu is a caretaker prime minister, so if he is into we can position and his opponents are trying to put together a government that does not have force. there have been four attempts at

putting together a coalition government. there is a vacuum here, also on the palestinian side, and it seems the militant wing of hamas , there might be some iranian support, overseeing the cost of a political vacuum and the militants have stepped in. anchor: thank you for bringing us up-to-date with what is happening and giving us that context and trying to assess what is happening. thank you very much, indeed, our correspondent in jerusalem. take care. thank you. next, a gunman attacked a school, killing nine children in russia, tributes have been laid at the scene, at least 21 other children were wounded and now in hospital. president putin said in reaction

that we need to talk about gun control. reporter: mass shootings are a rare occurrence in russia, but on tuesday, tragedy struck in one city, where a gunman opened fire at school 175, killing several, mostly children. [speaking in foreign language] translator: the terrorist was arrested. he was 19 years old. he had a registered weapon. other accomplices have not yet been identified. an investigation is underway, and all forces have been deployed. reporter: russian president vladimir putin offered condolences to families of the victims and ordered the government to revise the gun laws of the country in light of the shooting. russian has strict laws regulating civilian ownership. applicatnts must take test and

pass a background check, and while school shootings do not occur often, there have been several violent attacks on schools over the past several years. among the most recent, in 2018, an 18-year-old student carried out a mass shooting at a vocational college in crimea, killing 20 people. anchor: china has registered growth rates at its lowest in decades, couples it seems are reluctant to have children despite the end of the one-child pocy. reporter: the world's most populous nation is facing a demographic crisis, data from the center says the population is 14.1 billion, annual growth dropping to 0.53%, the slowest rate in half a century.

china's population is forecast to reach its peak in the next decade. 12 million babies were born last year, an 18% drop from 2019. officials say the unprecedented health crisis is to blame. [speaking in foreign language] translator: -- reporter: the pandemic is not the only reason. fewer chinese are getting married, and many women are choosing to delay having a child. recruitment has become a challenge for many chinese companies. the number of people in the age group dropped nearly seven percentage points. meanwhile, the percentage of

people under 14 increased from a decade ago. an unexpected bright spot in the data, china looks to future challenges supporting an elderly population, while securing continued economic growth. anchor: let's bring in our guest for some comment and analysis on this one. a good evening to you. we have heard some reasons why give us a retake on ther report. situation. steve: what we have is that china is moving in a direction to where population growth is slowing and the population will start to shrink. this will happen in the next five to 10 years. one report suggests it has already happened, and the census

has been upgraded to make sure that centenarian year will not be spoiled by a drop in the population. anchor: what could the possible consequences of that drop in population be? steve: if the population size starts to drop, as it will at some stage, then we will see one of the key factors that power the chinese economy forward in the last 14 years, and that was the existence of a demographic bonus. there will be a deficit, less people, and more that need to be supported, and issues in terms of consumption, meaning a shrinking market with a drop in population. anchor: is that the consequence

and that a growing population is essential for china's future prosperity? reporter: it does not have to be, provided there is increased activity from the chinese worker efficiently compensating for the drop in population and also in the need to support pensioners. we are talkingbout a very high increase in protective it he -- in productivity that we have not seen. anchor: i can imagine and see in my own naive way that if the population is smaller and reduced that fewer workers will be able to be employed in the factories in the places whe things are manufactured, so can china's prosperity be based on other factors, things like minerals, those kinds of things,

or things that it can produce in a different way? anchor: the chinese government is trying to move up the value chain in terms of the manufacturing -- reporter: the chinese government is trying to move up the value chain in terms of the manufacturing. they want the chinese economy to become driven by innovations in high technologies that are less labor-intensive. this has been the ambition of the chinese government or at least 20 years. they have made some progress, but not near enough progress to deliver that, of the demographic drop has a significant impact on the growth momentum of the chinese economy in the coming decade or two. anchor: as ever, thank you very much indeed for joining us. we appreciate your time and words of wisdom. great to see you. thank you very much.

steve: thank you. anchor: on china's shrinking population. we have a live feed from a certain website, the population is now 1.4 billion, so clearly still the most populous nation. we move on. business time. kate joins us. good evening. lawmakers approved a landmark law on the gig economy. reporter: this will affect companies who now must provide contracts and benefits. it is 17,000 people treated as independent contractors by different platforms will be affected by these changes. it will require more transparency about how algorithms are used to assign jobs and assess performance. u.k. supreme court has issued a similar ruling about the status of uber drivers.

spain's labor minister said that the cessation -- legislation could set the tone for a wider debate. >> [speaking in foreign language] reporter: checking on today's trading, global stocks away down over economic uncertainty, monetary policy, and inflation. wall street stabilized, the nasdaq erasing an earlier loss for a flat the dow jones was off , down nearly 500 points at the close, and the key volatility index hit its highest level in two months. the t the french government has launched a new campaign to bring back tourists as it relax

restrictions, targeting domesc travelers and those in neighboring countries including the u.k. in germany. revenues were down 50% last year in the sector. government aid to the industry has 28 billion euros. that financial sport is expected to continue as the recovery is gradual. tourists heading back to new york city. sports stadiums, theaters, and restaurants gearing up for post-pandemic life. reporter: over one year after the coronavirus pandemic brought the city to its knees am in new york has calls -- knees, new york has optimism. >> lifting their quarantine for domestic travelers has been a game changer for new york city tourism, allowing us to open those floodgates to welcome more u.s. visitors back to our state. reporter: 67 million people visited in 2019, a number that

drop to a third of that last year. those numbers are still far below pre-pandemic levels, but hotel occupancies moved up to 50%, and visitors are entitled to free vaccinations. >> i feel very safe. i was in nashville. they don't believe in covid, apparently, so it is nice to be somewhere wear masks are mandatory. reporter: new york's culture and entertainment centers are getting a boost, sports stadiums boosting capacity, and things are looking up for the performing arts as well with more outdoor space available. >> we start today and run through september, and maybe longer. we are excited to bring the arts back, and also to expense live performance with each other. reporter: that may tied things

over until brought we can get going again. major shows are planning on reopening in september and october, with time needed to establish health guidelines after 18 months of closed doors. reporter: that is all. anchor: kate, thank you. it is time to focus on fertility treatment and making it available as part of a campaign promise by french president emmanuel macron. some years on, there is no change. >> [speaking in french] reporter: it is always isabel who picks up her daughter from school. she is six years old and does not have a dad. she was born through ivf treatment. >> [speaking in french]

reporter: isabel began researching ivf, but under existing law in france, it is only available to women in a relationship with a man, so isabel signed up with a clinic in belgium, the travel and treatment because 5000 -- cost 5000 euros. >> [speaking in french] reporter: isabel talks openly with charlotte about how she came into the world. >> [speaking in french] >> [speaking in french] reporter: we meet another solo

mom, isabel, and 100% open with her two-year-old daughter. she has made a photo album going through each step of her treatment in pregnancy. >> -- and pregnancy. >> [speaking in french] reporter: for the 42-year-old, becoming pregnant with complex and expensive, costing her 15,000 euros. she underwent treatment in spain, in which a donor egg was fertilized with donors firm. double donation costs more money . >> [speaking in french]

reporter: isabel decided to go through a second round of ivf,fr using the egg and spring from the same donors. she is three months pregnant with a little brother or little sister. >> [speaking in french] >> [speaking in french] reporter: both her children will grow up without a dad. >> [speaking in french] reporter: in spain, as in belgium, laws protect the

anonymity of donors, only certain information can be given to future mothers. in some european countries, like denmark, it is possible to access a range of detailed information from donors. some banks provide hand-written letters and voice recordings. >> [indiscernible] reporter:or an extra fee, photos of the donors as adults can also be purchased. this kind of axis has led to fears of so-called designer babies -- access has led to fears of so-called designer babies. >> [speaking in french]

reporter: members of parliament in france have been studying proposed bioethics legislation that would allow single women and lesbians couples access to ivf treatment within the national health system. this person is an activist at a campaign group, and was questioned in the lower house of parliament. >> [speaking in french] reporter: but france's upper house of parliament, the senate,

voted to reject the part of the legislation allowing ivf for all women. >> [speaking in french] reporter: despite the sene's rejection, the legislation will be discussed and voted on again by the lower house of parliament , and could be adopted later this year. 17 countries in europe about ivf treatment for single women, and for this sociologist, part of the reason france is holding back is due to the belief that single-parent families are inherently weaker. >> [speaking in french]

reporter: every month, between four to 10 single women come to this clinic to ask about ivf, in the hope that french legislation will soon allow them to undergo treatment. a fertility specialist who for years has been campaigning for ivf for all women in france. >> [speaking in french] reporter: but even if ivf becomes legal for single women and lesbians couples, there is

still the struggle to meet demand. already, couples have to wait up to two years for donors sperm. anchor: stay with us. more to come. you are watching live from paris. ♪ ♪ >> france 24, your economy explained. ♪ >> [speaking in french] ♪

♪ ♪■÷=÷=÷

05/11/21 05/11/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> why did you kill him? they kill and there's no one to make them answer. the whole world is watching. there's no one to hold him accountable for it. therefore does not matter if they kill a child. amy: israeli airstrikes have killed at least 26 palestinians in gaza, including nine children as tension escalates