"france 24." these are the main headlines. the deadly heat, a common factor in the deaths of 200 people in the canadian province of british columbia. temperatures of 45 degrees celsius have been recorded in the west of the country and the northwest pacific region of the u.s. most covid restrictions are easing in france. but this comes with a warning of a fourth wave of infections to come in the autumn. president macron, with these

words of caution. here in paris, a summit launched on the issue of gender equality. 47 million women in the world have fallen into poverty over this year. president menno macron, declaring himself -- president emmanual macron, declaring himself a feminist. this is life in paris. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. we start with some breaking news coming from the u.s. sad news. donald rumsfeld has died. the u.s. defense minister under president george w. bush. he played a central role in the planning and execution of the

invasions of afghanistan and iraq. clearly, much of his political career, involved key moments which marked so many lives across the world. those wars we have just spoken about, marking much of the time, much of the century, if you consider how long this conflict has continued. he has died at the age of 88 years old. his death, announced by his family a few moments ago. let's bring you david smith, the bureau chief of the guardian newspaper and washington, d.c., joining us live. a good evening to you. has there been any reaction there yet, to the death of donald rumsfeld? >> not much. actually, this news is so fresh, i'm sure orge w. bush will be one of the first to pay tribute to rumsfeld. such an extra never career, spanning decades.

he was chief of staff or the white house to president gerald ford, and the aftermath of richard nixon and watergate -- in the aftermath of richard nixon and watergate. the only meant to be defense secretary twice. also held the record as the youngest person to do it and the oldest. he was a well-known figure in washington. i think republicans will unite in paying tribute to rumsfeld for his long service. which after he left george w. bush's cabinet, he set up a foundation. more moderate and more seasoned democrat joe will also pay tribute. some on the left say, look, this man was a villain, he was reviled in some circles for listening to the advice of neoconservatives and the buildup

to the iraq war, for pushing what was weapons of mass destruction and iraq and the rest of the world are still dealing with the consequences today. >> what will his legacy be, david? >> he wrote an autobiography a few years ago where he tried to repair that legacy. he accepted very little blame for iraq and tried to hold others responsible. but i think it is inescapable that the first line of his obituaries that will be published now and the next tune of four hours -- the next 24 hours, they will mention the iraq and afghanistan what. -- wars. rumsfeld was in the pentagon on one.day it was hit into thousand -- in 2001. he was seen helping people out.

but his legacy, i think, will find it very hard to escape the iraq war, those weapons of mass destruction, that didn't exist. how many hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost as a result of that. president george w. bush is now seen as a cuddly figure, but rumsfeld, never quite the same way. i think that will be remembered >> david smith, bureau chief of the guardian in washington, thank you for joining us and giving us that reflection on the death of donald rumsfeld, former u.s. defense secretary, the man who was very much key to the events as they began the invasions in afghanistan and in iraq. we will have more reaction as we go through the program. thank you very much indeed. let's move on now. the consequences of the serious heat over recent days has become

tragically apparent. over 200 people have died in canada's british colombia province. yeah 30's have launched an investigation -- the authorities have launched an investigation into the high temperature. temperatures in canada's british columbia province are now predicted to be higher than average. some 45 degrees over the weekend. canada is currently under a weather phenomenon called a heat dome. brian quinn has more on what thiss and what it means. reporter: vancouver, broiling amid a historic heatwave. the average daily high temperature here for june and july, a bombing 21 degrees celsius. in recent days, that's been more than doubled, breaking canada's all-time national temperature record, a49.5 degrees celsius. western canada is being baked under what is known as a heat dome.

it's alrey caused hundreds of deaths. >> there's going to be a lot of people endg up in the hospital and being really sick from this, because they don't -- some of them don't know how to look after themselves. reporter: heat near the earth's surface typically dissipates as it rises, but the heat is being pushed back downward, causing it to warm the ground level, creating a tall dome of recirculating hot air, whose high pressure see winds and cloud second bring -- that could bring relief. -- and clouds that could bring relief. in the u.s., as well, with record high temperatures and a numberf fertity's. >> this is not a british columbia or canada problem, this is a global challenge. we now have to redouble efforts to address global warming. the consequences on people, on communities and on the landscape. reporter: while heat domes are not directly caused by climate change, they are made worse by

drought to more directly linked to global warming and are getting worse, as the planet as a whole heats up. north america's heatwave is also raising fears this year's wildfire season could be longer and more severe than ever before. >> they have been more unmarked grades of indigenous children found in canada. 182 grades located at a third school site that used to be run by the catholic church have would indigenous children were taken by force and sent to these institutions from the mid-1800s since the mid-1900s. -- to the mid-1900s. 215 new british columbia. there could be as many as 10,000 such unmarked burial sites. canada has apologized for having allowed this practice to ever happen. indigenous people are calling for more. we are watching for developments. pennsylvania's highest court overturned bill cosby's sexual

assault conviction and ordered he be released from prison. the decision by the pennsylvania supreme court came after cosby had served more than two years with a potential three-tenure sentence following -- 3-10 year sentence following his conviction. a committee will investigate the deadly january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol by supporters of than president donald trump. senate republicans blocked the formation of an independent commission. we will bring you more reaction to this as we get it. donald trump himself, visiting the u.s.-mexico border to denounce what he calls a catastrophe of an immigration crisis, using an underlying theme of his presidency to rail against the successor, joe biden. trump is endorsing governor greg abbott for reelection next year in texas. abbott is pledging to complete trump'murder well with private donations and not federal cash

-- border wall with private donations and not federal cash. trump said mexico would pay for the border wall, something that did not happen. it is the end this one's of most co -- most capacity limits on most public venues in france. measures were spread in the southwest over the spread of the delta very into their -- delta variant there. a fourth wave of cases is likely in autumn, leaders say. reporter: restaurants in france are no longer limited to 50% of their normal capacity, thanks to the latest easing of covid restrictions. from one say, cinemas, shops, theaters, museums have also been resuming on almost normal service. >> [speaking french]

reporter: but the easing of restrictions has been delayed by a week in the southwestern region, due to the high circulation of the delta variant. >> [speaking french] reporter: the variant, first detected in india, now counts for one in five of all cases in france. overall infection rate is continuing to fall, as is the number of people being treated for covid in intensive care units. another 46 in the past 24 hours, to just over 1200 patients. but the specialist who heads the government's covid advisory panel is warning the situation could deteriorate in the autumn. >> [speaking french] reporter: but with just over 50% of the population now at least

partially vaccinated, the rate of inoculation is slowing down. the government is considering measures to encourage people to get the jab by the end of the summer. >> it seems that france is opening but there is a warning there could be another wave to come. france, also considering making vaccination compulsory for all health care workers. to discuss this issue, we have the vice president of the global health security alliance. thank you for being with us. i'm wondering ethically whether this sounds like a something to do, in your opinion, force health care workers to have compulsory vaccinations. >> compulsory vaccinations is already a fact regarding health care workers, because for exampl there are different vaccinations, such as the hepatitis b vaccination, that is compulsory for anybody who wants

to work as a health care worker in france. it's not something new or unusual. from that specific aspect, it is wise and legitimate to do it. >> i was going to say, medically, do you think it is the right thing to be doing? it is a sound thing to do.tion, because it is important that they health care -- the health-care workers remain safe, on one side, and on the other it i of utmost importance they don't get contaminated by the - -they don't contaminate their patients -- that they don't contaminate their patients. many in the hospital that got in contact by the virus could not work. it is important they remain protected. the people at highest risk

of contamination, because they work with patients. >> that sounds completely logical and it seems to me as a layperson that this kind of policy is indeed a good policy. however, suppose a personal choice has to come into this, because we live in a democracy and people have personal freedom. if someone refuses to have this kind of vaccination, it doesn't mean they will lose their job, doesn't it? >> freedom is a big concern. i perfectly understand. i think for the rest of the population, it remains their own choice. but your own choice should be a sound choice. and a sound choice should incorporate your own freedom. but the fact that you should care for the others. right now, when people are talking about freedom, it is more their own sake. it is something to consider and

really think about, when you decide not to become vaccinated. i never tried to convince people to get vaccinated, when they come to me. i only clarify the pros and cons regarding vaccination. and i really take care of their own representation. their understanding of the vaccination. from that standpoint, i start to create a dialogue explaining the risks and the non-risks, to be and not be vaccinated. people often feel more secure and understand better. even if they are a non-health care worker or health care worker. but we need to really explain, if it becomes compulsory for non-health care workers, i think it would not be the best thing to do. but it is important, as a health care worker, to get vaccinated. >> i hear that completely.

i read a statistic that someone who is not vaccinated is 12 times more likely to catch and pass on the virus. so clearly, what you're saying makes a great deal of sense. personal freedoms or not are a different issue, but if you are working with people in the health care sector, clearly there's an imperative. thank you once again for joining us. the vice president of global health security alliance. joining us by skype, from normandy. next, a covid certificate for travel am's into force thursday for europe's busy vacation period. but the delta variant is already threatening to curtail its use. thw qr code -- the qr code will be available on smartphones or hard copy. you must have biontech, moderna, astrazeneca, johnson & johnson, pfizer, or you have recovered

from an infection or you have a recent negative covid test. on thursday, they will take up the eu's rotating presidency, all being overshadowed by concerns the media freedom of the rule of law under the prime minister. in 2008, it was celebrated as a milestone, since the nation's independence, the mandate could not be -- now be a little bumpier. we have an analysis of that to come. a un court committed to men -- two men of war crimes during the breakup of former yugoslavia. the men were a direct link between the president and his government in belgrade when the crime was committed in bosnia and croatia as part of an ethnic

cleansing campaign. it left thousand said and drove thousand from their homes. reporter: had already been acquitted back into thousand 13. but it years on, just reached a very different verdict in the retrial of two former servient spy chief's. -- spy chiefs. >> they provided practical assistance in the crimes of murder, forcible displacement, and persecution. and were aware that x assisted -- there ask -- their acts assisted. reporter: they were found guilty of helping groups embarking on a rate of terror in a bosnian town in 1992. victims were muslims and croats >> [speaking native language]

reporter: the tribunal found the two knew it would result in displacement. >> they found one incident in the municipality. the evidence of that was weak. reporter: he was the head of serbia's state security service throughout the war in the 1990's. this was his subordinate. the trial was one of the last linked to the breakup of the former, which led to the deaths of some 130,000 people. >> time now to turn to business. good evening to our guest. he started with the hotly

contested takeover of a very influential corporation here in france. one of the country's britches men, clearly not make. >> we are talking about the man with a net worth of $8.5 billion under a deal brokered today, the balance of power shift to a new majority loyal to him to take over concerns over highly prized assets. the major publisher, new stans, but media outlets, including europe 1. he saw the transformation of another media outlet. that's the tv channel see news, which he launched back in 2017. a year ahead of the presidential election, the prospects of a similar unit -- similar editorial shift had concerns. here's the voice of the opposition. >> [speaking french]

>> that's take a look at wednesday's trading action. a rough day on the european indexes. things are looking better on wall street at the closing. solid gains on the dow and the s&p. just the nasdaq is below the flatline. dd, making its highly anticipated to be on the exchange. a successful ipo, finishing about 1% on the day. the world bank is boosting its covid vaccine fund for developing countries, increasing it from eight billion dollars to $20 billion. the bank has given up more than $4 billion so far to more than 50 countries.

much of the aid, coming in the form of grants or low-interest loans. it is to close the wealth gap between countries but would wildfire season in the west. the biden administration is taking action. the president said he would be boosting firefighter wages to $15 an hour. it will cover some 15,000 employees fighting fires in public lands. >> last week, i learned some of our federal firefighters are being paid less than $13 an hour. come on, man, that is unacceptable to . i immediately directed my team to take decisive action to fix it. these courageous women and men take an incredible risk of running toward a fire. and they deserve to be paid and paid a good wage. you know that old expression? god made man, then he made a few firefighters, well it's true. >> finally to morocco, the tourism sector is turning to

bounceback. that is no small matter in a country where tourism makes about a faith of the economy. we have the story. reporter: mira cash is buzzing again. little by little, tourists are returning to the markets. the squares and sitting poolside of luxury hotels. >> i came from london. i had two vaccines. i did not need anything. i just needed to show my two vaccines. it was actually very encouraging for us to come to mara cash. reporter: morocco's tourism industry was hit hard by the pandemic. losing more than 6 billion euros last year. but there are hopeful signs of a rebound. morocco reopened air travel to tourists on june 15th. this year, tourism officials expect 3.5 million visitors during the height of the travel season from now through september. that is a 28% decrease from the same period last year.

to help things along, there are deals t entice visitors. hotel prices are down by a third. >> we have promotions and promotional rates on all categories of rooms. the reservations are beginning to come in. we are seeing a return of our business. reporter: there are also discounts on ground transportation and car rentals. the return of tourists is a huge relief for the hospitality industry, but some are asking for the few remaining restrictions to be lifted, including a nighttime curfew that starts at 11:00 p.m. >> we've seen this issue come up in europe with tourism, countries like a -- like italy, spain, and others. >> emmanuel macron declared himself a feminist this wednesday in paris at the start of the generation equality forum. the made gender equality a key aim at the start of his mandate back in 2017.

macron says he will improve women's life chances here in france. it is a global aim, pointing out much needs to be done. 47 million women have fallen into hardship worldwide in the past year. >> this is a question of emergency. because this question is not brand-new. but it is at stake and its threatening a lot of lives. evening europe. -- even in europe. when you see what's happening in africa, some of the regions, we have to act and accelerate. >> the french president, in a very delightful english, speaking to friends 24's jeanette young. she is following this force. -- this for us. >> this is an important event that was supposedly held last year but because of the pandemic was postponed for another 12 months.

as a result, this generation of quality forum has been all about what the pandemic has done in terms of women's rights across the globe. it has announced some $40 billion have been raised from around 1000 contributors, including governments, the private sector,nd ngos come all of which will be used to fund programs to assist and boost equality in various communities. we've also heard from president macron, we've heard from the former u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, and from people such as kamala harris, the u.s. vice president, all of whom were talking about how women's rights have become an emergency issue, given how much women and girls have been impacted by covid-19. in terms of is that enough money? obviously there's a lot more to be done and it is probably just a tiny drop in the ocean, but it is a move in the right direction and a reminder to everybody that the need for equality to be on

top of the agenda especially when it comes to government drafting policies to build back societies in a post-pandemic world. >> more from her at that forum, to come over the next few days. a short break, then the news continues here, live from paris.

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