♪ >> antony blinken voices concern over the fate of civilians in afghanistan at the hands of taliban. the secretary state was speaking as a emerged that have been more violent incidentss as china hosts the taliban delegation. macron promises transparency ov the effects of radiation poisoning for french polynesia. but the president stop short of a full apology for the nuclear testing france carried out from the mid- 1960'sto the mid 1990's. france is to cover bars, ad-- d

nd inter city trains from august 9. macron says it is a vital weapon against the spread of coronavirus. the united states said this wednesday it was deeply troubled by the reports of escalating attacks on civilians as the taliban sweeps across afghanistan and washington pulls out his last troops and ends its longest war. antony blinken on a visit to india said the only path to peace in afghanistan is through negotiations. the four parties must take seriously. >> on his first trip to new delhi as u.s. secretary of state, antony blinken met with the indian leaders to reaffirm bilateral cooperation. high on the agenda -- the deteriorating security situation in afghanistan. blinken said there is no military solution to the conflict. >> it has to be a peaceful resolution which requires the taliban and the afghan

government to come to the table, an afghanistan that does not respect the rights of its people, an afghanistan that commits atrocities against its own people would be become a pariah state. >> with the u.s. expected to complete his withdrawal of troops from the war-torn country by august, the taliban has stepped up its advance against security forces and civilians in recent weeks. the pentagon estimates that the group now controls more than half of the country's district centers. instability in afghanistan also has regional implications for india. new delhi fears that a takeover by the taliban empowers pakistan. >> regarding afghanistan, it is essential that peace negotiations are taken seriously by all parties. the world wishes to see an independt, sovereign democratic and stable

afghanistan. at peace with itself and with its neighbors. but its independence and sovereignty will only be insured if it is free from malign influences. >> india has provided military equipment and training with $2 billion and development aid. >> israeli troops have shot and killed a 12-year-old boy in the west bank. eyewitnesses say the boy who has been identified as mohammed al alami was sitting in a car when he was shot. the child was hit in the chest and died several hours after being rushed to the emergency room at a hospital in heaven. ---ebron. macron is promising the people of french polynesia truth and transparency, how the territory was exposed to nuclear radiation the testing from the 1960's to the 1990's as a point of resentment.

only 63 polynesians have been compensated. it is estimated there over 100,000 people affected. they developed leukemia, lymphoma as well as other cancers. >> transparency and truthfulness. those were the two main themes macron hoped to convey. first the tackled colonial past with its racist attitudes. >> for decades, france and o thers sometimes impeded, tried to hide and asked people to stop with their tattoos and dances. i simply want to say that that era is over. >>ut the hot button subject of the speech was nuclear testing. ho from 1966 to 1993 friends conducted 193 nuclear tests in the south pacific islands. -- france conducted 193 nuclear

test. a spike in cancers in the region. >> the nation has a debt towards french polynesia. the debt is the fact is that it was home to nuclear testing and in particular the tests carried out between 1966 and 1974, which we can definitely not say were clean. >> rights groups have been pushing the french president to formally apologized for the testing. while macron did not do that, he did promise key, changes namely records could be declassified. also, he vowed to step up reparations to victims. the ability of french officials to not -- find and help families fill out requests. >> the health passes been extended in france. required to go to a museum or a venue with more than 50 people from august 9, this proof of

vaccination will be compulsory to visit a café or restaurant or take a flight or travel on the train. the issue of the health pass brought 160,000 protesters onto the streets last weekend but president macron sees it as an essential weapon against the spread of covid-19. >> more than half of france's population is vaccinated but that figure needs to be cranked up to 90% if herd eme immunity i to be reached. . protests are 160 thousand people rally across france last saturday. the government is doubling down on the health pass. without documentation that shows you have been vaccinated or are free of covid-19, the list of things you can do will soon get shorter. [pending a ruling. >> [speaking french]

>> you already need to health pass for places like museums, cinemas and gyms. but from the ninth of august, the government says she will needed to go to cafés and restaurants and to take flights or long-distance trains. ministers are waving the vaccine charac -- carrot in secretary schools. if a student gets covid their vaccinated classmates can stay in school but nonvaccinated classmates must go online. this is had a mixed response from parents. >> [speaking french] >> to reach a greater number of children, several thousand vaccine centers will be set up near schools when they reopened in september. >> tunisia lurched further

into political chaos in the wake of the suspended apartment and assuming executive power spared his opponents are calling it a coup. >> more diplomatic pressure piling onto tunisia this wednesday. french foreign minister's calling on tunisian president to appoint a new prime minister and form a new government. the foreign minister calling his counterparts in the e.u. to reassure than the country will remain on the path to democracy. here in tunis, the spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office confirmed today that two weeks ago an investigation was launched into the funding for three main political parties belonging to the ruling coalition. among them, the islamist party and its ally, the heart of tunisia. that investigation coming from complaints that those three parties have received foreign

funding for the presidential election campaigns in 2019. foreign funding is illegal for those reasons. they are already seeing dwindling support among the general public. this news will certainly not help. in the streets of tunis, people are keeping a watchful eye on the latest developments. it is fair to say there is a general sense of tentative support for the president's actions, because there was so much anger at the political quagmire the country had been experience in these past few months. but it's also important to remember that the revolution and the democratic gains achieved during the revolution are ajust ten years old. the people we spoke to says whoever ends up being in charge will have to be -- to uphold those democratic gains. so this is anything but a blank check for the president. >> we continue to watch over developments in tunisia. of course, on all the world stories. stay with us. you are watching "france 24."

♪ ♪ >> today's guest has made his -- the first woman of color to receive an oscar for custom designed for "black panther." she made history again when she got a star on the hollywood walk of fame, making her the first black costume designer to receive the distinction and ionly the second i custom designer to have a star. i'm delighted to welcome ruth e. carter to the show. malcolm x, do the right thing, selma and black panther. you are the custom designer. there are 60 films and tv

projects you have worked on, that are being showcased at a museum of fashion and film in atlanta. what is that like seeing all of that work together in one place? >> it's overwhelming. i go through my exhibition and i think about all of the stories that i felt so close and so connected to as i read about african-american hisry in this country and going all the way back to africa. i am just filled with joy. >> you won an oscar for black panther. there were a number a breakthroughs as a result of this film, the highest grossing film of the black director, the highest grossing film with a black lead, and the first ever black winner of the best custom design. your designs were influenced by indigenous tribes across africa. tell us about the cultures inc. and why this was so important for you. >> it was important to

highlight, there are so many wonderful tribal influences throughout the continent. swe poi-- we picked 12. i felt that we needed to explore different forms of unity to retrain the eye to see different ways of looking at royalty, different ways of expressing power and the influences of african tribal wear throughout the ages. >> and creating pioneering new looks of rooted in african tradition, you broke the mold for superhero movie customs. you combined elements from many african tribes and you rendered them futuristic. the name of the exhibition is " afro futurism." tell us, how do you define afro

futurism? >> there is the definition it is hard science mixed with a superhero metal model -- superhero model, infusing african tribal elements. but there is your own personal vision for the future and how you see your culture moving forward with the more positive future. >> your latest work can be seen in a new film " coming to america." 800 different customs. >> hello. i am king of zaummunda. you are the heir to the t hrone. >> wakanda is a fictional place. zaunda is very real. >> i do not need a handout. >> wait a minute. >> you knew you would be working

on the film " coming to amera." during the filming of " black panther," you will most had a dress rehearsal. >> it was a birthday party and she wanted to team it as " coming to america," and everyone flooded into my office to get something to wear. wait, this is not zamunda. this is wakanda. but we were able to make some replicas. we dressed many. we helped out michael b jordan. we had some fun, but it was a little tasete of zamunda. >> for " coming to america," there were a lot of challenges. the first movie on any africa but also addressing the changes that have taken place in the past, concerning the way the rest of the world sees africa. tell us how you updated the

world of zamunda working wh three dozen designers. >> yes, it was a wonderful exploration in what is modern africa today. and i was introduced to so many talented african designers. i mean, the list goes on. i wanted to make a worldview of zamunda. i remember from the first film, there was a sari. there were indian, east indian influences. so i went to a designer and also included his work. but the list is vast. and that is because we were creating a modern africa in zamunda that i felt would be inclusive in these designers. >> while the regal african look sometimes -- in " coming to america" might remind viewers of

" black panther," there are major differences in the aesthetics. >> life is more serious. it's a superhero model. they are warring. if wakanda was the military force of africa, then zamunda was the fashion capital. so, the difference was that one is where, leading in technology. and the other was just a funny, fun place to go and enjoy a big wedding or funeral. >> you recently got a star on the hollywood walk of fame. congratulations. tell us about the start of this journey. you grew up in massachusetts with seven brothers and sisters. you trained at a college in virginia and hampton. how did you end up in hollywood? >> it just kind of happens. i was at the santa fe opera. and one of my -- asked if i

wanted to go to los angeles and pursue film. but i had been in opera, doing the tempest. and in theater doing shakespeare. i had a love for theater. so film was so far out of my scope. then one day i met spike lee. he advised me how to get more film experience. i personally did not think i needed film experience. i was not planning on getting into film and before i knew it i was designing his first studio films. >> since then you have worked with spike lee on 14 films. tell us how did working with him help you develop. >> he was like my first mentor. he actually with the -- would go shopping with me for certain characters. he would talk about meeting -- needing multiples and the different nuances of filmmaking. he made sure that i was adept at.

so, we went to the paces together. there were no bad answers, no wrong answers. he really did shepherd me into the film industry. >> you transform so many people. opera winfre -- oprah winfrey and chadwick boseman as the king of wakunda. the exhibition features garments worn by angela bassett and forest whitaker. is there a highlight for you? >> oh, it's definitely wakanda. i feel like the "black panther" costumes culminates everything i've ever done in my career. and it really does represent how i had researched, and i had had this look for custom design for many, many years. and these are really the embodiment of the whole exhibition in terms of what -- the meaning behind it.

>> your success is a testament to how important customs are in telling a story in own right. you have used this visual communication to share america's culture, race and politics. do you see your work as political? >> i do.feel like when we were on the set of "do the right thingi," we knew we were making a protest film. that film is now in the library of congress. it stands, still as a commentary, statement that can be made still today, unfortunately. we are still struggling. our voices are being heard. >> right now you are in production for "lack panther 2 -- black panther 2." you cannot tell us anything but is there anything you can tell us? >> just like "coming to america" was continuation and was not a remake of the first film because the continuation of the storya

30 years later. people will be excited to see the coinued story of "black panther." >> thank you for joining us. it has been a pleasure. urareer is filled with trailblazing work and is being celebrated and rep respect of at the fashion museum i atlanta. the ow is called "ruthy car ter, afro futurism and custom design." it is not until september. thank you for joining us. thank you for your company. see you . -- next time. >> children, this is your brother. >> i'm sorry i slept with your man. >> is not like the first man i've ever been with. >> what did you just say? >> ♪ coming america ♪ >> thought that she was going to be queen. >> a woman is not around -- allowed to rule. >> did it ever occur to you she wanted to be your heir. >> don't banish me from my own

bedroom. >> time now for french connections, our weekly look at the intricacies of life in france. good to see you, flo. this week we focus on one of france's most famous historical figures and - - napoleon broner tar. his legacy remains controversial. >> napoleon bonaparte is hard to boil him down into just a five-minute show. we will not get into all of the dates and all the battles but what is interesting is to see what napoleon means to the front today. for some, the fame corsicand who france grandeur and glory on the international stage and represents everything that france has lost sinc e then. for critics, he was a racist warmongering tyrant who has the

blood of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on his hands and is the caricature of french decline. >> whatever you think about him, france's last national dictator is one of french people's favorite figures. >> according to a recent study, majority of french people say that he best represents french history. ahead of king louis xiv and ahe ad iof charles de gaulle. an important figure in france but also an object of fascination abroad, whether it is people who collect memorabilia. it's very expensive to get anything that napoleon touched. also, people who persist in historic reenactments. the legend of napoleon lives on. >> [speaking french]

before we >> get into his controversial >> aspects, napoleon did contribute to the french state. >> france owes a lot to napoleon. the man who overthrew the first republic and crowned himself emperor. to name a few of the things that week owe to napoleon. there is the french baccalaureate, the end of your high school exam. there is also the central bank, the country's highest civilian reward, the legion of honor and quite a few beautiful money was like the arc de triomphe. he was also behind the -- the big red book that was the basis of the french legal system. a lot of french law is still based on the napoleonic code, but it was not all progress. it rolled back the clock for women who managed to gain a lot of rights in the first year of the revolution. that kind of went backwards with

napoleon. >> a arried woman -- a married woman found yourself powerless. she cannot do anything without her husband's permission. she can't go to court without her husband's permission. can't be a witness, cannot take an exam, get a passport, and cannot work without her husband's permission. moreover, when she does have his permission it is him who gets the salary. she doesn't have any more rights than a child. >> there is a big dispute raging in france over how napoleon should be remembered in the 21st century with much of the debate focusing on his reintroduction of slavery to islands in the caribbean and indian ocean. >> napoleon bonaparte restored slavery by decree in the french caribbean colonies in 1802. this was after its post revolutionary abolition in 1979. it was only re-abolished in

1848. this aspect of napoleon's legacy really has been in the spotlight. in the age of cancel culture, some people wonder if we should cancel napoleon. there has been a debate amongst historians especially over whether it is fair to judge napoleon by today's ethical standards or whether his actions should be seen in the context of french history. >> napoleon restored slavery for economic reasons, essentially to control ttrade in the caribbean. i do not mention the human aspect. at the time, those questions were not raised. but we can't go back in time 200 years. >> the 1802 law was actually discussed at the time before the legislature and the tribune. about a third of representative spoke against it. we can't say that everyone was in agreement. >> flo, many former french

presidents have avoided this hot potato over napoleon's legacy. macron grabs it with both hands. >> he has, which is interesting because people draw parallels between napoleon and macron. marcron is the youngest leader out since napoleon. he came out of nowhere. he has big ambitions about europe making a map -- a lasting mark on france. unlike other president, he decided to lay a wreath at napoleon's tomb he said look at french history in the face warts and all. >> [speaking french] big >> say this is classes sic m acron, trying to forge a middle way although why trying to woo

voters on the right ahead of the next presidential election. in any event macron has stepped into the heart of a culture war in france and a much wider debate about controversial historical figures and how to remember and commemorate them and condemn them, celebrate them. >> or talk about them. thank you for that. that's all we have time for in this edition. tweet questions to flo. andtataptúñ

♪ amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i was grabbed, beaten, teased, all while being called a traitor to my country. >> i was at risk of being stripped of and killed with my own firearm as i heard chants of kill him with his own gun. i can still hear those words in my head today. amy: