>> you are watching france 24, 10 p.m. here in paris. hear are the stories making world headlines. al qaeda terrorists could attack the u.s. within the next year. that is the assessment from a top u.s. general. others advised president biden against withdrawing all u.s. troops from afghanistan. emotional testimony from the victims of the 2015 terrorist attacks in paris. they are taking the witness stand to recount their painful memories of that dark day, november 13. the biggest sex abuse scandal in

the history of the u.n. more than 80 alleged cases of sex abuse in the dr of congo, many by staffers of the world health organization. this is live from paris. ♪ >> hi, everyone, thank you for joining us. new regulations in the u.s. surrounding the withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan. top military officials testified before a senate panel this tuesday saying they advised the president against taking all u.s. troops out of the country. 13 american service members and 170 afghans were killed during the pullout. the officials admitted they were

caught off guard by how quickly the afghan government fell to the taliban. during his testimony, mark milley warned al qaeda terrorists in afghanistan could attack the u.s. in the next year. >> you must remember the taliban was and remains a terrorist organization and they still have not broken ties with al qaeda. reconstituted al qaeda or isis with aspirations to attack the u.s. is a very real possibility. those conditions could include activity in ungoverned spaces could present themselves in the next 12-36 months. that mission will be much harder now but not impossible. >> earlier we spoke to our washington correspondent who had more on the day's testimony. >> the position of the then secretary as well as the chairman of the joint chiefs,

general mark milley was testifying that they had the intel that there was a possibility for the afghan armed forces and government to collapse, that that was something they had to take into account in their planning, in their contingency planning. what they did not see was the speed at which those armed forces and government would fall. they both said all the intelligce they had basically agreed once the u.s. left, it was a matter of time until the armed forces and government would fall but they all mostly looked ahead to the fall, not necessarily august 15. that was something the men acknowledged saying they had basically not seen the lack of will and leadership, those were the words of general mark milley.

we have a very interesting sentence about how they missed that. "you can't measure the human heart with a machine." yes, they had trained them technically, those afghan forces, they had supported the government but they could not see th thoseeople were not willing to fight for their couny and part of that, general milley said, was bause u.s. supervisors for the afghan armed forces had left years ago and therefore it was easy to see whether they had the arms necessary, the technical equipment, to fight the taliban but they could not grasp at how much those forces were unwilling to continue fighting and that was one of the big mistakes seems those two men actually acknowledged in front of the senators. >> emotional testimony from the

victims and families of the 2015 terrorist attacks in paris. hundreds of people are expected to take the witness stand over the next five weeks to tell their stories. for some, it is a chance to close the chapter on a dark and painful day. fraser jackson reports. >> six years after a night of horror unfolds in france. around 300 victims and their families are getting their day in court. the trial for the 13th of november attacks is the biggest in modern french history. testifying will be a painful step but for many, it is necessary. >> this is my time, this is a time for my daughter. this is not the accuser's time. i don't care if they are there not. i don't care. anyway, i want to talk about claire. also what i lived on the 13th,

the 14th and the days which followed and then also what i live now without my daughter, who was my only child. >> many parties have chosen not to take the stand themselves, opting instead to be represented by lawyers. >> there are 15-20% of people who will speak. 80% won't. for many reasons. a lot of people want the court to hear the facts but they know that others will do it so why boer repeating it? that shouldn't be takens a rebuff but rather that these testimonies are bei seen as a collective experience. >> speaking to france 24, one of the lawyers for the civil parties said some clients felt the government had not done enough to help victims. >> apart from the ceremonies, there has not been the public space to express collectively what it was to be a victim.

six years have been by. some of them have felt, yes, very lonely, and this is now on occasion to maybe change that. >> the national audiovisual institute is trying to rectify that. name to collect 1000 testimonials from victims and families. the hope is to create a collective experience so that the events are never forgotten. >> now to a political firestorm in france. the government said this tuesday it will slash the number of visas available to nationals from some countries in north africa. this stems from a refusal by those countries to allow immigrants to return to their countries of origin. >> a controversial decision by french authorities. france says it will slash the mber ofisas given to

algerian and moroccan nationals by 50% and two tunisians by 30%. the movement was spurred by the lack of cooperation in the deportation process. >> is a drastic and unprecedented decision but it was made necessary by these country's refusal to take back their citizens. we cannot and do not wanto keep. >> in order to deport illegal immigrants, france needs authorization from the consulate of their country of origin. it says these north african countries have not been holding up their end of the deal. for instance, in the first semester, 2021, french authorities attempted to deport just 31 were approved by algiers. 22 were ultimately deported. according to paris, the decision to limit visas came as a last resort after it exhausted all diplomatic options. >> the prime minister visited

these countries. several ministers too. the interior minister went there. we had countless meetings with ambassadors. at some point, we must enforce the rules. >> the announcement drew criticism from both ends of the french political spectrum. even the conservative party, who have long advocated similar measures, accused of the government of trying to pander to far right voters, six months before the presidential election. >> france and greece have signed a deal worth billions of euros for the sale of three french warships. it comes to weeks after a diplomatic spat between the u.s. and france and the cancellation of a contract to sell french submarines to australia. the french president and the greek prime minister both said their deal is an important step for the eu's military independence.

>> [speaking greek] >> [speaking french] >> europeans must stop being naïve. when we are feeling pressure from foreign powers to react and show we also have the power and capacity to defend ourselves doesn't mean escalating tensions. it is simply a way to gain respect. >> france is defending itself against accusations made by the prime minister of mali. in a speech, saturday, the pm said the french had abandon his country by withdrawing troops from the region. now the french defense minister is hitting back.

>> indecent and on acceptable. those are the words the french minister used to describe accusations made by the prime minister of mali that france had abandon it in its fight against terrorism. this after emmanuel macron announced in june he would reduce military presence in the region. the french defense minister has hit back angrily declaring france is not walking away from commitments. >> we have 5000 soldiers still deployed. we will withdraw from three positions but we intend to leave several thousand soldiers on the ground. we have state-of-the-art armored vehicles to deploy so we clearly do not intend to leave. >> the u.n. speech on saturday came after the death of a french soldier in mali. meanwhile, he is close to hiring

mercenaries from russia. also, susser partnership would be incompatible with western support. the prime minister chose not to elaborate on the subject. >> i don't know of any group. the day the government signs an agreement, we will make blic. i will only respond to questions at that point and not before. >> france plans to half the number of french troops from 5000 to 2500 by 2023. >> it is the biggest sex abuse scandal in the history of the u.n. an investigation has exposed more than 80 alleged cases of sex abuse in the dr congo, many by staffers of the world health organization. accusations stem from their response tunable outbreak that started in 2018. maria sofas explains.

>> the findings have been described as harrowing. 80 allegations of sexual abuse detailed in an independent report commissioned by the who. staff members were identified as perpetrators of the abuse in the democratic republic of congo during a time when the health agency was there to fight the ebola outbreak. >> the first thing i want to say is to the victims and survivors of the sexual exploitation and abuse. i'm sorry. i'm sorry for what was done to you by people who were employed by who to serve and protect you. >> the report follows an initial investigation by the associated press news agency released earlier this year that found who management was aware of the alleged misconduct in 2019 but

failed to take action. the revelations pushed 53 countries to sound the alarm. the u.s., eu, japan and others demanded there be exemplary leadership. the commission report highlighted accusations from more than 50 women who say they were abused at the hands of workers from the who and other u.n. agencies. the alleged victims say in some cases they were forced to have sex in exchange for a job. >> is my priority to ensure this is not excused but are held to account. >> the who's director general announced for staff members identified as perpetrators have had contracts terminated. >> actavis greta thunberg has blasted world leaders for delivering too much talk and no action when it comes to meeting climate goals. she made the comments in milan, where a three day youth climate summit is underway.

>> as the youth for climate summit kicked off in italy's financial capital, greta thunberg, one of the world's most recognizable faces behind the cause took aim at world leaders for being all talk and no action. >> blah blah blah blah blah. this is all we hear from our so-called leaders. words. words that sound great but so far has led to no action. >> around 400 climate activists from 180 countries have gathered for the three-day event. participants want greater accountability from world leaders. pledges made a decade ago of $100 billion per year to help vulnerable countries transition to cleaner energy by 2020 has yet to materialize. >> no more empty promises. it is time to show us the money. it is time, it is time, it is time and don't forget to listen to the most affected people.

[applause] >> recommendations from the youth for climate summit will be vetted by climate and energy ministers who have also gathered in milan ahead of the top 26 next month. >> you fail in giving us the money promised. it is finding a balance of your. that is true. we have to work on that. greata said, look at the signs. the temperature is increasing. the sense of urgency is very clear now. >> the top 26 aims to secure more ambitious action. countries signed the paris accords in 2015. that is the aftermath of the european summer which are record-breaking heat waves, floods and fires. >> the presidential election in france happens next year and a new candidate has thrown his hat in the ring. the greens have selected him as their contender for the presidency.

the 54-year-old member of the european parliament is one of a growing number of politicians lining up to challenge emmanuel macron. the election happens in april, next year. time now for business. hi, kate. the u.s. is facing this unprecedented situation, may be defaulting on its debt. this could be catastrophic. >> janet yellen warning the government has until october 18 before it officially runs out of money. u.s. lawmakers must agree to raise the debt ceiling by then or the government could default. the senate refused to extend the borrowing capacity. republicans are trying to pressure democrats to pare back spending in other areas including the trillion dollar infrastructure plan, set for the house later this week. congress needs to approve funding for the government or face another partial shutdown at the end of the week.

such shutdowns have occurred several times under presidents of both parties but never has the u.s. government been unable to fulfill payments on treasury bonds. party infighting would damage the u.s. credibility and financial stability. >> this could be a manufactured crisis we have imposed on this country which has been going through a very difficult period, is on the road to recovery and it would be a self-inflicted wound of in norma's proportions. certainly, it would undermine confidence in our government and in the role of the dollar and the safety of the dollar, which has really never been questioned. >> she also said during that testimony she is looking for a political agreement on a global minimum corporate tax for the summit in october. let's check in on the trading action. the yield on 10 year treasury

bonds in the u.s., at its highest level in months contributing to the nasdaq's tumble. the worse single session since march. oil prices hit their highest level in three years earlier in the session. major european indices closed sharply lower, losses of over 2% in paris, frankfurt and milan. the french pharmaceutical giant said it would stop working on its leading covid vaccine candidate. hospitals in new york state could face a shortage of nurses and other employees as a covid vaccine mandate kicks in. as of last week, 84% of the 450 thousand hospital workers in the state were fully vaccinated. that leaves tens of thousands still unvaccinated. they could be fired, put on paid leave and disqualified from state unemployment benefits. separately on monday, a court

ruled in favor of a requirement for teachers. employees of united airlines who refuse to get vaccinated could find themselves out of a job. the british government says fuel shortages are starting to ease at petrol pumps across the country but essential workers like caregivers are still worried. >> as britain lined up for petrol for a fifth day, the government stated there were signs of stabilization but continued to blame panic buying for shortages. >> as soon as we allo back to our normal habits, the normality will return much quicker. unfortunately, as we have seen, ce people start tsee a particular item, it can escalate. >> fuel is available at refineries but there are not enough drivers to get it where it is needed. a result of people leaving the industry during covid and

foreign drivers returning to europe following brexit. with supply chains reaching breaking points up and down the country, there were calls for essential workers to get priority. >> we cannot leave people. we have to be able to get to them otherwise people may die without that help. vouchers have been issued to help coworkers so fuel retailers know who is eligible and who isn't. >> it is estimated the u.k. is missing 100,000 drivers across the sector. authorities have put military drivers on standby and have offered short-term visas to workers in the eu. industry professionals think there is little appetite to help >> who will quit a job in the eu for a three month visa in the u.k.? do they think we go to the u.k. and lose our job on christmas eve after the job is done? its unrealistic to think drivers will come on a massive

scale. >> the u.k. is due to have trainees into the system but not until they are fully licensed after the new year. >> mcdonald's in controversy in france over a policy that georgia's customers -- in an effort to protect the environment. it is charging one euro, 75 for a 25 centiliter class of drinking water from a fountain. water.or carbonated or flavored mcdonald's installed machines to filter french tapwater which is unquestionably safe to drink and is served at restaurants across the country. paris water providers sing tapwater here costs a fraction of a euro per liter and it is beg sold at a 2000% markup. >> that sounds opportunistic. >> i would go for a milkshake. >> sacrilege in france where you get a carafe of water at any

restaurant you go to. >> suggesting you need to offer free tapwater to people who order food at an establishment. >> james is here. we are here with our look at our daily fact checking segment. you have been looking at a photo circulating online in africa that shows shipping containers and weapons with some link allegedly to france? >> that is right. photos that have been shared a lot on several facebook pages. you can see a pop-up of the photos here. this one in particular has been shared on several facebook pages. this one also, showing what is inside the boxes supposedly in that ctainer ship. this is one of the febook pages, ivory coast, claiming these gun this weaponry came from france.

the translation "from france" intended to oastern mali. that is the claim on that facebook page. another one, pretty similar message. seizure with arms. sophisticated arms from france. the same idea. this is the real terrorism in africa. it is daunting stuff implicating france in arms sales, saying these will end up in the arms of terrorists. that is what is being claimed. >> in reality, these photos were not taken in burkina faso. >> the photos have been shared 7000 times since december, 2019, so certainly these photos are not from the last number of days, as is implicated. our team debunked these images back then in december, 2019. in fact, the images come from

nigeria. if you do a reverse image search, they located the source of the images, which was a facebook page of the nigerian customs. they publish these images in may, 2017. they then appeared in several media with a direct link to the facebook page of the customs of nigeria. there was another seizure in march of that year. second set of images also, kind of, what would you say, that ended up being attributed to a french arms in the last number of days were implicated. there were two arms seizures in nigeria, local media, punch and the voice of niger, not to be confused with the country, but the state of niger within nigeria. now, no mention at all of france with those seizures of arms. they mention the may seizure,

some of the weapons were from the u.s., some from italy, some imported from turkey but france is not implicated in these cases. >> this is a reminder these photos can resurface. the observers had already debunked to them. these kind of posts have a life of their own. >> we can't know if another set of audience could see these images, not connect to them to the first set that may have been debunked. of course, the debunking does not always reach the audience. in the last number of months, tension between molly and france -- amli and france -- mali and france and there will be a redeployment to the border region of burkina faso. you have the prime minister of mali accusing france of abandoning mali.

that has led to a negative perception of france and military operations in the region. there may be a negative perception of that anyway. images that cast french military activity in a negative light, even if it is not the army directly and located, they would find a very ready and enthusiastic audience so would be quick to question such images. all the more reason, if you smell a rat, so to speak, to try to verify those images. get into simple habits of reverse image and searching, which is more easy then you would think on our observers website, very easy to find online, how to verify a photo online. important the work is you are doing. >> indeed. it has to be done. >> thank you. thank you for watching. we will be back with more world news here on france 24.

cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 test message cc1 two decades. we will speak