france 24 and france 24.com. anchor: welcome to france 24. the headlines, u.s. president joe biden meets democrats as the fate of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill hangs in the bottles -- balance. the united nations informs if you'll be it has no right to expel its staff after seven senior you unofficial's were kicked out of the country -- you and officials were kicked out of the country for meddling. former jordan -- georgian president saakashvili will be arrested after returning to georgia on the eve of the municipal elections in the country. ♪

anchor: we begin in the united states where the speaker of the house nancy pelosi says the chamber will vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. house progressives say they will block the measure without a deal on a larger multi trillion dollar social spending and climate change bill. the 3.5 trillion dollar package is at the heart of president biden's go back better agenda. democrats cannot afford to lose too many votes as they only have a tiny majority in the house. correspondent: sticking to his guns, moderate democratic lawmaker joe manchin continued to oppose his own party as he rejected of $3.5 trillion funding package. he appeared confident our compromise was within reach. sen. manchin: we will come to an

agreement. i'm trying to get them to understand that 1.5 trillion dollars does what we need to do. correspondent: a massive social welfare package described as the cornerstone of bidens plan to transform the u.s. economy at the heart of it while a majority of democrats support this reconciliation bill. two of the parties moderate lawmakers including manchin refused to back it calling it too expensive. in response, progressives are threatening to sink a popular and bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure package unless both bills are passed together. this forced nancy pelosi to cancel the plan vote on the infrastructure bill thursday. na>> will not be able to vote fr the infrastructure bill until the reconciliation bill has passed. correspondent: the position criticized by republicans who want the infrastructure bill to be kept separate from other

social spending measures. >> it is no longer one bill. it is reconciliation with infrastructure. that is not something we want. that is not something we can afford. correspondent: the reconciliation package includes plans to invest massively and health care, housing, and the environment. it has been called the country's most ambitious ease of legislation since franklin d roosevelt's new deal. anchor: the u.s. president is currently meeting house democrats. here's what the white house says it hopes to achieve. ms. psaki: he is going there to make the case for his agenda which includes the infrastructure bill and it includes his bill back better agenda. that would be in the reconciliation package. he wants to speak directly to members and answer their questions and make the case for why we should work together to give the american people more breathing room. anchor: for more on the story, we grow across to david's mesh,

-- david smith. the u.s. president has gone to meet has democrats -- house democrats. how is he planning on breaking the stalemate? david: he is laying out his vision for the bill back better agenda and the infrastructure program, i think knowing joe biden as we do, he will give a very impassioned speech about why this is ing to chang t lives of american citizens, whether it is childcare, early schooling, health care, or building new roads and bridges, he sincerely believes in this. also showing the american people that government can still work in democracies could still work in a world where china is on the rise but i think you will also see biden in this meeting right now digging into his 36 years of experience as a u.s. senator, trying to corral these members

who are deeply divided along ideological lines and maybe a bit of arm-twisting and carrots in six to persuade them --and sticks to persuade them that democrats have to get something done and the press secretary acknowledged he will not get everything in his agenda but frankly, the alternative of this legislation failing would be an absolute political daster so i think he will try and convey that ino uncertain terms. anchor: that leads me to my second question. what is at stake for the president? why does he need this domestic wi david: it is central to jo biden, his agenda, what he campaigned on, and the presidential election last year against donald trump. he has laid out an expansive vision of government, after 40 years of trickle-down economics pioneered by president ronald reagan. this is an attempt to reassert the idea that government can change things and do good things

for people and that democracy works. for this to fall apart would really undercut his credibility. he claimed through that election campaign he has more government experience than anyone he can work with -- anyone. he can work with the house and senate to get legislation through. failure to do so would be evidence that he just has not got that skill anymore and it comes in the context of his opinion poll ratings already going down in the wake of the afghanistan withdrawal and a coronavirus resurgent. it would put him in a tough spot with democrats in the midterm elections last year -- next year and his own reelection prospects in 2020 fort so his entire agenda and presidency --2020 fort so his entire agenda and presidency is defending on the next two hours and days. anchor: thank you for that.

in other news, the united nations says it is informed if yo yet it has no right to expand its staff after the country decided to expel seven or -- seven senior officials. the explosion came out of marty griffith warning the defect out lock aide had forced hundreds of thousands of people in the region into famine. malnutrition rates among children have been described as alarming. if you be a has accused the u.n. staff --ethiopia has accused its u.n. snap --staff of meddling in its affairs. correspondentt: standing their ground, the united nations condemned the kobe's decision to expel seven officials but informed the government it had no legal right to do so. >> the u.n. is sending a note to the permanent mission to clarify it is the long-standing legal the --possession of the organization not to accept the

application of the doctrine of persona non-greta with respect to un officials. correspondent: according to the letter, declaring persona non grata applies to state and since the u.n. is not a state, it does not concern the personnel. if you'll be announced the expulsions early on thursday blaming the officials for meddling in their affairs while giving them 72 hours to leave. >> it is important the humanitarian operation continues and it does. we have a high number of people in urgent need in tigre. 5.2 million people are there in need of assistance. correspondent: it receives 10% of its required aid while government is blaming the people's liberaon front for stolen deliveries. e u.s. has increasingly criticized the prime minister's administration for being responsible. our new report by the world body

has warned of unprecedented malnutrition amongst pregnant and lactating women in tigre. 11 months after northern ethiopia erupted into conflict. anchor: a new leader in guinea has been sworn in as the president has promised to respect the international commitments and transition to civilian role. th leade -- rule. the reader -- the leader would bow -- the former president was overthrown last month. former georgian president saakashvili has been arrested after returning to georgia. he was convicted on abuse of power charges in absentia and living in new -- ukraine. he was president between 2004 and 2013 and had returned to georgia to rally support as -- ahead of municipal elections. >> i'm greeti you from the

town of --. many new things have been done here. for this boulevard and projects are sketched and thought out will turn out even better. you see that i've risked my life and freedom and i came here despite the threats. i want to ask you to go to the elections on saturday and vote for the national movement. to not give any votes to he opposition. there should be many of us. these are crucial elections for georgia and it is recognized as such by the international community. anchor: for more on this story, we bring in a senior fellow at the international institute as well as georgia's former minister for european integration. great to have you with us on france 24.

what does saakashvili have to gain by returning to georgia, knowing he would be arrested? correspondent: as you saw in one of his videos, he has published numerous other videos. he was very cautious that he was going to be arrested. but his decision to go back to georgia was by the fact that two months ago, he galvanized his supporters but also, other supporters of the opposition who were critical about him before, now many of his former critics among the opposition could recognize his personal courage and maybe he's starting his new political life. he knew he was going to prison and at the same time, and countries like georgia, going to prison is part of political life unfortunately. no one believes really that in

the judgment georgia will go about it --not politically motivated, the united states of america will remain part of the -- of georgia have many times criticized georgian's court. saakashvili was traveling everywhere in europe and all over the world. he has never been arrested despite the amounts of the element to extradite him. if only georgian courts recognized him as guilty and the international community would recognize him as a common war prisoner. he would probably be considered georgia's most famous political creek -- prisoner now. anchor: the country's president has ruled out a pardon. will this decision galvanized

saakashvili supporters even further? correspondent: there is one thing that should be made clear. the current government accused him for coming back to destabilize the country. you have seen the videos. he constantly called --and nothing more. by the way, he surrounded himself without any resistance. this claim that he came to georgia to destabilize the country to organize street clashes is not true. at the same time, the georgian opposition and numerous international observers will recognize that it is really pressured during the political campaign by the ruling party. the ruling party is using in norma's measures, ad-- enormous administrative measures to impose their force. they spent 10 times more money than all other political parties.

anchor: it sounds like the elections have national repercussions. correspondent: yes because they happen in the midst of huge political crisis that started two years ago in georgia and the decision -- the european union has mediated between the opposition and the government but that was a result of the last election because they re similarly flawed and the mediation of the european mediation was according to the scores of municipal elections, there could be anticipated elections, general elections. th is why these elections are considered by the opposition as a referendum about the anticipated elections. anchor: we will have to leave it there. thank you very much for joining us. the volcanic eruption on the spanish island of lapalma shows

no sign of abating. an atlantic ocean belt of mega -- magma was built. more than 800 buildings and 600,000 people have been destroyed or evacuated. correspondent: an ash cloud spews from the volcano while laubach -- lava pours. since it started a rubbing september 19, multiple beds have opened. residents have taken to using umbrellas to protect themselves from the ash and debris by the volcano. >> last night, the ash was irritating my eyes. i had to use drops in my skin was stinging. correspondent: the burning lava has destroyed more than 800 buildings and reached the coast. cascading into the ocean and releasing toxic gases. the latest crack has sparked

fears of more destruction. >> there are already many people who are preparing to leave. i can't even put a good face on it or give good news because it is a calamity. correspondent: the island is home to many banana plantations but the folling ash has damaged much of the crop. >> for cannick asked gets into the greenhouse and pours over the fruits. when the guys cut the clusters, they grabbed them and the ash falls on their shoulders. they get scratched so the warehouses do not want them and throw them away. correspondent: the local government has allowed worried bana farmers accesto the plantations to water the crops and collect the fruit. this is government has promised to provide aid and assistance and reconstruction efforts. anchor: business news with sharon. good to see you.

you're starting up with simmering ground between hungary, russia, and ukraine over a gas deal. sharon: key have calls on the u.s. and germany to impose sanctions on russia accusing it of using energy as aeapon. it com after t company implemted transit deal with hungary comprised of revenue and gas supplies. graspram is transporting gas to crush -- croatia. belasco -- moscow insists it is fulfilling its obligations. ukrainian concerns are being dismissed saying he is only accountable to his own voters. >> the main point is that unfortunately we cannot take the rainian perspective into consideration. i respect ukraine. i wish good luck to the ukrainian people. but concerning the issue with

gas, we have to adjust not to ukrainian people but to the interests of hungarians. sharon: in france, there is relief for squeezed bill payers as the government seeks to relieve the pressure of soaring energy costs and a global gas crunch. it is limiting to 4%, electricity increases do to kick in february. it is marking further gas hikes until april. james has been getting the public reaction. james: an urgent measure for critical times. gas prices in france soared by 12% friday. the french government promised to postpone further increases until april. this means consumers will not feel the impact of further rises over the winter. they will be covered by the government. a move that has been met with mixed feelings >> in the short-term, it is a good

decision. we will see what the markets are like the beginning of next year. >> raising the prices for a few months is good but if it is for them to go up later, i do not see the point. >> unless people will be earning more, they will have to pay for the rise so it is useless. james: the electricity prices are also set to climb. >> the oven is what cost me the most in terms of electricity expenses. >> there were due to go up 12% in february but by lowering taxes on electricity, the rise is set at 4% instead. our relief for someone who's electricity bill will cost them 2245 euros a month. >> is a 100 euros increase for may. it will not affect our crisis. if it had been 12%, the bill would've gone up by 300 to 400 euros. james: this consumers

association welcomes the move but says more could be do. >> the state will benefit from the increase because of the taxes. this means they don't have room for meuver. i believe they should have gone further to lower taxes on gas, two. james: the group is calling for a review of energy price systems. in france. sharon: energy prices account for much of the increased as eurozone inflation hits a 13 year high. data from the statistics agency of the eu chose prices rose by more than 3% last month compared to the same time last year. it is the biggest jump in inflation since 2008 and well beyond the ecb target of 2%. american pharma group merck is seeking authorization for a covid antiviral pill itays halves the risk of hospitalization andeath. at trial showed consistent efficacy across multiple covid

variants. it has given the green light by u.s. regulators. experiment to pill would be the first shown to treat the virus. mark said -- merck said its results were positive but monitors asked to hold the trial early. time to quake -- take a look at the markets. merck's share price is up 10% on the back of the trial results. u.s. stocks surged to a higher close friday, boosted by positive economic data. even so, all three indices ended the day below law -- last friday's close, hosting bigley weekly percentage drops since february on two. rising inflation figures in london. the index closed down 1%. in paris, the frankfurt stocks was also lower.

paris is one of the best places to do busiss. that is according to a new survey of more than 12,000 finance professionals from around the world. french capital has been ranked the 10th mt attracve finance hub i of frankfurt and incident. the survey -- amsterdam. the survey ranks according to tax system, regulation, infrastructure, workforce, and legal environment. new york, london, and hong kong took the top three. back to you. anchor: look at you living one of the best cities. thank you for that. it is time for truth or fake, a look at the images and stories being shared online that may not be as they seem. emma james joins me. good to see you. you're starting with an extremely did -- grizzly tail. -- grisly tale. emma: fake news is often driven

by prejudice and this is the case here. divisions could be anything from political divisions to race, religion, even vaccines. france 24 observers have taken a look at this story out of india. it is a deeply unpleasant example. it is circulating in india and far beyond and as the headline says in french, this video does not show the lynching of a muslim man by a crowd in india. i will not show you the video because although it does not show what it purports, it shows a man being beaten to death. that obviously we do not want to put on air. the true story dates to february 2020 when a man, it is believed, there was a financial risk going on and there was rumors circulated he was involved in kidnapping children. there is no truth to those rumors eher and he ended u being beaten to death by a crow

he was hit with sticks. you see him having a stone dropped onto his head. it is a really gruesome thing at this video from 2020, which has nothing to do with religion, is back in the headlines because it is being shared erroneously. we are seeing tweets a sickly bl-- basically blaming the followers of the indian prime minister modi, head of the hindu nationalist party. bob kills a muslim land -- man --retreat and show the face of modi suppor. that tweet came from pakistan. it is not at all true and frankly those kind of cusations are very obvious and have to serve as a red flag for all of us on social media. to put it into context how widely this is looked at, it was up for a few days on twitter.

100,000 people viewethat video from that location. it has been taken down by twitter because twitter recognizes it is fake news. so many people have already seen it. anchor: damage has been done. one of the biggest photojournalists of the exhibition happens in france every year but this time fake photography has crashed upon you. emma: it has. it is embarrassing for something that happens in the south of france every year, basically the greatest show for photojournalism, where everybody wants to be exhibited. this year, there was a work featured prominently that has been outed as fake but that was always part of the plan, at least for the photographer, not the organizers of the event. they are not happy because our norwegian photographer says he wanted to expose the lack of verification and reveal how easy it is to fake this kind of reporting. what he is talking about is

actually true. he went to a place called -- in macedonia and took lots of photographs and it was a place that w synonymous with fake news during the 2016 election in the united even though it in macedonia. they found lots of fake news suounding donald trump was found that's coming from this small village. -- was found in the small village. nothing is as it seems. these people are computer-generated. that is not a genuine photograph. they do not exist. as he is quoted as saying, there was a big showing of his book in --much to the embarrassment of --and that basically now has been rather embarrassing but what he says is he started to ask himself how long it would take before we started seeing documentary photojournalism that has no other basis in reality and fantasy and powerful computer graphics. will we be able to tell the

difference? that is a good question because on this particular occasion, he has full the world. this book is available. you can buy a sigd copy for 60 euros. and lamolde has said this is playing with fire because it is calling into question not only his credibility but that of visa at port lamage whh is a worldwide thing. the organizers were angry initially saying they hoarded the betrayal. they came to terms with that and have understood it is an important conversation but they wish they were not but of the joke. -- the butt of the joke. anchor: truth or fake, i can say it. we will take a quick rake. there is more coming up. please stay with us-. ♪ >> so dense west quarter family is sitting on one of the country's largest oil reserves.

chinese sudanese corporation in massive oil drilling and production have caused an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. >> people drink from these containers used in oil production. >> there is a record number of illnesses. newborns with malformations and disabilities. >> the chinese knew what was going on and other than negative impact people were saying. >> the rare investigation into the dark side of sudan's oil industry. reporters on france 24 and france 24.com -- france24.com. ♪

♪ amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> that is what he did. he ran operation condor. he tortured them and killed them. what is the difference? i would ask the american people. amy: on the 20th anniversary of the opening of the u.s. military prison at guantanamo approaches, we look at the life and legacy of the