>> welcome to life in paris, world news and analysis from france 24. these are the world news headlines. over 200 thousand youngsters sexually abud by french catholic priests. this is the shocking finding of any report which concludes the church turned a blind eye for too long. we will get reaction from the vatican from room, with our correspondent. good evening. taiwan needs to be strong and rey for china's over military

threats, the words of a senior politician in taipei. better for our kids. zuckerberg knows this and nothing is being done about it. this afternoon billion dollars was wiped off the facebook share price after the down servicesa 24 hours ago. more with kate moody in business. this is live from paris. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. the french clergy sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years. most of the victims were boys,, many aged between 10-13. this is the shocking finding of

a major investigation released this tuesday. it says the catholic church turned a blind to the scourge for too long. it criticism of church for indifference for years, protecting itself further than victims, in what was systemic abuse. these revelations have sent shockwaves through the catholic church. pope francis has reacted, expressing gratitude to were the victims having the courage to come forward. the vatican statement saying "the pope starts go to the victims, with great sorrow for their wounds." the head of the french commission spoke earlier to france 24. >> as the believer that i am, the hardest thing is to discover the wrong that was done within the church to which i belong, and in the name of the gospel, or using the gospel as an alibi when it preaches exactly the opposite of what was done. what is exactly terrible is to

see the predators' use and authority of divine origin to satisfy their criminal urges. that is profoundly disturbing. it is clear that a culture of secrecy existed. there was an-related. a failure to understand the seriousness, a blindness, and in a certain number of cases, though not always, a cover-up. so that adds up to a lot. but on the wider issue, the particularity of sexual violence in every situation, and especially towards minors is that it rests on identical phenomena, on authority and devotion to secrecy in that authority. nothing must be discussed openly. and things must carry on as before. mark: catholic himself jean , marche sauve

, speaking earlier to our reporters, the head of the commission on sexual abuse in the catholic church. let's go straight to rome, where our correspondent is waiting for us. good evening to you. pope francis has reacted. tell us more about that. seema: as news of the report revealed those shocking details, soon after you had the vatican spokesperson revealing to the media that pope francis had indeed met with french bishops in recent days and had taken note of the report. he saidhat his first thoughts were for the victims. he wasilled with imnse sadness for their trauma and gratitude, as you mentioned, for their bravery in coming forward. he also talked about h in his prayer, the pope and trusts to god the people of france, the catholics in france, but also

the victims in particular, that they may find comfort and consolation, as well as justice, which will be the way in which they can get some kind of healing. it is interesting to note that this independent committee that looked into these cases and came up with these findings was actually set up at the request of the catholic church in france , and that was because in 2018 when they set it up, it was in response to criticism that the church in france was facing in handling various abuse cases. so really, the church, wanted to get ahead of itself in a way by agreeing to set up and asking for this independent committee to look into these cases and finding those shocking revelations that we heard earlier today. mark: indeed, getting ahead of it, as you say. for some people, it is too little too late. there are those who say that

these priests who abuse children don't represent the catholic church. that it is their own twisted minds that have created this. however, the stadia that it was systemic abuse and it was hidden, this is what i think repulses most people. the act is bad enough in itself, but the actor that this might have been hidden some way. this is something the catholic church is really struggling to get past, isn't it? seema: it is. this is what victims groups have been saying all these years. it was not right, there were attempts to cover it up and not to deal with it by higher levels in the church. but if you look at what pope francis had been trying to do to deal with this issue, this report coming out of france, after similar reports out of australia, germany, portland, poland, the united states -- ireland, poland, the united states. these issues have been brought up.

and pope francis said in 2013 that this is something that he wants to deal with, the abuse done by catholic priests. he did organize that landmark summit on clerical sexual abuse back in 2019, and then earlier this year, there was a massive change that he imposed on kaan law, church law -- imposed on canon law, church law that criminalized sexual abuse, and that included grooming minors, possessing child pornography, as well as covering up abuse. that has been the criticism along, that these abuse cases and the laws currently in place in a way protect the perpetrators instead of the victims, and that is why this move was made to change kanaan law. the changes will only come into effect on december 8 this year. but those e some of the

measures pope francis himself has taken to deal with these issues, to deal with the laws that are too slow to keep up with the cases of abuse. interesting thing in this committee's recommendations is the issue about compensation for the victims. that is something the church in france will have to deal with, to help those victims recover. mark: indeed. seema gupta in rome. as ever, thank you so much indeed. the french catholic church accused of abusing more than 200,000 children over the past 2 70 years, many of the victims boys ages 10-13. shocking revelations. we, of course will be watching all the developments. the pope expressing his sorrow and gratitude toward the victims having the courage to come forward. next live from paris, the tension between china and taiwan remains intense. a leading taiwanese politician

told reporters, that china's military threats are over the top. >> more tensions this tuesday between china and taiwan. the asian superpower for the fourth day in neuro-, sending dozens of its aircraft to fly near its island and breaching its air defense zon taiwan ramping up its rhetoric. >> [speaking foreign language] reporter: the reputed flyovers over taiwan even sparking a reaction from the white house, which has long supported the island's sovereignty. >> we remain concerned by the people's republic of china as provocative military activity near taiwan, which undermines our original peace and

stability. reporter: china claims taiwan as its own territory which should be taken by force if necessary a decade-long threat which taiwan has learned to live with and even embrace. >> [speaking foreign language] >> in an article for foreign affairs magazine, the taiwanese president warned that a chinese takeover of the island would have, quote, "catastrophic consequences for these in asia" and vowed he would do whatever it takes to defend itself. mark: let's broaden our analysis and bring in a professor of politics and history in modern china at the university of oxford. a very good evening to you. warplanes, fighter jets flying into taiwan's airspace. a vy menacing time if you are in taiwan. professor mitter: it is a highly

provocative gesture that it is important not to misinterpret interpreted. the fact is a full invasion of taiwan would not be possible simply by air attacks of this sort. you would need a full-scale invasion which involves troops. satellites would see that happening. he would need amphibious aircraft and vessels as well to attack the coast of taiwan. so i see this as an extremely powerful form of chinese rhetoric, obviously vy confrontational in many ways, but more of a symbol. of course after the first of sober, reminding taiwan that as beijing sees it, there is unfinished business which will have to be dealt with in the next few years. but i don't think it is a sign of an imminent invasion, that is not what is going on. mark: of course, this has been going on since 1949, this whole affair. xi jinping's pledge to bring back taiwan, as he puts it, at two that the incursion on the

airspace, thing mounts the pressure on taiwan. professor mitter: it is, but the kind of pressure that would be of most concern to taiwan is something slower, economic pressure. 80% of taiwan's economy is tied up, in terms of supply chains, with the mainland. taiwan has one product that is globally desirable that china wants, and that his semiconductor chips. taiwan has two of three global major producers of it. you can point out the aging is being highly confrontational in language and actions, by the economic story is more important over the next 3, 5, 10 years. mark: interesting, the idea that china might be in some way beholden to the smaller taiwan. professor mitter: it does sound counterintuitive, doesn't it? this island of 26 million people. but because semiconductors are

crucial -- buy a new car during the pandemic news that has been difficult -- they will understand that taiwan has elements china wants. the other elements to put forward is that even if there were some kind of forced violent takeover of the sword china threatens, it would use as a last resort, i don't think the story would end there. taiwan has its own defenses. 26 million people, 20 to 6 million people who are used to free democracy with. invading it and saying, "that's it, guys," i don't think it's something the people of taiwan could terate. china could take over tain, but the queson of wh happens on day 2 and day 3 is something that people in beijing have never really come up with a good answer to, and the people of taiwan no that. mark: you have dismissed the idea of invasion and explained that clearly. i am just wondering what the aukus affair.

beijing is making noises saying that this pact between australia, the u.k. and the u.s. , it is clearly an aggression towards china. professor mitter: over the medium-term, the next few years, i wouldn't be surprised if aukus and the french in distressed in the pacific come together. everyone is angry at each other, but pretty soon there will be shared distressed. the interesting thing is not just the submarines themselves, there is a lot of military hardware over the surface of the western pacific. what is important is the fact that china has found it almost impossible to get any of its neighbors to condemn the aukus packed. vietnam, indonesia are very dependent on china economically in terms of access to the market, but none of them are saying we wish the americans, the history and and the french would leave this region. they are saying we went

everywhere there. to make sure security is balanced. beijing needs to rethink its attitude towards the region have been. -- having big guns is ok, but you need a better relationship with your neighbors. you might be able to invade if you want to, but getting something that is peaceful and prosperous and wants you to be there, that is a problem beijing has with all its neighbors, including the renegade state of taiwan. mark: thank you for so clearly explaining to us why. rana mitter, professor of history and politics at oxford university, thank you indeed. next, saving special relationship. president emmanuel macron this tuesday, holding talks with the visiting u.s. secretary of state antony blinken,'s first meeting with the american officials since scrapping the 30 billion euro submarine contract. that plunging relations with the u.s. into a deep crisis. that deals covered the defense

alliance -- scampered by the defense alliance between britain, the u.s. and australia. the move damaged a relationship for over 200 years. >> we could and we should have communicated better. that is what president macron and president biden have said to each other when they spoke a few weeks ago. also, we sometimes tend to take for granted our relationship as important and deep as the one between france and the united states. mark: trying to heal the wounds, the top diplomat speaking in french on french national tv. at the e.u. summit in slovenia, president macron says he will meet president biden in rome at

the g 20 summit in october to reengage and to try to move on after this rift over the aukus pact. >> we will see. i believe in facts. i believe it is more positive for both of us. i will see. we will discuss in mid-october. we will catch up during the g20. i think it is the right occasion to see how we can reengage very concretely. my point -- honestly, it is not an issue about words, it is an issue about facts, and what to do together. mark: we have antony blinken in french and now macron speaking in english, multilateralism at its best. kate moody joins us. energy prices have been soaring across europe. gas prices hit another record high today. this doesn't sound good for

consumers. kate: it isn't, market, it underscores just how much pressure that energy market is under in europe. . at the start of this year, a megawatt hour of natural gas on the futures market was worth around 17 euros. today it is at an all-time high of over 120 euros, up nearly 400% since january. this is for the dutch european benchmark for natural gas. among the factors at play here -- reduced domestic production, restrictions on natural gas from russia, and stronger demand for energy, both ieurope and in asia, where economies are trying to shift away from coal. high energy prices were at the top of the agenda for e.u. finance ministers. the european commission is looking into complaints that russia is fanning the price surges, abusing its position as the world's top supply of natural gas. members appear unable to agree on a top strategy to protect consumers. governments offering piecemeal

measures like energy checks. the finance minister france, greece, romania and the czech republic in a joint statement outlined things cluding gas purchases across the bloc, reforming the wholesale electricity market, reducing reliance on exporters like russia, and cartooning the e.u.'s emissions trading system which encourages countries to shift to low carbon activities within what it describes as a predictable and high carbon price. they have been protests and strikes across france today. protesters are angry about the rising cost-of-living, and in particular, those rising soaring energy prices. they have called for the government to scrap reforms to the and implement system, which reduced the amount of money, but increased the period of time he could be cleaned by people out of work. let's check in on the days trading action. wall street rebounded after monday's losses.

gains of 1% across-the-board. . the. tech sector are performing slightly facebook recovered from monday's slide. . the european indices closed higher as well. 1.5% for the cac 40. the dax about 1% up. moving on to some of the days headlines. the international monetary fund will trim its next forecast for global growth this year because of the ongoing pandemic. renewed risks include debt, inflatio and a nonuniform recovery of emerging and developing economies. e.u. removed dominica and its -- dominica and seashells from its tax haven blacklist. critics claim it is an ineffective way of tackling tax evasion. france has threatened to review bilateral cooperation agreements with the u.k. across a range of issues, in the latest exploration over fishing rights.

the government is furious over britain's decision to issue only a small number of permits to european fishing boats. the e.u. has accused london of not accepting the terms. facebook and its services are back after yesterday's outage, but the social media group is being slammed today by a former employee. whistleblower frances haugen was in front of lawmakers on capitol hill, urging them to increase regulation of social media platforms. our correspondent has more. reporter: in a rare show of bipartisan consensus from the u.s. congress lawmakers agreed significant changes are needed at facebook after another round of allegations were leveled at the tech giant by whistleblower frances haugen. >> i am here today because i believe facebook's products harm children, stroke division, and weaken our democracy. the company's leadership knows how to make facebook and instagram safer, but will not make the necessary changes cause they have put their astronomical profits before people. reporter: haugen's leaked pages

of facebook research. it suggested instagram posed a potential threat to the well-being of young people, particularly girls, where they publicly downplayed the risk of social media use. the leaked research showed that the social app caused mental health issues including body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts. haugen also said facebook prematurely deactivated safeguards meant to reduce its judgment of violence after the election of joe biden, which she alleges contributed to the storming of the u.s. capitol. facebook algorithms favor showing hateful content on its plforms,hich nonetheless keep users coming back. facebook maintains that haugen's allegations are misleading. >> what evidence there is simply does not support the idea that facebook or social media more generally, is the primary cause of polarization.

reporter: as public outrage grew last week, facebook put on hold its plans for a children's version of instagram. some 3.5 one billion people usable at least one of the company's products and it has a market value of nearly $1 trillion. kate: we certainly haven't heard the end of the story when it comes to facebook. mark: indeed, and we know you will bring us all the latest. kate moody, great to see you. james creedon joins us. start with a focus on the democratic republic of congo, and a photo that claims to show the ex-president joseph kabila in the company of, world, a controversial figure. explain. james: so this photo had surfaced on the second of october last, and it shows joseph kabila some years back alongside the former head of the elite defense forces based in uganda and they were in congo over the years, and they have links to theslamic state group. what this photo claims to the show is joseph kabila standing alongside jamil mukulu.

at that time, he was not an islamist. his group has links to islamists. but what this claims to show is two men standing side-by-side several years back. in other words, joseph kabila, who stood down years ago, had murky relationships with these people. it doesn't cast him in up positive light. what you see is the claim, and it says dangerous liaisons, and "this is a man who is responsible for keeping congolese in the east of the country in cold blood." so certainly not a glorious association, to be putting joseph kabila with. if you look at thatweet, that is from 2018. our journalists looked into this

most recent appearance of the claim. if you do a keyword search on google images on the two men in question, who it turns out to be , you come up with this image, which actually is pretty close to the original. in any case, this image brings you to an ap video. and on that video you can see here that that is actually the scene we are talking about here. so the man who is at the center of that photo, he is an angolan general, and he was meeting with kabila. so it is not the same man at all, this is jamil mukulu, and this is the general. you can see it is not the same man. mark: even in the original photo, they don't even look alike. james: they don't look alike, it

is a photo that goes back to 1998. for people who weren't familiar with recent photos, they would think it is a younger version of him. in any case, why might li that be believable? so a two kabilas were in power at recent moments. there is research to say that the democratic republic o congo, between those years, that was the second congo war, that they may have indeed armed the adf at that time to fight against the ugandan and rwandan armies in the east of the country. so this photo, given the history, it reinforces the image that at some point, there could have been dealings between the adf and kabila, even though at that time, the man supposedly in this photo, jamil mukulu, had no links with them. mark: if you know your military

insignia, you can look at the uniform and see that they are different. james: that's right. so it is completely fake and cats a negative as persian on joseph kabila, two years after he stood down, after -- two years after his presidency ended. mark: as we often end up saying, uni what is the mind that goes behind this question mark who is seeking to manipulate? it gets murkier. and what do you have next question mark a video that has been circulating in the aftermath of president alpha conde being overthrown in the coup d'etat. this is going back to the first coup d'etat, not the recent coup d'etat? james: right. let me roll these images and give you a quick explanation. these pictures show a scene of people, may be if we can roll the imagesyou see people sayingm "liberez conde."

in any case, it is a gup of people shouting that. it is supposedly taking place in paris. [chanting] it claims to be la place de la republique. it is actually two years ago in le havre. and they were actually gathering for a young immigrant from guinea also called a>>. lpha. . his name was elsa. but it was not alpha conde. mark: so the demonstration had a good aim. it is crazy. james: just completely false. [laughter] mark: telling the truth from the fake, james creedon, thank you so much. kate moore d, great to see you. and that is it from me.

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♪ amy: from new york, this is democracy now! guy: facebook has demonstrated that it cannot act independently. it has over and over again that they g the fortitude and motivation to put those regulations and the place. amy: