>> hello and welcome to france 24. ukrainian forces struggle to hold gains as moscow continues to push for donbass. the talks on unblocking ukraine's grain export. officials are ready to forge a new partnership with belgium and the drc without forgetting the past, as the king kicks off an historic visit to the colony. the biden administration,

high-profile boycotts threatened to overshadow the event. ♪ ukrainian forces struggling to hold their ground. the city and neighboring area witnessed heavy fighting in recent weeks. according to moscow, 97% of the provinces are under their control. ukrainian president remains defiant saying too many fighters have been lost to cede territory. reporter: hours after their home shelled, residents began clearing debris. according to local authorities, the strike destroyed a house and badly damaged a residential building and restaurant. >> there was a very loud noise.

it could have been a missile. it could have been a cluster. one loud noise,, many explosions. a man was trapped under the rubble but he was rescued. he is safe and sound. >> russia is continuing strikes on ukraine's a second largest city despite pulling troops away from kharkiv last month. tuesday, thick smoke rose from the city where explosions rang out. russia's defense minister says moscow has taken control of the city's residential areas but the claim was not confirmed by kyiv. >> the enemy is continuing its assault on the city. our soldiers are inflicting losses on the enemy. reporter: ukrainian authorities say russia is advancing west. here, missile and utterly strikes becoming more frequent.

>> today we were bombed from a plane. the windows were shaking. we were shaking. that is all. we don't have a basement. reporter: residents have no gas and in some areas, no water or electricity. half the city population has fled. some 30,000 remain. reporter: for more on the fighting in the east, here is our reporting. reporter: the commander of trooper brigade deployed in the donbass summed it up this way -- here we are fighting for every inch. it is a very extensive front line in the donbass region. we are talking kilometers of trenches, digging across fields, across the woods. the daily life of the ukrainian soldier there is to hold the position, resist russian troops

trying to progress, to get the access between the cities limit. for instance, a section of paratroopers returning from three days on what they call ground zero, which is the last trench before the russian position. there, hours of artillery fire, resisting the rsian tanks trying to cross the lines. the artillery fighting never stops. on the front lines you see dozens and dozens of black holes, shell holes in these vast green fields. it is extremely hard for the soldier. what is striking is their determination. you don't feel they are demoralized. everyone tells you they have no choice but to stand. it is a war of independence. all the commanders we spoke to say the same thing. despite the losses and high

amount of casualties, they are convinced the russian army will not be able to keep up. this is what we see in the city. russian army concentrated large parts of troops, it is very difficult to know exactly what is going on there but according to several ukrainian sources, military sources we talked to, the goal is to make the russian brigades fighting in the city ineffective as much as possible, according to this commander, the objective is after this battle, the russian troops do not have the resources they need to progress as quick as they want in other parts of the donbass region. >> russia's foreign minister has arrived in turkey for a two day visit. he is in the country on unblocking grain exports from

ukraine. much of the stolen green is believed to have transited through turkey. there is a close watch on maritime traffic. reporter: on wednesday, he was meeting with turkish officials to discuss how to get ukrainian grain to countries that need it most. turkey could offer protection to ukrainian boats as they leave the black sea port of odessa. according to analysts who monitor maritime traffic in istanbul straight, boats carrying stolen ukrainian grain are already transferring to the bosporus. >> cilian crui ships and syrian flagships are carryg stolen wheat, mostly through syria.

they are attempting to sell it to other parts of the world. there are turkish individuals and companies involved. stopping the russian flagship will require lots of political courage. the key is to nd a satisfacto answer to ukraine's sendary concerns. >> kyiv is open to the pnciple of lifting the blockade on odes. 420 lliotons of graiare waiting to be exported. it doesn't trustussia. if the floating minds are removed, they fear pressure will take advantage of the situation and open another front in the war. >> belgium's king philippe has kicked off a six-day visit to the drc. the trip is seen as reconciliation for atrocities committed under colonial rule. according to historians, millions were killed, mutilated

or died of disease. the drc now says it is starting a new partnership with belgium, while not forgetting the cost. the sides be looking to the future. our correspondent is in brussels this evening. what does a new partnership look like? could it mean reparatns? >> the sole word of reparations is word very difficult to hear and say ouloud in belgium. there has been a committee of experts dealing with the topic ever since 2020 when it started out in order to analyze what consequences the black lives matter movement could have had, could have as an impact on the congolese-belgian relationship. seeing whether it would be an idea to grant reparations for the crimes committed during the colonial times.

after months of speculation, this committee did not agree, at least not unanimously agree that it would go forward with reparations. also, that the belgian colonial ties with the congo are quite complicated because there was a three year period where the congo free state was under the sole dominion of king leopold the second that ruled between 1885-1908 and after that, years of belgian colonial rule from 1908-1960. there is not oneingle culpr, i was about to say, one single entity respoible for these crimes that you are talking about. cres thawere described first by king philip,he king of the belgians. in his own name,020, exact

on june0, the 60th anniversary of independence, when he was saying violence and crimes had been committed during that te and he was referri especiall to his great great grand uncle's leold' rein before 1908. that ithe fact that the king, hi own dynastic fami or history, but the belgians have notet come to terms with that question of reparations, which also overshadows the future partnership. >> reparations are touchy wherever you l look at it or go really. can we expect some sort of apology from king philippeor sins of the past during this high-stakes visit? i am curious, how is his trip

being covered in the media where you are? >> it is a very important trip for the belgian news. this is the first one. king philippe was raised in part by his uncle who reigned and who was the king at the time of congolese independencen 1960, the speech, delivered in 1960 on june 30, the famous speech which provoked the anger and the counter speech saying congolese history had been one of suffering under belgium. the king knows he has to deal with this past. he is very keen on domesti -- dynastic history. he was the one who said out loud that there would be an apology of deepest regrets. we will see tomorrow during his speech.

we will see tomorrow whether this is a new start and it is probably going to be the case between the belgians and the congolese. >> thank you very much for that. reporting from brussels. fierce fighting underway between local armed groups and molly enforces -- malian forces. between march and may of this year, hundreds of civilians killed and 20 to 30,000 displaced. [speaking french] >> ruling the country since a coup in august, 2020. after coming under increasing pressure from neighbors, they

have said they will restore civilian rule in less than two years time. it was signed by the military commander and interim president. it comes to days after meetings between members of the economic community of west african states. leaders agreed to not lift strict sanctions including border closures and restrictions on financial transactions. the block wanted a transition of 16 months. the military leadership has opted for five months longer. west african leaders are expected to meet for another summit in early july which could see a gradual easing of sanctions if certain conditions are met. >> health care workers in france walked off the job this tuesday, demanding better salaries

and more personnel. it is now forcing emergency rooms to cut services. in the run-up to the legislative elections on sunday, for more on this story, here's our report. reporter: it has been a day of action health care workers have been trying to get traction going, talking about this health care crisis, really starting out with demonstrations in paris and 50 towns across france. nine unions are calling for a strike tuesday as they try to get their message heard. long-held demands for boosting salaries repeated as well as trying to get more staff. they want personnel boosted from 300,000 extra people, they say are needed after two years of pandemic and service that has been paired down to its core. 120 emergency departments across

france, 1/5 of its total are paring back, downscaling activities over the summer because they cannot cope with the situation as it is going on. they are exhausted but they cannot continue at the same pace. emmanuel macron talking about this mission to try and identify problems and potentially come up with solutions within the next few weeks. for health care workers, that is not enough. they have been criticizing, leading to a lot of talking and discussion before actual sanctions are found. they need those solutions now. >> luke reporting there. mexico's foreign minister has accused the u.s. of double standards after washington refused to invite the leaders of cuba, venezuela and nicaragua to the summit of the americas. he is skipping the event and will be meeting president joe biden ijuly at the white

house. washington decided not to invite leaders from the countries over concerns of human rights. nicholas maduro reacting after he was kept off the guest list. [speaking spanish] >> it is an act of discrimination against three governments. whether the government of the u.s. want it or not, they have the voices of the people of cuba, nicaragua and venezuela. the voice will be there in different ways, in different forms. >> we can now bring in senior fellow of the americas program at the center for strategic and international studies. thank you for joining us on france 24. mexico's president, among others, have threatened to

boycott the summit of the americas if the leaders of the three countries were not invited. why did the biden administration continue to keep them off e guest list? >> thanks for having me. e biden administration is right. they took a principled stance against inviting dictators, repressive dictators to a summit that is about celebrating democracy and talking about how we can consolidate democracy in a region, how do we fortify? moving forward after a terrible cobit experience in the region. this was less a u.s. decision than a u.s. decision to uphold what had been a consensus of opinion throughout the region. at the 2001 summit of the americas in québec city, all countries in the region signed a resolution that said a rupture in the democratic order of any one of them would be an impediment to future participation in a summit of the americas.

really, this is upholding what that than regional consensus as opposed to a unilateral decision on the art of the u.s. -- part of the u.s. are making it sound. >> wasn't the goal of the summit, which is hosted by the u.s., for the u.s. to reassert its leadership in the region? >> precisely by looking at ways in which democracies can work together very cooperatively and creatively to address the mounting challenges in the region, i think the administration has recognized there is something very important about the challenges that are facing democracies. i don't see much of what could be offered by having them at the summit, quite frankly. they would be spoilers. unfortunately, the message around this from the administration was not effective. the pre-summit plans were pretty much hijacked by some countries in the region to make this point

about the guest list as opposed to building out a robust agenda. >> i just want to interrupt you. how does the u.s. plan on tackling issues like migration without the president of the honduras at the event? >> well, it certainly is a diplomatic snub not to have the president at the event, not to have the president of mexico at the event. he is visiting the white house in july. i see this as political theater and an ideological messaging point as opposed to a real difference of opinion with the u. he is coming to the u.sin july to talk about migration. he said that this morning. the is ather migration story that needs to be discussed around the region. it is not just the migration ory of migrants on the uthernorder of the u.s. it is the 6.5 million migrants pushed out of venezuela, a

dictatorship that we are not invited to the summit because they cannot find food. they cannot find shelter or safety in that repressive society. they are mostly in latin america and the caribbean region. that is another major migration story that needs to be addressed. 100,000 of whom are actually looking for safety in mexico. in my opinion, it is a shame he will not be there constructing and being constructive with dialogue at the summit. >> by focusing on keeping ties or contacts with democracies in the region, doesn't the u.s. risk losing out to say china for instance in the region? >> it is important to know the region has made a unique commitment unlike any other region in the world, and the 2001 inter-american democratic charter to uphold the right of democracy for the peoples of the americas. that is article one of the charter. this is extremely unique and a major principal of the biden

administration and u.s. foreign policy toward the region, to strengthen democracy. it is an important thing to note, most of the countries in the region are democracies. they have peaceful transitions of power. they have competitive elections. this is something the u.s. for a long time has felt is a strategic strength of the region, something we should look to build on. one of the things that make u.s. relations with the region easier most of the time because we relate on a values basis. >> i understand, very briefly you said the u.s. only wants to deal with democracies in the region. in a couple weeks, the u.s. president joe biden will be in riyadh at a time when the u.s. needs saudi oil. there were talks, rumors the u.s. was in touch with venezuela during this crisis with ukraine to tap into venezuela's oil supplies. isn't that a double standard on that front? >> i criticize the move at the

time it took place. precisely it opened the door to this kind of political theater we have seen. it was a strategic blunder, i called it, to go to venezuela, which cannot increase its oil output anyway because the country's economy is in such decline due to the oil industry so decrepit at this point. i called that out as a strategic mistake. it opened up the door to this kind of political theater. the other thing that opened the door is the fact that regrettably the agenda is not as robust as it should be. there are some leaders in the region who took the opportunity to credibly threaten their absence at the summit because they did not feel there were benefits to be gained. the two principal points about being part of a club, summit of the americas is a club, is that there should be principles for participation and the second is that that there should be benefits. the administration has been

strong on the principles for participation. we will see what happens on the benefits. >> we have to leave it there. thank you for joining us. >> thank you very much. talk to you later. >> time for the business news. good evening, charles. you are starting out with a new growth forecast from the world bank. >> the world bank is slashing its output for the global economy this year. top concerns relating to russia's invasion of ukraine and the prospect of widespread food shortages. 5.7% growth we saw in 2021 rebounded from the covid pandemic. the forecast for 2022 is at a meager 2.9%. the previous forecast from january this year set the number at 4.1%. quite a drop. the big concern has to do with high inflation coupled with sluggish growth, what is known as stagflation, a toxic mix that has not been seen in over four

decades, around the time of the 1970's oil crisis. let's listen to the chief economist of the world bank. he really gives a concise account of all the elements at play here. >> russian invasion of ukraine, escalated geopolitical tensions, of course those can easily intensify. we have a serious threat of stagflation. that comes with high interest rates, with the risk of financial stress. we still see supply disruptions because of the war. those, of course magnified. there is risk associated with even larger food prices down the road. when you have these types of challenges, the risk of social tensions, of course increases. >> let's take a look at the markets now.

wall street closing in the green in spite of weakness in retail stocks, after a profit warning from target. those figures from the world bank. the dow jones up .8%. the s&p and nasdaq up by almost 1%. earlier, europe closed in the red. investors looking at key inflation data out of the u.s. and crossing their fingers that it peaked in march. janet yellen explain in a senate hearing this tuesday, consumer prices have gone up 8.3% over the past year. the fed target inflation is 2%. she said congress had its part to play by enacting legislation that would help ease the burden on lower and middle income families. >> this would involve, for example, continuation of the

child tax credit, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, investing in affordable housing, lowering the cost of health care and the energy investments you referred to that could cut utility bills significantly. >> imagine a world where you could charge all your electronic devices with the same cable. the european commission has been doing just that and has decided it will be forcing smartphone manufacturers like apple to equip their products with a standard u.s. bc charging port. the deal was reached by lawmakers tuesday. producers will have to comply by 2024. >> no more cluttering of cables. the quest for the charger will soon be a thing of the past, at least in europe. the eu on tuesday approved text

for a new law imposing a standard plug for all electronic devices, a move aimed at encouraging sustainability and reducing waste. >> this will serve more than 1000 electronic waste, and end the reduction of co2. >> half billion charters are shipped annually each year. the change will save consumers 250 million euros according to brussels. one plug to charge them all and the future will be u.s. bc. the new rules cover 15 devices including mobile phones, tablets, the readers, portable speakers and digital cameras among others. the move had been opposed by electronics juggernaut apple, which already uses usbc on some devices but it says the

one-size-fits-all solution will slow innovation and create more pollution. >> in two years time, if apple wants to market their products within our market, they have to abide by our rules. >> tuesday's announcement comes more than a decade after european lawmakers first pushed for a universal charter. the decision will be formally ratified later this year. it will take effect by 2024, >> to give companies time to comply. anyone who buys apple products will be happy with the news. myself included. >> more news coming up. stay with us.

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