liberty, egalitarian, actuality. host: welcome back to life in paris. here are the headlines this hour. the fears battle -- fierce battle continues, ukraine's fighters holding onto a small part of the city while suffering losses. president zelenskyy says the fate of the donbass is being decided. belgium's king speaks in the dr congo, expresses regret for belgian colonial role, which saw the death and i's petition of millions -- no, apology, a european union lawmaker stays the course when it comes to

getting petrol and diesel cars off the road. but the plans to impose a carbon tax on goods from countries with you or climate regulations. -- with fewer climate regulations. ukrainian forces are still holding onto the small industrial plant. a town at the heart of intense fighting for weeks now. the governor projecting confidence despite a retreat saying this once a name there is no threat -- this wednesday evening there is no threat. in adding ukrainian forces held all of it. the sister city. russia has concentrated troops and firepower on the area in hopes of taking over the entire region.

we have more on the situation there and the rest of the country. reporter: for these residents, it is time to say goodbye. ukrainian police help evacuate people from the city while russian bombardment has made life unbearable. >> i want some peace and we want to eat. reporter: these are the last pockets of resistance. the area that makes up the donbass, a region that has been key for moscow. it appeared close to being captured by russian forces. authorities claimed their troops are holding out. the regional government vows there will be no surrender, but ukrainian troops are considering a tactical retreat from the city, which is being shelled 24 hours a day by russian forces. >> where there are now fierce

battles, they a shelling. it is way too dangerous to be here. reporter: over in the north of the country, several people were killed and dozens were injured in kharkiv after russian launched shelling on the region. moscow says it was targeting an armor repair plan near kharkiv. ukrainian officials have not confirmed of such a plant was hit. instead, it says it was homes, supermarkets and local facilities that bore the brunt of the attack. it is crimes like this that president zelenskyy once moscow held accountable for. >> next week, we plan to launch a special book of executioners. an information system that collects data on work crimes and were criminals from the russian army. reporter: ukrainian prosecutors say they have acquired more than 12,000 war crimes since the start of russia's invasion. host: for more on the situation,

which appears crucial in the outcome of this confrontation at work, let's speak with the former head of the french military mission at the united nations and military expert i want to thank you very much for being with us on france 24. first off, could you tell us why exactly these two cities are surrounded. there are being fought over so intensely. zelenskyy it says they are dead cities because of the amount of destruction. so what considerable advantage would having control of these cities give russia? >> fir, thank you for the invitation. both cities are on each side of the river, which is 70 meters large at this location. so for the russians, they need to capture it in order to be prepared to go on the western side of the river. and then attack the -- because

it is the last city. and so that is why it is so important for the russians to capture the city. it is very important for the ukrainians to delay the capture of the city, in order to prepare the defense on the others of the river. you can imagine that crossing the river during a battle is very difficult, so if russians have to cross, the defense on the west side of the river is well prepared, it will be difficult for them. host: moving onto another part of this conflict, if you don't mind, elsewhere, negotiations are ongoing in turkey to find some sort of agreement on the fate of ukrainian grain stuck in black seaports and unable to reach global markets, leading to an international food crisis.

lavrov spoke about this earlier. for him it would appear there is an easy solution. were going to listen to the russian foreign minister right now and then we will come back to you. >> we are discussing the details of this situation with turkish defense units as well. so this is a very minor problem actually. on our side, we do not have any obstacles, any challenges, the russian federation is not creating any obstacle for the passage of ships or vessels. we are not preventing anything. host: sergey lavrov talking about a minor problem when it comes to having access to these black seaports. the d-process could take no less

than two to three months according to the elector -- the director of ukraine's grain and traders union. can you tell us what this operation would entail? and all the other complicating factors not mentioned by lavrov? >> minister lavrov wants to put the burden on the ukrainians, when the russian nav is having a blockade on odessa. so in fact, the real organization will be something multinational headed bthe united nations, which will allow it to transport from odessa down the black sea and to the mediterranean. the problem is that of course, u have the russian ships blocking odessa, but also mines have been put to forbid the

russian navy to come to these shores of odessa. so you need to keep in mind that and it will take time appeared in cannot put that in the russian navy, because it is not the shore of russia, but the shore of ukraine. that is why the russians are saying it is easy, but in fact, it is very complex. because it will put that in the russians do not want that. host: we have had reports from the ukrainian side that actually russia is deliberately targeting grain storage facilities. so would you say that russia is using the state of this ukrainian grain as a pressure lever? >> yes, of course, they are using that. and this happened just after senegal, head of the african union was talking with vladimir putin. so the russians want to show that default is to ukraine and

not to russia, but in fact, they are blocking everything. and even they are stealing the grain to go to russia. host: thank you very much for your insights on these issues and for being with us on france 20 or. >> thank you. host: well, belgium's king expressing regret for the atrocities committed in the congo by his ancestor, leopold the second and his country as a whole. just stopping short of an apology, king philippe currently visiting the democratic republic of congo, a former belgian colony and personal property of king leopold. he bit his speech outside the parliament where he elaborated on the remorse he had expressed years ago over his countries rule which historians say exxon millions died. -- saw millions died. reporter: stopping short of an apology, belgium's king acknowledged his country's brutal actions in the democratic republic of congo during its colonial rule.

>> it was that of an inherently unjust, unequal relationship, marked by paternalism and racism. on the occasion of my first trip to congo, i reaffirm my deepest regrets from these wounds of the past. reporter: the king's comments come as he made his first visit to the country at since taking the throne in 2013. his trip is being closely watched in both countries. in 2020 he became the first belgian official to express regret for the brutal actions on the 60th anniversary of the congo's independence. many in a former colony were hoping for an outright apology, which the united nations called for in 2019 belgium's issues rule was one of the cruelest in european history. some 10 million people were killed during the first 23 years under belgian control. when king leopold the second was the countries absolute ruler.

>> the aim here is to build something new and above all, something definitive that is constructive or both of our countries. reporter: earlier on wednesday, philippe returned to traditional mass, which he said was a sign of reconciliation. the kings trip will come to an end on sunday, when will head to the east of the coury, which is faced nearly three decades of violence. host: the eu parliament sticking to its schedule when it comes to getting petrol calls off the road. lawmakers voted to support an effective ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035. they rejected attempts to weaken the proposal. this is in-line with the plans to cut planet warming emissions 55% by 2030. that law is not a done deal yet as there will be negotiations with member states overtly final text. for more on this, let's speak with france 24's european union correspondent dave keening who

is joining us from brussels. dave, so what happens now and how could the text change as it is being discussed by countries? >> well, ts is just about by the european parliament, which is half of the eu's legislature. and the upper half, the upper houses the council made up of from ministers from national governments. they tend to be more conservative than the european parliament. they are going to set their own position on this and i think that is unlikely to contain the same 2035 phase out date as set by the parliament. so let's say they set a date of 2040, then there are two versions of the legislation that need to be reconciled, just like happens with the u.s. senate and the house of representatives. they will end up with a compromise, maybe 2037. now this is not a strict ban on combustion engines, it is actually a phaseout or phase down of co2 emissions limits. so the idea is that by 2035, you

would get to a 100% reduction in the amount of co2 that a car is allowed to admit. that effectively rules out diesel and petrol cars because you cannot have a combustion engine that has zero omissions. right now under the omissions, that only applies to electric cars, but we have new technology invented in the next 20 years that could also fit that bill. this would prevent sales of new cars that are petrol and diesel, but the existing cars that are petrol and diesel could still remain on the road, so in theory, you could buy a petrol or diesel car in 2034 and continue driving it until 2050 if you wanted to, but because of the phasing down of the co2 limit, it would mean that that petrol and diesel car that you bought in 2034 would be very fuel-efficient, so this is a phasing down. it is basically in-line with what a lot of market watchers think the auto industry is going

toward anyway, but this really gives automakers an incentive to start really switching over to electric and get to an all electric fleet very quickly. host: it was not all good news for the green agenda in the european union today. the vote was delayed in a carbon border tax which would be imposed on goods with countries from -- with less stringent climate regulations. >> yeah, exactly. this was defeated by gen and left. this is about the carbon border tax that the eu has proposed to apply to imports with countries with less stringent climate regulation. conservatives added all kinds amendments that weaken the legislation and when it came to the final vote, the left and the greens said we will not support this legislation. it has been turned into something we do not like. so now it is back to the drawing board, it goes back to committee. this is going to be a big delay for the legislation. it's welcome news for

washington. they've been asking the eu to slow down so they can coordinate with the potential future u.s. carbon border tax. but this is a big setback i think for climate advocates, because they wanted this carbon border tax in place very quick. host: dave keene reporting from brussels. in berlin, this wednesday, a teacher was killed and 14 of her students injured when a car drove into a crowd of people. 29-year-old german armenian man veered onto the pavement twice in a popular shopping district of the german capital. eventually crashed in a shop and go. he was detained by bystanders and headed over to the authorities. police say it is unclear whether this was an accident or deliberate act. further travel disruptions expected in europe this thursday as a quarter of flights out of paris is airport will be canceled. airport workers there demanding higher wages. the strike comes as several european airports of struggle to

handle passenger flows due to staff shortages as the travel industry bounces back from the covid pandemic. air france says it scrapped 85 short and medium hold flights. time for business now with kate moody. thank you for being on set with us. yet another warning that russia's invasion of ukraine is derailing the global economy's recovery from the pandemic. kate: we have heard several warnings over the last few days and weeks. the organization for economic cooperation and development is now the latest two/is forecast for economic growth for 2022 from foreign half peent projected in december for just 3% in its latest outlook released on wednesday. that is largely in-line with similar forecast by the world bank and international monetary fund, which is drastically scaling back their projections as well. driving that slowdown is the cost of living crisis impacting households and businesses around the world. forecasting inflation across its

38 member states will average eight and a half percent this year, seven pratt -- 7% in the eurozone with energy prices soaring. i have been speaking to the oecd's deputy general and chief economist and the eu's economic exposure to the war. >> europe is relying heavily on russian energy both coal oil and gas. there has been reduction in oil and coal. we take into account in this outlook and for the gas, it is quite specific for the european union. all i would look to say is that for a world as a whole, oil prices do matter, so the world as a whole is paying a price for russia's aggression in ukraine. kate: we got the interview at four: 40 5 p.m. paris time on thursday. we will be giving a close eye on thursday's meeting of european central bank, policymakers are under pressure to rein in record high inflation, which hit 8.1%

in may across the 19 member eurozone. ecb chief christine big al has indicated she will raise interest rates but not until july. she could however give indications of how aggressively the bank will move on normalizing interest rates and ending its emergency bond buying program. let's check in on the day's trading action. wall street accelerated downward trends as the session wore on. the s&p 500 slipping just over 1% there at the close. and then less for the dow jones and nasdaq. u.s. will be publishing its may inflation avers on friday and that will be key to the u.s. federal reserve's next policy steps. such a bank could raise interest rates again next week. major european indices closed lower. losses of about three quarters of 1% in each paris and frankfurt. shares of the fashion giant in the text jumped 6% after it's all profits in the first three months that were 80% higher than a year earlier. the spanish company which owns

brands including sorrow says its quarterly resume was back above pre-pandemic levels. they suspended retail activity in russia in march and said that cost over 200 million euros, but it said that was offset by strong growth in other regions like the u.s.. the ceo says we are driven by a wish to return to normal. authorities in indonesia have recently allowed exports of palm oil to resume, but prices within the country remain so high is to be out of reach for households and businesses. many in rural areas are facing rationing of cooking oil as james explains. james: feeling the heat. millions of indonesians are struggling as supplies of cooking oil continue to dry up driving prices skyward. still recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic small businesses and

consumers have been hit again as russia's war in ukraine sends shock through glal markets. >> during the pandemic, production was reduced by about 50%. it is now worse thanks to the rise in cooking oil prices. >> thankfully my family can still eat normally. many goods are now becoming more expensive because of the rise in oil prices. james: indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm oil, accounting for 60% of global supply. a third of it is consumed domestically, the rest is exported, mainly to asia and the european union. indonesia's average cooking oil prices were already on the rise in 2021, but the impact of moscow's invasion drove them to new heights in march. producers tried to cash in by exporting more. in a bid to stabilize the domestic market, the government in april planned palm oil experts and it's also forcing

oducers to sell a minimum to the local markets. exports resumed in late may. it remains to be seen if the government's efforts will bring down prices. even if they do, the effect will take much longer to be felt in remote areas. charles: thank you kate. now are going to move on to our daily fact checking segments with catalina on set with us. in today's segment, we will analyze satellite images of the agricultural or in ukraine. tell us more. catalina: the offensive of the war on ukraine there is an agricultural war at stake. it is currently seeing green exports paralyzed. three russian ships have been identified to be transporting stolen grain from ukraine. one of these vessels is being tracked by an investigative project called to crime. we have the first image taken

from may 18 of the russian ventral whose journey began in the port located in russian occupied crimea, loading what seems to be tons of grain. then some days later we have this image of traffic, a global ship tracking provider, indicating that the ship which left the port towards the beirut and finally on may 27, the satellite image provided by planet indicates that the mattress dart in the port in syria. and here is the russian a pistol -- ship docked in syria. this information was confirmed by c crime with satellite images and also obtained by cnn, confirming that this russian federal is exporting stolen grain from occupied regions of ukraine. charles: has it been spotted more than once? catalina: this was not the first and only time the vessel has been spotted.

there are more image of the same vessels spotted by this user who identifies themselves as an observer and ship spotted. he spotted it leaving and crossing the bosporus strait in turkey with a final destination in syria once again. here is the vessel crossing in turkey and back to the board. right here, here is concrete proof that russia is exporting stolen grain from ukraine and thanks to investigators and satellite imagery and tracking devices, we are able to track the route of the stolen grain that begins in the port and makes the suspicious stops through turkey or beirut. its final destination in syria and the ukrainian defense ministry estimates at least 400,000 tons of grain have been stolen from ukraine since russia's invasion. charles: there is also proof that russian forces are targeting agricultural facilities in ukraine. tell us more about that. catalina: yes, we have satellite images that show russian forces

are purposely targeting ukraine agriculture and if her structure and these images provided by planet once again, we can see grain silo -- grain silo or storage facilities. the images show before and after destroyed between the eighth and 21st of april in eastern ukraine. here is the before and here's the after images of the deduction. -- of the distraction of this facility. these images are more recent from june 5 that showed the bombing of a serial warehouse targeted by the russians in the port of ukraine. and the target was not only grain, russian forces have been targeting dairy product factories. here is a video of the destruction of this dairy factory and region in ukraine from march 31 an notnly that, but russians have also been found to be stealing agricultural equipment. we have this video from may 2 taken close to very a pole in southeast ukraine. these are ukrainian attractors

amongst other equipment stolen by russia from chechnya and the stolen equipment was found through the equipment's gps system. overall, this proves that the collateral damage of the war, huge economic consequences not only in ukraine, but to the entire supply system as we are seeing. global wheat and sunflower oil. charles: all of this happening as russia and ukraine are negotiating by a turkey about the fate of ukrainian grain stuck in black seaports. that is it for this edition, this segment of life in paris. we will be back in just a few minutes. ♪

>> france, your window on the world. ♪

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06/08/22 06/08/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i want to be very clear about what happened tonight. the right wing billionaires outspent us three to one. amy: san francisco voters recall progressive district attorney chesa boudin, who aimed to reform the criminal justice system but was faced