>> hello and welcome to live from paris here on "france 24." ukrainian president zelenskyy visitshe eastern region of donetsk in a show of defiance, day after russia rains down missiles across the country following drone strikes on its on's -- on its own soil. voters in the u.s. state of georgia head to the polls for a second time in a month. the runoff election could increase democrats lead in the senate, giving them an outright majority without the need for a tiebreaker. and e.u. lawmakers, all items

contributing to deforestation. affecting everyday items like coffee and soybeans facing restrictions. ♪ it's good to have you with us. president zelenskyy was in ukraine's eastern donetsk region on tuesday as he defiantly marked the country's armed forces day. his appearance came alongside a second day of drone strikes across the border in russia with an airport and industrial plant targeted. russian bloggers have criticized the military's inability to defend themselves from the drones. the british ministry of defense saying russia is likely to consider the attack some of the most strategically significant failes since the invasion of ukraine.

reporter: ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy visited troops on the front line in the donetsk region in the east of ukraine. he did so on armed forces day d had a moment of silence to commemorate ukrainian soldiers killed in battle. >> let me congratulate you on your holiday. the day of the armed forces of ukraine. it's the 31st anniversary. i wish you and our entire state many such anniversaries. reporter: the visit was an active defiance. moscow declared annexation of donetsk and three other regions in december. tuesday drone attacks follow once on monday at two airbases deep within russia. both of which host nuclear

cable strategic bombers. >> these are nuclear bases, on-site or nuclear weapons and if ukrainians can reach that are,? ? what can't they reach that is the message being given here. reporter: ukrainian officials have not formally declared carrying out drone strikes. fraser: all eyes on the u.s. state of georgia as voters head to the pole to decide the final votes of the 2022 midterm elections. democrat raphael warnock and republican herschel walker are in runoff election for the last seat in the u.s. senate. democrats are hoping to expand their razor thin majority which sees vice president harris acting as the deciding vote. we look at what else is at stake as georgians cast their votes. reporter: for the second time in

one month, voters in georgia are choosing a senator. this time it is a runoff between incumbent democrat i feel warnock and his challenger, republican american football star herschel walker. in the november vote, each missed the 50% needed to win outright, and while there are concerns of voter fatigue, france 24 heard from voter cedar to turn -- eager to turn out. >> i want to represent the choices that i want to see made across the national level. that's why i voted. >> it's important, especially as a female and a person of color, the people who show up to vote or the people they care about making policies for, so that's why i came to vote. >> georgia voters are not determining control of the scene at this time. democrats have already secured a razor thin majority, 50 seats plus a vice president who could break the tie. but there is still plenty to fight over.

former president barack obama explained the stakes while campaigning for warnock. >> what's the difference between 50 and 51? the answer is a lot. let me break it down for you. an extra senator gives democrats more breathing room on important bills. it prevents one person from holding up everything. reporter: if herschel walker wins, he would deny democrats that breathing room, plus control over senate committees and the ability to advance legislation and judicial nominations or easily. fraser: joining me to discuss today's elections is the director f of the center for politics at the university of virginia. larry, thank you so much for being here with us on "france 24." i want to pick up on the end of that report. we heard barack obama mention breathing room.

w important is this 51st nate st for democrats? larry: is quite important. president obama did mention the most important thing of all which is if rev. warnocis reelected to the senate, democrats will g a majority on every single one of the committees, the working committees in the senate. most of the work in the legislative body of the senate is done in committees. fraser: how effective do you think democrats have been in delivering that message of the 51st seat being so important? larry: i think they've done a pretty good job. they have run by far the better campaign of these two. partly it is that warnick is a known quantity. he has already been elected to the senate two years ago. his background has been thoroughly investigated. herschel walker has had scandal after scandal, guns pointed at his former girlfriends and one

of his former wives, and he has had supposedly paid for two abortions. he is a pro-life, antiabortion candidate, but he has pay for abortions that he instigated. and it has been a dreary campaign for him. so i think at this point, you would have to say warnock is the favorite. i can't give you a percentage, that i wouldn't be surprised if this turned out to be not a squeaker. he mig end up being 2, 3 points, on a good night for democrats, maybe more. fraser: you mentioned herschel walker -- herschel walker's campaign that he's been widely considered even by some republicans one of the worst candidates they've ever put out in the field. you surprised to see such a small margin between the two candidates, just 1%? larry: you have to remember, that was a good republican night in georgia. even though countrywide the democrats did quite well, in

georgia they lost everything statewide. herschel walker was easily the weakest of the entire statewide republican ticket. now he doesn't have the individual governor brian kemp, who is running for reelection, he was the individual generating most of the turno for republicans. he was very nearly pulling herschel walker across the finish line, but he couldn't do it, and warnock still exceeded herschel walker in terms of the overall numr of votes, so i think things look a lot better for warnock because they are the only candidates on the ballot, there is only one race left in this runoff and it is the u.s. senate seat. fraser: the crystal ball has slowly leaned from -- move from leaning republican to leaning democrat. what prompted that shift? larry: well we certainly didn't

know about all the scandals with herschel walker and even things that may not affect people that care about the social issues, it turns out that he has been claiming homestead exemption in the state of texas, which means that he is declaring that he lives in texas. well, you have to live in georgia to represent it in the u.s. senate. this came as a shock to many republicans. so it is conditions like that, it is elephants like that that of really kept herschel walker from winning the first time and i think it may will keep him from winning the second time. fraser: a recent cnn poll found just 3% of black voters were planning on voting for herschel walker. what does his nomination and candidacy say about the republican party's relationship with the black voter? larry: well, black voters are the democrat of the democratic party. black voters, african-american voters, generally give somewhere

around 90-95% of their votes to democrats. democrats have nominated a lot of black candidates. republicans have also lately been nominating like candidates, but you see the results. 3%, i think almost any republican candidate would have gotten 3% or maybe more. fraser: in recent elections, georgia has played a more increasingly important role over the last few years. how did this traditional republican state come such a battleground? whatan we expect it to? look like in the future? ? larry: the percentage of whites has been declining in georgia as it has done in most of the other southern states. i own virginia which was once rock solid republican, and now usually votes democratic. so that is happening in georgia. fewer whites, more blacks, but also more asian americans. that percentage has been growing

substantially in georgia, as well as hispanics. as an electorate becomes less white, it also usually becomes less republican. but let me quickly add, republicans have been doing much better with blue color, noncollege white voters, and democrats have been doing much better with well-educated white voters. which group is growing more rapidly in the population? well-educated white voters. fraser: thank you so much for joining us here on "france 24." in the latest fight for the climate, the e.u. voted to ban the import of products that contributed to the four station around the world. the deal still needs to be adopted by parliament but if past could see import slept on everything from soybeans to coffee. reporter: thousds of hectares of brazilian forest burns to the ground in soy bain -- soybean

cultivation. fighting against this phenomena is why the european parliament and the you government voted on this historic band. products would be prohibited that are deemed to cause deforestation. >> this is a world first. it's a coffee we have for breakfast, the chocolate we eat, the: or barbecues, the paper in our books. this is unprecedented. fraser: associated material such as leather, printed paper and charcoal will also be affected by the ban. >> the decision not only changes the rules of the european consumer game, but creates a huge incentive for other countries to change their practices. >> but the wwf also says parts of the agreement do not go far enough, specifically because it does not yet expand to other

threatened ecosystems. the ngo greenpeace says prottion for iigens peles is to little, as this left to local authorities which vary greatly by country. companies will now have to show the full origin of their products. the you is the second largest destroyer of tropical forests after china. fraser: mp's in indonesia have given the green light to new criminal code which could see the ban on sex outside of marriage. it will apply to both nationals and foreign visitors with a punishment of up to one year in jail. here is more about the controversial ruling. reporter: the new criminal code was backed by all of indonesia's political parties. not least abandon on sex outside marriage and prohibits the

cohabitation of unmarried couples. the countries law and human rights minister justified this. >> we hope that after the long debate, people understand that we have done everything to take their aspirations into account as much as possible. we have debated all the important issues. reporter: mp said they wanted to put an end to the current penal code which dates back to the dutch colonial era. indonesia is the most populous muslim country in the world. it has long been praised for its religious tolerance, secularism is enshrined in the constitution. the new code will come into force in three years time and will apply to foreign travelers. the jakarta post said it had great concerns about how certain measures would be implement in, including a ban on insulting the president.

protesters gathered outside the parliament to express their dismay. and the shift toward fundamentalism. fraser: the hopes of a continent have been left alive after morocco defeated spain to make it into the quarterfinals of the world cup. but even 30 minutes of time -- three penalties to put them across the finish line, leaving spain stopped. they beat switzerland 5-1. there was a big cheer in the france 24 office when that happened as well. it's time for the day's business news. here in france, the government presented a draft new immigration law and parliament. >> france must say who it wants and who doesn't want when it

comes to the issue of immigration, according to the prime minister as the government outlined details of the bill which will be debated by lawmakers early next year. it would speed up expulsion procedures or rejected asylum-seekers but would also offer an easier path for illegal foreign migrants already working to obtain work permits. in specific industries, it affects shortages. reporter: temporary resident permits i would alleviate labor shortages, that is what the government is proposing when it comes to specific under pressure industries. at the heart of these proposals, list of 30 sectors most desperate for workers, published by the ministry of labor. the list was first established in 2008 and was updated last year. it is broken down by region to take into account local needs. throughout france, there's a

shortage of housekeepers, site managers and work supervisors. and need of masons and carpenters. not on the list, the restaurant industries, facing a shortage with 200 thousand unfilled jobs. the ministry of labour has announced there will be an update at the beginning of next year. it will target immigrants who are already living and working in france illegally. they will also be able to apply in a quicker and simpler process. the plans have been heavily criticized by some on the right who accuse the executive of implementing a plan that will give thousands of illegal immigrants legal status, albeit temporarily. but the government say it would allow the cleanup of sectors were the use of workers widespread. according to an estimate, the state loses between five and 6 billion euros a year due to unfair work. >> jobs are what u.s. president

joe biden is highlighting in arizona where he is visiting a construction site for a new computer chip plant. he is therefore a symbolic ceremony of the $12 billion facility being built by tommy's chipmaker. apple ceo tim cook and other business and political leaders are also joining him. tsmc said it will build a second factor there, in the -- it would create thousands of jobs. meanwhile, facebook's parent metta has threatened to pull news content in the u.s. if congress passes a new media law. the preservation act would require platforms like facebook and google to pay for online news content, giving greater power to news organizations and other state feeds.

a similar law passed in australia. although the decision was short-lived. meta shares tumbled on wall street this tuesday as overall growth accelerated after recent strong economic data raised fears about the federal reserve making steeper rate hikes than previously expected. fears of a recession also weighing on investor sentiment. global oil prices meanwhile extended losses this tuesday. brent dipping below the symbolic $80 a barrel mark of the first time since january. the slump comes a day after a price cap on russia's crude exports took effect. traders appear to have concded that the $60 per barrel limit will not have much impact on global supply. howeve tankersarrying oil from russia's blk sea port are set to face more delays due to additional rtape. at lst 20 oil tankers are

queuing off turkey ahead of the g7 price cap taking effect, requiring extra insurance guarantees. belgium's princess astrid is leading a mission to promote the country signature food in japan that is not chocolate. businessmen, politicians and academics are taking part in this huge tour to boost the sales of belgium's agricultural products in the asian country. they want to extend the surprise success already enjoyed by one unlikely vegetable, chicory. one restaurant is setting up dishes based on a recipe he got from a belgian friends grandmother. >> it's rare to find this in japan. i liked it. >> i thought it would be similar to leek, but it wasn't so fibrous and was very soft. it was delicious. >> i enjoy making it and eating

it. fraser: i think i would stick with the chocolate. of all belgian delicacies, i think i will stick with the chocolate. thank you so much. time for truth or fake, our fact checking segment. welcome, it is good to see you. how is china distracting twitter users from finding information on protests? >> is protests spread in china over the country strict covid strict sense, censorship in russia seems to spread to twitter as well. anyone searching for tweets to find information about protests will find the page full of dating spam. if you go on twitter, and you type location tags right here of major chinese cities, like for instance right here, we typed

beijing in chinese. you will encounter this type of dating spam right here that can clog up your twitter stream. you can try this for yourself at home, you will have the same results. these suggestive pictures of women inviting you to contact them or date them, with the #of these major tech chinese cities in order to distract from images of the protests. fraser: where does all the spam come from? catalina: the friends 24 observers team analyze these posts that continue to flood twitter feeds today. we have this post from 6:43 p.m. paris time today that reads, i am single, can i get a husband on twitter? as you can see, these tweets have been posted every couple of

seconds on twitter from hundreds of different twitter accounts that were created in the past two months. we have some examples right here of these accounts with little to no followers, as you can see, and also little to no engagement, which is a common sign that these are fake accounts on twitter. a digital investigator looked in to the spam with more details. he collected more than 3000 of these tweets of spam and found that in only 20 minutes, almost 2000 of these tweets had been uploaded on twitter. most of these tweets had this text, for instance, as we showed , i'm single, can i get a husband on twitter. these tweets had other odd phrases, like phrases that appear to mention pokemon, as

the first week we showed earlier that says, do you like my pokemon? with a suggestive picture of this young woman. so more tweets like this as well , that have these type of odd captions on twitter. so a method of distraction to distract away from videos of protesters in china. experts do suspect that the chinese government could be involved with these tweets, but there is no evidence to show any direct link. hopefully twitter will be able to mitigate this spam. fraser: it's certainly a bizarre, multipronged attack there. was this the only case of possible protest censorship in china? catalina: there are other reports of protest censorship on chinese social media. melissa chen reported that

chinese social media users are complaining about the china made huawei phones automatically deleting videos of the protests that took place in china without notifying the owners, deleting photos in their photo gallery. she also posted this video right here where you can see the photo gallery of some of these users that can no longer find or download videos or photos that they took the protests in china. she says a sci-fi movie could not have imagined this level of dystopia. if we posit right here, we can see the this user cannot find these images that they took of protests in china. prince 24 observers could not independently verify these claims, but it would not come as a surprise. fraser: we will keep an that and i will let you know if i find

any pokemon on my twitter. thank you for joining us with truth or fake. stay tuned, we will be right back with more headlines. >> they observe, they contact us, they report, film, photograph. they are the voice of the voiceless. your eyes in the far-fng reaches of the world. the observers, a network of 5000 citizens working with france 24. footage and testimonials checked by our journalist and broadcast weekly on the observers, on france 24, and observers. france 24.com.

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12/06/22 12/06/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the time for negotiation is now. this is becominguitepparent european leaders president macron of france and chancellor scholz of germany. it seems it is also becoming part of