>> 10:00, here are the stories making headlines. france will defend its ground as world cup champions after a victory over morocco. the blues were too tough to beat, dashing rocco's hopes of being the first african national to win the title. joe biden making his case to african leaders in washington that the u.s. can be an ally to the continent. the president is hosting 50 african leaders for a three-day summit.

a court in turkey -- turkiye has sentenced -- to three years in jail. preventing him from participating in next year's presidential election. critics say it is an attempt to silence a opponent of erdogan. ♪ thanks for joining us. jubilation and heartbreak her morocco. the blues scored a victory tonight and are one step closer to a second consecutive championship after beating the atlas alliance 2-0. france will face argentina in the final sunday. morocco was hoping to become the first nation -- first african nation to reach the final.

what can you say about the blue box performance? >> france were resilient and clinical once again when it mattered. the first goal came early, something i do not think any spectators would have expected. -- managing to do what so many other teams failed to do at this world cup, get past morocco's] ironclad defense. the goal came five minutes in and silenced the stadium that was obviously full of morocco fans. france24.com hernandez, the defender got the goal. -- missing, falling short of hitting the ball forward. it felt hernandez. it was not an easy ankle. did well to get it into the back of that. something morocco has not been

used to. trailing by one world. they were very lucky not to go down 2-0 with a big save from mono, the goalkeeper. -- hitting the post as well first half you can tell that the moroccans had tired legs on the pitch. dashcam often the first 20 minutes. it was a able to have him started he came off a very early -- morocco took the game to france. perhaps lacking a bit of patience and finished -- finesse. the final goal came close in the 35th minute. a bicycle kick from -- going into the first half 1-0. it got quite cagey. a very tense game. the blue were happy to let --

france and happy to slowdown the game. substitutions being crucial, they made a big difference as the clock ticked. it was les bleus who got the second goal. the assist again, an assist from -- to make a 2-0. moroccans will be feeling hard done. they give it their all. they brought the game to france for large parts of the day, may be lacking a bit of political -- a bit of clinical finishing. the lions can go out of the tournament with their heads held high. a fairytale run in this competition has impact -- has

inspired so many. they will be going out of this competition with their heads held high. it is now france that will be looking to write to their names into the history books and continue their quest to become the first team to retain their world cup title since brazil in 1962. they will be facing argentina sunday. >> everyone will be watching. we can cross now to simon harding in doha. what can you say about morocco's performance? >> there is nothing they could have done more. a absolutely fantastic game that brought a fantastic journey to the end. no one expected the -- to make it this far but it is a wonderful result. -- maybe got his starting lineup

wrong with omar, just a little too thin for this game. he had to make ahange early with midfielder -- on the pitch. -- couldn't continue. -- took advantage to smash the ball against the post, but morocco pushed. they were unable to get past the french defense who were able to get their first clean sheet of the tournament at exactly the right moment. france scored with their only today -- there only two bank shot -- >> a performance we have seen time and time again. they did the same against england. they were able to find a second goal when it really mattered. morocco, absolutely sensational. the fans hung their heads as they struck the ball in the 79th

minute. such disappointment, but let us not forget that in a better what happens, they will go home massive heroes. a people who have done unprecedented feats for the arab world and the african continent. >> simon harding in doha. morocco's loss is a huge blow to the team and its fans. we crossed the sophia lamotte who is in -- what is the scene where you are? >> [indiscernible] [inaudible]

[inaudible] >> we apologize for the audio trouble. sophia reporting for us in rabat . we can cross now to lizza. we are waiting to get in touch with -- [no audio] we can show you images of paris where fans are celebrating. happy about this world cup semifinal. france beating morocco 2-0 to reach the final sunday against argentina.

and now we can cross to lizza. tell us where you are and how people can -- how people are feeling. >> the atmosphere is absolutely mental. the french have won the semifinal and the french here -- [indiscernible] they are absolutely ecstatic. [indiscernible] very happy. we are going to be celebrating all night. it is very clear -- [indiscernible] i will let them do the talking for you. a fantastic match, everyone is

proud of their country. really? [cheering] >> we are going to let you go. we can tell people are very excited. very excited fans here in paris. we are going to move on to other headlines. joe biden making his case to african leaders gathered in washington that the united states can be a critical ally to the continent in the years ahead. the president is hosting 50 african leaders for a three-day summit. this was day two. the white house has pledged billions in security support for africa the next three years. pres. biden: the united states is signing an historic number random of understanding with the new continental free-trade secretary. this will unlock new opportunities for trade and investment between our countries. we are investing to his cilla

tate greater regional trade within africa including investing in infrastructure. today, the millennium challenge corporation signed its first ever regional transport compact with the governments of niger. >> we get more from -- as you mentioned, he has spoke about this partnership between the u.s. and the african continent, talking about how when africa 60's, the u.s. succeeds. frankly, the whole world. more concretely, he announced the u.s.-africa business forum, which was taking place today on this second day of the summit, actually bore fruit. there were about $50 billion worth of deals made three -- during this forum. deals from everything from

cybersecurity to health care and infrastructure. and that this was going to deepen the ties between the u.s. and the continent. the president also insisted that the big global challenges of the world right now could not be faced without the help of the african continent, without african voices at the table. while he did not formally announce it, we have been heing from the administration that the president will support a permanent seat for the african union at g20. e same way the president a few months ago said he supported a permanent seat for the african union at the security council. you are seeing two parts of this partnership between the u.s. and the continent. one that is concrete with economic deals and one that is more diplomatic with a bigger place for african countries at

the international table. >> the court in turkiye has sentenced the -- preventing him from competing in the presidential election. critics say the trial was an attempt to silence a key opponent of president erdogan. >> it all started with an offhand remark to a reporter. in november of 2019, istanbul's mayor called election officials "idiots," for canceling the results of the municipal election that had taken place in march of that year. another vote was organized that gave the -- party hundreds of thousands of votes. -- instantly became an opposition favorite, a

recognizable face welcome open arms in capitals abroad and leader of turkiye costs biggest city. that popularity may be bigger than ever. he was meeting with the leaders of the parties in -- >> imam -- appled the decision, sing a handful of people cannot overrule the authority of the public. >> after the latest in ukraine, the country's president says his horses shot down more than a dozen russian drones during an attack on the capitol. more air defense is on the way from the u.s. in the form of patriot missiles. >> shattered apartment windows,

subzero degree temperatures. residents of key have walk up to air raid alerts wednesday after another barrage of russian attacks. >> winter is coming. how can people survive. what do they want from us? they are not letting ukrainians to live. >> buildings prepared to had taken the blood this time, but residents have been warned to stay on high art. >> the terrorists started this morning with drones. according to initial information, all 13 were shut down by our ukrainian air defenses. well done. i am proud. >> though kyiv has reported no casualties, officials say curse on her son -- after months of drone attacks, the u.s. is finally announcing patriot missiles to kyiv. >> we recognize that with the

air threat that russia poses to ukraine, air defense continues to be a priority topic discussion when it comes to security assistance. we will continue to look at ways we can best support ukraine. >> a patriot missile is coidered tbe one of the most efficient defenses of airspace against missiles. dmitry medvedev has warned nato against equipping kyiv with patriot missiles, noting the kremlin would vote -- note it as an escalation. an announcement is expected this week. >> an eu lawmaker will remain in jail until december 22. police in belgium arrested -- as they rated homes in connection with a bribery.

police deceived -- seized more than 100 lean euros and cash. >> it was announced by her lawyer, that eu parliament former vice presidt will s in her jail cell until next week. her partner, francisco giorgi, will also remain behind bars. four suspects were charged with participation in a criminal organization, money laundering and corruption. they have been accused of taking money and gifts from authorities to influence decision-making, a claim she rejects. >> she will fight to prove her and since and to inform her fellow mep's, whom she respects and honors, and with whom she has worked for so many years, that the connection of her name with alleged bribery on half of

qatar, or any other country, is completely nonexistent. >> rates carried out in homes and offices led authorities to seize 1.5 million euros. that included several hundred thousand dollars in cash. many fear it is only the tip of the iceberg. meantime, divisions have been put on hold including a vote on whether to allow visa free travel to the eu for qataris. >> the population is shocked, rightfully show. -- rightfully so. we should improve the procedures. >> qatar denies wrongdoing, but officials take on the task of storing faith in its institutions. >> rishi sunak is calling it a

tragic loss of human life. four died when a boat capsized in the english channel overnight tuesday. dozens were rescued from the freezing waters. >> been a small boat capsized in the channel late tuesday, several lost their lives in the icy waters. survors were rescued by coast guard anfishermen the british home secretary blames criminals. >> crossing the channel in unseaworthiness is lethally dangerous. it is for this reason we are working so hard to destroy the business model of the people smugglers. people, organized criminals, that treat human beings as cargo. >> 13 months ago, 27 died in the deadliest crossing in 30 years. geo's have slammed government

actions. -- in actions. >> it is heartbreaking. we are mourning the loss of lives 13 months after the major incident. so much has been set in this last year, so many plans and policies, but very little has happened. it is heartbreaking and avoidable. >> the only solution they say is to make seafoods available. with nearly 45,000 making the crossing this year, up 50% on last year, the u.k. government's approach has been the opposite. tuesday, rishi sunak announced a deal with albania, the country of origin for one of third -- one third of those crossing the channel. migrants would be immediately returned to their home country. the british government agreed last month to pay france 72 million euros to increase border controls in the channel, a far

right from what ngo's are calling for. >> america's central bank take a -- taking a more upbeat tone. >> slightly. it does seem the pace of inflation in the u.s. seems to be stabilizing. the fed has slowed the rate of interest rate hikes following moves of three quarters of a percentage for the federal bank said it will bring the base level 4.5%. the forward guidance suggests a target of just over 5%, indicating more rate hikes in the years to come and no cuts until 2024. the fed expects gdp to expand stronger than expected this year and the same next. policymakers forecast that inflation would gradually get closer to their 2% target by 2025. the pace of consumer price rises pete at 9.4% is june.

tuesday, dated confirmed it had dropped to 7.1% in november. higher interest rates are intended to slow the rate of price rises by encouraging saving rather than spending. although the current inflation is driven by energy and food rises and external factors like word rain. jerome powell warrants the fight against inflation is far from over. >> inflation remains above our goal of 2%. inflation data received so far for october and november show a well reduction in the monthly pace of rate increases. but, it will take substantially more evidence to give confidence that inflation is on a sustained downward path >> investors had widely been pricing in that rate hike. wall street still turned lower by the end of the trading session, subdued by more rate hikes to come. we saw a lower close of the nasdaq, a bit less for than that

-- for the dow jones. shares of delta were up nearly 3% after the airline set interest -- it expects travel demand to double its earnings next year. major european indices closing slightly lower. investors will be focused on more central bank meetings to come in the next 24 hours. the bank of england and european central bank set to announce changes to their policy thursday. consumer prices in the u.k. also show signs of slowing. although consumer prices were still 10.7% higher in november. in october, inflation hit a 41 year high-end an 11.1%. at her g and food costs remain the drivers. in the u.k., food prices were 16.5 percent higher than a year ago, the fastest in 45 years. inflation remains above the central bank's 2% target.

businesses are continuing to suffer. inflation in ghana top 50% in november, the highest in 21 years. it is making life increasingly expensive first struggling families. the government struck a deal with the international monetary fund that seeks to stabilize its economy and public finances. >> it was once considered a rock of economic stability in the african continent today, it battles its worst financial crisis in decades. ghana is facing more than 50% inflation, growing that ten-day collapse of its currency. >> i went to the market today, going to shop for the week. i withdrew -- thinking i wou getting everything and needed. but i couldn't.

i couldn't get enough for my baby. >> the government has announced it to 5% increase in -- and a freeze on public or hires to cut cost and hike revenue. their prices forced their president decal from the imf, seeking a $3 billion loan program early this week. >> the program we include reforms to strain fiscal transparency in public financial management. improve the management of public enterprises. bolster governance. tackle changes in the energy sector. >> as they wait, the ghana people hope things won't get worse before they get better. french officials say they are confident they can avoid widespread power cuts. even as unseasonably low temperatures sweep the country.

bruno -- set four more nuclear reactors will be online in january for a total of 30 of five. that should help maintain the country possible electricity grid. france briefly halted power exports to the u.k.. it has been importing from belgium and italy. the eu has been storing up on reserves of natural gas to get through the winter. france is much more dependent on nuclear power and electricity providers say they will remain vigilant for the coming ons jabeur this in spite of the push for more restraint when it comes to energy consumption. our hopefully no rolling lack outs. >> hopefully not. keep a big sweater. >> fingers crossed. that is it for now. stay tuned. ♪ >> between 1970 and 1980, a

number of japanese citizens mysteriously disappeared a mystery that was a kidnapping graham orchestrated by north korea. >> [speaking foreign language] >> in 2002, kim jong-il acknowledged 13 kidnappings. but how many were really abducted? and how many countries? while the united states supports victims, north korea has broken off talks. many gray areas remain in this international story of espionage. watch france 24. ♪

12/14/22 12/14/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> i am willing to face prosecution right now. [indiscernible]