>> welcome to live from paris. world news and analysis from france 24. these are the headlines. a key aide to ukraine's president zelenskyy is among 14 people who lost their lives in an unexplained helicopter crash near kyiv. the crash happened in residential suburb near a preschool. will be getting analysis and the rest of the story from ukraine. france braces for a day of

strike action across the board. all eight major unions are united against the plan raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. action starts tomorrow. we are looking ahead to what it might mean. for our common good, davos's 200 millionaires want to pay more tax. that standpoint has been relayed to the world economic forum by oxfam. this is live from paris. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. in ukraine, date 329 of the conflict. helicopter crashes claimed the lives of 14 people. these include a key aid to president volodymyr zelenskyy. there were other ministers on board and it is reported a

child. the crash point was in residential suburb of kyiv your apartment and a preschool. the helicopter coming down onto the grounds of the nursery. the helicopter went down in fog in the district of brother re-in the eastern outskirts of the capital. the crash remains tonight unexplained. volodymyr zelenskyy this wednesday addressed the world economic forum via video link. delegates stood and respected amid silence -- a minute of silence led by president zelenskyy in respect for those killed in the crash. peter o'brien has more. >> a helicopter allies scattered across the street to the east of kyiv. a crash -- it crashed down near a nursery killing the ukrainian interior ministries leadership. one teenage witness recounted how he looked after three

chdren who got hurt. >> we gave them suites to calm them down. wrote down their nes. we asked them what hurt. they were not in pain. they just had scratches and bruises. we found their parents and caregivers and headed them over. >> the prime minister said an investigation was underway. ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy described it as a tragedy. >> today a terrible tragedy occurred in the kyiv region. a state emergency services helicopter crashed at a fire broke out at the crash site good the pain is unspeakable -- the crash site. the pain is unspeakable. >> helicopter was an route to the front line. the interior minister who was killed is the most senior official to have died since the russian invasion 11 months ago. his deputy and state secretary were also killed. it happened days after the deadliest attack on civilians

since last spring when a russian missile strike hit an apartment block in southeast ukraine. >> a report by peter o'brien. we are joined for analysis by our correspondent from the world united services institute. thank you for being with us. what is the since you have about why and how this helicopter came to crash? >> thank you very much for having me. this is an absolutely devastating tragedy that has killed unfortunately 14 people including officials from the government. it seems like it might have been an accident. of course there is an ongoing investigation. more information about the reasons why this happened. today president zelenskyy --

highlighted during his dabo speech why it is so important [indiscernible] these are the stranded -- the tragedies happening on a daily basis. these were people from his government. they were visiting the front lines on almost a daily basis. this is a result of russia's incredibly brutal war in ukraine. >> any loss of life is obviously a great tragedy. how great a loss in terms of what is happening in ukraine and what zelenskyy is trying to achieve, how great a loss is the death of the interior minister? >> it is a great loss of course. he was a key figure in zelenskyy's government.

[indiscernible] it is a huge loss. the timing is devastating for his government. he needs to make a decision very quickly to make sure the chain of command is there. >> president zelenskyy led the moment of silence in respect for those who were killed in the helicopter crash. he of course speaking via video link to davos. his message to the delegates at the what economic forum is tierney is outpacing democracy. -- his tyranny is outpacing democracy. he is once again calling on western allies for help. >> he highlighted the urgency. for ukraine to be able to defeat the enemy.

i tnk the messaging was vy portant. we know solesky has demonstrated he is a good communicator pit -- we know zelenskyy has demonstrated he is a good communicator. [indiscernible] i thought today speech was very important. it contained a crucial message. [indiscernible] there are hi expectations. >> there has been much talk this week already about the issue of tanks. the u.k. agreeing to send 14 tanks to ukraine. the pressure is now on germany. we understand the comment from berlin is there will be no movement on that unless

washington agrees to send tanks as well. going forward to friday to the big meeting of defense ministers near berlin, are you expecting any major developments on the issue of whether leopard tanks, the german-made ones will be sent to ukraine? >> the german chancellor would announce a decision display tanks. [indiscernible] we have seen [indiscernible] [indiscernible] especially a decision by the u.k.. i think the pressure is mounting

after the u.k. decided to supply ukrae with tanks. i think this decision would be ga changing because this would indicate there is a significant shift in how western aid will continue in the coming months. it is an extremely important meeting this friday between the defense ministers. there was an indication [indiscernible] >> thank you as ever for joining us. thank you for your analysis.

we will bring you more developments on the situation in ukraine as we go through the program. let's move on to our next story. retirement reform. headline news in france. braced for a day of all-out strike action should all sectors will be concerned. all eight main unions are united against raising the age of retirement from 62 to 64. this a central piece of the plan by president macron and he was first elected. in his second mende there is no guarantee this will work given the strength of public feeling. successive governments since 1993 have had problems when trying to change anything about the french retirement system or the pension systems as they are set up. catherine has more on what to expect when the strike starts on thursday. >> nearly empty train stations,

overcrowded metros. these are the situations french people are preparing for as they face travel chaos on thursday. >> tomorrow i'm going to work from pump it i'm going to stay at home and wait for it to pass. >> service on france's national railway will be heavily disrupted. one in three high-speed trains will be running in the north and southeast. there will be one in four in the east and one in five in the west of the country. local service will also be disrupted. high-speed intercity trains will be at a complete standstill. many passengers have already altered their itinerary leaving a day earlier or returning a day later. >>'m losing money here. the tickets are more expensive. i'm a small business owner. i understand the right to strike but they are getting on my nerves. >> the structs will also affect public transport. in paris commuters are bracing themselves for problems on the tram and metro. three lines will be completely

shut while 10 others will have severe delays. >> i'm going to leave two hours earlier than usual. i will leave around 6:00 a.m. for a 10:00 a.m. appointment. >> it is so hard to get around here. i don't feel sorry for them. there should be a mems service like in other countries. in france it does not exist. >> one business that benefits from tnsport strikes, carpool sites. >> tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. we already have more than 60% of requests compared to a normal thursday. >> similar transport disruptions are also expected in france's other big cities. >> as world, political and economic leaders are gathered in davos, over 200 millionaires signed an open letter asking to pay more tax. oxfam research shows almost two thirds of the wealth accumulated since the start of the code pandemic has gone to the richest

1%. that is if just a fraction of the money that were taxed over 2 billion people could be pulled out of poverty. at france 24, alison sargent with this. >> tax us and tax us now. the plea of more than 200 millionaires in an open letter addressed to world leaders and other members of the global elite gathered in davos. the current lack of action is gravely concerning. a meeting of the global elite in davos to discuss cooperation in fragmented road is pointless if you are not challenging the root cause of division. now is the time to tackle extreme wealth. now is the time to tax the ultrarich. the signatories include american actor mark ruffalo, abigail and tim disney come a grand niece and nephew of the american producer and a danish iranian entrepreneur. while must come from the u.s. and u.k., 13 countries are

represented including france. the french finance minister saw the letter as an opportunity to brag about his country's tax system. they >> are welcome here. they will have their -- let me remind you if you are a millionaire in france you have a marginal tax rate that is 45%. come to france. we know how to tax you. >> the so-called patriotic millionaires behind the letter would say that is not enough. in a report copublished with oxfam and other groups they notes a wealth tax ranging from two to 5% on the world's millionaires and billionaires would raise two and a half trillion dollars annually. enough to lift over 2 billion people out of poverty and provide universal health care for all citizens of low and middle in come countries to in france, section additional tax would raise enough to plug the retirement deficit making the controversial reform unnecessary. >> with peru's capital bracing

for two days of antigovernment protests which start today the president called on the demonstrators flooding to lima together peacefully and calmly even as they demand her resignation. the south american country has been rocked by over five weeks of protests since the arrest of her predecessor. over 40 people have been killed. thousand of protesters from rural areas are descending on lima to keep up pressure against the government often defying a state of emergency declared to try to maintain government order. tensions mounting. many poor and indigenous demonstrators making their presence felt in the capital. police used smoke canisters against marchers who gathered for the larger mobilizations. more analysis of this coming up very shortly when we join our correspondent in lima for the latest. time to turn our eye to

business. who better than brian to join us? starting in to the u.s. were opening statements get underway this wednesday as elon musk face and other -- faces another courtroom drama. >> facing a class action lawsuit for a series of tweets he posted in 2018. he initially claimed he had secured funding to take tesla private. chairs and a villager carmaker quickly surged and fell back on a deal -- when the deal failed to materialize. investors who lost money say he owes them big. >> it all started in 2018 with a series of tweets. >> i'm considering taking tesla private at four dollars 20 a share. >> after elon musk certain he had lined up fondly to take tesla private the stock jumped up. a week later it became clear he did not have the funding.

investor sued him as a result saying the shares would never have been cursed so much in value if it up in for his false claim. >> this case is somewhat unusual in that the judge has already ruled the statement funding secured was false. the main issue for the jury is going to be whether it was material which legally c be thought of as was this the type of false statement investors would act on? >> though they have not specify the damages the shareholders say the tweets cost investors billions. the defendants who include seven current and former tesla directors have denied wrongdoing. analysts are saying it is not looking good for musk. >> when it comes to investors they definitely clearly have a case. i think they are surprised musk is not settling here. ultimately this is going to be a game of thrones battle in court. it is not a good look for musk. it has been what i would s a dark chapter that continues to get a light shined on it in court. >> musk may be asked to take the

stand as a witness in the civil trial which is expected to last around three weeks. >> checking in on markets. european indexes were muted on wednesday. investors remain cautious on the economic outlook despite industrial plans in the u.s. and europe coinciding with the lifting of china's covid zero policies. london's ftse 100 and the day a quarter of a percent. frankfurt down slightly at the close despite new estimates showing germany is expected to narrowly avoid recession in 2023. on wall street major indexes lost significant ground as a january rally falters amid weakening data. u.s. retail sales fell 1.1% in december. microsoft shares lost 2% as the company announces 10,000 layoffs peered the dow down 600 points.

the u.s. government is projected to hit its official borrowing limit on thursday. the so-called debt ceiling is rare in developed economies. in america it is occasionally led to political crises as lawmakers periodically scramble to stave off a debt default. a hard-line contingent of far right republican representatives are making a default more likely than ever sewing fears of chaos on global financial markets. >> it is usually a routine procedure but raising the u.s. debt ceiling has hit an obstacle in the new republican house of representatives. many in the majority want to pair a hike and of the 31 .4 trillion dollar borrowing limit with spending cuts to social security and federal health coverage. the white house land republicans for holding the nation's credit hostage. >> it is a recipe for economic catastrophe as president biden has made clear. congress must deal with the debt

limit and must do so without conditions. >> treasury secretary janet yellen urged congress to come together to avoid the risk of a first ever u.s. default which could lead to chaos on financial markets. leading the deadlock, hardware lawmakers from the freedom caucus. emboldened by the recent standoff in the house which one them concessions from new speaker kevin mccarthy. president joe biden reiterated his willingness to work with republicans to break the stalemate but he rejected criticism of so-called big spending democrats. >> i reduced the deficit last year $350 billion. and this year, the federal deficit down one trillion plus dollars. these guys are fiscally demented i think. >> treasury can stave off the immediate danger with extra neri measures.

shifting money around government accounts to remain within the debt limits. the reprieve is only expected to last until the summer at the latest. >> if you recall during the obama era, there was a similar crisis where there was talk of treasury minting a $1 trillion coin and depositing it into the federal reserve to get around the whole thing. a lot of talk of getting rid of it altogether but not in the cards for the moment. >> thank you very much indeed. great to see you. kathleen is waiting for the big -- waiting by the big board. greta thunberg detained in germany there are viral claims on social media that the activist stage the entire thing. tell us more. >> greta thunberg was surely detained and then released yesterday in germany during a protest against the demolition of a german village to make way for a coal mine. following the detainment there

are extremely viral claims on twitter that the entire thing was staged. here is the viral claim on twitter with over 12 million views online. this user claims the fake arrest of greta thunberg all set up for the cameras. it's take a look at the video here and this claim where under the context right here the whole thing does seem a bit suspicious. we do see greta thunberg in late mood. she is posing for cameras as journalists take her picture. she is being held back by the police peered a video that has risen the suspicion of many. >> looks like an old-fashioned photo opportunity as it was called when i was a journalist in the field. can you explain the context in which this video and viral post was taken?

12 million views claiming it was all set up. >> 12 million views so let's take a look at the official footage taken by journalists that day. for a bit of context regarding what the video we see in the viral claims show. here weee greta thunberg together with other protesters staging a sit in their the edge of this mine at the -- mine in germany. police when the group if they did not move away they would be removed by force. we do see what a fun bag moved by force by the police right here where we see her briefly carried away by police and attained right here into the scene that we see in the viral claims where we see journalists taking her pictures while she is detained. she is later escorted toward police fans for a quick identity check. what many claim to be staged is

indeed greta thunberg at the time detained as journalists capture this moment which is completely normal procedure for celebrities or a public figure arrested or detained. just journalists doing their job . >> what to official sources have to say about these staged detainment claims? >> france 24 spoke to the journalists present covering the protests yesterday who confirmed they were not aware greta thunberg was participating in the protest hence eliminating the theory this was a premeditated press coverage. they say these staged claims were nonsense. we spoke to a representative of the local police on site during these protests. they say they were not aware she would be present so not a

premeditated press coverage. they also said they would not give themselves to make such recordings that they are not the extras for the staging of when a thunberg and during the mission they point out there was a critique they did not let the press work, that press work was rejected by police and now they let the journalists do their job there are people saying the images are staged saying in this shows how difficult it is to please everyone. they said it is important the police enable reporting and guarantee the protection of media workers in critical situations overall saying the police officers were letting journalists do their jobs. this is not the first time that a thunberg has been a victim of misinformation on line. spirits see theorists on the france 24 observers website and have at least three examples of

a time she has been the target of conspiracy theorists. >> goes to show how good a thunberg is getting under the skin of many people. a message that is a clear one. act now to save our planet or else. catalina with truth or fake. thanks to brian quinn. most of all, thanks to you for watching wherever you are. more to come live from paris. ♪ >> special event. >> the snow is back in davos and so is the world economic forum. this year's theme, cooperation in fragmented world. i will be here reporting a week talking about the global economy and inflation with friends's fragments minister -- finance minister. challenges for the business world with buses from intel,

volvo and valentina to join me all week on france 24. >> watch events unfold on france 24 and france 24.com. ♪ ♪

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