dw >> this is dw news live from berlin. tonight more ammunition for ukraine. european leaders in brussels have endorsed a plan that will send military artillery to keep it in the next 12 months. the ceo of tiktok fighting for the social video apps future in the united states, appearing before congress to answer questions about whether the chinese owned platform poses a national security risk.

and across france, violent protests against pension reforms. demonstrators are demanding the government plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 64 on hold. i am brent goff. to our viewers in the united states and around the world, welcome. european union leaders in brussels have endorsed a new deal to supply ammunition to ukraine. the summit is taking place after the chinese president's visit to moscow earlier this week. that was a strong show of support for vladimir putin and sparked more worries in europe. >> ukraine says it needs more ammunition to fend off russian attacks and fast. that is why european union

leaders are giving a resounding rubberstamp to plans to send ukraine one million artillery shells over the next year. will this promise meet the scale of the challenge? >> it depends how far and how long the war will last. will this be enough or not? that is why we need to have and use all the tools that we have, political pressure, political isolation, economic sanctions, to put the pressure on russia to end the war. >> not everyone is impressed by europe's valid to arm kyiv. beijing accuses brussels of adding fuel to the fire of war and when the chinese president met his russian counterpart at a different diplomatic meeting this week, there were warm words and signs of deepening friendship. cause for concern among european union leaders. >> it's a bit of an eye-opener for us in europe, because if maybe many people were hoping

that is china could somehow take the role of a broker, china is not doing this at all. china is certainly moving right now overtly on the side of russia. this is actually a big challenge and difficulty for all of us. >> another big challenge, keeping europe's clean technology industries competitive. some fear unity on the european union's way ahead could be undermined by a request from germany to carve out an exception for e fuels for combustion engine cars. amid criticism that it is too late to ask for changes, german chancellor olaf scholz insists compromise is on the horizon. >> is just a matter of finding the right way pragmatically of implementing promises the european commission made long ago. if i understand the discussions between the commission and german government correctly, as far as those responsible are

concerned, everything is on the right track. >> european union leaders are holding talks with united nations secretary-general. he warns that developing economies are facing a perfect storm of rising hunger, food insecurity and the fallout of the climate crisis. europe should be taking the lead on finding solutions. >> dw's jack is in brussels. he joined me earlier and i asked him if there would be more military support for ukraine. >> that's the big question, how long can the european union keep doing this? what is interesting is in this plan for the million rounds, there's a plan for the european union to go out collectively, the 17 countries that have signed up, to stop buying ammunition together and also a plan to increase production in the european union. one of the things that we know the war in ukraine -- countries have been sending, but a lot of countries have not been telling how much they have been sending

because they do not want other partners in the world to know how much their stockpiles are depleting. it is clear with this plan that a lot of them are starting to get nervous about that. that is why as part of the agreement, while ukraine says it needs the ammunition and eu partners want to send it, they know they need to increase production and purchasing as well. >> the ukrainian president blow to mere zelenskyy delivered -- bel it's clear he would like to see more weapons. what did he have to say? >> zelenskyy is a regular feature. a video call from him the last time he was here, but every summit since the war began, he has addressed the european union leaders. we understand this time it was done from a train and he said the situation on the battlefield is increasingly difficult and desperate. and he said that there needs to be a speed up of the delivery of ammunition and tanks and

long-range missiles and modern fighter jets to be delivered by the european union partners. they will be able to do that. how willingly and financially able they will be willing to do it is the big question. that has been a question from the ukrainians. we know dimitri the foreign minister attended the foreign ministers meeting this week and he said he needs three things, ammunition, ammunition, ammunition. you got the hardware on the ground but they did not have anything to fire, they will not win the war. >> >> they would like to have some fighter jets on top of that. let's talk about what we saw in russia. we sought a visit from xi jinping, the chinese president, with vladimir putin. both of these leaders are saying that they are closer than ever. does that have leaders in brussels where you are more worried about this and what direction that is going to take this war in? >> they are certainly aware and talking about it. we heard from the latvian prime minister. an interesting comment on the way into the meeting, he said

china is in the driver's seat not russia. the question is where china wants to drive the relationship. the question is whether china could be someplace mediating, a broker role. if they put forward a peace agreement suggestion that they would be able to play the mediating role. ukraine is not in favor of it because of how close the chinese are with the russians. there is another angle being spoken about at the summit and that is the fact that the market of the european union as it tries to green it self is looking to outsource, to produce green technologies. things like solar panels, electric vehicles. we heard the discussion in rosie's support about the battle over at end of combustion engines. china has so much production capacity in the lithium to produce that kind of thing. as china increases in their power of that, the european union needs to look outside. there is a concern that that could influence decisions related to china.

it's extremely complicated geopolitically and the european union leaders are locked into those discussions as we speak. >> dw's jack with the latest from brussels. jack, thank you. kyiv says up to 13,000 ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of russia's invasion. the true number can only be guessed at. in the chaos of war, many deaths cannot be documented. bodies cannot be recovered. the soldiers registered as missing leave behind loved ones who are desperate for news and who are unable to grieve. >> a battleground turn place of morning. -- was among those who died defending the kyiv suburbs here. >> the monument is exactly in this trench, that is why i fenced it with wood. that's the first thing i did. it was here that my brother died.

>> pablo and his mother have created this memorial, to remember him and others. however, finding out what happened was a painfully slow process. pavlo received an sms that his brother had died, no further details. >> we searched for him for two months. we communicated with various services that might have information. and we found him, territorial defense which is located here called and they found a bottle with the paper inside written in russian that said to ukrainian soldiers are buried here. >> like them, other families must search for missing loved ones themselves. almost everywhere, you come across silent witnesses of the war.

people's homes and cars destroyed, life lost. the battle for kyiv and it almost a year ago in the chaos of war many went missing. those defending the city as well as civilians like those living in the occupied outskirts. authorities to this day are struggling to find them. >> people are returning from abroad, returning from the west of ukraine, who have been absent for a long time since the occupation and are providing us with new information. prisoners of war also testified, but mostly the security service of ukraine works there. they give information about where, how, and under what circumstances people were killed and buried. >> but civilians do not want to depend on the authorities. they started an initiative to help find missing persons more easily. today they meet with anatolio,

the air raid sirens just went off. they want to see how the government can support them. >> thanks to pavlo, his mother and everyone who works with them, we found our heroes were missing. now we know where they died. >> 56 people so far, but to improve the process they want to create a centralized database where information from the military, government and families is automatically pooled. a step forward, even if wartime security means not everything can be shared. >> while there is a war, there are certain data we cannot devilish. -- divulge. we understand that when we when the base will be more expanded. modest relatives will be able to find their relatives faster.

>> every other week, they come to the former fighting chances. -- trenches. they want to help others to have that too. >> dw's max filed that report and told us a little bit more about that initiative and how widespread the problem is. >> pavlo and his mother were able to help other families, more than 50 families from the kyiv region, to find closure. find information about the whereabouts of their family members. to help them cope essentially. and doing this through sort of investigative work, leads they are following to give you an example. in some cases they try to find out who these guys are fighting with, try to find information from them. or in the case of pavlo and his brother, he managed to track his

phone and find where the phone was last located and went to the hospitals. you can go through hospitals and boards and try to find people from there. this is terrible work that the family member worried to death about their son or their daughter should not have to do, so that is why they started this initiative. they're trying to file an automatic database in which information will be pooled. for example a commander can file information that a soldier is not at his or her post and then through an automatic notification, will be sent out to relevant groups or people, for example military authorities, police or loved ones. and yes, this could significantly speed up the process. this is necessary to have an automatic process because of the moment officials are overwhelmed. there's a lot of bureaucracy and referred loved ones have had to wait eight months or longer to get certain certificates. >> that's a long time to even

begin to have closure in a tragedy like that. you are in the eastern city near the front line. what is the situation, what are people there telling you? >> right, so we had the chance to meet with an infantry group holding a frontline position. a few kilometers away from bakhmut. as viewers will know, this is the symbolic city, the infamous city that has been pounded by the russians for months now that they have been trying to take. fighting there has been quite fierce. but the soldiers we were talking to were telling us bakhmut has to stand. the city cannot be given up. and right now, from what i am taking away their as the fighting spread, it seems to be quite high. >> dw's max reporting in eastern ukraine. thank you.

here is a look at other stories making headlines around the world. slovakia says it has sent four fighter jets to ukraine with another nine in the coming weeks. this fulfills a pledge it made last week to donate the 29 aircraft and it makes slovakia the second native country after poland to pledge were cranes for the ukrainian armed forces. a british court has found a senior nigerian politician and his wife ld of trafficking a man to the u.k. to provide his kidney for their sick daughter. -- the former deputy president of the nigerian senate was accused of exploring -- excluding a street trader from lagos for a few thousand dollars. the u.n. is warning that clean water is in short supply around the world because of overconsumption, unsustainable use and global warming. especially -- at a special

conference secretary-general gutierrez called for major commitments to ensure that everyone has access to drinking water and sanitation before the end of the decade. australia has announced details of a referendum it will hold later this year on indigenous rights. the vote proposes setting up a special committee in parliament to advance the rights of aboriginal and torres strait islanders. they represent 3% of australia's population of 26 million. now to washington and tiktok. a rare moment of bipartisan agreement today over the potential security threat posed by the popular video sharing app, tiktok. the ceo today faced a grilling by u.s. lawmakers who are worried that the app which is chinese owned could be passing on users data to the chinese government. the questions focused on whether some content on tiktok is harmful, especially to teenagers. the u.s. is considering banning the app completely.

tough times for tiktok. let's go to our washington correspondent stephan simon who has been following this. tiktok, the social media platform that got big on dance videos is especially be by young people. at the same time, the company is under scrutiny by the government. why is this a big deal in the u.s.? >> you called the hearing a grilling, it was a butchering. it was horrible. why is that a big deal, numbers. and with that comes powers. 150 million active users on tiktok in the united states alone, that is huge. this is basically for all other tech companies in the united states, twitter, snapchat, facebook, metta what have you, that is dream in numbers and tiktok has it. tiktok has it. the problem is of course is

tiktok able to separate itself entirely on every level from the chinese regime. /the communist party in china. the answer in the minds of the politicians, those in the hearing but also the white house is no they're not able to do this and for them they are a security risk to the united states because they have access to so much data and as soon as they have at the chinese can do whatever they want with it. and it's out of the hands of the united states. >> is a big problem and we know the ceo, he fell the heat today. if i was being nice when i said he got grilled. it was more like a verbal butchering today, wasn't it? >> yes absolutely, it was brutal. i cannot imagine anyone wanted to be in the shoes of the tiktok ceo because at some point really bordered at absurdity.

why and in what sense? committee members were pre-positioned. they did not believe anything that the tick tock ceo could tell them. what about his efforts to safeguard data by giving it and storing it in america with another tech company, oracle? they did not believe any of this. they were outright saying you can say whatever you want here and you're doing a miserable job saying what you want here by the way, that's what they're basically transferring to him. you can say whatever you want and we don't believe you anyway. we protect our children, we protect national security. tiktok, sorry to say, but it looks like they are looking at a lot of problems for a long and lengthy court case. >> is definitely a pr disaster for their company, the ceo, that's for sure. as always, thank you. fact in europe, france has seen

a ninth day of protests against pension reforms that will raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. train in air travel was disrupted due to widespread strikes. >> at the heart of the french capital, thousands have taken to the streets for yet another day. trying to pressure their president, emmanuel macron, to drop the reform which would raise the minimum age of retirement to 64. in the crowd, many are still decades away from retirement. this movement represents humans rights. it is if is -- it is a philosophy of life. do we want to work until age 64 or not? and i just do not. >> not all the protests had a relaxed atmosphere.

police continued to detain protesters with hundreds now arrested since the demonstrations broke out. 5000 right police deployed in paris, firing tear gas into the crowds. >> we will be here until the reform is removed. if we are not tired, not running out of steam, and i think it will get a little bit tougher. each mobilization, we will be there, including every day and in the evening, at night, in the morning. we have to block everything. >> whatever happens, protesters say they are not backing down. >> in the first nationwide day of strikes, or correspondent lisa in paris told me why people are fighting so hard against pension reforms pushed through last week. >> you know, it is

extraordinary what happened today. you have between one and 3.5 million people taking to the streets to say no to the pension reform. that's twice as many as during the last nationwide day of strikes last week before as you said the reform was pushed through. you are right, they were really angry. angry about the government method, the fact that the president used this extraordinary and constitutional power to push the reform through parliament without a vote. further angered by micron's interview with french journalist yesterday where he did not show any empathy for people as people were saying afterwards. he refused to back down. >> the pension reform is already a done deal. and obviously, it was not enough to get enough votes to bring

down the government, so these protests, i understand there may be anger, but what can these protests still achieve? >> there are still options. first of all, legally speaking, the reform is with the constitutional counsel. parts of it are not constitutional and rejected and also people are hoping for a referendum. they've launched an initiative for a referendum but it will take lots and lots of months actually to come into effect. protesters are continuing to demonstrate and increase the pressure hoping the government will back down. >> dw's lisa louis with the latest live from paris. thank you. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has doubled down on his push for judicial reform which has sparked nationwide protests.

despite speculation he maybe abandon the reforms after unease within his coalition. in a televised address this evening, netanyahu said only that he will do everything to calm the situation and bring cohesion. critics say the overhaul of the legal system is a threat to israel's democracy. our correspondent tonya kramer is in jerusalem following that statement. she told me what prompted him to make today's speech. >> we have seen it today again another day of protests. a lot of arrests during the day, during this protests. the pressure it seems has been mounting on prime minister benjamin netanyahu. what we are hearing from within his own party from those saying we need to slow down a little bit and those saying those who want to slow down it should resign. the prime minister addressed the nation tonight.

he tried to find words for both but the supporters and opponents, he said he wants to find a solution that everybody should address each other's fears. and he made a point in saying that he would make sure that the civil liberties would be protected. and he especially mentioned a controversial bill about the override clause which a simple majority would be enough to override a law. and he said he would make sure that those would be protected but again i'm not sure that this would be enough for the opponents. >> i'm wondering what does this mean? that he is fully back or he is just giving political lip service? >> i do not think he is pulling back. from what i understand what the supporters of this judicial overhaul calls a compromise has been offered beginning of the

week, saying that they will push now for one of the bills which is very controversial, which should be possibly as we understand voted on in the second and third reading. next week before they go into the positive for the jewish holiday, that is a bill that would determine how judges are selected. in the other bills would be taken up again once they come back at the end of april after the jewish holiday. opponents are said this is a salami tactic and not really satisfied. sing more protesters coming out among the military. it's worrisome for those who are worried about what's happening on the street. >> tonya, thank you. before we go, here is a reminder

of our top story. european union leaders in brussels have approved an increase in aid to ukraine. the plan will see one million rounds of ammunition over the next year. talks come as concerns grow over china's show of support. you're watching dw. after a short break i will be back to take you through the news of the day. we will be right back.

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>> this is "love from paris." -- this is "live from paris." and ninth day of protests over pension reforms. here in paris, protests have turned violent. the president of ukraine appeals for new easing of sanctions against russia. and the ceo of tiktok faces a grilling from lawmakers in washington, who consider it to

be a potential security threat. good evening. the eu's 27 leaders are at a two-day summit in brussels where ukraine is very much the focus of the summit. amongst the issues under discussion, the plan to send one million artillery shells to kyiv over the next year. the ukrainian president addressed the leaders today and urge them not to reconsider sanctions against russia. united nations chief antonio guterres spoke to the summit in the context of the grain deal brokered by the united nations and turkiye. it does same, doesn't it, that ukraine was very much the focus of discussions at the summit so far.

>> certainly that was the case earlier, this afternoon especially, as president zelenskyy addressed eu leaders by videoconference, and he did get the take away, it must be said, from this eu summit, we have had confirmation that the eu will provide these extra artillery shells and not only that but potentially missiles and precision-guided weapons as well. details still to be hashed out, but the basic architecture is there. the money will come from something called the european peace facility, which must sound like an ironic term for some, but it is certainly a watershed moment for the eu, which is obviously an entire project based on peace between france and germany, now using this

platform called the european peace facility, to jointly procure weapons for ukraine and try to make sure ukraine can match russian artillery shell production. obviously, it remains to be seen very much if that is actually the case or not over the next 12 months, which is when these -- this particular plan covers the next 12 months, particularly when it comes to artillery shells. >> tell me what's overshadowing this summit. it was a row between paris and berlin. what is this all about? >> they are at odds over a couple of things. firstly, this question of fuel for combustion engines. the combustion engine is meant to be phased out i 2035, but

germany has sprung a bit of a surprise on the summit by saying essentially that that deal should be revisited and that perhaps combustion engines can continue to run after 2035 on e-feels -- t-fuels -- e-fuels. other countries are saying we cannot reopen the deal. it would set a bad precedent if we started to revisit this kind of agreement that has already been done, and the whole decision-making architecture of these eu summits would start to come apart. really something that is being discussed on the sidelines of the summit. the main thrust of the discussion is on eu competitiveness more generally, and in the context of eu

competitiveness, we have to point out that the european commission recently outlined something called the net zero industry act, which claims to define which industries are clean, which can be used in order to push forward with the whole energy transition, and this is where france is at odds with germany and other countries on the nuclear issue because france considers nuclear energy to be very important to its energy mix, and it wants nuclear energy to be classified as a key technology of the future under this net zero industry act. germany very much begs to differ on that. that will certainly be a bone of contention at the bilateral meeting which we are expecting to happen between president macron and german chancellor schulz -- german chancellor scholz tomorrow morning. >> thank you very much indeed

for that update from brussels. hundreds of thousands of people have them protesting their france today, but those taking part are venting their anger at reforms to the pension system. the uproar over the reform which the government pushed group without a vote is showing no signs of abating. protests in paris and other cities have turned violent today. a number of arrests have been reported. notably after violent groups smashed the windows of banks, shops, and food outlets. president macron yesterday refused to back down on the reform. pictures coming to us from central paris live show a scene of tension in the heart of the capital. as a result of rolling strike action, collected rubbish continues to pileup on the streets of paris. the day has also post major disruption of public transport. the paris metro sharply reduced service.

at one stage, protesters blocked the railway tracks. let's cross now to lisa coming off, who is standing by in central paris where we gather things have turned a little tense in the last hour or so. tell us what is happening now. >> absolutely. the finish line of the protest was here, and we are stuck in between what appears to be a lotto police vans that are blocking all the exits, so anyone who still remains stuck inside this police entourage cannot get out, and no one can come in. as you can see behind me, most crowds have already been dispersed with teargas and entire police units charging at

them, so right now, we just have a series of police vans trying to calm down the remaining protesters, but throughout the process, a lot of objects were set on fire. we had newspaper kiosks on fire, bins on fire, of course, and not to mention all the teargas bombs being thrown around, but things seemed to have -- now things seem to have calmed down a bit, but overall, there has been a very high turnout, which is also why there has been such a heavy police presence. latest figures in paris alone, 100,000 protesters took to the street, which is a much higher figure than we have seen in previous protests, so just goes to show how many people have rallied together, have come to the streets, especially following everything that has been going on, the use of 49 .3 and the president's interview on

thursday. >> when you look at what is happening on the streets of cities across france and listen to what the president has been saying, you really do not hear any sense or sign of compromise. neither side backing down. >> absolutely. there does not seem to be any kind of dialogue for current of negotiation. the president made it clear in an interview on wednesday that he intends for the reform to come into force by the end of the year, but most importantly, one of the things which really triggered the crowds was that he was prepared to upset the popularity of the bill rather than packing down -- rather than backing down. the prime minister has already made a request to the constitutional council for a very rapid examination of this law so that it can be implemented as quickly as possible. on the protesters' side, they

are not backing down. the people we spoke to today are very motivated. they know that they still have a little bit of time before the law is implemented, so they are using every extra hour, every extra day they have to put pressure on the government, especially because there has been a growing anger in the streets over the last six days following the use of 49. three -- 49.3, and the government's clear unwillingness to negotiate or come into dialogue with testers. for now, the message we are getting is that no one is giving up, and those around me continue to fight and take to the streets. >> thank you very much indeed. thank you for the great job reporting. not easy to report with that going on around you.

let's turn to some more world news now. the ceo of tiktok has today been given for grilling in washington by both republicans and democrats amidst concerns about the link between the popular video-sharing app and the chinese government. tiktok is already under immense pressure across western countries. government officials in the u.s. and the u.k. and canada have been instructed to delete the app from their devices. let's cross now to take tech expert, managing director and senior equity analyst at the investment firm wedbush securities. thank you very much for joining us. more than 150 million users of tiktok in the united states. do you think we are looking at the beginning of the end of tiktok? >> i think it is. i think it was a disaster today in terms of the testimony. ultimately, this is going to

force something. i think bytedance will be banned in the u.s. by the end of 2023. >> let's have a listen to one of the exchanges earlier today. take a listen to this. >> tiktok collects nearly every data point imaginable, and the chinese communist party is able to use this as a tool to manipulate america as a whole. we do not trust tiktok will ever embrace american values, values for freedom, human rights, and innovation. >> we have read important concerns about the potential for unwanted access, u.s. data, and potential manipulation of the tiktok u.s. ecosystem. our approach has never been to dismiss or trivialize any of these concerns. we have addressed them with real action. >> we heard therefrom the ceo of

tiktok. we also heard from a republican lawmaker. is there anything tiktok can do to alleviate these concerns or is it too late? >> i think it is probably too late. can they separate from bytedance is the big question. ultimately, this was a grilling you knew was going to happen, but i think it surprised the tiktok ceo. a lot of unanswered questions came out. bit of a black eye, and i feel like now, the clock struck midnight. it's probably going to be a wide-out ban over the next six months. >> what were they trying to ascertain or establish through the questioning? >> they have tried to wall the

data off. that is the big concern. u.s., china, that can play out. tiktok has become the poster child in this battle. today definitely a dark day for tiktok. >> do you think this is really about a tussle between washington and beijing, or do you think there really are deep, underlying security concerns about the dangers posed by tiktok? >> i think 50% of it is just wrong place, wrong time. tiktok is caught in this tug-of-war between the u.s. and china, but then i do believe that wld be what type ofcerns. access you have from chinese officials. how walled off is the data? what the algorithms look like. today, there just were not enough answers on that.

this sets the stage. this is a game of high-stakes poker. the regulatory authority at the white house is going to come out in their next ruling in probably the next seven to 10 days. >> thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us on an's four. -- france 24. there has been more action from global central banks this thursday. this, of course, the day after the fed raised interest rates again. >> the bank of england raised its interest rates by 0.25%, the same amount as the fed. now it's 11th rate hike in aro bringing the bank rate of 4.20 5%, the highest in years. the central bank acknowledged a higher borrowing cost would make harder for people but said it was vital to fight inflation.

inflation has been driven by higher food prices the dod said it expected inflation to fall quickly from mid-2023. let's check in on the day's trading action. european markets were mixed this friday. the ftse dropping .9%, weighted by the british pound. wall street shares bounced back from a negative close the day before but have since started losing steam. financial shares continue to be volatile. first republic down nearly 8%, dropping sharply in afternoon trade despite making gains in earlier trading. the chief executive of norfolk southern was grilled in the u.s. senate on wednesday over the railroad's safety record following last month's derailment with one of its trains.

while there were no injuries, the accident caused toxic chemicals to be released in surrounding areas, causing health concerns. >> toxic waste spilled into the town of east palestine, ohio. in the wake of this derailment last month, a senate rail committee debated new legislation on thursday. the ceo of trane company norfolk southern did agree in principle to some aspects of the legislation, including establishing performance and maintenance standards, creating alert thresholds for safety standards, and improving tank car design. though the company contested other points in the real safety act, including the requirement to have two-person crews. the current operating model is blamed for a reduction in railroad employment and a consequent reduction in safety. the ceo disputed this. >> we think about safety every day. we spend about $1 billion every year in capitalized safety and

we have ongoing expenses of about $1 billion a year in safety. as a result over time, derailments are down. hazardous material releases are down and injuries are down. >> however, during the hearing, there were suggestions that norfolk southern prioritized their bottom line over safety concerns. >> railroads argue against increasing fines for safety concerns. norfolk southern have 579 violations of the cases that have been closed. they paid an average fine of less than $3300. it is not a cost of doing business, the fines. it really is a rounding error. >> for once, in washington, there is clear bipartisan consensus that congress needs to act to tighten real regulation. the board of industrial giant toshiba has accepted a buyout offer from a consortia and affirms -- consortium of firms in a move that could take the company private.

the deal values toshiba at about 14 billion euros. the idea is to take the firm off the stock market and shield it from overseas activist investors, as it is a strategically important company involved in nuclear energy. the international monetary fund has urged lebanese authorities to speed up reforms needed to secure a lifeline from the lender. they signed a preliminary agreement with the imf for a $3 billion loan but has yet to meet the conditions would buy outs to get a full grant. the lebanese pound has lost about 98% of its value against the u.s. dollar since 2019, and triple digit inflation has pushed many people into poverty. ahead of the imfission visit in the country gave an unusually

frank assessment. >> we think lebanon is at a dangerous moment, is at a crossroads. the consequence of policy and action will leave lebanon in a crisis. >> thank you very much indeed. let's find out what is happening in the world of sport. >> we have heard that the world athletics has decided to lift its ban on russian athletes, this, of course, related to state-sponsored doping. >> absolutely. athletes will not be able to compete yet because there is another ban because of the war in ukraine. it will not be able to change anything just yet, but world athletics voting on the van after it was -- voting on the ban after it was implemented. it was found the country of limited and large-scale doping program, leading to athletes being banned from events. some have still been able to participate but under a neutral

flag. the end of the ban, though, as mentioned, will not allow them to compete just yet. the war in ukraine is also preventing them from taking part . no competing for them in international competitions just yet. meanwhile, transgender women will no longer be able to compete in athletics either on their side. the body says that people who go through male puberty cannot take part in international events, regardless of their level of testosterone. the world athletics president says it is not a definitive no but says for now there is sufficient evidence that trans women do not have a suit -- a physical advantage over biological women. let's move on to on the page action. no less than seven games to come as the teams take part for the first of the euro qualifiers. the euro 2024 come up for a

place in the tournament, set to take place in germany and england. they face off against longtime rival italy, hoping to come off better than last additions when meant -- when they were defeated on penalties. the last match between the two was in the world cup when hurricane failed -- harry came failed to convert on penalties. italy had been pretty quiet recently. they failed to qualify for the last world cup. >> they know the lev that is required. they know they have the ability to compete at that level. then the fact that whatever we irrelevant, they have the humanity to work hard, to qualify again, and it is a great picture for us to get that underway. quickly match has become a bit of a classical. we need to try to reproduce what we have done in the past.

we need to return to the days of when we played well out there on the pitch. played well, entertain people, and win matches. >> denmark play host to finland while portugal, now headed by roberto martinez, set to become -- renaldo set to become the most cap international player ever. other matches kicking off in just about 20 minutes from now. staying with football, uefa is investigating allegations barcelona has been paying judges for calls in their favor. catalan has already been charged with making payments to a company of 7.3 million euros,

invoiced over 17 years. barcelona, they say this was in payment for reports and advice, but prosecutors say they are accusing them of seeking them -- seeking on-pitch decisions in their favor. finally, a word on cycling. stage 4 of people to in catalonia. hey sprint as the riders race to the finishing line. it was the australian who came out on top, just about reaching that line. stage 5 is to come tomorrow, then riders will be making their way to a summit finish, so

expect some pretty fierce riding tomorrow. >> thank you very much for that. that is it from us. i'll be back in a couple of minutes. stay tuned. >> it is is a double had killed everything that was here. >> we visit a year after the eruption of volcano which brought -- >> it is difficult to see your whole life's work destroyed. >> we feel abandoned, cheated, excluded. >> i'm more worried about the future than what's happened. i see the future in a very dark way. >> i think if everything goes well in july, august, we will be able to have a banana tree here. >> watch "lipoma -- watch "la

palma: volcano revisited" on france 24. ♪

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