mark: welcome to france 24. i am mark owen and ease. over 180 killed in three days of fighting in sudan. the u.n. is calling for the conflict to end. sudan's military is fighting the rebel group rsf. most of the dead are reported to be civilians. cleared over the paris air disaster of 2009. all people on the flight perished as it fell from the sky over the atlantic.

emmanuel macron spoke to defend his country's pension retirement reforms. remain union said there was nothing concrete in the president's words. still, macron is vowing to raise it by july 14. this is live from paris. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. the united nations has called for an immediate end to the fighting in sudan. secretary-general antione he owed gutierrez says the situation was already precarious but now it is catastrophic. he urges all who has influence to use it to bring an end to the hostilities.

sudan's army chief has ordered the dissolution of the rs of. the death toll stands at over 180 since fighting broke out over the weekend. most of the dead are reported to be civilians. sudanese medics said hospitals had been hit by shelling. there are appeals for the wounded to be granted safe passage. our first report here looks at today's developments. reporter: airstrikes and artillery fire rack khartoum as the struggle continues between the national army and the rsf parrot terror -- paramilitary group for a third day. they called for an international intervention. the international community must take action now and intervene against crimes of the sudanese

general, a -- his army is waging a brutal campaign against innocent people, bombing them with migs. reporter: the country's army chief meanwhile has ordered the dissolution of the rs f, vowing to defeat the group but remaining open to negotiations. >> every war ends on the negotiating table even if the opponent is defeated. reporter: the violent clashes have drawn international condemnation and demands for an immediate cease-fire. >> the message is extremely clear which is cessation of hostilities, the escalation of the current situation, urging for respect of humanitarian law and protection of citizens. of course we call on external actors to reframe from -- refrain from interfering. reporter: they were former allies who joined forces to orchestrate a coup in 2021 and seize power, until plans to

integrate the paramilitary group into the army led to soured relations between the two leaders. the coup derailed a fragile transition to civilian rule. pro-democracy activists have accused both generals of a long history of human rights abuses. mark: earlier our international affairs editor gave us her take on the situation. more on the geopolitical context of this crisis and its implications both in sudan and the surrounding countries. >> there are a lot of people watching this because of course if you look at where sudan is, it has that coastline along the red sea. and therefore, access to a lot of international trade. one of them are all bashir was overthrown in a coup in 2019, the americans took sudan off the state international terrorism list. since then, we have had israel

and sudan talking about normalizing ties completely. so israel, the united states, the united arab emirates has committed an enormous amount of cash to sedan. we also have saudi arabia, who in return for help in yemen has been funding sudan. on the other side some countries felt somewhat sidelined. qatar, turkiye, egypt. the last time there was a coup in sudan in 2021, that was before ukraine, and the war is even more unstable now. russia, in the guys of the wagner mercenaries, has an important presence in sudan and this is complicating everything now. and so all of these different countries are looking at how the pieces might fall in sudan. if everybody piles in, this could be enormously damaging to the region with very big implications outside.

sudan of course has natural resources everybody is after, gold and natural gas. it's positioned in a place where a lot of people have a lot of interests, and a lot of people are possibly concerned about a rise as well. mark: i on africa coming up in roughly 40 minutes will have more. next, air france and aircraft manufacturer airbus have been acquitted of the 2009 crash of a rio to paris flight after a court ruled. while the ruling was expected after prosecutors recommended to the paris court not to seek a conviction it was still a huge blow to families of victims who have waged a 14 year campaign for justice. the france-based companies went on trial in october to determine their responsibility for the worst aviation disaster in air france is history that left all 220 people on board the flight dead.

reporter: 14 years later and finally a verdict in the trial over the crash of air france flight 447 from rio to paris. judges cleared air france and plane manufacturer airbus of involuntary manslaughter that they said they were civil responsibility for the accident, it is in that brings more confusion than closure. >> the used the word responsible and they said airbus and air france made errors in many of them. and yet they are acquitted. i find it very difficult to understand my country's judicial system. reporter: lawyers representing the families of the victims said the verdict would do nothing to end their ordeal. >> it is hard to understand for the families. it is torture. but what we should take from this is airbus and air france were found responsible no matter

the nuance between criminal and civil. reporter: air france issued a statement saying it takes note of the ruling and will always remember the victims of this terrible accident, and expresses its deepest sympathy to all of their loved ones. on june 1, 2009 the airbus a330 crashed into the sea off the coast of brazil, killing all 228 people on board. it was air france's worst ever accident. the official investigation found that several factors contributed, including pilot error, and the icing over of external sensors, which have since been removed from planes. the families of the victims can still appeal the court's decision. mark: emmanuel macron has been speaking this evening to defend his controversial retirement reforms. on national television no less. macron under pressure in france over the protest that has raised anger nationwide. and the national assembly by decree without a vote in

mid-march. the constitutional council ruled in his favor last week, saying the reforms were legal. nonetheless, there is still a groundswell across pants of those opposed from raising the retirement age from 62 to 64. there have been 12 days of national strike. many questions are being asked across the spectrum. reporter: the pension reform may be signed into law, but the fight is not yet over. at least for these hundreds of protesters that fill the streets of paris once again. banging pots and pans, they want their voices heard. macron's government need support from lawmakers across the spectrum to push across the program, an uphill battle for the french president popularity has plunged to its lowest level in four years. >> he has burned his bridges. whatever he does now, people will not trust him anymore. they have not trusted him for a

while. >> his five-year term is basically over. i would say it is even dangerous for him out there. i do not think you can even walk on the streets anymore. reporter: macron is effected to provide details on his to mystic policies in the coming months. his administration hopes it will put the country -- and move on. >> there is no winner or loser. it is a difficult reform. a reform that requires efforts from many of our fellow citizens, i am aware of that. but it is a reform that takes into account everyone's situations. a reform that is necessary to guarantee the future of our pay-as-you-go system. reporter: labor unions have been at the forefront of the protests. mobilizing millions of marches and 12 days of nationwide demonstrations and strikes since january. they have called for another round of mass protests on labor

day, may 1. mark: widespread condemnation of the 25 year prison sentence handed down to vladimir who criticized the kremlin. he's 41 years old and a father of three, and holds russian and british passports. he is a longtime critic of president vladimir putin and successfully lobbied western governments to impose sanctions on russia and individual russians for alleged human rights violations. his wife spoke about the sentence of charges of tree asian -- of treason and other misdemeanors that he denies committing. russian state prosecutors also accused him of discrediting the russian military after spreading knowingly false information, their words, about its conduct in what moscow calls it special military operation in ukraine. let's hear reaction from the story from the u.k. and the u.s. >> the court's decision today to

sentence him to 25 years in prison is an attempt to silence dissent in this country. criminalization of criticism of government action is a sign of weakness, not strength. >> the verdict came after a hasty closed trial. a criminal case was initiated against him for his bold speech against russia's invasion of ukraine. the u.k. government expresses its solidarity with vladimir and his family, and calls for his immediate release. mark: 25 years in jail for criticizing the kremlin. the russian president vladimir putin has been inhaling the military's performance during massive naval drills that have involved the entire russian pacific fleet. seen as a show of force amid tensions over the west. the defense minister reported to putin the exercise began friday

involving 167 warships including 12 submarines, 89 aircraft, and 25,000 troops. the chinese foreign minister was also there, to show off strength and unity between the countries. >> this is my first overseas visit since taking over as china's defense minister. i specifically made this visit to russia in order to show the strength and exceptional nature of the relationship between china and russia to the outside world. mark: the relationship between russia and china very much under the spotlight regarding the situation in ukraine. firefighters are trying to control a wilf fire on the french spanish border. the french interior minister confirmed a firefighter has been injured during this. nearly 1000 hectares of land have been destroyed. reporter: it's the first major forest fire of the year. this blaze in southern france

erupted on sunday. it burned hundreds of hectares of land on the french mediterranean coast, before spreading across the border into spain. france's interior minister was at the scene. he boiled the early fire down to climate change. >> this fire is being accelerated by global warming, and by the fact that this department has not seen rain for five months. reporter: france is on course to experience and even drier summer than the record drought it suffered last year. that is because groundwater levels -- that's the water that is stored in the ground and prevents it from drying out -- are at a record low. 80% of groundwater levels in the country are below normal levels. this winter, france experienced its longest ever dry spell. because of the lack of rainfall, farmers had to water lend themselves, which only worsened the situation. french president emmanuel macron has called for new water saving

measures, and has said that all sectors should decrease their water usage by 10% by 2030. mark: wildfire and watch here in france and we will keep you up-to-date on all developments on that situation on the border between france and spain. let's remind you of the main world news headlines. over 180 people have been killed in three days of fighting in sudan. we went calling for the conflict to end. sudan's military group is fighting a rebel group. most of the dead it is reported are civilians. air france and airbus cleared over the paris rio air disaster of 2009. all 228 people on board the flight perished when it fell from the sky while heading towards france. emmanuel macron spoke to defend his controversial retirement reforms on national tv, raising the pension age from 62 to 64. the main union against it said there was nothing concrete in macron's words.

still, macron is valley 100 days to act to improve the lot of the french by july 14, bastille day. let's turn to the business world. a very good evening to you. the european commission has rejected news by certain member states to ban the import of ukrainian grain and other food items. >> it comes after this monday's slovakia joined poland and hungary in announcing bans on certain grains and other agricultural goods. the imports have been transiting before the eu before going to other countries since craney imports in the black sea were blocked by russia's invasion. logistical issues have caused the goods to pileup in central europe and drive down prices. this has meant steep prices for farmers who have asked local authorities to act. but the eu says such decisions need to be coordinated.

>> we are already in contact with relevant authorities. so the eu member states and smu's measures and authorities of ukraine -- to understand these measures on a legal basis. we do not have full clarity on that. it's important to remind that trade policies -- it's a european union level. [indiscernible] it is why we have said unilateral action is not possible. >> europe's most powerful nuclear reactor has finally started regular production after a 14 year delay. now connected to the power grid, the next generation reactor in finland is producing 14% of the country's electricity. it is boosting energy security there after russia cut gas

supplies. the european pressurized water reactor was supposed to be completed in 2009. the delay has added billions of euros onto the project's total cost. reporter: it's the largest and most powerful nuclear reactor in europe. two decades in the making and 14 years later than planned, it's finally in operation. and it is going to be working hard. a to its operator, the reactor is expected to meet 14% of finland's demand for elector city. >> this is very important for us, but it's also important for security of supply, for climate. it's important even for the price of electricity. reporter: the plans were first drawn up in 2003, thinking to have it operational by 2009. but it was plagued by

technological issues and lawsuits. the price tag for the ambitious plan more than doubled from 3.4 billion euros to 9 billion euros. it's one of three new generation european pressurized reactors in the world. the others are in china. another two reactors are expected to join in france and the u.k. nuclear power remains a controversial issue in europe, primarily due to safety concerns. the ocular water reactor was connected to the park just hours after germany shut down its last nuclear reactors. but france is seeking to create an alliance with other nations in the eu to campaign for the construction of more plants. >> let's take a look at the day's trading action now. on wall street, the major indices climbed just before the bell to make up for earlier losses in the day as investors weighed a fresh round of corporate earning results.

the s&p 500 gained .33%. the dow jones added about the same, while the nasdaq closed .28% higher. french glass manufacturer douard lacks has reached out to production after a five-month hiatus due to high energy prices. the company, known in france for its extremely resistant glassware, turned off its furnace and placed it 250 employees on partial furlough in november. the chief says losses stand at an estimated 2 million euros but the firm has avoided the worst thanks to a 15 million euro government loan. and apple is gearing up to open its first retail store in india. the tech company has already been boosting cooperation with india on the supply side of the business. it's invested in new factories,

which could produce 25% of all of its iphones in india. but due to apple's high prices, it only has 3% of the indian smartphone market share. the company gave a preview of the new mumbai store this monday. >> this is our first apple store in india. but not the first time we have been in india. we have been here for 25 years. we employ over 2500 team members across our corporate offices and retail stores. if i step out a little bit further, we also support over one million jobs. as well as seminar suppliers, retail stores, and offices. >> we're expecting apple ceo tim cook to visit india in the coming days. mark: we will wait and see how that develops. thank you for the business. great to see you there with all

the business news. a lot to talk about here. you are homing into night on volodymyr zelenskyy, apparently snorting donations from passersby. sounds like a a strange one. >> indeed it is a strange one. it seems to have been shot in the center of milan next to the cathedral. the video is quite poor quality but weaken just about make out the top of the poster, it says donations for ukraine with a photo of zelenskyy over neath who has a hole in his nostril. we can see it has been shared in english and in french on twitter and on facebook after doing the rounds on russian telegram channels. this post particular has attracted hundreds of thousands of use. it is unclear what the video is

meant to be satirical, but it is presented as such. it is a double reference, regularly pushed by pro-russian accounts. one, that volodymyr zelenskyy is a cocaine addict, and the other is that he is sucking up money from the west to finance the war. mark: indeed, it all seems a bit far-fetched. is it real, doesn't exist? emerald: to find out, we used the street view feature of google maps. we can see that there is indeed a a billboard of such in front of the cathedral, but we cannot see the picture of zelenskyy on it. to find out a bit more, we contacted an italian journalist from the italian fact checking website open.online, and he decided to go down to the scene himself to check out the billboard. surprise, surprise, there was no

trace of zelenskyy snorting donations. he sent us a video of himself at the scene, and he pointed out that despite the nature of the poster, no one else aside from the video seems to have seen it or noticed it. let's take a listen to him. >> [speaking italian] emerald: so that is david reporting in milan. he also pointed out inconsistencies between the sign and the video and real-life. the sign is not large enough to accommodate a contraption that would suck up donations. and in real life, people thought there was a gap between the billboards and the picture, which in real life, you do not

get that any video. it is also noteworthy that the video is low res, or poor quality. often content that has been edited is deliberately low res in order to obscure possible flaws. but to make sure, david contacted the municipality of milan, which owns the billboards. and we know that because it is indicated at the bottom. they said no such poster has ever been authorized by them. so this video is a fake. it's obviously not the first time we have seen fake anti-ukraine ads in videos shared by pro-russian accounts. france 24 observers have fan checked -- fact checked these a lot. they are all demonstrably fake. the point we are trying to make is anti-ukraine feeling and

distrust of zelenskyy is on the rise in europe, and thus minimizes russia's isolation on the world stage. all of these details can be found on the observer's website. mark: yet another pro-russian account peddling fake news. thank you for clarifying that situation for us. and thanks to you for watching wherever you may be in the world. stay with us. more to come, live from paris. ♪ >> they are known for their cuisine and saying hello with a kiss. they only work 35 hours per week, when they are not on strike, that is. how true are these cliches about france? every week, we tear apart stereotypes. join us for insight into flinch -- french culture and current events to understand what makes the french so unique. >> french connections, on france 24 and france24.com.

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04/17/23 04/17/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we found out it is not protected in one area, but in the tri-state area. it is happening in other cities around sudan where the armed forces