from berlin. the forgiven forget, maybe -- to forgive and forgot, maybe not. syria joining the arab nations. the president was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension over the civil war in his country. it is a controversial return. also coming up tonight, another new phase of the arab league summit. volodymyr zelenskyy lobbies for closer ties and calling out those who have turned a blind

eye. zelenskyy do to meet g7 leaders in japan. they already agreed to new measures against russia, pledging to block access to equipment services that could help in russia's war against ukraine. ♪ i am brent goff, to watching on pbs in the u.s. and all around the world, welcome. we begin this friday with the end of the isolation for syria's president. he joined fellow leaders today at an arab league summit in saudi arabia. his appearance today marking a new chapter after 12 years of isolation. you may remember the arab league suspended syria echo 2011 after syrian police stamped out arab spring protests that eventually set off a decade-long civil war

in syria. the saudi crown prince pushed for the president to take part in the talks in saudi arabia. he made an upbeat appearance. translator: there is renewed hope for arab regional and international encroachment brought in by the summit. and i hope it will signal a new phase in arab coordination and solidarity among us, and peace and prosperity in our region instead of war and destruction. brent: joining me at the table is a middle east expert. it is good to have you here with us again. everyone asking, why and why now? why is the arab league -- i want to say rehabilitating him? is that what they are doing? guest: a couple of arab countries did not cut relations

with the regime in the last 12 years, but key countries did, like saudi arabia. saudi arabia, jordan, egypt and others, they hope that getting the regime or bashar al-assad back to the arab family would give them more diplomatic influence in the country that bashar al-assad will distance his ties with the rulers in iran , that he will control the smuggling or stop the smuggling of drugs into other arab countries, and that he may take refugees back to syria. this is what they hope. especially jordan, a pro-western country, and says openly, we did not succeed in these three objectives by isolation. let us try it by political talks. this is not our european and western attitude, but this is how the arab has efforts to try

to settle conflicts in their own region. brent: what did you make of what he said today? kristin: -- cguest: he blames the civil war and says he is not responsible. he is responsible for hundreds and thousands of killing of his own people. he has expelled half of the population either in the country or abroad. 1.1 million syrians are having their refuge here in europe. so there is a huge response ability on his shoulders. when the west supports the international criminal court, accusing or indicting president putin for war crimes in ukraine, bashar al-assad would be someone who had to make responsible for his war crimes at the international level. brent: we know that bashar al-assad is under international sanctions, including from the arab league.

re: now closer to seeing those stations being lifted? guest: the jordanian government says this is a symbolic sign for bashar al-assad to be diplomatic and reinstalled in the family. now he has to show progress towards us. maybe they are going to invest in syria, maybe their own economic restraint will be removed. it is to be observed. what the regime is really giving as a compromise further arab neighbors. brent: we also know that volodymyr zelenskyy was at that meeting today. take a listen to part of what he had to say today. pres. zelenskyy: ukrainians have never chosen the war. our troops did not go to other lands. we did not engage in the

plundering of other nation's resources, but we will never submit to any foreigners or colonizers. that is why we fight, and i ensure all your nations will understand our main emotion, and i, also sure your nations will understand the main call. a noble call to all of you to help protect our people, including ukrainian muslim community. brent: he is speaking with moral authority on his side, saying, this is what has been done to as, we have not done this to the russians. yet, he is also asking, so why haven't we seen more resolve against vladimir putin? guest: it is quite a diplomatic coup that saudi arabia, host of the arab league summit, on

the one hand invited bashar al-assad, but at the same time, zelenskyy tries to show we are not picking sides, neither through assad with russia, or zelenskyy stronger with the west. brent: you wonder who is using who, right? guest: it is right what you say, but saudi arabia, the saudi arabia and foreign minister was a couple of months ago in kyiv. he is getting quite a lot of money for humanitarian aid to ukraine. he has been involved in negotiations with the swaps of soldiers captured. saudi arabia wants to show its diplomatic weight, not just regionally, but globally. zelenskyy has three messages. one, i know a lot of arab countries are close to russia. i am aware. secondly, he says, we are trying

to get rid of the occupation of our country, you should support us. and, thirdly, he reminds you that there are muslims, they are your religious brothers and you should support us because of that, and it was interesting, he was reminding, one of the key points, all arab countries are relying on food exports from ukraine and russia. more even from ukraine, not just to eat. it is meat, fruits, sunflower oil a lot. brent: but egypt gives almost -- gets almost 100% of its grain from ukraine. guest: right, so he says, we have strong relations. you should help me so that we can reinstall our economic ties and your food exports are cheaper than now. brent: do you think he is going to get any help from the arab league, yes or no? guest: i think saudi arabia is

going to support ukraine, but, at the same time, not cut ties with russia. brent: we appreciate you coming in, excellent analysis. we will see you next time. guest: always a pleasure. brent: here is a look at some of the other stories making headlines around the world. more than one million have been displaced by the war in sudan, according to the u.n.'s refugee agency. the figure includes around 250,000 who have left the country, as well as those displaced internally. hundreds have been killed in fighting between rival generals. zimbabwe have started releasing more than 4000 prisoners as part of a presidential amnesty program. authorities say the move louise overcrowding in jails. elections in the country are expected in the next few weeks. china's president laid out beijing's plans to develop trade and infrastructure across central asia. she is hosting five countries from the region for two days of talks.

there are other talks taking place, as well. leaders of the g7 group have advanced industrial democracies, meeting now in japan. the war in ukraine dominating the talks in hiroshima. the g7 countries promised tougher sanctions against russia. correspondent: a symbol of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear war. the peace memorial park in hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped by the u.s. in 1945. a compelling backdrop for the start of the g7 summit in japan. at the top of the leaders' minds was likely not only the devastation of the past but also vladimir putin and his continuous reminders of russia's nuclear capability. the g7's host, the japanese prime minister, wants the summit to be about a commitment to a world with no nuclear weapons. >> the sad reality hanging over

this summit in hiroshima is that the ukraine war has underscored that nuclear weapons remain as relevant as ever. not just because of vladimir putin's threats, but because of the history of ukraine's own nuclear weapons, which it gave up to russia in the 1990's, leaving this internal question -- eternal question of what is happening now? would putin have ever invaded if ukraine had kept those weapons? correspondent: for the second year in a row, russia's were in ukraine has overshadowed discussions at the g7. leaders announced further sanctions against moscow, including on the trade of russian diamonds and promised further, unwavering support to kyiv. the ukrainian president is expected to join them on sunday at the summit. translator: very important things will be decided, the presence of our president is essential to defend our interests.

correspondent: on the sidelines of the g7 summit, zelenskyy is expected to meet modi, part of an effort to convince the indian prime minister to shift his alliance from russia to ukraine. as the war continues on the ground, there is no let up on the diplomatic front. brent: dw is in hiroshima, where we have more on the g7 summit. correspondent: i must say, i have covered a number of g7 summits in the past, and they had taken place at seaside resorts and remote mountain locations, but when it comes to speaking about nuclear disarmament, there is really no better place than hiroshima, the very place where the first atomic bomb exploded in 1945, killing 140,000 people in this very place. look where i am standing.

that was the message sent by leaders commemorating at the memorial site here, a message sent out at the time when you have countries like russia, who are playing with this idea of using tactical nuclear weapons in the war in ukraine, and where you have countries like north korea that is expected to conduct another nuclear test, only under two hours flight away from here. brent: that was our reporter from hiroshima. the mercenary group is stepping up the assault on the city of bakhmut in eastern ukraine. footage released by the ukrainian army shows the destruction of the city and gruesome fighting in the countryside. correspondent: russian artillery pounding bakhmut as filmed by a drone. the russians are trying to take bakhmut. after 10 months of grueling

combat, they control around 90% of the city. the last resistance is being pummeled remorselessly. outside bakhmut, ukrainian team is returning fire. translator: the fire was intense this week. our forces pushed forward little but stopped near the canal. it is hard to push them out of there, but it is fine. we are working. it is good that they cannot find us. we fire at them and they return fire without hitting us. correspondent: despite its superior firepower, these soldiers know that russia is not having it all its own way. in recent days, ukrainian infantry have been advancing on

both flanks. ♪ [bombing] correspondent: bodycam footage filmed by ukrainian soldiers show them clearing trenches with hand grenades around bakhmut. this close quarters fighting has eased the russian grip on the city. but is not yet clear whether ukraine's long-awaited spring offensive will be enough to end russian efforts to take bakhmut. brent: here are more stories now making headlines this hour. emergency crews are battling a wildfire in western spain that has forced hundreds of people to leave their villages. authorities suspected arson is behind the blaze near the border with portugal. strong winds or hindering efforts to extinguish the flames. republican u.s. house speaker kevin mccarthy says talks to raise america's debt ceiling are

caused over disagreements with the white house. republicans are trying to use the threat of a debt default to force democrats to agree to government budget cuts. iran's judiciary has executed three men convicted of killing members of the country' securitys forces during anti-government protests. the trio were accused of carrying out the attacks last year in their central city. human rights groups have condemned the executions, saying the men's' confessions were obtained under duress and by torture. the protest again last september, following the death of a young woman being held for allegedly not wearing her his jab correctly. dw's farsi service explained the timing of these men's executions. correspondent: the judiciary

system of the islamic republic announced these three young men will be executed and there were accusations like killing two messengers and one of the security forces, but all of these accusations were based on forced confessions, under torture, and a lot of activists and a lot of human rights organizations also mentioned that there were no fair trials. it was somehow very fast. i mean, the process of their cases was so fast. even it was according to the human rights organizations to just maybe take revenge from the people who are taking to the streets or maybe to scare them to stop them from participating in the protests.

brent: a court in slovakia has acquitted a prominent businessman of the double murder of an investigative journalist and his girlfriend. this is the second time that he has been cleared. you may remember they were shot dead in their apartment five years ago. the journalist was looking into links between the business world and politicians. his revelations brought down the pride minister at the time. correspondent: the parents await the verdict of the victim, but it was not the news they wanted to hear. after the influential businessman was acquitted of the giving order to kill their son in 2018, colleagues expected a conviction, but he was acquitted for a second time. translator: the citizens of

slovakia deserves estate that protects them and is not work for organized crime. correspondent: investigations revealed corruption related to the government. the crisis led to the resignation of the then prime minister, but he escaped long-term political consequences. translator: our expectations were not initially met. over time, the outrage died down. we are now back where it all began, extremely disappointed with politics. correspondent: early elections will be held in slovakia in september, with robert rico once again ahead in the polls. brent: at least 14 have been killed in the worst flooding in northern italy in a century. rescuers are still trying to reach those trapped in the worst affected areas. floodwaters show little sign of

receding. our dw correspondant reports from the romania region. correspondent: a doorway to danger. translator: the seller is submerged. i have never seen anything like it in my whole life. correspondent: massimo has not been himself ever since water levels began rising this afternoon in italy's northern romania region. within hours, water consumed the ground floor, and submerged this kitchen. outside, the rain stopped. but torrential overflows from swollen rivers continue to gush into villages in the region, wreaking havoc. and putting a strain on emergency services. salvador, a mechanic, who lives on the safer upper floor, says he has tried in vain to contact the fire service for help.

but it is not better. translator: right now, their focus rightly on rescuing people from houses. later, they will worry about pumping out the water. correspondent: the floods have also sparked an outpouring of help, as teams of volunteers try to fill the gaps. eduardo has been on his feet since 5:00 in the morning, helping with evacuation and rescue operations. he is from the area and is not sure what has happened to his own home. translator: i have been helping to manage traffic, hoping places in the countryside where the water rose to half a meter. it is the fourth or fifth time i have had to change my clothing today. i do not have fresh socks left. i am out of clothing. correspondent: the dire situation in lugo has drawn extra professional hands from other parts of the country. translator: the situation is quite desperate now.

the whole region of emilia-romagna is suffering from something unimaginable. we tried to do what we can with what we have. correspondent: for residents like valentina, the help is hugely welcome. she was woken this morning by the police and evacuated in a rubber boat. she is now waiting with her family to be taken by the emergency services to her parents'. translator: i hope to return soon, but i do not know when. we live on the ground floor. all the wood is damaged, so is the kitchen. i just hope it is not too long. correspondent: getting residents to safety is a priority in italy's flood torn region. everything is can wait. -- everything else can wait. brent: the u.s. basketball star brittney griner is set to make her first appearance in the wnba since returning from the.

tension in russia she was held there on -- returning from detention in russia. she was held there on drug charges. she is working with bring our family's home, a campaign formed last year by the family members of the american hostages and wrongful detainees held abroad. correspondent: brittney griner received a warm welcome when she returned to the court in a wnba preseason game. it was the first time she had been back since being arrested in february 2022 in moscow. authorities had discovered cannabis oil in her luggage. brittney griner spent nearly 10 months in the russian prison after she pleaded guilty to drug charges. she returned to the united states in december after a highly publicized prisoner exchange. the extra exposure has given greiner a new platform -- griner

a new platform. in april, she announced she is working with bring our family some, a campaign formed last year by the family members of american hostages and wrongful detainees held abroad. >> we are not going to stop. we are not going to stop fighting or bringing awareness to everyone that is left behind right now. correspondent: she was already an lgbtq+ activist and the first openly gay athlete to be sponsored by nike. in july 2020, griner said she did not feel the national anthem should be played before wnba games, but since her return from russia, she now says hearing it "just hits different." brent: sports reporter lindsay schnell of "usa today" told you more about reaction to her campaign. lindsay: around the wnba, people are thrilled for b.g. to be back. she has been an important piece of the league for years. when she left, it is crazy to

think about the year she spent in russia before that in the 2021 finals, she was are usually the best player in the league. last year, having her wrongfully detained really weighed on everyone, not just her team, the phoenix mercury, but across the league. there were letterwriting campaigns. other players talked about her a lot, focused on getting her out. when you look around the league now, there is a lightness. everyone is smiling and happy. they are just thrilled she is finally back on the floor. brent: we heard her comments about the u.s. national anthem and how it hits her differently now. she has also said that she does not plan to ever leave the u.s. again, except to compete in the olympics. this ordeal has really affected her, hasn't it? lindsay: of course. i think we would expect that, right? 10 months being wrongfully detained in russia. she has not given a lot of details about what the

day-to-day experience was like. that is expected in a book she is writing, but there is no question that it took its toll. for a woman, a two time olympian, a big part of winning two gold medals for the united states at past olympics, for her to say that is where i am going to put my focus now, i think that really does make a statement. i think they are going to be a lot of players who reevaluate where they are going to go and if they go overseas because numerous players have played in russia and in other dangerous countries, but that could be changing going forward. brent: she is getting a lot of media attention right now. do you think we are going to see brittney griner use this platform that she has now for the long-term? is this the beginning of something big? lindsay: no question. i am not sure how much longerb.g. will play, she is 32, in the prime of her athletic career, so maybe she plays for eight or years, like one of her teammates, ab she retires earlier.

i think for the rest of her life, she is going to use the platform that she has to write to get other wrongfully detained americans released him back to their families. she has already brought so much awareness to the story of other people who have been wrongfully detained across the globe. that is not going to change, and i think the wnba, which has a long history of activism, is going to be at the forefront with griner leading them. brent: lindsay snell, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us today. thank you. lindsay: thank you. brent: you are watching dw news. after a short break, i will take you through the day. we will be right back.

>> it is 10:00 p.m. here in the french capital, and here are the stories making headlines -- leaders in general welcome the leader of syria back to the fold. volodymyr zelenskyy ask the group to back his country's formula for peace. leaders of the world's richest marker sees meet in japan on the first day of the g7 conference. the group moving to stiffen sanctions against russia and stressing the need to reduce out -- reduce reliance on trade with china. "the new york times" publishes

video of greek coast guards loading migrants onto a raft, including children, and setting them adrift into the aegean sea. we will cross to our correspondent in athens. hi, everyone. thanks for joining us here on france 24. there were two notable guests at the arab league summit this friday. one was ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, and the other was the president of syria , who received a warm welcome from arab leaders as he attended the meeting for the first time in 12 years. syria was readmitted following a 12-year suspension for the

government's crackdown on protesters during the arab spring uprising which devolved into a civil war. meanwhile, zelenskyy addressed the group, asking leaders to back his country's formula for peace. >> every aggressor -- [indiscernible] i greet everyone who is ready to join us on that path of justice. ukraine proposed the peace formula to end the war. >> our international affairs commentator joins us and has more on assad's reception from other leaders. >> it is an equation that you have to take both sides into account. it is important because there is a desperation and resignation, war weariness, if you will, among arab league members who have no love lost for bashar al-assad, but they have sort of us -- resign themselves, as they see it, that they need to work with him. why?

because his country is in ruins. the syrian civil war grinds on, and it is having a devastating impact, if you will, the fallout from this war in terms of drug flow out from syria, amphetamines flowing into saudi arabia and other countries from the region. the enormous problem with syrian refugees, those millions who have fled the war who are now in camps in lebanon, jordan, and elsewhere in the region, and there's no solution right now for repatriating them. bashar al-assad, for his part, desperately does not to be seen as a pariah. he sees this coming back into this arab league has somehow his reentry into the orbit of the diplomatic same, but that ignores the fact that bashar is still snubbed by wolves -- most of the world community, the vast majority -- europe, the west. heavy sanctions remain on him. what is interesting is i don't even know what he will get out of this summit in the end, in the sense that economically,

nobody has the resources to start building his country while sanctions remain on him. several arab league members are not even that thrilled to have him back in the club, even if they are sort of dressing for normal and making it seem as if everything is ok. the emir of qatar, it is remarkable, flew over 1200 kilometers to come to this summit only to walk out just for sure -- just before bashar assad spoke. that creates a powerful message and a leader comes just to walk out of a summit. >> that is our international affairs commentator. one of the key topics that came up in discussions to readmit syria to the arab league was an addictive drug which is mass-produced in syria. for more on that part of the story, we are joined by the director of the cap take on trade project with the new lyons institute for policy and strategy. thanks so much for being with us

here on france 24. first of all, for viewers who may not be aware, what is it and how dangerous is it? >> of course, and thank you for having me. it is and amphetamine-type stimulant that is highly addictive and has really gained prominence in the middle east, particularly in the labonte and the gulf -- in the levant and the gulf. syria and lebanon are primary production hubs. >> what is syria's role in production and is bashar al-assad somehow implicated? >> i would say that a number of officials that are very closely aligned within the regime's close inner circle, and many of them even familial relatives, have been very implicated in production and trafficking, particularly at the industrial scale. syria is home to a number of

large-scale industrial-sized laboratories and manufacturing facilities. in contested areas in southern syria, the port armor division, which is the regime's primary security branch, they oversee a lot of this production and traffic and operations and use it to the best of their advantage to reroute and undercut the effects of sanctions and financial constraints. >> we should point out that damascus denies any role in the drug trade, but syria agreed to cooperate with jordan and iraq to identify sources of the drug trade in syria. does this mean now that the syrian regime is working against the smuggling into other countries? >> i would say on the face of it, yes.

that is what the syrian regime has been promising, and they have been trying to use it, i would say, as the low hanging fruit and easiest agenda item to accomplish and demonstrate goodwill to regional partners, but i think that it's going to take a lot for the region to incentivize the regime to halt trafficking and also enforce the regime, especially since there is such a high economic incentive. the trade is estimated to be worth over $10 billion, and the regime is reaping a large portion of those funds, so it's going to take quite a bit to talk the regime down from reducing its role in the trade overall. >> is it your view that other nations in the arab league are not putting sufficient pressure on al-assad to stop the

smuggling of the drug? i don't think it has been sufficient, and i think this is extremely premature, given that the regime, given its extensive agency in the trade, can pull all the different levers, can create cosmetic seizures, manipulate data, all to show goodwill, and i think that we have seen many regional countries really rush to counter narcotics with the syrian regime when i think there should be much more caution and enforcement mechanisms introduced in a lot of these deals and arrangements. >> in your view, what is to happen to curb the proliferation in the arab world? >> i think that sanctions have been extremely welcomed by the united states, the eu, the u.k., given the accountability they have had.

they have also, of course, helped a lot with businesses that are engaging with commercial entities involved. finally, i would say that we really need to see international multilateral collaboration including the united states and its partners helping partners in the region to help stem this trade. >> thanks so much for spending time with us here on and's 24. >> thank you so much for having me. >> after appearing at the arab league summit, volodymyr zelenskyy is making his way to japan where the group of seven or g-7 nations are meeting this weekend. just as the meeting was getting underway, u.s. president joe biden said washington would provide advanced warplanes, including f-16s, to ukraine. he announced a major

breakthrough for ukraine, which has been pushing western supporters to provide aircraft in its fight against russia. zelenskyy will meet with president biden at the g7 in the coming days. this is the first day of the g7 conference in rushing a, which runs through sunday. in discussions today, leaders of the world's richest democracies decided to stiffen sanctions against russia and decided to stress the need to reduce reliance on trade in china. >> this year's group photo held in a solemn location, hiroshima's peace memorial park as the g7 summit gets underway, a reminder of the horrors of nuclear weapons and one of the topics up for discussion, but the main objectives of the meeting -- to present a unified front against russia and china. the u.s., u.k., and other eu leaders are pressing for further restrictions on moscow to

undermine its ability to wage war on ukraine. >> we are focused on shutting the door on loopholes and continuing to cut russia off from critical supplies. we lay out openly and frankly why these sanctions are necessary and justified. >> the china question, too, looms large as g7 leaders grapple with growing military threats and economic coercion from beijing. while china is an important trade partner, the summit will seek to diversify supply chains and reduce its reliance on the asian nation. >> given its role in the community and the size of its economy, china has a special responsibility in the world. it has to play by international

rules and call on china to press russia to stop its military aggression. >> with concerns about the use of nuclear weapons at the forefront again, the japanese prime minister is pressing hard to address the issue of denuclearization. once other leaders to back his plan that focuses on transparency around existing stockpiles and a commitment to nonproliferation. >> and there's yet another meeting of world leaders to tell you about. chinese president xi jinping is hosting the china central asia summit in northwest china. on the leaders of five other central asian nations agreed to work closely together toward a shared future. next, to greece, which is holding a general election this sunday. the government is under new pressure after "the new york times those quote published video of greek postcards loading

migrants onto a raft, including children, and adding them adrift in the aegean sea. it has sparked calls from the international commission on human rights for an investigation or this highlights a big issue in the campaign, which is immigration. tell us how the race is shaking up. >> yes indeed. the prime minister had often referred to migration, even tonight as he addressed voters under the ancient acropolis hill. he also mentioned the end migration and how his administration managed to completely stop illegal flows, but -- and this back in 2019, the previous election found many

voters sympathetic because greece since 2015 had seen flows of hundreds and hundreds of thousands of migrants, many from syria, who are feeling war coming to greece, and it was a situation which was out of control and with europe back then not really shouldering much of the burden. now, of course, things have changed, and authorities, all these videos have come to surface, although they have denied doing these illegal perspex, which are in clear violation of international law. it remains to be seen, of course, how greece will welcome this. we have had no reactions from other political parties in greece, but surely, there has been outright condemnation abroad, but i'm not sure how this will affect the election vote.

not much, i anticipate. >> what can we expect on sunday? what are poles saying? is it looking like there could be a coalition government? >> the ruling conservatives have steadily been ahead, hovering around a lead of about 6.5% ahead of the center left party and their predecessors. i think now, they still do not have the numbers they need to have an outright majority. will they be looking at a coalition government? at the moment, the three top parties have overruled coalition governments, and that could be a tactic. i think we will have to wait and see on the numbers on sunday. now, the leader of new democracy has outright said no to any coalition with a third party.

the party leader said he is not talking to either new democracy or its opponent. he says they are unreliable and say one thing and do another, so we will have to wait and see, but all analysts are looking at a second round of elections early july, which should pave the way to a win for conservatives. >> thanks so much. next toere e opposition leader facing off with president erdogan in a runoff election later this month is trying to sway more conservative voters. erdogan came out on top last sunday but failed to secure the 50% he needed to win reelection outright. his opponent appeared to take a harder line stance, vowing to send back millions of refugees if he is elected. the syrians and other refugees are at the heart of the debate.

turkey officially is home to some 4 million syrians. our correspondent explains in this report. >> in southern turkey, one out of every four residents is syrian, and they are no longer welcome. >> [speaking foreign language] >> leading up to the second round of the turkish presidential election, the opposition's tone against foreigners has hardened. they were accused of being invaders, to liquids, and potential rapist. to the international press, however, this local chp representative chooses his words carefully. >> we must first be sure that syria is at peace and that our syrian friends can be sent back in secure conditions in a voluntary manner. >> and yet, the goal is to

convince the five cent of ultranationalist voters and their fears of being replaced in their own homes. >> we have two children per family on average, but the syrians have six on average. tis is not normal. at that rate, in 10 years, they will be in charge of the administration. how can our people accept this? these refugees must leave this year. it is our first and most important condition. >> discourse that normalizes acts of hate and racism in turkey. since the start of the campaign, syrians are keeping a low profile. in syria, this doctor was a respected professional before he was thrown in jail and tortured by the regime. here, he is just another orator, afraid of being sent back. >> psychologically, it is difficult for syrians in turkey at the moment. i feel like i am following the campaign more closely than the turks themselves. we cannot go to the police. first, we don't want to make problems and plus, we know no

one will defend us. if it is like this now, what will happen when the opposition comes to power? >> all parties are caught up in the rising xenophobia. the interior minister called syrians brothers but said turkey will never become a migrant haven. >> now to the capital of serbia where tens of thousands have gathered to speak out against gun violence. many protesters are angry with the government after two mass shootings in the country earlier this month that left 18 people dead, many of them children. some are calling on the president to resign, saying he has not done enough to prevent the violence. for his part, he claims the protests are being orchestrated by the west. it is time now for a daily dose of back-checking -- fact checking. today segment about drought in france, which according to internet users is a countrywide hoax. i have a feeling this is not true. >> indeed.

since the start of may, 40 seven french departments have been in a state of vigilance, predicting and preparing for drought this summer as temperatures are set to soar. here in paris at the same time and nationwide, there has been intense heavy rainfall, and that is really what has pushed internet users in france to take to social media to deny the nationwide drought problem. we can see that here in this example. over 220,000 views on this one alone saying it is raining everywhere, the south, snowing in the parities. the media dared to talk about drought and global warming every day. you see this further pushed in this tweet where it says around 20 departments have been put into a drought alert. france has fallen on its head, and it is just like in covid when we pretended hospitals were saturated. a little bit more of a strong view.

we can see it included a nationwide very wet looking map, but this one is pushing the idea this might be a media hoax. here it says when there is not enough rain, it is due to climate change and when there is too much rain, it is due to climate change, and lastly, my last example. this was video of a torrential rainfall during the drive and says it has been an hour it has been falling like this. i am tired of this drought. overall, we can see there is a real narrative tilden, ranging from slightly more comedic to a little more serious, but these posts are extremely misleading and people are using this false information to claim that this recent wet weather in france means there's not any risk of drought and that it does not exist even so far as it may be a media creation. there were some calling to question the existence of global warming, and that is really going against the global consensus, the scientific

consensus, even, on climate change. >> we have seen this kind of argument before, but tell us why this is misleading. a lot of rain, it would make sense this would solve an upcoming drought. >> i mean, no, the two events are not contradictory at all because they are not taking place in the same time frame. when we refer to weather, what we are talking about is short-term, day today phenomena, but climate change and climate is the long-term evolution of the atmosphere, and that cannot be invalidated by bouts of rain or snow. according to a climate scientist at the france national center for meteorological research, these people are cherry picking and highlighting a sedate -- isolated events like the current rainfall in order to push a further narrative, and he says he is not really surprised by the heavy rainfall we have had in france lately.

he says if we look at the climatology over 30 years, the month of may has been rainiest of all in france and as we approach summer, these events tend to be more intense due to the warming of the atmosphere. he also told me the rain we have been having does humidified the soil somewhat but does not remove the risk of drought because it is not absorbed well into the soil the season because spring rain does not raise groundwater levels. the groundwater levels supply a large portion of us with drinkable water, but the groundwater recharge cycle is not even in spring. this is what he told me. spring is not the time when groundwater recharge is most because it is the month where vegetation starts and in this part of the year, a large part are captured by the vegetation and the sun. the geological and mining research bureau, the body that monitors france's level and

quality of groundwater, have also published their official figures as well, and according to them, 68% of the groundwater levels at the moment are actually still below their monthly average. you can see on a map that we published that there is a lot of yellow, showing under the monthly average they are used to and even some red as well, but this does not remove any risk of drought, and these claims are extremely misleading. it does not mean there is no drought. it has not occurred over a long enough period, as we can see, and as we heard from our expert, it is not the right season to penetrate the soil and fill the groundwater levels we need it to to remove that drought risk, but yes, these claims are misleading . >> always prefer to listen to the experts when it comes to these things. that is it. we are back after the break with more real news here on france

24. ♪ >> 35 years ago, and anti-apartheid activist, the representative of nelson mandela 's african national congress in france, was murdered in central paris. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> whose toes were she stepping on? why was the investigation unsuccessful? >> from what we understand, french officials were involved in cleaning up her papers subsequent to her murder. >> who killed the political activist? was it a state-sponsored crime? a report by france revisited. >> the star-studded cannes film festival is finally here with names like natalie portman and harrison ford, join us every day

from the french riviera for the latest on the film premiere, parties, and red carpet moments. >> follow our coverage all day every day on france 24 and france24.com. >> the world is ever-changing. the news does not wait. >> france 24 gives a global perspective that an educated, intelligent, and active viewer is going to want to have to be able to understand the issues of the day. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> for the best international coverage 24 hours a day no matter what, france 24 is with you everywhere all the time. >> liberte, egalite, actualite.

05/19/23 05/19/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the reason we are witnessing these uproar's right now from to say just -- desantis to the action of the college board, is that education is integrally related to social change. and that is something that malcolm