berlin. the leader of the wagner mercenary group in ukraine says he is heading over the control of the city of bakhmut to the russian army, but the ukrainians insist the city has not fallen. and police in south africa arrest one of the leaders of the rwanda genocide after he spent more than two decades on the run.

and technology that could help paralyzed people walk again. a dutch patient's success story could spell hope for millions who want to get back on their feet. ♪ i'm nicole for evita. to our peers in the united states and for all of you joining us around the world, welcome to the program. the mercenary -- wobbler mercenary group -- wagoner mercenary group started withdrawing from the ukrainian city of bakhmut, handing over control over to the russian army. withdrawal we can treat -- the withdrawal will be complete by june 1 and they will consider a return to the city of the

russian army cannot manage. we asked our guest what the withdrawal of wagner forces from bakhmut would mean for the next face of the war. >> the wagner's role in bakhmut has been accomplished, because they were responsible for taking bakhmut, not responsible for holding the city. in line of what wagner has been used for since the syrian civil war, they have done the heavy lifting so russian forces can continue with what's considered easier tasks. this would make it easier for the group to be recovered and possibly deployed somewhere else, where russian armed forces are having difficulties. nicole: ukrainian forces claim that they still have a foothold and there is a pocket of

resistance in the southwestern outposts that is considered a gateway. how important is it to keep this gateway? >> ukrainian forces are also trying to attack the flanks. russians surround bakhmut, so the hope remains that the general's plan would work, where the ukrainian armed forces would be trying to retake bakhmut. that's a vital road, to supply troops and to deny russian forces there the logistical comfort of moving forward. this is where we might be seeing more fighting in the coming weeks. nicole: according to the head of the wagner group, 20,000 of his fighters have died in bakhmut. you say they do and have been doing up until now the heavy lifting. what role do you think the group will play in the next phase of

the war? >> i'm not sure how accurate his numbers are, they are probably more accurate than the russian mod's. that being said, they might need to recruit more forces in order to accomplish the tasks they might be facing in the future, because those are some heavy losses for the wagner group. that being said, it would seem that the more important personnel in the wagner group is still intact, aligned with interviews with former wagner members, who say that those who have been recruited and have perished are indeed those being considered as cannon fodder, but do not play any important role within the organization itself, such as logistics, engineering and so on. nicole: i want to bring up something else. the head of belarus, lukashenko,

says russia has started moving nuclear weapons to his country. how significant of a development is this? >> i think it is a deterrent to move, however, moving the tactical nuclear weapons to belarus is more of russia's attempt to reestablish the deterrent power of nuclear weapons, because it's not as black-and-white as using or not using them or threatening to use them, and the threat to use them has lost its power last year, when putin was activating his strategic forces and putting them on high alert, therefore moving the tactical nuclear weapons closer to the theater and potentially to nato. it's basically a way to reestablish a deterrent power of putin's nuclear arsenal and signal to the west that there are some red lines that russia

will not be tolerating when they are crossed. nicole: our guest from king's college in london, it's always great speaking to you. >> likewise, thank you so much. nicole: the leaders of armenia and azerbaijan clashed at a summit in moscow, despite signs of a thaw in relations. it had to be broken up by president vladimir putin. they were fighting over a road in azerbaijan. azerbaijan's president had earlier signaled that the two sides were close to an agreement that could end decades of fighting over the enclave. our guest explained what could be expected from this latest attempt at peace in this decades long conflict. >> indeed, it has been decades that this conflict has been going on. there have been errors in the

past when we felt the negotiations were going to come to a a favorable outcome. we seem to be in that position again today, but i do think there are certain key factors that make it more likely this time. the armenian prime minister has been making very clear signals that armenia is ready to recognize the territorial integrity of azerbaijan, and that effectively means the end of the road for armenia's support of the separation from azerbaijan. there is also a critical mass of issues that on the state level, armenia and azerbaijan are ready to move forward, such as delimitation of borders and resolving humanitarian issues left over from the 2020 war. but the problem remains, and it has always been a key problem, the right-hand security -- rights and security of the

armenian population. the willingness to recognize azerbaijan's territorial integrity is not conditional. he will need to see reassurances that azerbaijan will guarantee those rights. nicole: and the governor of the u.s. state of florida, ron desantis, has launched his bid for the republican nomination to be president of the united states. he released his campaign video online and launched his bid on twitter. it was with tech giant elon musk in a session are by technical difficulties. the founder of the u.s. extremist oath keepers has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in the capital attack. he was sentenced for seditious conspiracy in addition to other crimes. a man accused of ordering the deaths of more than 2000 people during the rwanda genocide has

been arrested in south africa. he had been on the run for more than 20 years, but was detained by an elite south african police unit, where he had been living on a great farm using a false name. -- great farm using a foot -- grape farm using a false name. our guest was asked earlier, what exactly is this man accused of? >> well, he is accused of inciting genocide, planning genocide in very large, large ways. prosecuted for extermination and crimes against humanity. he was a senior police officer in the area. his job was to protect

civilians, and he did exactly the opposite. he was largely involved in the planning and assassination of 2000 women and children, who sought refuge in a church. he was among those planning attacks on this church for an entry into the church, and when the killings were not advancing fast enough, they bulldozed the building, having the roof collapsing over more than 2000, mainly women and children. we consider him one of the masterminds of the genocide and he was instrumental in these specific incidents during the genocide. we are extremely satisfied that finally, after being a fugitive for 20 years, he is arrested. nicole: he has been on the run for over 20 years. what took so long and what ended up leading to his arrest? >> well, what we have seen with many other fugitives as well,

immediately after the genocide, he was hiding among many of the refugees. immediately after being involved in the crimes, human to the drc, then tends any -- tanzania, then mozambique, then spent much of the late 1990's in south africa. he was hiding among the refugee community. he was having refugee status in several countries simultaneously under different identities. so we have, following his way since the genocide until today, uncovered eight different identities and passports in four different countries he was in. so it is extremely difficult to trace the fugitives, and it was very much through modern technology, financial investigations, phone analysis,

movement protocols, etc. that we have been able to determine the persons of interest and the members of his network, and we increased our research in south africa and their rest finally happened. nicole: we don't have much time, but you are very much invested in this -- does this give you hope that other fugitives who are still at large will be held accountable as well? >> definitely. you know, we have seen it in many other cases. there are no statutes of limitations for those crimes. and this shows perhaps it takes 10 years, 20 years, but at the end of the day, those who are responsible for the greatest crimes will face justice. again, this is a perfect example . if there is perseverance, you continue with your team looking for the fugitive, at the end of the day, we are successful. nicole: thank you so much for

your time. >> thanks for having me. nicole: lebanon is in the midst of an economic crisis that has plunged more than 80% of the country into poverty. the situation has driven some of the country to despair. one person tries to take his or her own life every six hours in the country. we met one survivor, who shared his story. >> this man should be dead. he was moments away from dying when his wife, sarah, found him hanging in there flat. he spent three weeks in a coma. >> people may say that this shows a lack of faith and i shouldn't have done what i did, but i was really desperate. i was suffering from stress at work, at home, and everywhere. life became so expensive. i couldn't afford to pay the rent, and the cost of diapers

and milk. i became overwhelmed and could not take it any longer. >> the problems he faces have not gone away. his family, with more than 80% of people in lebanon, are struggling and what the u.n. calls multidimensional poverty. wages are worth just 10% of what they used to be because the economy and currency have collapsed. the situation creates fear in homes across the country. >> i barely sleep nowadays. if he wakes up to go to the toilet or get a drink, i follow him. i do not feel it is safe to leave him alone. if i had not saved him at the last moment that night, he would no longer be with us now. >> more than 38 suicide cases have been recorded in lebanon since the beginning of this year. most of them are young men and women affected by the economic crisis, but the real number may be much higher, since a lot of families do not report

suicide out of the fear of social stigma. >> people are surprisingly willing to talk about suicide here. >> many people in this district have tried to commit suicide. we stop them and told them it would not help their families. people are desperately looking for jobs. fathers who have to feed their children feel powerless and consider suicide. [phone ringing] >> these volunteers offer support to people who manage to ask for help. this is what they call the lifeline, a phone hotline to try to prevent suicide. it is ran by the ngo embrace. it is so busy, there are more than 100 20 people working around the clock. >> one person ends their life every two days and one person

tries to end his or her life every six hours in lebanon. these numbers show us that a lot of people are actually, yes, suffering. but i would not view it, the suicide attempts to only the socioeconomic crisis. it is one of the factors that affects these numbers, but i would not say it is a cause, because these risk factors can vary from wars to socioeconomic social situations, along with psychological disorders people might be going through. >> lebanon has been unstable for nearly four years. that has affected everything, including mental health. as he focuses on the future of his family, he says people need to do the same with the country. failing to take action to try to

put the country back on its feet would be collective suicide, he says. nicole: a recent report from human rights watch says nearly two thirds of afghans don't have enough to eat, with thousands of children at risk of acute malnutrition. aid groups are trying to tackle the crisis, but struggle to raise the funds they need. >> women trying to force their way into a u.n. food distributes ion points, while men try to keep order. it shows how desperate the people here are. >> they told us the aid deliveries will stop. the situation isn't good. the women queuing up here are struggling to make ends meet. >> the world food program showed us what the aid consists of.

flower, lentils, oil, and some salt. one ration is supposed to last two weeks. in the last 20 months, the u.n. has delivered aid to 23 million people. now the funding is in jeopardy. >> the world food program has received no money since the start of the year. in april, we had to cut back our support for 13 million people to 5 million. if may comes with no money, that will see the end of distribution in afghanistan. >> what is that like for you, as the one responsible here? >> our colleagues had to tell the people out there that they won't get food need more. it's horrible. no one wants to do that. >> if there is no more humanitarian assistance, some 19 million people could face

starvation. 54% of children are already malnourished, and the crisis is just -- not just affecting rural areas, but the capital as well. there is food, but fewer people can afford it.the work aid organizations is faltering as well, as the taliban has decreed women can no longer work for them. >> we are the world food program. we will not stop. we will not abandon these people, half of them women and girls, who are already the most vulnerable. >> the women and girls waiting outside have lost almost everything, their jobs and their rights. they tell us now they are about to lose what little they have left. >> we cannot do anything if they stop the aid. i don't know what will be left for us then. >> it's a desperate situation.

and flour and rice alone will not solve this humanitarian crisis. it's up to the u.n. to figure out how to support afghanistan in the long term. nicole: millions of people in mexico are on high alert following the increase in activity of the volcano l popo, less than 50 kilometers from mexico city. scientists have recorded hundreds of explosions on the mountain over the last few days. >> at night, it spews lava. during the day, it spits smoke. this volcano is raining ash on nearby cities. local schools have swept 400 kilos on a single day. the volcanic activity has hundreds of thousands on edge. >> i'm not afraid, but i am a

little unsure. what will happen next? >> right now, there is a yellow alert. if it is upgraded to read, the evacuations will start. volunteers are preparing shelters and setting out beds. they can take in 500 people. >> we are ready to help people as long as necessary. >> because of the ash, people are being asked to stay indoors. many children are doing their schooling online. no one knows how long it will last. scientists are monitoring the volcanoes activity. the volcano became active in 1994. under option could endanger the entire region. at the moment, the area is still safe. people are aware of the risk. they live with the volcano and are ready for action.

the last time surrounding villages were evacuated was in 2000. locals are hoping that won't come to that again. nicole: there were little doctors could do to help spinal cord injuries, until recently. but now technology is making a big difference to this man. >> his life altered dramatically, for the second time. >> 12 years ago, i got into an accident and had a spinal cord injury. i am not able to move my legs anymore. >> but now he is able to walk again with the help of what is called a brain-spine interface. it overcomes the loss of communication between the brain and the legs. >> our idea was to reestablish this communication with the digital bridge, electronic

communication between the brain and the region of the spinal cord that is still intact. >> even in those who have severe spinal cord injuries, the brain retains the ability to produce signals, ordering extremities to move. the signals don't arrive because they don't make it past the damaged area. the researchers were able to capture and interpret the neurological signals by placing an implant at the source, in the man's brain. it transmits those signals from his brain to his lower body, bypassing the damaged part of his spine. >> we did two different surgeries. one surgery at the level of the brain, two craniotomy's, put electrodes in to read the brain's signatures. and then we did one on the spine, put electrodes on the top of the spinal cord, the place that is responsible for leg

movements. between these two, there is electric communication, a digital bridge that is then reactivating the legs. >> the system is still in the experimental stage and too bulky for easy where, but -- wear, but new developments could help bring down its size. they hope it could help patients like this man get back on his feet again. nicole: tina turner's death has left people around the world reeling. her incredible journey has been discussed, from poverty to popstar to has to queen of rock and roll. in the 1980's, she spoke out about her once abusive marriage to her former partner, ike turner. she was a trailblazer who opened the door for so many in music.

♪ >> for many, tina turner was simply the best. u.s. presidents current and former, as well as diana ross, mick jagger, and mariah carey have put out gestures of love and admiration. flowers have been laid on her star on the hollywood walk of fame. >> she opened so many doors, even if she didn't even know it. >> to do what she did, and prosper and move on. turner saying in gloss bulk wire-- >> turner saying in gospel choirs as a child, and then went on tour with her husband ike turner.

but he was an abusive man, and she eventually escaped that marriage. through the 1980's and 1990's, the queen of rock and roll thrilled audiences with her powerful voice and boundless energy. ♪ >> everyone is now going to jim's and exercising and carrying on, and it is said it is good for your health, all of us yelling. i have been singing and traveling and dancing for 35 years, so i think all my work has taken care of my aerobics classes. >> she recorded huge hits, including "what's love got to do with it?] " winning eight grammys and lifetime achievement awards, and winning millions of adoring fans along the way. she then retired to switzerland

with her partner, erwin bock. >> it's wonderful, the countryside, the cattle, the farmhouses. also the mountains. it is such a yonder in -- yonderness, a distance, a magic. >> tina turner was 83 years old. nicole: with that, you are up-to-date, but don't leave us just now. stay with us. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. hope to see you there. ♪

>> it is 10:00 p.m. here in the french capital, and here are the stories making world headlines. the man behind pressure's military efforts in bakhmut says he is pulling out his troops just days after announcing his troops had captured the ukrainian city. the head of the wagner group raising questions about what comes next in the conflict as ukraine begins at long-awaited counteroffensive. china lashing back against accusations that it hacked into critical western infrastructure following claims of u.s. and other western -- calling the claims of the u.s. and other

western nations a collective disinformation campaign. one of four remaining fugitives sought for their role in the rwandan genocide has been arrested in south africa. his accused of ordering the killing of some 2002 sees who were seeking refuge in a church and had been on the run since 2001 -- some 2000 tutsis. hi, everyone. thanks for joining us. we begin in ukraine where the head of the russian private military group wagner said this thursday he has begun pulling his troops out of the eastern city up bakhmut. that announcement comes just days after he said that his forces had captured the city.

the move raises questions about if russia can hold the city as ukraine begins its long-awaited counteroffensive. >> congratulating his troops after months of fighting in bakhmut, the leader of the wagner mercenary group has -- claims his partners have conquered every inch of the city and that the withdrawal of paramilitary forces had begun. >> we are heading over our positions, ammunition, everything, to the russian military. >> cap's claim is that wagner positions have been handed over, but within city limits, fighters remain. resident zelenskyy denies having lost and says russian forces have lost 20 square kilometers to the north and the south in recent days while ukrainian

forces said they have control over an insignificant part of bakhmut, but are continuing attacks on russian defenses, unrelenting since last summer. the battle for bakhmut has been the longest and most deadly of the russian offensive. the leader estimates that around 10,000 of his troops have been killed on the front and 10,000 more of his professional fighters. bakhmut is now a shell of itself. >> meanwhile, russia is moving forward with plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in belarus. the nation's sign an agreement to that effect today, saying that control of the weapons would remain with the kremlin. there's no official word from vladimir putin this thursday, but lukashenko confirmed the

move during a visit to moscow. >> vladimir putin informed me that he had signed a decree on our actions to deploy nuclear weapons in belarus. a transfer of nuclear weapons has already started. >> next, to china, with the government is lashing back against accusations that it hacked into critical western infrastructure. beijing is calling the claims by the u.s. and other western nations a collective disinformation campaign. one of the places targeted is the american territory of guam. u.s. officials fear china could be laying the groundwork to disrupt munication's in the event of an military confrontation in taiwan. >> raising the alarm, microsoft says critical infrastructure in the u.s. has been breached by state-sponsored chinese hackers with the goal of disrupting the country's communications in asia in the event of a crisis.

they say the group has been operating since mid 2021 and have been able to infiltrate organizations by exploiting vulnerabilities in a popular cybersecurity platform. >> in this campaign, the effects and organizations span the communications, manufacturing, maritime, government, information technology, and education sectors. >> the u.s. national security agency along with other members of the five as intelligence network -- australia, canada, new zealand, and the u.k. -- released a report warning that chinese hacking was likely occurring globally. the report then on thursday drew their of the chinese government. >> we have taken note of the report. i would like to say it is a report that has been patched together with a serious lack of evidence and is extremely unprofessional. it is clear this is a collective

disinformation campaign by the u.s. to mobilize the countries in the alliance for geopolitical purposes. >> while officials say the focus for now seems to be on spiting and intelligence gathering rather than destructive cyber attacks, the fact that guam was targeted has raised alarm bells in washington. should china choose to attack taiwan, any u.s. response would most likely involve guam. the territory is home to andersen air force base, which would be a launching point for missions to help defend the island as well as a point for american submarines and destroyers. >> for more on the story, i'm joined by an associate fellow at chatham house and ceo at oxford information. thanks for being here on france 24. we appreciate your expertise. what exactly is china up to and how it -- how concerned should

the u.s. and its allies be? >> on one level, note all states spied on each other, and a cyber espionage story is not really story except that there are three different qualities for this one. one is the location and as your report noted, the tensions in the south china sea surrounding china's intent on taiwan are really relevant here and the location of guam. secondly, there's the fact that the target is critical infrastructure. there are internationally agreed norms not to target critical infrastructure by states, and thirdly, the coordinated attribution. attribution is always a choice and the fact that the u.s. has joined with all of the five eyes partners and also respected

private sector security experts shows that, you know, far from being a very sort of un-detailed report, this is an incredibly detailed report and advisory down to showing people how to detect this breach and the code that is behind it, so i think it is very significant for those three reasons. >> there was no destruction of electronic data or equipment by these chinese hackers. what does that tell you? that they are just interested in espionage? >> it is always very difficult to tell. in a cyber environment, the means and methods, the techniques and tactics that you use to go in for espionage purposes are very similar to those used in destructive cyber attacks, so you have to find a vulnerability and get access to the system.

what it looks like is that they have penetrated the systems and are using it for reconnaissance or even maybe just as a sign that they can, but because espionage uses the same techniques, the fact of the breach is really concerning because it is critical infrastructure, and therefore, if you can get in for one reason, you can also get in for much more destructive reasons. that's the logic, anyway. >> you mention this joint report from the u.s. along with britain, canada, australia, and new zealand, warning that those other nations could be targeted by china as well. why do those nations in particular feel threatened, and why would they be specific targets of china? >> as close allies of the united states in the five eyes group of intelligence-sharing partners,

they always are operating quite closely, and therefore, as strong allies, they would all feel the same level of threat, but i think there's also another piece of theater here, which is the coordinated public attribution. of course, if you discover espionage as a state, you don't have to call it out. that is a choice, a political choice, and standing shoulder to shoulder with allies, having more than one voice saying we think this is espionage, that gives it more weight, and it is more difficult to deflect, although as your report says, china denies it. >> we all remember the u.s. shutdown a chinese spy balloon back in february. many saw that as a quite audacious move by beijing. do you see this kind of surveillance by china -- and i'm

including the hacking here as well -- as something that china has always done or has something shifted recently in what beijing is trying to accomplish? >> i think there is a backtrack of espionage, all states trying to understand what their adversaries and sometimes even their friends are doing. i think the way we should understand this is against the backdrop of rising tensions between the u.s. and china, if that has played out in the sort of trade and technology context or if it is against the backdrop of worries about what is the future of security in the south china sea. >> we will have to leave it there. emily taylor, associate fellow at chatham house, thanks so much for being with us here on france 24. >> thank you. >> next to the u.s., where the newest candidate in the presidential race is looking to bounce back following an

terracing campaign launch -- embarrassing campaign launch. florida governor ron desantis announced he was throwing his hat in the ring during a wide event on twitter tuesday hosted by the platform owner, elon musk, but the event was played -- plagued by technical issues and at one point had to stop and restart. he's planning to visit iowa and south carolina as he plans to take on donald trump for the nomination. at the moment, trump is far ahead of desantis in the polls, and trump mocked his opponent's campaign launch as a disaster. it is the harshest penalty so far connected to the attack on the u.s. capitol by supporters of donald trump. a federal judge has sentenced the leader of the far right oath keepers militia to 18 years in prison for his part in the storming of congress as a child to certify joe biden's election victory. steward rhodes was convicted of

seditious conspiracy for helping to plan the attack on the capital, which resulted in the deaths of five people. roads remained defiant during the hearing, claiming he was a political prisoner. one of 4 remaining fugitives sought for their role in the rwandan genocide has been found in south africa. he is accused of ordering the killing of some 2002 cease -- some 2000 tutsis who were taking refuge in a church. >> he has been arrested in a joint operation united nations investigators said thursday. he will appear in court in cape town on friday. the former police officer has been on the run since 2001 when an international criminal tribunal indicted him for

genocide for his role in the killing of over 2000 people who had taken refuge in the northwest of the country, but the prosecutor said local authorities refuse to participate in the capture of the fugitive. in kigali, authorities welcome the arrest and also underline that three fugitives are still wanted. >> voters go to the polls in turkiye this month for the second round of the presidential election. president erdogan is in a strong position after performing better than expected in the first round, but the opposition is not giving up the fight. his rival has been sharpening rhetoric on migration in a bid to draw votes from the right.

>> brandishing his nationalist credentials with the stroke of a pen, the opposition candidate has received an endorsement from the turkish far right ahead of sunday's runoff. the move comes after he pledged to send home the nearly 4 million mainly syrian refugees who have been living in turkey. >> the project is ready to send all refugees back to their home countries without any racism. we, the coalition leaders, made the decision we will send them all back to their home countries within a maximum of two years. >>'s tone followed -- his tone started to shift to the right following president erdogan's strong showing. >> the opposition is campaigning hand in hand with these

terrorists. will my nationalist citizens vote for them? >> with turkiye's presidential election in its home, both candidates are leaving nothing to chance. president erdogan picked up an endorsement from the third-place hardline nationalist candidate who secure just over 5% of the vote. analysts, however, are warning that shifted rhetoric could backfire by alienating voters he desperately needs. he's back by an alliance of six parties, including the pro-kurdish hdp. it has reiterated support for the opposition candidate despite his sudden lurch to the right. >> imagine being told you will never walk again, and then a decade later, proving the doctors wrong. that's what happened to a 40-year-old man who was paralyzed in a cycling accident in 2011. in a major medical breakthrough, he stood up and walked again this week, thanks to a device

that was implanted in his brain. the technology is the product of more than a decade of work by a team of researchers in france and switzerland. >> the challenge was a tough one, to walk once again on one's own, regardless how long it has been or how difficult it will be. on wednesday, this medical miracle was achieved by a 40-year-old dutchman who was paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury in a biking accident. the new interface uses algorithms based on artificial intelligence methods to decode brain signals in real-time and converts impulses into real -- converts impulses into movements. the connection between his brain and spinal cord is called a digital bridge. >> to create this digital bridge, we need to do two operations. the first is in the brain where we implanted of devices in the motor cortex.

then we do a second operation at the level of the spinal cord where we implanted electrodes on the region of the spinal cord which is responsible for the activation of the legs. it is then released to implants and put into service to communicate that walking will take place. >> since receiving the implants, he has been training every day. >> i can decide when to start and when to stop with this stimulation. i am in full control, and that gives me a lot of freedom. >> at the heart of the scientific achievement, a french neuroscientist and his swiss team. the advance is a result of more than a decade by a team of researchers in france and switzerland. >> what really surprised us was that by using the digital bridge, he was able to regain the use of muscles that had been paralyzed for many years, suggesting the nerve connections

have grown back in response to training with the digital bridge. >> given this medical and scientific success, the swiss team is preparing to launch a similar trial to restore function into the arms and hands. the hope is that within a few years, they can help stroke patients regain motor functions. >> time now for a look at the day's top business news with brian quinn. with florida republican ron desantis now officially entering the presidential race, much of the reaction was not so much about his launch but more about the problems that were happening on twitter. >> indeed, those technical glitches and malfunctions that marred the campaign announcement were, of course, widely mocked by democrats as well as by trump supporters. for many, it marks the series of cascading problems at twitter since it was acquired by billionaire elon musk. >> it was supposed to be

twitter's big moment, but in the end, it was more fiasco than triumph. >> we are just reallocating so we can handle the load here. it is really going crazy. >> florida governor ron desantis agreed to announce his presidential bid on twitter spaces, but things did not go according to plan. >> there were technical glitches. people were getting kicked out. you can only hear keyboards clicking. you were not able to hear them talking about this. >> since taking over twitter in october, elon musk has lurched from one crisis to the next at the tech company. in a bid to stem losses that must claimed amounted to $4 billion a day, he fired more than half the company's workforce, including many of the engineers necessary to ensure the smooth unction he of the site and technical troubleshooting.

under his leadership, advertisers have fled the platform after musk agreed to reinstate some users like donald trump, who had been banned for violating the company's policies. in an attempt to make twitter more profitable, musk also changed the blue tick verification system into a paid subscription service. the rollout was marred by imposter accounts of famous people and has largely failed to reach its target. governor desantis' hike appearance was meant to showcase twitter's ability to host programs on its site. former fox news host tucker carlson announce he would reproduce his popular program there, but that was before the rocky rollout for the governor's announcement. >> next, u.s. president joe biden met virtually with republican speaker of the house kevin mccarthy for yet another round of debt ceiling talks thursday morning. both are claiming progress, and the white house says a deal is near with reportedly just $70

billion out of it estimated $1 trillion separating the two sides, but fears persist about the potential for a catastrophic u.s. default on debt obligations. many u.s. lawmakers under to head home friday for a weeklong holiday, despite the treasury run -- warning it could run out of funds as soon as june 1. biden insisting there will be no default. >> the american people deserve to know that social security payments will be there. the veterans hospital will remain open and economic progress will be made. default puts all that at risk. congressional leaders understand that and they have all agreed there will be no default. it is time for congress to act now. >> next, nvidia saw its stock prices skyrocket on wall street after the release of its latest earnings report. shares jumped more than 24% in thursday trade after the american chipmaker forecast $11 billion in sales for the current

quarter, around 50% higher than previous wall street estimates. the projection is due to booming demand for its artificial intelligence processors as a wave of ai startups snap of the company's systems. the subsequent jump in market value nearly beat amazon for the largest number of one-day gains for a stop. it joins the number of firms worth more than $1 trillion. analysts say the rise of ai could be a seachange for the tech economy. >> nvidia are ultimately the hearts and lungs of the ai revolution. they supply the chips. in my opinion, probably the biggest transformational trend we have seen in 30 years. >> that huge sales projection

spark a rally across the global tech sector thursday. here in europe, shares of dutch chipmaker asm l closed up. shares overall were weighed down by german recession data as well as fears of the u.s. debt default. we see paris closing down about .3%. wall street, though, mixed on thursday with a -- the tech-heavy nasdaq. the dow closing in the red on those same debt ceiling fears. a growing number of credit ratings agencies have put america's aaa credit rating on a downgrade watch citing partisan fiscal brinkmanship. we will be keeping a very close eye on those negotiations as people see friday a crucial day to get deals done. >> at lot of nervous investors,

to be sure. thanks a lot. the cannes film festival is building to a big finish when the top prize, the palm door, will be announced. today, there were tributes to the late tina turner and her impact on the screen. our culture editor has more. >> when news came in of her death last night, a tribute was played on the red carpet to the "simply the best" singer with some of her rudest hits being heard. tina turner was 83. she died after a long illness and was one of the defining artists of the 1980's. she was here in 1975 with ken russell's movie "tommy." she also had a role in george miller's "mad max" and sang the theme to "goldeneye." >> it is a tragic loss to the music industry. she is phenomenal. she was a legend. >> she was a very important musician and artist, especially

in my life as a singer. i looked up to her as an artist and performer. >> i was devastated. i did not realize she was as old as she was and she has been around my whole life. she was an inspiration. >> my favorite song would probably be "simply the best" because it is so memorable. everyone sings along to it. just a unique performer. >> ♪ you're simply the best ♪ >> ♪ better than all the rest ♪ >> ♪ big wheels keep on turning proud mary keeps on burning yeah, rolling rolling on the river ♪ >> ♪ i'm your private dancer dancer for money na na na na ♪

>> we are back with what -- with more world news here on france 24.

05/25/23 05/25/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] nermeen: from new york, this is democracy now! >> you woke verse is a cultural marxism. at the end of the day, an attack on the truth and because it is a were untrue, i think we have no choice but to wage a war on woke. nermeen: florida republican governor ron desantis has formally launched his presidential campaign. we will go to florida to look at his record and his attacks on workers' rights.