from berlin. nine men arrested on suspicion of people smuggling in connection with one of the mediterranean's worst shipwreck disasters. rescue crews are still searching for divisors -- searching for survivors but it is feared hundreds of migrants have drowned. defense ministries from 50 countries meet in brussels as they pledge to strengthen its own defenses.

international donors pledged billions in aid for syrians dealing with civil war and natural disaster. many of syria's neighbors are already building links with the sanctioned assad regime. ♪ i'm phil gayle. welcome to the program. the greek coast guard says nine survivors of one of the mediterranean's worst shipwreck disasters has been arrested on suspicion of people smuggling. at least 78 people drowned and hundreds more are missing after a fishing boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of greece. a massive search and rescue operation is continuing. many of the victims were trapped below deck when the vessel capsized. reporter: at this point it is looking more like a recovery mission then a rescue.

response teams have not found any survivors today. just bodies. and greek authorities do not even know how many they are looking for. over 100 survivors have been brought to a refugee camp near athens, most of them men. they reported to be worn and distressed. at least 30 have been treated for hypothermia or fevers. >> one young man started to cry and said, i need my mother. i need my mother. this was a very difficult moment. to listen to a young man in a very bad situation, psychologically and his health, to need his mother and cry, i need my mother. this voice in inside my ears. reporter: a surveillance plane spout -- spotted the credit vessel on tuesday.

the coast guard offered help, but the offer was refused. authorities believe the boat later started to sink after its engine gave up. no one on board was wearing a life jacket. greece's air force has also joined rescue efforts, but the country is shaken by one of its worst maritime tragedies in recent years, there are worries this might not be the last of its kind. phil: a journalist in athens gave us this update. >> it is ongoing and it will be continuing throughout the night today. leading officials i have been speaking to say it could perhaps be even extended for another day beyond the 48 hour scope, which is customary for these types of search-and-rescue operations. at the same time though, what the focus is now shifting more towards is the inquiry and

investigation into the causes of this tragedy. and what we are hearing also from these senior officials is that amongst those victims who have testified, there are at least eight suspects, all of them egyptian, many of them believed to be implicated in this smuggling ring, including the captain himself. allegations again by the authorities that they are investigating. we understand according to information that they have given us that these suspects advertised their illegal campaign on the internet, charging the migrants between 4500 euros and 6000 euros for a journey west to italy. these suspects apparently have been confirmed and identified by the survivors themselves.

but of course this is a growing and an ongoing development that we will be seeing more of in the coming hours. phil: that was anthee carassava in athens. -the u.s.led defense contact group has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting ukraine for as long as it takes. the chairman of the u.s. joint chiefs of staff said ukraine is making steady progress, but that the fight would be difficult, violent, and costly. u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin met with nato secretary-general jens stoltenberg who reaffirmed plans for the bloc to strengthen its own defenses. >> when we meet at the nato ukraine commission shortly, the main message will be that we need to sustain and step up our support for ukraine. at our meeting and our discussions here today and tomorrow, we will also prepare for the upcoming summit, where the message will be about

supporting ukraine, but also the need to strengthen our own deterrence and defense. phil: our brussels bureau chief alexandra von nominee spoke with the estonian defense minister about the ukrainian counteroffensive. alexandra: we are joined by estonia's defense minister. thank you so much for being with us, minister. the ukrainian counteroffensive is in early days, but do you expect it to be a turning point of the war? >> i really do hope that. although we have seen already the counteroffensive many months back. when we take kharkiv and kherson , we saw ukrainians were quite successful. of course now it will be more difficult, as russians have built many defense lines. we all understand how difficult it is for ukraine, but we are talking a lot about these

options, what ukrainians have. my message has always been please do not put a lot of pressure on ukrainians because they know exactly what to do and they will do anything in their power and everything in their power to get back there territories. alexandra: the big question is how to ramp up military assistance for ukraine and what they need right now. we know on their list is fighter jets, long-range missiles, but maybe his ammunition the most pressing issue? what would you say? hanno: first and foremost, air defense. because they need to protect their own land forces in order to be able to move. secondly, to keep the russian air force out of the counteroffensive. then the second priority is definitely ammunition, ammunition, ammunition. because the use of ammunition is very, very big.

thirdly, everything regarding all the other equipment. when we talk about spare parts already, when we talk about the maintenance, when we talk about replacing lost equipment, etc. and of course training for the new troops. so these are the necessary things ukraine needs at the moment, and constantly needs. but what is very important here today in brussels is that all of the allies, everyone said clearly, we will not go away. so we will be together with ukraine as long as it takes, and there is no chance for putin or the kremlin to think the west will go away from ukraine's back. no, we will not go. phil: one of the pieces of military hardware ukraine has received is the german cheetah air defense system. they are designed to destroy

low-flying targets and are much cheaper to operate in other air defense systems, like the u.s.-made patriot. our correspondent sonja phares took a look. reporter: a scene that has been playing out for over a year now across ukraine, as russia relentlessly bombs the country. but units like these are standing in the way. ukrainian air defense capabilities can now take down cruise missiles and iranian made drones, thanks to antiaircraft systems like this. they can literally be the difference between life and death. this unit trained in journey -- in germany for 1.5 months. >> i call this the dragon,

because it is huge and loud, and can destroy everything in its path. both on the ground and in the air. reporter: it has a computer system that crunches data received from radar which can detect targets up to 15 kilometers away. then it is a matter of seconds. >> we have to take aim at the targets within two seconds. this system is very effective and fast and moves well despite weighing 48 towns. it is good for moving around on all kinds of terrain. sonia: the self-propelled canon is armed with between 35 which can fire up to 550 rounds per mi nute. >> at the end of the canon there is a special sensor responsible for determining the speed and timing of firing the ammunition. it is very accurate. it will destroy any target in the radius of the system. sonia: depending on the ammunition they are using, they

can hit targets some five kilometers away. they play a key role in ukraine's air defense network, shooting down waves of low-flying drones and rockets. his unit has already taken out four drones and two missiles. what they want is more from germany, as well as more ammunition to better protect the skies over ukraine. phil: here are some more developments related to the war in ukraine. u.n. nuclear chief says several measures have been taken to stabilize the situation at the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant pick he is leading a delegation to the russian-controlled site to assess damage following last week's breeze of a massive dam which disrupted the power station's supply of cold water. south african president is leading an african union peace delegation.

they have been welcomed by the polish president in warsaw. later they will go on to me the ukrainian and russian leaders in kyiv and st. petersburg. the presidents of russia and algeria have pledged to deepen ties between their countries. the algerian president is in moscow on a three-day state visit. he said western pressure over the war would not impact his position on russia. a 21-year-old american woman has died after being sexually assaulted and pushed into a ravine in southern germany. the woman and her companion were reportedly lured off a main path close to the iconic landmark by a male tourist also from the west, before they were set -- also from the u.s. the second woman remains in the hospital. police arrested the perpetrator. our correspondent benjamin

alvarez gruber has more. benjamin: this attack happened wednesday afternoon near a bridge which has a view on this world-famous castle. police say the man met these two tourists and lured them onto a trail which leads to a viewpoint. he then physically attacked the younger woman when the other woman tried to intervene. he choked her and pushed her down a steep slope. the assailant appears to have then sexually assaulted the 21-year-old before pushing her down the slope as well. she fell nearly 50 eters, -- meters, ending up close to her friend. it was a really difficult rescue mission. the teams that arrived airlift the younger woman out with a helicopter, and the younger victim was seriously injured, died later that night as a result of her injuries. the other woman remains in hospital with serious injuries. phil: what are police saying?

benjamin: the man escaped but was quickly caught near the crime scene after a massive police operation. there were also several videos on social media. one of them was posted showing police leading away a handcuffed man in a t-shirt, jeans, and a bs -- baseball cap. the man, a u.s. citizen, was a tourist. the suspect is held now pending a potential indictment and was taken to jail. he is now under investigation on suspicion of attempted murder and sexual offense as well. investigators are now trying to reconstruct exactly what happened and police are calling for witnesses to come forward and have also asked to anyone who has pictures or video materials that can be used to reconstruct this crime at one of germany's most popular tourist attractions. phil: thank you for that. dw correspondent benjamin

alvarez gruber. international donors have pledged $10 billion in aid for syrians. the assad regime was not represented at today's conference in brussels as it is still under sanctions from the eu and other western powers. many countries in the middle east have recently normalized relations with damascus. dw's aae brahim explains how syria's long-running civil war has affected his people and international relations. reporter: with smiles and kisses, unconditionally welcomed bashar al-assad back to the fold. >> a diplomatic triumph for the syrian president after more than a decade of isolation. reporter: but western leaders will still not enter the same room as assad, let alone take his hand. the foreign minister warned against the warming of relations saying he should not be rewarded

for the most serious human rights violations. adding that every step towards assad should be made dependent on concrete concessions. so why are arab governments rushing to cozy up to assad and does this mean the war is over? after more than a decade of intense fighting the war in syria has reached a sort of stalemate and left the country divided. the assad regime controls about two thirds of syria including major cities like damascus and aleppo. kurdish forces also control parts of the country. sections of northern syria are under de facto turkish occupation. others like it live are controlled by rebels. the humanitarian situation across syria is dire. according to the u.n., 90% of syria's population lives under the poverty line in the northwest of the country more than 10,000 homes have been destroyed or partially destroyed because of the earthquake that hit syria and turkiye earlier

this year. we met with one man who lost his home in the earthquake and now lives in a camp. >> there is no work. i do not have food to feed my children. we have been in this tent since our house was destroyed. aya: arab governments that have reestablished relations with assad argue this is the best way to actually help syrians. but many living in exile, especially those who called for democracy during the arab spring, disagree. >> whoever normalizes relations with this criminal is also a criminal, just like him. we're disappointed that the world are still trying to uphold and maintain the rule of a criminal whose crimes are clear for the whole world to see. aya: national interests are also behind the normalization of relations with assad. first, there is the refugee question. large numbers of syrians fleeing

the fighting now live in surrounding countries. arab governments are hoping that open communication with assad might facilitate the refugees' return. whether or not they would want to go back is a different question. another issues is iranian influence. the assad regime was able to survive partially thanks to russian and iranian support, allowing tehran to gain a foothold in the heart of the arab world. this may be threatening to regional superpowers like saudi arabia, given its rivalry with itan. now the saudis see a way to take back some of that influence. arab leaders also want to cap down on an addictive infinite mean-like -- 80% of the world's supply comes

from syria, and large parts of that end up in countries like jordan and saudi arabia. whether it is out of genuine concern for the syrian people or because of national interests, many in the arab region have decided that bashar al-assad will be part of his country's future, despite reservations from the west. phil: our correspondent rosie birchard in rock -- in brussels sent this assessment. rosie: a really somber mood here in brussels with the european union's foreign affairs chief saying the needs of syrians at these conferences are designed to aggress what they are getting greater. he spoke about the fallout of what they call the deteriorating global situation with the war in ukraine and sudan. he also referenced the deadly earthquake earlier this year. to try and address some of those needs, donors from around the world did come together and pledged at least $6.1 million in

grants and several billion more euros in loans. that should go some way to addressing the concerns of countries which host a lot of syrian refugees such as jordan. jordan's foreign minister did use these talks in brussels to complain about what he described as an inadequate level of support from the international community. there were also some interesting political divisions on display here. while bashar al-assad has had somewhat of a political rehabilitation in the arab league, the west, the eu, the u.s. still broadly do not engage with assad. but there are some nuances. the eu foreign affairs chief said that while the eu would not budge and not reengage with assad, that he was open to combining pressure with the arab league and more broadly supported the league. now, that was compared to the u.s. representative who struck a much harsher tone, and said that the united states does not

support normalizing ties, does not support other states normalizing ties with our shot -- with assad. she called it innumerable atrocities. so some divisions even within the western camp when it comes to help to -- comes to how to proceed politically. phil: a cyclone has hit the coastline of india and pakistan. nearly 200,000 have been evacuated from their homes and taken to emergency shelters in schools and government buildings. the worst of the weather is expected on the weekend. reporter: reaching land hours ahead of schedule, the cyclone has pummeled indian coastal towns with torrential rainfall and fast-moving winds. >> i feel very unsafe because of the strong winds. i hope everyone stays home and stays safe. >> is this your first time

experiencing a storm? >> yes. reporter: for others in western india and neighboring southern pakistan, it is a reminder of deadly floods that hit here a year ago. as it brewed over the arabian sea, governments dispatched emergency crews to evacuate thousands living invulnerable housing. >> this is a very severe storm with high potential for causing damage. it may topple trees and cause branches to fall. houses, slums, mud houses, tin huts, and dispensed us houses may be damaged. reporter: businesses that are still standing are closed, has our bizarre is and beaches. the shores, normally bustling with tourists who have come to watch wood boat makers at work. now, the area is deserted.

meteorologists say the worst part of the storm has not hit yet. it's expected to intensify, causing more damage through saturday. phil: beatles fans can enjoy previously unseen photos of the banned in their heyday, taken by paul mccartney. a new book, the eyes of the storm, shows funny and tender moments shared by the fab four early in their career on their way to becoming the biggest band in the planet. reporter: february 1964. while the beatles chat and sleep on their flight, excitement was building in new york. their arrival in the city is hailed as one of the great spectacles of the 20th century. >> coming to america for the first time. come to new york as kids who kind of made it over in england. so we were cocky little kids. so we felt like, hey, this is

cool. got the cigarettes out. it was magical. reporter: and while the world was watching these four young men on tour, one of them had grabbed a camera and was turning its lens back on the world. paul mccartney photograph to the whole tour and captured what he saw. hundreds of pictures which later disappeared into a basement archive. but now, decades later, they have been discovered and immortalized in a book that will be published around the world. for all to indulge in. >> the thing is, we had photographers around with us, but we could not get this kind of access.

reporter: this tour, this world, complete beatlemania. the old world order was eroding, and the upbeat beatles songs became the soundtrack of a generation that suddenly felt it could change the world. all dams were bursting. the 1960's had arrived. >> they were the first truly global popular culture phenomenon. they traveled all over the world, their music traveled all over the world. they themselves were a mix of influences from all over the world. they were extremely cosmopolitan. reporter: one of the book's highlights is the chapter on miami. it was the first time the young men from liverpool had seen palm trees. a collection of tender moments.

>> we went down to miami. a british car firm loaned us an mg each. there was a beach, sand, and gir ls. i mean, come on. reporter: after three weeks, they went home to a warm welcome. but the world had changed. just a bit. phil: the famous italian vintage car is now underway. more than 400 classic vehicles dating back to 1960's have left on the tour of italy. the 1600 kilometer germany -- journey takes on special significance this year, driving through regions badly hit by severe flooding. the five-day race ends this weekend when the cars return. here's a reminder about top stories at this hour. the greek coast guard nine survivors of one of the mediterranean's worst shipwreck

disasters has been arrested on suspicion of people smuggling. at least 78 people drowned when a fishing boat carrying migrants capsized off the coast of grief -- of greece. hundreds more are feared missing. the u.s. has called on allies to dig deep for ukraine in the fight back against russia. heads from 50 countries gathered at nato headquarters in brussels. the alliance has reaffirmed its backing for ukraine and pledged to strengthen its own defenses. i will be back with "the day" in a moment to take a longer look at some of today's stories and more world news at the top of the hour. have a good day. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

mark: welcome to "live from paris," world news and analysis from france 24. i'm mark owen. these are the world news headlines. here is that over 100 children were below deck when the fishing boat capsized off the coast of greece. around 500 -- the search for survivors from around 500 missing turns to mission of recovery. the head of the atomic energy agency visited the russian-controlled zaporizhzhia

nuclear plant in ukraine. the security of the site cannot be guaranteed while there is fighting all around. viva tech. we will be meeting two entrepreneurs from botswana looking to plot the future of africa looking to improve as many lives as possible. their story coming up next. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. a grim search continues off the coast of greece as survivors of the margaret boat disaster with the fear that over 100 children may have been in the hold of the ship to capsized. so far it has been confirmed 97 at least are dead.

104 have been accounted for and are safe on dry land. in fact the vehicle was packed to the goals when it set off makes rescuers think there could be at least 500 still missing. in greek waters, it was shadowed by a greek coast guard vessel. it was then when the fishing boat capsized. the eu has put the blame on people-smuggling gangs. the latest sinking is the fault of european policy to many. >> taken from a helicopter just hours before the disaster, and chilling picture of the overcrowded vessel in line with the testimonies of survivors. only a fraction of those on board made it to shore.

>> they arrived, 104 people, young men. it went for treatment in hospital. >> united nations eight agency estimates the vehicle was carrying at least 700 people. as the search for survivors continues, little is known of the women and children who many here were staying in the hold of the boat, remaining trapped when it capsized -- many fear were staying in the hold of the boat, remaining trapped when it capsized. questions are being raised about the role of european aid agency front text. >> and ngo was alerted by a call from migrants who said they were under stress in the water. they sent gps coordinates that were forwarded to the greek coast guard and then to frontex. that's when frontex became aware

of the boat and we could see they flew over it with a plane. >> the greek coast guard has also come under fire after also deciding not to intervene. >> frontex is a european operation which made it possible to identify the boat, to transmit the information to member states, then it is the member states that carry out search-and-rescue operations at sea. as >> greek authorities said the vessel seem to be as she seemed -- seemed to be sailing normally until it was in distress. the international organization for migration estimates close to 27,000 people died or disappeared trying to cross the mediterranean since 2019. mark: just to be precise, 78 is the number of people confirmed dead so far. natalie is at the port where

survivors have been brought. what is the latest you can tell us from where you are? >> an absolute tragedy i can tell you. what we are hearing is there is one frigate now out in the open seas scouring for any side of wreckage because i can tell you the hopes for finding any survivors is dimming if not has dimmed altogether. this is one of the deepest parts of the mediterranean. the boat sank, and it will be very difficult for this to be a rescue mission anymore. what we are hearing is the testimonies are slowly emerging from survivors. all of them male between the age of 16 to 40, so unaccompanied minors as well. they are in a state of shock. they were treated earlier today.

they have been fed. they will be moved to athens as well. their testimonies speak of women and children as well on board. they say up to 100 were in the bowels of the ship, but this has yet to be confirmed as now the testimonies are starting to contradict each other. that is what the investigation is seeking now. the prosecutor has now arrested nine egyptian men. we are hearing that the boat was actually set off from egypt before making its course to italy. they have been arrested, including the captain, from what we are hearing, of the fishing vessel. they are being charged with belonging to a criminal organization, and the opposition and the anger in the streets outside the port authority was very palpable as many dozens of people were protesting their anger at what is europe's

policies and inability to deal with the smugglers. >> thank you very much indeed for bringing us up-to-date on the situation. as you point out, the further this goes, the less likely it is up survivors being left from the sea. with 500 being mentioned is the possible number that could be lost at sea right now. clearly we are talking about an migrant tragedy of great gravity. we can confirm 78 people so far confirmed dead. 104, as natalie was saying, men aged 16 to 40, have survived. the investigation continuing into who was in charge of that boat filled to the gunwales with people. we understand some 500 people, possibly with their mothers with them, too, in the hold of the boat and it went down. let's bring in a senior advocacy

advisor for save the children. thank you for being with us. what is your understanding about the tragedy? 100 in the hold is what we are being told. >> unfortunately, we don't have a lot of information on this. we are hearing that there are over 100 children whose bodies will probably never be recovered. it is just another set of avoidable deaths on european shores that could have been avoided if the priority of authorities would have been to save lives and stop addressing migration with policies of containment at borders. mark: this is actually one of the main problems, would you agree? >> we certainly agree.

people continue to take overcrowded boats to cross the mediterranean sea because there is no other way to get safely to europe and seek protection. the violent push backs, the violence at borders, the violence perpetrated by authorities at european borders has been widely reported. there are hundreds of reports from ngo's, from agencies, that are witness reports that prove this over and over again. people obviously feel that they don't have any other option now then to take an even more dangerous see boat. we have documented the violence. in the report, children told us that all of the children we have encountered and participated in this report have experienced some sort of violence. we are talking about sexual

violence. we are talking about psychological violence. we are talking about physical violence. a 17-year-old boy told us he wishes no girl would take that boat because of what he saw. another boy told us he had seen children hurting themselves out of desperation. we hear children being stripped naked and violently beaten. we hear about children and their parents being violently beaten. when you hear it is oh difficult, when you hear about people being pushed back and beaten and humiliated, you try another way to make sure you can seek protection in europe, and therefore, we see an increasing use of the mediterranean route, also from turkey and libya. mark: what you're saying is the policy of europe, the closing of the door, is exacerbating the situation, making it worse,

because the desperation of the migrants to find a better life is putting more at risk? is that what you are saying? >> it is. the european parliament in one of their research over the situation of migration assessed over 96% of people that had been granted protection in europe had entered europe in regular ways, and we know these boats are unsafe for people, especially children and young people. yes, only a week ago, member states were in brussels to decide how to reform the european asylum stents, and we know most of the reform is about border control, deterrence, that risks the result of systematic detention of children and in procedures that risk not to really give a fair possibility for people seeking protection as mark: this is something that

people seldom debate. they talk about migrants coming in and stealing jobs and stuff. other people make other arguments. they never think about the children that are caught in the middle, and this really highlights that. we have to leave it there. thank you so much for joining us. thank you for sharing with us your analysis here on france 24. we are watching on developments on the situation regarding the ship off the greek coast. our correspondent in greece joining us earlier. the head of the united nations atomic energy agency visited the russian-controlled separation nuclear plant in ukraine. the chief of the international atomic energy agency was inspecting the state of the nuclear power plant, the world's largest, following last week's devastating sabotage of the dam downstream on the dnieper river. reservoir was normally used to refill the pond but cannot do so

now because of its falling water level following the explosions that blew up the dam wall. they say it is unrealistic to expect russia and ukraine to sign a document on the security of the site while riding rages nearby. >> i can say there are two elements basically. on the one hand, we can see that the situation is serious because the risks are there, and they are real. at the same time, there are measures being taken to stabilize the situation. >> you are watching all development on the situation for you in ukraine. let's go truthing or faking. conspiracy theories about the canadian wildfires going viral on tiktok and twitter. >> that's right, mark.

intense wildfires are still raging in canada, and they last all summer long according to local politicians. since june 5, this account that regularly publishes misinformation online shared this viral video the caption that reads, how can that many buyers start at the same time across the province -- how can that many fires start at the same time across the province? we see these fire spreading all at the exact same time. these satellite images could be proof that these canadian wildfires were deliberately caused by politicians rather than by climate change. mark: ok, are these satellite images -- are they real? >> there were two clues in the

satellite images that are allowed as to find the original satellite images we have in this video. you can barely see the words. it is a bit blurry, but this allowed us to search these words online, and we found that go 16 is an american satellite company operated by no other than nasa, so these images we saw, those are real satellite images. we also bumped into this tweet, sharing the same viral video where they mentioned the dupage college meteorology department that shows these wildfires on june 2. with this information, we were easily able to find the page where these exact satellite images were available. these are right here from the past 24 hours, but we search the area of interest for us, which is quebec, and this is the screenshot we took from the website's archives from june 2,

showing the wildfires that were actually raging at that time and that day in southern quebec. if we compare the images from our screenshot to a screenshot we took from the tiktok video, you can see that they are identical, so two similar images from the satellite company. mark: simultaneous fires, though, in one single day. that is a bit strange, isn't it? >> according to experts we spoke to, the dozens of columns of smoke that appeared in one single day are not that unusual, but contrary to the claims, these fires did not all appear at the same time, as the publication's claim, but over a period of 12 hours during that day on june 2 between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m., to be exact, so the video we saw on tiktok was sped up. the france 24 observers team

also contacted a professor of meteorology at the dupage university who actually published the photos that we saw. he told us that what is behind these simultaneous fires are -- can be explained by a dry storm with lightning strikes, which created several outbreaks, and he also says that when these conditions are met, which they were that day, and if conditions are dry enough with a lot of wind, these outbreaks can quickly start these forest fires that we saw in the viral videos in tiktok. mark: thank you very much indeed for truth or fake. let's quickly find out about the world of boris johnson in the u.k. the former british prime minister listing times when he lied to parliament and the british people, breaking his own

government's emergency rules. >> driven from office and now from the house of commons, over 100 pages detailing unprecedented accusations against a former prime minister. >> we established that mr. johnson had knowledge of the covid rules and guidance, had knowledge of breaches of the rules and guidance that occurred in number 10 and misled the house. >> in other words, the report says he lied to parliament about his knowledge of lockdown parties in downing street. it was just that we boris johnson resigned as a conservative mp after being given advance access to the report. he issued an explosive statement, calling the committee a report that conducted a witch hunt to keep him out of parliament. he has admitted his statements misled the house but denied doing so intentionally. >> i'm here to say to you hand

on heart that i did not like to the house. >> as well as contempt of parliament, the report accuses johnson of being complicit in a campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation of the committee. had he not already resigned, the panel says it would have recommended a hefty 90-day suspension from the house. it also suggests he should be denied and pass which allows former mp's to access parliament after they leave. the committee in charge of the year-long investigation as a cross party group of seven elected mp's, the majority of which are conservative, which acts as a watchdog for matters related to the house. it is up to the commons to decide if they will accept those recommendations. mark: viva tech here in paris. joining us in the studio, two delegates from botswana, all the way from southern africa.

they are on the same team, just different ends of the studio. why is it so important for you two to be at viva tech? >> thank you so much. coming from botswana all the way to europe, especially in paris here, we are here to see different types of technologies taking place, innovation, and also we are a start up, and we are trying to see what other people are doing here and trying to build connections that are necessary for our development. mark: building connections, that is the important thing? >> beside the past that -- besides the fact that paris is a gorgeous city, viva tech is europe's biggest tech conference. it is the world's biggest tech conference, and it accelerates innovation by connecting startups, connecting funders, connecting investors.

big companies, innovation leaders. i'm speaking about people that really on a daily basis are seeking to solve some of the world's greatest challenges. as botswana digital innovation hub, the company i work for, and as botswana innovation hub, the instrument we used to give startups access to funding. we really found it necessary to be at the viva tech conference. we are here to explore, like he said. we are here to connect, and we are here to build botswana. mark: what are the things you look to take back from paris? >> one of the things we aim to do is working with different kinds of vc's. one of the things is you need to be purpose driven when you are building a startup. this is among the things i think are very key to us.

go back to the drawing board and understand what it takes to build the next unicorn. mark: that is interesting. let's take a listen to what emmanuel macron said when he was at viva tech yesterday. >> the good thing is that we have a lot of very good talent. data scientists, a lot of talent in this environment. we will invest like crazy on training and reserves. we want to be sure that this is a safe, unbiased, raw material, i would say. we need some rules. we need basic regulation, much more regulation by design. mark: essentially, as well as all that, macron was saying it is about bringing startup,

innovation, investment tech indifference. it sounds like you would like to do that in botswana. >> definitely. our biggest role is to set up startups. we have a number of programs that do support startups. we are also trying to attract investors to come and invest in our startup because our start up environment is very vibrant. there's good appetite for innovations. and botswana is a developing country, as you know, and we have our fair share of challenges. where there are challenges, there's the vast opportunities for innovation. mark: how does your idea, your start help people? how can botswana people take advantage of what you are trying to do? flex the mission is as >> the

mission is quite simple. we have to understand the biggest pain point is easy access to funding from institutions. mark: this is about unlocking how people who want to start a business can get that funding? >> definitely because it is always a barrier when you don't have the funds to start your business. what you definitely do is to put any act in place. we can allow small businesses can -- small businesses to use it so it can seamlessly generate financial reports that small businesses can use to prove their credit worthiness and quickly and instantly became the access to funding that they need. mark: do you share the fears president macron was talking about about ai? >> definitely. we need to be cautious as we always innovate around it. so many things have to be

understood first. in botswana especially, ai is something starting to get its own ■foot we have to be cautious as we use it to increase solutions because we never know what is going to happen. we believe the intentions are always good. it is about making the customer experience to be also good. mark: every customer, their experience is better and they got more opportunities and actual access to different things, they can improve -- i think this is where you are going -- they can improve what they want to do and perhaps improve their lives? >> definitely. use of the example. as he is building that solution, solving the challenge that startups are going through. if they can solve a challenge, they are most likely to thrive.

we need text -- we need techs to build our roads and buildings and hospitals. that is the beauty, solving real challenges. mark: on my visit to botswana, the mass water pipeline was open to the south of the country. i was surprised there was still this need to bring running water to people's homes. clearly, there are many things that need to be improved. it is what you are talking about here trying to change the whole profile of the country? >> yes, it always starts with inclusivity. everybody has to be included in the system. we are heavily divided between small businesses in remote areas and big areas. there is a digital divide. the country is trying to bring those efforts together so that everybody is included in terms of economic development and things like that. mark: such a wonderful place, botswana. the perception perhaps is wildlife, tourism, diamonds.

you are adding a different dimension. that's what you are trying to do? >> yes, definitely. we are a very fast-developing country. we have a very good diamond industry that is really helped us to diversify our economy or even to improve the lives of our people. 1966, we have been able to do so. the innovations that we are turning out of the botswana digital and innovation hub and other hubs within botswana, they are really positioned in botswana as a country to invest in, as a country that is really commercializing ideas for better economic growth. mark: the concept he has brought forward, you are saying those kinds of things will make

international investors feel more convinced about botswana? >> definitely. if you look where we are attracting investors to come and set up, we are sitting on a 57-hectare land, and we are looking for big tech giants to come and set up so we can be able to -- yes, that is our beta force science and technology pack. we are seeing good land, these good roads, this good water, health care system. we are really investing in everything an investor would want to really benefit from when he is investing his money in the botswana economy. mark: what are you hoping from viva tech tomorrow, briefly? >> we are networking. we are connecting.

orange is venture capital, and they were very receptive to our idea, and they said put the an and we will assess if you can be funded, and it is proof that this is a validated idea for the fact that we are here, connecting botswana to the

06/15/23 06/15/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the last 10 years, we have never seen such a high number of reported attacks on the health-care system as in 2022. the scale of it is just unimaginable. amy: sudan's healthcare system is on the verge of collapse two months after fighting broke out between rival military factions. we will look at the increasing targeting of hospitals in sudan