>> this is dw news, live from berlin. african leaders begin their peace mission to ukraine and russia, and russia plans a missile attack while they are there. also on dw, nato begins drawing on the west's first event strategy since the cold war and

has agreed to move ukraine closer to the alliance. you will hear from the chairman of the special olympics about the achievements and challenges on athletes with intellectual disabilities. the games are about to begin here in berlin. ♪ i and phil gayle. welcome to the program. the group of african leaders has been holding talks with latimer zelenskyy about a possible peace plan. the delegation will travel on to meet the russian president in st. petersburg.delegates would like to hear from both sides of the war and to ensure ukrainian grain exports keep flowing to hard-pressed african countries. russia launched its latest strike on kyiv as they arrived in the city. correspondent: african leaders

visited the site of alleged atrocities against ukrainian civilians at the hands of russian soldiers. >> life is important, and we must protect lives, ukrainian and russian lives, global lives. that is important, to protect lives and focus on development. correspondent: the visiting leaders inspected destroyed russian military equipment on display in central keith. a show of support, but the south african president stressed it was not unqualified support. >> the first one is that we are here to listen, to listen both to president zelenskyy, and tomorrow we will be listening to president putin, and we do so with deep respect for the people

of ukraine, which we have expressed to president zelenskyy. we will also listen to president putin with regards to how he sees the roads to peace. correspondent: he also stressed the importance of keeping grain and fertilizer flowing out of ukraine as african countries struggle with price spikes and food insecurity in the wake of the russian invasion. the delegation's visit was interrupted by repeated russian airstrikes on the capital region, causing zelenskyy to question why the african leaders were headed to st. petersburg on saturday. translator: russian strikes attest to the fact that putin is not in control of his own army because they are striking us with missiles now. other nations have decided to visit the country that initiated the missile strike today. i am not quite clear as to how logical this looks, that they are leaders of free countries,

it is their choice. correspondent: zelenskyy has ruled out any peace talks while russian forces are still in ukraine. phil" our course -- phil: our correspondent talked about apparent this may at the delegation's determinists. correspondent: that was one frustration. it was not unexpected but they refused to take sides and were scrupulous in basically trying to keep equidistant from both ukraine and russia. there was even annoyance on part of volodymyr zelenskyy when the egyptian president refer to it as a conflict rather than a war in ukraine, and moments where you could hear him straining to understand the translation and not hearing what he wanted to hear. in terms of the nuts and bolts of what was discussed, they spoke about this being a frank and honest conversation

over heated disagreement but there was precious little in the way about detail on where to go from here. there have been some reports of more concrete suggestions from the delegation in terms of confidence building measures, maybe getting the russians to retreat and ukrainians asking western countries to take sanctions off russia at certain points and withdraw the arrest warrant on vladimir putin and that kind of stuff, but they would not get drawn up tightly on detail. phil: and how did the fresh airstrikes from the russians w eigh on talks? nick: when we have had meetings with people with good ties to the kremlin, those kind of missiles have not taken place, but russia was undeterred by the visit. seemingly, they were not put off their mission. we heard them, saying they would continue on to russia without any kind of difference or

changes to their plans. they would not be drawn to kind of criticize pressure to condemn these attacks, and then volodymyr zelenskyy, we heard, he was frustrated and asked why his guests would want to go to russia after the attack that they had faced today. phil: are we likely to see concrete action as a result of these talks? nick: it is difficult to see where we go from here. ukrainian position remains that they will only talk to russia once russian troops are out of ukraine, including the part they have defective controlled since 2014. vladimir putin is also not moving an inch, assuming he is still wedded to his original plans to take over ukraine or preventing them from getting anywhere near the west. what will happen is that the economic impact of ordinary people in some african nations, was to make sure more grain gets

out, and the fluctuations on food markets are prevented, and certainly the ukraine will hope african leaders will talk to vladimir putin to make sure the grain deal that has allowed ships in and out of the black sea to get the ukrainian grain out, that it is continued. that is the kind of more realistic and more modest outcome of this diplomatic flurry. phil: nick connolly in kyiv, thank you. thousands of ukrainian soldiers have been killed and wounded fighting the russian invasion. many of the injured are keen to return to the battlefield. max zander has been talking to one. max: training to fight in the trenches is difficult enough. some things do not help. a blast took off part of this man's leg, yet, he is back with his old unit, getting ready to fight again. it was emotional when he returned.

translator: but the soul wants, the soul gets. i use my anger so i did not turn it, brothers but went out and shot at the enemy. i relaxed. max: he is a career soldier who joined up when he was 18. initially, with the artillery, and then later as part of an assault brigade. translator: it was the 29th of september. we had recaptured the position. these are trophies. these are all trophies. night vision devices. scopes, pistols. it was just a captured position. here is the broken equipment. the emotions were overwhelming. just wow, there were automatic machine guns, all these trophies. they left behind everything.

and the most interesting thing is lying in the trench. this is the russian liberator. translator: it was a mission like that which changed his life. max: he and his team were in charge of clearing a russian position. after they killed the soldiers there, he went in to check and stepped on a mine. for a moment, his fear of being taken prisoner was overwhelming. translator: i gave myself first aid as soon as i could i just laid down. then i got scared, and i wanted to shoot myself, but then i thought about my parents. and, know it is just a leg, the knee is still there. i can walk. max: sometimes his stump hurts and swells, and he finds that frustrating. but he has largely gotten used to his new situation. translator: you see?

i have a tattoo, but they cut off my leg just before the tattoo. i was wounded in this leg, as well. one piece of shrapnel here, here, and in the bone, here. three in total. max: he needs his legs to work, to rejoin his unit and fight again as of infantry soldier, but he says doctors were not happy about his wish to go back to fight, and his family and girlfriend were fiercely opposed. translator: absolutely, everyone is against it, and my girl was, too. but i said, i will go. i have a duty to the state to protect it. because in ukraine, to be honest, nobody wents to fight --wants to fight. i was on vacation and my former friends were sitting at home, drinking and taking out. max: he has already been back to

the front line. of course, fighting is more difficult than before. he has to move quickly through mud and through obstacles. his comrades support him, he says, and his commanders are glad to have him back. translator: everything is decided by the medical commission. if a fighter wants to return, we do not object. with him, believe me, everyone is proud he did not lose heart, that he is doing well and asked for the position. max: there are no official numbers on amputees returning to combat, but he is not the only one. the last few months changed him, he says. translator: more anger surfaced and a desire for revenge. max: it is necessary -- it is necessary for me to take revenge. my personal opinion is that

after your injured, you need to come back, show that you can do more, that you will survive. max: after we left, he accepted an invitation to norway for further treatment. he is planning to return soon to take on the russians with a brand-new prosthesis. phil: nato leaders ended two days of talks in brussels and made a start on drafting the west's first integrated defense strategy since the cold war. initial steps, prompted by the war in ukraine, include an on protecting vital undersea cables and pipelines. several nato members have pledged for more military assistance for ukraine. differences remain over increasing overall defense spending and expanding the alliance. correspondent: more troops on high alert, better logistics, new capabilities. for the first time since the cold war, nato is drawing up a defense plans to address the

threat posed by russia, but to carry them out, allies have to increase defense spending. that was the message in brussels , where nato countries were urged to go beyond the target of 2% gdp agreed to 10 years ago. >> more and more allies agreed to the fact that 2% should not be some kind of ceiling but the minimum. because they realize that there is a need to increase defense spending. alexandra: the new spending goal is being discussed, as well as details of defense plans. as of yet, there is no breakthrough on sweden. the sweden defense minister joined the meeting in brussels, what his country's bid to join nato is being blocked by hunger reentered. despite -- blocked by hungary and turkey. despite others urging them to drop their objections. >> we believe we can become a

member of the alliance at the summit. the sense of urgency of sweden coming a full-fledged member is higher due to the work being undertaken in nato, by strengthening their plans. alexandra: during their meeting, nato defense ministers approved a new body to upgrade ties with kyiv and the ukraine nato cancel. several allies -- counsel. several allies pledged to increase their assistance, among them, germany, which announced a $2 2.7 billion euro aid package. translator: in addition, we will deliver missiles for the patriot system, an important sign to support the successful efforts of the ukrainian armed forces to ensure air defense, especially now in this special debate. alexandra: the next issue on the alliance calendar is the anticipated summit of nato leaders in lithuania in mid-july. phil: here is a look at more

stories making headlines around the world. the russian president vladimir putin says this military could destroy central parts of keys, but they have chosen not to for reasons he did not specify. ukraine said they shut down most missiles targeting the city. military authorities called on the you when to withdraw peacekeeping forces. the foreign minister cited what he called its failure to respond to the security challenges. the keepers were deployed by the un security council in 2013 to combat an islamist insurgency. germany has returned to centuries-old virtual masks to colombia, made in the mid-15th century. it is the latest in a string of cultural restitution spy germany and other european nations.

pope francis left hospital in rome after hernia operation. the 86-year-old had surgery more than a week ago. the vatican canceled papal audiences until sunday to give him time to recover. a cyclone has battered large areas of india and pakistan with intense winds and heavy rains hitting largely deserted coastal towns. nearly 200,000 people have been moved to emergency soldiers. the storm made landfall west -- emergency shelters. the storm made landfall west. correspondent: this family is taking refuge. this storm blew off the roof of their house. translator: i am sitting in the shop with my kids, and we have not eaten anything. we are terrified. we do not know what lies ahead. i do not know if my home is still there or not. correspondent: although weaker

than expected, the cyclone uprooted hundreds of trees and left thousands of homes without electricity. in india, heavy rains flooded several coastal areas. they have been struggling to access cut off villages. and pakistan, the impact has been smaller last year with less deadly floods, which affected more than 33 million people, so authority is hearsay they remain on alert. scientists say cyclones triggered by warm waters are becoming more frequent and intense. the storm formed in the european see, and it is now higher than four decades ago, leaving millions vulnerable to extreme weather events. phil: greece extended the search

for survivors of this week's shipwreck in the mediterranean. the boat carried hundreds of migrants when it capsized. most on board are missing. many families have not lost hope yet of finding their loved ones alive. correspondent: this is not how these brothers from syria would have thought to be reunited in europe, separated by gates in the greek port of kalamata, greece. on the left is one of the survivors of wednesday's boat disaster. >> when i was 18 years, i lived in libya almost two years. correspondent: a powerless voyage, ages 18, after two years stuck in libya, his story is not out of the or area. he is one of many migrants going to extraordinary lengths in search of a better life. a migrant facility near athens is the next stop for survivors. they will be registered and will

apply for asylum as they attempt to start a new life in europe. as greece comes to terms with one of the worst tragedies in its recent history, there is debate over who is to blame. authorities have arrested nine survivors, all from egypt, where the boat first departed, accused of people smuggling. greece's coast guard said migrants projected at times to help them, insisting they wanted to sail onto italy. the argument by critics. >> arguing they were justified in not providing assistance because passengers on the boat did not want it is unjustified. it is not a legal argument. the boat was clearly in distress and unseaworthiness overcrowded, and the hellenic coast guard and any vessel in the area had the paramount obligation to provide

assistance. correspondent: right groups say migrants avoid greece because of hostile treatment by authorities there. phil: the 2023 special olympics gets underway here in the german capital on saturday with athletes competing in 26 exports over eight days. dw caught up with one of the event's standout performers to find out more about the games for those with intellectual disabilities. correspondent: there is nothing they look forward to more than the start of a race. >> it is my passion, and i love sport. correspondent: a 22-year-old guinean sprinter is one of hundreds of athletes here in germany for the 2023 special olympics in berlin. translator: it is wonderful and just magnificent to be here.

correspondent: but these are not his first games. in 2019, he took gold and the men's 100 meters and abu dhabi. this time around, he is out to defend his title. translator: i dream is to become a star of the world over, for everyone to talk about me in guinea. i am proud. correspondent: before the final leg of the journey to the german capital, a brief spot of sightseeing at the cologne cathedral. he and his teammates have high aims for the upcoming games. translator: my goal is to make the special olympics better known. to help us grow. correspondent: should his wish be granted, his exporting dreams

will become reality at the 2023 special olympics. phil: timothy shriver is chairman of the special olympics, and his mother eunice founded in 1968, welcome to dw. what was your mother trying to achieve back then? timothy: i think she had a vision we could end discrimination against people with mental disabilities, and in those days, and i'm sorry to say still today, people assume those with an intellectual disability could not learn, does not have value, cannot be successful in the workplace. she thought if we could show the ability of people with intellectual disabilities, showing them as athletes, champions and heroes, that discrimination would start to yield and we would recognize everybody has a gift. that was her hope. phil: how has the event evolved in the 55 years? timothy: we started one event in chicago in 1968.

today, we are 188 countries. in a normal year, we would have one hundred thousand special olympic games and communities all over the world, where mothers, fathers and volunteers join together. today, we are challenging governments to join us in ending the discrimination for far too many, as many as 80% of children with intellectual disabilities never go to school ever, at all, because schools are closed. we are trying to challenge governments. they have committed to the sea rpd -- the crpd, but there has not been action in most places to make schools inclusive. we believe sport and play could be a vehicle for opening schools, and we are challenging them. we want to get 2 million new special olympics athletes into the movement playing a unified sport, children with and without intellectual challenges, plaintiffs: sports clubs together. phil: how does the categorization work? you can see how it works if you are talking about a physical sport or disability but when it

comes to intellectual disabilities, how does that work? timothy: intellectual disability is a movie definition, but from a sports point of view, our vision is that you compete against people of equal ability in your own division. phil: equal physical or mental? timothy: equal sports ability, so if you and i run 120 seconds, we against each other. if you run it in 30 and i run it and 50, we race against someone else. it is to find ways so everyone has a fair game so everyone has a chance to win, no matter their personal ability and what it might be. phil: there's it have a profile yet? it is quite interesting because you have the olympics, the paralympics which had a big boost in the last two or three events, where they very much burst through. how are you doing at bursting through? timothy: we are trying tobur

st through more. we are confident this country will embrace that the special olympics presents the challenges to be more inclusive and we hope it radiates across europe, where our brothers and sisters in the olympic and paralympic movement are fantastic allies. we have a distinctive message for people with intellectual disabilities, they have something unique to offer schools, communities, health care, employment, that has been largely unrecognized. our challenge is for this population to be seen as valuable and to allow their gifts to enable the rest of us. what we found in schools is if you include a child with intellectual disability, other children do better at the school climate improves, children see that everybody has got gifts, and they responded to that message with better performance themselves. phil: what are you looking forward to? timothy: tomorrow's opening ceremonies will be extraordinary with the entire world present,

180 plus countries represented, not by politicians and diplomats or scholars but by the world's most humble people. the world's most open, welcoming and inclusive people. i cannot wait to see what that will feel like in the olympic stadium that we last saw an olympic torch in 1936, and in those games, which were dominated by the specter of a violent, oppressive, and extraordinarily mean-spirited regime, today, we will now be welcoming into the same stadium, maybe the legacy of jesse owens, these new pioneers, these new rebels for dignity and vision. phil: we wish you well that. thank you for coming in and sparing the time, thank you. timothy: thank you for having me. phil: more news from the world of sports, ricky fowler and xander schauffele are made history at the u.s. open with -8 rounds of 62, the

lowest score ever. gregg berhalter will return to the u.s. men's national soccer team. following a public fallout with midfielder gio reyna and his family during the world cup at qatar, he left his position amid strife at the u.s. federation but is set to make a comeback as coach. you are up-to-date. more world news at the top of the hour. back in a moment to take you through the big stories of "the day" in "the day." joined me that. -- join me then. ♪

>> it is 10:00 p.m. here in the french capital. you are watching lf the -- "live from paris." officials arrive on a mission to promote peace as kyiv's counteroffensive continues amid claims of more small advances in the donetsk region. the united nations calls for an investigation into the sinking of a margaret boat off greece this week. so far, around 81 people are known to have died and 100 rescued, but several more are believed to have been on board.

and france's emmanuel macron hosts saudi arabia's mohammad bin salman in paris. the crown prince's second visit in a year has again sparked criticism from rights groups. thanks very much for joining us here in paris. first up, airstrikes have targeted the ukrainian capital shortly after the arrival of a top level african delegation. the delegation includes the president of south africa, senegal, and the comoros. also high on the agenda is insuring deliveries of grain and

fertilizer to their continent, which is heavily dependent on ukraine. >> shortly after arriving in kyiv, the african delegation was greeted by the familiar sound of air sirens. the seven representatives, including heads of state from south africa, egypt, and senegal, were ushered into a shelter. it was a stark reminder of the challenges standing in the way of their mediation efforts. >> unfortunately, this day started with another russian terrorist attack against ukraine. these missiles have shown pressure's true attitude in the face of peace efforts by world leaders. >> earlier in the day, the delegation visited the war-torn city of mucha -- of bucha, where they paid tribute to fallen soldiers.

after speaking with zelenskyy, the delegation leader outlined a series of key elements to help foster a path for peace. he has included a possible prisoner of war exchange but also calls to limit the war's impact on food security. >> both countries must ensure that there is movement of grain and fertilizers. what has also brought us here is that africa is also feeling the negative impact of this war. >> africa has suffered repercussions of the war in ukraine, which has severely impacted the price of grain and other essential goods. the delegation is now set to meet with vladimir putin in st. petersburg where they will hope to convince the russian president to sit down at the negotiating table. >> meanwhile, ukraine's

counteroffensive continues. kyiv claims to have taken back control of a string of small settlements in the eastern donetsk region. fighting is also raging in the seven kherson region where vast areas have been hit by floods after the destruction of a dam. >> ukrainian forces progressed on the separation direction in the south but also around the town of bakhmut in the east. it must be said in the southern direction, so separation direction, the main line of defense, the main russian line of defense is still 15 km away, so in any case, a fast breakthrough should not be expected in this counteroffensive -- at least not a fast breakthrough like the one we saw last year in the counteroffensive in the kharkiv region. this time, all the fields are

mined. this trenches in the russian artillery. for the moment, it is the very beginning of this counteroffensive, and the goal of the ukrainian is to try to shape this front line to find some areas where it will be possible to maneuver in the near future, and this move is already very costly in terms of human life. we have been told that a lot of ukrainian soldiers use their lives trying to preach the first line, like a few days ago. at the end of the day, the aim for ukrainian forces is to cut the land way to crimea and make the operation very complicated.

in any case, several military sources are calledn. it will take at least several months to achieve strategic success. >> next, the united nations has called for a in-depth investigation into the sinking of a migrant boat this week. some 100 were rescued, but several hundred more are feared to have gone down with the boat. the greek coast guard has denied criticism that it failed to act before the ship capsized. >> how many people were on this fishing boat? survivors have suggested as many as 750 were packed on, including up to 100 children. it took less than 15 minutes to sink completely, now one of

greece's biggest ever migrant tragedies. with scores dead and missing, the public is asking -- why didn't anyone interfere sooner? ask the shocking photo taken by greek coast guard helicopters shows people with open hands asking for help. the testimonies of the people we met were equally shocking. they told us they asked for help. >> the boat originated from an egyptian port and picked up its passengers in eastern libya. early tuesday afternoon, it was detected in the mediterranean by the eu border agency frontex. the greek shipping minister made repeated contact with the boat but was told each time it wanted to sail on to italy. around 1:40 am wednesday, the coast guard was notified that the vessel's engine had malfunction. just after 2:00 a.m., the boat

capsized, but the united nations says the coast guard's account is not the whole story. >> survivors tell us the boat capsized while being maneuvered as it was pulled by the hellenic coast guard. >> it is the latest deadly case of smugglers packing vessels full of desperate people willing to risk their lives to reach continental europe. nine egyptian's have been arrested, including the boat captain, but several european leaders are calling for a change in migration policy, including the creation of legal migration routes. >> next up, the french president has hosted saudi arabia's crown prince. on the agenda for mohammad bin salman's second visit, the war in ukraine, stability in the middle east, and an upcoming paris climate summit. his visit has drawn criticism from rights groups.

to talk about this, we are joined by the director at the middle east institute in washington, d.c. thanks very much for joining us. we mentioned in particular those three main points on the agenda. what are macron and the crown prince hoping to achieve? >> a few points here. as you said, this is the second visit for the conference to friends, signifying their relationship between saudi arabia and france in terms of trade, politics, energy security, and maritime security. i think the agenda this time, much will center around riyadh 2020. the two countries have been leading on multiple regional files in the middle east. they have been working in tandem

trying to make sure there is middle ground. there's a good working relationship between the two leaders. we have seen the way they interact together bilaterally but also in an international format. >> france, of course, is a major weapon's supplier to saudi arabia. we expect there are more deals on the table. this is another delicate point for macron, but is it confirmation that the world has essentially moved on from the jamal khashoggi assassination and human rights campaign? >> i think there is a different recognition taking place globally about saudi arabia. it is a country changing rapidly from a social standpoint. it is a country that is able to set the agenda for global energy, which is tied to global growth, so i think it is more recognition of where saudi arabia is and is going to be. we have seen president biden,

boris johnson, president macron, all these world leaders in saudi arabia. >> in a sense, they don't really have a choice but to deal with them. this second trip in a year is quite interesting for mohammad bin salman. it is quite long compared to some others. he does not leave until next week. he is hoping to host the world expo in 2030. what is he trying to achieve? >> many reasons for being in paris. there is a personal reason. he owns a parcel outside of the city. number two, like you said, the expo, which is important for his own objectives. he wants we ought to be branded as a global city, as a city of the future, so this is very important. number three, again, and's, like you said, is important on the

military level but also the commercial industrial level. riyadh air is a new project. they are trying to position the company as a regional and global air carrier. maybe you will see more deals around this new company. >> we are going to leave it there for now. thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> we stay with the united states because a gunman has been accused of mowing down worshipers at a synagogue in 2019 and has been found guilty by a jury in the state of pennsylvania. the 50-year-old is now to face sentencing with a jury at the district court of pittsburg to decide if he should be given the death penalty. the assault at the tree of life synagogue was the deadliest anti-semitic attack in u.s. history.

>> editors at two jewish outlets decided to join forces to cover the trial of the man who killed 11 people at a local synagogue in 2018. >> we were made to cover this story together. you have the people that are right there literally in the community, and then you have our people that were right there covering it before the shooter was identified. it is a public service to cover this story. it is not like a scooby -- scoopy kind of thing where someone is going to get a better story anyway. >> working together required adjustments, like deciding if they will use the gunman's name. >> to put his name out there gives him even more fame, and that's definitely something we want to avoid. >> we would always use a name because that is journalism, too,

but we had been since it is that we may not need to use it 30 times in one story. >> each day, a reporter from one news outlet or the other went to record the proceedings. >> personally, it has been incredibly beneficial to work together, to have another group of talented journalists who care about a story, who care about doing it right, who hold similar ideas as to what it means to get it right, what it means to do right by people. >> this partnership is far from over. the trial will enter a new phase with the same jurors deciding the gunman's sentence -- life in prison or the death penalty. >> this friday, march 9 months since the death of the young romanian woman mahsa amini and her arrest for not wearing her headscarf properly.

it gave rise to the largest protests in the country since 1970. >> tehran, september 16, 2022. a young woman dies after being detained by the morality police for failing to wear her headscarf properly. her name -- mahsa amini. the 22-year-old kurdish iranian woman who would become the symbol of an unprecedented protest movement. at the forefront of this revolt, the women who rally supporters and who defied authorities every evening throughout the country by burning their veils and cutting their hair in public places. they were joined by students and iran's ethnic minorities. the regime claimed mahsa amini died of a heart attack, but this video shows a young woman collapsing in front of a policewoman. facing its biggest threat in decades in power and after

months of brutal oppression, as a result, the regime created a climate of fear and protests became increasingly muted. the international community strongly condemned the authorities but did not impose sanctions against iran. in nine months, the demonstrations have resulted in more than 500 deaths and the arrest of tens of thousands of people. iranian authorities have also hanged at least seven men, and many are still awaiting trial. this is the case of two iranian journalists. their crime -- having revealed the death in custody of mahsa amini. they face the death penalty. >> next up, a cyclone has knocked out power and uprooted trees after barreling into india . there was some relief as the storm was weaker than initially feared. there have been two confirmed deaths since thursday. more than 180 1000 people in india and across the border in pakistan and fled.

>> pelted by wind and violent rainfall, 180,000 have been evacuated from their homes in border regions of india and pakistan. tropical storm, whose name means "disaster" in bengali has left 900 villages without electricity after it brought down power lines. the pakistani minister for climate change that the country had largely been spared. known to be in city, home to 20 million, storm caught the edge. one of the region's still reeling from pakistan's devastating floods of 2020, which killed over 1700 people. india, meanwhile, is still in

the storm's path with reports it will move north, where heavy rain has already been reported. this is just the beginning of cyclone season in the arabian sea where such weather events are not frequent. scientists worn more heavy storms will be a sign of global warming. the warmer the sea, the more powerful the storm. a minimum temperature of 26.5° celsius is needed for a storm to form. such weather events could become more widespread. >> next up, average global temperatures so far this june have been the highest ever recorded, and scientists say it is an indication that more are in a store and an el niño phase has begun that could last for years. >> heat waves, droughts, floods,

wildfires. these are disasters exacerbated by the el niño phenomenon. el niño impacts the climate, animals, and plant life. in mexico, hundreds of boats were found dead along the pacific coast. >> what we are finding is that birds are dying of starvation. that's the main problem. the starvation is happening because of this global warming and the el niño phenomenon in which water temperatures are rising, and that makes the fish that they feed on go deeper so they cannot find them within reach. >> el niño, a climate phenomenon, occurs when water builds up along the equator in the eastern pacific. first observed in 17th-century peru, el niño is cyclical and happens every two to seven years. this can cause wildfires and

droughts as well as outbreaks of diseases such as cholera. it was particularly devastating in 2016, the warmest year ever recorded globally, but as global warming intensifies, scientists fear that even worse consequences across the planet could lie ahead, resulting from a so-called -- resulting in a so-called super el niño. >> el niño could lead to 2024 being one for the record books, but that is by no means a guarantee. most of the warmest years on record that we have seen in the past have been due to the influence of el niño because it gives a little bit of an extra push on to global temperatures on top of the warming. >> the world has just had its warmer start to june on record. scientists are warning that more drastic action needs to be taken in order to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

>> we had now to japan, which has passed a raft of reforms on its sex crime laws, legislation that before 2017 had not changed in over a century. among the revised laws, raising the age of consent from 13 to 16, and expanding the legal definition of rape. it has been welcomed by activists, but they say much more needs to change. >> it is a landmark move from a country which has not changed its legal age of consent since 1907. on friday, japan passed new laws that raised the age of consent from 13 to 16 and changed the legal definition of rape. previously, japanese law defined rate as forcible sexual intercourse. importantly, the new legislation broadens that definition. some locals said they were in favor of the overhaul. >> if i was asked if minors can make clear judgments, i doubt that they can do so until they are 16 years old, so i think i'm

in favor of this law. >> others however were skeptical about if the reforms, which also criminalized voyeurism, would bring about change. >> i'm not sure, but i wonder if voyeurism will end, even with a law against it. >> campaigners who have been lobbying for years, have broadly welcomed the news, which aligns japan's sex crime laws with other countries'. the new law also extends the legal window for reporting rape from 10 to 15 years, but there is more work to be done since survivors of sexual assault in japan are often hesitant to report attacks due to shame and stigma. >> next up, for the second time in as many months, france's emmanuel macron has brought out the red carpet for billionaire elon musk.

you made a guest appearance at paris' viva tech trade convention where he called for more regulation on the rapidly expanding artificial intelligence sector. macron also wants the ceo of tesla to open a production plant here in france. >> emmanuel macron met with elon musk privately at the elysees powerless -- palace this morning, but no arrangements have been made. the president has been trying to convince elon musk to set up a giga factory in the north of france. they have met several times before, but it seems the french president is having trouble to convince him to do so. it would be a great boost to the french ecosystem and french companies. elon musk came to a tech trade show here in paris and spoke in front of 4000 tech enthusiasts. it was a in-depth interview in which he explained his childhood

but also his view of life. he spoke about space exploration and also the fact that we need to live a life where we are not trying to solve one problem after the other but where we find purpose and inspiration. he then went back on his different ventures and companies. he started with paypal, of course, and went on to talk about tesla and also twitter. the idea was also to try to understand a little bit more the persona. he is considered a controversial person, and one of the reasons why is because he tends to go against the current and not agree with experts in certain fields like ai safety or space exploration or even covid-19. he's also criticized for investing in certain companies like neuro-link, which is trying to invest and create microchips to invent a machine with a human brain. he says this is his way to make sure the human race will be able to keep up with artificial intelligence.

>> finally, how is this for a close shave? in the early hours of friday, a swiss village was nearly wiped off the map after a mountain towering above it collapsed. officials said the massive rockslide missed by a hair's breadth. the good news is you inhabitants were ready for it. all 84 of them evacuated over a month ago after reports the peak of the mountain had become unstable. that is it for the moment here on france 24. back in just a few moments. do stay with us. ♪ >> a program about women who are reshaping our world. we meet those who seek equality, be it in the board room or at the village world. the 51% brings you stories from across the globe about the women

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06/16/23 06/16/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the plaintiffs invited the supreme court to not only strike it down but got it. yesterday in a stunning defeat for the plaintiffs, the supreme court said no. amy: in a surprise decision, the supreme court has voted to uphold the indian child welfare act in a major victory for tribal sovereignty. we will get the latest, then go m