>> you're watching dw news, live from berlin. a third day of unrest after a french teenager is shot dead by police. clashes erupt, as thousands pay tribute to the 17-year-old, prompting fury and allegations of systemic racism inside law enforcement. also coming up, the u.s. supreme court strikes down affirmative action ruling race cannot be used as a factor in college admissions. media reports say one of

russia's top generals has been arrested over last weekend's failed revolts. he is said to have had advanced knowledge of the rebellion. plus virgin galactic launches its first commercial spaceflight. its craft, soaring 80 km above the earth's surface. ♪ i'm clear richardson -- claire richardson. to our viewers watching on pbs, in the united states, and to all of you around the world, welcome. in france, renewed unrest following the fatal shooting of a teenager near paris. police have used tear gas to disperse protesters after a vigil march for the victim. he was shot dead during a traffic stop on tuesday, and anger over the shooting has been fueling days of riots. the officer who fired the shot has also been charged with voluntary homicide.

reporter: the 17-year-old's mother led a fired up crowd in what started as a peaceful protest for her son. but simmering tensions boiled over, as people threw projectiles at police, who used to your guests. -- used tear gas. the vigil, turning to vandalism for some as cars were again set alight. it is the third day of unrest over the killing. the officer has been charged. but some say the problem goes much deeper. >> we live in france which is supposed to mean equality and freedom but that does not exist anymore. the police make the rules and to what they want. they decide to kill someone, they just do it. >> i would like it to never happen again. it shouldn't be possible to die like this, for no reason. who wouldn't want it to happen to my own children.

my eldest is 11. it could be him in five years, dying from a gunshot wound. this really needs to stop. reporter: authorities have struggled for days to control rioters. protesters have been to town hall outside the northern city of lilles, with public transport and -- also targeted. train and bus services have been shut down early. >> maybe there are other ways of discussing this problem rather than making trouble for people going to work. reporter: the government is deploying 40,000 officers and says it will take a zero tolerance approach to any torchings. >> more than a dozen police stations or barracks have been attacked. . they have shown great professionalism and very difficult -- in very difficult

conditions. i want to reiterate my support and confidence in them. i am standing by their side. reporter: curfews have been announced in some areas on the outskirts of paris, as authorities brace for more fury. >> our dw reporter in paris is following events and she has more on the case against the officer involved. reporter: you mentioned he has been charged. he is under investigation right now on voluntary homicide. they are still looking into the case, trying to establish it. the lawyer has been saying, according to local media, that he has been acting in a legal way and this was justified by law. the prosecutor, saying he does not think the conditions for

legality have been fulfilled. this is the beginning of legal proceedings. this will be later decided in court. >> these protests are about the boy but also systemic racism inside french law enforcement. tell us about what protesters have been demanded. -- have been demanding. reporter: a lot of protesters, we have heard it already in the report, are demanding for justice in the first place, but there are also a lot of people saying the police skills and of course you have to distinguish, they have been protesters that were peaceful, the big part of the people that have been peaceful that went to this much today, then you have of course people that were not that peaceful, we have seen quite some damage also over the last nights, and these people might also be angry, and they might ask for something else than just justice for now. it is an expression of deep

rooted anger. >> i think that is important to mention that it is just a small minority. there's been a huge police response. can you tell us exactly what we've been seeing there? >> yes. there has been an announcement out over this night, there will be 40,000 people all over the country. around paris, 9000. this is a very big police response. we have been in nanterre. we have seen policeman all over the place -- policemen all over the place. displaying tear gas against people who destroy things. >> the u.s. supreme court

has struck down affirmative action ruling that race cannot be considered as a factor in college and university admissions. the court's conservative majority ruled race programs at harvard and university of north carolina were unconstitutional. the ruling overturns a precedent many institutions had used for decades to boost minority enrollment. president joe biden sharply criticized the court's ruling and defended race admission policies. >> i believe our colleges are stronger when they are racially diverse. our nation is stronger because we are tapping into the full range of talent in this nation. i also believe that while talent, creativity and hard work are everywhere across this country, not equal opportunity -- equal opportunity is not everywhere across this country. we can't let this decision be the last word. we cannot let this decision be the last word. while the court can render a decision, it cannot change what

america stands for. america is an idea, an idea, unique in the world, an idea of hope, and opportunity, of possibilities, of giving everyone a fair shot, of living the one behind. -- leaving no one behind. >> i spoke to our washington bureau chief and asked her if whether the supreme court decision is the nail in the coffin for affirmative action. >> i think the ruling after a decades long practice of affirmative action where universities could take race into account in order to approve diversity -- as just mentioned. we have to keep in mind, affirmative action first made its way into policy in the 1960's. that was when all white schools slowly began admitting minority students. >> important to keep the historical context and perspective, too. we do have reports that president biden may be looking

into some kind of executive action. what can he realistically do, now that the highest court in the land has made this ruling? >> well, president biden pledged that today's supreme court ruling is not the last word. we also heard in this little clip you were just playing, that leaves question about what he really will do beyond the new recommendations for colleges and universities, which the department of justice will put out within the next 45 days were so. c president bidenlaire -- president but it long been -- today's decision along with the abortion decision but increased agitation from democrats to do so. the president said to report

after the statement, this is not a normal court. this is a process which will not happen overnight. >> strong remarks there from president biden. what other kind of reaction have we seen to the ruling so far? >> pretty predictable ones. many republicans are praising the decision. most of all donald trump, who implemented the three judges who made this decision possible. he said this is a great day for america. on the others like, we have not only democratic lawmakers who harshly criticized the ruling, but also former president barack obama and michelle obama who put out strong statements. michelle obama who attended harbert herself wrote, today my heart breaks for any young person out there who is wondering what their future holds. and then there are asian

american students who basically brought the case to the supreme court, they applauded the ruling, as they had made the argument that asian americans have been disseminated as the plan preferred over minorities over them. so we have a whole wide range of reactions over today's supreme court decision. >> thank you for bringing us up to speed. we can bring you up to speed now with other world news headlines -- activists have stormed the swedish embassy in baghdad in response to a copy of the koran being burned at a mosque in stockholm. social media videos show dozens of people inside the embassy courtyard. some set fire to a rainbow flag representing the lgbtq+ community. a british court has ruled the u.k. government's plan to deport asylum-seekers to rwanda is unlawful. it could not be considered a safe their country and there

is a risk migrants could face persecution. government is planning to appeal the decision. climate activist -- a climate activist, greta thunberg, meeting with president zimbabwe and kyiv -- president zelenskyy in kyiv. now to new revelations that could signal the start of a purge at the top of russia's military establishment. the moscow times and financial times report general sergey s. has been arrested on suspicion of involvement in yevgeny and the wagner group's failed rebellions. >> he was once the face of russia's war in ukraine. sergey nicknamed general armageddon for his brutality. putin sent them to your to turn the tide.

he took command of an army in crisis. -- to ukraine to turn the tide. he took command of an army in crisis. he began making his reputation in the 2000's. he ordered reprisals against civilians. he then commanded forces in syria and support of its government. he oversaw the brutal bombing of rebel held aleppo and 2016. -- in 2016. the following year, putin awarded him the hero of russia metal, the country's highest honor -- medal, the country's highest honor. in command in ukraine, russian forces changed tactics. have began -- they have begun to target ukraine's energy infrastructure. plunging millions into darkness and cold, and leaving them without water. put was pleased --

putin was pleased, giving him yet another medal. just a month later, he relieved him of command. this man took his job. he became his deputy. when the wegner group made its march on moscow, he loyally towed the line. >> i urge you to stop. the enemy is just waiting for the internal political situation to worsen in our country. >> question now is whether he knew more than he was letting on. >> retired brigadier general who served with the u.s. air force, i asked him whether putin has started cleaning house. >> i think the biggest surprise in this is we have not seen more harsh measures by putin. i think he's been detained and being investigated.

what putin needs to do to reestablish his authority is something that is far more grandiose than just a couple of interrogations and the rest -- and arrests. i'm surprised we have not seen that in the last four days were so. >> if it is true that one of russia's top generals knew about the mutiny and did not try to stop her, what does that tell us about putin's grip on power here? >> if you're going to be an authoritarian, you need to have authority. it is interesting to see there are probably many that sympathize with the thoughts about frustration and how the war in ukraine has played out. i think it indicates this at -- this authoritarian leader probably has less authority that may be would've expected six days ago. >> what would you have potentially expected from putin to assert that authority? >> i think he needs to do -- what he needs to do is what putin does successfully, be very strong and strident in his crackdowns amongst those within

the security establishment in russia, to demonstrate his authority and purge out those that are not loyal. and the fact that he doesn't -- he hasn't done that up to this point is probably indicative of the fact that putin himself questions whether he has the authority and the ability to actually cracked down the extent that he thinks he probably needs to. >> let's talk about the stakes here. we have heard the eu's top diplomat warning that a weaker putin is a greater danger. what is your take? a more unstable -- is a more unstable russia a more dangerous pressure here? >> i think in this case, putin has a couple of options. one would be to undertake this crackdown that i think maybe he is showing part of now. but i think if you ultimately wants to begin authority, he has to do something more grandiose. one of those things could be to lash out externally outside of russia. i think that is the danger joseph is talking about there. the better play for putin would be to understate the crackdown amongst the security forces there in russia and maybe consider using this as a pretext

to bring troops home from a feeling war in ukraine and show more security establishment presence on the streets of moscow and around russia. i think one of those things is the only play for putin now and hopefully you will take the one that is more reasonable by bringing troops home. >> how likely do you think that could be is an outcome? -- as an outcome? >> putin is looking at himself in the mirror and thinking about the last 16 months in ukraine and he realizes that while maybe we would've otherwise thought time was on the side of russia in this war, that probably now, it is more parent time is on the side of ukraine. the longer it takes for putin to establish his aims in ukraine, the less likely he is to be able to hold onto the authority he desires and maybe now this is the right pretext for him to pull troops home and establish his presence within russia instead of meddling outside of russia. >> thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us.

really appreciate your insights. the turmoil in russia is dominating a two day summit of eu leaders in brussels. the meeting got underway with the head of nato highlighting what he called divisions and russia's leadership. posting nato's defenses and shoring up a to are also top priorities. >> this time, eu leaders welcomed a special guest at their meeting in brussels. the nato secretary-general, jens stoltenberg. the ongoing war in ukraine made it seem necessary to show unity between the the transatlantic alliance and the european union. especially due to the recent events. >> the mutiny we saw over the weekend demonstrates there are cracks and divisions within the russian system. at the same time, it is important to underline that these are internal russian matters. >> however, eu leaders stressed

they had to further step up support for ukraine financially, militarily, and on the human attire inside. >> it's important we linked arms and say we are ready to hold out for a long time. >> especially those sharing a border with russia like lithuania, fearing the work at spillover, stressing the need to be five defense -- beef up defense. >> these serial killers, i called him this, they could emerge in belarus at any moment, and nobody knows when they could turn against us. >> besides current threats, leaders also discussed ukraine's future, a possible nato and eu membership, and how to rebuild the destroyed country. >> it is fundamentally wrong our taxpayers get to pay for something we haven't caused. it has to be on russia, it has

come from their assets. >> the eu's new migration policy is also on the agenda at the summit, as well is the question on how to get less dependent on countries -- from countries like china. where they were arranging on their doorstep, and has been, is, and will be for the foreseeable future ukraine dominating the talks. >> you are watching dw news. still to come on the show, writing the wind -- riding the wind. an unusual world record. stay tuned to see whether he succeeded. virgin galactic has launched its first commercial flight to the edge of space. the 90 minute mission took off from new mexico and flew 80 km above sea level. the team of italian researchers on board saw the earth's curvature and got to experience weightlessness. version wants to start regular commercial flights and a new era

of space tourism. hundreds of enthusiasts have paid up to $450,000 for their tickets. who better to discuss these kinds of milestones than the editor of space draft dot com. virgin galactic is joining the commercial space travel game a lot later than planned. what took them so long here? >> in the space industry, when there's frustration on schedules -- what they've done here whether you are flying something with wings or a capsule is they are trying to do something very quickly that's ever been done before. and it took a little longer than they thought but now they have a spacecraft that can literally take off from any airport anywhere and go up into space and come back, and conceivably do it the next day. you want to try and have this mimic the aspects of commercial

jet travel, where you go somewhere and not come home -- things like that. >> we heard the tickets are going at around half $1 million a pop. how long do you think it's going to be before people like you and me could enjoy one of these flights? >> my travel budget is kind of low. . your producer might have a better budget to work with. [laughter] >> let's hope. >> it's not an issue. it's cost. it's like anything that costs more. it's cheaper to send these guys up to do research into space. it comes down to whether -- what people spend money on these days. there's a large market globally to do this. at the end of the day, it'll be like air travel. it'll be champagne, first class service. someone will find a cheaper way to do it. now we fly everywhere we want. >> that's a big question. should tourists even be going to space? it is a huge hit to the environment after all. >> well, it to the environment

-- hit to the environment, it depends on what the propulsion system is. the people going up is rather small right now. i'm speaking as somebody who lived at a space camp and watched that traffic. a lot of people don't respect the environment. it takes a lot to get there. i don't have a good answer for you other than, is happening. it isn't the first time a lot of people with means have wanted to do extraordinary things. and it won't be the last. >> thank you for taking the time to bring us up to speed. the editor of spaceref.com. i can imagine most of us would love to kick back and relax after reaching the ripe old age of 100. if not much sooner. but that is not the case for this next scandinavian skydiver who has now flown into the record books. reporter: putting on a helmet and getting ready to take off.

but not in any form of aircraft. [laughter] the 102-year-old prepares to become the oldest person ever to fly in a wind tunnel. >> you don't believe i will break a world record, do you? when you look at me, you don't believe it. reporter: a former skydiver, kristofferson is no change -- -- is no stranger to challenging sports and has been in the tunnel twice before. >> we only just made it. reporter: a group of family and friends watched the war veteran make history and could not contain their pride. >> i'm very impressed with him. it's really cool that i have a grandfather who has set a world record now. >> is very exciting. it is the world record we were hoping for. we thought, ok, maybe it won't work. then it went really well. reporter: several witness statements had to be signed, in

order to secure an official new world record. >> let's get some tennis news. top players continued to gear up for next week's wimbledon. the current world number one, iga swiatek, and coco gauff, both made it into the semi finals at two different grass court events, showing strong former head of the classic grand slam in london. reporter: iga swiatek has been in fine performance of late, underlining her status as a world's top women's player once more at the open. the tournament in germany is one of several warm-up events being played on grass courts ahead of next week's wimbledon. iga swiatek meet her russian rival in straight sets, marking a tense straight victory -- tense straight victory -- 10th straight victory. she successfully defended her title. the quarterfinal win here comes a day after she was confirmed as the top women's

seed for the upcoming grand slam in london. cementing her status as the women's wimbledon favorite, even though the 22-year-old has never made it past the fourth round. over in england, coco gauff also sealed the semi final spot. the 19-year-old faced her doubles partner and fellow american jessica pegula, who was the third seat at the eastbourne international, gauff was ranked fifth here, but the teen sensation slipped her way to a win to advance. head of what so far has been her week is grand slam, gauff looks bang on form. >> the former women's tennis while number one has announced her return to competition three years after retiring. the 32-year-old has been given -- has given birth to two children since calling it quits. now she aims to inspire the kids with her comeback. the danish player returns at the u.s. open, where she was a finalist in 2009 and 2014.

she was granted a wildcard entry. just before we go, a reminder of our top story at this hour. thousands have marched near paris to pay tribute to a 17-year-old who was shot dead at a traffic stop. the shooting unbleached nationwide protests and riots. a police officer has been charged with a voluntary homicide. you are watching dw news, live from berlin. and a few moments, i will have an in-depth review of the world's top stories on "the day." i will see you soon. thanks for watching. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> you are watching "live from paris" here on france 24. a french police officer is still in custody, now facing an investigation for intentional homicide, killing a 17-year-old youth in a traffic stop has ignited anger in the paris suburb where the tragedy took place. the u.s. supreme court this thursday banned use of race and ethnicity in university admissions, dealing a major blow to a decades-old practice that

boosted educational opportunities for african-americans and other minorities. fans of occupied ground -- gains of occupied ground gained by kyiv. nato chief and stilton bird and french -- and ukraine's -- the nato chief and the french president -- native chief and ukraine's president took center stage at the united nations. you're watching "live from paris." thank you very much for being with us. extra police on patrol in france as a third night of disturbances is expected in the wake of a death that has shocked and angered the country. this thursday at the request of avery mother in a paris suburb,

a peace march that took place -- at the request of a bereaved mother. this after a 17-year-old was shot and killed by a police officer. this after the incident was caught on camera by a bystander, contradicting the report by police. the officer facing investigation for intentional homicide. the last two nights have seen disturbing scenes. the anger has spread to several other communities in different cities across france and police reinforcements have been sent in at a time when confidence in the force has reached a new level. -- a new low. these images show the aftermath of what has been happening in the northwestern paris suburbs. let's bring in our reporter. she joins us live from the scene. tell us what you can see. tell us where you are.

>> i am about 20, 30 meters away from a building which was set on fire an hour or so ago. a fire really took hold very quickly. suddenly everything -- suddenly everyone felt things had gone too far. many young people were throwing projectiles and shouting obscenities. that suddenly stopped as the firefighters were allowed to come through. some of the people here clapped as firefighters were able to get flames under control quickly. they are now spraying water on what remains of that bank, and there was a very tense 15 minutes or so were we understood there was a six-year-old girl in

one of the apartments above the bank. was brought to safety by a neighbor who managed to get in while the fire was raging. we are waiting to hear if anyone else may have been in the building. firefighters are still checking, spraying water, going in, seeing if anyone else can be inside. at the moment, we are not getting news that there have been any wounded so far in that building. mark: earlier, there was a repeat of the call for calm from the family of the 17-year-old boy who was shot dead by the police officer. is there any sign this will be respected? what you just told us suggests that it will not. >> certainly where i am right now, there are certain people getting fired up again. i just saw someone break a slab of paving.

we've seen the police come back and forth. they have these flash ball devices, a hand-held weapon device which is used in french demonstrations as well as riots as a kind of method. they can cause serious harm if projected in the wrong place at the wrong time. things are even more tense on the other site of the avenue where we will soon be heading ourselves. i can see black smoke billowing out from an area over there. that's the area where the 17-year-old was from. i spoke to a grandmother who knew him. she told me she knew him as a young boy. she knows his grandmother and mother. she says there are people at the grandmother's house just a few hundred meters from where i'm

standing, so the emotion here is very strong. that fire in that bank in the of the test in the building where there are apartments people live, i think many felt it was a step too far and could be counterproductive. the message people want to send out here is they feel forgotten. businesses and insurance companies have offices there with glass fronts, just a few hundred meters away. they feel they have not had the opportunity to better themselves in life, and they feel they are unfairly treated by police. but this kind of violence is also a step too far and counterproductive.

>> the development this evening is that fire at a bank premises where, as you can see, residential buildings above. claire will bring us development's from the scene as it happens. thank you very much. an atmosphere of tension and distrust. the death of a 17-year-old crystallizing anger at a state that many see is set against them. >> police race to restore calm to the streets. anger boiled over during what began as a peaceful march for a 17-year-old shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop. >> in many cases, i trust the police, but there's an increase in the number of deaths for no good reason, and that should not happen. we deserved to be safe in our

country. >> we cannot simply keep calling for calm. we have to go beyond saying that things should calm down. >> authorities are pushed to double the number of officers in the region of paris to more than 5000. that was not enough to stop clashes on thursday. demonstrators hurled stones at police, who swarmed with tear gas to disperse crowds. earlier, it was the boy's mother who led a crowd of over 6000 as they marched the streets. along with beefing up police presence, bus and transit services shut down early as a safety measure. authorities in the town located in the southwestern suburbs of paris announced an overnight curfew set to be in place from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. monday. >> good evening to you. the situation there, you

followed developments clearly, but this is something that has gone beyond the paris region and spread further. >> that's right. this is the third night of protest. we are keeping and i on several cities where there were problems previously. i can tell you that things seem to be heating up in marseilles, which is a city in the south, on the port. protests near the port, tear gas being fired on protesters. we are seeing fires in the streets. we are trying to confirm these reports. we do not have reports of arrests or injuries, but by all appearances, things are heating up. a city close to us of about 50,000 south of paris, a tramway was burned there last night, so officials have put a curfew in place in effect right now from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. that will run through monday. again, 40,000 police officers

deployed across the country. 5000 just here in paris. mark: that's just a goal kick away from our studios. one might expect in similar tactic might be taken in other places. we heard from the prosecutor in the case, the attorney representing the police officer. how do we expect this case to proceed? >> first of all, we should say the officer has not officially been named. he has been suspended from his job, detained on charges of voluntary homicide. that is a rare step. an attorney for an officer spoke to a french radio station saying his client is having an extremely hard time being held in custody. the attorney went on to say his client should not have detained, that he acted "within the framework of the law." i'm sure that is something prosecutors would take an argument with.

the family of the 17-year-old expressed disappointment that the second officer who was at the scene was not also charged, also disappointed that there were no charges related to making false statements. let me explain that -- a key piece of evidence in this case is video footage of the actual shooting. there were reports on the french media initially citing police sources that the driver had plowed into officers with his car. by all appearances from what we see in the video, we don't see that, so that's where the allegation of making false statements comes from. the family plans to file complaints against both officers involved. mark: we will be perhaps showing that video at some point during this program. the scene behind you, claire was describing to us the situation there, as we can see seems in terms of the fire under control. let's on in the apartments above -- lights on in the apartment above.

i know we can count on you for more throughout the evening. thank you. we, of course, will keep you up-to-date with all developments across france as this story goes into a third night. just to remind you, peace still in custody over the killing of a 17-year-old tuesday morning. let's go to ukraine. three days of mourning declared for the victims of a restaurant packed with civilians in and each and ukrainian town struck by two russian missiles. at least 11 people killed. this includes three children. over 60 people were injured. the attack happened at the premises were packed with diners. meanwhile, reports say ukraine is making gains on the ground occupied by russian invaders in the dundas. russian kamikaze drones are still a big problem. ukraine is trying to overcome this by manufacturing these drones in ukraine.

>> it may look like some sort of gaming room, but this is a serious training center. these trainees belong to ukrainian armed forces undergoing two weeks of training to learn how to fly drones with vr headsets. munitions are attached later. >> at least we can save one javelin missile because it can go as far as javelin missile, and costs as much as $600. javelin missile costs as much as $80,000 to 100 thousand dollars. >> i asked to come here. technology moves on and we have to move with it. >> the drones are a symbol here in ukraine. the challenge is to put them in the air faster than russia, which has been catching up according to the person in charge of this program. >> they are trying to copy what we are doing.

first, it was with commercial drones. i believe it will get worse, and if someone in the government did realize this technology should be used, they will spend a lot of money, maybe ineffectively, but they will produce a lot. we are short of parts. ukraine just sucks everything from all countries around. all parts produced in china are contracted either by us or by russians. >> alexi is in charge of building these, because he drones. it takes him about an hour to build one. he is currently working on a solution to get around the countermeasures put in place by russian forces. >> they use very powerful frequencies on the ground to jam ogre drones. all we can do for now is to let the guys get confirmation that in such and such a place there are no countermeasures.

only then do they fly. >> once assembled, the drones are then delivered to units. the special forces captain is due to see them today. he says he needs 100 such, because he drones to keep his position as he says he needs 100 such, because he drones to keep his position -- he says he needs 100 such kamikaze drones to keep his position. >> it is clear that putin comes out of this crisis weekend, but a weaker putin is a greater danger, so we have to be very much aware of the consequences. >> the u.s. supreme court has banned the use of race and ethnicity in university admissions.

it deals a major blow to a ticket-old practice that boosted education opportunities for african-americans and other minorities. the justices broke 6-3 along conservative/liberal lines which came after years of right-wing antipathy to what has been referred to as affirmative action programs one year after overturning the guarantee of a woman's right to have an abortion. the court's conservative majority again demonstrates its readiness to scrap liberal policies set in law since the 1960's. president joe biden said the supreme court is rolling back years of positive progress. >> in case after case, including recently just a few years ago in 2016, the court has affirmed and reaffirmed this view, that colleges could use race not as a determinant factor for admission but as one of the factors among many in deciding who to admit

from a qualified pool of applicants. today, the court once again walked away from decades of precedent as the dissent has made clear. the dissent states, "rolls back decades of precedent and momentous progress." i agree with that statement. mark: let's get some analysis. former prosecutor stephen dreyfus joins us now. biden saying this is rolling back years of progress. what is your opinion? >> well, certainly, it rolls back at least 20 years of judicial opinions endorsing the idea that ensuring diversity is a compelling state interest that justifies discrimination based on race, but i think it is important to note that the court's opinion left an escape clause. at the end, the court said that

we are not saying you cannot consider race at all -- for example, you can consider "an applicant's discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise." what they are basically saying is it has to be an individualized determination, and they recognize for the first time that admissions to these highly selective universities is really a zero-sum game. if somebody is selected for admission simply because of his or her race, it necessarily means that somebody else is denied admission simply because of his or her race, and that is what the court is finding improper here, but it still will be possible for admissions committees to consider the particular student's

accomplishments, including overcoming racial discrimination if that is something that that student has encountered. i think we are in for many, many years of litigation where disappointed applicants will be challenging the decisions of universities claiming that they violate today's decision, and we will have more judicial decisions explaining really what the court meant. mark: this seems to me that it is playing into the hands and political views of a certain right-leaning group within the united states, and certainly if you are not white, you might be looking at this as another slap in the face after many years of problems, for instance involving policing. >> keep in mind that the plaintiffs in this action, the people that brought the action were largely asian students who considered that they themselves a racial minority have been adversely affected by the

preference being given to blacks and hispanics, but principally blacks, by these admissions policies, so it is not just for white students. i think the point that the court is making is at race alone should not be considered. otherwise, as one of the judges pointed out, you could have a very wealthy son or daughter of a black investment banker who would get preference because he or she is black over a poor first-time college applicant who happened to be white or asian, and the court says it should not be the color of the skin that counts. it should be the accomplishments of the individual. how that is fleshed out in future cases remains to be seen. mark: indeed, it seems like a very laudable thing to say. we will wait and see how it shakes out. thank you, as ever, for giving

us that insight when it is hard to explain sometimes how or why things shake out. let's turn to sports. but who is terming the football merry-go-round, and i'm hoping the evanston football club find somebody. tell me what you have. except this time, it is manchester united. the red devils find they have a midfielder. you can celebrate. he is going to sign from chelsea. the english star reportedly being snapped up for a fee of 55 million pounds. that agreement reached on thursday for the 24-year-old. he was a chelsea academy product.

33 goals, 37 assists, 195 appearances for the blues. and with that champions league in 2021, the highlight so far. so mason meant heads to manchester united, and that merry-go-round for midfielders well underway. let's get some tennis news now. she was number one for a while but decided to retire three years ago. now carolyn wozniak he has announced she will be returning to action. he finished with 30 titles including a 2018 australian open, but she announced her retirement in 2020 and said she wanted to start a family. now on twitter today, she said she got to make up for lost time and still has goals to accomplish, she's coming back to play and cannot wait. the tennis fraternity cannot wait, either. we will see what happens ahead of wimbledon. in the world of cycling, it is

full steam ahead as teams train for the start of the tour de france coming up on saturday. one of those hitting the bikes is the slovenian two-time winner looking to regain his crown, having lusted to the reigning champion. chances are good, though, for team uae. the rider has enjoyed a stunning season. we will see if he does manage to recover from breaking his wrist in time for the grantor. let's listen to him. >> i think this first week is going to be really tough, really explosive. you have basically everything. it is going to be interesting. when i saw the course for the first time, i was really excited for the first week, but with my injury, i'm a little bit less excited for the first week.

>> if the 24-year-old does come back to his best, it is it to be a vintage battle with last year's winner. he will be backed up by a team bristling with talent. >> doesn't matter who says who is the favorite. it depends on who is in the best shape in the end. probably we will look a lot to each other. it is hard to tell which one is the most difficult because there's a lot of superhigh stages, and in general, it is a lot of climbing this year, a lot of mountains, and i think especially the second and third week will be super hard and very

decisive. >> we cannot wait to see what they can do. finally, let's go back to france where the head of the embattled wendy 24 paris olympics says he is bracing for intense criticism as police investigate contracts, but he says there have been no comparison with corruption and ethics scandals that have dogged the olympics flagship event. here is the former olympic canoeing star and chief organizer of the paris games about what he has to do. >> there's still a lot of things that are not ready. it is normal. the games are a year away. there's a lot of things that are not ready today in terms of transport, in terms of security, in terms of catering. the challenges are so enormous. serving 13 million meals during the olympic games is colossal, so all of that is not ready yet, but today, what reassures me is that these issues are on the

table. we are in talks today with the french state, the city, the various players and companies involved to find solutions, but that is normal. i used to be a top level athlete. it is never good to be ready a year before. >> he says it's normal. that's what he says. little they will be ready on time. it is one of these things, isn't it? whatever happens with the olympics, it is a story, and we are always on the case. thank you very much indeed. stay with us. more to come "live from paris." >> these muslim men have been accused of seducing hindu women in order to convert them to

islam. >> there have been cases where muslim youths have been subjected to physical attacks merely for walking alongside hindu women are sharing a cup of coffee in a cafe for attending their birthday celebration. >> this conspiracy theory is just one facet of the rising islamophobia that has gripped india since the ruling bjp came to power. the france 24 observer's investigated the far right dis-information is pushing this divisive narrative. "love jihad: unmasking an indian conspiracy theory," a report by the france 24 observers.

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06/29/23 06/29/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we have state cooperation with the central african republic. it is supported by the necessary agreements and of course our military advisers will continue their activities in the necessary demanded quantity. amy: after the wagner's aborted mutiny in russia,