24. these are the headlines. biden says five innocent americans held peninsula -- held prisoner in iran are on their way home. in return, $6 billion in assets have been unfrozen. the u.n. hopes the prisoner swap will lead to a lowering in tensions. italy has extended the detention of migrants alleged to have no right to stay. it is a move that comes in the wake of more than 10,000 people trafficked.

the parents of a french schoolboy who killed himself after complaining of being bullied say they are disgusted by the response of authorities that included a threatening letter warning they could face prison for slander. this is live from paris. ♪ >> thank you very much for being with us. five american prisoners are heading home and a swap with iran. they were freed monday with nearly $6 billion in iranian assets unfrozen. in spite of the deal, tensions are certain to remain high between the u.s. and iran. locked in various disputes including the nuclear program. you and says they hope the prisoner swap will lead to a lowering of tensions.

>> a warm embrace on the tarmac of the airport as five u.s. nationals detained on spiting charges were released in a prisoner swap with iran. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken hilty exchange, but warned washington would not soften its stance toward the islamic republic. >> we intend to bring so many other americans home. president biden has demonstrated he is prepared to make tough and difficult decisions. we continue to be determined to take whatever steps necessary to deal with actions by iran in a host of areas that are profoundly objectionable. >> the deal, which also saw washington release of five iranians accused of spying and technology theft, had been in the work for months. it was's under condition of iran getting access to some $6 billion in assets previously frozen due to u.s. sanctions. blinken said the money would only be used to purchase

humanitarian goods. critics argue this will be difficult to verify. iran's president expressed hope that the deal, concluded ahead of a human general assembly, can lead to greater cooperation between the countries. >> this was a purely humanitarian action and it can certainly be a step upon which other humanitarian actions can be taken in the future. >> hoping to deflect accusations by republicans it was being soft on iran come of the biden administration insists that this first prisoner swap since 2016 will not impact u.s. policy in the middle east and said it remained determined not to let tehran acquire nuclear weapons. >> let's bring you the latest on -- where 10,000 migrants were traffic last week. the -- government struggling, has passed measures to lengthen the time they can be detained. they say it will ensure that people who have no right to

remain are repatriated. the french interior minister is in rome. >> hundreds of migrants continue to arrive on the italian island every day. prompting malone a's government to take action monday, extending the detention period for said migrants from 135 days to 18 months. the move still has to be ratified by the italian parliament with the president of one ngo speaking out. >> i believe the issue is to not criminalize these people, but above all, invest. knowing among other things that almost all of these migrants were arriving do not stay in italy. >> italy saw -- italy passed the

southernmost island has seen a major influx of myron's with 10,000 people arriving last week. overwhelming the migration center built to house just 400. prime minister giorgia meloni has launched an appeal for european solidarity. ursula or vonda lien is to visit lampedusa sunday, offering a plan. french interior minister traveled to the italian capital to discuss european cooperation. france anticipating an increase of migrants at its italian border. or than 127,000 migrants have arrived so far this year according to government data. almost double the same period in 2022. >> we are watching for developments on that situation on the island of lampedusa. >> united nations general assembly gets underway monday.

-- try to kickstart action to achieve the 17 goals adopted by the world leaders back in 2015. developing countries consider these crucial to closing the widening inequality gap between the worlds which and poor countries. among them, end poverty and hunger and ensure every child on earth gets equality. achieve gender equality, make significant inroads in tackling climate change and create universal access to affordable, sustainable and modern energy for all. our correspondent sent us this from new york. >> united nations secretary-general has called it a dysfunctional family. global tensions will be as apparent as ever when world meat -- world leaders meteor. the war in ukraine expected to overshadow the event. developing countries from the global south call for more attention to be given to other crises. ukraine's zelenskyy expected to speak in person for the first

time since the war started. approximately 150 heads of state to attend, the only -- joe biden pass absence is nothing out of the ordinary, but neither french president emmanuel man -- emmanuel macron no rishi sunak coming has raised eyebrows. -- has insisted it is not vanity fair, but face-to-face meetings are hugely important for diplomacy. they will meet separately with zelenskyy and sergey lavrov. >> i would love to have a chance to be able to mediate in order to have peace talks. >> western powers will face a balancing act as they try to make sure the global south continues to isolate russia on the world's stage. >> when russia launched its invasion of ukraine, it struck at the heart of the u.n. charter. we will continue to pursue a

just and durable peace in line with the charter's core principles. >> the week kicks off with a sustainable development goals summit. basically a global to do list. some member states have not made good on promises. >> you don't invest in development, you don't invest in people, you create instability. more conflict, more unconstitutional changes in government. >> this year, the onus will be on western powers to show the global south that they are listening. >> we are watching that situation at the united nations. france's prime minister has hailed her government's plan to sell cutprice fuel or petrol pumps at a loss. to reduce the cost of living for many families, economy minister bruno le maire made the announcement earlier. beijing has summoned the german

ambassador to china after the foreign minister -- called xi jinping a dictator in the latest flareup of tensions between the countries. beijing and berlin ties are more and more strained as the -- the german government takes a tougher stance on human rights and taiwan. this comes as china sent warplanes into the airspace around taiwan this weekend. meanwhile, china's foreign minister is in moscow for what has been described as security talks. vladimir putin still seeking outright chinese backing for his war on ukraine. let's get broader analysis -- fellow for international political economy of the council on foreign relations. also author of the book "sovereign funds: how the communist party of china finances its global ambitions." taiwan, an issue that is clearly placing beijing in a tight spot.

>> yes. thank you for having me. you are right. taiwan is a hotspot issue for china and for china's relationship with the united states. in the current situation, especially following this meeting with jake sullivan, both sides emphasized that this is a candid, constructive meeting. china did the size that taiwan is the absolute redline that the united states, or any other country, cannot surpass. from that perspective, this military exercise is an attempt from beijing to sort of internalize taiwan as part of mainland china strategy. at the same time, we need to keep in mind that beijing has also been offering carrots, which is to offer a new coherent development plan between the

province just across the street from taiwan and even allowing taiwan's younger generation to use very similar national id cards as mainline people. the broad stroke is that beijing has been offering both carrots and sticks. it is kind of consistent with beijing's taiwan strategy. >> this is incredibly clear the way you are expressing it, as always. let's jump in the issues of people who would be in taiwan looking to the sky and seeing so many warplanes from the mainland. i am wondering, what is china actually trying to achieve through this military harassment, which is how many see it? >> taiwan's defense ministry people definitely use the word harassment. there are two ways to interpret it. it happened over the weekend when jake sullivan was meeting with the chinese foreign

minister emphasized the issue of taiwan being discussed during the meeting. at the same time, taiwan has an election coming. the progressive party, perhaps if the presidential candidate gets elected. that is going to further raise tensions. from that perspective, i think that this increase in frequency of the mainland to conduct military exercise, flying warplanes, is part of a warning. >> at this time, we are speaking about taiwan but the other side of the coin in many ways is what's happening between beijing and moscow. the foreign of china currently in russia for what has been described as strategic consultations. which is that mean? people might be suspecting this

is china getting involved in what is happening in ukraine. >> you are right, this is a strategic security consultation meeting between china and moscow. this is not the first one. this is the 18th of this kind of meeting. in any other year, this kind of meeting perhaps would not have been picked up by media. however, this time is interesting and different in the sense that it happens after russia's war against ukraine. while the west has been saying this is prudent's invasion ukraine and china has not declared that an invasion. second, there is a possibility of -- for the belton road forum, which would be the third. if he goes, that would be the third. this is very important because

first of all this is going to be the first in person visit to beijing after the olympics. it would also be their first trip he makes to beijing after the international criminal court issued a warrant against putin. while china is not a member of the icc, it proves to be a delicate situation. >> very delicate because effectively, this is china reminding -- aligning itself with a wanted criminal. the u.s. is saying that china has been aiding russia economically and providing key technology since putin decided to invade. china, in a very delicate situation. >> absolutely. while from the u.s. perspective, china's lack of condemnation as well as china's continuing buying russian energy has become

china's support to russia. while the chinese government as well as chinese people have declined to comment on china's support, and even denied china's support. so far, there is no material evidence suggesting china has been helping russia to bypass western sanctions. if you look at chinese bank assets, not just the russian's increasing foreign exchange reserves, but chinese investments and chinese banks holding rushing -- russian assets have increased. >> of the council on foreign relations, thank you for joining us. we appreciate your time. you are very frank in your assessment of the situation. >> thank you for having me. >> we are watching developments on that situation here. next, the parents of a french school boy who killed himself

after complaining of being bullied at school said they were disgusted by the response of french authorities. it included a threatening letter saying they could face prison for slander. the 15-year-old boy killed himself on september the fifth, one day after going back to class. after the long summer break. >> they bury their son friday. now, nicola's parents breaking their science for that rating their silence. they received this letter in which the parents were approached for the way in which they reported the alleged bullying to their son's school. after refusing staff of failing to take the matter seriously, they were reminded that slanderous allegations are punishable by up to five years in prison and a 45,000 euro fine. >> we are both outraged and stunned to receive such letters. his father and i did not

understand it. we still do not understand it. >> the parents had previously contacted the headmasters about the repeated insults he had received about his appearance and his family. warning that they would hold him responsible should a tragedy happen to their son due to the lack of action. >> the coldness, the lack of empathy, you can't -- we can't understand how the authorities could have been comfortable sending this letter. they would have had several people read it too. >> the government has promised to make tackling bullying a priority. >> this letter is a disgrace. a disgrace. >> -- met with the parents earlier this month. several parents have come forward to criticize the lack of support they and their children have received from schools across france. >> very said, tragic story here in france. time for business.

a growing trend called for inflation. some supermarkets in france have taken food producers over that. >> is the name suggests, it is a business tactic that is used to try to reduce costs very quietly. recently, many food manufacturers had been curbing the impact of inflation by reducing the quantity of their product while charging the same, or even higher prices to consumers. in france, some supermarket chains have longish a complaint -- have lodged a complaint. >> naming and shaming brands from nestlé to unilever, french supermarkets are putting up inflation warning signs. as products have decreased in size without corresponding price reduction. -- so far has singled out 26 products they accuse of hidden inflation. the shrinkage of this ice-t has

resulted in a 40% increase in price per liter. >> there is a lack of honesty. the customer can be deceived because the product appears to be identical to the previous products they are used to buying. >> the supermarkets are aiming to put russia and -- pressure on consumer goods companies in upcoming negotiations. -- says companies are not cooperating on efforts to cut the price of thousands of staples. some brands like this ice cream made the decision as nutritional reasons, an excuse that does not wash with customers. >> avoid this product because it means the company does not give a damn about me. >> at the end of the day, it is the price that counts. >> consumer groups say it is a -- process that others are guilty of. >> position yourself as the brand that he defends consumers by naming and shaming brands is

always a good idea in terms of communication. we just have to make sure you never get caught at your own game. >> translation has come under fire -- shrink inflation has come under fire from the government that says companies will be able to -- there november. the french government is trying to lift a ban on retailers selling petrol at low cost. prices of diesel at the pump started rising again over the summer after the opec plus cartel cut crude oil production as an effort to ease the burden of inflation on households. bruno le maire says a draft law is set for debate in october and could come in to force by early december. some economists warned that it could give a competitive advantage to big supermarket chains that also run petrol stations and could even tempt them to deceive consumers. >> some large retailers could be

tempted to slightly increase prices on the shelves to try to compensate the lost revenue through high prices of in-store products. >> let's check in on trading action. all three chairs ended the day flat as investor focus remains firmly on the federal reserve's next policy meeting wednesday and whether it will keep interest rates unchanged. in the united states, an unprecedented coordinated strike at all three of the largest american carmakers is now on its fourth day with no signs of a breakthrough. united auto workers union and the owner of chrysler resumed negotiations monday after talks over the weekend saw little progress. more than 12,000 workers have walked off their job in targeted strikes at ford, general motors and so lantus. currently only three plants are affected. the union is warning to expand the washouts.

>> thank you very much indeed. time for fake. kathleen, good evening to you. we are looking at the migration crisis there with some 10,000 or more people trafficked. let's tell it like it is because they are not just migrants, they have been people trafficked. from africa to italy. but there are take images online? >> as you said, struggling to cope with the surge, fake images are circulating online to aggravate or amplify the gravity of the situation. let's begin with this post, posted today, then later deleted on x where the user claims that the migrants in lampedusa are

getting restless. before being deleted, the video reached over 130,000 views. let's take a looking at this video where we see a group of people getting into a huge violent fight outside a nightclub. it is dawn time, we can see italian police cars and law enforcement officials as people claim the -- the people fighting in the video are from lampedusa. >> if you have just have people trafficked, you go straight to the nightclub don't you? there is the first thing that makes you think this is not true. tell us what these images are really showing. >> we also found the original video posted on youtube by italy's -- reporting on this fighting and knifing that took place in august of 2021. two years ago.

it is located in the eastern part of italy, far from lampedusa. you can see they don't even share the same island. however, a video that did take place in italy which does feed into the confusion of this piece of misinformation, but with these clues we were able to find local italian news articles reporting on this huge fight that took place in italy on august 7, 2021. as a report of the fight that broke out outside a nightclub at dawn. the incident took place after a senegalese man was stabbed after a fight that took place inside the nightclub. nevertheless, this is a video that took place two years ago, posted by italian media and has nothing to do with the current influx of migrants in lampedusa. >> fake it is. now, another example.

migrants in lampedusa accused of yet another brawl. >> here is yet another example of an alleged riot that was provoked by migrants from lampedusa. the caption for this video reads, in stood guard, illegal immigrants from lampedusa engaged in clashes with iron bars and stonethrowing. thank you eu for this enrichment. we confirmed this video dig -- did take place in stuttgart, germany yesterday. but what we see here are not migrants from lampedusa, these are riots following an event where hundreds of eritrean opposition supporters were arrested in stuttgart, which is common. the eritrean diaspora has vowed

to continue to disrupt these festivals they say promote dictatorship in their country. >> final example, aid workers dancing. true or fake? >> this is a viral video with over 3 million views on x that claims to show african migrants filming themselves on their iphones dancing with european ngos and aid workers in lampedusa, italy. there are many elements of this video that allow us to confirm it has nothing to do with lampedusa, beginning with the uniform we see these workers wearing. this uniform with red and white logo belongs to the aid workers that work for -- you see here, they have the same uniform. these workers work notably in the u.k., france and belgium but

are not currently stationed in lampedusa. we found the original video posted on x by this far right political movement called britain first. it was posted august 25. they accused the care for calle workers of historic misconduct for dancing with migrants. they even treat them -- very serious accusations. nonetheless, it has nothing to do with the situation in lampedusa. here we have three examples of misinformation that try to aggravate the migration crisis in italy, putting migrants into very negative spotlight. >> indeed. lying through their teeth, you might say. trying to push a political agenda at the same time. you can see the falseness in all three examples. thank you for pointing out exactly why it is fake.

thanks to you for watching. stay with us. more to come, live from paris. >> the world is ever-changing. the news does not rate. >> france 24 lives global perspective that intelligent viewers want to have to fully understand the issues of the day. >> that's why we will always be there to help make sense of world events. >> [speaking french] >> for the best international coverage 24 hours a day, no matter what, france 24 is with you everywhere. all the time. liberte, egalite, actualite. ♪

09/18/23 09/18/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the way we create urgency on the issue of climate is we have people all across the world in the street. in the street showing us demanding change and demanding a cessation of what is killing us stuff we have to send a message that some