it was only after the appointment of pravin gordhan that they say that they support the decision. there has been massive amounts of criticism. they saw him on the weekend, and that's where they saw the results being reinstated as finance minister. >> still coming here on al jazeera, security alerts after reports of an attack on a teacher in paris. what actually happened, though? plus... >> they seem to be doing their best to prevent the media from getting anywhere near the court. >> scuffles in china as a prominent human rights lawyer is tried over online posts mocking the government. >> france is hosting meet to go step up efforts to stop the war in syria. talks by world powers will be held next week. turkey has withdrawn troops stationed in northern iraq after diplomatic row between baghdad and ankara. >>> and pravin gordhan has been reappointed as south africa's finance minister, the third person to be given the job in less than a week. >>> peace keepers in the central african republic allow people to vote safely. at least two people were killed in confrontations on sunday in t

pravin gordhan was the finance minister previously between 2009 and 2014. his appointment will restore confidence in the south african economy and bring some strength to the ran which had a tumble against the dollar last week. going forward it was thought that pravin gordhan would bring some stability. the president has taken a knock in terms of confidence in his leadership. there is concern that there has been important governance in this period especially as we've seen three different finance ministers in one week here >>> at the trial of one of china's most prominent disdents has ended after five hours. pu zhiqiang has spent more than a year after and a half in prison because of comments he posted on line criticising the ruling communist party. >> reporter: china's constitution guarantees free speech. but there wasn't much of that outside beijing's second intermediate court. police pushed away diplomats, journalists and supporters of one of china's best known disdents. someone in the crowd says china's president was despicable. the police have been doing

at a hastily arranged press conference, new finance minister pravin gordhan tries to calm investors. finance minister gordhan: our country is aware of the impact this has on the economy. developments such as we saw last week, the government -- the democratic the government has a duty to lesson and -- listen and respond appropriately. reporter: the country is burdened with debt and defense and foreign investors like automotive comedies to survive. it seems they did not trust zuma's personal favorite as finance minister. the currency fell to a record low, and so president zuma had to quickly withdraw his friend from the position. >> the market saw the appointment in place as a sign of relief, that at least we were going to have a person in as the minister of finance who would sustain fiscal discipline. reporter: pravin gordhan is widely respected as prudent and experienced, and is held the job for, from 2009 22014. -- held the job before, from 2009 to 2014. the move has damaged zuma's reputation among investors and the general public of south africa. >> he was not thinking about the de

it's only after the appoint of pravin gordhan that they question his position.e consulted with the members of the alliance, the south africa communist party as well as the trade union. this, of course, after massive amount of criticism. they saw him on the weekend, that's where we saw the result of pravin gordhan being reinstated. >> peace talks in burundi. there has been an escalation in violence on friday where 87 people were killed. burundi has been unstable since the president said he would seek a third term in office. the e.u. has pledged financial support to help with the process of stopping the violence. >> we're in contact with the african union to facilitate the dialogue led by the region itself, and we have also prepared some financial supports to facilitate this dialogue so we can start immediately. it is urgent that it is started immediately. >> counting is underway in the south african c.a.r. constitution referendum. in a vote on the draft constitution it is seen as a test for national elections scheduled late this month. the country descended into

the appointment of pravi pravipravin pravin gordhan represents a dramatic turn around. ze the importance of listening to the people. gordhan was widely respected from 2009 to 2014. what's old is new once again. >>> absolutely. france's far right front national has failed to win a single seat in the second round of regional elections. party leader blamed tactical voting for the defeat and then a surge in moderate voters. let's git out to stefan who's in paris for the reaction. was that a big surprise, stefan? >> no, we're used to it. in france we usually vote in two rounds it's almost impossible for nonconventional political parties to make it to the second round. that's exactly what happened over the weekend. this is due first of all to a significant organization. more people went to vote yesterday compared to the first round of the election and this organization benefitted mainly to traditional political parties. it also confirms that french people will vote for political rivals to make sure that the extreme right doesn't get into power in france. the socialist party wi