Is renowned scholar appealaling a ruling by a french court today. He has been in jail since the beginning of the month linked to the rape of two women. Our correspondent is standing by with the details. Also coming up, the french jobless rate fell to its lowest level in nearly nine years. We will explain the significance of that milestone in our business update. And taking the winter olympic chill up to another level. More on the snowboarders from finland who have come an internet sensation, coming up. First our top story. Anchor it has been a turning point in politics in south africa as president jacob zuma has resigned, stepping down from afice instead of facing noconfidence vote from his own party. His presidency has been surrounded by corruption allegations, but his downfall came after a struggle with his Deputy President , Cyril Ramaphosa, who is now set to replace him. On the process we have our correspondent in cape town. What is the latest . Reporter members of parliament are lining up to go into the national assembly, where in a few minutes the new president of south africa is expected to be elected. At the press conference earlier, the opposition party, the Economic Freedom fighters, have said that while they will be present in the chamber to the reading of the resignation, they will not be participating in the election process. They believe the process has gone beyond the president jacob zuma and that the anc is not capable of governing. They say they will instead propose that parliament be dissolved today. The head of the official party of the Democratic Alliance says they will not put up a candidate. We expect the process to be these quick, because parties are not putting up a candidate. So for now, the only candidate being proposed for the presidency in south africa is Cyril Ramaphosa. Anchor ok, Cyril Ramaphosa said to become the new president. Where does all this leave jacob zuma . Facingr jacob zuma is multiple criminal charges, including corruption, racketeering, money laundering, being veryed of close and cozy with an indian family. Yesterday, the investigators ta compound,ump where they arrested family members and Business Associates who are in connection with a dairy farm, and it also relates to the fact that the government millions of rand for uplifting farmers, but that money actually found its way into the pockets of this family. So that scandal is a bound and jacob zumas son is a close associate, a business associate, of this family, so all eyes will be focused on that court case to see how president jacob zuma is implicated in this scandal with a dairy farm. It goes, it is actually much bigger than that, he faces and ite criminal charges is only a matter of time, because the National Prosecuting authority has said that they will be looking at implementing and reinstating the charges against president jacob zuma. One of the things that came out of the discussion with the anc while they were talking with jacob zuma, there were reports the reason why he did not want to go where they asked him to go, he was trying to negotiate an immunity against prosecution, but the anc was not in a position to do that, because that is a matter for the National Prosecuting authority to decide on. Anchor thank you for that. Reporting from cape town. And in other news from africa, zimbabwes Opposition Leader has died. The 65yearold passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was one of the most popular politicians in zimbabwe and it died only three months after the ousting of the man who wrote for decades, Robert Mcgahn way was such politics, he a leader. We need opposition. A strong opposition. [indiscernible] now what willre be. We are very sad about the loss. That those left behind will be united in the same manner as when he was alive. Anchor new elections are due within the next six months and this death cast the movement for opposition change into the unknown. And to the united states, america rocked again by another devastating School Shooting, this time in south florida. At least 17 teachers and the students were shot dead when a former student attacked the school. He was expelled last year foror discipliliry reasonsns. We have more on what has become the Deadliest School shooting in america since sandy hook. Reporter it is around 2 00 p. M. Local time. Classes are about to come to an end at Marjory StonemanDouglas High School when a shooter unleashes chaos. Three people are shot outside the school before the shooting spree continues inside, where another 12 people are killed. Students are left to flee to safety or take cover wherever they can. We locked the door and we waited until the police told us it was ok to leave, and when we went outside and the police cleared us, i saw dead bodies on the floor. Reporter one hour later, Police Arrested a suspect, a 19yearold man who is said to have been expelled from the school. An investigation into the motive is underway. We have already begun to dissect hisis websites and thins on social media that he was on, some of the things that have come in are very disturbing. Reporter 18 reported in School Shootings now in the u. S. Since the start of 2018. This latest incident is one of the deadliest in recent history, bringing americas gun laws to the forefront of discussion once more. Each time these Mass Shootings occur, wherever it is, we say enough is enough. Then it happens again. Reporter the white house canceled a press briefing at the time of the attack, with word from the president coming in the form of a tweet, expresessings condolences. There have been several attempts to push throrough bills a aimedt tightening gun laws since the attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School were 20 Young Children were shot dead. None have been successful. Anchor the 19yearold suspect has not been charged with a counts of premeditated murder after he was questioned for hours by state and federal authorities in florida. Today in paris, a renowned islamic scholar, terry ramadan, is appealing a ruling by a french court. The professor has been in jail since the beginning of the month and is facing allegations for the rape of two women. He has denied the accusationsns, calling them a campaign of lies. Chris joins us from the courthouse where the appeal is getting underway, what is the latest . Right, he has is been behind bars in france, one of the countrys most notorious jails in paris, those preliminary rape charges filed at the start of the month thatg to two incidents took place on french soil in 2009 and in 2012. And he is due to arrive at the courthouse in central paris in an ambulance. Hes as the legal team says is suffering from two illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, which means holding him behind bars is not an option. When prosecutors made their initial ruling, they said there was a possibility he could perhaps put pressure on the accusers, on witnesses, maybe even skip the country and they argued he should be behind bars and the court room is set to rule on that later this afternoon. Anchor chris, why is ramadan such a divisive figure here . Reporter not just in france, but elsewhere too. His supporters, he is namely a reformed minded islamic thinker, looking to build bridges between islamic cultures and western societies, but his detractors say that he holds views of that are more conservative that he is more akin to his grandfather, ththe father of the obama albana. The latter into perdition has had greater currency in france than elsewhere. French public figures have been perhaps more willing to act on the example of the former moderate conservative president ial hopeful, jupe, who banned ramadan from the city where they met. And on the other side of the u. S. Channel he does have a funded seat at oxford. He is on leave from that at the moment as he faces these allegations in france. And he continues to receive 4000 pounds a month for that position. Anchor thank you. Reporting on that appeal today. We have the latest from the Winter Olympics in pyeongchang, good day for france, with a french a snowboarder. Here is more from the games. Reporter the french man retained his title here in pyeongchang just like four years ago, winning gold and finishing ahead of spain. And australia. It was an epic eventnt, especiay as thrilling as the semifinals where he fell, but managed to the himself up and clinch third place that allowed them to make it to the final. And he simply cruised to victctory. He was much smoother than the others. He was in tears after the race. This is his second gold medal in his career. Overid he had a lucky star his head and was lucky to make it to the final. Fromt, a snowboarder france. And in other events, the victoty of thehe superstar from the u. S, the skier winning gold in the giant slalom. This is the second gold in her career. And france winning seven place in that event. Anchor meanwhile, the snowboarding team from finland taking the olympic chill to another level, they have taken up team knitting. They started the trend of the sochi games as a stress reliever and now it has gone viral on social media. We have more. Reporter known for their spends, spins and flips, this team is tackling a new skill, loops. Wewe have a tradition, want to keep things kind of lighthearted at the start. You know, a little bit of skulking around and keeping the mood light. This definitely helped. Reporter the snowboard coach takes the edge off by knitting. He says it is a great stress reliever and members of the team agree. When i see everybody knitting , i laugh. [laughter] i am thinking about my run not so much. I do not mind being laughed at. Reporter the knitting antics have captivated social media with many sharing photos of the coach knitting on the slopes. He started the trend at the surging games and it is now becoming a tradition. Four years ago the team made a scarf together and this year they are needing a blanket for the president s bay become a but there is always room for personal projects too. I made two of those squares, then i got bored. So i started all over again. Scarf. Arted this, my own reporter while the coach and team finland have not yet into gold,spin wool they have claimed a couple of bronze medals and have proven they are a closeknit team. It is a team effort, always a team effort. Anchor you are watching france 24. Now top stories. South africa on track to get a new president today, ancs Cyril Ramaphosa will replace jacob zuma who resigned surrounded by corruption allegations. Horrific School Shooting in america, at least 17 teachers and the students killed after a troubled teenager attacks his former high school in south florida. And renowned islamic scholarr Tariq Ramadan appealing a ruling today. He has been in jail since the beginning of the month link to rapelected rape alleged of two women. Now business. You have been watching how the markets are reacting to the political events in south africa. Stephen we had a bump in shares after the news of the resignation was digested by investors, the all share index in johannesburg started the day of by 2 , trading 4 now, the index dropped sharply since january, because of the political turmoil. And other agencies watching the situation closely. Standard and poor have downgraded South African debt to junk status last november over the political paralysis, moody doing the same. It says it is not focusing on the policy implications of the departure of jacob zuma ahead of the credit decision next month. Anchor in france, some very positive figures on unemployment. Stephen it has fallen to its lowest level in almost nine years. In the last three months of 2017, the Unemployment Rate fell to 8. 6 in mainland france, that is down over 1 compared to last year. The First Time Since the financial crisis that french unemployment has been below the eurozone average. Months ofafter dodging criticism that the government labor reforms have made it easier for companies to lay off workers, macron is finally seeing results. The french Unemployment Rate, stuck for years at 10 , unexpectedly fell below 9 for the First Time Since 2009. In mainland france, it hit a. 6 . The jobless numbers fell across all age groups, the biggest drop for those under 25. It comes as the economy is creating jobs at its fastest rate since 2007, and surveys show that business morale is at a high. It likely to boost efforts to continue reform. Unemployment insurance is next on the docket, but the blue skieies are not necessarily hihs doing. He says the labor refororms woud take five years to bear fruit. Some credit should go to his predecessor, who staked his political career on his ability to shrink the jobless figures. The major pledge i made to you was to bring unemployment down. The results are coming, later than i announced i will admit, but they are here. And investment, consumption, construction is picking up again. Since the start of the year, unemployment has gone down. Reporter unable to get the unememployed thahat rates of bu, Francois Hollande said he would not seek reelection, but the rollout of the tax credit for businesses, widely criticized for its cost, is directly responsible for sasaving up to 100,000 jobs. That is far short of its target. Stephen airbus, the latest Financial Results overshadowed by problems with the military cargo airplane, the 400 m. The model has seen technical issues in recent years and his sayingresults, airbus they will take another financial hit of 1. 3 billion euros over problems relating to this airplane. The total charge of the program now over 8 billion euros. Over all, ththey saw operating raise over 2 billion euros. They expected to rise by another 20 this year. More business headlines for you fo next. Looking at the future of the sntf. Recommending ending the Railway Protection status for more hires. They are struggling with massive debt and preparing for the opening of of the frances railways the competition. Undere compapany in pharma fire for hiking the price of a painkiller for u. S. Consumers. The Financial Times reports the firm has increased the cost of a bottle of pills by 10 to almost 3 3000. It is the 11th price rise for the drug, since the license was purchased in 2013 by her horizon by Horizon Credit and an industry horizon. And a cut down on ads that t are annoying, but some players in the Advertising Industry say that this will boost google in online advertising. Anchor how are things on the european markets . Midpointwe are at this in the day, paris is the standard performer, that is being helped by the boost to airbus shares after the results, up over 10 . Anchor and new years holidays beginning and plenty of holiday spirit around the Stock Exchange in hong kong. Stephen halfday today in preparation for the chinese holiday. Entering the year of the dog and the market the head of the exchange brought special guests to the exchange, charless two dogs in the footage. You can see that they are known for theiroyalty, honesty and a a sense of responsibility, and interested in exploring new things, all parallels he wants to draw with his business. Will he do the same thing with the year of the rat . Anchor what year are you . Stephen brad. Rat. [laughter] anchor thank you. Now time for the press review. Anchor allison joins me on the set for the press review. Hi, a lot of focus and south africa were the papers are celebrating the resignation of the president jacob zuma. Allison he resigned last night, but the papers still managed to get this on the front page in the reoccurring word is finally. Finally jacob zuma falls, along with the image of the puzzle pieces that are making up his face, falling away. On. Ilar headline in afric out, finally. Another paper has put a cartoon on the front page, the image kind of says it all, the headline, the emperor has no clothes. The uncertainty over his fate has been a wild ride for South Africans. They have been riding this roller coaster, one cartoonist showing it, and in the bottom corner, it seems to have made south africa pretty sick. Anchor another big story is the horrific shooting in the united states, another scschool shootig in florida this time. Allison parkland joining the list of u. S. Cities that have seen the Mass Shootings, this among the 10 worst in terms of people killed. When is enough enough . The question from the sun sentinel, asking today in their editorial. They say thoughts and prayers alone are in it adequate response are an inadequate response to the cancer of gun violence. It points out that u. S. Lawmakers are looking at proposals that would widen the gun laws, including one that would allow people with concealed weapons permits to bring guns into churches, even those that include schools. I was surprised to learn that this is the 18th School Shooting this year and there is a powerful cartoon from the miami herald today and in the classroom we see students learn the three rs, they are the 3 rs of terror. Anchor in france, papers focusing on the acquittal of a man, the man who was accused of harboring the pairs attackers from 2015 on the run from police. Allison he was nicknamed the landlord. And we talked about him a few weeks ago when the trial got under way and the aftermath of the attacks he became a source of National Comic relief, for his incredible obliviousness to the fact he was harboring terrorists. It turns out that that obliviousness was genuine, at least according to the judge who deemed he was not knowing helping the terrorists. With the lawyer gives a behindthescenes of a trial he calls out of the ordinary, to say the least, because many in france followed it like a Television Series with outrageous things that were said, like going into detail over the joint he smoked the night that he gave the apartment to the terrorist. The trial was nicknamed the comedy club. It did upset the families of victims, who felt like he was putting on a show that lacked respect. His lawyer insists it was not a Defense Strategy or an act. He hopes now in the wake of the trial that the man will inspire less hate and even more dignity. Anchor papers in denmark painter butte to paying tribute to their late prince henrik. Anchor the husband allison the husband of the queen, but he never got the title of king and a tortured him. He felt so rejected he decided to break royal tradition and refused to be buried alongside his wife. He will be cremated instead. One paper has consolation for the prince, the front page actually reads, you working. A nice you were king. And i think the here. He was also the king of malbec wine. His death making headlines because the prince was originally prince henri, because he was french. It pays homage to the prince of denmark, who they say was a fine wine maker. Anchor now a word on the olympics, and a fairytale could be over for jamaicas first allfemale bobsled team. Allison the odds just got worse, because the german coach just quit. She was asked to change her role and apparently refused. There were also reports she owns the bobsled being used by the team and might take it with her when she leaves. It sounds like a terrible alternate ending to the film of cool runnings. The pun of the day, the headline, cruel runnings. Anchor thank you for that. Do not forget, you can get a closer look at the press review or any stories we are covering on our website, france24. Com. We will take a break, but we will be back in a few minutes with more live coverage from south africa, where the election is underway for the new president who will replace jacob zuma, who resigned yesterday after years in power. Stay tuned. Sami jakarta was just the first taste of what was to come. Karinding attacks heavy bamboo sound drag me deeper into the diverse music scene of indonesia. I had to have some more. I needed to find something new. I wanted t to get insidet it means to be indonesian, a country with hundreds of languages, myriad religions, and a million points of view on music making and the meaning of it all