Their lives durining a dramamat rescue at sea in the mediditerranean. We have a special report for you with local italians trying to help Asylum Seekers as rejection rates in that country reach nearly 80 . Also coming up for you this hour, china ups the ante in a battle with the nba. State tv announced it will not broadcast planned preseason basketball games after a team manager posted a tweet supporting protesters in hong kong. More on the financial implications in our business update. And well take you to the Louvre Museum where paris most famous ladies got a new backdrop. More on the background for the mona lisa coming up. Turk u. S. President donald trump is defending his decision to pull u. S. Troops out of northeastern syria. Trump announced the move on sunday, a move that weep the door to a turkish offensive against kurdish fighters in the region. That move was met with a certain amount of panic by the kurds have been fighting with American Forces against the common enemy that is the Islamic State group. Many repubublicans also questioneded the reasosoning an voiced concern over the consequences. Heres more now from donald ump defending his decision. President trump right now were at a position where if turkey does anything out what have they should be doing, we will hit them so hard in the economy. But when you talk about soldiers, we only y had 50 soldiers in the area. We want to bring our troops back home. And i i got elected on that. If you go back and look at our speeches, i would say, we want to bring our troops back home from these endless wars. And w we like a police force over there. Were policing. Weree not fighting. Were policing. Talk a bit more about this with m me now, im joined by james. What will trumps decision actually mean on the ground . What it will mean on the ground, what trump is announcing is that the u. S. A. Will not fight against the turks if they want to enter into what the kurds call so they will not fight the turks if they do so. We have a map. Ill show you on the map. Of idea is, the president turkey has been wanting for months now, for years, to create a security buffer zone in the northern part here of this area controlled by the kurds because its considered that the kurds are terrorists. Indeed, as we know, this yellow area here was conquered by the kurds because they fought against isis, backed by the united states. Well, without the backing of the united states, the fact of the matter is the kurds will probably not be able to keep control. What they are saying is theyre saying obviously that the feeling amongst the kurds is theyve been betrayed by the united states, that they are now being let down. They say they will defend themselves as hard as they can but the fact of the matter is its going to be very difficult for them to resist. Ive followed this fighting a couple of times. The battle for raqqa. And the kurds werere indeed the forces on the ground but they were using a lot of western fire power, american air strikes, drones, special forces france, ous countries, britain, etc. Its going to be difficult for them to resist a turkish invasion, which we can expect on this northern parts. So what happened today is that, well, yesterday to be more exact, the american presence at observation posts along the border have withdrawn. Theyve moved back. We dont exactly know where, we dont know if they went south to what basically the southern line of that buffer zone would be, or if theyve actually moved more to the southeastern part of the country. Whats the Bigger Picture here . What are the implications of trumps decision . Theyre quite huge actually. What the curds are probably going to do because they kurds are probably going to do because they have no choice is to turn to the regime. The regime announced that they would be happy to have the kurds back inside under their control and under the state umbrella. So if we can have this map again, i will just show you on the map, you have this yellow zone here which is indeed kurdish control. The rest of the country here, apart from a zone here in the north, is controlled by the regime. Theres the opposition around here and there is this area which is controlled by the turkish army and its allies up north. The fact is, you can imagine if you fuse this part here with the yellow part, indeed bashar assad will have won in a sense. He and his allies, russia and iran, will have won that war. In a sense. Because 90 of the country will be united under the banner of the regime. Obviously the implications long term are quite massive. That means reassertion of russian influence in this area, basically the last western basically the last Western State in this conflict, because by moving out, trump is basically just handing victory to the regime and its allies. Knack also means in the future one of course that also means in the future, one of the things of the u. S. Has been to stop the creation of a shiite access from lebanon to iran. Well, in effect that will be the creation of that. So there are many, many things on a geopolitical scene that will change at that moment. Not to mention what were facing for the kurds in that area is potential massive displacement of population and a lot of violence because indeed the turks might very much attack very violently. Donald trump has tweeted that in his great wisdom hed be monitoring things. But thats not likely to stop the turks if they decide to really go all into this battle. We talked a lot about foreign fighters with the Islamic State group here on france 24. What will happen to them . Thats the big question mark. This is very much the panic for european governments. Because you have, you know, youve got french people, french people there, youve got brits, German Foreign fighters who are being kept in these camps run by the kurds. Indeed, the Democratic Forces for the time being control these camps as best they can. Then again, there has been violence. For example in this camp we visited beginning of this year, there has been violence since. For the moment theyre Still Holding up with the help of the americans. If the americans leave, well, you can expect the kurdish fighters to go up north to defend the boaoard rs of their territory, to monitor these camps less closely, to not have help from foreign intelligence, u. S. , french, etc. And the neens carry on keeping these people means to carry on keeping these people if these people are let out, the Islamic State group is back and that is dangngerous for everyon thank you. Back here in paris. A ceremony was held today for four employees killed in an attack last week at the paris Police Headquarters. The 45yearold attacker was an employee himself who worked in the i. T. Department for 15 years. He was shot dead after stabbing to death four of his colleagues and seseriously injuring a fift the fourur victims received a legion of honor at the Police Headquarters where that attack took place. The french presesent also paid tribute to the victims, promisining an unrelenting figh against islamist terror. President macron i have come amongst you to assure you that all light will be shed, all questions raised, responsibilities identifified. Jujusticee will prevevail as mu as it must. I have come before you at last so that we can look at thehe implaqueable truth and draraw a the lessons. France 24 is at the paris Police Headquarters where that ceremony took place earlier today. Talk us through a bit more about what happened there. Reporter the ceremony today was presided over by frances interior minister andnd the presidenent thehe republic, Emmanuel Macron. It started off when the coffins of the four victims are brought out here into the court yard of the paris Police Headquarters. They were draped ceremonyiously in the french flag and then they were awarded the legion, frances highest military and ivilian civililian honor. It was aftfter that a minute of silence was had. D. The frenench National Anthem played. And then Emmanuel Macron gave a speech. A speech that i would characterize as being pretty angry and pretty nationalistic as well. He began, as youd expect, by paying tribute to those four members of the Police Forces here who were murdered brutally by their own colleague on thursday. And then he moved on to talk about the fight that he said france would continue to engage in against what he called islamist extremism and the ideology of islamism. Islamism. He said he of course was not fighting the religion of islam but he said people had been taking an extreme version of the religious and that that religion and that that needed to be fought. It is worth emphasizing here that macron didnt spend any time in his speech dwelling on any of the politics, any of the criticism that his government has come under in recent days. Because as you say, this was an individual who had worked for the police force, for the very Intelligence Unit that was supposed to be monitoring radicalization among Islamist Groups for 15 years. Yet he went undetected and its for that reason that his interior minister has to appear in front of several parliamentary intelligence committees in the coming days to answer questions as to how it was that this individual was able to slip through the cracks here at the Police Headquarters and commit this brutal crime on thursday. Thank you. Nadia reporting for us from outside the paris Police Headquarters in paris. At least 13 migrants now were killed after their overcrowded boat capsized near the italian island on monday. The u. N. Says that that l lates ship wreck o once again hihighlights the needd for urge action, calling on the e. U. To resume its search and rescue operations. In the meantime, the requirements to obtain asylum in italy are getting tougher. With eight out off 10 migrant requests being rejected. But in thehe town of palermo, a Medical Clinic is trying to help Asylum Seekers by providing official documents to back up their cases. Charlotte reports. Reporter here in the heart of sicily is an unusual hospital. Unlike any other. This is where a doctor opened a clinic that is unique in the south of italy. We mainly treat men and women, but we also get minors who arrive here without their parents. They are all Asylum Seekers. Reporter her parents patients share a common trait. Like many africansns arriving i italy, they have all been subjecteted to vioiolence befor crossing the mediterranean. Their bodies are a witness to the traumas they suffered before reaching europe. This is s the case of 20yearo amarah, originally from guinea. Look, this is where i was shot. Most of them have scars on their legs. In libya, they were often hit with electric battens. We also find scars from knife or gun wounds. Reporter at each visit, the doctor examines her patients with a psychologist. At the end of each consultation they prepare a medical and legal document confirming the torture endured. A document that will support the request for refugee status. This is a former patient who says he was tortured in libya before crossing the mediterranean. Thanks to this certificate, he was able to prove his story. It was very, very important for me, that i have to present this to the commission or to the judge so they can believe that my story im telling is not what i created, its what i experienced. In libya, they live like a slave. You must be tortured every day. Morning, afternoon and night. Reporter before he left his home country, he was unaware of thesee risks. Today he wants t to bear witnes to dissuade his fellow countrymen from starting a journey during which many africans are subjected to considerable violence before reaching europe. Clashes have broken out in ongoingg protestss in ecuador. Ecuador has been rocked by days of demonstrations with thousands of indigenous peopl capital. They are furious over rises of up to 120 in fuel prices. Reporter a fifth day of prototests and violent clashes the streets. While on the outskirts of the ecuadorian capital, indigenous people, transport workers and farmers held road blocks. They take from us, the poor. They stick their hands in our pockets and they raise the prices of petrol. Were the ones who work err day, who farm every day. Whoo farm. We need to work. And it hurts us. Reporter widespread anger in the andean nation was sparked last thursday when ecuadors president decided to scrap fuel subsidies, causising fuel price to rise over20 . Protesters immediately took to the streets, blocking roads across the country. In response, moreno declared a 60day state of emergency, saying he would not allow protesters to impose chaos. The president has since moved his government from keto to the coastal city, 400 kilometers south. This monday in a televised statement, he accuses his predecessor and venezuelan president of being behind the crisis in ecuador. The tyrant, nicolas maduro, has activated his destabilization plan. They are the ones behind this and are using an instrumentalizing some indigenous group, taking advantage of their mobilization to a lot and destroy in their wake to loot and destroy in their wake. Reporter the elimination of weak with a doers f fuel subs of ecuadors fuel subsidies were part of morenos plan to ease the countryrys debt burur ecuadors government has agreed cut publilic spending a as par a loan deal with the of a loan deal with the International Monetary fund. This deal, which was signed in march, would allow ecuador to boborrow 4. 2 billion. Brazils environment t miminister says s more thahan 1 tons of oil hahave been spilled along the n northeastern coasas under a m month. Braziliaian police are investigating the origin of the oil, which has k kled at least seven turtles and forced swimmers and fishermen to stay away from contaminated areas. Brazilian president s says the oil polluting the beaches was not produced or sold in brazil and that it could be the result of criminal activity or a ship wreck. Nobel prize week continued today with the physics award. Scientists james peebles, michchelle mayor and another wo for their work in astronomomy. Peebles won half the prize for his contribution of our understandnding of how the universe evolved after the big bang. And the work of expxploring our cosmic neighborhoods on the hunt for unknown planets. The nobel committees said their combined discoveries have forever changed our conceptions of the world. Here in paris, leonardody vifrpblys famous masterpiece, the mona lisa, has a new back drop. A deep, blue wall. The scenery was changed to give the portrait a fresh look. Reporter the Louvre Museum houses thousands of historys most famous s works. But it is this piece which captures the imagination the most. And now that the surroundings of the mona lisa have been given a simple color adjustment, curator believes visitors will enjoy even more oneonone team with the mysterious painting. With its very dark background, it gives the impression that the painting is jumping out of the wall whereas before it looked as if it was buried in the wall. Reporter the walls of the state room were repainted from egg shell yellow to midnight blue, with its current state of the art glass included, the colors are expected to provide an even greater clarity in depth and depth. Today mona lisa benefits from an extremely transparent glass which gives the impression of a much greater proximity with the painting. And also gives it a much more transparent effect and less green as with the former glass. So you really get to see the colors of the painting as they raid outout. Reporter the museum hopes this gives just another reason to come see that mona lisa smile. A time for a lo a at todays business news. You are looking at the growing backlash against the nba in china. Something that could cost billions of dollars. Thats right. It took more than 30 years for the nba to build up a multibillidollalar induststry china. But all it took was one tweet to knock all of that down. Today Chinese State broadcaster said it would stop airing upcoming nba preseason matches. And that its investigating all cooperation with the body. Streaming platform which owns Digital Rights for nba matches in china said it would also temporarily suspend preseason matches. The backlash comes in response to a now deleted tweet from Houston Rockets manager daryl morey who supported hong kongs protesters. China says speech that threatens its National Sovereignty cannot be protected under freedom of expression. The nba, which said it regretted upsetting chinese fans, but stood by morey, stands to lose a lot of money in china. 490 million 490 Million People watched last seasons basketbaball games and this yea the platform reportedly paid 1. 5 billion for the rights to all ofof the nbass matcheses the next five years. Basketball isnt the only point of contention between the u. S. And china. Theyre still embroiled in a heated trade war. Today the u. S. Blacklist of Chinese Companies just got longer. Thats r right. Daysys before a new round of u. U. S. Chinana trade talks, washshington aed a another 28 Chinese Companies to its trade blacklist. The Commerce Department said that the organizations had been targeted for their involvement in human rights abuses against uighurs and other mainly muslim minorities in the country. The li i includes s some of chinas top artificiaial intetelligence startups,s, including Video Surveillance from hick vision as well as leaders in facial recognition technology. Hows all thatt playing out in the markets . There are jitters on financial markrkets around the world as investors are struggling to deciphpher what a of this means for the future of those trade talklks between n t two biggest economieses. Which resume on thursday this week. In europe, every mange indndex traiting down at midday with the index shedding the most oints. Earlier asian markets saw gains and Chinese Markets saw a positive return. Some optimism there. Lastly, the british pound took a beating on currency markets, sterling hit a onemonth low against the euro and a oneweek low against the dollar. This after reports suggested that brexit negotiations are breaking down between britain and the e. U. So still a lot of tension on the markets. Genie were going t to talk about smartphones now. A new one coming out on the market all the time. But more and more people are in the market for used phones. Why is that . Some of it is purely a financial l reason. Refurbished phones cost less money. Other people see it as an environmentally friendly option because it limits waste. The regardleless o of the rerea ththe mberer of people turning us p phones is o on the rise. Thats creating a whole sector of new jobs. Bringing smartphones back to life. This Company Brands self as an ethical alternative. For over 30 years, we repaired various telecom materials such as adsl kits, other kits, anything that could be connected to a land line. Reporter and they did so until 2011 when the Company Found itself on brink of collapse. Managers took over and decided to focus on repepairing and reselling smartphones. Without them, we would hahav all been looking for jobs. We were left h hanging. Its reassuring now. We have a Bright Future here. Reporterer this company alone has repaired 200,000 phones, raking in revenues of nine Million Euros and managers here are hoping to hire 300 more people at their factory in the south of france. In frrance, over 2. 1 million refurbished phones were sold last year. A 7 bump. While the sasales of new device have gone down 6. 5 . Its a promising sector that shows no signs of slowing down. 30 million smartphones are on their last legs in france, ready to be refurbished. Genie demands for refurbished phones havent slowed down samsung which is expected to see higher sales this quarter. Ananalysts predict the south korean giant smartphone sales should be boosted by the launch of galaxy 10note this august. But samsung also warned its operating profit is still slumping and thats due to a slowdown in Global Demand for computer chips. Its operating profit from july to september will drop by 56 compared to last year. Which would be the fourth consecutive quarter of drops in profits. Analysts do expect chip prices to stabilize in coming months, which means samsung could end up being saved by the bell. Genie just to wrap up, youve been looking at a law here in france thats meant to protect small producers, but has actually ended up hurting some of them. The new law puts restrictions on how much supermarkets and stotores can p items on sale. It bans promotions lilike the b one, get one free promotion, and limiting how much the stock of a a particular item can be sold at a rededuced price. Jajames explains how this plan has backfired for some small producers. Reporter it was supposed to protect small producers, but now many say sales are declining. The socalled food law introduced in 2018 puts an end to certain special offers such as buy one, get one free, and bans supermarkets from s sellin more than n a quarter of an items stock at a discounted price. This in an effort to redistribute supermarket revenues so farmers get more for what they produce. But Small Business owners had hoped for more time to adapt to the new strategy. A maximum of 25 for a product, when you take a item by item, it could penalize us. Wed like to have a period of adaptation so that it will be 45 this year and go down over time to 25 by 2020. But that request wasnt granted. Reporter sales of other products such as champagne have already declined, down by 9. 5 over the first half of the year. Some are fearing for the worst for small and medium sized businesses. The Easter Holiday was already a disastrous time for champagne producers and for seasonal products. There were less special offer which is resulted in less sales so what producers experienced over easter could be even worse over christmas. Reporter a grim forecast which the ministry of agriculture refused to comment on. Genie thanks so m much r r tha look at todays business news. Ok, coming up for you in the next half hour, a bit of french cooking. You will find out how to make that delicious french dessert. Thats with j Joanne Carter fro true foodies after the news. The news doesnt wait. Thats why at france 24 well always be there to helplp make sense of worldd event. For the best International Coverage 24 hours a day, no matter what, france 24 is with you everywhere. All the time. France 24, four news channels in four languages. 430 journalists. 3535 nationalities. 160 bubureaus araround the worl a global reach. 385 million households in over 180 countries can watch carney china has long been a surveillance state. Now big brother meets big data. In trials across the cocountry, cameras and spyware are watching, mapping your digital footprint to every step you take. What you do, say, and even think is being monitored and marked against you. The party calls it social credit, a personal scorecard for 1. 4 billion citizens, rewards for Good Behavior and punishments for bad. Its not