the international economic stage. the saudi-backed it syrian opposition decides whether to attend u.s. peace talks. the biggest push yet to resolve the country's war. hour, a taxip this strike in france may have paid dividends as court has ordered uber to pay taxi drivers 1.2 million euros. we will have details in our business update. berlin looks for buyers for a sprawling lakeside property that once served as a love nest for a top nazi official. the template iranian in "live from paris." details later on in "live from paris." france's justice minister has resigned this wednesday. christiane taubira has often openly criticized francois hollande's government. news of her resignation came ahead of parliament's debate over a controversial constitutional reform that would allow people convicted of terrorism to be stripped of their french citizenship in certain circumstances. expressed taubira has reservations about that plan, and news of her resignation spread -- as it did spread, she upeted, "sometimes to stand for what you believe in is to leave." use day to fight for what you believe in, and sometimes it means you have to go. used toristiane taubira explain why she is stepping down from her role as france's justice minister. the timing comes as no surprise. parliament in france is discussing a key divisive constitutional reform, stripping convicted terrorists of their france citizenship. born in french guiana, the 63-year-old will go down in history books as the fiery left-winger who was france's most senior black politician. among key achievements, pushing through legislation allowing gay couples to marry. since the paris attacks, she has been at loggerheads with president hollande as france took a harder line on policing. now, the president of the -- the departure comes as talk of a shakeup within the iran government -- within the high land -- within the hollande government until the election next year. molly: joining me in the studio is our international affairs commentator, douglas herbert. her tenure as at justice minister, voicing her dissent of hollande's government. francis --titling her title in francis means she was the guardian of the seals, the republican seals. when you talk of being a justice minister, it was her seal of approval on various laws having to do with justice which really were the ultimate authority. as we just heard in that report, she was increasingly in a france that was closing in on itself in many respects, especially after the attacks, a france that is convicted over identity, its direction, where it is going. a lot of clashes within both the parties itself, but also a sense of discomfort over who the french are right now. she remains very steadfast in both her sort of being a voice of compassion but also conviction on behalf of society's marginalized, of society's excluded. she did gain her fame in many respects sticking up for the defense of same-sex marriage, and she was very much a prominent voice in that. remember, back in 2013, france became the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage in the face of giant protests by a lot of people. many of them roman catholics who were steadfastly opposed because of religious regions -- for religious reasons to was also an outspoken voice in defense on those on the receiving end of the prison system. she believed jail should be something more a means of rehabilitating people, more so than punishment. she did not see punishment anything -- as anything that would solve society's problems. she became an outlier. she became more of an outlier in aench politics, even within left-leaning, supposedly left-leaning government. a left-leaning radical party, which was not that radical. her voice was increasingly isolated in the cabinet at a time which it has been politically going more toward the right and adopting the tone of the right, especially on matters of the economy and security. molly: so if she was indeed becoming more of an outlier, it was a role she was very familiar with. it was not just the range of security measures that we have seen taking place in the pipeline in their -- in the wake of the terror attacks. backas: she seemed to be in favor, perhaps she was going to stick it out and remain to the very end of this five-year presidential term of hollande's government. what is interesting is that this dual nationality measure, this measure basically to strip french-born dual citizens of their citizenship if they are convicted of terrorism -- that has become a giant lightning rod of controversy, a giant source of debate in french society. she has stuck to a position that is untenable in the party against putting this in the constitution. she believes it would be an ineffective measure. she believes it plays to the fears of society and she went on radio during a recent trip to algiers in algeria and said as much, saying the measure would be removed and it would not be inserted into the constitution, only to be overturned by francois hollande and manuel valls a couple of days later. that made her position untenable. to the very end, she will be seen as a woman who remained, who stuck to her convictions, and who stuck to her ideals in a france which has been drifting increasingly to the right. she remains a voice very much of the left, a voice which perhaps would have been much more recognizable a couple of years ago and perhaps much more mainstream and acceptable. molly: douglas, thank you very much. our international affairs commentator. president rouhani wraps trip to the with a coliseum. his european to her -- his european tour marks his visit to the international stage after the historic nuclear deal. our correspondent has more. >> international sanctions have been lifted, and iran's ready to do business. first with italy, now france. on the first official trip to presidentthe iranian and almost two decades, the sans rouhani has assured his potential business partners that it makes sense more than just economically. >> i would like to stress the fact that if we want to combat extremism and violence in the world, one way to do it is to create jobs. >> before sanctions really started to bite, france is one of iran's business partners. later, it had plummeted to 1%. both countries are hoping to reverse the trend. be meetingani will with heads of business, including representatives from airbus come with iran expected to order 114 aircraft from the company. the french auto industry, too, hopes to maximize on iranian opportunity. but this franco in franey and -- this franco iranian rapprochement is not without its difficulties. crisis and ever present threat to security not just in the middle east but also in europe, rouhani's insistence that the syrian president should stay is a clear point of conflict, as is the country's human rights record. but with experts predicting that french exports to iran alone could bring in 1.3 billion euros into the next two years, it is a conflict france is willing to overlook. in denmark, a resident who traveled outside the country has been tested positive for sica -- for zika. there is no vaccine or treatment , which has been linked to brain damage and thousands of babies. one country has urged its citizens to simply avoid pregnancy. a correspondent has more. >> do not get pregnant for the next two years. that is the warning el salvador's government has given to women following the spread of the seek a virus -- of the zika virus, which has been linked to microcephaly, babies born with smaller heads than normal and affecting brain development. but few people here have access to birth control. there are few options for those who are already pregnant. it is disturbing to know that my baby could be born with both emotional and physical problems. we have taken preventative measures at home, with lamps against mosquitoes, and we remain alert to avoid being infected. in el salvador, abortion is outlawed in all instances and punishable by up to 40 years in prison. but abortion is legal in colombia and ecuador, but only for those mothers whose lives are in danger. that is the case in many latin american countries. there is currently no vaccine, and health the sureties are unsure why the virus has been spreading so rapidly. the spike in cases has prompted the united states to warn pregnant women from traveling to the region. brazil plans to host the elements in august. molly: the syrian opposition is set to decide whether or not to attend this friday's p talks -- this friday's peace talks in geneva. the talks will aim to seal a cease-fire first before a political settlement. our correspondent reports. >> the invitations have been sent out, but not everyone has rsvp'ed. government representatives will take part, but the country's opposition says certain issues would need to be addressed before they would come to the table. we are clearly positive to participate, but there are not many things in the resolution to fight for. some think about humanitarian issues. model that is a more important than any particular discussion. resolution 2254 says the regime and its allies are continuing to bomb civilians. the agency also insists that blockades of the besieged areas be lifted. another sticking point is whether syria's main kurdish party should take part. russia says political reform cannot be discussed without them. turkey is fiercely against it. they can go and talk somewhere else. they can have discussions elsewhere. that is another matter. there cannot be pyd elements within the delegation. there cannot be terrorism organizations. >> but the wrangling is only beginning. in geneva the warring factions will not come face-to-face with one another. instead, the so-called proximity talks will shuttle officials back and forth between rival delegations, each hold up in separate rooms. past weighsperty's heavily in any buyer's decision, and that could not be more the case in berlin, where officials are trying to sell a sprawling lakeside villa. the only problem is that it served as a love nest for nazi propaganda specialist joseph goebbels. >> romantic and peaceful is how the previous owner described this lakeside villa in his journal in 1936. the only problem is, that owner was joseph goebbels, hitler's infamous propaganda minister, and that it's -- and that is making it hard to sell. berlin has been trying to find a ire for 26 years. -- a five -- have been trying to find a buyer for 26 years. if you want to take on such a toxic history. joseph goebbels built the .0-room mansion 40 miles outside the capital, used as aness wa place for him to sleep with the actresses working at his film studio. >> he spent a lot of time with his mistresses. it was his refuge to come and have fun. >> 70 years after joseph goebbels' suicide, the villa stands among east german communist era buildings. berlin is appealing to anyone with an idea for how to repurpose this was the complex. it has become a millstone for the cash-strapped city. molly: it is time for our business update. i am joined by william hilderbrandt. we have seen here in paris some major taxi strikes taking place, and it appears they may have paid off. william: the waving flags and burning tires may have paid off. the payment is based on a complaint that uber drivers were taxis,as traditional waiting on streets to pick up passengers. taxi drivers have been protesting the rise of destructive competition from ride-sharing apps like uber. leading to a 30% drop in revenue in the past six months alone. this competition does not have to pay the same hypothesis for a license, which can be as much as 240,000 euros per driver. moving on now -- has the iphone. ? apple signaled for the first time ever, sales of the device will drop. facing its first job in revenue in 13 years. catherine viette has more. >> it seems even iphone sales may have their limits. in the latest quarterly report, apple reported that iphone sales rose less than 1% from a year earlier. slowed year over year growth rate could signal trouble ahead as the device accounts for about 2/3 of the company's revenue. >> it is unclear what is causing this slowdown in growth for iphone sales. some people believe it is saturation, that many people who would buy iphones have bought them. there is also the belief that the iphones themselves are less interesting than they were last year at the same time. >> wall street is worried that the company may not have another blockbuster product to replace the iphone, and there are growing concerns about increased competition from chinese made smartphones. >> the chinese vendors have come up in the last few years with formidable designs, with price points that are almost 30% to 40% cheaper. it is not a poor man's phone anymore. it is a pretty good, solid contender to an iphone. >> one possible bright spot for apple, india. iphone sales there were up 76% from one year ago. company executives are betting that an expanding middle-class will pass of the cheaper alternative currently dominating the market. on the to check in european markets. a choppy day of trading, investors anticipating a statement from the u.s. federal reserve. they do not expect any change in the moment the footsie, the dax, and the cac are all trading just around the flat line, and we will follow those figures more as we get them. time for a look at the headlines at this hour. unexpected charges for the taxpayer-backed rbs, and the so-called cleanup plan will hit annual profit by more than 3 billion euros, pushing the back -- pushing the bank into a lock for 2015. shares have dropped more than 40% over the last 12 months. retained the crown as the world's biggest automaker, edging out volkswagen and general motors. they sold 10 million vehicles last year. were discussing a possible partnership. the companies have decided -- have denied the report. powerbritain's nuclear plant, the first in decades, be delayed? edf will delay its decision whether to invest in the nuclear power station over funding difficulties. the article says the decision, which was expected to be a formality, will be made at the earliest when edf releases its annual results february 16. fory: thank you very much the look at the latest business news. it is time now for our press review. i am joined here in the newsroom by florence villeminot, for what is grabbing headlines. we will start off in denmark. this is where the parliaments moved to back a controversial law to take asylum-seekers valuables. that is generating a lot of noise. flo: a huge story in denmark. this takes a closer look at what this law says. essentially, police will be able to seize valuables worth more than 10,000 kroner, about 1340 euros, and why will they do so? they want to cover the costs of housing and food. the title of the article says asylum-seekers' jewelry must also cover the costs of doctors visits. one man who is very much in the spotlight -- authorities say the goal of the law is essentially to ensure equality between asylum-seekers and danes. molly: the so-called jewelry act that is joe -- that is drawing criticism, a parallel between that and the confiscation of jewelry from jews in world war ii. flo: you can see the party name here. he says it is offensive to compare us to nazis, but if you see the part in white here, it says, "probably the stupidest party in the world." on political cartoon in "the independent." the little mermaid, the iconic tourist landmark in copenhagen -- this cartoon shows the little mermaid with a sign that echoes the sign on the statue of liberty in new york city, the very famous poem by anil lazarus your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. send them to me, and i will lift their wallets, gold teeth, jules, had more." with thee thing refugee crisis, asylum-seekers, we have several interior minister's threatening to kick out greece from the prized pass for free -- passport free travel zone. flo: putting greece in quarantine is no solution in this crisis and it is not fair, according to this editorial. it would ignore the reality on the ground. greek authorities do not have a choice. their only real choice would be to send the navy and stop these boats and let these people drowned. that is not much of a choice, so they have to welcome this wave of migrants. what is interesting is, take a look at the greek paper, and english lang which version. it is focusing on the fact that greek citizens are drawing praise for their contribution to the refugee crisis, particularly greek citizens that live on the islands in the aegean. you can see the article is talking about a campaign to these greek islanders for the nobel peace prize. molly: looking ahead to the president's visit to the country. says iranfront page is a popular new friends to be courted. what a turnaround play just yesterday, iran was a pariah, and now it will get the red carpet treatment. why has iran all of a sudden become respectable? a lot of it has to do with the lucrative business deals. molly: seen as a moderate of figure compared to hard-liners in the iranian republic. flo: he has really helped grow iran-contra petition reputation abroad. he did follow in the footsteps of mahmoud ahmadinejad, who was not as popular. the left-leaning paper is not buying what rouhani has to sell. "take it easy with the mullah here. he might be the shiny, polished face of iran, but was not forget that in iran, conservatives control the power and any opposition is eventually shut up." molly: we're crossing to the u.s. where the race for the white house is in full swing. we have outsiders essentially stealing the spotlight across local divides. flo: "the wall street journal" talks about donald trump and bernie sanders, two renegade --didates, battling the donald trump was a punchline at the beginning, according to "the wall street journal," and now the joke is on all his detractors. bernie sanders is also coming out to be quite a surprise as well. "the independent" has an interesting article. they tracked down his brother, larry sanders, who actually lives in west abingdon, and they went and interviewed him. they are calling him the british sanders, and he says his little brother can make it all the way to the white house. molly: and all the way to outerspace? flo: about to become the 10th astronaut in history here -- a couple months away -- he is going on a mission to the international space station. he is interviewed about the qualities that are required of astronauts these days, and he has an interesting answer. he said, "these days astronauts do not have to be warriors or superheroes with big egos, they need to be team players who need to be patient and know-how to communicate. sometimes they need to be leaders, and sometimes they need to be followers." they need not to be claustrophobic as well. i could never be an astronaut. .hank you, flo we will take a quick break, but we will be back with an update of today's top stories. you are watching "france 24 debra: next up, it's the pandemic that has touched millions--aids. 30 years after the first confirmed cases appeared, where are we now? and what's working in hiv prevention? find out in a scial rept from p and viewchange.org. announcer: "viewchange" is about people making real progress in tackling the world's toughest issues. can a story change the world? see for yourself in "viewchange: hiv prevention-- looking back and moving forward." debra: i'm debra messing, ambassador for psi. it's been 30 years since the cenrs for disease control confirmed the first cases of hiv in the united states. since 1 m