he is young, pro-business, and just shaking up the press chesidential election -- fren presidential election. , googleing up for you has given its vote of confidence in london after brexit, but do other major companies share its optimism? we will tell you more and our business update and you will meet the 38-year-old astronaut who is blasting off thursday for the international space station, the first french national there in eight years. now to our top story line from paris -- live from paris. our top straight to story now in syria where airstrikes are once again pounding rebel held district in aleppo and elsewhere. the bombardment months and and to a positive clad the syrian government and russia four weeks ago. the story foring us from beirut and joins us now live from their. the launchannounced of a new major operation. what more can you tell us? inia: since russia announced operation yesterday, there has been an upswing in aerial attacks. long-range missiles. practicing it is targeting spots. they did not mention bombing the city of aleppo. yesterday for the first time, bombs had almost a good million from the city. a very intense wave of attacks yesterday and last night and this morning. those in the east of aleppo were largely expected over the weekend. they received warning before the bombing began. i think that timing of this new russian offensive is significant. the blitz began hours after vladimir putin spoke to president-elect donald trump and other coordination to combat international terrorism, leaving many to feel that a trump presidency may involve russia and syria as well. genie: the syria president made his first comments on the new u.s. president-elect donald trump since the election. in that interview, he called trump a natural ally. what does he mean by that? nadia: he repeatedly said that he will try to destroy the islamic state and even thoughe d not give us the thousand the unitedan was, states may even work with russia and the syrian government to target extremists groups like isis. that would be welcomed in damascus by assad. focusing his energies on removing assad disengaged the conflict in syria. there is an expectation that trump will ignore the aspect of the war and may withdraw as well. likely left interested in removing assad from power himself, with was the goal of the obama administration. and thosefor assad who say trump is likely to give the syrian government and russia a blank check to carry out their bombing in syria. genie: thank you for that. nadia reporting from beirut. in the united states co, trump has traveled his transition team again. he dumped two advisors and is facing major backlash from an one. rallypresentative has behind its speaker, paul ryan. >> celebrating the recent electoral victory, republicans in the house of representatives are staying united. on tuesday, house gop leaders voted unanimously to renominate all ryan from wisconsin as speaker for the upcoming 2017 session. >> this leadership team is unified. this entire house republican conference is unified. we are so eager to get to work with our new president-elect to fix america's pressing problems. >> meanwhile, the incoming trump administration already in disarray as key figures disappear. on friday, chris christie was abruptly demoted from his position as transition chief. those duties going to vice president-elect mike pence. crucial coordination between the obama administration and trump's theme was the link for days while a legal memo necessary to the transition previously signed by chris christie wait until tuesday night ofor pence's signature. the trump team firing to advisors -- two advisors. rudy giuliani one of the trump campaign's most avid supporters has been rumored to be a top contender for secretary of state. with business ties with former governments doing his 15 years in the private sector, the .ransition team and congress strategisthite house managers continues --after the presidential race in the u.s. genie:, france is gearing up got -- genie: after the presidential race in the u.s., france is gearing up or its own race. he quit his post earlier this year to set up his own political movement. the pro-business socialist is 38 by not letting his young age stand in his way. here is what he had to say today in paris. a president does not just also in aactions, but less visible light. -- way. he within himself the values of the country, the continuity of history, and the vigor and dignity of a public life. know i am ready. that is why i am a candidate for the french presidency. genie: that is emmanuel macron who lost his bid for presidency at a plant north of paris today launched is bid for presidency at a plant north of paris today. >> he announced he will beacon at it for the 2017 election, making his announcement in this tire workshop to the north of paris. that is a pretty symbolic choice. he is appealing to young voters fed up with the current system, the stagnant economy, and the jobless situation in france. the former economy minister saying a french political system is blocked and the french model has failed. he wants to bring france into the 21st century. his principalng objective is to go beyond the traditional left-right divine in french politics -- divide in french politics. this comes a couple days ahead of the primaries for the conservative party, which will start on sunday. a risk for macron an french politics is that he continues the fracture of an already divided political landscape. genie: now in indonesia, the government of jakarta is facing trial for what many on call slipre calling a of the tongue, insulting the car quran. more on the incident that sparked violent riots in one of the world's most populous muslim countries. authorities have opened a blasphemy investigation after he allegedly insulted the quran. efficient governor of jakarta faces a potential five-year jail time and has been ordered to stay in the country. >> this is not just a case about me, but also the direction this country is going in because we believe everyone is equal and can be prosecuted. i think the police for processing the case. i will accept being a suspect and follow the legal procedures. i think this is a good example of democracy. indonesia has seen a rise in attacks on minorities. an ethnic chinese christian is the capital first non-muslim leader in 50 years. despite winning fans for his no-nonsense style, he sparked outrage after he accuses opponents of using the quran to turn voters against him. over 100,000 people took to the streets of jakarta earlier this month to demand his resignation. police officers were injured in the following classes. one man was killed. he still inspires loyalty among his followers. >> i am disappointed because of a slip of the tongue. he apologized before they even reported it. as muslims, we should be tolerant because our nation is built on something that means our citizens invite a variety of religious leaders. >> before the scandal, he had been favored to win a second term in february. skies withinto the a person who is due to be the first french national centimeter thech national -- sent to national space station. take a look. when heyou last saw -- blasts off, he will be the first french person to go to space in eight years. a childhood dream come true for this 38-year-old former airline pilot. launch is obviously an incredible moment, and unforgettable experience for people who like that kind of thing. i have always liked extreme sports. i have been a pilot. ilife suite and adrenaline so it is the ultimate adrenaline rush. >> he is no stranger to thrills. from judo two diving to parachuting. to prepare for space, he had three years of intensive training, including at the houston space station in the u.s. to condition his body. throughout the six months he will spend in space, he and his colleagues will take advantage of the zero gravity environment to carry out no fewer than 300 scientific experiments. , the specialine environment reduces the same effect of raising. we can explore that directly. we have sonogram technology. fortunately for us, it is reversible. it allows the laboratory on earth to simulate aging and testing. >> something else he we were able to test, the effect of music on his fellow crew members. he said he would like to practice his saxophone on the iss when the instrument may makes it into space on a cargo shipment as long as the rest of the team is not my. genie: let's take a look at today's top stories. the syrian government bonds strongholds in aleppo. this after the syrian president says trump can be a natural ally if he lives up to his plans to fight terrorists. the u.s. president-elect meanwhile is shaking up his transition team again. a respected national security expert is out, and the outrage is going over his newly named strategist. he is young, pro-business, and just shaken up the press french presidential election. macron launches his bid for presidency. time now for our business news with stephen carroll. new figures have shown another drop in unemployment. stephen: unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in seven years in the three months after the brands it vote. it is now 4.8%. -- the brexit vote. there was a rise in the numbers claiming unemployment benefits in october. the figures continue to defy -referendu um expectations. genie: google with a new investment in london. stephen: it is seen as a vote of confidence in london. it is investing one billion pounds in headquarters with me thousand wars that but other companies are less optimistic about their future in the capital. an encouraging announcement for britain as it prepares to leave the european union. will build a 10 story headquarter to the tune of one billion pounds. >> we understand there is uncertainty and concerns about brexit but weight know that web in digital technology will be an engine of growth for years to come. >> government and local officials see this as a vote of confidence. >> london is really open and a tribute to google investing. announcement follows the song last month -- nissan last month. models --ild two new it will build two new models. british carrier says it is setting up elsewhere to maintain routes outside of the u.k. concern over a post brexit future. citigroup is said to be considering subletting office space in london. the head of the british banking association claims most international banks hands are hovering over the. genie: the european commission has given warnings to six more euros on companies over their budget. stephen: italy and belgium among those. the commissions as they break rules.reaking eu france looks on track to comply with the budget rule for the first time next year, but the leader says they will vote against this year's's spending plans. genie: what is happening on the markets? stephen: european shares in the red at this midpoint in the trading day. germany stops down. shares in the french construction and telecoms group is up 4%. trump's infrastructure program could be news for its division. snapchat is preparing to launch on the stock market. it has been financially filed by public offering of shares that could happen as early as next march. according to reports, it is for evaluation between $20 billion and $25 billion, making it the biggest since i spoke. genie: i was hoping you would put the dog ears on my face when you did a story. you can now buy a piece of paris to take a. stephen: selling the famous cobblestones. selling itself started tons of these stones earlier this year. they date back to the 11th century and were dug up as part of works. one. five tons of these and started selling them starting at 60 euros a piece. bloomberg is reporting she sold 50 so far but customers have ranged from chinese to french u.s.xpats in the genie: not a bad idea but heavy to put in luggage. now time for the press review. with us on the set to take a look at what the headlines are today. >> lots of focus on the presidential race coming up in france. a new candidate in the race, the former economy minister macron. it is not a surprise he has thrown his hat into the ring, but he has made it official. he caught the left wing offguard because his movement is not on the left or right, and it could be a real thorn in the side for the left wing, which has not come up with an obvious candidate in next year's presidential election. emmanuel macron could be a real alternative. as given us he a problem for the right as well. is holding the primary this weekend so the timing of his announcement is not at all random. it is completely strategic. it says he is the surprise guest at this weekend's primary. his timing is indeed strategic because he has a free market view of the economy that is usually associated with the right-wing, so he could be an alternative for the right-wing. daily the left-leaning newspaper is keeping a close eye on the far right leader. florence: that's right because h they have been silent in the last couple weeks and months. she is the left and right take up the media space. this is a strategic calculated move. she is say this saying in stealth mode like a sly fox operating in the shadows preparing her commando operations on the election. in editorial, they say she's waiting for the left and right to run out of rep and then poumnce. -- pounce. is waiting on a wave of populist voters that brought brexit and trump. summit is taking place in marrakesh. you can read it here on the cover of the newspaper talking about mobilization for the climate. the aim of this summit is to focus on the future of last year's climate summit in paris. there is an ominous cloud on the horizon, and that is the u.s. president-elect donald trump. he is casting a doubt over the future of the paris climate agreement. you can read more about that. trump is described as the climate skeptic in chief. the fight will continue with or without washington. a lot of papers are saying currently the situation is already quite depressing in pretty bad. let's take a look at this cartoon from a moroccan publication online depicting a sad story for the world. you can see these big polluters, these fatcats from the industry eating the world like an apple. genie: let's move now to news out of hong kong where the high court has disqualified two pro-independence activists who recently elected. florence: that's right. it was not that long ago that pro-democracy parties were celebrating because back in september, they won 30 seats in the 70 seat legislature. you can see these two local lists are being booted out. the game has suddenly changed. it is interesting to see how chinese papers are reacting to this. let's take a look at the editorial, which applies this plauds the court for kicking these two out. the reason they were kicked out oathecause they mocked the taking ceremony when it was sworn into office. you can see china daily saying the rules law still applies in hong kong. genie: papers are still continuing to support the aftermath of the election of trump. florence: particularly the role that social media played in the election. a growing number of people get their news on social media, so you have groups like facebook and google, which are trying to take steps to stamp out false news because that is one trend we saw leading up to the election. google and facebook are trying to crack down on fake news by restricting the revenue that erse news sites and hoax get from advertising. according to the guardian, several examples of the fake news. they have a list. there was a rumor that one of the fbi agents in the clinton e-mail leak had been found dead. they were living in a post-truthful news era. the guardian takes this very seriously. the dangers of misinformation are real. technology companies must be accountable for what they publish. that is the headline of the editorial here. genie: the new york times is looking at the repercussions already on people's everyday lives. florence: the election may be over but the passions are just thenning -- but repercussions are just beginning, especially into the holiday season. thanksgiving around the corner and christmas down the line. a lot of people are changing their plans. some are deciding to cancel christmas altogether or not go to see their amalie's altogether -- their families altogether. one lady postponed her wedding so there trump supportive families cannot attend. gloom,lots of doom and but you have good news coming out of the french daily. florence: good news for french people at least. you can see they are talking about life expectancy. everything is possible according to a new study that says on average, people expect to live to be 83 in france. super old. living to be 100 will be the new normal according to the study. a really interesting take on this. they say they lengthen in november lives is shaping up our existence. what will we do with this free time? genie: i have a lot of things i would like to do in my free time. thanks to you for watching "france 24." for a closer look at the press review, you can check out our website, france24.com. now you probably know that france is famous for its wine, but the french capital, not so much. one winemaker is hoping to change that with a new urban winery in paris. more on that coming up. stay tuned. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>รณ narrator: this is grace, a business woman in kigali, rwanda. eight years ago, she was starving and unable to feed her children. many of her family had been massacred in one of the worst genocides of the late 20th century. but today, thanks to an innovative program, life is good. she earns up to $200 a month from her furniture business and employs 11 people.