due to meet with german and british leaders, but not scheduled to hold talks with her barack obama, who has expressed --cern over the sale of failed to russia. >> i have expressed concerns, and i don't think i'm alone in about continuing significant trade and defense deals with rush at a time when the law andolated territorial sovereignty of their neighbors. >> let's get more from rob. the u.s. president in particular very resolute over holding a strong line over moscow's aggressions in ukraine. the backgroundn as we've just heard there from president obama, there are problems in that alliance. they say that if they carry on in those lines and continue to to stabilize ukraine, sanctions will inevitably come into force. it will not just be targeting individuals. it will be targeting possible supply ships as well. france is clearly ready to go down that line, but the other countries involved in this alliance will be called upon to make sacrifices as well. russia will surely hit back. if we really want to be solid on this, then everyone has to be prepared to make a sacrifice. >> we understand francois hollande is embarking on his second meal of the evening. he is meeting now with vladimir putin. that will allow him to engage with the new kiev administration. how likely are we going to see progress on that? >> vladimir putin just arrived here a few minutes ago and went elysee withay -- francois hollande. the president of the ukraine was elected by a huge majority in the first round. putin has made encouraging noises toward them and the ukrainian people, but there has not been acceptance as the president of ukraine yet. tomorrow in normandy, the two men will get together. come together on is another matter. d-day events come into sharp focus, there is much focus on queen elizabeth and her rare overseas visit. at the arc de triomphe. >> stepping up the euros stuff, only the second and the queen elizabeth ii set foot in france. royal the only surviving from the active service during the world war. a quick change of close and their the queen and francois hollande pay tribute to soldiers killed in world war ii to the sound of the british and french national anthems. well-wishers from the world over watch from the sidelines as francois hollande and queen elizabeth later visit the tomb of the unknown soldier. >> she's a friend of france. she speaks very good french. i was at dinner with her at the palace 10 years ago. she deserves to be honored. >> i think it would be fabulous. i am actually laughing that i came to paris, france to see my own queen. the queens had too large for the traditional citron, he opted for a more spacious vehicle with the republican guard. they then went to the palace for a brief meeting. elizabeth the second finish the day with a thursday garden party . on the guest list, french and british veterans from the second world war. the queens, despite fondness for french food, only the best british cuisine. another world news, serious president bashar al-assad has won a new seven-year term with nearly 90% of the vote in a poll branded illegitimate by the opposition and a non-election by the u.s.. celebrations were held in government held areas. they waved portraits of assad and fired shots into the air. lucy is standing by in beirut. has been met with much derision at home and abroad for the syrian president. >> the reaction to this is very much been along the lines that you would expect. divisions over serious are well drawn both at home and abroad. john kerry is calling it a great big zero, the election. this is roundly criticized a few hours ago by the russian foreign ministry spokesman who said it was unacceptable to simply ignore the opinions of millions of syrians. are very muches drawn down the middle. andthe syrian opposition the syrian coalition called this a sham. it said that the struggle will continue for freedom and democracy and urged the united states and other countries to support mainstream rebels. but within syria itself, much division. people in the pro-government areas are the only ones who are able to vote. the areas that have fallen out of government control, the people there are highly critical of these elections. the tensions on the ground are only intensified by this election. >> the outcome, though, whatever its merits, are likely to embolden bashar al-assad. where does this leave any future peace talks? >> most people believe that he's talks are for the moment dead in the water. of course, there will be more attempts to revive them. this does put bashar assad in a strong position where the day before and the day afterwards after the same. been in power since 1970 and no unexpected into lose this election. on the other hand, it did look like a new era with the opposition hopelessly divided and fighting each other on the ground and assad sending a very strong message that he is here to stay and be part of any future solution. >> thank you for that update from a root. >> now, it's from another time, but that has not made any less shocking. the skeletal remains of up to 800 babies have been located in a septic tank at a former mother and babies home in county galway in the west of ireland. a local historian suggested the bodies were placed there between 1920 and the 1960's. the irish government has pledged to establish how the children died. here is more with our guest, natalie from sorbonne university here in paris. you studied in detail the history of the women of ireland. how does this latest revelation fit into the picture that submerged -- that has emerged for you, the fate of an pregnant unmarried pregnant women and how they were treated in what was then quite an impoverished company -- country. >> the recent revelation, the whole range of scandals that have recently emerged, the first magdalenending the nuns in the 1990's. the bodies were exhumed. that there wasd a whole range of institutions in ireland that had been set up since the middle of 19th century to actually care for these vulnerable groups in society. and people that needed to be hidden from society because they did not conform to the moral order of the irish nation. >> the drama in film has been a useful medium in telling a a lot of the stories of these mothers and their children. >> yes, it started with peter mullins and more recently, the story that was revealed by the film philomena. philomena was an inmate of a mother and baby home. it brought the attention of the world to the situation in ireland. the question that now remains is what the reaction of the irish authorities will be and to what extent they will carry out a proper inquiry. the average people expect something different from the ryan report, called the mac police report. not only acknowledging what happened, but giving these people a voice and an address -- and redress and really college mid-of their situation. one thing that the film philomena highlighted is after the ruthlessness with which these religious orders dealt , can weple's lives expect cooperation with the orders? >> i doubt very much that the religious orders will cooperate. thereligious order that ran home suggested they would collaborate. but the sisters that ran home in county galway for the moment have not -- are not prepared to give any reaction. it isoblem is also that not only the religious order that should be put forward in this particular instance. it is also a collusion between the church and state and the ,omplicity of the irish society because everybody knew what was going on with these institutions. >> thank you very much. you are from the sorbonne university here in paris. a reminder of headlines here in paris, the french president has markingrld leaders world war ii's d-day anniversary to ease tensions over ukraine. francois hollande had dinner with barack obama and is currently having supper with vladimir putin. britain's queen elizabeth ii is in paris for d-day commemorations on friday. she is france's supreme guest of honor among the a-list world leaders. and syrian president bashar al-assad wins another new tier -- another new term with a nearly 90% vote in a vote branded as illegitimate by the opposition and a nonelection by the u.s.. conflict in the country rages on. next up is business news. >> we will start with the european central bank, which was really in focus as the central ank as -- has unveiled package to boost the euros economy. ecb president mario draghi has been under a lot of pressure to do something out of the ordinary to avoid a damaging cycle of deflation. let's take a closer look now what -- at what drug he came up with a. the ecb is lowering -- what mario draghi came up with. the ecb is lowering its benchmark interest rate cut to just zero point 15%. it is also becoming the first major central bank to introduce a negative deposit rate. that is an attempt to boost lending to small and medium-size businesses. loansb is also offering to other banks, but on the condition that banks lend more to eurozone is this is. that, mario draghi said the ecb could take more measures if needed. we are not finished here, that is what he said as he spoke during his monthly press -- press conference in front for. as to what countermeasures the ecb would come up with, earlier i asked jesper lawlor in london. i asked him whether he is firing a bazooka or a peashooter. >> i do think that a couple of hours from now, the ecb has largely met expectations going into this. there were a number of policy tools that were a possibility before this and i think they have tics most of those boss -- boxes. on the face, expectations have been met for this meeting, but it is more a question of going forward. that was a key addition that mario draghi made to this, he asked himself the question -- are we done yet? no. that is what people will take away from this. there is more to come. >> how long will it take for these measures to filter through to companies and households in the eurozone? before thell it take real economy sees the effect of what the ecb has announced? to 6.75.draghi alluded becausejust the judge, if there has been any affect -- and that is a war debate, whether there will be any affect on the credit markets and availability of credit in the eurozone. it does seem like the ecb is doing as much as they can to actually make liquidity available to banks, and thus make credit available to those who want it in the eurozone. that is the supply side of the equation taking care of. but what of the demand-side? companies are deeply hemorrhaging and they need to actually want to take those loans out. and until some structural , that may notlace meet the offer of supply from this program. >> that was jesper there in london. the euros dropped against the dollar after the ecb outlined these measures. at the effect in the stock market proved more durable. the dax lost some of that scene, but still ended higher. the milan footsie saw some real gains. up more than 1.5%. let's see if we can bring you those u.s. figures. there you go. to the we are turning latest jobless figures, which are excited out in the united states in on friday. the expectation is unemployment will come down once again and perhaps we will see more jobs being created in the u.s. economy. let's get you to the stories we are watching for you. general motors has fired 15 executives in the wake of a recall scandal. see omari barra -- mary barra made an announcement over the issues that she called "deeply troubling." g.m. admitted it failed to recall thousands of faulty vehicles despite knowing of a problem with the ignition switch. a probe found evidence of widespread incompetence. of sprint and t-mobile in the u.s. have been falling in new york trading. this comes on a report that the third-largest and fourth-largest mobile networks are about to merge. values the latter at more than $32 billion. and barack obama says he will read about a possible fine for bnp paribas in the paper just like everyone else. it could end with a deep penalty for the french bank. some are pushing bnp to pay $10 billion in sanctions. the french government says that would be overboard. authorities, or the backing authority in new york state to be specific, is asking a senior executive at bnp as part ofstep down this ongoing investigation and as part of the ongoing talks between the u.s. authorities and reach abas until they settlement that the bank violated sanctions. over to you. >> next, it is time for web news. >> hello there. we will be taking a look at some of the stories making the online headlines. coming up on today's show, peaceful protests against the military coup in thailand. egypt is react to government plans to tighten controls on social media. the three finger salute from the hunger games movie suggests it has become something of a symbol online and on the street in thailand where hundreds of protesters are showing their opposition to thailand's military leaders. they took over in a coup at the end of may. the jester has become increasingly popular. on tuesday, the people flashing three fingers will face arrest. as you can see from these pictures during the rounds on social networks, small groups have been protesting in public, reading books on totalitarianism . peaceful protests like this one, coordinated by a silent facebook group, they are seeking to show their opposition for a military -- opposition to the military to withsing for pictures their face covered by a sheet of lined paper. white paper. >> and authorities on egyptian media over the weekend, egypt government is seeking to implement tighter controls eye and monitoring of social media at the earliest opportunity. the official reason is to help police combat terrorism and criminal activity. the news has sparked strong reaction and lively commentary online. #wearewatched has begun. many say it jeopardizes egyptian's privacy. others have urged the authorities to halt the plan for extra surveillance and respect individual freedom and the modesty in egypt. and while the overriding sentiment has many concerned, some have responded with a touch of satire, like these tweets, for example, posted on a private account. rmonlineteonline -- this is nothing new from the egyptian military. susan levine has been trending unfazed -- social network. we see the diplomat for switzerland in liechtenstein with her e-reader. it is the first ceremony at this level. is hailed by many as a modern approach as she swears her allegiance to the constitution. can one of googles -- did one of googles roving camera cards capture a murder in edinburgh? it certainly had web users wondering. police officers were deployed to investigate, but it turns out the photo was staged by a pair of quick thinking jokers who saw the google, car -- the google camera car coming. american photographer tim.'s latest series is called "the day in the life of every day astronauts." it features them and retro-looking spacesuits carrying out everyday activities like brushing his teeth, food shopping, or looking at the stars. you can see them at tim.'s blog. we managed to set a new world upord for the largest wind to the board. an --t over 450 meters on the amazon river. it is a fantastic feat and available online on youtube. 1x1xgg99ññwçça7gucc 06/05/14 06/05/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is democracy now! on sergeant bergdahl, i do not know of specific circumstances or details of u.s. as a result of efforts to find and rescue sergeant bergdahl. oxley backlash continues to grow over the bowe bergdahl prir