Weiwei toompts ai pull his work from museum shelves. Coming up in business, carnival for in venice, big bucks local artisans. How much it cost to get your outfit made. In french connections, frances love affair with strikes. Hassan rouhani is on the second leg of his european visit. Here in the french capital today to revive economic ties despite political differences. Lucrative deals with airbus and car manufacture peugeot are in the works but divisions over the large. Conflict looms the iranian leader says his country is ready for business despite this. We arent rouhani gathered to talk about the economy. And about increasing our relations with france. To work with france with renewed energy. We are announcing today that we are ready for this and on this visit we bring this message to all investors, economic bodies, that they are welcome in iran. Molly that was the iranian president speaking earlier today. More on the visit, latest developments. The iranian president Hassan Rouhani addressed a community of analysts, journalists and academics behind me at the French Institute of international relations. He addressed three topics. The first of which was terrorism. He said the tentacles of terrorism have spread beyond the region to the rest of the world. That sits well with the french community, victims to terror attacks in november 2015, the deadliest on french soil since world war ii. He said we cannot tackle this problem with airstrikes and bombs, we have to get to the heart of the problem. He moved onto the problematic relationship between tehran and washington for over three decades. He said during a conversation he counterpart u. S. President barack obama, both leaders acknowledged the fact that these problems cannot be resolved over days or months, this will take years, but they there. Tentially get last, but not least, without referring specifically to saudi arabia, rouhani called on the International Community to look at the country responsible for the growth of the Islamic State group. The country he said that funds them and arms them. A number of important topics but it looks like iran and france for the time being are willing to put differences behind them. Weve seen that in Business Contracts signed over the past few days. Molly reporting from paris on the iranian leaders visit to the french capital. Groundbreaking case for the International Justice system. Ivory coasts former leader Laurent Gbagbo is standing trial at the hague. He faces icc charges of crimes against humanity for deadly postelectoral violence in 2010, it is the first time a former head of state is on the docket at the icc. In proceedings in the netherlands, Laurent Gbagbo pled not guilty to charges. Gbo, do you plead guilty or not guilty . Thank you, mr. President. I plead not guilty. The same question goes to mr. Ble goude, do you plead guilty or not guilty . I do not recognize the charges, therefore i plead not guilty. Molly that was Laurent Gbagbo as well as the ivorian leader charles ble goude, both pleaded not guilty to charges. France 24 has more on the trial. It is the highprofile and historic trial for former ivory coast president Laurent Gbagbo. He is in the dock facing for charges of crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and persecution. The first trial at the icc of a former head of state. Right away you have such a senior official in the dock, it sends a powerful message about the fact that those who think their position may protect them from justice, it does not. They may one day have to answer for their role in crimes against civilians. Laurent gbagbo refused to leave office after losing to current leader Alassane Ouattara in november 2010. His desperate bid to cling to power fueled violence which killed 3000 people. Prosecutors are hoping to finally uncover the truth of the countrys bloody fivemonth crisis. To break the silence is largely what the victims i am representing want. Was arrestedagbo in april 2011. Later that year he was extradited to the hague. The 70yearold fallen strongman has maintained his innocence in the buildup to the trial. One that is set to last at least three years. Reporting on the latest proceedings at the hague. This is a first for the International Criminal court. The first time a former head of state is standing trial there at the icc, the First Time Since the tribunal was set up 13 years ago. France 24s luke brown is on hand at the hague for the event. Therossed to him for latest. Where do things stand with proceedings . Luke few surprises so far. Charles ble goude and former ovarian president Laurent Gbagbo former ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo pleading not guilty. The difference coming from the different appearances of the 2 men. Gbagbo looking relatively frail at 70 years of age. Charles ble goude looking more dynamic. Hes about 30 years younger than the former president , perhaps explaining that difference. We are getting an initial idea of the various lines of attack and defense. The defense team indicating they once again were attacking the prosecution, what they say is a lack of impartiality that the court is being instrumental highest by instrumentalized by powers opposed to gbagbo. The Prosecution Team applying strongly, saying this is not a court of Public Opinion but of international law. The claim reiterating by the judge, who said he is adamant that the case was not to the instrumentalized by foreign powers. Molly the case is being watched in ivory coast closely. Bespoke with some people in the hague to find out their opinions on the matter. Take a listen. Despicable and shameful acts have been committed in ivory coast. And we are here to condemn that. We think justice must be served in all its splendor. Those who are currently being detained are not the real criminals. The whole world knows that Laurent Gbagbo is not a rebel. He has never killed anyone. Laurent gbagbo is a democrat, hes the one who will free ivory coast. Alassane ouattara and his gang are the rebels, they committed crimes in ivory coast. The icc shows it does not practice justice by refusing to prosecute Alassane Ouattara for the crimes in ivory coast. They a few voices in crowd. What else are people telling you they expect from the trial . Couple hundred or so progbagbo supporters. They have a triple line of defense that echoes and mirrors the line of defense by the gbagbo team. They indicate that Laurent Gbagbo won the 2010 election. Thats being mirrored by the defense teams. Election, he was putting down a rebellion and thus not crimes against humanity. A query as to why Alassane Ouattara and his supporters are not in the dock, accused by gbagbo of committing atrocities in the violence of 2011. Reiterating many of them the standpoint that say it is International Powers opposed to Laurent Gbagbo that have brought him to the trial. They say that is not fair. That is why we saw so many african flags, not just ivorian flags. Trying to demonstrate theres a pan African Unity on this question. It has to be said, the number of demonstrators here, many coming from paris. It indicates the depth of feeling and the kinds of divisions that do exist in the ivory coast itself. Molly thank you for that. Luke brown reporting from the hague, netherlands. To news in from cameroon, double struck aomb attack north. In the countrys not clear how many people died or were wounded. We will bring you details as they come in. A major question mark over upcoming syrian peace talks. A Major Opposition Group has yet to decide whether it will join in the geneva talks. Highaudibacked Negotiations Committee has failed to agree on who among them will attend. The delay could derail the biggest push yet to resolve the syrian war. It has been five years since the Syrian Refugees have been living in this camp in jordan as fighting rages on in syria. They are not expecting much from peace talks set to begin in geneva friday. We have been here for five years. During this time, the first and second geneva conferences took place. And now the third one. We have seen the results on the ground. No ceasefires. Children and the elderly are still victims. s governmentassad has agreed to join negotiations and will be represented by syrias and exeter to the u. N. Opposition groups are holding back. A prominent opposition figure who leads the Syrian Democratic council said he will be in geneva only if kurdish leaders are also invited. I will go with my friends are not. There is no compromise in this. View, we will our have a strong representative delegation. Russia says the kurds must be present as they are crucial in negotiating a political settlement. How can we talk about political reforms ignoring the leading kurdish party, inactive party that opposes terrorism. Turkey grants the Syrian Kurdish party a terrorist organization and refuses for them to be part of the talks. An Opposition Council with armed factions and political groups backed by saudi arabia has said they will only join the talks if attacks on civilian areas are stopped as per a u. N. Security council resolution. Molly reporting by michaela cabrera. Another deadly sinking in the aegean sea. 24 people died off the greek island of samos. Several others are missing but 10 people were rescued. European Border Agency is searching for survivors. The handling of the migration crisis has been criticized by many. A new bill in denmark that allows police to take valuables from asylumseekers has been compared to world war ii. It has prompted ai weiwei to take down his work from two of the countrys museums. Last year, the activist accused the danish toymaker lego of censorship. Manhis is the 12 meter long made of bamboo by chinese artist ai weiwei. It was on show at the museum in denmark, part of an exhibition on chinese contemporary art due may. D in the artist and activist withdrew his work from the museum and shot down his insulation in installation his in copenhagen in protest against a bill passed by Denmarks Parliament this week. The controversial law allows danish authorities to confiscate valuables from migrants to cover food and housing costs while asylum applications are being processed. Sparked uproar with human rights activists calling it inhumane. Ai weiweis work is often critical of beijing. When he lived in china, he pointed out the problems there. In europe, what does he do . He focuses on the biggest humanitarian problem we have in europe now. This is growing. We have to find a solution. The migrant crisis has inspired ai weiwei, currently working on a memorial for refugees on the greek island of lesvos, where hundreds of thousands of desperate people arrive after making the dangerous journey across the aegean sea. Molly 15 minutes past 1 00 p. M. In the french capital. Lets get a check of our headlines. Move on from past differences and start french, that is Hassan Rouhanis message to france. Stands trial at the International Criminal court had the former ivorian leader pleads not guilty to crimes against humanity. A controversial migrant law in denmark prompts ai weiwei to pull his work from museum shelves. Updateme for a business i am joined by william hilderbrandt. Eve got the iranian leader he says iran is open for business. William a deal bonanza so far. In 4 years, iran expects to have 100 airbus planes delivered. Peugeot citroen announced a deal. Total should have a deal later. Foreign investment is expected to return to iran. Obstacles remain. The signing of billions of euros of business deals renewsgood as iran economic ties with europe, there are still major hurdles that might keep investors and banks from setting up shop. Among them, the lack of credit transfers, Swift Transfers and the use of u. S. Dollars. Doing business in iran has never been straightforward. There are obstacles that need to be solved. Set up credit letters. The large corporations and friends have been in a cold shower after the bnp fiasco. The bnp fiasco refers to the 8. 9 billion find the bank had to pay for breaking sections. A number of other banks were ordered by the u. S. To pay fines for dealing with iran in the past. Many european banks fear a crackdown could continue. While Nuclear Sanctions have been lifted, others are very much in place. For example, it remains illegal to do business with the Iranian Revolutionary guard, the elite military unit is believed to have extensive but often hidden business interests. Meaning a Foreign Company could violate sanctions without knowing it. The u. S. Treasury warned investors they must show due diligence. Countries such as china, russia and india have their foot in the door in iran. European nations want a piece of the iranian pie. It may be slow going. For billions of dollars in sanctions related fines could be at stake. William lets check in on the european market. Investors digesting some data, the british economy grew 1. 9 in 2015, the slowest rate of annual growth in nearly three years. Ftse trading down about 1 . Cac down about 1 . As is the frankfurt dax, and a lot of Company Earnings this day. The busiest day of the earnings season. A pretaxbank reported loss of 1. 1 5 billion euros in its investment bank. Ford just released earnings, beating estimates slightly. Time for a round up of other international headlines. Azerbaijan searching for a lifeline from international donors. The government plans to ask the imf for 3 billion and another 1 billion from the world bank. The country has been struggling under currency pressures and falling oil prices. Economy minister has resigned after allegations he received bribes from a construction company. Was steppingaid he down to take responsibility for a political funding scandal that has rocked the government. He maintains he did not accept bribes. The japanese air bag maker takata is preparing for the exit of its ceo. The firm has been under fire for almost two years over defective airbags that can explode and should strap on should strap shoot shrapnel. Lyft has paid 12 nine dollars to settle a lawsuit in california. Remain there will classified as independent contractors and the company does not have to provide them with benefits like unemployment and health insurance. Uber is involved in a similar class action suit in california. A lighter note, it is carnival time in venice, replete with masks and spectacular costumes. That does not come cheaply if you are trying to recreate 18thcentury venice. Many people rent an outfit for the day that cost several hundred euros. Local artisans gather on the square for workshops. Lying a mask starts at 70 euros and can go as high as 2000. Bespoke piece. Outfit start at 3000 euros and can soar higher. It takes almost a month to create a constant. A costume. If someone comes to carnival for 10 days, we cannot do anything. We have many clients, loyal ofnival goers who at the end this carnival are already thinking about me. W about the next one. We meet during the year to put together what they want. William i dont know if i have the budget but it looks fine. Molly nothing like a masked ball. Thank you very much. Time for our press review. Molly im joined by phil upto belle upton. A groundbreaking trial taking place at the hague, the former ivory coast president Laurent Gbagbo on trial. Although it might be getting our headlined, it is not getting as much International News as you might think. I picked a couple papers looking at the case in more detail. First, a french weekly that is published today asks, can Laurent Gbagbo win . It lists the elements in his favor and against. The charges against him have not been confirmed. Seenecond, his liberty is as part of the process of national reconciliation. Are there fears that if hes released, he might try to take that power from current president Alassane Ouattara . Belle that is working against him according to this paper. Hes 70 years old now and according to ivory coast law he has until 75 if he wants to run for president again. The newspaper says that the icc make the trial last as long as it can, five years, in order for him to be over the age so he cannot run again. Molly how is the case to being followed in ivory coast . Belle the New York Times sent a reporter to the capital abidjan who interviewed the families of alleged victims of gbagbos crimes against humanity. The article focuses on the role of the icc. It says it is going to be a test for this Young International court. Its concerned by the fact that is pursuing cases involving 10 countries but out of those 10 countries, 8 are african. Critics call the court a tool of imperialism because it pursues cases in developing countries while major powers like the u. S. , russia and china refused to submit to its jurisdiction. That isne story certainly being followed closely here is the iranian president s visit to the capital. Belle there were high hopes to the visit with direct talks between the two hads of state expected. The state run tehran times runs an opinion piece by a colleague of president rouhani putting the ball in frances court. It falls on paris to decide whether it will seek to sign if you trade agreements with iran or sees this opportunity to foster a relationship with iran. Apparently welcoming the iranian president to europe. The headline has a decidedly sarcastic tone. The undertone is explained in a cartoon, rouhani is seen looking at covert sculptures in a european museums. The caption says oh, he likes them a lot, they are contemporary. Thats a joke on the fact that italy, when rouhani was there, covered up nude statues fearing that exposed genitalia might offend the leader of the islamic republican. The decision to cover the statues caused international scandal, says the washington post, but it should not have. Causetatues can and do offense all over the world, not just in the islamic world. The example given was a tennessee Garden Center which had to cover its nude statues with sarongs because they had complaints from the public. Molly we will end with a story about a new film about michael jackson. It is already stirring controversy. Tell us why. Belle they have chosen white actor Joseph Fiennes to play michael jackson. It seems an odd choice given this is an africanamerican singer. The daily beast goes straight for the jugular, saying the casting is a symptom of a deeper sickness moviemakers are beginning to treat. Slate has a more nuanced and brilliantly written piece here which admits that given Michael Jacksons ever morphing physical appearance, color casting might seem like a legitimate thing to ponder. After all, we have a black actor who was cast as the king of pop in a tv movie. This writer said he appeared to be covered in baby powder, which did not look great. Maybe it does make sense but the writer concludes, no, you cannot just cast a white guy to play jackson. Mj was black even when he was white. Find a black actor who can capture his complexities, his femininity, we coevolve with our tools. We change our tools, and then our tools change us. Certainly the book has probably changed us more than any other tool. For 500 years, its been this incredibly important tool for humanity. Books are the foundation of civilization. You walk into someones house, whats the first thing you look at as aa litera human bng . You look at their libry. This can sound romantic, but the feel of a book, thethe texture of the paper, even its smell. They are the best way of preserving information ever invented. But in the digital, age we really have to start questioning what a book really is