Lets start the hour in the newsroom and say hello once again to christopher. Thanks very much, the headlines. Johnti in geneva. Can they break two years of diplomatic deadlock over syria . Elsewhere, world powers voice alarm as north korea restarts their nuclear reactor. An electric planes, cleaner automobiles, the french government unveils projects designed to revive industries. Bashar alassad says he expects to hand over information on the chemical weapons within a month. If the threat from the United States. Making his comments in an interview with russian television. The u. N. Says it has received documents from damascus. This is barack obama opening for a positive outcome as john kerry and the Russian Foreign minister to down in geneva to discuss the plan. The Un Security Council members remain split over the content of the resolution. A russian newspaper has reviewed details of how moscow wants to proceed with its plan. France 24 has more. Banning, inspecting, and destroying. The elements of a plan revealed on thursday with a central thrust to deal with syrias chemical weapons. The nation would have to join an organization for that prohibition and declare what it had in terms of reduction and stockpiling. Damascus would permit a means for their weapons distraction. Ahead of the meeting between the u. S. Secretary of state and his russian counterpart, american officials described the position as a starting point. Information was needed. The rebels have dismissed what they see as a gambit to give Bashar Alassad even more time and power. We announce our rejection of the initiative that foresees placing chemical weapons under International Control and requested the author of the crime he judged before the International Criminal court. Beyond existing questions of who ordered the use of chemical weapons, the issue remains of had to establish a program for in their structured. The fighting continues in the ancient chris can town. Security sources say christian town. Security s sources say most of the important towns have fled to neighboring villages. Elsewhere, egypt interim president has extended a state of emergency in the country for two months. It has been in forest amid deadly unrest. A spokesman citing the security situation in egypt after a spate of attacks, including last weeks bombing. World powers have been reacting with alarm after north korea started a nuclear reactor. The u. S. Says it would be a serious misstep. The situation remains unclear but russia says work is underway, sounding the alarm bell. This is what experts say could be the smoking gun. This satellite image taken in august appears to show steam rising from the power generator. Experts in the United States say this also suggests north Koreas Nuclear plant is active. North korea is in the process or has begun operations of a small reactor that is able to produce plutonium from Nuclear Weapons. Researchers say it would be no surprise. Angered by south korean and American Military drills, pyongyang threatened Nuclear Attacks and promised to restart the reactor. South of the border, officials said restarting the reactor is proof the north has no intention of abandoning its Nuclear Weapons program and urged International Inspectors to be allowed access. I think the Agency Inspection team should be sent to north korea and its findings the publicly disclosed. The five megawatt reactor was closed down in 2007 under the terms of a disarmament agreement. In 2008, pyongyang destroyed the cooling tower as they entered it into talks. Experts estimate it could be fully functional october. Japan has forced its anger at a french circle newspaper. It published cartoons featuring its take on a games affected by the Fukushima Nuclear disaster. When depicted a fight between a sumo roster and another a radioactive swimming pool. He said the images would offend those affected by the disaster. The character hurts the feelings of people affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. It is also inappropriate that gives the wrong impression about the problem of contaminated water. We truly deplore it. Building a Better Future for french industry. That is the idea of the 10year plan to pump new life into a sector that has been flogging for a decade. He has outlined 34 areas to focus on, focusing on changes to come. Concorde, and the aryan rocket, projects on the cutting edge of french engineering and all in the past. French authorities want to usher in a rebirth. We have lost 750,000 industrial jobs in 10 years. Workers, technicians, engineers. Our project is to recreate factories and get involved again. Francois hollande has put forward a plan to tackle 34 key areas over 10 years. From a new generation of high speed trains, fuelefficient cars, to biofuels, alternative energy, textiles and medical technology. Far from previous decades where the state led the way, he is pushing for much of the drive to come from the private sector. 10 euros for every one dollar spent from the state. Industrialists know the markets, the clients, and the technology. It comes down to the state to define a framework to go along with that and stimulate it. So far, economic stimulus measures have failed to take off. 44 firms returned over four years from 2009, compared to 267 which outsourced their activities overseas. Salvage workers will attempt to raise the sunken cruise ship. The operation is unprecedented in scale. It has been on its side ever since it hit rocks and killed over 32 people in january of 2012. The largest biceps and smallest dog and the fastest 100 meter in high heels all to be found in the guinness book of records, its also most 3 million copies its each year. We take a look at some of the more bizarre entries. A Guinness Record is something people bend over backward for, literally. This persons exploits have earned her three mentions in the latest edition of the guinness book of records. The latest compendium has just been released. It contains more than 3000 weird and wonderful compass wins. The british are well represented. A rss they are as eccentric as ever. The smallest car and the largest walking robot. This monster from germany. Also making the grade is happy, who holds the record for the farthest distance came courted by a goat, and achievement her owners said has got to her head. After she became a skateboarder, she is a little bit of a diva. Over 130 million copies have been sold in over 100 countries, making itself a recordholder as the bestselling copyrighted book series of all time. All its flu in the Afghan Capital this wednesday night. Celebration, not in anger. 13 years after 9 11, the Football Team won the south Asian Football Federation final. A rare moment of unity for a war weary nation. Congratulations to them. Time to go to francois picard. Many thanks, chris moore in the newsroom. Many times over the past two and a half years, this show has been a foreign to stop and take a snapshot of the arab world. With the return of the military in egypt, tunisias constitution and syrias dissent into chaos, it is time to take thats snapshot. This time from another perspective. That of women. At a more empowered now than they were two and a half years ago . After places like libya and tunisia, strongmen who were secular, what policies and role for women, what is the trend in arab society . Today in our debate, women and the arab spring. With us, reem abu hassan. You are a newcomer to politics because you are a human rights advocate and an attorney. Do you feel what is it like making that switch to part of the Government Team . Is a difficult . It is difficult in the sense that the expectations are different. Aspirations are different. Definitely the challenges are more severe than they appear to be from the outside. Is it frustrating, you have to watch what you say . The idea of being accustomed to consultation with parliament on a daily basis, the issue of really a new trend in that country has been established with the issue of having a parliamentary government. That, in itself, for a human rights activist and a lawyer, you feel you are part of a team and that you cant be outspoken as much as you want to me. As she did a lot of her growing up in london. But she is no longer exiled there. The spokesperson for the ruling party. Yusra ghannouchi. The question i have to ask, when you went back to tunisia for the first time in 2011, what was it like . It was something we had planned for 22 years. I left to tunisia as a young child and had not been able to go back, as well as the rest of my family. And after the revolution, we were able to get back. It was obviously very emotional and a very happy day. But the beginning of a more challenging phase in history. And later i will be asking you if the tunisia you saw back in 2011 is the same tunisia you are witnessing now. Also with us, a political refugee in paris. Lina al chawaf. She runs radio rosanna. Run by syrian exiles. You describe how you are an executive at a private television station. Just after the uprising began in your country, authorities came to you and said, this is the propaganda you have to play. Yes, actually i was working in the private media. When the revolution began, we had asked for many different positions that we have to do the same as they did in public media. That is something we refused. Was it an easy decision to refuse or did you have to think knowing what the implications might be . For me, right away, no. For me, yeah. I could not think about it. I know what is really happening in the street. I saw them, my friends. I know how they went to the street to just ask for their freedom and the dignity. So i could not do it in the media. Or do it to journalism. So that is something, he even i did not think about that. Actually i did not accept this would be the reaction. It was very, for me, it was before then. I am not a political person. I am just a media person. When they act like this and they try to throw me out of my work, so it was a shock, the reaction. It is interesting. You did not see yourself as a politics junkie. Suddenly it was forced upon you. Also with us, a journalist, sonia terrab. You published your first novel, which shows the contradictions of todays youth in casablanca. That the novel, you describe the contradictions of growing up in an urban place in the arab world. Exactly. It is a contradiction because i am describing the working society. Some people, when they finished in high school, they, brought to finish their studies and then they come back to the country. So it is a cultural reverse shock. When you come back, you find you dont really know who you are. You grow up but then you become an adult. You have been used to a certain amount of freedom, for example. And then you come back. That is the time of your life, who you are. And how to cope with it. This is about this young woman, who is 26, the whole book is like, i hate it. I hate it. Is that your personal experience . I was in this situation. I chose to come back to france. Some people, they just have to confirm to the psyd, to do what they have to do to be well. The thing is, my main character, she is revolting but she is not acting. It is sufficient to revolt, you come back and do something. It is not enough just to be angry. Also with us, her casework as a legal consultant and a human rights lawyer takes her all over the mediterranean and beyond. Celine bardet, welcome back. I will put to you the question, places like libya, jordan, in the two and a half years, i guess i could ask you the question we put today to the viewers on facebook and twitter, do you get the feeling people are more or less empowered they were when the uprising began . People or women . People in general, i think it was interesting what you said about, it is not enough to be angry. When you get to the post revolution, women, they were very much involved. We dont talk much about that. Most of the time you say men. I met women and we do not see them during the revolution. I think they do not want to be seen. The question is now, in libya with the discussion surrounding the cost of tuition, women tried the constitution, women tried to get empowered. It is extremely difficult. It is still difficult. It is a long process. This is what i am working on in libya. We have a comment on twitter that came to us saying as i see it, muslim women are more involved in demonstrations but still kept out politically. Yusra ghannouchi, do you agree with that statement . Absolutely not. I would like to focus on tunisia because that is where my experience is. It is true that women took part alongside men in the revolution. After the revolution they continue to take heart in all ields and in politics. They are participating in all fields. We have in the national assembly, the elected national assembly, which is writing a new constitution as well as legislation. And managing the endemic democratic transition. We have 30 women represented here it which is higher than france, the u. K. , america, and most of europe. And this is true in other fields as well. There is a lot to be done in politics, in the area of representation of women. And that is true of countries that are not part of the arab spring or the arab region altogether. That is a challenge that continues for the rest of the world. 30 of women in parliament, im going to put this to reem abu hassan, we did some checking. Three seems to be the agic number for jordan, tunisia, and egypt. The number of female cabinet members. It seems as though it does not extend to much to the level you are at. Actually, you are right. Three is the magic number. But the idea, i am always a believer. If you want to change the issue of gender and womens empowerment, you dont look at who is appointed. You look at middle management, where you can change perception and stereotypes. About women. I believe in a country like jordan, ministers are appointed. And members of the parliament, the house of representatives, our elected. In that house we have 18 women out of 150. 15 were elected and three were elected on their own merit. This is where the attention should be. A representative of the people are hopefully going to form a parliamentary government. It is a question we ask because we have these debates here in france. Women are not well represented in the french parliament. Although now in the cabinet they are. Do you feel as though you are part of a quota or that youre there on merit . I think a combination of both. I am frank about that. I hope i represent women well. At the same time, i am a specialist in development. So i have that aspect. And i think we aspire for the day where women are chosen, appointed, elected on their own merit. The idea of credibility and professionalism is also important. Sonia terrab, is this symbolic or does it matter . Of course it matters. In my opinion, tunisia is a special case. They have a strong regime but it gave rights to women. It educates people. When they make the revolution, women went to school. It is not like morocco. They dont even have what we have. For example in morocco we have less i dont want to Say Something wrong but they, it is not a problem of quota. We have to look at the big picture in the country, 50 is literate. Listening to sonia looking at tunisia with envy, would you say this is a positive part of his legacy . I think, yes, women in tunisia, and men, had enjoyed certain rights others had not enjoyed. There is a myth surrounding how perfect the situation was in tunisia. Yes, education and literacy is higher in tunisia. Sometimes we have them there it is the highest in the arab world. That is not the case. And there are many problems in relation to the situation that existed previously, before the revolution. However, nobody talked about it. Also, politically, the question of women and womens rights were exploited by the government and no one within tunisia or outside focused on some of the areas that needed improvements, whether it has to do with education or access to politics or access to Adequate Health care. What we discovered after the resolution revolution is there are many areas where women continue to suffer, as well as the problems that are shared with man. Injustice, corruption, etc. In the girl areas, women tend to have equal access, to even water facilities, and these are areas that need more attention. I would also like to add, it is not a direct consequence that once you have 100 literacy and Higher Education that means equal access to politics. As i mentioned, in the nonarab world, women are not equally represented in the political field. Education is important but it is not the only problem. You are mentioning that libya and the women who were in the revolution in charge of those councils or militias. What has happened to the ones that were no longer at the forefront, the visible face . Linking to that what is being said, it is also a question of been educated and all of this. When you have that, things are easier. This is also a question of how to empower women and women encounter specific issues. And when it comes to this issue, the example of libya. Women are active. But they are in the shadow. I think there is an issue of culture and mentality and an issue of women. They dont dare yet or they dont want to be upfront. So it is very complex. I kind of agree with what you are saying. It is more complex, the issue of quota, i have no opinion on that, for example. On the other hand, it works. The issue of being for or against quota, i do not have an answer. But you need them. Of things a myriad of things to empower women, to have access. To be a leader, etc. If there is one place where they do not have access it is serious. We will talk about it when we come back. Stay with us. Welcome back. Before we resume the debate, a sample of the stories we will be following for you at the top of the hour on france 24. Bashar alassad calls on the u. S. To say it wont strike before he hands over chemical weapons, weapons which he says he will hand over one month after the signing of syria to an International Ban on chemical weapons. Funerals follow bloody scenes at a mosque in baghdad. Bombs killing dozens. Despite a security cramped dan crackdown in the capital. Russia is among those sounding alarm. North korea apparently restarts a creaking nuclear reactor. We will have those stories and much more for you at the top of the hour on