♪ ♪ the e united states surpasses china as the country with the most coronavirus cases in the world. the chinese premier calls for a unified response between the two nations. france withhours in 300 65 deaths linked to covid-19.

one of the victims, a noyear-old girl with underlying health conditionons,a stark reminder thehe virus can e fatal to a anybody. africa, the country was its first coronavirus death, as it begins locockdown, the popolice and army have called fr strict quarantine measures which include no jogging and walking pets. hello and thank yoyofor joininig us in the "france 24" newsroom. the united states is officially a new epicenter of the coronavirurus pandemic with over 85,000 confirmed cases, surpassing china. new york remains the worst affected state. of their clusters are developing -- othere country clusters are developing around the country great there are concerns that new orleans could be the next to be hit by a major wave of coronavirus.

the city is facing a looming shortage of supplies, staff, and sysycophants. -- sycophants. -- sicick beds. new state is the most affected state in york city is the epicenter. the latest numbers show more than 37,000 people who tested positive for coronavirus in york state. more than 385 people have died in york state. in new york city, 21,000 people have tested positive. more than 280 people have died, including a nurse in manhattan and a transit worker. new yorkers are getting very anxious. many are self-quarantining in their homes. i'm doing the same, standing in my front garden in a new york suburb.

hospitals are already beginning to be overwhelmed with doctors saying they have never seen anything like this before. hospitatal is only having t to split memental leaders -- ventilators. the is s a riskyy practice governor, has suggested maybe necessary great york does not have enough ventilators to cope with all of the sick people flooooding into the emergency room. >> president trump has said he has much respect for china after president xin with jijinping. china has called for cooperation throughout the world to fight the epidemic. world leaders pledged to work together to fight the virus and inject 4.5 trillion euros into the global economy to avoid recession. you 20 meetings are most g20 meetings

are glamorous affairs. but this one was different. coronavirus means travel is considered dangerous. the leaders instead spoke to each other in a videoconference. president xi of china calls for swift action to avert a global recession. g20 want to call on all members to take collective actions and cutting tariffs, removing barriers, and facilitating the flow of trade, and to send a strong signal and restore confidence for global economic recovery. >> despite leaders agreeing to collectively increase public spending by 4.5 trillion euros, tensions still remain. u.s.ng is not happy president donald trump continues to use the phrase "chinese virus" to describe covid-19. although a government spokesman says china wants to avoid a public spat with washington over the issue.

>> i don't know whether there is a war of words at this moment. the only war we are at, at this moment, is the war against the virus. that is the only war we are engaged in. >> leaders also agreed to coordinate funding and research for a vaccine and to stuff up efforts to help developing nations with poor health infrastructure as they battle to contain the spread of the virus. >> g20 countries may be planning to work together. much closer to home, the e.u. has struggled to outline a clear plan of action as european leaders locked horns. want toitaly, and spain finance recovery. the morewas blocked b by fiscally conservative northern countries, in particular germany. with details of the talks. >> we have seen north-south

divisions before, notably during the fiscal crisis.. it got very ugly back then. we are seeing the same elements emerging here. farbig divide is about h how financial solidarity should go fighting the coronavirus and its economic impact. we saw nine you member states -- e.u. member states making a big push at thursday's european or whator euro bonds some are calling corona bonds, the ideaea of joinint filing o t on the international markets to b bigger stateses to finance their effoforts combatining the virus. some say the cost would be lower for more f fragile statas such s italy.

we are told there was strong political debate. you can read into that in ordinary language that there were big disagreements. it did drag on longer than predicted. we know for sure germany and the netherlands are particularly opposed d to this. wealthier northern member states. italy, spain, portugal on the other side of the debate. corona bonds or eueuro bonds are not happening now but don't expect the argument to go away. >> we following the issue to keep you updated. france has witnessed his deadliest day as it continues to battle against the coronavirus. 365 people died in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of covid-19 related deaths to 1696. the youngest victim is a 16-year-old girl who had no underlying health problems. officials have said the virus affects the elderly and those

with existing health problems. but younger victims are increasingly being reported across the world. the french prime minister said the current situation was challenging. >> the health care situation is difficult. the death toll over the past 24 hours is very high, and we have to admit that this is a crisis that is going to go on and on. it is not going to get better quickly. we have to hold on and stay mobilized. the wave of cases spreading across france hit the east of the country first and have now in other regions of france and extremely fast-paced and is putting the health care system under great strain. south africa's government has firstced the country's

covid-19 related deaths as the country starts a three-week lockckdown. both fatalities were announced at hospitals at the western cape region. arece and the army enforcing strict lockdown measures as authorities lookok o stop the spread of t the virus. more than 1000 cases have been reported. food shops have stayed open. the alcohol stores, jogging, a d walking pets havave been banned. for more on the situtuation in south africa, jane flanagan census t this analysis -- sendss this analysis. >>outh africica is one of the world's most divided and unequal societies. this lockdown is one of thee strictest measures in africa. .t will be very different it will bebe painful. on the econonomy whicich will be obliterated during lockdown. the majority are living in poverty.

up the road from me, it is unimaginable how people can whenice social distancing people are living cheek by jowl with families living in one room . people standing in line forr wawater. the majority of people, it will be inconvenient but doable. it is something we can tolerate. >> next, we focus on a growing area of debate. should prisoners, particularly those presumed as innocent, be released as the coronavirus spreads? you may recall in italy, jail riots at the start of the pandemic caused the death of six people. some nations are freeing inmates to stem the spread of the virus in crowded jails. to discuss the issue further, we welcome the national secretary

of thehe france register's union -- magistrates union. thank you for joining us on "france 24." we have seen poland and iran release prisoners. can wewe see the same scenario n france? justice askedy of to release those who just have a few months of jail to do. it is going to be really difficult in the future. who are in jail, they cannot see the family because they are unable to visit in jail. the jails are overcrowded. it is going to happen. not at a large scale. just for a few persons.

but not enough. the minister of justice talked about 5000 persons. right now in jail in france, there are more than 80,000 persons. so it is really limited. >> is it not a concern for you and perhaps for the government that i in the situatioion now already quite tense that peoplee might be scared if prisoners are releleased on the street? >> the people we are talking about are not murderers. they are just people who commit a small felony. they are about to go out anyway in a few months. we are saying it is better if they go out now. they will be confined if they go home. it does not matter if they are in jail. in jail, they are like a free person in n the same cell -- the

are like three persons in the same cell. the didisease mighght spread a t and can become completelely horrible. avoid d drama after this, we act now. a i would lilike your opinion on the global issue. we have seen on the other side of the spectrum countries like russia and saudi arabia have threreateneded to imprprison pee who do not respect a lockdown -- the lockdown measures which would go against what countries like france and poland are doing. which scenarioio is going to prevail? we did note prefer jail people for this. we are not russia and saudi arabia. -- we are french. it is not the same s situation. thank you very much for joining us live on "france 24."

four french christian charity workers have been freed two months after they were kidnapped in iraq. and onech nationals iraqi were captured during growing tensions the start --at the start of the year. the release came less than 24 hours after france announced they would be withdrawing troops because of the coronavirus. the charity hahas been operating in iraq since 2014 and aims to help christians in t the region. that is all the news we have e r nono thank you very much for watching us on "france e 24." we will be back in 15 minutes with all of the latest news. from the team here, do stay safe, take care. bye-bye for now. ♪

now!t out of there >> let's go get them. you.wish to protect >> from what? >> nazis. >> we are looking at the best of the small screen. it is a big month in television. netflix is releasing its first andinal series from africa, the final season of "homeland" is coming out on showtime. she is here to take us through all of that. first, something i thought it would never seen. legendary actor al pacino making his smallscreen debut. >> one of the year's most anticipated debuts.

group of citizens in 1970's new york tracking down and killing nazis who fled to the u.s. after the second world war and are planning a fourth reich. >> revenge. i wish to protect you. >> from what? >> nazis. this i is the first time for me doing a television series. i liked the writing. that is what got me e involved. i know you are! >> ♪ run, run, run given the subject matter, this is quite a sensitive storyline. i imagine the challenges which tone to take. how have they pitched it? >> it isis a strange show. there tones of nazi revevenge,

almost absurdist, black comedy-e-esque. there are deranged people were commenced they are doing the right thining chasing down these criminals. he has that gravelly voice we know, , the yiddish accent, and the imposing presence as the ringleader of the group. the show did take me by surprise. it is funny, dark, a little bit gratuitously violent at time, but overall entertaining and well cast. a ow with ththe subject matter is not without controversy. when show features -- one show features a flashback of a human chess game at auschwitz. the show runner's grandmother was in a concentration camp and defended the show saying it aims to tell the story of the holocaust without borrowing from a real person's specific

experience. >> biblical grounds to tread upon. netflix -- difficult grounds to tread upon. netflix is releasing the first show from the african continent. it is a six-part series. >> africa is here and ready for business. that is the message loud and clear being sent by netflix with the show. the actress who heads the show is quite familiar to western audiences. she had a role in the abc drama "quantico." she is reinvented with the show -- reunited with the show runner for a new production. she is a south african spy investigating the mysterious death of her militant mother and trying to get the country at the same time. the show takes us across africa blending dialects, culture, and communities. >> let's look a at the lady herself. or is a preveview of "queen son" >> i want to know everything

about that woman. champagne? [glasses tinkle] >> find out who she is an who she is working for! >> she gets things done. >> are you ok? [chanting] >> i need you to write me another letter saying i am not crazy. >> i've got to admit, i fell in love with "queen sono," the characters of, but also the supporting cast, the high octane stones, the storylines. the first original series from the african continent. i found it at times a bit cheesysy, a bit convoluted. maybe too many meandering plot

lines. maybe that is just me. i did love the diversity of african dialects and dialogs, great casting, and she has a great performance. tough, vulnerable, but a secret spy. very entertaining. it has everything. romance, mr., murder, politics. it is great. streaming on-demand is a crowded arena. >> it is very crowded. foreign streaming platforms are jostling for space with local broadcasters.. the big question is how is television consumed on the continent. mainly by cellphones and mainly by the middle and upper classes. what you should take away is that markets in europe and the u.s. are perhaps hitting the situation point in terms of revenue, but the african market has extraordinary potential.

figures show it will surpass $1 with a projected 10 million subscribers on the african continent. 5 million will come just from netflix. no surprise netflix is rushing out to other african shows later this year. the big question is, what impact will this have on how african stories are told to a global audience? we put that question to an associate professor at the univerersity of cape town. take a listen. has alwaysnterertainment, beenalls for o original, authentic, african stories. issue -- i the think part of the issue i is the story being told, how does it resonate with the sensibilities of africans themselves? that is one aspect. the other aspect is, is the

money remaining in the continent? netflixhappening with is as much as they arere investg in theeay i in africa subscription m moneynd o other forms s of income tend to go bak to the states. they are not really invested in the continent. >> it should be exciting to see more high-quality content coming out of the african continent. theng back to france, political thriller is back for a third season. >> he plays a ruthless political strategist from the socialist party and they are of the northern french city of dunkirk. it is a political thriller chronicling his rise to power. a murky web upset because, manipulation, revenge, corruption, and political games.

season three sees him i the french presidencncy -- eyeing te french presidency. it has been incredibly successful overseas, broadcast to 80 countries. some have likened it to a french "house of cards" meets french " west wing." take a listen for yourself. >> [speaking french] >> [speaking french] ♪ as you mentioned, t this is an imimmensely popular show broadcasted dozens of countries around the world. 's seems to echo real-life politics in france. >> that is right. in the season, he plots his political comeback amidst the

chaotitic reign of the current president, a 39-year-old centrist. >> sounds quite familiar. >> a little bit. the titiming of the show is opportune. we are weeks away from local elections in france that will be seenen as a test on macron's presidency. the third season in a nutshell will look at the rise of the by a young g leader with a s social media following. >> there are too many shows and not enough time. before we go, give us three shows not to miss this month. >> the first is "high fidelity," a gender-flipped millennial take on the original film starring john cusack based on the book. kravitz is trying to figure out her love life,

very hipster. she is magnetic on-screen. thatat is one to watch out for. is a play on words on the french word for people and gentrified. >> i get it. >> it is a comedy about a family business in the neighborhood in l.a. and they are forced to reinvent themselves and deal with things like racism and the lgbtq movement. finally, "homeland." this is a big month for tv. there danes is back for eighghth and final season of t crcritically acclaimed series. we find her released from a russian prison would b be questions about her time in captivity -- with big questions that her time in captivity. plenty of suspense. she is sent into afghanistan on a dangerous mission to convince

the local government to sign a peace deal with the taliban and ensure the withdrawal of u.s. troops, very much keeping in of keeping with the new cycle. i am still waiting to see if the new season holed up to the end. >> there is a lot of anticipation surrounding that one. let's see if homeland season eight lives up to fan expectations. we leave you with a preview of the series. you can get more arts and culture on the website, our social media channels, and every day here on encore. there's more news coming up on "france 24" just after this. i lost seven n months of my life! >> leave us alone! >> you were off the gridid for more than 90 minutes. >> my russian hanandler?

> you tell him exactly what e wants to hear! > ♪ >>

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