>> coronavirus infections on the rise in europe while the french government says the country has reached a tipping point. the number o of hospitalizations is dowown. grereece,nt with france thanks italy for its boost in the mediterranean. joe biden and kamala harris share the stage for the first time since being announced as , saying donalde

trump presidency is "open and of coronaviruser infections is rising in europe. germany reported its biggest increase in cases in more than three months. they are aton said a tipping point. while the number of infections is on the rise, the number of hospitalizations in france is down. corridors, french hospitals arare barely unrecognizable. patients who were on ventilators are gone. it is downwn from 7019 in april, and yet the numumber of infectis has grown n in recent w weeks.

>> [speaking french] >> the testing positivity rate at grown in the past month, less than 1% in early july. , sorate has dououbled to 2.2% why are e hospitals empty? french]h]king >> this could mean that peoplele whwho are vulnerable protect themselves, but a new crisis may be right around the corner. as the virus spreads, it could

hit more people and more vulnerable ones toward the end of the summer when people return to work. then icus could look like this again. >> india has the fourth highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world. the total number of people who have died in the country has surged past 47,000. india saw its b biggest single y spike on thursday. 67 thousand covid-19 cases were repoported, the total number 2.4 million. they have the biggest caseload in the world behind the united states and brazil, and have seen 50,000 cases a day for the past two weeks. here is our correspondent. >> it is very concerning. we have surpassed the nuclear damamage from world war ii. yesterdayther high

with about 70,000 cases reported. questioning the measures the government is taking. -- indianan government imposing a nationwide lockdown, however the early restrictions hahave been eased in most state, so economic activities ongoing, even in places l le delelhi, whh hahas been infected by the virus strongly. the metro places that attract crowds are shut, butut in many ways it feels almost back to normal, which is a great source of concernrn. carers seem to nonot really like we did in the early dayays. places like jim's will be gyms will beck --

allowed to reopen. those who o are in g greater da, lockdown is being extended. where e india is not seeeeing eh , is finally getting up to par with the population. we cannot possibly know how many ,eopople really are infected which is a matter of grave concern. prime minister thanked france for its pledge to boost its military presence in the eaeastern mediterranenean, s turkish h and greeeek warships shattered eaeach other -- shadad -- andother over energyy waters, which athens claims as its own. they have warned of an accident and offered that greece is open for dialogue.

let's brbring in rob parsons.. what is this about?? turkey and greece are sayingng they are e open too die but neither r side is takiking steps. it seems t to be about drillllig rightsts and how you define the continentatal shelf of the countries.s. how far out to sea do the territorial waters of greece and turkey extend? the problem is complicated, because greece has a string of islands along the turkish coast and it claims t territorial wats extending from those islands. the turks say that is absurd, and they are not prepared to stick by t that, which is why te turks hahave taken these measurs sea to thehips i in the

coastline. botht the tensions with sides bristling with navalal greeksls in t the area, the almomost as mamany, and now frae will apparently join the greeks in protecting g the territorial waters off greece. we have a situation in the east mediditerranean which is becomig tensor a and tensosor by the da. could -- will union call a meeting of ministers on friday. >> i undndstand how w tensions a mounting between grereece and turkey, , but why is franance getting involvlved? >> f france has had a relatively sour relationship with turkey, partly over issues regarding the mediterranean, not just between

greece and turkey but between cyprus and turkey. cyprus facing the same problems and the greeks are facing france is supporting a fellow eu member in its struggle to make sure that turkey remains out of cyprus waters. between a difference president macron and president erdogan. was -- by thecron kurdisish in sururgeon -- that d him to write a rather angry article in "the economist," suggesting nato might be brain dead. more recently, the countries have been in dispute over how to act in libya, with france supporting to a lesser degree general have to hafta, andndhe

gngna. that has led to a relationship which has become more occult, and now we have this on top of it as well -- difficult, and now we have this on top of it as well. >> joe biden and kamala harris shared the first time since she was announced as his running mate. biden says paris is the best choice because her nomination gave hope -- harris is the best choice because her nomination gave hope to girls who feel undervalued. they say the case against donald trump and his presidency is open and shut. the worstreeling from public health crisis in a century. the president's mismanagement of the pandemic has plunged us into the worst economic crisis since the great depression.

and we are experiencing a moral recommended -- reckoning with racial and systemic injustice that has brought a collective conscious to the streets of our country, demanding change. japan's --hands -- shipping says they y will pay fr the e oil spill off f the coastf maururitius. this as all the remaining fuel has been pumped from the tanks off the cargo ship that ran aground on the coaoast. the vessel has leaked more than 1000 tons of fuel into prorotecd waters, and is still at risk of splitting in two. the bodies of six french aid workers killed while visiting a giraffe reserve in niger will be flown home tomorrow. in thesident will be company of the victims' bodies.

their killing was described as an act of terror. r --nige >> he was a well-known face in the village. nearbyrvavationist in the park was taking a group of french aid workers on aa tour, along with his fave -- fellow nigerian workers. his s family and colleagues remember him deeply. [speaking french] hearsay the direct -- many here say the giraffe reserve was one of ththe last tourists spots in niger.. it was in the reserve that the attack took place.

torched and riddled with bullet holes. his colleagues are not only mourning his death, they are worried about their f future. they feel their efforts to attracact toururists and providn income f f nearby vivillages cod be wasted. french]eaking since the shootings, france's foreign minister has issued a travel warning against visiting the exception of its capital as a red zone. reserve was considered a yellow zone, a lolower risksk area. lebanon's parliament convene to declare a state of emergency following last week's blast in beirut. the military will have exceptional powers to prevent

gatherings deemed a threat to national security. people have once again been out on the street demanding justice for those who lost their lives, as well as going after the government for negligence. despite the sense of loss, there is also one of hope. a baby was born right off to her -- after the blast in beirut. decided to name him george after the hospital he was born in. >> george may look like any other adorable baby, but his story is anything but usual. as his mother arrived in the delivery room and he was set to be born, beirut was hit by the deadly portt explosion. death struck the lebanese capital, including in this hospital, where windows and

electricity crashed. [speaking foreign l language] >> doctors and nurses fought to deliver the boy fast. rarely have smartphones been so crucial. blasts having the the timethe nation, for mourning and anger, but the birth ofof george brings a glimr of hope. >> h he is veryy special. languguage]reign edmund and his wife, proud

parents, our unlikely to forget what they have been to -- are unlikely to forget what they have been to and move on, build their future i in a country in a crisis and hope for a better future. >> that is it for me. thank you for watching. ♪ >> welcome to the france 24 interview. attorney chrhristian who was c condemned to death in her country,y, accused of blasphemyy her neighbors in p punjab. she spent five years in an before being acquitted. the acquittal caused the anger of religious groups, forcing her to hide and be extradited to

canada where she lives in hiding. she wants to live in france in order to stay with the person who saved her life, a french journalist with whom she has written her story, a book which is being published called "at last free," thank you. >> thank you very much for having me. . am grateful love, yourll for the .indness, and your work here inighted to be paris. however, icatioion, spent 10 years in, and now i have the good fortune of being here with you. this is a very special time for me. i cherish it. >> i would like to go back to a

more painful moment for you. on the 14th of june, 2009, you were out picking fruit on the countryside and that day was very hot. you decided to drink water from a well, and then a dispute occurred with two of your neighbors, and it was the beginning of your drama. >> yes. went berry d day i picking. it was a hot june day. as youou may know, june is a vey hot month in pakistan, and it was the season for berry picking. there was an altercation over water with some of my neighbors which should never have happened. i was outut to fetch water and s accused of blasphemy from drinking -- for drinking from the same cup.

>> your neighbors accused you of making the water impure, and then there was a dispute during which said everybody should live together, and this is true for jesusus and d also the p prophet mohammed. you were criticized by your neighbors and then the villagers. yes, absolutely, those were my words. i called for peace. i called for peaceful coexistence. that is the message of jesus christ. that is also the message of the holy prophet mohammed. we should all live together in harmony. that theseo clarifyfy women were settling a score. there was a running feud with the head of my village. this man hadad previously insuld my daughters.

me, theyen who accused insulted me as well. the abuse had been going on for a year. and they used a drink of water as an excuse, claiming i was forbidden to drink from the same cup as muslims, saying i was unclean, , accused d of blasphe, state and prison for 10 years. by the grace of god, i have been acquitted and my name has been cleared. i cherish this freedom. i knew i had spoken the truth and i had said nothing wrong. my faith was strong. i had done nothing wrong. i was convicted even though i was innocent, and i knew god would set me free. >> described the prison, the

violence, the e torture, the psychological torture of the guards. theprisoners described intervention of two major .oliticians at the time the minister of minorities said, we will free you, but they were both assassinated because they defended you. did you lolose hope and did you think that maybe you would commit suicide because you thought you would never r be freed?d? true., yes, that's these indidividuals were killed for no other reason than standing up for me. they fought i injustice. they reviewed my case. they found insufficient evidence against me. i cried my heart out for five

whole days after each assassination, and looking back, these are horrible, unspeakable crimes, two innocent men were killed. that in myto say heart, i know they are notot go. they still livive in our heartr. they now rest with god. my children, too, paid a very dear price. deprived ofn were their mother's love. their schooling was disrupted. these are the hardships i managed to overcome. through patience, ththrough fortitude. >> what is strikiking is that yu were acquitted in ococtober 201,

and after that, for seven months you had to stay in y your county in hiding, protecteded by the authoritities because this acquittal could provoke the anger of religious groups. w worse that you were acquitted by the supreme court and had to live in hiding? , security was obviously an issue. security is still an issue. it's true that the supremee cout of pakistan overthrew my sentencece. i respect my country and its authority because they ended up finding me not guilty, and i will continue to feel this love and respect until my dying day. i was born and raised in pakistan.. heart. my country in my this being said, i have forgiven all those who have trespassed against me. >> the prime minister paid

tribute to your acquittal but quite visibly, he cannot change the law on blasphemy which has existed a long time, which was toughened in 1986. this you're feeling that law should at least be repealed that thisour feeling law should at least be repealed? >> yes, that is what i wish for, and i would like to send this message to the pakistani president. i call for a reform of the law. 10 years in prison is a very harsh sentence. i believe the law must be changed. adjustments must be made. i never had a say. nobody ever heard my side of the story, and yet i spent 10 years in pririson. i was sentenced to death, and i

hope this will never happen to anyone again. >> and this continues to happen to other people? >> i know. , know this is still happening and it's heartbrereaking because it shouldn't. my message is a message of love and peace. it is the message of both jesus christ and the holy prophet mohammed. both wanted us to live together in peace as brothers and sisters. i wiwish for peace in my countr. "finallyook is called free," but you are not totally free. you are hidden in canada under protection. you will probably be living in france soon, but until, you are under threat. do you still feel l in danger becaususe of what you now

represent? >> yes, i have received many threats. i have heard a lot of things. do believe security measures are necessary. is true that i'm free, but anything could happen at any time. >> you say you love your country. taken fromre pakistan, they said you will never come back. do you think you will ever set foot in papakistan e ever again? >> yes, yes, i do. i hope to be back, with all my heart. and i do believe i will one day have thehe opportunity to go home. forhank you very much

having come to the set of france 24 to bear witness. your book is published, "finally free." thank you for having watched the interview on france 24. >> thank you all. thank you all from the bottom of my heart. thank you to canada for welcoming me to the european union, and thank you to france fofor its warm welcome and makig me an honorary sin to sin -- citizen of france. a very special place in m my heart. i feel respected here. -- and myed to be name is now -- thank you all for your love. it has been a pleasure meeting so many kind individuals, including the mayor of paris. many thanks to the president of

for entertaining my request for asylum. many thanks to france and the people of france. my prayers are with you. >> thank you very

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