♪ >> you are watching "live from paris." it's 10:00 p.m. here in the french capital, and we begin with headlines. a top iranian nuclear scientist murdered -- gunned down in his car with his family inside. iran blaming israel and bowing revenge. our correspondent in jerusalem joins us to explain why. french police caught on tape beating a black man for almost five minutes at his music

studio. president emmanuel macron called the images shameful for france. the who says more data is needed to determine if astrazeneca's coronavirus vaccine works. the company has admitted it made the dosage mistake during its trial. one of iran's top nuclear scientist have then -- has been assassinated. he has long been suspected by the west of masterminding a secret nuclear bomb program. iranian state media says he died in hospital after armed assassins gunned him down in his car near tehran. iran has pointed the finger at israel and implied that the killing had the blessing of the

u.s. president, donald trump. for more on the implications of this news, let's bring in our correspondent in jerusalem. iran is saying this bears all the hallmarks of an israeli operation. explain for our viewers why iran is saying that. >> israel has not commented on this attack and has not commented it -- commented on earlier suspected atcks, too. isel is the country most likely to be targeted by any successful nuclear program that iran completes. remember, previous president ahmadinejad saying israel had to be wiped off the map. there were a number of attacks eight to 10 years ago against previous physicists involved in

this nuclear program. even though israel does not admit taking part itself, other analysts do finger israel and say it was responsible. the most significant assassination carried out in iran this year was of qasem soleimani, and that was by the united states, so there are other possibilities in this field. >> the timing of this is raising eyebrows. iran says it thinks the u.s. knew about this and mike pompeo was just in israel. is there anything connecting these ts. >> it was not just that he was here. it was an important and unusual visit to the israeli prime minister. benjamin netanyahu went to saudi arabia and spoke there. the current saudi arabian

leader, mike pompeo representing donald trump's government, and benjamin netanyahu. i know there are concerns about what will happen during this period. normally there is not a period with things like this take place, but there are concerns there could be attacks, so it is unusual, and you do have to look at the unusual nature of this presidency, what is going on in washington during this period as well. >> thank you so much for your reporting. for more on where iran could take this from here, our correspondent joins us in the studio. could you tell us more about why this scientist was so important to iran. >> he was important because he was a top nuclear scientist who helped kind of lay the groundwork for iran's nuclear program, but i think it is

important to say that with his death today, that does not mean the death of iran's nuclear program at all. he put the foundations in place, but it's far more than just the one man, so i don't think his death will really deplete iran's capacity to complete its nuclear programs, but nonetheless, this is a real symbolic loss for iran. it is worth saying that as we were hearing that, we do not know who is responsible for what has happened, but that this is nonetheless clearly a victory for israel, if they carry this out or not. numeral for people who worked with were assassinated. he survived an assassination attempt himself. i think it is really worth reiterating here that yes, his death is a blow to iran perhaps as well as a blow to diplomacy in the region.

>> iran is not saying that this is a mystery. they are coming right out and saying israel did this. they want to provoke a war. how extreme could iran's sponsor get? >> i think it's the difference between the language iran will use in the coming days and the reality of what we will see. we were reminded of the assassination of custom soleimani in january of this year in iraq carried out by the united states. that was a killing of one of the most senior iranians in the world. vatican was met by a huge amount of rhetoric, and there was some practical response from iran. they did target some american bases in iraq. there was not this full-blown war. i think we have to think about something slightly similar here. will these measures we've seen in the past couple of months

continue, following the death of soleimani and also following the increased sanctions from the trump administration? there's also a question as to how long iran can continue to act with restraint in response to attacks like this. there has been a suggestion that whoever was responsible here, what they wanted to do was to try to goad iran into a wider conflict in the middle east just as we see the trump administration prepare to leave office, the beginning of a biden administration, which is clearly far more interested in talking to iran and trying to rejoining the -- trying to rejoin the jcpoa. any retaliatory strike by iran would make that very difficult indeed. we do not know how iran will respond yet. they may respond in a measured way, as they did earlier this year.

if they don't, i think this will be extremely serious for iran and the wider middle east as ll. >> we will be watching to see if the trump administration or the incoming biden administration condemns this attack. thank you so much. donald trump's attempts to block election results in pennsylvania have failed again. friday, a federal appeals court rejected the trump campaign's latest effort to challenge the state's results, saying its allegations have no merit. it's another significant setback in trump's fruitless bid to overturn the november third election. police brutality is once again in the national spotlight here in france. a video has captured officers beating and racially abusing a black music producer in paris for nearly five minutes.

president emmanuel macron called the images shameful. authorities have detained 4 officers and france's police watchdog is investigating, but the incident has also raised questions over how the police watchdog operates. >> images of a black music producer being beaten and he says racially abused by paris police have sparked outrage. 4 officers have been suspended in the french interio minister says those responsible will be brought to justice. it comes days after the police watchdog began a separate investigation after officers violently removed people from a migrant camp. >> [speaking french]

>> the french police watchdog receives thousands of complaints from the public each year. in contrast, the british equivalent handles more than 30,000 report -- reports of alleged police misconduct annually. belgium and denmark also have independent watchdogs to monitor police while in countries like spain, portugal, and italy, the system is more simile -- similar to the french model. >> this incident of brutality comes as the french government debates a new law which would make it illegal to publish images of police with "malicious intent." critics say it emboldens this very kind of police violence, and pressure is growing on the government to scrap the so-called global security law. more protests against the bill are planned for saturday.

>> it has drawn concern from the united nations and the european union. article 24 is the most controversial aspect of france's new global security law. critics say the article would make it harder for journalists to do their job and stop social media users from posting incriminating footage, which has played a key role in recent scandals involving the police. the interior minister and police unions on the other hand say the measures are necessary to protect officers and their families from harassment. protests against the bill took place in several french cities, putting pressure on the government to withdraw.

>> [crowd chanting] >> on tuesday, the same day the bill was passed by the national assembly, the prime minister said he would present it to the constitutional council to verify it is in line with the constitution, but article 24 is now under even more scrutiny after videos showing police brutality were published online this week. they include the forceful evacuation of a migrant camp in central paris on monday and the beating of a black music producer by several officers inside his studio. on thursday, a parliamentary commission was announced to review the wording of the text, that backtracked on friday after the president of the lower and upper houses said only parliament right laws. >> this goes against the normal functioning of our institutions and is in total contradiction with the rise of parliament. >> not only has a sparked outcry from the opposition, the political security law is creating a rift within emmanuel

macron's own party. 10 of his mp's voted against it while 30 abstained. the bill is expected to be sent to the senate for approval in january. >> three new coronavirus infections in france slowed again friday. daily new infections slowed to 12,500, nearly half the number reported a week ago. these lower infection rates, just before france enters a new lighter phase of lockdown, so what exactly will change starting saturday? >> after four weeks shuttered, this bookshop owner is eager to once again welcome customers, but she still has a lot of preparation to do before she opens up. social distancing measures need to be put in place, and a new delivery of more than 200 books has to be put on shelves. >> [speaking french]

>> as lockdown eases in france, non-essential shops are reopening from this saturday. with christmas approaching, this shopping center has its decorations ready. it is usually one of their busiest times of year. >> [speaking french] >> with hairdressers also set to reopen, many will be rushing out for a trim, but clients will not be able to enjoy hot drinks or magazines. people will be able to go outdoors in an area that extends 20 kilometers. they will be able to go outside to exercise for three hours stead of one. this second period of lockdown is set to end on the 15th of december if covid remains under control, but it will not be back to business as usual. it will be replaced by curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

>> germany has become the latest european nation to surpass one million covid-19 cases. the nation's daily death toll also hit a record high on friday. germany had largely contained the virus back when the first wave struck europe but has failed to avert the second wave. germany has close to restaurants, bars, and cultural venues, though schools and shops remain open for now. doubts being raised about astrazeneca's coronavirus vaccine. since the company's announcement on monday, scientists have a a number of issues on data. the who's chief scientist says the trial was too small to come to definitive conclusions. >> the world's third potential coronavirus vaccine may not be as effective as first thought. astrazeneca says it will run

another global trial to assess the efficacy of its vaccine after results published monday provoked criticism from industry insiders. instead of a single large phase ii trial, the results cam from combining two separate trials with significant chunks of data left out. one study did not include participants about the age of 55, the very age group most in need of a vaccine. the claim of 90% efficacy is based on data from less than 3000 people who were exposed by accident to a half dose and then a full dose a month later. competitors, meanwhile, based their efficacy claims from tens of thousands of people. governments desperate to get their economies going again have already ordered the vaccine. >> what we've got to do is keep your eye on the prize and remember that in just a few

months, we will have a vaccine. i'm absolutely committed to it. i think things genuinely will be much better. >> the eu, meanwhile, has ordered hundreds of millions of doses. the pharmaceutical community is ramping up production to make up to 3 million doses in 2021, that's pending the green light from regulators. >> south korea's covid-19 case numbers are a fraction of those in many countries. infections there have reached levels not seen since march. the nation's daily coronavirus tally was above 500 on friday, a second straight day. leaders are urging the public to stay home this weekend and avoid social gatherings. south korea eased its tough social distancing rules last month and has seen a spike in infections since. following a pressure-brokered

peace deal, azerbaijan is set to make big territorial gains in the disputed territory of nagorno-karabakh, but it has also regained control of several neighboring promises -- provinces. it is land azerbaijan has not held in nearly three decades. >> we are driving through land recently won by azerbaijan after an intense and deadly battle. it is the district of rizzoli on the outskirts of nagorno-karabakh. by the roadside line unexploded bombs and the carcasses of rent out tanks. throughout this deserted eerie land, the scars of war are everywhere. recent ones such as this tank and decades old.

the ethnic armenians who took the district in 1993 did not live here but instead use that as a buffer zone. yet, three years ago, this district was home to 100,000 people. authorities have organized for us to meet with people who were forced to flee and have come back for the first time, like this man surveying the ruins of his former home. >> [speaking foreign language] >> battle damaged houses have been reduced to rubble. the main city is an uninhabitable ghost town, but this teacher who fled the war in the 1990's with her children vows to return to prove a point. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> both sides accuse the other of committing war crimes. while azerbaijan may have consolidated swaths of land in this recent conflict, there is still a strong desire here for revenge. >> a leading football leagues across the world planning to pay their respects to diego maradona at games this weekend. the legendary player was laid to rest thursday on the outskirts of when srs -- f buenos aires. he was laid to rest following a ceremony including family and close friends. the private burial came after a chaotic public wake.

huge crowds turned out to greet argentina's favorite son, and the public is currently observing day two of his three-day national morning. time now for a look at the day's top business news, and for that, business journalist brian quinn joins us from his home. we been covering the news that astrazeneca's coronavirus vaccine will likely see a new trial after some irregularities in its first one. how is that being reflected in the markets? >> shares in astrazeneca actually finished the day in positive territory, contrary to what one might expect, again just over a quarter percent in london on friday. that botched phase 3 study has some analysts worried about regulatory approval, particularly the u.s. and you -- and eu. the first trial saw a large number of participants, as we

heard, actually -- accidentally given half doses for their first shots. not necessarily an issue that calls into question the potency of the vaccine. astrazeneca's candidate probay the easiest and cheapest to transport. we see investors are not rushing out to dig shares just yet. european indexes all slightly higher as vaccination plans worldwide get firmed up, especially as donald trump seems more likely to respect the outcome of the u.s. election. despite the fact that the u.s. and europe are still in the depths of coronavirus outbreaks, markets are having some of the best months ever, thanks in part to hopes for vaccines.

the s&p just set a new record tonight. that's altering november. investigators are definitely -- investors are definitely looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. >> today is black friday, the day after the american thanksgiving holiday, and it typically signifies the biggest retail shopping day of the year. how is it looking in this very different 2020? >> very different indeed. the pandemic really has changed the face of retail in 2020, and black friday is just a continng example. in the u.s., we are seeing reports of nearly empty malls, big-box stores with more employees than customers. walmart has created one way only lanes through their stores. best buy has been pushing customers to take advantage of curbside pickup. the big difference is that 2020 retailers have been launching promotions as early as october and leaning even harder than ever on e-commerce.

this could be the first ever black friday that sees more shoppers online than in person. american shoppers are expected to spend around $10 billion online today, 39% more than last year. cyber monday expected to bring in around 12 and $7 billion, a 35% gain over 2019. here in france, where black friday has been around for a few years, the lockdown we are under has led the retail sector to delay its promotions by a week until december 4. it is still big's nest in france. it brought in about 6 billion euros last year, 5 billion in person, one billion in e-commerce, so it bit of a itch from the u.s. nonessential shops getting ready to reopen tomorrow from weeks of closure, so everyone will be keeping a close eye on retail figures coming out of france during this week. even though thanksgiving does not exist here in france, black

friday does, and that is because of amazon, which brought the -- i guess you could call it a holiday to france, but it is facing an international labor strike. >> warehouse workers went on strike today for better conditions and they also want the right to unionize and for amazon to stop avoiding taxes. actions took place in south america, the u.s., the u.k., here in france, to. the biggest in germany where about 3000 amazon workers walked off the job at six facilities. amazon for its part, says it is aiming for net zero emissions by 2040, says it pays billions in taxes, and also haseen offering holiday bonuses to

front-line workers in a bid to head off this strike movement. a germ union says amazon is not protecting health measures in the country. it says amazon is refusing to recognize regional collective labor agreements. recent reports in the u.s. have suggested the company is keeping very close tabs on workers in order to head off any union organizing, so that's also troubling. the make amazon pay campaign says they are targeting azon in part because they have done so well during this pandemic. amazon profits are due 3% up over last year, while workers have seen just a 6% from in hourly pay since march. amazon's chief, jeff azores' net worth now over $100 billion. it's very troubling for workers trying to make some change there at amazon. >> thank you so much for the update. i'm going to take a quick break,

but stay with us. i will be back in just a couple of minutes with more news you need to know. ♪

\[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: today, a democracy now! exclusive. we're in occupied western sahara, in laayoune, the capital of what many call africa's last colony. morocco occupied western sahara more than 40 years ago, in 1975. "four days in western sahara: africa's last colony." >> as sahrawi women, we're not backing off until we get our final victory and liberate our homeland. the beatings will not deter us from continuing the fight,