♪ >> hello and welcome back to the france 24 newsroom. it is 10:00 p.m. here in paris and these are the latest world headlines. with their ordeal over, scores of nigerian schoolboys return home, with harrowing tales of missed treatment received from their abductors. a week after gunmen attacked their classrooms, efforts continue to free those who are still unaccounted for. computer security teams jump into action, as they try to limit the damage caused by suspected russian hackers, and what is being described as one of the world biggest cyber attacks to have been uncoved. the u. energy, treasury, and

commerce departments, are all targeted. and the french president remains in isolation, as he recovers from covid-19. emmanuel macron retreats to his residence in versailles, from where he says he is doing well, but working at a slightly slower pace than usual. ♪ that you and chief is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of those schoolboys and nigeria, who still have not been tracked down , following an attack on their school, a week ago. antonio guterres says the african nation now needs to do more to protect educational facilities, but the secretary-general has taken the time to command the rescue of 300 of those boys who have been

reunited with their families. >> still shaken by their six-day kidnapping ordeal, hundreds of nigerian boys were brought to the office of the katina state governor a day after their a vector release. -- their unexpected relays. >> let me assu you that they have suffered. >> hundreds of young boys were kidnapped last friday i armed men inside their school, and the town of conch are. -- kancara. jihadist group boko haram which appears to have enlisted the help of gangs to carry out the tech later claimed response ability for the abduction. details of the boys abduction and subsequent release thursday remain unclear, with local authorities unable to determine how many were taken, and whether

all had been freed. friday, many were looking worn down, exhausted, and in shock, as they waited to be reunited with their families. >> see my father and my mother and brothers. >> before they could return home, the boys first had to wait some more for the arrival of the president, who insisted on meeting them. there kidnapping last week had revived painful memories fo many nigerians, six years after the abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls i boko haram -- by boko haram. >> next, the u.s. cyber security has set a sophisticated cyber attack on government agencies and private companies uncovered this week, posea quote grave risk. the democrats and president-elect joe biden expressed great concern over the

computer intrusion and says cybersecurity will be a top priority for his administration. it inot yet clear who was behind this attack, but private serity companies have already pointed the finger of blame at ssian hackers. let's listen to one democratic congressman and the chair of the national security subcommittee on oversight. >> my name is steve lynch, i chair the national security subcommittee on oversight. so, this act was so big -- this hack was so big in scope, that even our cybersecurity experts do not have a real sense yet, in terms of the brett -- breadth of the intrusion itself. there are as many as 18,000 individual entities, both private and governmental, that have been compromise here. --compromised here, and that had

the defective software. so, that has to be fully vetted. so that will take some time. this is very, very serious, obviously, and i do not think we have our arms around this yet, in terms of the potential impact. >> an update now on covid-19 here in front. the latest figures released by the government show the death toll has now surpassed the 60,000 mark. 15,600 new infections have been confirmed in the past four hours, down from the 18,254 reported thursday. one senior scientific advisor to the french government warned the nation that a return to normality will not be likely until the autumn of next year. the french leader has left the noise and bustle of central paris behind after testing

positive for coronavirus. president macron is handling government and state affairs from the rigell setting of his residence in the gardens of the palace at versailles. he found a special message to friends, in which-- to france, in which he called on the country to hold firm, adding that the virus is picking up and getting stronger. >> visibly fatigued, emmanuel macron took two social media to reassure the public he was doing as well as expected, and promised total transparency about his treatment for the coronavirus. >> [speaking french] >> he is now in quarantine, at the presidential retreat, close

to the palace of versailles. according to french health minister, macron may have been infected during at ease summit last week. since then, he -- during an eu summit last week. since then he has met with several foreign leaders, including eu council president, who met him monday. a top french health official says macron is vigilant during his meetings. >> [speaking french] >> commission -- eu commission president ursula von der leyen had lunch with him monday but said she would not self-isolate as the meeting did not constitute was contact. >> moving on, austrians will barely have had time to digest

christmas dinners this year, before they face new covid-19 restrictions from december 26 onto generate 24, the country -- january 24, the country will be on its third coronavirus lockdown. for the first three weeks of this new lockdown, nonessential shops and services will close, and the movement of people outside the home will be restricted. for more, our correspondent in vienna is standing by. austrians are now taking stock of this news, that another set of restrictions are coming their way. but why does that chancellor and government feel a third lockdown is necessary? >> well, it is -- it has really come as something of a surprise to people in austria, if you will, the severity of this newly

announced hard lockdown. because it has been something of a roller coaster ride here in recent weeks. we have swung between a light lockdown, a so-called light lockdown, threw two a hard lockdown, where all restaurants and shops, non-essential shops were closed and back it is something of a light locked on the last couple o -- through to a hard lockdown, and back to were all restaurants closed and back to a hard -- back to light lockdown. we had seen the number of new cases delhi had come down from highs of 10,000 new cases a day at the height of the hard lockdown earlier, to around 2,600 new cases per day, in a country of 9 million inhabitants. from the perspective of the

government, that is still far too high, 2,600 new confirmed cases every day,nd no real sign the cases are dipping below that. in addition, we have here in austria, 1 more than00 deaths -- more tha 100 deaths due to corona every day, something that chancellor underscored when a few hours ago he made a public announcement about this new lockdown. he says this absolutely necessary to ensure that despite the success ringing those numbers down, that the death rate, far too high, does not contin like that. and that the threat to the ovwhelming of hospitals and the health system, he said, that needs to recede as well. so, quite some surprised and en shock here at these new measures paired but for the government, they are the only way forward. >> and secondly, there is a rather unusual system that is

about to come in the new year where you are, which could grant greater freedoms to those people who take part in. -- in it. tell us more about that? >> that's right. the hard lockdown is two-tiered, it is due to last one month overall. but one week before that month is thrgh, shops, restaurants, even cultural venues, will be allowed to open, to people who have tesd negative. that is to say, people who have participated in a second round of mass testing, announced also by the chancellor and his government just a short while ago. now, it is worth bearingn mind, that a couple of weeks ago we had a first round of mass testing here in vienna. and turn out was relatively low. around 20%. and the media made clear that

that turnout was low. so, by certain measures, it was considered to have not been a great success. so, what that chancellor has done in his pls going forward, after christmas, is he has made a second round omass testing an iegral part of thehole strategy for the next few weeks. and what he is doing is turning the system on its head, in the sense that he is not saying as this is entirely voluntary. he is saying, it is voluntary. but, if you go and get tested, and you test negative, then you will move into the second tier of that lockdown, the tier light, at least for the last week of the lockdown, and you will enjoy greater freedoms. the problem is, of course, for members of the opposition, they are saying in effect, this

amounts to a form of compelling citizens to take part in those mass tests, if they want to enjoy certain freedoms, at least in that last week of the coming lockdown. >> ok, anthony mills, our correspondent in bn is, thank you for joining us again -- in vienna, thank you for joining us again. development's out of rome at this hour, the italian governor says his government will tighten coronavirus restrictions over christmas and new year's. bars, restaurants and non-essential shops will close nationwide between december 24-december 27, and december 31 and the third of january. let's head now back to our top story this hour, the release of those over 300 schoolboys and

nigeria, who have gone back to their families with harrowing tales of how they were mistreated. for more on this story, we can speak now to a representative from the department of politics and international studies from the school of oriental and african studies in london, who joins us now from lagos. thank you for being wettest on "france 24." -- thank you for being with us on "france 24." boko haram says it was responsible for this attack but we still have no official confirmation of that. one of the boys today says his captors asked him to describe them as being embers -- as being members of boko haram, but that he suspected actually they were just armed bandits. what is your view on this? >> it is absolutely not surprising at all. there has been growing influence of boko haram, not just in the northeast but north-central, and

now moving down. so thais a lot of collaboration between boko haram and the bandits and kidnappers we see in the northwestern part of nigeria. so i think that level of cooperation, partnership and association, gives the bandits the confidence to have a certain label of identity. and therefore they are not even afraid to be identified as nubbers of boko haram. because right now they share the sources, they share intelligence, they even share weapons. so, absolutely, including strategy. so it is not surprising at all. >> ok. now compared to the girls kidnapped in 2014, this has been a much speedier recovery mission in northeast nigeria. has the government got better at this type of negotiation, do you think? >> absolutely. i think the first thing we must be happy for the families of these boys that have been released.

at the personal family level i think, yes, they will praise the government for a job well done, for how quick the response has been. the boys have not been held for months and years. they have suddenly been released, so it is a thing of joy for the families. but if you look at the bigger security issues, there are very serious questions the government will nd to ansr and address, including these. how come a group of more than 300 boys were just loaded on a truck and taken away, just like that? what has happened to our security architecture? all the money the government spent on security. and then come the other aspect is that, is there any level of collaboration with some members of the community? that boko haram will come and more than 300 boys be taken, that community members, at least

one or two people in that community did not know, did not report to the government or security against this? so i think are very serious security issues that need to be considered. the final point i would make is that, if you look at the northwest, particularly [indiscernible] and in the northeast, there exists with the border with nigeria and with chad, and segments of burkina faso, the activities of noxious boko haram but even the islamic state. -- activities of, not just boko haram, but even islamic state. activities between the northeast and northwest, and the region, there are bigger serious issues. with this vast territory. the final point, if you look at the population of young boys, and even girls across northern nigeria, with very limited security personnel, i think government needs to get its act

together. otherwise are very serious issues. these are indicators of the things [indiscernible] >> thank you very much for being with us from lagos on "france 24." let's move on now to a spot of business news for you this hour. for that we crossed to catherine bennett from our business desk, standing by. the u.s. government announced new export controls for certain chinese companies, further wrapping up tensions between those two countries -- further ramping up tensions betwe those two countries. what companies have been affected and how has beijing response it -- beijing responded? >> china's biggest chipmaker, smic, is one of the bigst companies on the blacklist,, as well as the biggest ugmakerdji, both placed -- biggest drone maker, dji, on

th list. companies that they want to sell products to these companies cap to obtain a license from the government to do so. this list of chinese companies affected by u.s. sanctions seems to be getting longer. it comes after, the donald trump and administration's campaign against the chinese telecoms company, huawei, which has also been placed on the export list. the chinese government has criticized the move with china's foreign llinin an arbitrary suppression of chise companies. the chinese governmt said today when they released a statement on their economic priorities for the year ahead, their main message is that they want to increase their economic independence. so they want to accelerate tech development within the country, and be less dependent on u.s. suppliers for trading those all-important electronics components. so you can see how china already is pulling away from trade with the u.s. because of actions like

this. and this action and move in general ties in with what analysts believe is a last-minute push by the trumpet administration, to lodown his legacy and his approach to trade and relations with china, weeks before he leaves the white house. >> secondly, another chinese tech company, alibaba, has thought to distance itself from facial recognition software, that allows users to identify people from the minority muslim uighur community. what has the company been accused of? >> that is right. alibaba's cloud computing unit has had aeature that enables people to detect the facial features of a uighur person. uighurs are the minority persecuted by the chinese government. that by report by the surveillance industry research firm, ipvm, which released a

report saying it found the software in the alibaba cloud chilled service. the alibaba -- cloud shield service. the alibaba chinese website showed how to root out people using the software and it was not advertiseoutside china, so it was a chinese focused software. alibaba responded to these accusations saying it is dismayed to learn this feature exists and it has deleted the ethnic tagging is algorithm. the question remains about ties the company may he to the chinese government, and whether it is helping, aiding, and abetting, the chinese government in its persecution of the uighur norte. --minority. >> moving on, today's focus report takes us to asia. south korea clocked over 1000 new covid-19 cases this friday, the third day the rise in infections has been above the 1000 mark.

a massive chunk of these cases have been confirmed in the heavily populated capital, soul, -- seoul, and in surrounding areas. our team on the ground sent this focus report. >> cap they look like everyone is glued to their smartphones-- it may look like everyone is glued to their smartphones, but south koreans are keeping an eye on each other. persons on public transport who are not wearing masks, can expect to be identified and asked to cover up, find out for the government. this week hundreds of people were logged for breaching the rolls on masks. >> you press this button that looks like an alarm, here's a carriage number and the name of the line. select person not wearing a mask and confirm. everything is geo-localized so we can quickly report people to security. >> this french expatriate has never used the popular app. >> it is a very good thing, it would be frowned upon in france,

but in south korea reporting someone this way is considered normal. >> transport police intervene within minutes of a rule violation being reported. 250 security personnel have been written -- patrolling subway carriages looking for people not wearing masks or wearing them incorrectly. >> good morning, sir, could you please cover your nose with your mask? >> most of the time, a simple warning is enough. but people who ignore requests to mask up can be fined 80 euros, and these encounters kelly to fiscal confrontations. -- these eounters can lead to physical confrontations. [shouting] [speaking foreign language] >> sometimes, passengers get angry and swear, it is really frustrating. i would like them to know, that we are not doing this to upset them. it is for their own good.

>> south korean society, where social cohesion can take precedent over individual freedoms, is largely behind the scheme. >> [speaking foreign language] i know about this application and have already reported someone. if someone was monitoring, me and reported my behavior it would not bother me. there is nothing bad about this. >> [speaking foreign language] >> we have to be very careful about covid-19, because it is a highly contagious virus. and it is very dangerous for older people. >> south korea saw fewer than 500 delhi cases between march and november. the country, one of the first to record covid-19 cases cap the upper gutter control thanks to

widespread adherence measures. the government set up intensive care units and containers outside hospitals, in anticipation of an influx of patients. they units cost one third less than regular ones and take up minimal space. people entering bars and restaurants and other venues must register on smartphones to alert authorities -- to enable authorities to alert people if they may have come into contact with an infected person. >> some diners worry about sharing personal data. the qr code system we use means information go straight to authorities. no one else gets access to it. >> most south koreans cds measures not as a threat to their personal freedoms, but as a way to -- most south koreans cds measures not as a threat to their personal freedoms, but as a way to battle the virus. >> at the beginning of the

pandemic wwould write on personal data like our name and number but that meant using pens touched by many people, not very hygienic. >> this robot, making deliveries at a housing complex, is helping to reduce human contact. park , a mother of two children, says deliveries are safe and efficient. she orders meals online which the robot brings to her building 15 minutes later. >> [speaking foreign language] to receive your order, you click open the door. it is very simple. then, you go and collect your mail. -- your meal. >> [speaking foreign language] the robot leaves the food at the main door of the building. it makes me feel much safer and the middle of a public health crisis. but it is also a little sad.

that means there is less human contact. >> five robots deliver meals to the complex's 1000 families. by early 2022 means they should be able to use the left and take meals all the way to the -- use the lift, and take meals to the front doors. >> that brings you up-to-date. stay with us, world news and headlines come about after this quick break. ♪

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12/18/20 12/18/20 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> get off the property. the police are coming. >> why are you evicting someone during a pandemic? amy: as covid cases and deaths shatter road records in the united states, millions of people risk losing their homes in the middle of the pandemic as a federal moratorium of