>> welcome to live from paris. world news and analysis from "france 24" these are the headlines. out of lockdown. boris johnson announces a four stage plan to be out of restrictions by june. with a warning that many more may die. iran has gone through with his promise to block snap inspections of nuclear facilities. as the supreme leader says they might enrich uranium. discussions continue. italy's ambassador to the

democratic republic of congo has been killed. in a raid on a world food conv oy. kinshasa is pointing the finger of blame at a group in the area. this is live from paris. ♪ thank you very much for being with us. boris johnson has been describing his route out of lockdown for the united kingdom. a four step plan to bring the whole of the country out of restrictions by the middle of june. he told mp's a wretched year will give way to a spring and summer that is different, adding the lifting of lockdown could cost more lives. >> escape the fact that lifting the lockdown will result in more

cases, more hospitalizations, and sadly more deaths. there is therefore no credible route to a zero covid britain or a zero covid world. we cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that debilitate our economy, our physical and mental well-being, and the life chances of our children. >> we would have more reaction from london later in the story very shortly. the french riviera is going into a local lockdown for the next two weekends. nice, the region's capital, france's fifth biggest city has recorded 700 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants, three times the national average. controls at airports and the land border at italy will be tighteneover the next two weeks. the prefect says shps larger than 5000 per square meters will have to close.

>> with coronavirus infections surging in nice, french authorities have had little choice but to act. >> [speaking french] nk>> for the next two weekends residents in the tourist hotspot and along the coast will be locked down from 6 a.m. monday permission forms are necessary to leave home and non-essential businesses of over 5000 square meters will close, leaving locals divided. >> [speaking french]

>> nevertheless nice is far from alone. the northern dunkirk region rising to similar levels as nice, raising the specter of further restrictions to come. >> let's get more from the united kingdom where boris johnson has been describing his route out of covid lockdown with a four step plan. let's bring in our correspondent. can you tell us more about boris johnson's four step plan? >> yes. so, in two weeks from today, on monday that 8th of march, that will be the first step. remember, we're in a third lockdown. since the beginning of january. that will be the reopening of schools and two people will be allowed to meet for a coffee. at the moment, one's only

allowed to go out for exercise. you can't sit down and have a coffee. you can't have a picnic or barbecue. so, that would be important, because it will be the very first step, of the easing of the lockdown. then the second half is on the 29th of march. that will be outdoor gatherings of six people or two households that will be allowed. there will also be the very, very timid beginning of outdoor sports. they will be allowed to resume as well. step two will see shops, hairdressers and gyms reopen on the 12th of april. i'm only talking about england. northern ireland, scotland, and whales be setting up their own approaches. outdoor hospitality, for example an outdoor garden, possibly in a pub then comes the important step, step three will start on the 17th of may. most social contract rules will

be lifted. there will be some limited mixing indoors. then the one that everyone is waiting for, that is the 21st of june, which see the end of all legal limits on any kind of social interacting. it can't come soon enough for very many people. so, interesting, some discussion beginning to be thought about here about certificates possibly, a sort of domestic equivalent passports where you would prove you have actually had the vaccine. 17.5 million people have already had a first dose of the jab. this is a highly successful program and roll out, historic in its size and spee din the u.k. >> that passport sounds like -- it could be vital going for trade you mention 17.5 million people have been vaccinated. tell us how the vaccine rollout

is going. >> well, it's going extremely well. one one of the great hopes is that all people who are aged 50 will have been vaccinated by mid april. so, not only has a been rolled out to 17.5 million plus, that is the pfizer vaccine and the astrazeneca, but others are in the pipeline so to speak and are getting their approval. we will be receiving those doses. again, i'm talking about first doses. the national policy several weeks ago changed from having an integral of three weeks between the first dose and the second test and the national policy being up to 12 weeks for people. people are relief when you speak to them. the big hope is by the 31st of july, every single adult in the u.k. population will have been vaccinated, which would be really extraordinary. it's that one way direction of travel to freedom.

that is the way that the british prime minister has described it this evening in a press conference. to come back to the certification that you were evoking, there are all kinds of legal, social, cultural, ethical considerations there. i think it is really the beginning of a discussion. and, of course, the hope whether it is for hairdressers and gyms on the 12th of april, the key thing to remember is the word caution, vigilance, and very much that it will depend on data not on dates. the dates that i have quoted, says the prime minister repeatedly, is very much about looking at the data. if the data doesn't back it up there will be delays. he wants this third locown to be the last he wants the easing to be irreversible. and he really was the spring in the summer to be full of hope.

that is his message of hope. one of optimism but one of caution. remember, he has been criticized over the many months of doing something that is seen as very on british, and that is overpromising and under delivering. he wants to deliver. his tone is optimistic. his language is much more guarded, much more measured. >> clear as ever. we will wait and see what happens and as you say depends on data not the dates. outside 10 downing street. the big address where boris johnson, the british prime minister lives. of course, we are-- waiting for development from the story from our correspondent. let's bring you more covid news. the death toll in the united states has now passed the half a million mark. the u.s. president joe biden saw the flags to be flown at half mast for five days. biden is scheduled to address

the nation from the white house before attending a candle lighting ceremony with the vice president. unlike his predecessor donald trump who often sought to minimize the disease, biden has made the pandemic is top priority. pushing an aggressive vaccine rollout and making frequent public shows of empathy. >>2d nancy espinoza now has to raise her three-year-old son alone. her husband just 36 died last month after getting sick with the coronavirus. nancy was n allowed at her husband's bedside. instead, she watched through a glass window in the intensive care unit as he drew his last breath. [sobs] >> he -- it wasn't him him

anymore. >> the u.s. has the highest death toll in the world with 500,000 dead from the virus. to bury half a million people many cities had to dig mass graves like hearing your. funeral directions are -- funeral directors across the country say they never expensed anything like this. >> i have been doing this more than 20 years. but something off a bad horror movie. that is how it feels sometimes. >> while donald trump repeatedly downplayed the seriousness of the epidemic, new president joe biden has made fighting the coronavirus his administrations number one priority. every day, 1.7 million vaccinations are carried out, a pace that the government has promised to accelerate. biden says he hopes to have 600

million doses available in the u.s. by the end of july, enough to vaccinate the entire population. >> catherine without report. let's bring you the latest on the iran nuclear deal. to round has gone through with his promise to block snap inspections of nuclear facilities. the sparring continues. supreme leader homemade he said that iran -- khomeini said he will never yield to u.s. pressure over its nuclear activity. the biden administration said it was ready to talk to iran about both nations returning to the 2015 accord abandoned by former u.s. president donald trump. there is a will to work together nonetheless. >> working with allies and partners, we will also week to -- seek to strengthen the jcpoa and address iran's destabilizing

regional behavior and ballistic missile development amplification. and iran does comply with the iea and other international obligations. >> the u.s. secretary of state antony blinken. a senior associate with carnegie's nuclear policy program. i'm just repeated myself. apologies for that. sir, thank you very much for joining us. in terms of what we are seeing here. it is almost like iran perhaps is ignoring there is a change in government in the u.s., and the new president willing to talk to them. >> well, iran had threatened to end iea oversight this week. as of sunday the director general of the ieaa in vienna announced he had made a deal with iran, which provides for

essentially routine inspections of nuclear activities, which the agency already knows about. and, basically, they will finesse additional inspections that, and tivities the agency was allowed to do under the agreement. basically, in a nutshell, this -- means that the powers in the agreement plus the united states, including iran, have three months to find their way to move forward and extend the agreement or return the agreement with the united states in it. and that will be a tough proposition, because the two sides don't agree, as you heard on your tape from the united

states secretary state. the united states and its european allies want to address issues that were not included in the agreement, and they want to extend the timeline. the iranians have rejected any proposals to do that. so, they have three months to do it. if they don't do it, then it is going to be harder still because there will be an election that could bring a hard-line president into the picture who won't agree to compromise. >> is there an element that the iranians and the americans posturing to get their own position, and then what donald trump did in 2018 perhaps has erased the possibility of trust? is that at the heart of the matter? >> well fdamentally at the heart of the matter is a fundamental difference between them iranian view, which is to go back to the deal that was

agreed upon in 2015. and the will of the americans and europeans to have a deal which is more comprehensive, if you will, because it would compel iran to get involved in negotiations over its missile program. and, in addition, to address iran's behavior in the region. fundamentally, the real problem for the americans and the europeans is sustainability of the agreement, because they, the previous negotiation led by president obama and the united states was basically -- an agreement with iran over two presidential terms. we have now gone through one presidential term where president trump slashed and burned and pulled out of the agreement. and we have a situation that unless something is done by the parties to the agreement

beginning in 2025 when some of the provision sunset, it will be up to iran whether it will resume the escalation we have experienced from them over two decades. this condemned him -- this conundrum is causing the u.s. to come up with a deal. it will be up to iran to decide how it will deal with that request. >> the senior associate of carnegie's nuclear policy program. thank you very much, indeed. >> you're welcome. >> you're welcome, too, sir. we will have more inner interview coming up. a military advisor to iran's supreme leader is speaking to our own reporter. stay with us for that. next, the democratic republic of congo is accusing a rogue group of the fatal attack on the

united nations convoy. its ambassador is among the three people killed in the incident. he died of his wounds after a world food program convoy came under gunfire. he was on a field trip. the attack occurred north of the city. armed groups include a militia quality democratic forces for the liberation of -- as well as the n-23, known as the congolese revolutionary army. "france 24's" correspondent has this in -- >> the circumstances are not clear. the attack took place at 10:15 local time. according to the u.n., the deletion was traveling from goma to vit a school feeding

program. around 60 kilometers north the roads they traveled on had previously been cleared for travel without military escort. local authorities say that the convoy was stopped by group of armed men who fired warning shots into the air to stop the two vehicles, which made up the convoy. they killed the driver, and then tried to lead the others into the woods. and that is when guards, from a national park intervened, opening re. the assailants retaliating and opening five in turn -- opening fire in turn. and that is when the italian abbasid or and his bodyguard were shot dead. >> we are watching development on that story. next, thousands marched in algeria's capital in other cities this monday. marking the second anniversary of the protest movement that

forced the longtime president from power. these are the biggest demonstration since the protest movement began. they were suspended in march due to the covid-19 pandemic. this monday 59 arrests were reported and 26 in algiers. >> a familiar sight returns to alger. -- ti-- to algeria. with demands to a transition to a civilian led country. > > that was the movement which headed a groundswell movement in 2019, forcing the president of 20 years to step down from april 2 that year. algeria's problem is subsequently announced upper house chairman as interim

president. the protesters opposed the new appointment, given his close ties to the previous president. hundreds of thousands would continue to demonstrate from the capital, demanding the departure of the ruling elite, despite fresh elections announced for december 12. when polls opened, the climate was tense. five presidential candidates voted but many boycotted the election, raising concerns of no independent observers. on december 13, the prime minister was declared algeria's new president. but still, protesters were unmoved. i'm moved by the president to pardon 6000 prisoners did little to dispel the demonstrations. as of february 2020 external factors put a halt to the momentum.

curfews were put in place. taking protesters off the street and placing workers under huge financial strain. after months of stalemate, the president held a referendum on changes to the constitution. he then fell ill with a virus emerging from hospital in late december. despite recently clearing the way for early polls and partnering dozens of pro-democracy activists, he was unable to prevent another resurgence of anger on monday. the two year anniversary of the first nationwide demonstrations. >> continued disquiet on the streets of algeria. just to let you know you can see more on this in the "france 24" debate which is broadcast again just after midnight paris time. hundreds of thousands of anti-coup protesters rallied

across myanmar this monday after a clear threat that the junta was prepared to use lethal force the warning came after three demonstrators were shot dead over the weekend. at a funeral on sunday for a young woman who died from bullet wounds from an early rally. massive street demonstrations have taken place since na myanmr 's station crew and detained the civilian leader aung san suu kyi . ending a decades long experiment with democracy. >> refusing to bow to the junt'' s threats, hundreds of thousands of people across myanmar return to the streets. scores also join to general strike, effectively paralyzing government services, banks, and businesses. the deaths of several protesters over the weekend were fresh in people's minds.

since february 1, military coup, authorities have steadily escalated their crackdown on the peaceful disobedience movements. after condemning the weekends bloodshed, the u.n. chief singled out the country in his annual address to the human rights council. >> today, i call on the myanmar mitary to stop the oppression. respect human rights and the wi of the people. >> the u.s., u.k., and cannot have all announced sanctions on myanmar nasa's general. -- on myanmar's generals. >

the military has blame protesters for the violence. the country stay broadcast on sunday said security forces were committed to using minimum force. but warned further confrontation could cost lives. >> the french duo behind some of the most influential dance music singles announced they split after 20 years togher in the business. they broke the news online called epilog. let's listen. ♪ ♪ >> that is about as far as the actual explanation when. o-- went. no actual statement in verbal

terms but the message very clear from the visuals and the title o f this epilogue. the most well known songs were from -- written with pharrell. credited with bringing the french underground house scene into the forefront. the french duo push the boundaries of dance music. >> nearly 30 years, the duo break the news in a typically enigmatic video titled " epilogue." the musicians addressed a now iconic robots. we see them bid each other farewell on the desert before one of them explode and it cuts to a sunset or could it be a sunrise? as the group's song "touch" place out from daft punk's 2013

thatlbum won a grammy fobest. album makingistory as the first electron act to win the highest honor at the grays. e duo won four awards that night including record of the year for "get lucky" featuring pharrell williams. the band's longtime publicist has confirmed they are indeed splitting up. >> our culture editor on the decision by daft punk the french dance music duo to split after 28 years. the u.s. space agency nasa has released the first audio from mars. let's take a listen. [deep vibrations, humming] that faint noise you can hear is a wind sound captured by the perseverance rover. nasa also released the first

video of the landing of the rover on the red planet. the video clip lasting three minutes show the deployment of a parachute on the rover's touchdown on the surface of mars in a cloud of dust. the microphone did not work during the descent, but they were able to capture audio once it landed on mars. that faint popping sound is the sound of actual wind on mars. engineers played a short audio clip. we played it to pure you decide. i think it is really impressive coming all that way. great stuff. we'll bring you more from mars as we get it. a short break from this and then it is "eye on africa." stay with us.

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02/22/21 02/22/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> need to rally support for texans and make sure that we make sure this kind of devastation, preventable devastation, never happens again. amy: millions of texans are still suffering after a severe winter storm caused widespread