facts. >> is 9:00 p.m. in -- it is 9:00 p.m. in paris. >> france, germany and italy have announced they are suspending the use of the astrazeneca covid-19 jab after reports of blood clots. 10 years to the day since edge government protests began in syria. we are analyzing a decade of violence that has claimed the lives of 3800 people. despite the pandemic, the film industry has been anything but

dormant these last 12 months. we have the oscar nominations. welcome back, europe's covid-19 campaign was already struggling to get off the ground. france, germany and italy have become the latest countries to suspend use of the astrazeneca job after reports of severe side effects including blood clots. it comes as a number of european countries face a third wave of infections. italy is intensifying lockdowns, hospitals in the paris region are coming close to overflowing. >> the decision has been taken

in accordance with our european policy, to suspend the astrazeneca vaccine as a precautionary measure. we are led by a simple guide, informed by science and the relevant authorities. also doing so within the framework of the european strategy. >> the french president, emmanuel macron speaking there. he has also been hitting at stricter coronavirus measures, saying they could be on the way of -- the way amid those comments. we are there with the latest on with the president said by the astrazeneca vaccine. chris: big surprise when t french president joined germany and the scandinavian countries by saying as tony for our suspension was necessary on advice of his own health minister.

this after they were seen defending the vaccination program, trying to get it accelerated, trying to get more of these vaccines from the laborde torrey -- laboratory. will they get all of the answers on why it has been taken so long -- taking zone to get this ramped up to begin with? utterly for our suspension seems like a small window to get the answers they need to get this going again to where we were -- a 24 hour suspension seems like a small window to get the answers they need to get us to where we were three hours ago. >> they are concerned -- concerns about the hospitals. the italian health authorities today reported 15,257 new cases.

as italy faces another wave of infections, fewer than 3% of italians have so far received the two doses they need of a covid-19 vaccine. that makes this current situation all the more depressing. mario has more. mario: the streets of rome were practically deserted on monday. 11 out of 20 regions are affected by the latest covid-19 measures. this include most of northern italy. including the economic heartland, venice and rome and the surrounding region are under lockdown and parts of the south. some residents were visibly ejected well others called for patients. >> you feel like it is never ending, there is no motivation. there was motivation when you're ago but now it is fading away.

>> [speaking italian] >> some 48 million italians will be under strict lockdown measures until the sixth of april. primary schools, high schools and universities are closed as well as bars and restaurants, except for those that offer takeout service. last week, italy's covid-19 death toll surpassed 100,000. it is now facing a third wave of infections with half of the country's hospitals in intensive -- and intensive care units in lockdown. >> let's get some more analysis on the covid-19 situation across europe and where this all leaves the vaccine rollout. let's get more from oksana.

she is a global health advisor. thank you for joining us. what makes this news all the more depressing is that the slow vaccine rollout in europe is facing another setback. now, they are halting the astrazeneca vaccine. was at the right thing to do, do you think? oksana: given the light around the evidence that there is not any more blood clotting and what we generally see in the population, this was probably not the right move at this time and people are still dyi of coronavirus within europe. as we see globally, there has been an 11% increase. if we think about the risk associated with blood clotting, we see that it is even higher for medicines that -- such as the hormonal combined

contraceptive pill. when we see the covid vaccine, 2.6 million people so far have died of coronavirus across the world. zero have been directly linked to any of the vaccines and 11 million people have been now vaccinated in the u.k. due to a very successful vaccine rollout strategy. there is no trend indicating a higher than average amount of blood clotting. if anything, this is to cove ivers -- the coronavirus causes ood clotting and etc.. given the measures taken, the precauti around it seems excessive. my other concern is the flip-flopping. first we heard that based again on evidence that it would not be effective in age groups over 65.

that has since proven to be incorrect. it already calls for hesitancy within europe. we heard emmanuel macron making that specific claim. now there are doctors and nurses threatening strikes to get the mn ra vaccine over the astrazeneca vaccine. now, with this further announcement, i think it will be very confusing for the public. it is going to be the narrative around it. i don't see it as being beneficial toward a european effort that is already so far behind in vaccinations. >> it will be very difficult to persuade people to go get the astrazeneca vaccine now after all of these negative headlines. bring us up to speed, since you are in the u.k., the u.k. is a very interesting case study

because a large chunk of the population has received at least one of the two covid-19 vaccines. what is the situation like now? should net be the roadmap? a roadmap of how rollout can actually hasten the process of people getting back to something reasonably normal life -- resembling normal life? >> despite the fact that we are exceeding vaccination targets, partly because we don't have to remember that to -- not too long ago at the beginning of the pandemic, the u.k. had the highest mortality rates in the world. this has been a successful turnaround for the government. there are important lessons to be drawn from the u.k.. we did have a head start due to

the fact@ hat the mhr a was the gate with the authorization but then before this, when we look at the vaccination task force procurement strategy, they really prioritize being able to have fashion the u.k. despite the higher price, it meant they could get the supplies faster. in france, we see that the gps are struggling to be able to get jabs in arms. to the extent that they are not even getting their next orders and pharmacists are going to be contributing at a greater level.

in the u.k., we also have a high acceptability of vaccines, there is more effort to tackle of course,t that time, it was very controversial but the u.k. was the novelty in the world. they prioritize the first dose instead of getting it identical to the clinical trials. they extended that gap two eks. -- 2 -- to two weeks. with the vaccine hesitancy issues, the news around astrazeneca vaccines, i think europe will be in further trouble because it appears that the vaccine efforts are not immune to politics. >> thank you very much indeed

for sharing that with us. that was oksana in london, thank you. today marks exactly 10 years since nationwide antigovernment protests began in syria, triggering what has been a decade of devastating unrest and violence. in march of 2011, protesters took tohe streets, adopting slogans, demanding an end to president bashar al-assad. millions have been displaced both internally and internationally. and yet, al-assad is still in place. lebanon is home to around 1.5 million syrian refugees. all the more challenging for lebanon, a country with just 6 million.

this city has the largest concentration of refugees in lebanon. we will go visit a very special kind of refugee camp. >> one of the caps is set aside, all negated. >> we live alone here. their husbands are all gone. >> these women's -- the women repair -- prefer to remain discreet about how their husband died. -- husbands died. this woman arrived here in 2014 with four of her children. her husband stayed in syria. he is dead. >> i only had two children left,

a girl and a boy. i had five. one was killed, i married 2, my husband is dead. when we arrived, we were a family of seven. all i have left is to children, it is awful. >> these widows chose to regroup in this informal camp. >> visits are allowed in the daytime, men are not allowed in the camp. how can i protect? we don't take notice of those outside, criticizing us. >> [speaking syrian] >> the only man allowed to live

in the camp is the guard. he collects rent, 25,000 lebanese pounds per month to make sure that things go smoothly. >> they are women living together who have an understanding, i only intervene when there is a big problem. to them, am a fatherly figure. -- i am a fatherly figure. >> they get a monthly allowance of 11,000 lebanon pounds. >> i am in debt and i have to raise for orphans with no financial support. look at my son, he was four months o when his father died. we are all hoping for a miracle but the truth is we are all going to die here, waiting for a solution. >> the school is closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

in these camps, children are forced to grow quickly, especially girls. >> we are going to marry this girl next year because of our tough situation. that is our daughter's destiny because we are refugees. they have no alternative. it is all our daughters think about and it is all we think about at 14, 15, 16 years old, maximum, they have to be living with a husband. >> [speaking syrian] >> most of the women we have spoken to tell us they are ready to return to syria but they are afraid. whether they are hoping for is some form of international

protection for themselves and their children. >> that was james andre reporting for france 24. cinemas may have been closed for months but the world -- for months but the film industry has been alive. first nominees for the 93rd edition of the academy awards have just been announced. catherine tells us more. >> no film produced by a streaming service has ever won the most prestigious prize, and oscar for best picture. that could change this year as netflix leaves the field with 35 nominations. including two films, the trial of the chicago seven and mank. david finger's -- fincher's ode

to citizen kane has the most nods. still, nomadland is fierce. a life about living on the road -- a movie about living on the road, it swept the golden globes and won best picture. chloe xaou is nominated for best actor. the first time in the 93 year history that more than one woman director has been selected. in contrast to the lack of diversity, this year, -- with her performance in my rainy -- ma rainey's black bottom,

viola davis earned another nod. making her the most decorated black actress ever. anthony hopkins's pre-earned him a best actor notd. -- nod. after being postponed because of the pandemic, this year's winners will be announced at the ceremony on april 25. >> let's get a check of what is happening and what of business. kate moody joins us. we are getting more news about how that money in the 1.9 trillion dollar stimulus package will be distributed in the u.s.. >> yes, how it will impact households and businesses. joe biden has named jean sperling to oversee that rescue plan. sperling previously worked with

the obama and clinton administrations and will be charged with making sure the aide reaches the right local authorities and businesses. they began promoting that rescue package under the slogan help is here. 100 million americans will be vaccinated in the next 10 days and 100 million stimulus checks distributed in t next 100 days. the law includes an extension of more generous unlimited benefits, the money for state and local government as well as schools and vaccination programs as well as a child tax credit which economists take could have a lasting impact on child poverty. take a listen. president biden: child poverty will be cut in half. it will generate economic growth for the entire nation. by the end of this year, this law will spur our economy to create 7 million new jobs. >> checking in on the day's trading action. wall street managing some new record highs.

the dow jones and s&p 500 both with record highs at their close. travel stocks outperforming american and united airlines up seven and 8% respectively. the u.s. on the highest level of air travel in a year this past weekend. investors are already looking ahead to the u.s. federal reserve's two day meeting which kicks off on tuesday. the major policy shift expected. the central bank could shift is forecast. a mixed, fairly muted close for the european industries. the stocks just closing above the flat line there. losses in london, paris and frankfurt. this drilling dropped as the you launched legal action against the u.k. over what it described as unilateral changes made to its brexit agreement. shares of denim rose nearly 3% after the ceo was ousted following activist shareholders.

a new chief executive has yet to be named. unions have called for that to be the backbone of the company's strategy. 2>> part of this starts with te campaign. you have a market right now that is creating an opportunity where stock prices are down so activists have come in and bought stocks cheap. accordingly, with plans to turn that around, ultimately, in that, the company needs to save face. any detail shareholders and signaled to shareholders that they are the message that in clear and that they need to make a decision here. unfortunately, he has taken the load there and he has departed

because of that. you see how he managed on this and he has a long-term orientation. he thinks about the long-term value that could be created. when you have activist with shorter-term goes, there could be tension there. that is what is happening today. >> johnson & johnson has signed an agreement with another european facility that will help reduce its single-dose vaccine. this site in germany will spend the next three months producing vaccine which was approved in europe last week. the american giant had warned that could be a delay in getting it supplies shipped to europe to help speed up the process. the european union is trying to iron out some of the kinks in

the mystic vaccines, a shortage of large plastic bags has been identified as a significant bottleneck for pharmaceutical companies. the financial times reported that the eu is in discussions with companies including merck to step of the production of such raw materials and reduce their blinds on foreign suppliers. pharmaceutical companies may hold the key to ending the pandemic but how muster they stand to gain from their vaccines? >> a year into the coronavirus pandem, public pressure is on to keep pharma prices down. as johnson and johnson and astrazeneca have pledged to sell their vaccines at cost except -- instead of for profit.

alberta: it is in the 20's. >> pfizer and biontech stand to make over a billion euros from vaccine sales but the real money in from allies not in vaccines but in treating chronic and long-term conditions. that means future pockets will depend on the nature of the pandemic itself and how the coronavirus evolves. >> we started making a vaccine f the variant. we don't know whether we will need it but if it is needed, it is on the way. >> ultimately, it is not so much the vaccines themselves but the way they have been designed. pharma firms maybe sharing information on the coronavirus and even producing virus -- rival vaccines. this is tech that has made leaps

and bounds over the last year and can and will be used in more profitable locations. tom: thank you for bringing us up to speed. i will be back in a couple of minutes, don't go away. >> special events. had them standing effects onyria neighboring countries. lebanon has had to take on 1.5 million refugees and the country already battle economic crisis and tensions. every series of special reports -- our series of special reports.

>> frank 24, your economy explained. liberty, you galley, actuality -- egality, actuality.

03/15/21 03/15/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> like farmers at the tu-of-the-centuryepresented one million black farm and was, 20 million acres of land presentingor 2% of the nation's farms. today we are down to about 45,000 black farmers and