tom: these are the headlines. covid-19 is once again exhilarating here in france. the prime minister announces plans for new lockdown in 16 departments, including the paris region. the eu drug watchdogs says the astrazeneca vaccine is safe and the benefits outweigh the risks. spain becomes one of a handful of nations to legalize euthanasia.

pedro sanchez said it best with 200 votes in favor and 141 against -- passed with 200 votes in favor and 141 against. good evening, the french prime minister has been speaking this evening to announce what had been suspected for several weeks, tighter restrictions for 16 regions including the paris region. the prime minister announced a week round lockdown which will go into effect on friday. schools will remain open but nonessential shops will have to close. the number of covid-19 cases has been creeping upwards and hospitals have been struggling

to cope. here is what the prime minister had to say. >> the progression of the epidemic is clearly accelerating. on wednesday alone we've recorded 30,000 new cases and today, the number is 35,000. this resurgence is making it more and more apparent that we are in the midst of a third wave. this comes as we get closer to the terrible figure of 100,000 deaths. >> the french prime minister speaking there. i spoke to our french politics editor, mark carol. mark: it is very similar to the november lockdown. for one important reason, schools will remain open. this is -- the government has been key to maintain this. they believe it is a fresh exception that has worked rather

well because it has kept peoples at school rather than learning from distance -- pupils at school rather than learning from distance. they think it is not such a threat, healthwise. shops will be closed except those where you would buy food and maybe supermarkets. the big difference is that outdoor activities are now encouraged. you can run all day, there is no limitation to the amount of time you can spend outdoors. there is a limit of 10 kilometers from your home and they also decided that you cannot travel out of the region. they don't want the virus to spread. it is different because it is only 16 departments and it is also different because you are

encouraged in a way to go outdoors more because they don't want people to get infected when they stay indoors or at home. >> that was mark speaking to me earlier on. let's get a little more analysis on the overall situation. thank you so much for speaking to us, dr. >> the french prime minister has taken a rather tougher approach than some people had expected. do you think this is the right decision? >> yes, i was quite pleased with what was decided because schools remain open and outdoor activities are very important. it is not very risky for the virus transmission. they took into account that we are close to a third wave as they said.

it is increasing over the last two weeks. tom: paris has been a worry for quite some time now. just how bad is the situation in the greater paris region? >> it has been increasing substantially over the last three or four weeks. the most concerning situation is the intensive care unit because they are full. compared to what could have been done in the first wave, the rest of the country of france is quite full in terms of i see you capacity. it would be difficult to find places -- icu capacity. it would be difficult to find places for more. tom: more than 5.5 million people have been vaccinated with

at least one of the doses so far and plus the curfew that has been in place, that would put the brakes on the virus and stop it, was that wishful thinking? >> we thought it could be enough and the truth is that it would not be enough. maybe because we are too slow with the vaccine, maybe because the lockdown was not enough. the reality is that it was not enough. it would require more than what we have been doing over the last few weeks. >> you mentioned the slow rollout of the vaccines there. that is the cause quite considerable anger. where is france going wrong? >> the beginning was very bad. i think we have to much concern

about vaccine hesitancy in france. after a few weeks, we had a change in the mentality. until the beginning of this week, the astrazeneca controversy was present in france and i think it will be good to start again and have a good vaccine rollout. >> i think people will be worried before they have the astrazeneca vaccine because of the political comments and also the reports in the newspapers. would you have the astrazeneca jab yourself? >> yes, i would have no problem. the risk and benefit ratio of

the vaccine is very positive. i don't doubt that there are some side effects but these cases are out of 20 million jabs. the risk is much lower than the benefit. tom: thank you for speaking to us, dr. pierre. dr. pierre: you're welcome. tom: france will resume the use of the astrazeneca vaccine on friday. they believe that it is safe and effective and that its benefits outweigh the risks. more than a dozen european nations initially suspended uses of the job. -- jab. >> the green light for the astrazeneca jab following an investigation by the eu medicines regulator. >> this is a safe and effective

vaccine. its benefits in protecting people from covid-19 with the associated risks of death and hospitalization outweigh the possible risks. the committee also concluded that the vaccine is not associated with an increase. >> 13 states had suspended the use of the vaccine as a precaution after reports of a small number of cases of blood clots. the regulator says it would continue to started the possibility of the potential link. >> there is not enough sufficient to conclude with certainty that these are caused by the vaccine or not. we will continue prep under these conditions including additional studies. we'll keep them under very close monitoring. >> they are raising concerns

about potential side effects of the vaccine. astrazeneca said there is no risk of -- increased risk of clotting. it is now up to individual countries to decide whether to restart administering doses of the vaccine, france, italy and latvia were the first to announce they were willing to do so. >> antony blinken is continuing his first foreign tour since taking over. he is meeting his chinese opposite in anchorage, alaska. u.s. officials have expressed hopes for resetting relationships with beijing but china suggested that there is not much room for compromise. we have th report. >> washington says it will pull no punches.

beijing says it does not have high expectations. setting the tone for their bilateral talks. >the u.s. secretary of state, antony blinken criticized beijing's human rights record but urged to do more for regional security. >> we are clear right about beijing's commitments and we spoke about how beijing's aggressive and authoritarian behavior are challenging the stability and security ofhe gion. >> china's ambassador made beijing's position clear. >> some people may think that having conversations with other countries for meeting with china may help to put pressure on china, i don' think it is necessary or useful. we will not make compromises or concessions on these issues in order to create a good atmosphere. >> the meetings in alaska where

the first senior level discussions between the two rivals since resident joe biden took office. blinken and joe sullivan. both sides are eager to catch up some of the damage left by the trump administration following a protracted trade work, mutual these restrictions and technology but the biden administration has made it clear, it will take a tough stance when it comes to human rights, on the eve of alaska talks, a proposed first sanctions on 2000 chinese officials for underming democratic freedoms in hong kong . tom: following on from what has been a series of high-profile cases, spain has become just a small handful of nations to legalize euthanasia. the vote passed by 202 in favor, 141 against.

>> in a historic book, spanish lawmakers gave the green light to legalize euthanasia in the country, passing the legislation was a priority for the socialist party. on twitter, spanish prime minister, pedro sanchez hailed the decision. >> theissen asia -- the euthanasia law demanded by many has become a reality. >> those in incapacitated condition can request to end their lives. crowds celebrated but for some it was bittersweet. >> i am partly angry that the law wasn't approved when my mother needed it but we have to live in a positive way and we are happy to be able to contribute to this society and fight for our right.

today, we can go to bed a little more free. >> in a traditionally catholic country like spain, the law is polarizing. the church has been vocal in its opposition with one church calling it a form of murder. >> we can't claim the fundamental right to life and liberty. with this law, no freedom is left to those who suffer and they are forced to take the quickest solution, death. >>nk spain is now the fourth european nation to legalize euthanasia, joining the likes of belgium and luxembourg. tom: we have been taking a look back at what has been a decade of bloodshed and unrest in syria.

they were calling for reforms and an end to the rule of president bashar al-assad. they try to crush peaceful protests and sparked a civil war , resulting in the deaths of half a million people. in the fourth installment of our series of portraits of young syrian refugees, we will introduce you to this 24-year-old who is a photojournalist who came to paris and started a new life there. >> he is a student almost like any other. today, he received his diploma in france -- in french, his first in france. france met the young syrian three years ago. at the time, he did not speak a

word of friends and told of the horrors of the war in broken english. >> they attack all civilians and they killed 32 people there. >> today, he shares his story with young people all over france. [speaking french] >> he is 15 years old when the battle abrupt, he comments on

the fighting from rebel positions. upon his arrival in france, zaheer is surprised by local news and decides to report on events in society that are shaping around him. zaheer: [speaking french] >> his work is also a way to reassure and give news to his relatives who stayed in syria. tom: 14 days of mourning are being observed in tanzania following the sudden death of the president. he was 61 years old.

this was announced yesterday and in line with the tanzania and constitution. his successor will take power until his term ends in 2025. that will give them tanzania's first female president. the u.s. has sent messages of condolence to tanzania. commemorations have been held in paris for the 150th anniversary of this state. it was on this date, the 18th of march in 1871 that the paris commune began. it was the revolutionary government in paris that lasted seven days. it was referred to as the bloody week when all of these, don's were -- these people were killed. it is marked by the mayor of

paris. there are 50 portraits of key figures in that chapter. it is now time for a check of the top business news stories and kate moody is here. teens from the united states and china meeting in anchorage -- teams from the united states and china meeting in anchorage, lascaux. it seems like trade is going to be front and center. kate: the tariffs remain in place on billions of dollars worth of each other's goods. that is part of a trade war that erected under donald trump. they have not rolled back those tariffs on china with the exception of medical equipment. a phase i deal to ease tensions was reached back in january of 2020 but data has not suggested

that beijing has increased purchasing as many goods from the u.s. as promised. joe biden has echoed many of his previous answers concerns when it comes to intellectual property rights and open markets for u.s. companies in china. beijing has accused washington of violating international trading norms as well. >> spea-- [speaking chinese] kate: both sides downplaying any idea of breakthrough. a number of american seeking

unemployment benefits rose last week, bucking a trend that raised hopes about a labor market recovery. 770,000 new applications were reported across the country. 18.2 million americans are still reviewing -- receiving some kind of unappointed benefits. let's check in on the day's en wall street closed earlier. the s&p 500 is down 1.5%, the nasdaq is about 3% lower on the close as tech stocks weighted down trade, treasury yields soared again. the tenure -- 10 year yield bond hitting its highest.

earlier, the major european indices closed higher. the dax closed up over 1%. the bank of england kept interest rates on hold. as much of france heads back into lockdown, affected businesses will be looking for more financial aid. the government will spend a further 1.2 billion euros per month to support affecte businesses. that brings the monthly total of government aid to 7.2 billion. new restrictions are expected to cost 1.2 billion dollars of gdp. the pandec support measures include a furlough scheme which sees the state pay up to 84% of paychecks for workforces that are affected by the pandemic. businesses have been able to

differ payroll taxes -- defer payroll taxes. the health crisis and restrictions have impacted practically every sector of the french economy, that includes auto body shops. there is less demand for car repairs and nearly a third of french mechanics say they are at risk of going bankrupt. >> at first class, it could seem like an ordinary day but mechanics in the south of france now only repair about a dozen cars per week. wn from 25 per week before the pandemic. with road traffic down as 70% at times, this means smaller knocks. that comes with a prize for garages. >> this is a small hick, a little scratch on the bumper. we barely get any of these kinds of repairs anymore. .

they really only bring these cars when they have to get bigger jobs done and they don't have a choice. >> as a result, diaries are half-empty. far from the one month waiting time. >> as soon as a customer walks through the door, jump on the diary and booked in for the following week. -- book them for the following week. so far it is empty. we only have four people comi in next week. >> there is no end in sight. this carriage -- garage associationli says that almost a third of garages in the country are at risk of going bust. >> i think 2022 will be a totally different story. >> it is not only garages that are affected. 75% of workers in the french car industry say they are worried about the future.

>> several thousand people demonstrated outside of this french airport today. they said they have not received the same financial aid as air france employees. as a beginning of march, it was announced up to 30,000 employees at the airport could be laid off. two of the three terminals remain closed and the number of daily passengers has plummeted from 200,000 to just 20,000. the pandemic has wreaked havoc on tourism around the world. in saudi arabia, the loss of travel revenues has made the country depend on oil exports. >> saudi arabia's richest usually book for their holidays, rooms in the top luxury hotels

in europe and -- the u.s.. -- in europe and the u.s.. but they have had to settle for local resorts like this artificial oasis built outside of riyadh in just over a few weeks. >> we wanted to give the fine dining experience alongside the desert experience. >> resorts like this were not built just to please locals. the covid crisisas derailed saudi arabia's plans to bring in international tourists so it can diversifyts oil dependent economy, to limit his losses, it is encouraging wealthy residents to spend whatever they can in saudi hotels and leisure parks. saudi's usually spend their money abroad, 50 per head -- percent of their leisure spending. they buy 70% of their luxury

goods abroad as well. they spent $18.7 billion on tourism overseas in 2018. that figure is expected to rise to 43 billion by 2025. the majority of saudi's say they will book a flight abroad as soon as the kingdom lifts its travel ban. kate: smart devices come with all manner of bells and whistles . one company in the south of france has been testing smart watches which beep when standing too close together for too long a time. it can track potential exposure to covid-19. it is much like those apps that are meant to trace outbreaks. tom: i might get myself one of those. that is it from us, i will be back in a couple of minutes, stay with us.

03/18/21 03/18/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> obviously, whatever the motivation this guy, we know the majority of the victims were asian. we also know this is an issue that is happening across the country. it is unacceptable. it is hateful. and it has two stop.