♪ >> friends since medical -- >> france sends medical aid to martinique as the island prepares to enter a partial lockdown. soldiers to be deployed in sitting on monday to enforce stay-at-home orders in order to tackle a surge in infections. some 200 afghan interpreters prepare for a new life in the united states. they are part of an operation to evacuate the thousands who helped u.s. troops during the

two-decade conflict in afghanistan. thanks for joining us. two overseas territories must have -- prepare to enter lockdowns. a three-week stay-at-home order will come into force in martinique in under three hour'' time. france is deploying military medics and icu units. martinique currently has the highest infection rate in the country. >> the scenic beaches in the french territory of martinique should be brimming with holidaymakers this time of year, but this year will see a change of scene as the island prepares to enter lockdown with extended curfew. >>speaking foreign language]

>> for residents, it is a mixture of acceptance and frustratio >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> martinique is one of the worst hit regions of france and is struggling to cope with the number of hospitalizations. the french defense ministry has confirmed that 10 icu beds will be sent in the coming week and over 50 military medics to be deployed to the island. the search in cases is in part due to increased travel in the summer holiday season, but a slow vaccine rollout is also to blame. the caribbean island has the lowest elation rate in the french territories -- the lowest

inoculation rate in the french territories. >> authorities are being called in to enforce stay-at-home orders in sydney as authorities try to enforce -- as authorities tried to deal with the delta variant. so far, less than one in five australians are currently leave vaccinated. >> a4-stage plan toward greater freedom in australia with large parts of the country in and out of lockdown. prime minister scott morrison signaled there was light at the end of the tunnel through vaccinations. >> every single vaccine will take us closer to achieving each of these steps. in australia, we have to take each step together, and that starts with walking in the door of that vaccine clinic. >> after a sluggish start, 18% of adults in australia are vaccinated. the government hopes to has this

raised to 70% by the end of the year and says it will reop the country's borders once that goal is reached. >> if you are vaccinated, your present less of a public health risk. you are less likely to get the virus. you are less likely to transmit it. you are less likely to get a serious illness and be hospitalized, and you are less likely to die. >> soldiers have arrived in sydney and will help enforce isolation orders. the city has become one of the hardest hit in the country, and health experts are calling for even stricter measures. >> now is not the time for compromise, for balanced lockdowns, for thinking about the economy versus the health advice.

julia: israel has become the first country to offer a third dose of the vaccine to the general population. the president and his wife were among the first to receive the shots which were being administered to people over 60. this comes amid rising infections caused by the delta variant and the vaccine's declining efficacy over time, but neither the u.s. nor the eu has approved a third shot. health organizations say there's not enough evidence to show it is needed. i plan to evacuate thousands of afghans who helped the u.s. in its fight with afghanistan. some 200 arrived at a military base in virginia outside washington, d.c. u.s. president joe biden called

the arrivals a milestone and the first of many. >> in what u.s. president joe biden has called an important milestone, first liked evacuating nationals out of afghanistan touched down at dulles international airport just outside washington, d.c., friday. this morning, the first flight has arrived in the united states carrying afghans who are eligible for special immigrant visas and their families. these are only just the first of many as we record -- as we work to relocate allied afghans to the united states so they can wait in safety while they finish recent apps -- visa applications. these include interpreters, translators, and others who provided crucial support. they are first to be evacuated under the u.s.'s special

immigrant visa program. many fear of reprisals from the taliban, which has made territorial gains since u.s. troops began to withdraw. pressure has built to evacuate as soon as possible. >> we are not unmindful of the security issues and the risks people have taken to support us. >> the u.s. congress passed additional funding to foster the resettlement of afghan nationals. >> finally, the fallout from the pegasus global spyware scandal continues. more than 1000 indian phone numbers have reportedly been listed including activists, journalists, and politicians. >> this is the office of india news organization.

once members of the international media consortium that has been leading investigations into the ongoin global pegasus scandal. it's editor-in-chief was among those whose phone had been hacked into. except me and my phone, and they showed me targeted as a criminal -- that is me and my phone. >> pegasus was supposedly created to target criminals and terrorists, but reports reveal they ended up seriously using it as a weapon. >> mexico and india are two democracies on the list extensively using pegasus against their own people.

the strikes are the very root of democracy in india. you have the goverent of rance investigating. you have the government of israel saying they are investigating allegations, but you have the government of india burying its head in the sand, pretending that all of this is a conspiracy and that all of this is fake news. >> experts say that surveillance is permitted under rare circumstances, but hacking citizens is illegal. >> this is leading to an environment that has set in on free speech, and people are fearful of criticizing the government. >> despite evidence, the more the government continues to ignore demands for accountability. julia: you are up-to-date. there's more news coming up on

france 24. stay tuned. ♪ >> cheeky, clever, irreverent, and sometimes poignant. michael rosen's words have captured generations of children and adults. the former children's laureate and author of more than 140 books is known for his dedication to social causes. 12 years later, his own life was in their hands as he battled covid-19, and experience that involved weeks in an induced coma. he revisits that time in a new book, "many different kinds of

love," and he joins us now to tell us more. thanks for joining us today. you are looking better than this time last year, but i believe you're still suffering the nt of covid. how did your find the time and energy to put together this extremely moving book? >> as your body starts to fail or is coming out of a period of failure, luckily my mind was mostly intact, so a great refuge, if you like. to sit and think and right -- to sit and think and write. julia: the book is made up of fragments of prose. some of the text comes from notes by the health care workers who look after you while you were in an induced coma. sophie, lizzie, daniel, eloise, natosha, daniel, and many others

wrote to you recording your ogress. >> i remember in the hospital people saying that i had a patient diary. in fact, i've got it right here. i can show you. you can see it is a notebook with a little spiral-bound, and you can see the nurses' entries in the book, and they told me it was there, and it came back with me from the hospital, and it sat on our kchen table, a my wife would point at and say, that's your diary. it is about when you were in a coma. i could not bear to read it. it was some time before actually brought myself to go through it and read with the nurses, fizzy's, and health workers who were drafted in to help with those in intensive care.

julia: during that terrifying time, you suffered with bouts of delirium and described the strange and vivid dreams you had. it sounds overwhelming. you talked about the fidget -- the physical effects, but did you worry about your mental or emotional health? >> i thought that i was conscious and knew what was going on. one time i came home. i started to realize that i was forgetting things and would normally -- and would not understand things i would normally understand. my wife would say you were in hospital and tell me where we were going on holiday, and i would forget. i would forget very famous hoywood film stars. i started to call at hollywood

film star forgetting. i forgot tom cruise's name, george clooney's name. meryl streep. there was a period where whatever great hollywood star was mentioned i could not remember their name. >> but that has come back, though. you have come a long way since then. in addition to these written words, spoken words were key for you. you were hearing voices, but there was also a moment when you listened to the radio play. let's remind us of the beautiful words of dylan thomas with this expert of "do not go gentle into that good night" performed by michael sheen. could see with blinding lights, me, and rage rage against the dying of the

light, and you, my father, there on the sat height. list me now with your fierce tears. i pray do not go gentle into that good night. rage. rage against the dying of the light. >> how has poetry or literature more generally been a comforto >> a lot.g thisime? literature contains us. you could use the image of the bowl and literature is the bowl that holds us. you can rebnd, go into the literature to comforyou, to provoke you. i found myself thinkg of odysseus, whgoeso the land

of the dd, breaks all the bottles, because he comes out again. the more pple spoke to me about the coma and how near i was to death, i use that image. i started finding that ima very comforting that odysss got in and got out again, the idea of getting past cerberus, the guard dog, so literature is a great comfort and a great place to go. julia: your books have taken very difficult things and -- for example, "the missing" discusses the second world war and making sure there's stories live on. with this international health crisis, a harrowing year, how do we explain this to children toy and in the future. i have to -- i think we have to be as plain and accurate as

we possibly can. were talking about a virus, not some strange little creature. we have to explain what viruses are, and i are in -- they are in their own way difficult to describe because they are not exactly living and not exactly dead. we have to talk about how we are distributing viruses between us. we need scientists to lay it all out for us and make it understandable. on the one hand, we live with some that do not do us much damage like the common cold, and others can. lexi wrote a poem for the children of gaza in 2009. since then, the conflict between israelis and palestinians have done -- has gone through various chapters. when it comes to speaking out

against that, do you feel that today the debate has become more black and white and totally polarized? >> it is polariz. of course, thats not soe anything. at the end of the day, parties on the ground are going to have to resolve it as equals, but at the moment, that is not happening. there's no process -- there's no peace process. let's not pretend there is. there must be some process that has to start where the parties onhe ground resolve it as equals, whatever that might be. i don't live in israel. my links with my jewish family are with france, america, and poland. i looked at israel and do not feel that it is, as it were, mine, to do with me. i wrote the poem about childr

in gaza. they are being forbidden to publish names of dead children -- dead, non-jewish children. i thought why is that? why are you banni the puishing of names of children? that is how i respond as an artist. >> your impression from words and sounds extends to a special radio program, and i particularly enjoyed one episode. what is your favorite french word or phrase? >> >> [speaking foreign language] that's good, isn't it if i remember rightly, it is a joke. it gentle and found a ladies garment on her leg at the time, on which was written [speaking

foreign language], that it should have been written on her upper leg. julia: what got you hooked on the series "line of duty?" >> hooked is the right word. when you have a serious when you d't know who is the dodgy one, who was the villain, this is very compelling. hooked is the rightord, and that hooks you in. julia: thank you very much for being with us today. we end with a clip of "line of duty." you can get more arts and culture on our websitend social media. >> a barefaced liar.

from our highest office. >> you should investigate right away. >> we will. >> you have no idea what she's capable of. >> i had nothing to do with it. >> all i know is somebody is behind all this. >> i know they stopped caring about honesty and integrity. julia -- >> time now for "french connections," our weekly look at the intricacies of life in france. this week's show is a bit of a public service announcement. we are going to focus on what to do if you are indeed in an emergency here in france. there are so many numbers you can potentially call. >> absolutely. there are over 10.

in a medical emergency, you should dial number 15. to reach the police, dial number 17. to reach the fire department, dial number 18, andhere is also the universal emergency line, which is 112. there are over 10 numbers, depending what kind of emergency you are in. some of them are a little niche. for example, if you need to be rescued at sea, there's a specific number. to reach emergency social services, there is a whole separate number. it is hard to keep track and really easy to get confused. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language]

>> don't make fun of those people. i myself get confused. when you're in an emergency, it is hard to think straight anyway. >> it is interesting. even though a lot of french people do not know their emergency numbers, as we just saw in this soundbites. >> the police, number 17, they get 36,000 people a day. firefighters, number 18, 50,000. you can see 85,000 for the medical emergency. that is a call a second for what is known as the medical emergency health services. they get the bulk of calls, which means they end up being kind of call operators and marshaling the calls. they can sometimes get backed up, but that is true for all the emergency numbers. it has become one of the things

they have in common as they deal with a lot of missed calls. take a look at this footage from a couple of years ago. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> fortunately, these days, not many people use [indiscernible] but apparently dogs can still be a problem. other european countries have a unique number.

sweden, denmark, the netherlands. fire fighters are among those that want to be that number that would be the central european number. they argued it would be more fluent and that it would save time and money. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> while firefighters are in favor of one number, they are facing resistance from emergency doctors. why is that? >> they argue it is important for people racing life-threatening and medical him -- life-threatening medical emergencies to have quick and available medical access, which

is the case now when you are put in touch with a doctor or nurse who can help you quickly. they argue with there is just one number, precious seconds will be wasted as a generic operator fields your call. they argue for two numbers, one for medical emergencies and one for security emergencies. >> [speaking foreign language] >> this debate over having a unique number came up rather recently when there was a general failure in emergency numbers across rents. >> that's right. in early june for about seven hours, coming emergency numbers were largely unavailable. because of the disruption was a breakdown at the french telecommunications couple cut -- company which is responsible for guaranteeing these calls go

through. authorities are responsible for determining if several deaths that occurred during the breakdown are linked to this failure of services. the debate rages on. like many things in france, change takes time. in the meantime, remember those numbers. it is worth keeping in your own. >> i've had trouble with this before. thank you so much for that breakdown. if you want to follow those numbers and learn a little bit more about what flo is speaking of about, you can go to our website, france24.com. >> they are known for their cuisine and saying hello with a kiss. they only work 35 hours a week -- when they are not on strike, that is. every week, we tear apart stereotypes. join us for insight in the

french culture to understand what makes the french so unique.

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amy: from new york, this is democracy w! >> human rights watch conducted in-depth investigations -- involved serious violations of war crimes. amy: human rights watch is calling on the international criminal court to open a war crimes probe into israel over its assault on gaza, which