martinique is under a strict lockdown as a fourth wave of coronavirus hits the caribbean island. reinforcements are being sent from paris. the western united states is still fighting major wildfires. we get the latest on the

situation in california where the largest ladies in the nation is still not under control. thanks for watching france 24. we start in afghanistan where every day for a week more provincial capitals fall into the nds of the taliban. 12 cities are under their control. also another key district capital just a few kilometers from the country's capital. also reports that soldiers have laid down their weapons and joined the mujahedin. >> tens of thousands of afghans have fled. the taliban have ceased recorders of the country's northern provinces. many of the refugees in the

capital are from afghanistan's third-largest city, which is now in the hands of the taliban. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the taliban offensive that started in may is advancing at a breakneck pace. on thursday, they captured three more provincial capitals. the militants now control 1/3 of afghanistan's regional cities. the weeklong blitz is putting pressure on the embattled afghan government. the president lived to the besieged northern city on wednesday to discuss strategy with local leaders. the capture of ghazni is particularly alarming. it is just 100 kilometers from kabul, and with it in the hands

of militants, a crucial highway has been cut off. there are reports the taliban are being prisoners. meanwhile, ongoing peace talks in doha are being stalled despite the offer of a power-sharing deal from the government in return for an end to the fighting. >> as a deadly fourth wave of coronavirus inftions wreaks havoc in the wrench caribbean island of martinique, dr. face the cruel reality of having to choose between life and death for critically ill patients with hospitals overwhelmed and the number of cases skyrocketing. they do not have enough oxygen to administer to patients. >> patients are everywhere. as more and more people are brought in with covid-19 symptoms, medics have to place them anywhere they can -- in corridors, in hallways, and under tents set up outside the

building. a new patient has arrived. the first thing nurses do is test their oxygen. -- to give them oxygen. instantly, she can breathe better. for now, she will have to remain on a stretcher. >> [speaking foreign language] >> 54 patients in this emergency level waiting to be transferred to hospitals across the country. this man is 29. the deputy mayor of america is

one of those hospitalized with covid-19. from his hospital bed, he sends a message. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> most patien get lung ct scans for doctors to decide which hospitals to send them to, but some don't go that far. medics are having to make triage decisions to prioritize patients who have a better chance of survival. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> the worsening health crisis is putting a mental strain on health workers, who are having to witness five or six deaths per day. this as hospitals face a shortage of staff. >> in turkey, the authorities say 11 people have died due to severe floods and mudslides in the north of the country. the floods battered the backseat coastal provinces on wednesday, they destroyed homes, bridges, and swept away cars. helicopters scrambled to rescue people stranded on rooftops. the military said it had airlifted 80 people to safety in the region. meanwhile, on thursday, a wildfire was finally brought under control in an area popular with tourists. one of some 200 wildfires in turkey since the end of june. glazes continue to rage across northern algeria on thursday as the country observed a national

day of mourning for dozens of people killed in the latest wildfires to sweep across the mediterranean. algeria has been in the grip of devastating fires since monday. the country is chartering two firefighting planes from the eu. france also arrived -- announced the arrival of two firefighting planes it has sent. we continue to report on the wildfire situation in the united states. in southwest montana, several thousand people have an evacuated, and california's so-called dixie fire is the largest wildfire burning in the united states right now and no site in the immediate of that being contained. >> we have been seeing persistently high temperatures and low humidity, which are

really some of the main factors that continue to fuel the dixie fire, that is still the second largest in the state. the good news that we have as of thursday is that some of the inversion has been lifted, so with that thick smoke partially gone, with that her, they now have air support back on, and that means they will be utilizing some two dozen aircraft, including helicopters and air tankers, to aid the operation in an attempt to slow the spread of the fire, but the bad news is that starting on thursday, they also expect thunderstorms in much of the region, which unfortunately will not bring much needed rain. it will instead bring strong wind and some storm lightning, both of which could potentially fuel the existing fires or start even new ones. >> we continue this scorcher of a summer. in much of europe, temperatures

have been creeping higher. temperatures in sicily hit nearly 49 degrees celsius on wednesday, the heat resulting in fires acros the island. >> 29 degrees celsius as john breaks in syracuse. the city witnessed the highest temperature ever recorded on -- in europe a day earlier when it hit 48.8 degrees celsius. people are doing whatever they can to stay cool. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> a giant heat dome currently over southern europe has resulted in temperatures soaring. according to expts, hot summers like this one are likely to become a regular affair. >> [speaking foreign language]

>> the heat wave in europe it greece last week. temperatures have resulted in wildfires brking out in sicily and collaborator. forecasters predicted temperatures are set to peak in sicily on friday. >> that is all for me for now. thanks for watching france 24. ♪

>> a conductor's baton is a light and dainty thing, but its power is immense, and it's never been more potent in the hands of one woman, the first to be named artistic director of the national orchestra in evan young, france. in addition to that, she has lifted the veil on a forgotten female composer, one of the women pushed to the margins until very recently. the forgotten symphony has just been published here in france. deborah joins me in the studio to tell us more. thanks for being here. let's start with this fascinating book which melds your experience as a conductor with the story of a woman who composed that forgotten symphony more than a century ago. i believe that despite your very thorough musical education, you

have not heard of her either. can you explain how you encountered her? >> it is and incredible story. it started in 2013. i was invited in a festival. the director asked me to do an entire product with female composers, and i thought the idea very strange because i did not know one of them. while studying this cause, i thought it was really beautiful music, and how come i did not know any of them? i asked him to give me all the music he has. one day, he sent me this score. i discovered this piece, and i said to him it's really great

music, can we play? he said you can, but if you do that, it will be the first time because this work was never played before. >> indeed, you mentioned someone who like yourself has dedicated a lot of time and energy to uncover the stories of women. she founded a festival to promote the cause. she is also the author of a novel about a female composer. >> when i started working on female composers in 2006 and then in 2011n the launc of the festival, no one wanted to play their music. no one knew them. in the classical music sector, they are completely underestimated, and by default, their works are considered mediocre. people believed female composers did not exist or were few and far between. >> incredible. as you mentioned, you stage the symphony itself in 2019, and it

will be played on july 1 by the wrench national orchestra at the auditorium here in paris. let's take a listen to a short extract in the first movement of that symphony. ♪ speaking of the character of that music, there's a beautiful

line in your book where you call a symphony a world of its own. >> her husband was far away in the war, and she had already three child, and she was, like, very sad of this destiny. it is very obscure, very dark, but also, it has a lot of things like very light and happy because she's having a baby, and it's very autobiographical music in three movements. it comes from dark to light and ends with a really dark mood because of the war. her husband came back. they are happy, they have four children, but at least for humanity, it is a great tragedy what happen.

i was very surprised. i really cried a lot at the end because she did not only thought about herself and her beautiful story, but her world and a general sense of reflection. >> very beautiful. we know many female composers in the password relegated to the margins of history due to sexism. they lived in the shadows of famous men. when it comes to the 21st century when you started out on this career path, how did you see the issue of gender? was it an obstacle for you? >> as a conductor, i do thought about it. when i was an assistant, a bus told me once, "you are a woman," and i wondered, what does that mean?

i wondered if because i am a woman, it would be difficult. when i am 19 in avignon, they told me for the first time france, and i thought maybe this is what he was trying to say. but now, the door is open. >> you do mention a shocking statistic in your book. only 4% of conductors are women, is that true? >> yes, in the professional world. when i was named, it go from zero to three, and now there are already three more nominations. girls very young are named also. collection -- >> you mentioned

someone who was something of a mentor to you. you've also have stepped into that role. the idea is to give young musicians a states to play music at the very highest level -- a stage to play music at the very highest level. let's take a look at the ensemble in action performing mozart. ♪ as the instigator of this young orchestra, your in many ways shaping the next chapter of classical music, setting the tone. if you had to sum up the mission

statement, what would it be? >> exactly as you said. to give a new sense of actuality. we need to give history a new look. this is my mission. a new sound and a new approach. >> i presume women will feature, female composers? >> yes, for sure. each concert has a women composer, and this i don't think is very common. >> absolutely. you were born in brazil, raised in argentina, now in paris. you describe yourself as multicultural with arts and music as a thread. i did read that when you came to paris for the first time, it was love at first sight. what was it that resonated with

you? >> it was really unconscious also. it was the city i dreamt about. it is like i am at home when i come here. i was very impressed by the quantity of cultural life that there is in the city. >> and the support for it as well. i believe it was in israel during your childhood that you first realized you wanted a career in classical music and conducting. i did wonder, living in that group dynamic and learning about maintaining harmony among different personalities, different individuals, how does that relate to a musical ensemble? >> it is exactly the principal of a conductor, how to deal with these eventualities in one thing when everybody wants the same thing. it is my job to convince them to go with me from my musical

conception. >> thank you so much for your time today. do remember our website. we are also on twitter, facebook, and instagram. there's more news coming on rents 20 or just after this. -- there's more news coming on france 24 just after this. ♪ >> time now for our weekly look at the intricacies of life here in france. this week's show is a little bit of a public service announcement, just telling you moments ago -- this is very exciting because it is rather

confusing. we are going to tell you what to do if you are indeed in an emergency in france because there are so many emergency numbers you can call. >> absolutely. there are over 10 emergency numbers here in france. if you are in a medical emergency, you call number 15. to reach the police, dial number 15. to reach the fire department, dial number 18. there is also the european emergency line, so 112. there are over 10 numbers depending on what kind of emergency you are in. for instance, if you need to be rescued at sea, there's a specific number. if you need to reach emergency social services, there is a whole separate number. it is hard to keep track and easy to get confused. >> [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 are in an emergency, it is hard to think straight anyway. wicks even though a lot of french people don't know their emergency numbers as we just heard in those sound bites, they know the main ones. >> they certainly do. the three main emergency numbers get about 1000 calls per day. 50,000. you can see about 50,000 for medical emergency, they call a second for the medical emergency help services. they really 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 actually true for all the emergency numbers. it has become one of the things they have in common. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language] >> fortunately, these days, not that many people use fax machines, but apparently dogs can still be a problem. >> there is this call to have a unique number.

>> absolutely. other european countries have a unique number. for instance sweden, denmark, the netherlands. fire fighters are among those calling for a unique number in france. they want there to be a universal european number. they argued it would make the system a lot more fluid and should in orienting people's calls, essentially saving time and money. >> [speaking foreign language] >> while firefighters are in favor of one number, they face resistance from emergency doctors, right? >> they say on the contrary, it

is important for people facing life-threatening medical emergencies to have quick and direct access to medical professionals, which is the case when you dial the number 15. your directly in touch with a doctor or medical professional. they warned if there is just one number, precious seconds will be wasted as a generic operator feels your call. they are calling for the generation of two numbers, one for medical emergencies and another that would be for security emergencies. >> [speaking foreign language] >> this debate over having a unique number came up rather recently when there is a general failure in emergency numbers across rants. >> that's right, for about seven hours in early june, the major numbers were not available.

investigations are under way to determine if several deaths that occurred during the breakdown are linked to the fact that they could not reach the emergency services. this once again raises the debate -- should france have a unique number, a debate that is raging on. like many things in france, things take a lot of time. remember those numbers. it is worth keeping them in your phone. >> i'm going to learn that as well because i've had trouble. thank you so much for that breakdown for all of us. if you want to follow those numbers and learn a little bit more, you can go to our#úçççococ

08/12/21 08/12/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> current trajectory, we could pass 300 million reported cases early next year. amy: as the highly contagious delta variant spreads the globe, we will spend the hour looking at the pandemic in some of the