mark: welcome to "live from paris," both news and analysis from france 24. the worst ever micro-disaster of the french coast. 27 drowned after setting off in a rough dinghy trying to cross one of the busiest stretches in the world. a new announcement from the fridge health minister is there are another 30,000 cases of covid announced this thursday.

matthew hedges shares his experience with us wrongfully held in the homeland under the new chief. this is "live from paris." thanks for being with us. calais has long been the coupon for migrants seeking to cross the water from france to england. the people of the port has been seeing both sides of the story over the past 20 years. this, of course, as the worst micro crisis in its history has taken place with 27 people losing their lives. a vigil held this evening inspired by a tragedy that has unfolded and sympathy for those

seeking quite simply a better life. some migrants have been telling us their feelings in the wake of this tragic loss of life. >> libya and algeria and then went to spain by c. we will continue our quest despite the risks. >> we are not afraid because we have faced far worse. we look at our phones and winds are all right. when they are not too high, we try to leave on our own. ex 27 people drowning off the french coast, after setting off in a rough dinghy to reach the south of england. >> we were at the central calais where there was a lot of raw emotion at this memorial service for the 27 people who died yesterday in what is now the

single worst micro disaster in the english channel. lots of raw emotion, lots of sadness, lots of anger as well directed at the political and action across the globe and in particular, britain and france. i spoke to one woman who came here with her two young children. she said it was very important for her to be there with the children to try to explain to her what it meant to have 27 lives lost just a couple of kilometers away from their home. she also said she hoped to, 40, 50, 60 years from now when calais would be underwater because of climate change, that her children wherever they decided to move to, that she hopes they would given a warmer welcome that france has given these migrants here. mark: obviously the inquiry goes on. five people are under arrest in the wake of that loss of life.

next, 230 migrants work through the margaret -- through the border fence between belarus and poland. more sanctions are being called for against belarus. at least 11 people have lost thei lives at the belarus-poland border since this micro crisis broke out. the eu is accusing belarus and pressure of manufacturing this micro crisis to try to destabilize the 27-state bloc. france seeks to curb a fifth wave of infections threatening to undermine its economy. >> in the midst of a fifth wave

of covid-19, france believes it can weather the storm. authorities ruled out lockdowns and curfews, instead opting to accelerate its booster shot rollout. >> as of now, vaccine boosters are available to all adults, so those aged 18 and older, five months after their last injection, and we encourage them to get vaccinated in the next two months. >> previously, booster shots had only been available to health workers to -- health workers, people over 65, and those with complicating conditions. unvaccinated people using a health pass will need a negative covid test every day instead of every three days and as of january 15, everyone else will need a booster shot within seven months of their last dose. otherwise, their health pass becomes invalid. on the streets of paris, redents admit the need for vaccines but become frustrated.

>> what is annoying about the third dose is we still have to get that first job but still have to wear a mask. >> france has seen a resurgence of cases in the last few weeks, on wednesday, recording more than 30,000 infections, a seven-run high. the number of people in hospital, though, remains manageable, something authorities are putting down to a high vaccine rate. in france, 88 percent of eligible people are fully vaccinated. mark: just -- deaths in france of covid-19 are up by 92. there have been some 33 thousand 500 new cases of covid-19 across france over the past 24 hours. there has been more state violence against protesters in despite of a deal to reinstate the leader.

tear gas was used on demonstrators. meanwhile, in darfur, the united nations reports there were over 30 people killed in fighting between herdsmen in the wake of the military coup. after international condemnation and mass protest at home, the general reinstated the prime minister in a deal they signed on sunday. at least 52 people are dead in an accident at a coal mine in russia. state he reports dozens of people trapped underground in a mine filled with cash -- state media reports. the mine filled with smoke in the early hours of thursday. 285 people were inside.

the global police agency interpol has elected the emma rocky inspector general as its president, in spite of accusations he failed to act on accusations of torture of detainees in the united arab emirates -- interpol has he elected the emerati inspector general. our next guest was held for seven months when he would to do research for his doctorate. tell us about your experience. >> i was charged for espionage on behalf of the british government. i was held for seven months in solitary confinement. i was forced a cocktail of medication that included tranquilizers and drugs that would incur the opposite effects

to make me hyper concentrated. i was deprived of sleep and threatened with physical violence and also rendition to overseas military bases. mark: interval says it does not interfere in politics, when questioned about the election of the emerati inspector general, which some say sounds like a copout if ever there was one. what is your reaction? >> it is to a degree, sadly, unsurprising, given the amount of money that the uae has invested in interpol and the lobbying campaign the general has been undertaking the last year or so. interpol as an organization has a wide come along record with corruption and with secrecy, and it was only because we were able to find out that actuay the

general was leading a campaign to become the leader of interval that we found out about it. sadly, this is where justice is heading in the world. my experience is not an outlier. this is one of many thousands of people who are systematically abused within the uae. mark: can i just show you this tweet he has published lately? he says as interval president, he will build a more transparent, diverse organization that wants to ensure safety for all -- as interpol president. he says he is delighted to do that. do any of his words convince you? >> not in the slightest. this is an attempt to try and

deflect away from his own criticism. sadly, when you look at the wider system of abuse that takes place in the uae, sadly, it does not and up to the words that we know that in the last year, the uae has been a prominent user and exploiter of the pegasus hacking software. there are claims, as my own as well as many others of torture and abuse within the uae. his claim is simply not backed up with evidence. mark: have you had any help from the uae authorities in taking your case forward? x not dickie lily. we are actually having an investigation into the u.k. foreign offices' handling of

affairs. we also have investigations against several individuals for the conduct that happened to me. it is an individual fight that it seems like people are trying to wait until my patience wears out, but the selection makes it seem me important to stand up and make a fight and push back against this creeping authoritarianism. mark: indeed. thank you for sharing your experience. one imagines u.k. defense dealing with the uae would help shape the way it deals with it, and we are thankful you have taken time to give your views and share your experience. in a place where the new head of interpol, which is basically a figurehead job, but i assume

they salary goes with, but nevertheless, such a person is leader to be elected the head of interpol. thank you very much indeed for sharing your experiences with us. we will watch that story, of course, for all developments. thanksgiving day in the united states, a special day for americans everywhere. even non-americans can appreciate the festivities. with show you the annual macy's parade. it is back after being canceled due to covid-19, where it has been held almost every year since 1924. originally a christmas event, it became the thanksgiving tradition it is today. meanwhile, at the white house, resident joe biden had words with the u.s. nation in these testing times of pandemic. >> happy thanksgiving, everyone. this is always a special time in america, but this year, the

blessings of thanksgiving are especially meaningful. as we give thanks for what we have, we also keep in our hearts those we have lost and those who have lost so much and those who have an empty seat at their kitchen table for dining room table this year because of this virus or another cruel twist of fate. we pray for them. mark: president joe biden of the united states, and the first lady with their thanksgiving thoughts for the nation. it is time now for truth or fake. we take a look at what is right and not right online. great to see you. you are looking into a video that claims that the rebels in colombia are now using drones that can shoot all its. this sounds rather fishy. >> that is if we believed everything online, we would believe rebels are using

weaponize drones. this reads, farc rebel attack on a military base. let's take a closer look at the video that was posted. mark: so that is a drone. i'm not sure what it is actually doing and what it is meant to be doing. >> the drone was actually created by an american student called austin hewitt in 2015, and you can see the original video. it was posted on his youtube page in 2015. it was such a viral story at the time and made many headlines since the faa determined it was

illegal for an american citizen that is not part of the military to weaponized drones like he did. however, there is a grain of truth to the story since in 2019 , the colombian army found a stash of drones loaded with explosives. they said it belonged to the farc group rubble that rejected the peace deal. so a little grain of truth that gives these claims that little grain of credibility. mark: who on earth decides to make these little videos? that's one of the great questions, isn't it? fake news surrounding the introduction of an electronic for upcoming elections. >> indeed. the french government spokesperson had to go to twitter to deny claims the government was going to install electronic books for the upcoming presidential election. this originated from this tweet right here from a former

economist that worked for marine le pen. let's ta a look at this post on twitter. >>speaking feign langue] >> as he says, the government will implement electronic voting for the presidential election. this was actually a february press conference from february 17 2021. he is indeed talking about electronic votes, but he is talking about an amendment that was finally dropped. it was not just taken out of context, it was completely manipulated with the news banners showing the upcoming christmas and incoming fifth

wave of covid. the presidential candidate went to twitter to announce this, and he said this was manipulation of this was indeed a deepfake. mark: showing these people this is wrong, we are also giving these people what they want, which is publicity, but if we buried it, we would not be exposing it for what it is. next, people claiming joe biden is an installed official. what are they claiming? >> we will be discussing the u.s. presidential seal. there is this person who says why is the presidential seal blurred out? brandon is not a real president,

as we know -- mark: i did not know that. >> each time you see brandon online, they are referring to president biden. it is blurred because of a law installed in 1916 that determines that nonofficial accounts cannot show the sale because this would violate federal law if the seal can be seen as advertising or campaigning, so we can see this in various is this is of personal accounts. we can see joe biden blurring the presidential seal on his personal account, vice president harris as well. you can see in the official government accounts, the seal is not blurred, so this is just another manipulation of the truth on social media. mark: manipulation, manipulation, manipulation, good heavens. thank you very much telling the truth from the fake. great to see you.

let's turn our attention now to our focus feature, chile heading towards a decisive vote in its presidential election. feminism has become a major issue. women's rights groups fear what their eyes of an unexpected front runner could mean. >> learning a few basic martial art moves to never be scared again, she's a congresswoman from the democratic revolution party for the ninth district of santiago. she attends a self-defense workshop in this working-class area of the city. >> we are fighting so that young chilean women can walk the streets without being scared. unfortunately, as long as we are not able to build a feminist society where this is the norm, we have to work with women and young girls with the tools to be

independent, to be able to defend themselves in the case of an attack. >> the neighborhood girls are clearly excited about this initiative. >> we are members of a local organization. we have experienced violence in the street wn we leave our meetings, so i think learning self-defense is a good way to be able to get out of difficult situations. it is our responsibility to learn how to defend ourselves, and that is why we want to come here as a group, with all the girls. >> in 2021, more than 40 chilean women have already died from domestic violence. she wants to push forward concrete initiatives that will protect young girls and women across the country. >> today, we are launching a proposal for women's police stations.

there are similar initiatives in argentina and brazil, all the way to south africa, where there are specialized police stations for women, who turn to victims of violence without blaming them, and they trust women. >> in october 2019, widespread protests took place in chile over inequality and elitism. these angry social uprisings led to the election of a constituent assembly for gender parity. this assembly's goal is t rewrite the constitutio inherited from general pinochet's dictatorship. many feminists are among the members of this assembly. they are determined to limit the privileges of the elite and very chile's patriarchal foundations.

>> our main goal as feminists is to write a feminist constitution , when that goes beyond just stipulating the number of women in the room but has to do with deep transformations on a structural level but also on social, political, and cultural levels. we want to bridge the gap between men and women but also do away with hierarchical positions in society and translate that into social equality between men, women, and other excluded groups. [crowd chanting] >> in chile, the recent rise of conservatism has feminists worried as the second round of the presidential election draws near. the far right candidate is only one step away from being elected. women fear this would be a massive low to their cause.

>> we gather here to protest against the rise in hate speech, negation is far right and neofascist speech that is beginning to appear in our country. we want to say that we outnumber them, that we are the majority. when we look to the future, we see a country of human rights, dignity, equality, and liberty, a country free ofate and violence that denies people their rights. >> protesters have one clear message, building a new chile cannot be done without women. >> we are a fundamental part of the president -- the present and future of our country. without feminism, without full equality and recognition and diversity, it will not be possible to build a democracy. >> there's still a long road ahead for chile and -- chilean feminists, but they have already

greatly rejuvenated their country's politics. mark: we are following, of course, the political developments and the social developments there. that was "focus." mourners to come. do stay with us. -- more news to come. you stay with us. >> may 13, 1985, philadelphia, a police helicopter drops a bomb on a group ofdvocates -- activists advocating a return to nature. that day, 11 people were killed, including five children. >> like when you are in a war zone, you know? it was terrible. >> trust me, it is murder.

it was not an accident. >> 36 years later, the police of philadelphia still deny this version of events. we look back at a forgotten story in "revisited."

[captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica radio, this is democracy now! amy: 25 years ago in 1996 democracy now! went on the air. today we take a free wheeling journey through the years. >> chevron just like shell uses the military to protect its oil and they drill and they kill. >> you listen to me. you ask the questions and i'm going to answer.