♪ >> all french children of five and up can be vaccinated against covid-19. french health officials announced the changes and say it is a new tool against the contain just variant. could french and british

authorities have done more to prevent drowning of migrants in the english channel? a lawsuit pledges -- alleges that distress was ignored. vowing change, gabriel boric with a platform of socioeconomic reform. markets have slumped amid reforms of a left-wing agenda. welcome to the "france 24" newsroom. france has given the ok for children age five and up for vaccines. they are ramping up the vaccine campaign as the omicron variant spreads rapidly. they have not announced stricr restrictions. authorities are encouraging to stir shots and plan to replace a health pass with the vaccine pass, meaning people can no longer show a negative test result to enter museums and

restaurants. >> the vaccination health pass means peopleannot go to bars, restaurants and public venues if they are not vaccinated. it is more effective than fining people 100 euros. it is to say you have no choice. >> european authorities authorized a fifth coronavirus vaccine. they say the vaccine developed by novavax shows pmising results against covid-19 and can help in the battle against the new variant. omicron was first identified last month in south africa and has quickly become the dominant strain of the virus around the world. reporter: as the omicron variant slipped under the radar in france, with christmas around the corner, that is what an increasing number of scientists are starting to see. only 347 cases of the variants have been recorded, but more and more pcr test results show

neither delta nor omicron. >> [speaking french] reporter: omicron is far more contagious than its predecessors. in the u.k., it is on its way to becoming the dominant variants, particularly in london. they have surged higher than delta in the last month. in south africa it is not deadlier than other variants, but doctors say it is more important than ever to get vaccinated. >> it is raging through the world. if we are going to deal with omicron successfully, vaccinated

people need to get boosted and people who are not vaccinated clearly need to get vaccinated now more than ever. reporter: scientists say a third jab provides protection, which is why officials want to give booster shots to as many people as possible. >> this weekend the netherlands became the first country to impose a national lockdown to slow the spread of the omicron variant. non-essential businesses were shuttered until mid-january. schools will be closed at least three weeks. the restrictions are a blow to holiday celebrations. reporter: it has been a very quiet day here. normally busy traffic was absent. at a shopping center where normally there would be people doing last minute christmas shopping. that was also empty, save for teenagers hanging out, who cannot go to school.

people have been crossing over to belgium and germany to do shopping there. the question is for how long that will be tolerated. it seems the advice for -- from the prime minister to not send children to grandparents while schools are closed is not being followed. many parents say that is the only recourse they have as they need to work. this was done to buy time to get a booster campaign going. only 9% of the netherlands have received a booster shot. that is working because of a huge queue working, as people tried to get that booster shot. the health ministry said 2000 military personnel will be assigned to help with the campaign. it was only announced last week. logistically, it is a challenge to get that up and going, so that by january anybody can receive a booster and decrease pressure on the health care

system, which is what this is for. >> the french humanitarian organization filed a lawsuit in the death of 27 migrants in the english channel last month. they say they ignored because of distress from the sinking boat and could have done more to prevent the drownings. reporter: did french and british authorities failed to protect individuals in danger? for utopia 56 there is no doubt the french ngo filed a case of manslaughter against those they believe responsible for safety at sea. many kurdish iraqis lost their lives in a bid to reach the u.k., in the single biggest loss of life in the channel. >> the migrants and refugees were trying to reach the british and french emergency services as the boat was sinking. both services passed the buck.

they did not help people in danger. reporter: an investigation is underway on the french side. according to a newspaper, detailed calls made to the police have come to light. the only two survivors said they called emergency services in vain. eventually, a french fishing boat raised the alarm, but it was already too late. >> what is really shocking is that it took so much time to track them down. i would dare say it was thanks to the french fishing boat at 2:00 p.m. that is when the rescue was officially registered. reporter: the prefect said they were not aware of the calls of distress to launch a rescue operation and time. the death toll from typhoon rai in the philippines has risen.

dozens are missing and 500 injured. the local red cross says coastal areas have been left in a state of carnage. survivors are pleading for food and drinking water. reporter: dozens dead and many missing, the strongest typhoon to hit the philippines this year has taken its toll. the number of confirmed deaths has increased. many casualties were announced on the island. this could increase over coming days with many communications still cut the typhoon swept through the south and center of the country with winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour. president duterte visited one of the worst affected gions on sunday. >> the problem is our people because, as i intimated to them not say we do not have money,d

that we don't have enough fus help the people -- we do have moy, but the budgeis tight because we have poured all our resources into fighting covid. reporter: more than 300,000 people were forced to flee their homes, like here, on this island. non-english-language] reporter: the philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year, but locals were left unprepared for the sustained power of typhoon rai. the storm has been linked to global warming with the

philippines ranked among the most vulnerable nation to the impacts of climate change. rescue operations are underway as coast guard, police and fire personnel are being deployed to assist in search and rescue efforts in the worst affected areas in the region. early estimates place repair costs at more than 350 million euro. anchor: the chinese tennis star peng shuai has walked back claims she was sexually assaulted and said she never made those allegations. the athlete spoke to a chinese language newspaper, the first interview since the scandal broke. tennis authorities say they are worried about her freedom and well-being. >> peng was interviewed for the beijing winter olympics and appeared alongside former nba champion ming. when asked if she felt safe, she denied saying she had been

sexually assaulted. >> first and foremost, i must emphasize, i have never said nor written anything accusing anyone of sexually assaulting me. that is a very important point. reporter: that contradicts her allegation last month on social media that of former chinese vice premier had coerced her into sex during a relationship spanning several years. following that, the wimbledon and french doubles champion disappeared from view until this autograph signing session i november. concern was expressed worldwide, including from the u.n., the white house, and from former tennis stars. the women's tennis association said, we remain steadfast in our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation without censorship, into the allegation of sexual assault.

the wta suspended all tournaments in china, including hong kong, over worries about peng. concern for her safety has called for a boycott of the beijing games. all discussion of her claims has been scrubbed from china's tightly controlled internet. the chinese foreign ministry said the case was being maliciously hyped up. anchor: international leaders congratulated the incoming president of chi life -- of chile. gabriel boric has no majority to implement his pledges of higher taxes, pension reform and expanded social rights. the chilean peso hit a record low as they braced for possible change. our correspondent has more from santiago. reporter: he is also the

candidate in the history of chile that received the most votes and it was unexpected. the latest polls before the election said boric had a slight edge. the alt-right candidate, when he voted -- ultra right candidate, when he voted, said there would be a gap of 50,000 votes between the two candidates, but nobody expected this lands -- landslide victory. he congratulated him early as soon as he realized he would not win. it is such a big victory. several hundred thousand people gathered to celebrate with gabriel boric sunday. gabriel boric will face challenges. he is celebrating at the moment, but knows that challenges await him.

right after the victory he said the congress is divided, it will be hard for him to make real changes, but he sees this divided congress as an opportunity to debate with his opponents. according to him, it is a positive thing. him and his team are celebrating, but they know they will face challenges after he takes office in march 2022. anchor: that is all for now, but there is more news and analysis coming up on "france 24." thanks for watching. ♪ >> with all the main european news, debates between representatives of the best and worst performing e.u. member states, and major interviews with personalities. >> talking europe, presented by catherine nicholson.

♪ ♪ ♪ >> ♪ you are my yellow you are my green ♪ >> her music has no borders, shifting smoothly from cou -- from soul to blues to folk. >> ♪ down on my knees i'm begging you ♪ >> she has made six albums and they are rereleasing her album "royal." her name means joy and it matches her music. thank you for joining the show. let's start with this new record, this deluxe edition. you released the album at the beginning of 2020, when none of

us knew what a scary strange year we would go through. that version was luminous, filled with love and hope to read how has it been modified or changed by what happened in between? ayo: it has been changed in a hopeful way. during covid, for me, it felt like a testing period. what am i going to do now? two months prior to the release of the record and we were supposed to go on tour. one of the good things about it was that i got to spend more time with my children and was able to write a lot more songs. some of them are on the new deluxe version. anchor: you added some extra tracks. one of them is, i will be right

here. let's take a listen. >> ♪ nobody calls you >> when nobody picks up ♪ ♪ everybody is moving fast ♪ ♪ when nobody stops ♪ ♪ when you need a friend ♪ ♪ nobody shows up ♪ ♪ i will be right here ♪ anchor: listening to those lyrics, nobody listens, nobody cares, it echoes the isolation many fell during the lockdowns around the world. has it been a tough time for you? what was consoling for you? ayo: for me, it was the ocean. i am so lucky i live in portugal. my passion other than music is

surfing. i spent most of my time in the water. i was lucky to be stuck in tahiti. they locked down the borders when i was there. i was supposed to stay for two weeks, but ended up for five months. anchor: that is a place to do surfing. you got to see nature. we can hear the acoustic qatar -- acoustic guitar. there has been a real focus on your voice. why that shift? ayo: it was important to be able to use my voice as a main instrument because the guitar, piano, and drums, you can give 100%, and as a singer-songwriter it is 50-50 or 70-30, but you

can never do 100% of both instruments. it was important for once in my career to use my voice like a real instrument. anchor: in france your music has been loved by many for 15 years. you were on "france 24" around the release of your third album where you told us about taking a new approach to music. here is a blast from the past. ayo: it felt like on this record i did what i wanted to do and was not trying to be careful. sometimes as an artist you have your first album out, you do your second one, then the third one -- should i do this? if i do that, maybe people don't get it. you have so many questions. i did not ask myself anymore because i wanted to please myself and really do what i felt was right. anchor: a while back.

it took you a couple records to assert yourself, to do your own thing. your music has always felt very personal, emotional release. is it a sort of therapy for you? ayo: it is very therapeutic. i guess that is why i started writing songs. i felt the need to express my deeper emotions. now it is more than that. it is not just therapeutic for myself. i understood it is a healing tool. what might seem like it is my story might not be only my story, but the story of many others. music can become a voice. anchor: there is a personal growth of an individual. there is also the question of

self-image, how we see ourselves. that is something you tackle on another track, this is beautiful -- ♪ >> ♪ black and proud beautiful, gorgeous the way you are you are beautiful you are beautiful just the way you are beautiful you are beautiful just the way you are you are beautiful ♪ anchor: you were singing that you wanted your hair straight, and rejected your look. you have come to accept yourself for who you are. this is often sadly reflected on women. is there more pressure today on appearances? ayo: today we live in a world

that has become so filtered it is almost impossible to step out and just be you. to feel like just being you is enough. it is becoming harder and harder. there is a treatment for everything. if you can't treat your stretch marks in real life, you can do it with photoshop. everything is taking us further away from who we are. it is important to learn to love yourself. before anyone else can love you, you have to love and appreciate yourself. anchor: an important message. another song on the album deals with something serious. it is about any quality and how where you are born can affect your rights, your destiny. it is something you have

experienced in your own family in terms of getting a visa to travel in and out of the united states. ayo: my daughter was denied permission to re-entrance when they were well aware -- i was living in the u.s. and had to travel to go on tour. i had to leave the u.s., i was waiting for my green card and so was my daughter. the problem is, they gave me the permission of re-entrance and my son, but not to my daughter. how was the family supposed to deal with that? anchor: she was under 18. ayo: she was at that time seven years old. it is crazy. i felt like, if this is happening to me, and i can consider myself blessed enough to have traveled the world and be able to have usually easy access and go to all the countries i want to go to because as a musician it is easy to get the right visa, what

about all the others that are not musicians that have families and they are being separated for a stupid document that could have been issued in less than five minutes? anchor: that is when the political becomes very personal. human rights have long been a concern of yours and have featured in your songs in the past. in europe, the migrant crisis, something you have seen face-to-face, touring. as an artist, do you feel it is your duty to talk about those things? ayo: it is most definitely my duty to talk about those things. i don't believe a blessing comes for any shallow reason. i say shallow because we are surrounded by shallowness and we don't need more of that. it is important to talk about the injustices of this world.

i played a concert and sitting on the couch waiting to do the interview with you it broke my heart looking at those images. i don't understand. if i don't speak about it, i feel like i am supporting it. we all have to do something about it. it is not right that this is still happening. it is not normal. anchor: as you say, giving your voice to people who are perhaps voiceless. finally, we asked you for a cultural tip and you pointed us to an actor who impressed you recently. what is it about him and his performance that grabbed you? ayo: what i love about him is the fact he is so much himself. usually actors, when you act, you put on an act.

he does not necessarily do that all the way. he does and he doesn't. in every role he plays, i can see him. that is a great actor -- the difference between a great actor and a regular actor. his personality is interesting. the way he approaches the roles he plays is amazing. anchor: definitely one for me to look up. thank you for joining us in the studio. ayo will be on tour with songs from the album "royal." we will leave you with a clip from "the harder they fall," on netflix. check out our social media and website for arts and culture. more is coming up on "france 24 ": --"france 24" after this. >> a new day is dawning.

♪ >> ♪ faithful until the end ♪ >> i don't particularly enjoy violence. that being said, we are extremely violent individuals. ♪ ♪ ♪

>> liberte egalite actualite. ♪ ♪ ♪

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12/20/21 12/20/21 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> urgent situation and we need to act urgently. we are seeing a substantial rise in the number of cases in a way we have not seen beasley. amy: the covid-19 omicron variant is raging across the country and the world. the united states is now averaging over 130,000 new covid cases a day, nearly double the