>> paris prepares to mask up, facing a tidal wave of covid-19, the french capital is to introduce obligatory masks outdoors. meanwhile, france surpasses 200,000 new cases for a second successive day this thursday. at least four protesters have been shot dead in sudan. the demonstrators were calling

for an end to military rule. thank you for joining us. we start with your sister stay for covid-19 here in france. new infections -- 206,240 three. that's over 200,000 for two successive days. there are 37 more patients in intensive care, bringing the total to 3506. the death toll now stands at 69,471 since the pandemic began, but that's two successive days of over 200,000 new infections here in france. face masks being made compulsory outdoors in france starting friday. the health minister told lawmakers france has seen a tsunami of covid-19 infections

fueled by both the delta and omicron variant's of the disease. not wearing a mask could mean 530 five euros. mask wearing is already mandatory on public transit. self test kits are to be sold at supermarkets here in france. the government has given the go-ahead in response to the massive surge in demand. >> for nearly two years, people in france have gotten used to finding hand sanitizer and face masks at their local supermarket, but home tests will also be available with the country and the world seeing an unprecedented level of covid-19 transmission. demand is high. 6 million tests were carried out during christmas week alone. >> [speaking foreign language] >> [speaking foreign language]

>> [speaking foreign language] >> until now, these rapid home tests could only be sold in pharmacies. supermarkets will now be able to sell them, too, but without cashing in. this particular supermarket chain is committed to selling the tests at cost, meaning it will not be making any profits. meanwhile, most pharmacies sell them for between four and five euros. >> [speaking foreign language] >> the government's decision, though, has sparked backlash from unions that represent pharmacists. they are calling it incomprehensible and risky for

public health. the u.s.'s food and drug administration has cautioned the public about relying solely on these antigen tests, saying they may be less sensitive to picking up the omicron variant, but the agency also says they are a useful tool in the fight against covid-19. >> england is bracing for even more covert infection. tools are being set up to try to ease the pressure on the already overwhelmed national health service. the number of patients occupying beds rose to 11,402. the number has risen by more than 4000 over the last week. anti-covid measures are being tightened in india to stop thousands from taking to the beach resort town of goa. these images show the beach there as well as the clubs.

you can see people gathering ahead of new year's eve. the suspension of international commercial flights has boosted tourism. cases of covid-19 are also rocketing. the rapid spread of covid omicron is forcing local governments to think again about their anti-covid policies. isolation, testing, vaccination, and the potential effect of locking down or not looking down. >> with the spread of omicron increasingly looking out of control, the head of the world health organization is worried. >> i'm highly concerned that omicron be a more transmissible, circulating at the same time as delta is leading to a tsunami of cases. >> the staggering surge in cases

hitting record levels in europe, the u.s., and elsewhere, is prompting some nations to rethink their strategy. france is rethinking its health pass with a vaccine pass, but it stopped short of imposing a curfew over the holiday period. despite the spread, u.s. health authorities have shortened the recommended isolation period for infected but asymptomatic people. this as staff shortages are forcing businesses to shut down, forcing the nation into a soft shutdown. meanwhile, china is keeping its zero covert policy in place, even with over 85 percent of the population being vaccinated. currently, some 30 million residents are in home confinement in one city. >> it is difficult to completely alleviate supply bottlenecks.

the world economic cycle at ports continue to be congested. problems will persist. >> a harsh picture as manufacturers of covid test kits are struggling to keep up with demand. >> presidents joe biden and vladimir putin are speaking by phone about the russian troop will dove in ukraine. new rounds of talks, as the kremlin is stepping up calls for security guarantees, holding tests of hypersonic missiles to underscore its demands. the next round of talks set for the second of january in virginia. >> front and center in the conversation will be the situation at the ukrainian border. we have seen the russian side.

the russian presint, vladimir putin, really putting out exactly what his demands were, what his country's demands were. among us, you mentioned those security -- very legally binding security guarantees. part of it is also asking nato to specifically and openly and publicly say that they will not give nato membership to countries like ukraine, but also other former soviet countries, like georgia, for example, to also ask nato and the united states very specifically to stop doing these military trainings, these military elements and bringing them on that eastern flank, that border with or between russia and nato. on putin's side, the demands are

extremely clear. on the u.s. side, the demands and concerns are not so much public because the americans insist that they believe that negotiations should be done at the negotiating table behind closed doors, not in public, not with the press, so their demands are not so clear, but their concerns, of course, are for the security and integrity of ukraine, but also for the situation between nato and russia, and that is why you will see these two leaders talk when vladimir putin asked joe biden for that call, the russians ask the americans, the white house saying that it is always very good, especially in moments of tension, to have these talks, if they are face-to-face or on the phone, between these two presidents.

>> calls the two men are trying to set up to work out the issues regarding the u.s., russia, and the troops on the border with ukraine. that is it for this bulletin, but stay with us here on france 24. ♪ ♪ >> for my guest today, dance is

activism, using movement to break down barriers to put art within everyone's reach and to argue lyrically and persuasively for more inclusion and diversity. the choreographer and dancer launched a festival in her native brazil. she has invited us for a special season of her work. you have performed a few of your shows as part of that season in france, and now "encantato," a new creation. the title means "enchanted." >> it was created in rio de janeiro, wherein based, where i live, actually. it is a word that can have many different meetings, and one of them is connected to a special entity from the afro-indigenous

culture. there are entities that live between heaven and earth, and they protect us, so this was a little bit the way that i entered through the creation. >> a very spiritual dimension. let's take a look at an extract of the show. this is "encantad." ♪ i must point out that some of the singing you could hear their in the show is from people

during a protest that was recorded in brasilia. why is music an important part of the show. >> i think everybody knows that we are living in brazil in a very hard moment with a president that is a fascist president that don't protect anything. he has a real project of destruction, not only of the environment, but also indigenous people, black people, art, culture, everything -- democratic institutions -- so everyone is living this hard time in brazil. i think especially indigenous people, they struggle a lot. this protest was in august and september this year in brasilia where around 6000 indigenous

people were there to protest. >> definitely an important moment in brazil's social political history. we will come back to that, but just before the show, i believe choosing the dancers was difficult and you did some of the casting online. how did that work? >> it was a new experience for everyone, i guess. we had to invent new forms. i had more or less 200 people that tried to get in the company, and i first had many conversations, and then, finally, we decided to meet in the center where i work. >> indeed, we spoke to someone who had that experience, one of your dancers, who told us about the everyday challenges of working in the arts. >> in the place that we are, it

has an everyday interference of the political system in rio. in the place that is i would say the heart of the city because this is where the city is mostly true to itself, we as brazilian people are constantly fighting to show our artistic manifestation to the world, but mostly, especially to the brazilian people because this is where we belong, and brazil is completely thirsty for that manifestation. >> your company and arts center operate in rio. the idea was to extend the performing arts, arts education to cultures that do not always have access to them. these sort of projects are also seen like charity, like somebody established, like yourself,

giving something to another community, but what about the reverse? what did you get out of what you do? >> first of all, i am not alone in this project. they are working there, and they lived there for around 20 years. i arrived there in 2004, not with a project, but to learn something and to build together a project that was good for them , what they want, and i was there with the thing that i know how to do is dance, so we created this arts center together, and then our dance school has 350 students. the thing is to offer the opportunity to -- i don't know how to say.

>> democratized? >> democratize, yeah, the culture. >> improving the lives of people living there has become even more urgent with covid, i believe. >> i have to say is brazil is a very unequal and racist country. as a white woman, middle-class, with all the privilege i have, i have my responsibility, so everybody has a responsibility when you live in a country like this, so i tried to make a little bit necessary to go against this inequality and this racist system. >> you are here in paris as an associate, and you have also been an associate artist at an arts center since 2018. that also matches up to a turbulent time in brazil's social, political, cultural scene. for you as an artist, is this

the best way to keep creating, to leave the country? >> i'm not leaving my country. all my projects are based in rio de janeiro. i come here to collect money and to go there to make my work there, not only my work as an artist, but to work together with the arts center and the dance school, but especially me, i don't have money for my country, so i have a very strong connection with my patron here in france especially, but all around europe, and they support really my work. i can only survive because of this. i always say to everybody thanks very much for the taxes that you pay because they come to us, to our project there, and i think this way is a very general way to work. i believe in a world to give hans if we are very far from

each other. >> you talk about the link between mind and body and spirit but also about our relationship with the land. that is something that featured in another show here recently, "the mood is made in amazonia." that show speaks of indigenous people defending their heritage. there have been a few exhibitions, performances focusing on that question. is there the same interest in indigenous stories in brazil? >> of course. we have many people working with indigenous artists. it is not something that is only here. it is of course there, and there are many groups in society that are organized to put this

subject in light. >> as we see rom the collective form of your shows, you are a great believer in the power of the collective, collaboration, bodies coming together and forming something greater than themselves, but at a time when politics or culture worse divide us, what unites us? >> i think -- i don't know exactly what to say, but i believe -- i learned a lot, as you said before -- i learned a lot from people with -- from different elements because they say yes to life while life says no to them, so i learned with them how to be together, how to build everything from nothing. i learned every day, so i don't consider myself an activist. i am how do you say a citizen, and as a citizen, i learned

something. they have in norma's joie de vivre -- enormous joie de vivre. they create ways to live. this i learned as an artist, as a citizen, they teach me. >> huge natural resources of creativity there. thank you. "encantado" is going on tour in france after it leaves paris. let's wrap up the show with another of our guest's shows. do remember to check out our arts and culture section. there's more news coming up on france 24 just after this.

♪ >> these wheels cover hundreds of kilometers per month, crisscrossing through the city streets. these people come to the rescue when bikes break down, leaving their comrades stranded. with up to 10 appointments per day across the city, this mobile mechanic has everything he needs in his makeshift bike workshop. this client only needs a few

minutes of his time. she has only recently become a cycling enthusiast and has just bought a second bike. it is a racing model. the brakes are used and the chain needs to be decreased. >> this is a bike that has not been ridden for some time. maybe bought secondhand. lots of people want to go cycling, they buy a bike and need to check if it is actually roadworthy. they don't know anything about upkeep. >> the company charges 57 euros for the appointment, but the cost does not put off this client. >> just before the first lockdown, i started going to work by bike. i realized it was a far nicer way to get around in paris, even in winter. >> bike use increased by 47% in 2020 as compared to 2019.

bicycle repair shops are working overtime. >> i have two extra people. that helps to lower waiting times b around two weeks. >> even with the extra help, it is impossible to keep up with demand as replacement parts made in china are no longer available. >> as yo can see here, there is no more stock, and it will be available again in 60 weeks. everybody gets their supplies in asia and we don't have much choice in the biking world. that's a problem. >> to avoid such delays, this shop in paris sells used but perfectly usable bikes that are checked over as thoroughly as if they were cars. >> my clients know that they have to maintain their bike a

lot more. it is not like a bike you just use for fun to go out on sundays. you need to have a checkup just like with a car. >> the cycling industry in france accounts for almost 80,000 jobs. that figure is expected to triple by 2050. >> it was the first genocide of the 20th century, the massacre in 1904 by german troops in namibia. they seized their lands and wiped out over half the local population. in 2021, the german government publicly acknowledged the genocide. >> we are demanding what was taken from us. >> watch namibia revisited on france 24 and france24.com.

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12/30/21 12/30/21 [captioning made possible amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> the republican party, trump and his minions, basically owns the party, have been in the lead of trying to destroy the prospects for organized human life on earth. amy: in a special broadcast, an hour with noam chomsky. the world renowned political dissident, linguist, and author. we talk about the pandemic, the rise of proto-fascism in the united states,