Highest daily figure, while spain introduces a state of emergency. Good evenining. After 12 days of clashes in the south caucuses, attempts are being made to broker a ceasefire, led by russiaia and heheld in moscow with representatives from both sides taking part. The proposal is thought to include a temporary ceasefire to allow civilians to evacuate in a prisoner exchange. 50 civilians on both sides are reported to have been killed since clashes broke out. It is a breakthrough likely and a truce possible . Our Senior Reporter has more on the ceasefire talks. We have t the first high level talks sisince thisis conft ststarted two weekss agogo. The Foreign Ministers have beenn in moscow for talks. We are hearing from diplomatic sources there could be a t truce on the horizon. This would perhaps be in the form of a humanitarian truce to allow the two sides to identify and take back bodies of soldiers killed, civilians where applicablele. By no means a lasting solution to this conflict, but it is the first diplomatic movement we have had for some time since this conflict beben. We have had the as. President speaking on tv and tweeting, sounding bellicose, saying this is a last chance to resolve the conflict, warning it will happen by peace or by war, declaring they have change the status quo and taken back nine villages, and historic victory, so we are getting some movement, but nonetheless the rhetoric hasnt softened, though perhaps this could be signaling they are prared to take a partial victory for now. So yes, very much the wheels are turning behind the scene hehere. Anchor for more as well as what is happening on the ground, we can talk to a Senior Analyst at the Risk Management group prism. Thank you for speaking with us on france 24. Good evening. Anchor first, let me ask you about what we heard from our reportrter, the rhetoric that continues and is perhaps getting more extreme in azerbaijan. Are you optimistic the ceasefire talks will make any headway . Certainly i think mosost observrvers would agagree that s a first step. Both sides suguggest the conflit will not abate anynytime soon. N. We have seen the president of azerbaijan saying they will be no call to the fighting until he has captured the area. In armenia, tensions are high. We are seeing the populations of both countries very chargeded fr everybody, tensionon has been growing, not only now, but s sie peace talks hahave not worked in the past couple of years, but also, this conflict is now almost three dececades old. It has been a stalemate since the 1990s and it is culminating now. Anchor why now . This has been simmering since the end of the cold war. Why are we seeing hot war today . So there are a variety of reasasons, one being that azerbaijan has been disappointed with the new leadership in armenia since the arrival of the new government a few years ago. There was renewed hope o of peae talks, but that has lessened in recent years as peace talks fell apart. There has been growing frustration on both sides. That is s one reason. Another reason, mounting frustrationn over the past 266 years. Therere was a c ceasefire sisin 199494 whenn armenia had a de fo victory over azerbaijan, and the frustration has mounted over the stalemate, so it was only a matter of time until we saw a breakout of conflict. Anchor russia is leading those negotiations to find a ceasefire, but we know in the collective Security Organization treaty signed by both that russia is bound to come to armenias defense, so is russia a neutral actor . Could it be drawn into fight militarily on the side of armenia . I indeed, russia is bound by its military packed signed in the early 1990s and includes a couple of countries of the former soviet union. Technically russia is a blotched to defend armenia in the event of a military incursion on armenian territory. Ththis has been not activated or tested before, so it is unsuree if russia woululd intervene militaririly. Certainly withth the neutral response since the beginningng f the conflict on sepeptember 2 2t seemss thatt russia is not as prepared or willing to defend armenia in thece way expected, t it should be remembered that russiaia is an ally ofof armeni, but not an enemy of azerbaijan. It has cordial relations with both countries, business interests in both, and both have diasporas in russia, and russia is not interested in a war with azerbaijan or turkey, supporting azerbaijan militarily. Anchor we will have to leave it there, but thank you for sharing your analysis with us on the program as we look at those talks taking place in moscow and when we get more information here on france 24, we will bring it to you. Lets move on. Sophia petrone a, a french aid worker has been reunited with her family in paris, this after a fouryear ordeal. The 75yearold was kidnapped on Christmas Eve four years ago in mali. She had been the last french citizen held hostage anywheheren the world. D. France e 24 has that story. Reporter a heartfelt and brace with her son on the tarmac at the airport. After four years in captivity, she is finally free. What do we know about her release thursday . Apart from a 75yearold aid worker, three others were set free. Two italian citizens in one prominent politician who was central to the negotiations with authorities to secure the release. As for the parties involved, the Details Remain unclear. The french government is reluctant to comment, saying the answers lie wiwith the governme. Negotiations were led by the authorities. It is then you have to ask questions two. Reporter the release comes days after authorities freed 200 prisoners, sparking speculation for swap. Some of the men released arch ahead of us. Are jihadists. [speaking in french] reporter france has 5100 soldiers deployed in north africa in the opereration. Some experts are uneasy about seeing jihadists set free in the region. [speaking in french] rereporter in a statement on friday, Emmanuel Macron maintained france supports mali in its fight against terrorism. Anchor she was released alongside two italians and a politician. One described some of the challenges of his time as a hostage. Take a listen. Reunited with his loved ones after six months, he was freed thursday night. As soon as word came of his release, his family was waiting for him at the airport. [speaking in french] [speaking in french] reporter it wasnt just his family on the tarmac, supporters also turned out in large numbers. He was driven to the presidency, where he and other freed hostages met with leaders of the countrys transitional government. They are, he thanked the new leaders and spoke of his time in captivity. I am very happy to be here for mali, my family. To spend six months in difficult decisions in the most austere climate, very hard living conditions. His you know, in the great sahara, i was in almost permanent isolation in these areas. Reporter the threetime president ial candidate was captured by gunmen on march 25 while campaigning in the Northern Region of timbuktu. His kidnapping was one factor that drove protest against the former president , who was ousted by military in august. The h hostage releases are a significant victory for the interim leadership, but details of the operation remain unknown. Anchor despite that good news, swititzerlands foreignn ministy has announced t that a swiwiss n was held hostage has been killed there. The Foreign Ministry was informed by friday auththorities on friday. The woman was being held by an Al Qaedaaffiliated group. So far, the woman involved has not been identified. Lets move on and take a look at some of the latest coronavirus news. Countries across europe are once again struggling with the surge of infections. In france, a Record Number of new cases were confirmed today. 20,330 is the highest daily figure recorded in france since the beginning of the pandemic. The government has close bars in paris, but restaurants remain open for the moment. How serious is the epidemic in france . We spopoke with catherine hill,n epidemiologist. The survey on how many people were positive at a given time, this 20,000 cases were found yesterday or today, they are just the tip of f the iceberg. It is probably four times that, so it is everywhere in the country, as you can see when you look at the maps. You can see that it is pretty mumuch everywhere. It is just a bit more in the big cities. More than 40 of the icu beds are occupied by covid patients. This is increasing, a bit more slowly than the previous week, but still increasing all of the time, so it will be impossible very soon. There are beds, but there is a big shortage of staff. They are trying to find nurses and doctors. Anchor meanwhile in spain, the govevernment has imposed a twoweak state of emergency for madrid, after weeks of legal wrangling between the national and regional governments of spain over a possible lockdown. The governing party in madrid resisting attempts to introduce lockdown measures. White now and what will this new state of emergency mean for people in madrid . Our correspondent explains. Reporter a legal tugofwar in madrid between the Spanish National government and the socialistled government, having the final word with a state of emergency in the capital. [speaking in foreign language] reporter local authorities had opposed measures that imposed a partial lockckdown. They said the restrictions which imposed limits on travel and Opening Hours for bars and restaurants would do major harm to the economy, but the new ruling forces them to comply with the ruling as it tries to get a crypt on a search a grip on a surge in infections. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] reporter the dispute has laid bare the ideological differences. Madrid is run by the main opposition party, where as the National Government is led by the socialist party. Both sides disagree on how to contain the virus, which is spreading twice as fast in the capital compared with the rest of the country. Anchor a timee time now fora look at the Business News with brian. You will start us off in lebanon , where the economic crisis is threatening to get worse as the government is running short on funds. Reporter yes, crisis, default on sovereign debt for the First Time Ever back in march, but for years, the Lebanese Central Bank has s been on a borrowing spreet high Interest Rates in the local and currency and hyperinflation and the debt has depleted the countrys foreign currency reserves, threatening crucial subsidies fofor basicic goods le fuel, wheat, and medicine. The outgoing prime ministerr spoke out against any move to end those subsidies, saying it would result in an social explosion. Many people have been driven into poverty and now fears that subsidies coming to an end or driving those who can the stockpile. [speaking in foreign language] the crisis has gotten worse over the papast two mononths. Medications arare out of stock. If suppliers are limiting the amamount of medicationons pharms can receive. People are now stocking up at home because they are afraid of a shortage or higher prices. They think it is better to buy now, before pricices go up even more. Reporter time now for a look at todays trading action. Wall street rallied as negotiations over a stimulus package appeared to be making progress. Nancy pelosi and Steve Mnuchin failing to reach a dea in. 4 along with the other indices. Europe was higher on the same u. S. Stimulus hopes. The ftse 100 up around. 6 . In france, one sector that has been spared the worst of the economic fallout is now facing the new challenge. Toy sales have boomed, with kids increasingly stuck at home, but manufacturers have had to change their production routines over health concerns, leading to fears of a toy shortage with the winter season rapidly approaching. Christmas is more than two months away, but some toys are already hard to find in france. [speaking in frenchch] reporter sinceceockdown wawas lifted in may, toy sales in france have soared by 15 compared to last year, and by mid august, the sector had recovered 80 of its lockdown losses. Sales have jumped so high that some products are nearly out of stock, concerning retailers. [speaking in french] reporter demand, dwindling supply, coronavirus tractions, all preventing this restrictions, all preventing this factory from ramping up production. [speaking in french] reporter production delays in china are also didisrupting supy chaiains. [speakingng in french] reporter french retailers are hoping to maintain n their stock until the holidays, a accounting for neararly half of toy salale. Rereporter pakistan hahas bannd tiktok, accusing the platform of failing to filter out immoral, indecent, and vulgar content despite warnings. The mobile app has a huge user base. It is the latest blow for tiktok , facing a p possible ban in the u. S. O over Data Security concer. It has already been banned in india and blocked in bangladesh and indonesia. Anchoror a dark new world. Thank you. Brian with the business. Lets send it over to see what is trending online today. Good e evening. You will start us off with a look at the covid situation in argentina. We were talking about how it is rising in europe. What is the situation in argentina . Reporter many have labeled their confinement as the longest in the world, more than 200 days, since march 20. Some seven months into confinement, the country is seeing exponential numbers. Why is this . A new study shows that argentina has the worlds highest covid19 positive rate, so what are the numbers . There are nearly six of 10 people yielding a positive infection with a total of 800,000 cases since monday, and according to reuters, low levels of testing and lacks restrictions have propelled the high positive rates from 40 in august to 60 last week. We can see the charts showing the total number of cases per day, and here is a chart showing the death by covid19 in argentina since october 8, both steadily increasing since the lockdown. Today, argentina recorded the highest amount of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. 480 five deaths in 24 hours, so citizens have created this for the victims of the pandemic, 504 argentina flags, and more announcements coming today from the government for confinement that was supposed to last until october 11, many hoping for more lenient measures. Anchor fingers crossed they, like here. Lets move on. You have a story from france, something different, new legislation on child influences. What is the story . Reporter Legal Protection for child youtube stars, francis the first country to set rules to ensure child influencers on the internet are not exploited, including by their parents. This will applied to children under 16 years old. They want these children to have the same Legal Protection as child actors and models, and under these new rules, you can face five years in prison or a fine of 75,000 euros. Here is an analysis. In 2019, children content and content featuring children receive more views than other videos. There is a forbes article where they show the highest paid youtube stars of 2019. The top earner is an eightyearold, making 26 million. France introducing this law to show the internet is not a lawless zone. Anchor if you say so. The whole world of influencers is quite alien to me. Reporter it is still a zone of exploration. Anchor john lennon is 80. Reporter happy birthday to john lennon. He would be celebrating his 80th birthday today. Celebrations are taking place all around the world. Yoko ono posted this image of the Empire State Building lit up in blue with a peace sign. There was also wranglers star saying, i still miss you, man. Peace, love to yoko and julian. In liverpool, many tributes to mark this day. The iconic piano iconic piano will go on display. They monster worldwide contest to find another great songwriter in honor of his birthday. The contest aims to find an anthem that will follow the example of the linen masterpiece imagine. I think we can all agree finding a masterpiece l like thatat wile a hard task, indeed. Anchor certainly. Thank you very much. Taking us through some of todays trending stories on social media. It is time for a short break. Do stay with the spiririt world news headldlines and much more just after this break. ÷e÷e÷e÷eleddddd 10 09 20 10 09 20 [captioning made possible by democracy now ] amy frorom new york, this is democracacy now last night the fbi and Michigan StatePolice Arrested six individuals charged in a federal complaint with conspiring to kidnap the govevernor of michigan gretchen whitmer. Amy 13 men with ties to armed rightwing militias have been arrested for their roles in plots to overthrow tic