>> the verdict to being read today and the 2005 a bombing assassination of the former hariri. prime minister at. democrats take aim donald trump as the first online convention takes place. cases of covid-19 growing in france about twice as many being

recorded as opposed to two weees ago. the government is set to release new roles today about masks. --nk you for joining us thank you for joining us here on france 24. i i am a genie godula. aremembers of hezbollah accused of carrying out the assistant nation of former -- assassination of former lebanese prime minister rafik hariri. story, you can imagine is being closely watched in lebanon. let'sre on thus, -- this, bring in our correspondent. we have heard that the evidence four members of -- wasah were almost

almost entirely circumstantial. >> it was a crucial moment in the trial. the tribunal has found no evidence of hezbollah involvement in the assassination of the former prime minister of lebanon, rafik hariri. it could trigger tensions here in lebanon. the leader of has below said he -- thee four hezbots, the leader of llah said he would ignore the verdict. bombing traumatized the nation. it led to a flareup of the violence and it further tensions

between the various immunities here in lebanonon. the atmosphere here in beirut veryncertain, people scared here that the verdict could lead to a flareup of violence. lebanon, a nation on the brink of chaos, suffering from the explosion that took place at the port, devastating blast that killed moree than 170 people, ld to more than 6000 injured and more than 300,000 people without homes. many are worried this verdict could lead to tensions between communities and violence on the streets. >> you mentioned that tragic blast from two weeks ago. what is it like now in regards to that trtragedy? remind theere

lebanese of scenes from ththe w. to scenes of devastation here, a lot of rubble still throughout beirut. the double explosion caused by -- 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate that caught and unleashedrt destruction on the lebanese port beirut almostf a entirerely destroyed. a lot of rubblble still onon the streets. a tragedy that came at a very difficult time for the country. lebanon is going through an economic crisis with purchasing power at an all-time low. we are now experiencing a surging covid-19 c cases and of course you had the demonstration occurring at the end of last year calling for the removal of all political parties.

these demonstrations are still going on following the explosion. people are taking to the streets saying the g government is t to blame for thisis situation. the government knew about these 2700 tons of dangerous and ammonium nitrate stored in the port of a beirut. people are calling for the abolition of the traditional political parties and demonstrations have turned violent in the past. there are concerns there could be more violence today during the march with the demonstrators walking towards the presidential palace. there have been accusations of police brutality on previous days and there is of course a state of emergency that was passed in parliament granting the army with stronger powers. genie: thahank you for that. next to the united states where

the democratic party kicked off the first ever virtual national convention where i it will nominate joe biden as the candidate for president in november. democrats turned to to the internet with a two hour show kicking off thee conventions night.onight -- first it was hosted by eva longoria.a. fifirst lady michelle obama spo, saying thihis was their chance o chanange america's futurere andt donald trump. >> let me e be as hononest and r as i possibly can -- donald trump is the wrong presidedent r our country. he has had more than enough time to prove he can do the job but he is clearly in over his head. he cannonot meet this moment. he simply cannot b be who we ned him to be for us. it is what it is.

vp joe biden u.s. was not many democrats first choice but enthusiasm has grown in recent months. who a are these joe biden supporteters? our correspondent takes a look. >> a hairdresser, a hospital technician, they are all voting for joe biden in november but with varying degrees of anthers yes him. enthusiasmg degrees off . joe biden was not laura's first choice, but she finds his experience reassuring. >> he comes with a lot of experience too. laura wasst convinced his choice of kamalla harris asa rurunning mate..

under half of democrats are enthusiastic about voting for biden. these campaign volunteers say he is the best choice. >> he may not be barack obama but he is the man we need at this time in this country. on n hisrty is counting centrist profile to beat donald trump. to -- atd go to sleep night and not worry the country willll explode while i am aslee. a random tweet will come out and tank the stock market. i can't take four more years of thisis. i personally don't like biden. i don't think he represents the people's interests or needs, but at the end of the day you have to vote to defeat trump. i feel like a hostage in a

situation where i dono't really have anyny c choices. >> this h htility to trump may be his ticket to the white house. biden is appealing to these voters by promising first and foremost to appease the country. where manybelarus arned out to protest for fifth straight day. lukashshenko says there will beo new elections until "you kill me." he is known as europe's last dictator. --alexander lukashenko demands for alexander lukashenko to hold new elections are growing louder every day from the people of belarus and around the world. >> we will be following it very closely. >> leading the calls are baltic belarus's

neighbors. wary ofsty of -- russia's response. moscow's response has been uncharacteristically restrainedd help forhenko promised belarus in the event of a military response. foreigngnng language] as it stands, belarus is belarus's movement is not violent. the eu has agreed on sanctions against belarussian individuals

who have violated human rights. tweeting, "violence against protesters is unacceptable," eu discuss the events during an emergency meeting. of covid-19 and france are growing. are-- covid-19 in france growing. passrench government will legislation requiring masks. while the new guidelines are reassuring to some, others say they will be too hard to enforce. masks in the office could be the new normal

in france as the nation awaits new rules being unveiled on friday. masks may need to be worn during meetings and even in core doors, reassuring for some. [speaking french] this garage owner believes implementing rules would cause too much of a headache. french]king >> other proposed restrictions could make sure that wororkplacs werere one meter apart. the government continues to encourage companies to allow employees to work from home.

this travel agency hopes the new proposals won't be too restraining. french]king what is s still unclear is whether using plexiglas is enough andnd open workplaces lie this one hour whether the staff need to where masks as well. a final meeting on tuesdayy before covid-19 prprotocols are revealed. club --lympic french they have new coronavirus cases. ey were seset to play on friday for the first match of the new football season. it that game has been postponed the new cases. football fans in paris are gearing up for the first champions league semifinal

tonight. in lisbon.l play both teams are trying to make it into the championships for the first time in n eir histotory. valerie reports. >> it could be a historic nigigt for both teams, fans will cheer remotetely. zig willain and leip face each other on friday to secure a place in the final of the champions league. amid the pandemic the season is being staged without fans in the stadium and unlike previous years, quarter finals into semi finals are being played as a straight knockout tournament. 2-1 last week to go to the finals for the first time. german]eaking

germain opponents, st. n incredible win against italy. they are currently betting on strikers for air win. french]h]ng >> the winner of tonight's match will face bayernrn munich after they meet on tuesday. >> i will be back in 15 minutes with more of your world headlines. ♪ >> lebanon is in shock and morning after the thehe explosin

that hit the port of beirut. we have our team of reporters on the ground. we will understand how this tragedy unfolded and what it means for lebanon, a country on the brink of chaos. ♪ hello, and welcome to the interview on france 24. my guest today and visions ecology through the lens of profitability. he believes solving pop -- climate change is a fantastic market opportunity. he is a passionate aviator as well as a psychiatrist and an himselfer as he calls . welcome to the show. thank you for being to us -- with us. you are well for your

achievements. you are a socialite around the world with a plane powered by the sun without using a single drop of fuel. you made the first round the world f flight in an r balloon. is it saving the world your new challenge? >> i w would say yes but not saving the planet in a naive way. nature -- saying nature isis beautiful and we neneed it to prprotect is n not enough. i want to bring technologigical jobsions that canan create and make life better for everyone on ththe social level. between technologies are so much better than they were before. now they are profitable. to go backre asking to the way it was before the covid-19 crisis, but you are

saying we shouldn't. > back to the past is reallyy dangerous. what did we have before the crisis?? we had a a world that was fragi. itit was destroyed by a virus. it wasas unstable, unfair, alluting, on the edge of recession n already. if we have e a crisis, it is not to h have it or nothing. it is to learn something, to get out of the crisis much better than we were when we entered the crisis. ththat is why we have to call or habits into question andndind compleletely new w ways t to tee environment in a profitable way thealso -- protect environment in a profitable way. the circular economy, energy efficiency development on our planet, all of this is a fantastic hope for humankind,

but this is in the future, not in the past. >> you claim solving climate chchange i is a great market opportunity as opposed to an expensive problem. not to i believe in is fight against growth. this bringngs social chaos. it is also not to go into this unlimited c consumption.. i believe in qualitative4 grow. call -- qualitative growowth is when y you create jobs and proft by replalacing what is polluting the environment. all these new infrastructures,, systems, prprograms, all of this isis the market opportunity of e century. we can make old infrastructuress efficient, energy saving, environmental protecting, into thisis is just t the fantastic n his opportunity of the -- a

fantastic business opportunity.. betterthink we can take -- have a betttter q quality ofe and take care of the planet? >> it is now a market opportunity to take carere of te planet, to take c care of t environment. it is not just a question of what can we change. it is a questioion of fifindinge pollution that is desestroying e health of ththe people. it is about protecting the natural resources of our planet to have enough food and water for the popopulation. if you h have smog in the city,t is n not just climate change. you are getting cancer, bronchitis, acute asthma. into allto be included the political discussions about

what to do today. foundation, the solar impulse foundation, you are trying to find 1000 clean and profitable solutions, solutions that arere not only gd thethe planet but also for econonomy. can you give us a feww examples? >> absolutely. on our way to 1000 solutions, we tecechnologies or systems or products. they work today. they could go onto the market today or they are already. they are practical andnd they protect the e environment. water, in the field of purification of water. it is in mobility with better reduceries, systetems can the p particles emitted by the

thermal engines by 80%. it is in the field of construction with much betterer insulatition, small buildings tt -- it is in the fieleld of induryry like producing stainless s steel with 99%9% les wawater and 9 91% cheaper. it is in the field of agriculture where we have seeds thth are protected by special national -- natural products that require less water and less chemicals in order to grow them. we are seeing every field, you more efficient and more profitable. even if there was no climate change at all, it will be logical as much as ecological to use these systems, products, and technologies. >> how do you convince political and business leaders to change their path when they have other priorities like making profit or

getting reelected? hohow do you motivate them to te action? >> i show them that the besest y to be r reelected into the bestt way to create jobs is -- and the best way t to create jobs is to implement thehese technhnologie. itit is more profifitable to sae the environment than to desestry it. it is more profitable to have a circular economy and makake good wastee management. all of this is a language they can understand. the goal is not to say the planet is beautiful and we have to protect it. to bususiness talk leaders and d show them it is in their best interest to o be more ambitious in environmental targets. >> you are involved in finding sustainable solutions in the airline industry.

what are some concrete measures that could be implemented to reduce our carbon footprint now that international flights will resume? can dofirst one you immemediately -- it t is abobo rereducing the carbon the passengers areroducing.. this is a ve cheap. carbon -- 45 euros fiverbon per seat -- for euroros of carbon per seat, you can reduce your carbon emissions. this can do i immediately and yu would bebeme a neutrtral. of course you have now about 20% you can do withh operations. approaches, e electric tractors on ththe airports to to thehe airirrt threshold,d, this has to be don.

then you have the new technonologies. inn 10 or 15 years electrical airplanes for passengers. 50 seats to travel 1000 kilometeters, electric either wh batteries that are charged on the ground like solar impulse thatat was chargingg during the flight or using hydrogen that is convnverted into a fuel cell to produce electricity and water. this can also be used -- t the frfrench government was courages enough to launchch a program for an absolutelely clean airplane y 2035. those who s say it is i impossie shshould be careful. they said it was imposossible to flyy in 1903. ridiculouso really -- seemed really ridiculous

afterwards. afraid of thee soso coronavirus but not of climate change? because t the coronavirus is sn immiminent threat. clclime chanan is a thrhreat tht goes o on the lononterm, but i agree itit is not logical becaue of -- you have 20 degrees two degrees of temperature increase inn your body temperature, you run to the doctor. when the planet is two degrees hotter, no one cares. i think k it is r ridiculouous. i think weeed to c change the perspectivive of climate chahan. we need to talk more about pollution and less about climame change. pollution is it t something peoe feel. pollution makes people sick today. climatate change will make peope sick in 10 years s so people say again quote we have time to

"we have time to react." >> thank you for sharing your vision a and a thank you all for watching. ♪

reporter: in ukraine, the baby business is booming. it's the new w go-to destinatation for commercial surrogagacy. woman: where's your smiles? not yet. too young. reporter: while it brings joy to some... [woman speaking native e langua] [child crying] reporter: there's heartache for others. we uncover an ugly trade. woman: i think these are cockroaches. they're all over the side. reporter: and confront those responsible. how many children that you oversee the birth of, through your company, are bornrn with brain damage?