berlin. italy enters a new period of political instability. the president dissolved parliament, paving the way for early elections following the resignation of prime minister mario draghi after his national unity government collapsed. also on the program, the ecb increases interest rates for the first time in 11 years, hoping to put the brakes on inflation in the euro zone.

today's increase is just the start. europe breathes a sigh of relief as pressure resumes gas deliveries through the nord stream one pipeline but a top official says germany is still at russia's mercy. more civilians are killed as russian forces shall ukraine's second city, kharkiv, and also raining down across ukraine's southeast, destroying schools and burying people underneath rubble. ♪ i am nicole frolich. tar viewers on pbs in the united states and around the world, welcome. italy's president has dissolved parliament, paving the way for early elections following the resignation of the prime minister after the collapse of his national unity government.

the president has asked mr. draghi to remain in his post as caretaker leader. analysts say his departure could not come at a worse time for italy and europe. >> draghi's trip to the presidential palace to submit his second resignation within a week has launched yet another phase of turmoil in italian politics. he was originally appointed to the role of prime minister to help italy recover from the impact of covid, get a grip on a sputtering economy, and implement economic reforms. those issues have not gone away and, if anything, have become more pressing. his resignation has left many italians worried about the future. >> it is such -- at such a delicate moment, i think it was a reckless move, not to bear in mind everything that's happening globally with the war and the ongoing pandemic.

>> it really isn't the right moment for a government crisis. this should have been the moment to get back on our feet, not the moment to stop. let's hope everything goes well and the problem will be solved. >> the political crisis began a week ago when one of the parties in draghi's coalition government refused to back an economic package. that prompted him to tender his resignation for the first time. italy's president asked him to stay on and try and form a stable government. draghi's second resignation after two more coalition parties broke ranks brings the curtain down on that effort. on thursday evening, italy's president dissolved parliament, clearing the way for new elections to be held on september 25.

the prime minister has been asked to remain in office in a caretaker role. nicole: i spoke about this with a research associate in politics and international relations at the university of oxford and asked what we can expect from draghi as caretaker leader until a new prime minister is chosen. >> he will try to lock in reforms he started over the last year and a half. italy is due to receive something in the region of 150 billion euros from the european union recovery package. he has been working on that and will try to lock in his reforms so they won't be dismantled by the next government. but he will not be able to pass the budget law for next year, probably in parliament between november and december. nicole: italy has never faced an

election campaign in the summer for a reason. many southern european nations basically come to a standstill in the summer months. what is that campaign going to look like? >> it will be peculiar but i don't think only because of the summer time. there's extremely little time for political parties to submit the documentation that's necessary for running an election, so time is tight from an administrative point of view. they will also need a reduction in the number of seats available in parliament, so you can expect infighting within parties to be on the ticket, to be made candidates in the election, and you could expect more splits. we have already seen that within the five star movement. there's been a split and you could expect more people leaving their parties, trying to find somewhere they can fit. >> an interesting scenario you

are painting. who is the front runner for these elections in september? >> if you look at opinion polls, you have a coalition made up of an extreme right wing political party, and what used to be the northern league, right wing parties, and another party coming to something between 45% and 50%. you then have the five star movement between 10% and 15%. the democratic party, something similar to the german social democrats, in the range of 20%, to which you could add some other left-wing and green parties so they would get to about 30% of the vote. that is where we stand. however, what is interesting to see is the fact, you have a lot of italians that are extremely cross. mario draghi was seen as extremely honest, serious and competent, something

italians are not used to expect from their politicians, so i would be surprised if there were not some significant changes when it comes to opinion polls as the voters might want to punish the parties that brought down mario draghi. nicole: thank you. >> thank you. nicole: mario draghi's resignation has implications in the eu too. our correspondent told us how the news from italy went down in brussels. >> it will be a huge headache to see a leader change. i think it is safe to say that here in brussels and indeed across the capitals of the european union mario draghi is an extremely popular figure, firstly because he has come across as stable, secondly, not only has he towed the eu line but enforced and participated in it, mainly because of his history as president of the european central bank. he understands europe, how it works.

he knows how the eu works and he's extremely pro-european. i think the broad support he's felt in italy and continues to feel has extended here in brussels. we saw him attending that visit to kyiv alongside olaf scholz, that the german chancellor, and french president macron. he is extremely strong on support for ukraine. he was one of the first leaders to come out strongly and suggest ukraine should be allowed a quick entry into the european union. we already know now they have been granted that position to be an eu accession country. nicole: the eu has raised key interest rates for the first time in 11 years. the hike of .5 percent is bigger than expected and brings an end to the area of negative -- to the era of negative interest rates.

the ecb president warned of a darkening economic outlook. >> prices continue to soar. many consumers are particularly worried by the rising cost of food. people face almost daily hikes in the cost of living, including the price of energy for cooking and fuel for their cars. all this has prompted the ecb to rethink its strategy. the ecb raised key rates by .5%, which was more than anticipated. >> we expect inflation to remain undesirably high for some time owing to continued pressure from energy and food prices and pipeline pressures in the pricing chain. higher inflation pressures are also stemming from the depreciation of the euro exchange rate. >> this makes many imports from abroad more expensive. the ecb's move means high street

banks will start paying interest on people's savings again. but the flipside is that borrowing from the bank will be more expensive, which will impact things like financing a new car, and it will hit the housing market hard. mortgage rates have already more than tripled, making the dream of owning their own house unattainable for many. nicole: let's take a look at some other stories making headlines around the world today. u.s. president joe biden has tested positive for covid-19. the white house says he's experiencing very mild symptoms. a spokesperson added the president would continue to carry out his duties and started a course of an antiviral drug. brazilian politician lula da silva has been chosen as the candidate to take on gyre bolsonaro in the presidential election this year. he has twice been president before being indicted on corruption charges that were later overturned.

he is currently the favorite to win in october. the hungarian foreign minister is traveling to moscow to discuss buying more russian gas. hungary's ruling party said the move was to ensure the country's energy security. this as the european union works to end their reliance on russian gas. that same russian gas is now flowing again through the nord stream one pipeline into germany, having resumed following scheduled maintenance work. there had been fears moscow would keep the tap switched off in response to european sanctions over its invasion of ukraine, but the head of germany's energy regulator says his country is still at russia's mercy, and they are making preparations for a possible winter energy crisis. >> on germany's baltic coast, the nord stream i pipeline ends. russian gas has started flowing

again after a 10 day shut down for maintenance. that is a relief for germany but not an end to its worries with gas still only flowing at 40% capacity, similar to before the shut down. russia kept deliveries -- russia stopped deliveries through the pipe in mid june, citing technical concerns. a german minister dismissed those claims. >> the alleged technical problems are just a pretext and the real background is political. it is the opposite of a guarantee of energy security in europe. in fact, russia is increasingly becoming an insecurity factor in our energy system. >> so, despite the resumed gas flow, the minister announced a new round of measures to secure germany's energy supply, including increasing the minimum amount of gas storage facilities must contain,

reopening coal-fired power stations, and energy-saving measures in public buildings. >> we need to be prepared beyond the short-term. the winter is yet to come and that will only be the first winter. all our models for the future show the following winter will also be a challenge for this country and for europe. >> so how worried are people in germany about the coming winter? >> i am very worried, as everyone should be. things always change, so sometimes it is one way, then it is a different way. things might be difficult for a couple years, maybe five, and then it will change again. >> are you afraid of winter? >> no. >> i think it will be especially hard for people on low incomes because it gets so cold in winter so i am worried about how the mood in the country will change if everyone is freezing. >> an energy security crisis seems to have been averted for

now, but germany and europe are bracing for a potentially cold winter ahead. nicole: ukraine says russian shelling has killed three people and wounded nearly 20 in its second-largest city, kharkiv. russian missiles also destroyed a school in the eastern donbass region. they are training soldiers to use larger weapons arriving from the west, which russia claims is forcing it to widen its offensive. >> this is all that remains of the school. russian missiles destroyed this building and several homes nearby. the number of casualties was not immediately known as rescuers dug through the rubble searching for people trapped inside. amid relentless russian shling, reonal officials in eastern and southern ukraine have been urging civilians to evacuate, but that's not an easy option for the elderly or the frail. >> i could not believe it, but

when we were under the rubble, the will to live was thereafter all, so we dug ourselves out with our hands. what else could we do? >> elsewhere in ukraine, the military is training its soldiers to use new weapons currently arriving from the west. kyiv hopes the new antitank rocket launchers and mortars will change the tide of the ward in their favor. earlier, washington announced it was sending even more longer-range arms to ukraine. >> russia has criticized the west, saying moscow has no choice but to expand its war aims in ukraine. >> as the west pours more and more long-range weapons, such as these into ukraine in an impotent rage or a desire to exacerbate the situation as much as possible, that means the geographic tasks of the special

operation will extend still further from the current line. >> but in an interview with the w, germany's foreign minister dismissed russia's argument that it is being forced to widen its offensive in ukraine because of western weapons deliveries. >> russia is using every time a different argument, so this time it is because of the military support they are saying, but they have been attacking kyiv and other parts of ukraine before, so it is just new propaganda from the russian side. >> meanwhile, russian forces continue to hit civilian targets not only on the front lines but in cities and towns throughout ukraine. nicole: earlier, i asked a military analyst, a fellow at the department of war studies at king's college in london, what russia's expanded goals mean for the future of this conflict. >> i think as you mentioned in

your package, this is just more russian propaganda. throughout the war, since february, they have been trying to decapitate the government. they have been focusing on the east, the south, back to the east. in reality, what has been happening is, over the last two or three months, they have been focusing on the offensive in donbass while the ukrainians have been taking territory in the south, causing the russians to have to stall there offensive in donbass to focus on the south because they are losing territory there. >> the west says it will challenge any annexations and send more heavy weapons and some vocal critics say that will only drag out a war that ukraine is bound to lose sooner or later. where do you stand on that? >> i think if you assume ukraine will lose the war, then they will lose the war. if you look out the fundamentals, ukraine is fighting on its home territory,

morale is high and they are fighting for their survival. russia is fighting a war of choice with poorly trained conscripts. overall, i think ukraine can win the war if they are given the appropriate weaponry. >> what do you think about the much talked about war fatigue in the west? >> i think that is significant. i think we are entering period now where we have three or four months before winter. obviously winter is when things start to change, because then russia has some levers over europe, particularly germany, in terms of gas supply, so there's a bit of a real problem where ukraine needs to make some progress over the next three or four months, or rather continue to make progress, so that the weapons the west is supplying are seen to be effective or continue to be seen to be effective. i think that, if they don't show or continue to show progress

before, say, october, when it starts to get cold, we may see problems over the winter in terms of this western fatigue. >> russia says peace is possible but on their terms, terms that are unclear but certainly unacceptable to ukraine. what conditions do you think need to be created to find a negotiated solution to this gruesome conflict? >> well, for the ukrainians, they only have one demand here, which is that russia leaves their sovereign territory, and i can see their point because previously, in 2014, when russia was not put back in the box effectively, the annexation of crimea and the territorial gains in the donbas were allowed to go forward and what happened? russia had another go. so anything short of a complete withdrawal from ukrainian territory will see them continue fighting. nicolele: military analyst mike martin, thank you for your time. >> thank you. nicole: let's look at some other

headlines of the day. three men in spain have died in the last 24 hours from injuries sustained taking part in bull running festivals. rights groups have long protested about the danger of the events to both animals and the public. around 20 people have been killed over the last eight years. spain's prime minister, pedro sanchez, says more than 500 people have died as a result of the country's 10 day heat wave, which saw temperatures reached 45 degrees celsius. wildfires there have forced thousands to flee their homes. officials in pakistan say at least 280 people have died in weeks of heavy rain and flooding. the national disaster management authority reported almost 6000 homes have also been destroyed, with critical infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, severely damaged. veteran politician -- a veteran

politician has been sworn in as sri lanka's new president, facing the chalenge of leading the country out of its worst economic and political crisis since independence from britain. some protesters say the new leader is tainted by his association with the old regime. >> his immediate challenge is to convince sri lankans he is fit for the job. he faces the task of leading the country out of its crisis. but many are skeptical. they see him as an ally of his predecessor. >> what the country needs is a total system change. we want to get rid of these corrupted politicians so that is what we are doing.

we will not give up. we will stay and see what happens. >> sri lanka is suffering lengthy power blackouts. people spend days in line to buy fuel while shelves have run low on food and essential medicine. >> people are struggling. they cannot have food. they cannot have kerosene. they don't have gas. that or have diesel, they don't have petrol. >> public anger over the hardships boiled over when tens of thousands of protesters tormed the home of then-president -- of then-president, forcing him to step down. that cleared the way for wickremesinghe's election. the 73-year-old politician has failed in his previous two runs for the presidency. his assumption of power means he will serve out the rest of the presidential term until november 2024. >> some sports now.

at the world athletics championships in oregon, a chinese athlete has won a surprise gold in the discus, beating an american olympic champion in her own backyard. there was also success for a runner who switched her allegiance this year from kenya to kazakhstan. >> the athlete was only 17 at last year's tokyo olympics. at the world championships, she did this. an opening throw of 69.12 meters was a personal best. even with the raucous support of an american home crowd, the only big champion could not compete. the chinese discus thrower could barely believe it. she has already been greeted back home. collects i didn't imagine i could do that -- >> i did not imagine i could do that because the other

competitors were so strong. i tried my best. >> in the women's steeplechase, a championship record, the third fastest time ever. she was competing for kazakhstan this year, having previously then registered as a kenyan runner. she kissed the ground in oregon and then looked up to the heavens. >> first, i want to thank my almighty father. second, i want to thank this country, for welcoming us to the championship. i have a gold medal already. >> a day of surprises in eugene thanks to these athletes. feng's world championship started last week and has been a slow burner, but now the sport

has some new stars. nicole: a sad announcement for german football fans. a legendary striker has died at the age of 85. he made his dive you for hamburg as a teenager -- his debut for hamburg as a teenager and represented germany in four world cups. >> a selfie with the man >> i'm a regular guy and i want to stay that way. >> seeler made his first appearance at 17. even an oer froélan was not enough to tempt him away -- from milan was not enough to tems him away. but facts and figures are not what made seeler so popular.

>> he was a real- he was a role model. when everyone else was in the showers, he was woing on his technique. >> at the height of his career, he was a leading figure the likes of which hamburg has never seen again. >> even into his 80's, he could be found at every hamburg home game and he would have been as disappointed as anyone by the club's most recent failure to escape the german second division. >> you can play badly but you have to at least fight for 90 minutes. you can demand that from professionals. >> with the club in the doldrums, seeler's death is a timely reminder to the current squad of the heights hamburg fans expect their players to reach on and off the pitch. nicole: before we go, here is a reminder of the top stories we're following for you.

italy's president has dissolved parliament, paving the way for early elections. this follows the resignation of prime minister mario draghi after the collapse of his national unity government. the president has asked mr. draghi to remain in his post as caretaker leader. the eu central bank has raised its interest rate for the first time in 11 years as it seeks to control high inflation in the euro zone. the bank is expected to raise rates again in september. that is all for me for now but don't go away. after a short break, i will be back to take you through the day. hope to see you then.

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♪ >> the president dissolves parliament, clearing the way for snap elections. this follows the resignation of prime minister morrow draghi earlier on in the day. signs of release in europe as russian gas is pumped through the nord stream one pipeline, both fears remain the taps could be shut off again. firefighters warned that we aren't even halfway into the wildfire season and there could be worse to come. the fires in the southwest of france have now been contained.

welcome band -- welcome back to the friends 24 news in paris. thank you for joining us. we begin the on what was a day of high drama in italian politics following the collapse of the national unity government, the prime minister resign. the president resolve parliament in national elections are set for september. this fast-moving series of events has thrust his sleeve into a time of uncertainty, that sending tremors through financial markets. here is the explanation of how this could mark a time of insurgency in italy. >> at the moment, the polls are going to be taking place on the 25th of september. that has been announced. the president making the announcement that parliament would be dissolved said that that was really his last choice. it was impossible for him to put in place a fourth government in this five-year term that each

mandate has. and it will be really interesting to see, because this will be the first election held in the autumn months, the first election held in those months and more than a century. it's usually a time where governments and parliaments are pushing through their budt. instead, a lot of work of government is going to be put on hold and it's going to be a tough election campaign with so many divisions through the summer heat. the parties are already seeing defections and longtime stalwart members. for instance, the party led by the former prime minister. you saw some longtime members of that party stepping away because they were upset and felt it was wrong to have not supported mario draghi and that confidence vote. so, mario draghi, as you said, 17 months of stability, dealing with the pandemic, put in place the reforms that the eu said was necessary to get the

post-pandemic recovery funds, and also dealing with the war in ukraine. so, now we've got a situation. we will have to see who is going to actually come up on top in the selection. before the moment, you're going to have a lot of -- in which italy is not going to have any kind of government -- or working government with teeth. >> more people -- what are people saying about who the next prime minister of italy might be? >> if you go by the most recent opinion polls, the party that is coming out on top in terms of the biggest party is really the brothers of italy. this is a far right party that has its origins in neofascist groups. their leader is georgia maloney. she potentially cod become the first female prime minister. we will have to see, as a figure. she's known to oppose gay marriage, abortion. she's also supposed to want to close the border altogether to

immigrants. she also is in favor of tax cuts. she cannot function on her own. she may be the largest party, but she still doesn't have a majority in parliament. so, the natural allies would be the other right-wing parties, the party of the far right lead party, as well as the party of former prime minister sylvia but us goni. it's interesting to note that the brothers of italy party, essentially they barely scraped 4% of the vote back in 2018. right now they are the biggest party in opinion polls, that's because they remained in opposition when mario draghi was leading that national unity government. >> russian shells have once again struck ukraine's second-largest city. that is the northeastern city of kharkiv. three people are known to have been killed and more than 20 others injured. a medical facility in a busy --

busy shopping area were struck. according to police, cluster bombs were used in today's strikes. here is more. >> a man hugs his daughter as they contemplate what was once the bustling marketplace. it's now a crime scene. a familiar site for kharkiv's population of seeing atrocities in ukraine's second-largest city. >> it was not a military target, there was no military purpose and today shelling, there was no one from the armed forces of ukraine nor the national guard, weapons were not stored here, there was nobody except local residents. it was an ordinary market. >> nearby, emergency workers carry away the body of a dead man lying next to a stall. moments later his wife begged to police to let her hold his head one last time. a local businessman who witnessed the attack described apocalyptic scenes as people rushed to safety.

>> the floor in the ceiling were damaged. thank god we rushed to the basement after we heard the first explosion. we saw people drenched in blood. we saw people on fire, i helped bring the wounded to the subway. >> local officials insist rush a used cluster munitions to show the city. it hasn't been independently verified. russia has concentrated most of its firepower on eastern ukraine in the last few months, but on wednesday, foreign minister said they could no longer be focusing on the east. >> there were size of release in europe after 10 day outage russian gas was once again pumping through the nord stream one pipeline. there have been fierce at the russian president vladimir putin wouldn't allow the taps to be turned back on. gas saving measures are going to be needed across the eu to avoid the winter supply crunch.

here is more. joseph: europe's energy futures are being played out under the baltic sea. the nord stream one pipeline, which has been ope since 2011, is proven to be a major concern. spending over 1200 kilometers, and links germany and russia and has a total capacity of 55 billion cubic meters per year. in 2021, 40% of russian gas imports to the european union transited service channel, but with the war in ukraine, energy has become a geopolitical tool. while scow has been reducing exports since june, sowing doubts on the restart of deliveries, claiming it was due to maintenance work. however, it remains to be seen whether the situation will return to normal. >> the gas will flow to europe via nord stream one, but judging by the declarations of the russian leader, it will probably be in reduced capacity, may be only 40%.

there is no justification for this reduction. >> moscow maintains a turbine issue and causes it to slow delivery rates in berlin has called it a political decision. in june, germany was still buying 35% of its gas from russia compared to 55% for month earlier. european countries are finding it difficult to a tapped -- adapt as they attempt to wean themselves off russian energy. they ask all 27 member states to us cut it by 15% beginning in august. >> in other news, u.s. president joe biden has tested positive for covid-19. according to the white house, he is experiencing very mild symptoms. the 79-year-old president is isolating but carry-on with all his duties. the president is fully vaccinated and the first lady said he is now feeling good. the wildfires that have torn through europe in recent weeks of already burned more than half a million heck years. that's more than what was lost

of blazes in the whole of last year. firefighters are warning we are not even halfway into the wildfires season and there could be worse to come. here in france, nearly 40,000 hectares of forest have been burned to the ground, with the latest fires have now been contained. here is more. >> more than one week since wildfires broke out in the southwestern region of france, the scale of the destruction is visible from the air. miles and miles of burned trees at a reminder of how close to devastation some people's lives came. evidence that for certain villages, the flames almost came knocking at their door. although the flames of died down, the smoke acts as a reminder that this battle isn't over yet. >> things are going better, but just because things are going better, that doesn't mean the battle is over. these fires are still here and still burning.

>> over the course of the last week, fires spread across the region, but firefighters have broken the back of the work with flames no longer gaining insight. determined to reduce the risk of the re-catching a far, the emergency services or watering the bone dry landscape. tinderbox conditions require multiple watering's. >> the temperature of the ground means at the ground dries quickly, so we do multiple shifts and we have mutual ones that are focused on the hotspots. >> despite the firefighters battling for 10 days over 20,000 hectares of forest have gotten up in smoke. >> we are going to end this bulletin in montréal. thousands of kilometers away from any african country. for 15 days, the capital of québec is hosting the 36 edition of the african and caribbean music festival. there will be 150 concerts and

other activities as well. in all, 700 artists with 30 different countries are taking part. here is the update. >> we have beautiful weather in montréal for the 36 edition of the festival, where 200,000 people are expected to attend here, one of the biggest international festivals dedicated, as you say, african and caribbean music. this year, the lineup is amazing. this famous african musician's. without further expectation, i

will introduce you to one of the great artist, a rising star from congo. she's right by my side, her name is joyce. she is from congo. joyce, thank you for joining us here on france 24. tell us how do you feel performing here in the festival where the greatest african artist did perform. >> it is not my third time. -- it is not my first time. i started on this stage and i will say, nine years later i am still here for the festival. and it's amazing. it's amazing. >> i wanted to know, maybe some are as intrigued as well. define for us your style. afro blue pop. what's that?

>> it's a mix of afro blues and hip-hop. we ate sing in different languages and french and english and my language from congo. >> maybe we can have a glimpse of your show just for you to know. >> [singing in foreign language] >> the congolese singer. joyce for us there. speaking to my colic. that brings us up-to-date with world news. thank you for watching. stay with us here on friends 24. -- france 24. ♪ ♪

>> hello and welcome to people and profit. coming up, legal tender or a way around sanctions? we look at the role cryptocurrencies are playing in emerging economies and geopolitics. the environmental iact of digital money, our correspondence visit the biggest bitcoin mining facility in the united states if i know more about its carbon footprint. and, can the one-time bitcoin barren rise from the ashes of the fallen mount -- we speak to france wednesday for about the future. what role will cryptocurrencies play in the 21st century? more mainstream financial institutions are embracing crypto assets while two countries have adopted bitcoins as legal tender. but concerns about volatility and consent -- and security

remain widespread while russia's war in ukraine has highlighted the potential for cryptocurrencies to be used as a geopolitical tool on both sides. bitcoin remains the most widely used and recognize cryptocurrency of the world, followed by a theory of an tether. let's speak to the senior advisor at the crypto counsel for innovation, think you for being with us on the show, i want to start by asking whether you consider cryptocurrencies to be a form of payment or an investment? >> >> -- that's a great question. i would really look at it as a little bit of both. i think the cryptocurrency, when it was designed, was primarily used as a utility for various services to be run on top of a blockchain network. the over the last few years with the acceleration of the market growth, as well as a lot of volatility within the markets, many have been looking at it more so from an investment perspective, so i would say it's a little bit of both, but i would say it's a healthy balance

in between from an innovation perspective, from technology and financial side, that really makes this space very exciting and a lot of exciting growth to be had in the future. >> el salvador in the central african republic have adopted bitcoin as legal tender in their countries, that is that change the perception of the industry and what challenges mighit bring? >> i think it's an evolution, it doesn't change the industry per se. at the end of the day, these are smaller economies that are now accepting bitcoin and potentially, in the future, other cryptocurrency as part of their legal -- legal tender. it adds more legitimacy from a regulation and licensing perspective, but at the same time, it allows folks in gender -- in general to look in more utility around the technolog around the acid itself. less so from the fairly

speculative asset pepective in terms of application that potentially could be directly impacting within the society itself. kate: there are concerns about how cryptocurrencies might be used by actors or states, at the moment we are talking about russia ting to evade sanctions, does that undermine e industry's credibility? >> specifilly within the curren complex in your, you can look at usage in two ways. there are certainly some that are talking about the evasion aspect. to be fair, isaac a lot of the government officials, truly around the world, haven't really seen too much will a hard evidence in terms of crypto being used in that manner. there's also the other aspect. because, if you look in the earlier da duringhe invasion, there were also man community members -- crypto community members around the world that we making tremendous amounts of donations directly to the ukrainian

government. you could almost see the positive and not so positive sides for where crypto and blockchain technologies are being used. at the end of the day, crypto, even though it has grown a lot over the last few years, the volume of it and the transparency aspect of watching the technologies really make these evasion mechanisms or evasion potentials much less of a real concern then potentially society might be thinking about. so i think, in general, there is a possibility that some smaller amounts could be going through alternative payment network, include cryptocurrencies and blockchain. in reality, it's really not happing as much as people will may play at up to be. but more so importantly, le i said before, theransparency aspect of crypto transactions beingn the bckchain twork that is public actually makes it

even harder to do so than otherwise. >> one of the big issues facing the industry is the impact on the environment, huge amounts of energies required for computers to release the cryptocurrency in question. i will ask you to stay with us because the france 24 team in the united states has been visiting america's biggest bitcoin mining facility in the heart of texas, here's their report. >> with its huge warehouses set up in the texan countryside, this is the largest bitcoin mine in the united states. >> we use should have some right here. perfect. just what we were looking for. >> although not precious metals, it still takes miners to make this virtual currency. chad harris has been the gatekeepers since launching his business two years ago. >> when we use the word minor, this is a computer that has chips inside and at processes the bitcoin algorithm, which

solves the equation that earns the bitcoin. these particular minors are averaging about $25 to $30 a day. >> the figurative goldmine employs more than 200 people. >> we are going to go inside. >> this is the center of it all, with 100,000 computers running at full speed, the noise is almost deafening. >> when you look down this wall, this is around 450 feet, 20 feet high of bitcoin mining. >> it takes 400 megawatts to power these machines. the equivalent of half a nuclear reactor. but in texas, energy is cheap and abundant. >> texas is the epicenter of bitcoin mining. it is because it is a free market, decentralize power and business friendly. in governor abbott wants it that way. >> as a result, they attract investors, especially from china.

beijing band bitcoin mining two years ago due to pollution concerns with the electricity used produced by coal-fired power plants. a godsend for the mayor. >> and china shut down we were getting three or four calls a week. we had 50 inquiries t to bring n 24,000 minors or so. but we simply cannot go someplace that they can plug-in. it would take about 16 months to build out power. >> texas is already home to 30 of these mining companies. only a quarter of their activities powered by renewable electricity sources. environmental activists are sounding the alarm. they say the bitcoin industry uses more energy each year from thentire coury of sweden. cates: let's come back to our guest from the crypto counsel for innovation. what's your reaction to those concerns about the crypto carbon footprint? >> i think t concern israel and it is more -- i want you to

be careful. when we talk about the environmental concern for crypto, that's a very broad term. bute are talking about, especially in the video that the body and saw her elier, is bitcoin mining. within the industry there are various different types of protocols that are out there. bitcoin is what is known as a proof of work network. proof of work requires signicant mini that requires a lot of computing power, which is what you saw in the video. increasingly moreo, there are lots of protocols out there that are now was called crypto stick, and that does not require the tremendous amount of computing required to do the mining. the carbon footprints for many of these protocols are close to zero. ihink the one thing that i uld respondo here is, it is not the environmental concern for crypto in general. for bitcoin, certainly tre is concern regards to energy uses comp - usage. but for the energy in general

the carbon foorint is healy from a technology perspective and also from an environntal and organizational side as well. i think when we talk about these environmental topics, it is very important to recognizehere things are, but also more importantly, understand the developments that are happening in the evolution that is happening within the space. kate: thank you so much for joining us on people and profit today. >> thank you. have a good day. kate: in 2014, the piquant exchange collapsed, shaking the industry and leading to the arrest of its boss. eight years on, the frenchman is back on the crypto scene and vowing to clean it up. our correspondence went to meet him in tokyo. >> he tinkers with the cryptocurrency atm in his garage in tokyo. the machine is a reminder of

better times when he was known as the bitcoin baron. >> it's all made in here. anyone could access bitcoin through this machine and has lots of good memories. >> in 2011, tokyo-based programmer had the piquant exchange and became the biggest platform in the world dealing with assets worth $1 billion. three years later, they were hacked in 500 50,000 bitcoins vanished. the exchange went bankrupt and they were suspected of pilfering customers accounts. >> i was carlos cohen before carlos cohen. everything i owned became worthless. i was on the highway to hell, from wednesday to the next. i was receiving deaths -- death threats. those were tough times. >> this former client lost 30 bitcoins worst tooth -- worth 2000 euros in 2014. today they would be worth one million euros. he speaks anonymously for fear of her plat -- reprisals from

cyber credit -- criminals. he believes he was partly the author of his own downfall. >> i don't know, was at madness, was it a challenge again hoops -- against himself. the overestimate how safe it was? he lacked proficiency at technical and business levels. >> the former investor is seeking compensation of around 150,000 euros while a russian hacker is suspected of stealing and has been arrested. he is trying to make amends. his new cryptocurrency ratings agency is designed to improve decision-making in the highest bitcoin trade. >> it's often very difficult to know whether a business or a project is trustworthy. and because i have made a number of mistakes, i can prevent those mistakes from happening again. >> the virtual currency market

faces huge challenges. in 2021, cryptocurrency lead to a record 13 billion euros in losses. kate: that's all for this week, but you will find this in all our previous programs on our website and as a podcast wherever you usually listen. you could get in touch with your comments and questions on social media. until next time, thanks for watching. ♪ >> your needs are changing and so is france 24.com. with articles, reports, the latest international news. all of our programs available on replay with live broadcasting 20 47. intuitive, fast and available in four languages. france wednesday for.com. -- france 24.com. ♪

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07/21/22 07/21/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! pres. biden: climate change is an emergency. i'm going to use the power i have as president to turn these words into a formal, official government action. amy: as heatwaves scorch the united states, europe, asia, and africa, president biden vows to take more steps to address the climate crisis but stops short of declaring a national