♪ >> this is dw neils, -- dw news, live from berlin. that u.n. hailing this is a beacon of hope that will ease a global food crisis. ukraine says it does not trust russia's promises. also coming up -- a u.s. court convicts steve bannon of contempt of congress. trump's former aide refuses to testify in front of lawmakers investigating last year's

assault on the u.s. capitol. meanwhile, the investigative committee, kyiv is building its case against former president trump. >> for 187 minutes on january 6, this man's energy could not be moved. >> lawmakers accused former president of failing to call off the rioters, because he simply did not want to. plus -- the world's second-largest rain forests, under threat. we will find out how the democratic republic of congo is empowering communities to stop deforestation. ♪ to our viewers on pbs in the u.s. and around the world, welcome. kyiv and moscow have signed a deal to resume grain exports out of ukraine.

for months, russia has blockaded ports on the black sea, vital for shaping ukrainian grain to the rest of the world. there are hopes that deal will he the resulting international hunger crisis. but ukraine says it does not believe russia will keep its promises. reporter: a landmark deal against the backdrop of mutual mistrust. representatives from russia and ukraine signed an agreement in istanbul, refusing to sit down together at the same table, and carefully avoiding shaking hands. the un secretary-general said the deal offered a beacon of hope. >> this is an agreement for the world. it will bring relief for developing countries on the edge of bankruptcy and the most vulnerable people on the edge of famine. and to help stabilize global food prices, which were already at record levels, even before the war.

a nightmare for developing countries. reporter: ukraine and russia are two of the world's biggest grain producers. the deal will release more than 20,000,000 tons of wheat and other grain that remain trapped in blockaded ukrainian ports due to the war. it was brokered by the un and turkey. a diplomatic time for president are to one -- president -- for president erdogan. from africa to the middle east, from america, to asia. the nato member controls the streets leading to the bla ck sea. but trust is a key factor underlying the deal. there's a high level of skepticism on all sides.

>> article respondent dorian jones is in istanbul following these events for us. i put it to him that there must be widespread relief at the news of the deal. reporter: absolutely. we are talking about the releasing of potentially 20,000,000ons of ukrainian grain that's been trapped in ports because of the russian invasion of ukraine. this comes at a time when soaring food prices are being played on the shortage of grain from ukraine, one of the bread baskets of the world. according to officials, over 100 million people have been plunged into poverty, acute poverty because of rising prices. i hope this deal will stop this and avert a potential global famine. >> trust has been a huge issue in the stalks -- these talks, has not it? >> absolutely. this is really many ways

a kepart of this deal. thproblem is that took so long, months and months of negotiation to bring this deal to fruition. the key point of trust on the ukrainian side is that there is fear that if they open up the ports to the ship,hat russia would seek advantage. under the deal, russia has pledged they willurtail all operations arod the black seaports and also not target the accordion ports exporting the grain. on russia's outside, under this deal -- side, under this dl, grain will be searched under a deal that will see joint coordinations in istanbul. >> the deal was signed in istanbul, what was turkey's role in all of this? reporter: in many ways, turkey has played a pivotal role. the united nations

secretary-general was quick to praise turkey -- turkey, while saying the deal could not have happened without turkey's support. they have been hosting four-way talks here in istanbul. in many ways, turkey will argue that this is a vindication of the turkish president, with good relations with the ukrainian leadership and with russia as well, controversially. turkey has been supporting ukraine with providing arm but turkey has refused to impose any of the western sanctions against russia. that's drawn a lot of criticism in the past. turkey has insisted it cannot sanction russia if it is going to have a mediing rol this deal today will be seen as a vindication of erdogan's stance that his position was right. the key thing going forward was, will they still work? >> thanks a lot, dorian jones in istanbul.

caitlin welsch is a director of the global food security program at the center for strategic and international studies, a think tank based in washington, d.c. i asked her for her reaction to the news of the deal. >> this is very positive news coming out of turkey today. very importa for thexport of grns that were stuck in ukraine from last year's harvest which is between 16 and 20 llion metric tons of grains. which we expect to be able to be exported over the next three to four months, which will addressed the import needs of countries in the region. >> there was a lot of back and forth in the lead up to this, what you think made the agreement possible now? >> that is a great question. probably a combination of factors. the number one rising awareness of the applications of restrictions on exports from the black sea. increased wooden security around the world -- food

insecurity around the world. like the middle east and africa. awareness of the implications for food security there. first and foremost that is a reason. >> there are already reports no, hours after the deal was signed, of wheat prices falling as a result of the agreement. is the foot emergency averted for now, if the deal holds? >> i expect pres to continue to follow. global food prices did spike in february of this year. again in march of this year we reached to historic highs. after that, they started to level off and have been falling incrementally since then. at the same time, global cereal prices remain 50% higher than where they were this time last year. they are still incredibly elevated despite the fact that overall prices are starting to level off.

i do expect him to fall more as a result of this deal. the extent to which prices will likely fall depends on whether or not this deal is extended beyond the initial 120 days. >> where is ukrainian grain most urgently needed? >> the countries that rely on ukraine and on russia for their imports are countries that are generallin the geographi vicity -- so those are countries in asia, and the mile east,, africa, countries that are heavily reliant on imports, that consume a lae amount of wheat. countries that most in need of ukraine's green. particularly in the horn of africa right now that's experienced repeated droughts, where food and security levels are extremely high -- insecurity levels are extremely high.

many people are in the brink of famine. also in her countries such as yemen. very reliant on the black sea for imports. so a country like yemen as well. countries like this might experience some relief because of the seal. >> do you trust pressure to stick to their commitments under the deal -- russia to stick to their commitments under the deal? >> >> time will tell. we have seen them make certain commitments through the length of the war thus far. a difference could be that this is a deal that was brokered by multiple parties, that was assigned today by russia and ukraine -- signed today by russia and ukraine. with the united nations answer can be a part of the negotiations. very specific nature of stipulations under this agreement give hope that russia might follow through moreso then we start with other commitments it's made through the length of the war. >> there is cause for hope,

says caitlin welch of the center for strategic and international studies. thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> let's look a some other stories headlines around the world -- sri lanka has sworn in a new prime minister and cabinet a day after a new president took office. as a country struggles to cope with the devastating economic and political crisis. riot police faced accusations of using excessive force to remove demonstrators from a protest site your government buildings. -- near government buildings. in mali say soldiers have repaired -- officials in mali say soldiers have repelled an attack, a day after militants linked to qaeda attacked several other military camps, killing one soldier and wounding 15 in central mali. ceremonies been held in the czech republic to mark the demolition of a pig farm built on the side of a nazi era

concentration camp. citizens were interned -- thousands of citizens were interned and hundreds were killed there. there were decades of disputes between the owners, governments, and rights groups. an italian has become the first european female astronaut to take a spacewalk. she was joined by a russian cosmonaut to work on the new robotic arm at the international space station. the iss is one of the last areas of cooperation between russia and the west since moscow invaded ukraine. a u.s. court has convicted donald trump's formeraide, steve bannon, of contempt of congress. he was charged for refusing to testify before lawmakers investigating last year's insurrection act the u.s. capitol. thursday that same committee accused former president trump of gross dereliction of duty for doing nothing, as a mob of his supporters stormed the capitol

building. investigators heard testimony from top white house aides, will describe how trump ignored there pleas to intervene for nearly three hours. reporter: the hearings have included a mix of life testimony -- live testimony, prerecorded depositions, and never before seen footage including these outtakes. of donald trump rehearsing his video address to the nation a day after the attack on the capitol. >> the selection is now over. congress has certified the results. i don't want to say the election is over -- i just want to say -- >> his daughter can be heard on camera coaching her father. >> now congress -- reporter: the committee documented how the former president was not only aware of the attack on the capitol, he watched the violence unfold on television in a small dining room off the oval office, rebuffing pleased by aides and

politicians and members of his own family to tell the mob to stand down. >> for three hours, he refused to call off the attack. donald trump refused to take the urgent advice he received that day. not from his political opponents or from the liberal media, but from his own family, his own friends and staff, and his own advisors. in the midst of an attack, when there was no time for politics, the people closest to trump told him the truth. it was his supporters attacking the capitol, and he alone could get through to them. reporter: kinsinger, one of only two republicans on the committee, says and said that trump chose not to act. violating his oath of office and placing lives in danger. five people died as a result of the attack. someone hundred 40 police officers were injured. antedate, more than 850 people

have been arrested in connection with the riot. it came on the heels of a speech by trump to supporters in which he falsely claimed the election had been stolen and vice president mike pence could overturn the results. during the hearings, one white house security official described how secret service agents protecting pence that they called love wants to say goodbye as almagro inside. -- loved ones to say goodbye because the mob broke inside. several members of the capitol police force have been in the audience during the hearings. which will resume in september. >> for more on this, let's bring in our correspondent in washington, d.c. let's start with the latest, steve bannon one study i like to trump, now facing jail time -- steve bannon, once an ally to trump, now facing jail time. not surprised he was found guilty. >> that's not a huge surprise. he refused to even hand over any documents. but you cannot simply geget away

with not cooperating, in the face of a house committee. but his lawyers already said that they will appeal. he says he has bulletproof information that will prevent steve bannon from going to prison. it could be up to two years. this is still open once again. but a very clear indicator that he cannot simply wiggle out of this. >> the attorney general has emphasized that no one is above the law. so why is it so difficult to build a case against donald trump? >> well, anyone who was watching the three hours last night in washington clearly could detect a case. anyone who still cares about facts. merrick garland made that statement two days before this. indicating that even a president will not be above the law.

he former president, got a sitting president, and not all eyes -- a former president, and all eyes are on what he will do with this information. clearly he was saying he didn't want to say the elections are over when they are not over, that cannot be ignored -- but one thing is for sure, the political implications and waves and the public reaction amongst trump followers would follow immediately. so we expect some kind of a statement fairly soon. >> beyond producing evidence for the department of justice, this is also an event made for the american public. it was on prime time tv yesterday. how effective have the hearing been in creating awareness about trump's role in the insurrection? >> it is splashed all over the

media. there are programs everywhere. but the big question mark is, evidence of what they are really believed -- already believed happened, that trump did nothing, there were clear indicators before that of that, those that stick with trump simply do not care. whether there is evidence and footage showing him that he does not want to say anything in the direction, that he does not want to admit that it's over. he simply said that it might -- that mike pence let him down. that is his own vice president. so interestingly, the former vice president and him are also supporting different candidates here in primaries. in the race for instance. but will these facts get through? i think that is the overarching problem. with u.s. politics, but also

with the upcoming campaign for the midterms november. >> thank you so much. the rain forest of the congo river basin in central africa is a world's second largest. after the amazon -- second largest, after the amazon. scientists say that its conservation is key in the fight against global warming but deforestation is threatening at survival. the situation is especially bad in the democratic republic of the congo where most of the losses are caused by small-scale agriculture and charcoal production. an eu funded project is offering a solution now. reporter: a crowded neighborhood, the capital of drc. she runs one of the city's many street restaurants. she depends on charcoal made from wood to prepare food and heat water. she says she does not have a choice. >> you see, charcoal is really

good because electricity is not stable. and if there is not any electricity at all, how can you cook? reporter: nearly nine out of 10 people in drc rely on wood charcoal or firewood as their main fuel supply. this is one of africa's biggest cities, kinshasa. they printer more than 2 million tons of charcoal each year. the ecological price of using so much trouble is enormous. this forest outside of kinshasa is part of the congo basin reinforce. the second largest rain forest in the world. but trees here are being failed, toeed the charcoal market. this is one potential alternative to the mostly illegal act. many are planting fast-growing

trees east of kinshasa. benjamin is a deputy coordinator of projects funded by the european union. the idea behind the project is to create a sustainable supply of wood to turn into charcoal. >> peopleracticing agroforestry are doing it in sustainableay, they plant the trees and operate their farms and cut the trees to create charcoal with their own trees. that is the full cycle, they plant, exploit, and replant. reporter: this is one of the 260 farmers now operating in acacia plantation as part of the project. once the trees become mature, after around eight years, they are cut down. they are covered over and slowly burned to produce charcoal.

then, in place of the trees, cassava are planted and harvested. when the soil is not fertile enough for the food crops, acacia trees are planted again. the trees help replenish the soil with nitrogen. and the cycle of crop rotation begins again. the acacia plantations are a way of providing farmers with a source of income. and preserving native forests, he says. >> that is the solution. you leave the forest ecosystem and peace. -- in peace. we should create these kinds of projects across the whole country. and we will have solved the problem of deforestation. reporter: producing greener charcoal has its challenges. the project needed millions of euros in startup funding, and lots of scientific knowledge. plus, not all of the farmers

wait eight years for the trees to mature and sometimes cut the trees down earlier. back in kinshasa, the market for charcoal is expected to keep booming, as the city rapidly expands. but charcoal from primary forests is not just that for the environment, it is also bad for people. smoke from charcoal fires can cause serious illnesses like lung cancer and heart disease. that means in the longer term, to protect citizens and forests, the congo needs to invest in alternatives, like hydroelectricity or gas. >> earlier i spoke to luther a., from the international union for the conservation of nature. his organization is hosting a congress on africa's protected areas and he told me why pan-african collaboration is so important when it comes to conservation. >> this is a very central issue for the heart of africa -- the horn of africa.

it has a lot of conservative areas and a lot of people are living alongside wildlife. so it's really about the people of africa. it is about the nature and africa. these are massive systems that need to be well managed and that need to be connected with others. >> which are currently the biggest drivers of loss of biodiversity on the african continent? >> as you know, there are many diverse -- africa is a young nation. we do have population growth. this puts pressure on a number of things. we have agricultural expansion. there's a lot of extension- extense agriculture. agriculture is one of the big drivers. we also do have infrastructure development. africa's currently at a ste where it is undertaking massive developmen so we have lots ofevelopments

happening aund. a lot of especially raw infrastructure, railways. so all of this lea to biodiversity loss. also including land-use. there'a lot of changing land-u. weave organations. all of this creates pressure for biodiversity loss. >> what are the practical actions you are proposing to save africa's protected areas? >> first of all, a numberf things. we do need leadership. this is part of the reason why is is organized. we are able to mobile the political goodwill. and also the same understanding abt the value of protected areas. he also thing we need to do is to create a platform for voice. because a number of people are affected by this. to put people at t center of this.

so voices that he been hidn in the past can have a voice. we also have youth and women. all of this must be part of the conversation. finally, there's the whole issue of evaluation -- valuation. e true value it prodes. especially the consistent services, water, frh air, but also the real economic contrition, the gdp. we look at other solutions. for example talking link -- tackling the issues of financing and climate change. >> what role do local communities play in sustainable conservation efforts? i bet they are key, aren't they? >> they are very key. as you know, communities have always lived alongside wildlife. they have traditional knowledge. we have been custodians of nature. so most of this --

most of these are inherited lands. so thedo have a ry big role in conservation. >> thank you, luther. >> here's a reminder of the top stories we're following for you today -- moscow and kyiv has signed a deal to resume grain shipments out of ukraine, ending a russian blockade of black seaports. hailed as a beacon of hope for the world that will ease and international food crisis. stay with us. after a short break, i will be back to take you through "the day." hope to see you there. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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♪ >> after talk a breakthrough. russia and ukraine agrea to restart shipments of grain blockaded in the black sea. the move is aimed at easing a global hunger crisis. in sri lanka, security forces cleared a protest camp in the capital. the operation is raising fears that he's launching a crackdown one day after being sworn in. here in france, firefighters now have the upper hand on two wildfires in the south with huge

blazes also in spain, portugal and greece this summer, europe son track to have its worst year of wildfires ever recorded. hi, everyone, thanks for joining us. two weeks ago it looked unlikely but now there's a deal. moscow and kyiv signed an agreement this friday to free more than 20 million metric tons of grain stuck in blockaded ports in the black sea. the accord was brokered by turkiye and the u.n. and it's aimed at easing a global hunger crisis, affecting tens of millions of people in africa and the middle east. our correspondent jasper mortimer tells us how it all went down. the speaker pro tempore: the most interesting aspect of that ceremony was the symbolism in that both the ukrainian and russian delegations did not sign the same paperwork. the russian defense minister signed papers that were countersigned by the turkish defense minister and then the

ukrainian minister for infrastructure signed papers that were countersigned by the turkish defense minister. while these signatures were being made, the u.n. secretary general and the turkish president sat between the two parties and watched. the hostility between ukraine and russia is so intense that they wouldn't sign the same pieces of paper. when it came to the speeches, congratulating this deal, u.n. secretary general gutierrez hailed the deal as a beacon of hope in the black sea because it would bring relief to people on the verge of famine around the world. he said the deal must be fully implemented because the world needs it to meet its food cr crisis. as for the turkish president, he said the success of the plan

would depend on the role of the international community, in other words both the international community that is gog t monitor the plan, in partular u.n. officials and turkish officia that the the -- at the joint coordination center that will be set up in istanbul and that will be watching what happens on those ships going to and from ukraine in the black sea. and then erdogan said he hoped that this deal will revive the peace process. he wouldn't go further than. that earlier this week, and tonee gutierrez had said while this deal is promising, peace is a long way off. >> that's our correspondent jasper mortimer reporting from ange rah. a listening-time ally of former president trump is facing possible prison time. a jury convicted steve bannon of contempt charges on fid for defying a congressional subpoena from the house committee investigationing the january 6

insurrection at the u.s. capitol. the committee was seeking information and documents on his role in trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. he faces up to two years in federal prison when he's sentenced in october. sri lanka, security forces cleared a protest camp in the capital this friday. the move raises fears that the new president was launching a crackdown just one day after being sworn in. andrew hillier has more. the speaker pro tempore: what was once the heart of sri lanka's protest movement now looks more like a military camp. as dawn broke, heavily armed soldiers stood guard at the site where hours earlier they'd violently cleared protesters. >> troops came, 2,000 troops came here and they blocked the whole area with barriers and destroyed our tent and our

property. >> we will always be peaceful. we will fight until this regime is put out of the political story. the speaker pro tempore: protesters occupied the site for the last three months. lying just outside the presidential offices it had been a sim bofl defiance to the sri lankan government, but hours before they were due to leave the area police and soldiers moved in anyway, beating demonstrators and journalists. soarin food and fuel prices have sparked huge protests against the country's ruling elite. they came to a climax last week when the ex-president fled the country after protesters broke into the presidential home. sri lanka's new president had promise tough action against the protest movement when he was elected earlier this week. he's named a school friend and close ally of the family as

prime minister. the two men are tasked with getting sri lanka out of its economic mess. >> here in france, fire fight verse the upper hand on two wildfires in the south. the blazes have been raging for more than a week. forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. some of the evacuees have been allowed to return to their homes and fire crews say they're still working to put out some hot spots. with huge blazes also in spain, porch imal and greece this summer, europe is on track to have its worst year of wilefires ever recorded. jenny shinn has more. the speaker pro tempore: these firefighters make their way into the hot of -- heart of the foretoast tame embers in the most remote areas in. southwestern france, putting out the two major wildfires has been a round-the-clock battle mobilizing around 2,000 firefighters. even after the fires are out, the task of putting out hot spots continues as flames could easily reignite.

extreme conditions that forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents in the region. >> we were staying at my friend's house. we were fine there but it's still better to come home. >> this resident is returning home after over a week of taking refuge. coming back to find the hens safe and sound and the vegetable garden still intact, he can finally let out a sy of relief. >> we're just next to the forest, we were scare. we knew the firefighters would do everything to protect the houses in the area so we just had to hang in there. the speaker pro tempore: a long wait for business owners like this resident who was finally able to reopen her hotel. disblerch in the town was waiting impatiently. it was starting to get a little tense. now we're starting to feel less

pressure. the speaker pro tempore: proof of residence is still required to return to towns in the region as some neighborhoods and villages remain probited from entering. >> five decades after humans first landed on the moon nasa is getting ready for a return trip no time no one will be on the spacecraft and the mission is being used as a testing ground for an eventual mission to mars. the speaker pro tempore: 50 years after man last set foot on the moon, nasa has announced its next lunar launch. the agency's brand new mega rocket is set to get off the ground in late august or early september, the first in a series of increasingly complex space missions. >> artemis is a program going back to the moon, this time to live, learn, to work, to develop, research, in order to go to mars.

and this first flight is to check out all of the rocket and the spacecraft. the speaker pro tempore: artemis 1, the new capsule won't carry any people but will orbit the moon and deploy a number of small satellites to perform experiments in space. the mission will last roughly 40 day, notably testing orion's heat shield. the capsule will return to earth at 40,000 kilometers per hour in tells half as hot as the sun. if everything goes to plan, two more missis, this time with people on board, will take place in 2024 and 2025. >> the first artemis landing will land the first woman and the next man on the moon. we're being incredibly inclusive, not just in that way, but we also think it's really important to go with our international partners. >> the rocket and capsule's most recent test met 90% of goals though engineers are still

carrying out repairs and more preparations are needed before launch. >> that's it for now. stay tuned for more world news coming up on france 24. ♪ ♪ >> hello from iceland. a remote and fascinating island in the north atlantic ocean. best known for its incredible nature, unpronownsable volcanos

and "game of thrones." with a tiny population of 360,000 people the land of ice and fire is one of the most creative nations in the world. we're here to find out why iceland has an exceptional and disproportionate amount. ♪ >> where else to start but with president day change lings, born from -- changelings, born from a volcano. that's the basis of the first islandic tv series on netflix. >> wouldn't be the first, it devours them and spits them out. >> it mixes mystery, folklore and the supernatural. >> do you believe him? the folklores? >> they change over time but they're based on particular

events. >> the creator meets us at one of the filming lo days. a real life town in southeast iceland close to the volcano the show is named after. how would you describe icelandic nature and landscape? >> i had the sweetest friend come over to iceland some years ago. he described it by the word hard core. [laughter] >> in what way is it hard core? >> i mean it is harsh, you know. the cliffs and all the mountains and the sea and everything. i think hard core describes this pretty well. >> some this fm "game of thrones," was shot here, your w series is shot here. why? >> it has so many layers really. it's all -- it's also dramatic.

so therefore, you know, the scenery fits very well. the drama, we are making. and tv shows, all those things. >> how much do these surroundings influence artists in iceland? >> i think very much. it reminds us of how small we are, you know. as human beings. and we try to match up to the nature. we try to match up to the mountains. by making art. you tend to get dramatic in life, like your surroundings. >> iceland has a tiny population, 360,000 people. but there seems to be exceptional amount of creativity here. how do you explain that? >> in the old days, like the early 1980's, there wasn't anything to do here. i mean we had like one tv channel. one radio station.

and we just had to fill in the hole. >> your latest series is called kapla. describe it to us. >> it's an existential look into the insight of the human soul. >> how sit possible she's alive? >> how come you're acting weird. >> you appeared after being missing for years. >> how important are myths and legends in iceland culture? >> when we were ks we heard those stories about the hidden people and the changelings. an of course that's a huge inspiration. we were just thinking, what if there were some real -- reality behind this. >> what if those folklores were true. it's a question at the heart of

icelandic culture and maybe one reason people here are such story tellers. more books are written, publish and sold per person, per year, than anywhere else on the planet. and one genre is boss soming, the crime thriller. [not speaking english]

>> we are at this lovely place on the outskirts of the area. this is geographically special. this is what happens when lava falls on water. we have eruptions every three years on average. i think nature is very important for most icelandic writers. and i have placed the start of one of my boo here. it's book about the trafficking of women for prostitution in iceland. i set it out here because it's like a spooky, lonely place.

we have a very, very low murder rate but we have quite a high rate of other sorts of crime a lot of economic crime. a lot of sexual violence. like epidemic proportions. and iceland might -- i mean look very nice and perfect from the outside but there is an underside here like everywhere else. in general there's not a big belief in evil. it's more a belief in social problems that create crime. we have a long, old tradition of story telling. manuscpts easily without aeval dictionary. the language hasn't change forward ng time. maybe it's just good to pass time in the long, hard winters where you have to stay inside a lot. you read books and you write books.

it's very hard to say that you don't, when you live in iceland, because our little people are human sized so you can't say if you've see them or not. i have quite a lot of myths that i engrain into my stories. the land itself is very creative. you know. it's a country that is still being born. it's coming out from the, you know, the center of the earth, like a creative energy that's just coming from deep down in the mother earth. [laughter] ♪

>> drama, crime, t supernatural, but it's not all serious and mystical here in the land of ice and fire. ariel john is the country's top standup comedian and i can confirm he's petty hilarious. >> we had a volcano that went off and growned all air traffic in europe and for a week everybody was like, how do you pronounce that? and we were just like, let me tell you thousand pronounce it. it's in the that hard. >> are you the first icelandic comedian from a show on netflix? is the comedy scene quite new here? >> yes, fairly new. there was nothing when we started in 2009. i think a few years later we starred to get the first sort of open mrveg ic thing going. so yeah, it is fairly new. >> 2009 was just after the financial crisis. did that have something to do

with the comedy scene taking off then? >> yes. there was enormous material to talk aut. we felt we had such a long, horrible winter the year that happened with edecided in or own pompous, arrogant style, the people need to laugh now we shall do that for them. so yeah, i think it was a welcome change. to have standup about icelanders and our quote-unquote struggles. >> i read that icelandic humor is as dark as your winters is that true? >> i thinke have a bit brighter human hew mor than you'd imagine based on what you see on tv with nordic noir and all that. you'd think we were all really brooding and dark and demented. but i think we're quite silly and joyous here. >> "game of thrones" which is filmed here. foreigners go, look, winter is coming. and icelanders are like, no, no, winter never left. [laughter] this is summer. this is actually filmed in july.

>> break down some of the stereotypes about iceland. what are some of the main ones. >> few people and everyone is related which i really don't like. the ones i try to push on people in the special are that we are disorganized and we have an inferiority complex because of our small population. >> we have the most nobel prize winners in the world per cita. one. and just over a decade ago we had the fourth largest bankruptcy in history. not per capita actually. >> one cliche i've heard about is that every family in iceland has an artist in it. your family is a good example of that. your dad is a writer. you brother is a d brothers are musicians, your grand dad was the president of iceland is it true every family artistic? >> there's usually one artist in

every family. probably makes youless intimidated by it. i think it was a great role model for me to have my dad writing books. that inspired me as a kid. >> a few years ago, a standup comedian was elected mayor of reak vick. what does that say about society here? >> shows we're not that much of a class society. this is after the financial collapse as well. there w not a lot of trust in politics and politicians. i think in a way he put a mirror up to politicians' faces because he was very honest, he did not hide the fact that he had no idea times what he was doing he decided to run as a joke more or less and i think people got a kick out of that here. i don't know that i'd say we're more open than other countries but overall i think we're doing pretty well. >> being hope, unique and different is something iceland is known for.

largely because of the country's biggest musical export. >> my songs are a collection of peaks, emotional peaks. ♪ >> she's been an interesting character, she's been a strong image and very influential person coming from iceland. in materials of icelandic culture and music. she's always been dedicated to her roots, making an image for the icelandic nation and there are few artists that are, 30 years later, still important. >> she's very unique at this.

>> bjork is not unique in her icelandic uniqueness as we see in this art installation of synthetic hair, created by her friend and collaborator the artist shoplift. hell thanks to talking to us from new york. >> hi. >> do you feel being icelandic gives you more freedom in your kree atvty? >> icelandic artists, our work tends to be quite peculiar. there's something different about it. i think there's a certain intensity, certain, like, explorative depth to it. we are really connected to the place that we're from because we're isolated from other places. >> because of iceland, the rest of the world sees artists from here as unique and original.

would you agree? >> there's a certain longing and desire and wanderlust to touch the outside world, at least for me growing up, there was a longing for the world. you have to be rlly creative when you're in a contained -- this island in the middle of the ocean. kind of like with weather that's just beating you up and telling you to -- putting your in your place. >> how important is arts and culture in iceland? >> culture is always close to you because the whole community is so small, you can't avoid being part of culture. you have such an easy access to playing a big role. in the culture in iceland. people are in like various bands and they're playing gigs and it's easy to put youelf out there and put your work out there ♪

>> iceland, the isle of artists. of jaw-dropping landscapes with mystical film settings. literary phenomenons and unique musicians and artists the secret to its creativity can be found in its nature. isolation and open mindedness. it is perhaps best felt and witnessed on the land itself. >> in october, 2018, escalating gas prices sparked a spontaneous protest movement, called yellow vests. nearly four years after the initial protests, gatherings are still occurring under the same banner but with much less impact.

vehemently anti-macron, the yellow vests advocate for a better life for the working class' poor. some protesters suffered great losses in the struggle. revisiting the yellow vests, vail on france 24 and france24.com. ♪ pgdki

07/22/22 07/22/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> here's what will be clear, president trump did not fail to act during the 187 minutes between leaving the ellipse, telling the mob to go home. he chose not to act. amy: the house juary 6 committee has accused donald trump violating his oath of