♪ gerhard: the u.s. and germany pledge continued support to ukraine. all of shells makes its -- olaf scholz makes his first visit to the white house. on the front line, the battle for ukraine's territory enters a

critical phase. it has almost been complete is surrounded. greece winds down the search for survivors from the worst rail disaster, but anger is growing. villages rising from the deaths. why a lack of rain in europe could herald a number -- another summer of wildfires. gerhard: welcome to the program. the one ukraine is topping the agenda for olaf scholz and president joe biden in washington. it is olaf scholz first visit to the white house since the invasion. the two leaders are focusing on support for kyiv and so -- concerns that china is planning to provide russia with military assistance.

the u.s. has announced a new $400 million package of 84 kyiv. -- package for kyiv. olaf scholz says germany is committed to backing ukraine for as long as it takes. >> is important that we have acted together, we have organized in locke state -- lockstep. we want to give support to ukraine during all this time. at this time, think it's very important we give the message that we will continue to do so as long as it takes and as long as it is necessary. gerhard: our reporter is standing by outside the white house. any idea about what they actually discussed? reporter: no, we learned from both sides that this is to the largest part, the meeting is supposed to be one-on-one with no press conference afterward. it is pretty much a guessing

game, but we have spoken to officials and we do know that ukraine is top of the agenda. that there is concern on both sides over the situation in ukraine at the moment around an area where troops are very much under pressure. it is no secret that future assistance are the key topics here with both sides having seen a lot of public scrutiny particularly the german chancellor having been accused of being too slow to the come to the assistance of ukraine. none of that here in washington, d.c. in advance. there was a lot of praise for olaf scholz continuing this lockstep that he keeps stressing which last time around meant convincing the united states that it was in everybody's interests and the interest of the west to send u.s. tanks that

are now going to be sent to ukraine. gerhard: how concerned are the u.s. and germany that china might be entering the ukraine more as a weapon supplier to moscow? reporter: they're very concerned. china of course presented what it calls its own peace plan a few days ago. it is not in favor of war, but it also refuses to condemn it. it is sitting on the fence to say the very least. the worry is that backing russia implicitly could -- it also means sending weapons. there are no reports that we are aware of the suggest this has already taken place. both sides the europeans and the americans are seeing this as a redline without mentioning this is necessarily being such a

redline and vowing that there would be consequences. this is what we are hearing in the background. no u.s. president stepping in front of the cameras and saying this clearly and openly. another from the german side, but we are left with no doubt there would be a reaction from the west. gerhard: thank you. earlier, she spoke with white house spokesman john kirby. she asked him why this was the right moment for a meeting closed doors. >> this is something that leaders wanted to do here in the white house. we know it is a busy time for olaf scholz as it is for us in the white house. these next weeks and months are going to be critical in ukraine. we are all doing what we can, the germans included to make sure ukraine has the

capabilities it needs when the weather gets better to defend themselves against what we think will be a russian offensive. it also to take care of -- to conduct operations of their own. >> what is the expectation president biden is conveying on this? >> the united states and germany are working together in closely coordinated ways and they will talk about that today. that will be the dominant issue in the oval office about what we can do to continue to coordinate additional assistance for ukraine. >> china, potential chinese weapons delivers, that something on everybody's mind. it is the latest information that the u.s. intelligence is telling you and what would be your expectation? >> we don't have any indication that the chinese have decided to move forward with lethal weapon capabilities to russia. haven't taken it off the table,

but we don't see any indication they are moving in that direction right now. we hope that they don't. this is a decision that xi jinping has to make. hope that he sees it is not in china's best interest to move in that direction to help vladimir putin to kill and slaughter innocent ukrainians. what wage do is work to get this war to end. it could end today. if and when it comes to negotiations, we need to be working to make sure that president zelenskyy can succeed on the battlefield so he can succeed at the negotiating table. >> are they considering potential scenarios to end the war? >> we talk about how we can hopefully bring this war to an end. as i said, it can end today. we wanted to end as soon as possible. i would have every expectation

that today president biden and olaf scholz will talk about president zelenskyy's proposal for peace. we want to see if we can work to operationalize that but i don't want to get too far ahead of the conversation, we will get a read out when it is over. >> thank you so much. gerhard: in ukraine, the embattled city could be on the verge of falling into russian hands. the commander of a group says his fighters had nearly surrounded the city. many of the roads a been cut off making it difficult for ukrainian forces to move or retreat. this is what they say is soldiers inspecting a destroyed bridge near bakhmut . taking control of the city would bark a symbolic victory for the russians who have been trying for the last six months. it's just a matter of time before russian forces take back

what -- bakhmut . >> there have been conflicting messages these last few days. ukraine said a few days ago that they would reinforce troops. we have also heard some information about troops leaving. it is difficult to access -- assess the situation on the ground. we have the fog of war. what is clear is if it was leaving the city, it would not announce this beforehand in order to guarantee a more or less safe retreat. they would continue to move forward or to keep the town and would only announce they have left after the retreat or shortly before it is done. it's hard to say. what we can say is it does not look good for the ukrainians there. the city appears to be surrounded from three sides.

that is established by geolocation footage. it has been only weeks that one road has been leaving -- leading out of the city and that has been close to the lines under fire. at some point, it's very difficult to defend this town and retreat would seem logical but the problem is what will happen then and i guess that's the reason why they kept offending the city for so long. then it would be the next city which will have the same fate as bakhmut. >> ukraine has ordered a part line evacuation of another city. what is the situation there? >> we are talking about a military evacuation, not about troops leaving. we're talking about civilians being evacuated.

the administration, the town's administration has said that children and -- were not very mobile. they would have to leave the town however most of the people who are still there it's a place where we have been several times during the past two weeks. most of the people who remain there do not want to leave. most who can leave and want to leave have already left. the town is coming under fire more and more often. it is a few kilometers to the frontline, it's not like in bakhmut where the frontline runs through the city. but there are a few kilometers the russians are pushing forward. they haven't made many gains, but they have been shelling the city quite a lot in the past few days. that's why the administration has said it is unsafe for civilians to remain there. ukraine so far has had

compulsory evacuations for civilians before but they are not pushing through with this. they have been saying so far they have no means to force people out of their houses. it is basically signaling to the people that it's important for them to leave and providing means of transport, shelter, aid because most of the people who stay are not very well off, they are poor people. many don't want to leave because they say it has been their home for i don't how many years and they don't want to leave. >> reporting from kyiv, thank you. germany has condemned a 10 year jail term handed down in belarus to a nobel laureate. the proceedings were called farce and a disgrace. he and two others were charged

with smuggling cash into belarus allegedly to fund opposition activities. they were arrested after protests over an election they said was rigged. he was one of the winners of last year's nobel peace prize. let's bring in an advisor to the exiled opposition leader. he joins me from lithuania. are you surprised to learn that the regime doesn't even shy away from putting nobel peace prize winner in jail? >> we were not surprised because he is the personal enemy of lukashenko. he worked to document all of the atrocities lukashenko's regime has committed under 28 years. 10 years for human rights work. i think that's too much and the

single -- signal of lukashenko is you can say whatever you want, but i will punish belarusians as much as i want. >> telus about the convicted and his role in your human rights movement. >> i've known him for almost 20 years. he was helping me to get out of the jail. i was in prison four times, i was tortured and he was the first person that called me after they asked how to help. since 1996, he was helping thousands of belarusians who face persecution from the government. he was saying all the time that russia is the threat to belarusian independence. now we see that russia is not just a threat, it is trying -- he is in the jail because he is not just an enemy of lukashenko but an enemy of russia.

>> the eu, u.k., and nobel, they were all united in condemning the jail time. does it make a difference? >> of course it makes a difference every statement but it's not enough. we need to isolate the regime politically. when each ask for morse -- more sanctions on the lukashenko regime. asked why they are traveling to the eu. they must be banned from the eu. international tension is important to highlight the tension with clickup wristers. they don't have the polis -- possibility to communicate with their loved ones. some of them were raped unfortunately to say this. international attention can improve their condition but this attention must be accomplished

by -- accompanied by real actions. >> the belarusian opposition spokesman. thank you very much. let's have a look at some of the other news headlines from around the world. the south carolina lawyer alex murdaugh has been set -- sentenced to life in prison. he was found guilty of murdering his wife and son. he was a prominent lawyer who enjoyed considerable influence. the trial heard he lied and stole for decades. the case attracted attention around the world. the world health organization is urging countries to come forward with any information on the origins of the covid-19 pandemic. the agency's director general says its investigations are still underway. the fbi has said a leak in a laboratory in wuhan, china is

the most likely cause. italy's coast guard's has saved more than 200 migrants near the islands. the boat carrying them was overrun by rough waters. investigations are underway as to why the rescue operations were too late for another ship overturning last weekend. local residents were forced to evacuate. greece is winding up the search for victims of its worst train crashed. at least 57 people are known to have been killed. the passenger service collided head-on with a freight train. rail unions are blaming poor safety on decades of underinvestment. >> between the twisted metal and

burned-out wreckage, identifying the dead is a difficult task. days after the worst train accident in the history of greece, several people remain unaccounted for. grieving relatives have held the first funerals for those killed. for others, the lack of information is agonizing. >> at 10:50 a.m. he says dad, i'm going to be late i will call you don't come early and i am still waiting for his call. across greece, shock and grief are quickly morphing into fury. the majority of those killed were students heading back to university after a long weekend. thousands of their peers rallied in cities around the country demanding that those responsible are held accountable. >> we are filled with rage. we can't digest how in 2023 such

a tragic event can happen. dozens of people dying, many of them students together with him struggled to get an education. >> we will be the voice of all those that were lost so no crime is covered up and so someone takes responsibility. >> government officials have blamed human error for the disaster and promised a thorough investigation. striking rail will -- railway unions say the network has been mismanaged for decades. in the wake of the crash, the government has pledged to fix the countries crumbling rail system. that is little comfort to the victims and those left behind. >> the fridays for future climate change youth movement is scheduling a global day of protest. mostly youth activists are gathering in cities to demand an end to fossil fuel food projects

and cut greenhouse gases. >> from rome to the streets of indonesia, climate change protesters are demonstrating across the globe. they are calling for more political action to tackle environmental devastation caused by rising co2 levels and for more support for people already suffering the effects of the climate crisis. berlin was just one of 200 german cities and towns to stage fridays for future rallies. the mood may be jovial, but protesters have serious messages for the german government. >> the main reason i am here today is to demand that factory

farming is basically abolished and no longer subsidized. i think it's a big into bidding factor to climate change. >> i would like to see the german government come out with a plan for the country to be climate neutral by 2030 or 2035. there is still so much: gas being burned. -- there is so much coal and gas being burned. >> this would have immediate effect that would save loads of energy. there are many other measures needed but i don't understand why this hasn't been done because it doesn't cost any money. >> protesters in germany and around the world united by the conviction that more needs to be done. and now. >> the protests also highlight a

dry winter. rainfall is sharply down threatening crops and energy production in many countries. >> this is what winter drought looks like across france, spain, and italy. lakes and rivers far below their normal level were dried up entirely. farm fields dry and dusty. this used to be an island in italy, no longer. >> i have lived here for 18 years and i've never seen the lake so dry. i used to come here by boat but now i can walk. let's hope for rain.

>> this year france saw its longest winter period without rainfall on record 32 days the alps have seen about half their usual snow and italy's river poe that feeds much of the country's agriculture is down 61 percent from normal. just one example italy's rice harvest is threatened for the second year in a row there are problems that prevent plowing the soil is so hard that the plows can't cut through the earth. farmers aren't the only ones worried the lack of snow means less snow melt flowing into lakes and rivers in coming months that will translate into less hydropower from dams as well as less cooling for nuclear reactors. france is developing an action plan to save water at the national level the nation needs to do with water what we have done with energy a kind of sobriety plant we must all pay attention

to this resource that is becoming rare. it's the end of abundance but no matter how much people can serve more rainfall is necessary the spring months will be crucial and meteorologists don't know how much rain will fall if there's not enough europe may be set for yet another devastating dry season. >> well for more on this we have ajit naranjan from dw environment here in the studio tell us how this drought is impacting people's lives. >> so when you have these really dry conditions particularly in winter where you'd normally expect there'd be much more rain and wetness generally in europe. it's a big alarms warning sign for farmers particularly it means that you're expecting you're starting the year off with water levels running low i mean you've got riverbeds drying up and that means that then when rain actually does fall the ground is

so hard that it can't really soak up the water. so these problems really get entrenched from the very beginning of the year and continue throughout the year but they also stretch well beyond just i mean food is one big aspect of it but it goes everything from nuclear power plants that need water for cooling are going to struggle hydropower electricity from from dammed is also going to be an issue. so you get these massive impacts that we're just starting to see the warning signs of at this stage in the year we heard the french president in that report we just watched uh calling for a reduction in water usage what else can governments do to deal with this. we're at the early stage of government plans i think italy's agriculture minister proposed that they would get some aqueducts i mean italy's famous i guess in roman times for these big app products we're talking more about pipes to get water from places where there might be a bit more of it to

places where there's a lot less but beyond that there's all sorts of things that governments can do. and i mean on the one hand you've got stopping climate change to prevent droughts particularly in the mediterranean region from getting worse on the other hand adapting to the effects and the damage that's already causing. >> back to the time of the ancient egyptians. archaeologists have uncovered a corridor in the ancient pyramid of giza. it may lead to a yet undiscovered chamber. the great pyramid was the tallest structure on earth until the eiffel tower was built in 1889. you are watching dw news from berlin.

here's a reminder of the top stories we are following for you. a russian mercenary group says it has completely surrounded the eastern european -- eastern ukrainian city of bakhmut. it has advised ukraine's president to pull out of the area. and a day of global protest, activists are calling for an end to fossil fuels and cutting greenhouse gases. that's it for me and the news team but stick with us i will be back in a few minutes to take you through the day. thank you for watching so far.

♪ >> hello, good evening from france 24 is 10:00 p.m. from paris. bakhmut, will it fall to moscow's troops? the the siege in the ukrainian city is said to be surrounded by ruian forces with the government ordering mandatory evacuation of vulnerable people. washington announces a new four hundred million dollar aid package for ukraine, president biden meets with the german chancellor in washington. the u.s. leader says the two powers are moving in step when it comes to the conflict.

attempting to steer their way through choppy waters to settle on a new deal, after over 15 years of talks, and on the final day of their latest meeting, you and countries meet to try to ink an accord to protect the high seas. ♪ the commander of ukraine's ground forces has been touring the besieged city of bakhmut. kyiv troops try to boost line there front defenses. the soldiers are heading to the area. others are attempting to repair roads which have been damaged by russian forces and their mercenary allies who continue to target the city. head of the group says bakhmut has been surrounded.

here is our regional correspondent. reporter: officially the ukrainians note they are not planning to withdraw. they say the commander of the land forces, the general, went to bakhmut to visit the troops which means they have some way of getting in and out of the city. i don't know when that video was recorded by the general. noting that it was not recorded in bakhmut. the rooftop he is standing on is the village several kilometers north of the city. i don't know which road he was referring to. pictures emerged this morning of the main road they were using, the armed forces, to get in and out of bakhmut in recent days. the last asphalt road. you can clearly see a bridge has been blown up along that road. making it impossible. they have got tracks that they are still able to get inside and out of the city.

the situation is very difficult for them. the commander of one ukrainian drone unit posted one video, recorded yesterday saying he received orders to leave the city. other units say they have not. the ukrainian defense ministry has been saying the russians are mounting the disinformation campaign and trying to sell panic by suggesting the craniums are leaving the city. if you look at the map, that show where the russian held areas are, it is clear that bakhmut is surrounded in a harsh shoe shape -- horseshoe-shaped. the situation is getting harder. >> even before took place the white house had made it clear that the issue of ukraine would be at the forefront of the meeting between the u.s. president and the german chancellor. in the oval office, biden has been thinking olaf scholz for berlin's support for the war torn country. let's take a listen. >> we are in very good shape.

today. thanks to your leadership. i'm really happy to be here to talk with you. >> together, we are working to supply critical security assistance ukraine. everything from what we have done, artillery, air defense systems, we have been together throughout this. >> for more on the story we bring in our correspondent who was standing by in washington dc for us. we understand in paris that these two leaders met for roughly an hour. what more do we know about what was said, during these talks? >> well, this was framed by the united states as a working visit. and one where the two leaders would likely spend much of that our just the two of them, discussing what is going on in

ukraine. exchanging notes about their recent meetings with, president zelenskyy and also working out and how to go forward, with their cooperation. with helping ukraine, as well as their cooperation, with holding pressure accountable. when the two leaders spoke, we heard a message, to use the words of those leaders. there was the show of unity, a show of resilience. the message being that they were going to continue doing this supporting ukraine together. president biden did think olaf scholz not only for the military support that the germans have sent to the ukrainians, but also for "the moral support that sherman has provided to -- germany has provided to the ukrainians". both leaders insisting on the strong relationship between the

two countries and how important it was to show that strong relationship, not directly mentioning russia. this was a message for russia. where bank not divided -- we're not divided. olaf scholz saying that it was important to give the message that we will continue to do so, meaning help and support ukraine as long as it takes. as long as it takes -- a message the u.s. president has been repeating over and over again we will stand with ukrainian. this was the core of the meeting for these two leaders. besides what they discussed privately, the message going out to the world, the unity of the alliance, besides just the u.s. and germany, but all the alliance. and that steadfast support for the ukrainians. >> olaf scholz visit comes as the u.s. stands out its allies about slapping sanctions on

china. that is if the government in beijing pumps and military support to putin. --pumps in military support to putin. >> the americans have been clear that they don't see any indication that china is actually or has decided to send those weapons to russia. they have information that china is considering it. over the past couple of weeks you have seen the biden administration put out both publicly and privately warnings to china, warning them not to go ahead with that plan to send weapons to russia. and warning them that there would be serious consequences if beijing were to make that move. we don't know the details of what those possible consequences could be. there have been reports that the u.s. is seriously considering having sanctions against china, if that is thease. they would need this allnce to also step up in that case.

you have seen olaf scholz, before coming to the u.s., in front of the buddhists on, criticizing china for not condemning russia's aggression towards ukraine. also, warning china not to send weapons to russia. instead, to use its influence in russia to get the russians to withdraw their troops. i asked the press secretary and a briefing earlier today exactly about whether the americans were having these conversations about sanctions with their allies, whether they were preparing for the possibility to be ready to have those sanctions in place if china made that move to send weapons to the russians. the press secretary did not directly answer the question. she said that there were constant communications. but she did say that russia's war in ukraine has put china in a very difficult position, every step that china takes towards

russia, makes it harder for china with europe and other allies. so far, the americans are not confirming exactly that there considering the sanctions. >> thank you very much. scuffles have broken out in the greek capital with younger protesters throwing bombs at police. they have responded with tear gas. anger lingers followg the chiefs train development which left 57 people that. protests against the government and its alleged failures ensuring -- and shoring up security on the railway has taken place in other cities as the first funeral of the victim took place. our reporter, reports. >> this woman is one of many family members who have yet to hear about the fates of her loved ones in the wake of the deadly train crash in central greece. he was seated in railcar five. seat 22. many kids in his car have been rescued. i am pleading with anybody who

may have left that railcar. if they saw him in seat 22, someone recognizes him from the photos, and for me. i cannot find my child. >> her husband wept nearby, inconsolab about the fate of their 22-year-old son. >> the killed him. that is what happened. dear murdere. all of them. >> an accusation repeated by protesters as they marched through the streets of athens on friday, chanting slogans including the phrase, call me when you get there. some protesters painted the words murderers on the façade of the railway operator. in front of parliament demonstrators held a moment of silence, carrying white balloons in remembrance of those killed. there were protests in larissa, the main city of the side of the crash. north, people gather for the victim's funeral. she was 34.

local media report that local victims are being returned to their families in caskets. for many, it is too early to start grievin many bodies still have not been identified. dozens of people are still missing. >> time is running out in new york, where the u.n. negotiators have been huddled to agree on a new treaty to protect our planets seas. on the final day of discussions the conference president has called in delegates to be as flexible as possible in this final push. a separate ocean meeting taking place in panama. the u.s. and the eu have agreed took cough up billions more dollars. the maritime conservation and for research. ♪ >> the oceans cover almost three quarters of the earth surface and are home to 80% of all life on the planet. protecting them from further damage from humans is the center

of two days of discussion is a global conference in panama in central america. around six hundred politicians, businesspeople people, activists and academics are meeting to adess the issues from climate changeo overfishing. the european union announced it will allocate eight 16 million euros to ocean confirmation. the commissioner said this year, louder than ever we confirm our strong commitment to protect, restore and take care of the ocean. the ocean is part of who we are and it is our shared response ability. -- responsibility. that is a drop, compared to the scale of the task, less than one percent of the high seas are strongly protected. the high seas account for 60% of the oceans, treaty has been under discussion at the u.n. for more than 15 years. talks in new york since the 20th of february, or do late on friday --are due late on friday.

the high seas alliance which regroups more than 40 ngos issued a yellow card calling on delegates to stop time wasting. it cheered them on from the sidelines and saying, victories in sight. we can unite to get a new high seas treaty in the back of the net. the treaty would establish marine protected areas. it's urgent and vital and also the minimum to safeguardingur ocea. >> irreplaceable, a group and a beautiful friend, those are some of the words used in tribute to describe the american jazz composer, who has died at the age of 89. ♪ >> a pioneering saxophone player his career span multiple periods of jazz history. after studying musical education

and a two-year stint in the army he joined the jazz messengers. ♪ shorter was hired to miles davis's second content in 19 60 four giving rise to adventurous competition including nerfitit. >> when i first joined miles, i played at the hollywood bowl. i had this book with me. en i was in the army i used to jot things down. about the book with me to the recording studio. he opened the book up. he said, have you got something? i said, yeah. it was esp. >>e went on to be hugely successful. the album went platinum. fellow jazz musician, hancock was among the many to pay respects describing his -- hi as irreplaceable. over the course of his career,

shorter one 11 grammies as well as a lifetime achievement award from the recording academy in 2015. >> time now for truth or fake, our daily dose of fact checking with our reporter. have been looking into a surge of misinformation surrounding spy blooms and other flying objects. what have you found? >> one month ago, on february 4, the chinese operating balloon spotted flying over the u.s. military site was shut down in american airspace. beijing did claim that it was a civilian aircraft, carrying out meteorological research. it ended up being a diplomatic spat between the two. one month on, misinformation surrounding flying objects has simply exploded online, with many people claiming that they have seen the same thing. let's take a look.

this is one example, posted just last week, with the video attached. this had nearly 100,000 views. it looks a bit like a blurry floating, spinning top in the sky. whilst this is a surprising video, it did get a lot of hits with people claiming it was a ufo. however it was debunked by the website, specializing in unidentified flying objects and the power normal. it turns out that this is in fact a special design hot air balloon that was filmed in brazil in 1995. it has been shared out of context again. now, if we have a look at this tweet, that was also shared this week. this has around 2 million views. this one claims to prolong the spy balloon narrative. in the video there's an old resume. it goes directly into the

balloon. we can see a camera attached to a mast. this is capitulating that narrative of spy balloon's. this is out of context. that video we saw was created using special-effects by this 3d artist. he shared that same video on his instagram art page, as well as the video of how we actually made that. >> why do you think misinformation like this is -- has multiplied, and we are seeing more claims of flying objects? >> i spoke to a specialist in sky anomalies. he runs this twitter account and his website called ufo of interest. he monitors sky hoaxes. he says he has seen a massive increase in the content he is monitoring, since that chinese balloon incident. now, this could be something to do with the fascination surrounding spy balloon's, the

fascination around ufos. the excitement to potentially capture something like that. he said the main thing he has seen as people recycling old internet footage to get those clicks, those views. he mentioned this video in particular. this was viewed over one .4 million times --1.4 million times and claims to co foreign object in the sky destroyed in poland. this did go extremely viral. but he did debunk this. it's not exactly what it appears. it's a south korean rocket launch that was filmed in december, 2022. this is a great example of what he said about old footage being recycled. he warned us about contrails. these are the line shaped clouds in the sky, formed from

aircraft. this is confused with flying objects in the sky. he's let us to another example, spotted in fillings, montana. this was around the time where the chinese balloon was spotted. we can see flashes in this video, like that one and some trails looking like something has been shut down. now, again it was confirmed that this was not true. in this tweet. it was a contrail from an airline. this backs --this was backed up by the billings authority as well. a massively strong example of mr. ruben tatian --misrepresentation of flying objects in's -- in the sky. many cases of these flying objects could be resolved -- resolved quickly. if those interested in sky hoaxes took interest in learning

the basis of a photography and astronomy. many identified objects can easily be explained by stars, planets, and even starling satellites. that is the advice he had for our viewers. >> thank you very much. it is time now for focus. today we are bringing a shining burst of green from central america. the rugged sliver of land that is costa rica can produce, all of its electricity needs from renewable energy. the country's ultimate goal is to be carbon neutral by the middle of the century. our colleaes explain. >> costa rica is one of the rarest of countries to have succeeded in producing nearly 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. in order to get to this point, the central americanation has been utilizing its natural resources, including the hea of it's ok nose and heavy rain -- of its volcanoes on the heavy

rain, exceeding three times of the u.k.. the water is stored in a plethora of artificial lakes which power the countries main hydroelectric damsust like your in the country were we find one of the most powerful generators in the costa rica. >> here at the hydropower station we produce around 358 enough power for 551,000 costa rica households. >> things to join turbines, the water that flows through each dam, it is transformed into electricity. recorders of costa rica supply is produced using this method. the country is also decided --has also cided to capture the heat from e magma of its volcanoes. with this exceptional combination of different types of renewable energy, the small

state is managing to be energy self-sufficient. >> during the dryeason, the hydroeleric dams were not providing enough energy to power up the country. to make up the shortfall of expensive fossil feels. now with geothermal we have stab energy animals no need for fossil fuels anymore --and almost no need for fossil fuels anymore. >> with the recent progress in costa rica's geothermal and wind energy sectors, the country reached a 99.8% renewable energy in 20 20, result similar to the likes of norway and iceland. the five .2 million residents of costa rica are able to benefit from electricity all year round with little variation in prices, even in the most remote areas, close to reagan's have access to the clean energy, thanks to solar panels provided by the state. rosa lives in the middle of the forest and benefits from the scheme. >> there is the panel.

it's taking in the sun. it's a good form of energy. >> now, rosa has electricity throughout her house. the true small revolution for her lifestyle. >> i had never seen a solar panel before. i found it strange at the start. now, i can charge my phone, watch tv, and have electric lights. it looks all the time. cash works all the time. i'm an old lady, ieed this. >> costa rica is not stopping there, it wants to stand as an example to oth countries in the region, exporting part of central erica. to the rest of >> when you have leftovers you can explore them to other countries. some to nicaragua, honduras, el salvador. the real point is every megawatt that we export to central america is renewable. we're lowering everyone's emissions.

>> despite their clean bill of health in terms of electricity production, the majority of coaster reagan's use petro not electricity --costa ricans use petrol not electricity. so, the state is aiming towards electric vehicles. in order to achieve a completely carbon neutral economy by the year 2050. >> it is time now for a quick break on france 24. there is more, world news coming up in a matter of minutes. stay with us if you can. ♪ >> lebanon's economy is on the edge of abyss. >> i don't know what to tell you. it shows, no. we have never had to live like

this before. we are tired psychologically. >> bankrupt, institutions. >> the state has abandoned us. we must find money on our own. >> citizens forced into exile. >> we lost everything in lebanon. we have to start all over again. >> now, experts are the lifeline, propping up the country. >> if i didn't have a choice other than coming here, my routine now is work, home, sleep. it is not really a life, being far from family, it destroys you. >> reporters, lebanon sos diaspora on france 24 and france 24.com. >> the observe. they contact us. they report. a film. photograph. they are the voice of the voiceless. your eyes in the far-flung reaches of the world. the observers, a network of five thousand committed citizens working with france 24. >>.

one of >> our observers >> footage and testimonials checked by our journalists and broadcast weekly on the observers on france 24 and observers. france24.com. ♪

>> france 24 your window of the world. liberté égalité actualité. >> versailles. a well-known stars of french heritage. french genius, harbors many hidden treasures. the odds, architecture, as well as natures wonders. come along with friends 20 four, discovered france's living heritage. to accomplish crossman and farmers to michelin stars boarding chefs. meet these people whose passion for their professions preserve and drive french heritage. >> you are here on france 24 and france 24.com. ♪

ñtñf?o■ñ ■#■#■#■■

03/03/23 03/03/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we are currently trapped. ey are pushing us. they are pushing us. am new yorcity has aeed to an historic multimillion-dollar settlement with peaceful presters in the