>> feeling the heat -- southern and eastern europe, asia, and much of the u.s. face scorching and in some cases record-breaking temperatures. a day of disruption -- protesters in israel are back on the streets in a show of opposition against prime minister benjamin netanyahu's plan judicial reform. and the eu antitrust chief defends her choice of a u.s. economist who has been appointed to help brussels to police big

tech. welcome back to the france 24 newsroom in paris. thank you for joining us. we begin with the latest on the heat wave which has gripped swathes of europe as well as parts of asia and the united states. greece, italy, and spain are feeling some of the worst of it. in the canary islands, hundreds of firefighters are currently battling a huge forest fire, which has forced thousands to evacuate. greece is also affected by wildfires. the italian islands of sardinia and sicily could be on track to surpass the country's record temperature which was set in sicily two years ago. here in france, two, that here in france, too, several local records have been broken in the country. >> 9:00 a.m. in spain's capital, and the temperature has already

started to mount. residents are bracing for heat this tuesday. increasing heat waves like this one are now a growing cause for concern. >> where are we going to end up with heat like this? the consequences are scary for our skin, our health in general, and everything else. >> authorities have told residents to stay hydrated and called on the elderly to remain indoors during the day's hardest hours. spain is currently facing its third heat wave in under a month. >> the population is more conscious now of the changes we are suffering with heat waves, like this one becoming more frequent and extreme. southern italy, too, is feeling the extreme heat. locals and tourists are like -- locals and tourists alike are doing what is necessary to keep cool. >> the heat is horrible. i'm ready to go back to my hotel instead of walking around. >> it is very difficult to walk

in. >> you have to go home for a shower. >> the world meteorological organization is morning of the increased risk of heart attacks. >> the repeated high nighttime temperatures are particularly dangerous to human health because the body is unable to recover from sustained heat. this leads to increased cases of heart attacks and death. >> according to health officials, heat waves account for hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths year. >> in some areas around the mediterranean, temperatures are this week topping 40° because of a high-pressure dome of air, which prevents rain from reaching areas down below. >> some rows in cyprus are completely deserted as temperatures touch 40° celsius. the acropolis in athens is closed during the hottest part of the day. in some parts of spain, it is 40

4° in the shade. in romania, the heat is suffocating. >> these temperatures are crazy. what's going on? i don't understand the climate in europe anymore. >> there is a scientific reason for the sky high temperatures -- a heat dome that is currently building across southern europe. all the air is trapped from the ground high-pressure air which blocks it. it acts as a barrier to clouds and precipitation. >> the pressure is elevated. the warm air rises trying to escape from the high pressure dome, but the dome keeps it in. >> the result is scorching temperatures all over the mediterranean with madrid, merrick cash, and tunis all reaching 40° on monday. this phenomenon is not new, but climate change is making it even more intense. >> with global warming, the soil tends to get drier, so there's

no evaporation, so this is amplified, which means that extreme temperatures are even harder. >> the extreme temperatures will be sticking around for a while longer. the heat, though, not expected to dissipate for at least another 10 days. >> thousands of people will have taken to the streets in israel today blocking roads, railway stations, even the stock exchange in protest against plan reform of the judiciary by prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his coalition allies. at least 29 people were arrested during the course of today, which wasn't dubbed a day of disruption. since the start of the year, this same issue has triggered huge protests and has prompted concern for israel's democratic health amongst its allies. the question remains now -- will protesters managed to scupper the legislation before next week's final vote?

>> flocking to train stations at rush hour, the goal for these protesters is to make as much noise as possible. >> if you are polite, if you protest in a polite way, nobody is looking at you. >> demonstrators' day of disruption comes as parliament prepares to ratify one of the government's disputed judicial reform bills next week. the legislation would prevent the supreme court from blocking government decisions it deems unreasonable. opponents who have been staging weekly protests for months, say it is a power grab by prime minister benjamin netanyahu, though he says the measures will curb court overreach. earlier on tuesday, protesters entered the israeli stock exchange.

tech industry workers blame the government for scaring away foreign investment. >> we also see the investment banking lately. this is going to have a very big influence on our economy. >> protesters also rallied outside the u.s. embassy in tel aviv, with signs reading, "save israel from netanyahu." their reform plans have strained relations between the prime minister and u.s. president joe biden. israel's president, isaac herzog, acknowledged the country was going through a heated debate but said it's democracy was strong. >> former president trump said today he expects to be charged in connection with the january 6 attack on the u.s. capitol. trump says he has been told to report to a grand jury, which he says he usually means arrest and indictment. the 77-year-old is the front

runner to lead the republican party next year's presidential election, but he faces a number of growing legal woes. trump says all this amounts to election interference. >> this target letter does not mean yet that the former has been formally charged. this test does not mean yet that the former president has been -- this target letter does not mean yet that the former president has been formally charged. it means that the investigation is likely nearing its end, and that the grand jury is heavily considering indicting him, so that is a very likely possibility, but it is not done just yet. there is that invitation to the former president to appear in front of the grand jury to sort of be able to give his side, to

answer some of the questions, but according to people around the former president, he is not expected to take up that offer. when it comes to the charges, we have not seen that target letter yet, so we don't know exactly what those charges might be if he were indeed indicted, but experts here in the united states believe that these charges will likely be focused around two main aspects. one would be the attempted obstruction of an official proceeding. this, of course, for the attempted obstruction of the counting of electoral college votes and a certification of joe biden's victory in the 2020 election. the other main charge possibly would be conspiracy to defraud the government, and that could have something to do with this fake electorate scheme, these attempts to bring fake electors in different states to sort of have different electoral college

votes and give the wind to former president trump -- give the win to the former president trump. we will have to wait until the indictment is unsealed to know exactly what type of charges and how many counts the former president might be facing. >> the eu antitrust chief has today been defending her choice of a u.s. economist who has been appointed to help brussels police big tech. the economics professor at yale and former senior economist in the obama administration will take up the three-your post in september, but not everyone is happy about her appointment. critics say she has previously consulted with big tech firms and that could mean she's more lenient with them. others say this could be seen as an asset. >> the appointment of chief economist of the european

competition's directorate general puts her in direct line, but certain mp's are asking why an american and why someone who has worked as a consultant for major u.s. tech firms. the eu tech chief defended the choice. >> you can be sure we will look into the list of conflicts within the utmost degree of professional nest. that work is underway, but what i can already say at this stage is that there is no indication of a general conflict in relation to the markets act or the foreign subsidies legislation. >> among the questions to the commissioner, one from a german mep, asking -- aren't there any qualified european candidates among the eu's 450 million inhabitants? >> we said we wanted to find someone based on the merits and not on their passport.

it came out to the benefit of fiona scott morton. >> one such mep asked why morton at all when there is a geopolitical risk involved. the exchange of views took place in european parliament. the french president gave his thoughts, saying the appointment left him with many questions and left him doubtful. >> i think europeans need to develop european skills and strategic economy. when i say strategic autonomy, i mean autonomy of thought. develop independent thoughts, use them, recognize them. this is not necessarily the most coherent decision in this respect. >> fiona scott morton is due to begin her work on september 1. she does so as the eu is overhauling the rules governing online business and with u.s. digital giants lobbying in europe to protect their business interests.

>> u.s. soldiers reported to have fled across the south korean border into the secretive north are in custody, making the first americans to be detained in north korea in years. do check out earlier website where you will find a special report about russian influence in africa, which as you'll find out from that report, is nothing new. for decades, russian spies have been working across africa to try to counter u.s. influence. that brings you up-to-date with world news. thanks for watching. stay tuned.

♪ >> hello and welcome to "encore ." our guests today symbolize the power of literature, which she captures in her internationally acclaimed memoir . through powerful storytelling, she invites readers on a journey to discover iran beyond cliches, shedding light on the experience of women in iran and their quest for freedom. as a professor and book lover, she sees herself as a founder of the new republic, the republic of imagination. welcome and thank you for being

here. >> it is an absolute pleasure to be here conversing with you. >> thank you. first of all, congratulations. how does it feel to be recognized for your moral and also artistic value? >> it reconnects me to the world that i love. you come to a literary festival like this one and you see democracy in action. nobody asks you, whom did you vote for? what political party do you belong to? it is based on passion. that is how i feel. i feel so elated by meeting all these intimate strangers. >> intimate strangers. that's how you describe your readers. >> yes. on the metro or a play or a bus

and somebody is reading your favorite book and you start talking about the book and pretty soon you are talking about your children, and there is this amazing bond between a reader and writer, and readers constantly redefine the work and show the writer the corners that she did not know about. >> you are a professor. you work as an author. you are also a reader. what do you think of your fellow prize laureates who won also? >> those grand ladies, they are a writer's writer. in them makes me celebrate imagination -- reading them makes me celebrate imagination.

>> what are your thoughts on the current situation in iran? last year, some might foresee a revolution, and yet, months later, the regime is still in power. >> it is going to take a while. this regime has been ruling through violence for 40 years. it will not give up. that is the difference between this uprising and the former protests of the iranian people. over the past 43 years, they have been protesting every few years. the difference now is that people have lost their fear of the regime. the regime is now the week one, and the only thing they have in their arsenal is violence. that is the only language they speak, why there are millions of

people coming into the streets singing and dancing and drowning in the sound of bullets, so i have a lot of hope for this uprising. >> in your novel, you provide a glimpse into the life of iranian women. would you say that what happened in iran and what is happening now would be labeled as a feminist revolution, and the first time the revolution has been led by women? >> it is a feminist revolution, and you can tell by the slogan. linking life to freedom, so freedom for women is not just a political thing, and this struggle is not just a political thing. it is existential because this

regime wants to control everything that we are, and it wants to reframe our identity to the extent that it is addressing women's bodies, wants to take hold of their bodies, mind, and soul, and it cannot. >> in this book, you explain that even in democracy, you can face censorship, like you did. you arrived in the west in 1997. tell us how. >> from the moment i came, i have been writing and talking about the fact that totalitarian mindsets can exist anywhere. a lot of people would tell me, oh, but it's in there. it cannot happen here, and i would tell them, when you say it cannot happen here, chances are it has already happened.

right now, you have donald trump as the best example of the totalitarian mindset based on lies, that is how they thrive. i just wanted to add a small thing. in the last chapter, i bring a quotation from sal bello -- saul bello. he says those who survived the ordeal of holocaust, how will they survive the ordeal of freedom? because freedom is a new thing that has to be nurtured every day. >> you make the link between your political activism and your love for literature, stating that we should ask ourselves, what are we ready to sacrifice in order to keep our access to culture.

>> it is amazing. it keeps being repeated throughout history where we are not aware of the importance of culture until you miss it. right now in the united states, we are having censorship. we are having books banned. we even have books burned, and this is a democracy. this is where freedom of expression was given birth to, and it is so frightening to me. i keep telling them, in iran, repression is obvious. in iran, they kill writers. they execute them. in the united states, they don't jail them or beat them up, but one of the worst things that they do is become indifferent to them. not reading books means the end of books. you need constantly to be

refreshed through the eyes of new readers. >> in the last book, you also bring up the fact that sometimes -- maybe it is not a way of censorship when they revise the text, the author's books. >> it is a form of mutilation. they are killing the book. they do what the islamic republic does to women. they want to reframe us, reconstruct us according to their imagination. changing books, revising books is the same. a book is a living thing, and we need to treat it in the same way. >> my last question is very simple -- how do we get a passport to imagination?

i need mine. tell me. >> you already have the passport. republic of imagination is not based on the limitations that reality puts on us -- nationality, race, gender, language, religion, ethnicity. republic of imagination, your passport is your passion for books, passion for imagination and ideas. >> that is so well said. thank you. i consider myself a full member of the republic of imagination. >> yes, we are citizens together. >> thank you for watching as well. ♪

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07/18/23 07/18/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york. this is democracy now! >> the invitation -- demolishing schools. they don't want the people to see the truth. for that, we are being