CURRENTTIME — broadcast
20260806 023000 UTC
383 transcript segments
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[00:00:42] German cows - Italian cheese. The recipe for success
[00:00:45] of Eritrea.
[00:00:50] Cars versus bicycles. Berlin discusses urban mobility
[00:00:54] plans.
[00:00:59] Cable car. The hidden Inca heritage in Peru is under
[00:01:02] threat.
[00:01:16] rises over the mountain ruins of Chaquira,
[00:01:19] a place shrouded in mystery. Archaeologists
[00:01:22] suggest that this city was built by the Incas at the end of the 15th
[00:01:26] century, but about 100 years later, the country was invaded by.
[00:01:30] Choquiquirao remained undiscovered, but was
[00:01:34] abandoned and nature took over the ruins, preserving them for exploration
[00:01:38] by archaeologists.
[00:01:43] Choquiquirao is interesting because it is not very
[00:01:46] popular. It has been preserved in the
[00:01:49] state it was abandoned in during the
[00:01:52] Inca era.
[00:01:56] The features of this place make it inaccessible. This
[00:02:00] means that it is little explored, little studied and little
[00:02:03] covered.
[00:02:08] Over a decade of painstaking restoration, only about
[00:02:12] a third of the area has been excavated, but
[00:02:14] the findings have amazed archaeologists. The structures are arranged in
[00:02:18] accordance with the position of the sun during the summer and
[00:02:21] winter solstices. Water is directed from
[00:02:24] nearby sources through aqueducts. The most striking
[00:02:28] are the terraces, decorated
[00:02:30] with figures of Llamas, animals that were vital
[00:02:33] to the Incas as a means of transport,
[00:02:37] a source of wool and meat. No such decorations have been found anywhere else.
[00:02:40] Perhaps this city had some connection with Machu
[00:02:44] Picchu and other places. Choquiquirao
[00:02:47] is located in southwestern Peru, about 40 km from
[00:02:50] Machu Picchu. The area of Choquiquirao is estimated to be three
[00:02:54] times larger than that of its famous neighbor. Nevertheless, in a year,
[00:02:57] it receives as many tourists as Machu Picchu in 2
[00:03:00] days. The only way to reach it is
[00:03:04] a forty-kilometer hike there and back along
[00:03:07] treacherous mountain trails. But the
[00:03:10] Peruvian government has grandiose plans to transform
[00:03:14] the path to Choquiquirao. They plan to build a cable car
[00:03:17] that will reduce the travel time to 20 minutes.
[00:03:21] Two lines totaling over 10 km
[00:03:24] will stretch across one of the deepest canyons in the world.
[00:03:28] Five stations will be built, including two near
[00:03:31] the archaeological site of Choquiquirao. Peru's official
[00:03:35] investment agency states that construction will cost
[00:03:38] over 260 million US dollars, and is looking for
[00:03:42] private investors to transform this place into a tourist product.
[00:03:46] The agency estimates that up to 1,200,000 people
[00:03:50] will be able to visit annually.
[00:03:55] Roger Valencia, former Minister of Tourism of Peru, promoted this
[00:03:59] project as... held this position, he says that Peru is obliged
[00:04:03] to make it more
[00:04:05] accessible, Choquiquirao is difficult
[00:04:09] to reach,
[00:04:12] so we must facilitate the way there with technology and
[00:04:15] projects like this proposed cable car
[00:04:18] system, which will make it accessible to
[00:04:21] visitors.
[00:04:24] Historical heritage is the capital of society. Peru
[00:04:28] is obliged to share its own.
[00:05:02] We don't need a cable car. Here in Cocho, there are
[00:05:05] many guides with mules, about 200 people. We
[00:05:09] invested our money in buying mules, we took out a loan.
[00:05:20] Think of the cooks, think of the agencies that invested their
[00:05:24] money, look at the transport companies that
[00:05:27] acquired their vehicles, think of the hotel owners
[00:05:30] who invested their money, local guides and their mules
[00:05:34] accompany tourists on the difficult forty-kilometer hike to
[00:05:37] Choquiquirao and back. The winding trail leads down the
[00:05:41] canyon. Then crosses the river and
[00:05:44] climbs the other side. The path can be
[00:05:47] dangerous. During the rainy season, avalanches often occur,
[00:05:51] closing the pass for several weeks. Tourists
[00:05:54] stop in camps or shelters along the route.
[00:05:57] For example, in this one, which is run by René
[00:06:00] Sierra-Barrientos and her family. She fears that
[00:06:03] the cable car could deprive them of their livelihood and destroy
[00:06:07] the landscape.
[00:06:10] I am personally against the cable car. Why? Because we must
[00:06:14] protect our nature, that's all we have. The cable car
[00:06:17] will spoil the panoramic view, many trees will have to be cut down in this
[00:06:21] area,
[00:06:26] it will scare away the wild animals that we have here,
[00:06:29] birds and other
[00:06:31] animals, puma, fox,
[00:06:35] condor, they all live
[00:06:37] here,
[00:06:41] abe!
[00:07:13] Obviously, the landscape
[00:07:14] will change,
[00:07:18] if a cable car is built over the Apurímac River, it
[00:07:22] will spoil
[00:07:23] the view.
[00:07:28] He is concerned that this giant construction project
[00:07:31] could scare away protected animals, such as the spectacled
[00:07:35] or Andean bear, which can sometimes be seen on
[00:07:38] the trail, and the giant condor, which soars in
[00:07:41] the canyon.
[00:07:44] The cable car could create problems for the flight of
[00:07:47] Condors.
[00:07:50] They are not used to encountering such
[00:07:52] obstacles.
[00:07:55] These birds are very large, they can fly into the cables
[00:07:59] and die.
[00:08:03] Second day of the hike, a grueling test
[00:08:06] of climbing the steep slopes
[00:08:08] of the canyon.
[00:08:10] In the afternoon, tourists and mule drivers stop
[00:08:14] for a drink at this simple shop run by Juan José
[00:08:18] Cavarubias. Unlike other merchants on the trail, he
[00:08:21] believes that the cable car will attract more tourists to the
[00:08:24] region.
[00:08:28] I am sure that tourists will continue to come here.
[00:08:31] Choquiquirao will definitely become known throughout the world, like
[00:08:35] Machu Picchu.
[00:08:38] And therefore, I expect that there will also be an influx of visitors here, as
[00:09:22] - As you saw yesterday, we had to carry a freezer here, this is a very large
[00:09:26] expense, this is an investment in business, everyone here has invested money in
[00:09:29] tourism and as the cable car is built, our dreams
[00:09:33] are gradually
[00:09:34] crumbling.
[00:09:40] 3 days after the start of the hike. Tourists reach their
[00:09:43] goal. The ruins
[00:09:46] of Choquiquirao. Depending on the season, only a few
[00:09:50] people per day may come here.
[00:09:53] It is unknown whether these terraces can withstand over a million visitors
[00:09:57] per year, as well as the construction of cable car towers and
[00:10:00] stations. Archaeologists are concerned that the fragile
[00:10:04] site may be irreversibly
[00:10:06] damaged.
[00:10:14] Choquiquirao should be declared a World Heritage
[00:10:17] site. These are not trees that can
[00:10:21] be replanted and will grow again.
[00:10:55] so that the path here always remains a unique experience.
[00:10:58] For many people who cannot make the strenuous journey,
[00:11:01] a cable car would be the only way to visit this cultural
[00:11:05] heritage site. Opponents of its construction can continue
[00:11:09] to hope that the project will not materialize. Choquiquirao
[00:11:12] has undergone many changes throughout history, and perhaps it will survive
[00:11:15] the era of mass
[00:11:17] tourism.
[00:11:22] A controversial issue: urban mobility in Berlin?
[00:11:29] In Berlin, a battle
[00:11:30] is underway,
[00:11:36] it is a struggle for space on
[00:11:38] the streets.
[00:11:41] It's still not enough. This
[00:11:44] group of activists has been collecting signatures for several weeks. They want
[00:11:48] to limit the number of cars entering central
[00:11:50] Berlin. We are an initiative whose goal is to hold
[00:11:54] a referendum in Berlin for all Berliners, and if we collect
[00:11:57] enough signatures by tonight, the referendum will take place. For
[00:12:01] this, the signatures of 7% of Berliners are required,
[00:12:04] meaning the activists need 175 thousand
[00:12:06] signatures.
[00:12:10] One of the places where volunteers hope to find support
[00:12:13] is Tempelhof Field, a former
[00:12:16] airport and now a popular park near the city
[00:12:19] center. Passers-by are mostly favorably disposed to
[00:12:22] the initiative, many gladly sign. I
[00:12:25] had several dangerous situations, drivers exiting
[00:12:29] alleys at high speed, not paying attention to the road, too few
[00:12:32] bike lanes, too many cars, bad air, our road policy
[00:12:36] needs improvement, but some people are also annoyed by cyclists
[00:12:40] speeding on sidewalks, I was literally hit by a
[00:12:43] cyclist the other day. In Berlin, there is a long-standing
[00:12:46] tradition of focusing all efforts on local
[00:12:50] transport development on cars, we had major urban
[00:12:53] motorways when...
[00:13:04] So, no matter what other cities do, here in Berlin we
[00:13:07] are still fixated on cars. And
[00:13:10] yet, Berlin was once on the right track. During the Covid
[00:13:14] pandemic, many people suddenly wanted to cycle
[00:13:17] to avoid infection on crowded buses or trains. New
[00:13:21] bicycle lanes appeared in a blink of an eye.
[00:13:25] A local law was adopted, designed to make transport more environmentally friendly, the so-called
[00:13:28] mobility laws, and today this initiative is at
[00:13:32] a standstill, bike lanes are being removed, but more on that
[00:13:35] later.
[00:13:38] First, let's look at the situation abroad: in
[00:13:41] Paris, Copenhagen and Amsterdam, as well as in
[00:13:44] Montreal and Bogota. All these cities
[00:13:47] have to some extent transformed their centers, which has helped
[00:13:51] people switch to cycling. And in Berlin?
[00:13:56] The number of cyclists has sharply increased, in the last
[00:13:59] 20 years it has practically doubled and can still significantly
[00:14:02] grow. Now it's about 20%, but we can
[00:14:06] reach forty. Basically, we need more space,
[00:14:09] more space on the streets, expanded infrastructure and safe
[00:14:13] bicycle lanes. In Berlin, several bicycle
[00:14:17] protests take place every month. Today's
[00:14:20] demonstrators want to prevent the dismantling of the bicycle lane
[00:14:23] laid during...
[00:14:55] to believe this.
[00:14:57] I am furious that the mobility law, which promotes
[00:15:00] better coexistence on the roads, is now being repealed. And now
[00:15:04] cars can again drive faster in Berlin. For legal reasons,
[00:15:08] Berlin had to reduce the maximum speed from 50 to 30
[00:15:12] km/h. The air quality was too
[00:15:14] bad. The city monitors pollution levels with
[00:15:18] such monitoring stations. Despite
[00:15:20] hundreds of thousands of cars commuting daily between Berlin and
[00:15:26] its surroundings, air quality is
[00:15:28] improving. On main roads, the average maximum level
[00:15:32] of nitrogen dioxide is 36 micrograms per
[00:15:36] cubic meter. In a few years,
[00:16:07] the air after the speed limits have been raised on many streets from
[00:16:11] 30 to 50 km/h. Studies
[00:16:14] confirm that air quality improves as more
[00:16:18] people switch from cars to
[00:16:20] bicycles.
[00:16:29] Cyclists in a silent sit-in protest in front of the City
[00:16:33] Hall. Every year, on the third Wednesday of May, they, dressed
[00:16:36] in white, gather.
[00:17:07] with
[00:17:07] the loss,
[00:17:12] it was a car, some big SUV, that
[00:17:15] ran a red light at 80 or 90
[00:17:19] km/h in a zone with a speed limit of
[00:17:21] 30. He made a risky overtake,
[00:17:25] sharply swerving right and left. My husband was riding
[00:17:29] his bicycle on the right side of the road,
[00:17:32] he was hit from behind with tremendous force due to the
[00:17:35] speed.
[00:18:07] In the Berlin German Aerospace Center, there is a
[00:18:10] special institute dedicated to road traffic
[00:18:13] research. Scientists here are looking for solutions for a city where over
[00:18:17] 3000 people commute to work by car
[00:18:20] every day.
[00:18:23] That is why we need this combination of four modes of transport:
[00:18:27] walking, cycling, public transport and, if necessary,
[00:18:30] a car.
[00:18:34] Ute Bonde from the Conservative Senator for Transport in
[00:18:38] the Berlin government, she is responsible for the current changes in
[00:18:41] the city, the dismantling of bike lanes, the return to
[00:18:44] a speed limit of 50 km/h in many
[00:18:47] zones. Her concept is to shift bicycle traffic to side
[00:18:51] streets. 300 rental points will allow people to make
[00:18:55] short trips on e-scooters or
[00:18:57] e-bikes, and the city's tram network needs
[00:19:01] not expansion, but
[00:19:02] automation.
[00:19:05] people should choose the best themselves.
[00:19:37] Berlin is everywhere, flowing into the center, about 3000
[00:19:40] people, all of whom want an increase in the number and quality of bike lanes in
[00:19:44] the city.
[00:19:47] On the side, drivers wait
[00:19:48] patiently,
[00:19:51] and some express their
[00:19:53] dissatisfaction.
[00:19:58] It's all right, I'm also a cyclist, you just have to wait a little
[00:20:00] longer, eventually traffic will resume.
[00:20:04] They don't pay taxes, they drive as they please, that's unfair.
[00:20:38] At least until the next
[00:20:40] election,
[00:20:48] made in Eritrea. German cows and Italian
[00:20:52] cheese. Fontina, Provolone,
[00:20:56] Mozzarella. Italian cheese, produced in Eritrea
[00:20:59] from the milk of German cows.
[00:21:03] Abraham Tsegai's farm is located thirty kilometers from
[00:21:06] the capital Asmara. Eritrea is
[00:21:09] a militarized authoritarian state. The government
[00:21:13] controls almost all aspects of life. It even imported
[00:21:16] cows to Tsegai, bringing them by plane. These
[00:21:20] cows arrived from southern Germany. The state
[00:21:23] imports cows from Germany and distributes them among qualified
[00:21:27] farmers who can keep them in good condition and
[00:21:31] provide them with proper nutrition.
[00:21:34] German cows are genetically modified to produce
[00:21:37] a large amount of milk.
[00:21:40] Abraham Tsegai has 120 cows. He owns the largest
[00:21:44] private dairy farm in the country. He crossbreeds
[00:21:47] German cows with local breeds.
[00:21:51] He studied dairy technologies in the Netherlands,
[00:21:55] abroad, which is unusual for Eritreans. When he
[00:21:58] started 10 years ago, he tried to make Dutch cheese, but
[00:22:02] demand was not high. The eighty-year-old
[00:22:05] Mebrahatu Teklismbet, is the most
[00:22:08] experienced cheesemaker on the farm. He learned from an Italian
[00:22:11] specialist and has been making cheese for almost 66 years.
[00:22:14] No wonder it comes so easily
[00:22:17] to him.
[00:22:22] We stretch the cheese so that it fits into the containers that
[00:22:25] give it the desired shape, then we
[00:22:28] place it in cold brine, this gives
[00:22:31] it flavor, otherwise it will be bland. After
[00:22:34] 12 hours, it will need to be placed in
[00:22:37] water.
[00:22:40] His young colleagues can barely keep up with him. We taste
[00:22:44] the cheese, at this stage it is like chewing gum without
[00:22:47] flavor.
[00:22:52] Here they produce 16 different varieties of organic
[00:22:55] cheese, about half is sold in Asmara,
[00:22:59] the rest
[00:22:59] is exported.
[00:23:04] The capital of Eritrea - a UNESCO World Heritage
[00:23:07] site, clearly shaped by the Italian colonial
[00:23:10] era. Time seems to have stood still here, and not only in terms
[00:23:14] of appearance. There is almost no internet access,
[00:23:17] the government has almost completely blocked it. There is also no
[00:23:20] freedom of the press,
[00:23:23] but most people here have learned to live with what
[00:23:26] they have. There is a sense that Eritrea
[00:23:30] is proud of its independence from its larger neighbor
[00:23:33] Ethiopia. But international embargoes have for years
[00:23:36] hampered the economy.
[00:23:39] Many Eritreans hope that the country will soon become more
[00:23:42] open to the outside world, which would also be good for
[00:23:46] business.
[00:23:50] owns five cheese shops in the city. Business is good,
[00:23:53] the trade is managed by Abraham's wife, Aster. Her
[00:23:57] husband already has enough to do with cheese
[00:23:59] production. The couple, who in Eritrea
[00:24:02] are considered part of the upper class, rarely have
[00:24:06] such moments of shared
[00:24:07] relaxation.
[00:24:11] The average monthly income in the country is less than 100
[00:24:14] euros. But Mebrahatu does not work
[00:24:18] because he needs money.
[00:24:21] His seven children have long since grown up and started their own
[00:24:24] families.
[00:24:29] Cheese is an integral part of who I am. I
[00:24:33] really love working with cheese. My
[00:24:36] friends also appreciate this in
[00:24:37] me.
[00:24:40] I like to eat cheese, but most of all I love to
[00:24:44] make it.
[00:24:47] The government provided for the family for free.
[00:25:50] with international embargoes against Eritrea's authoritarian
[00:25:53] regime. Now the problem is with the banking
[00:25:56] system, because due to the embargo we do not have a bank transfer
[00:26:00] service. Getting money from exports from... across the border is not easy, it
[00:26:03] requires a lot of documents, so exporting goods
[00:26:07] to strangers is also not
[00:26:09] easy. In addition to working at the dairy
[00:26:13] farm, Abraham Tsegai is also the honorary Consul General
[00:26:16] of Switzerland in Eritrea. Because of this,
[00:26:19] he is in a special position, which somewhat
[00:26:22] simplifies international business
[00:26:24] relations for him.
[00:26:45] Riga Bus Station, passenger buses depart from here daily,
[00:26:48] including to Russia and Belarus. The Latvian government plans
[00:26:52] to ban bus services to these countries. Politicians cite the findings
[00:26:55] of law enforcement that bus traffic between Latvia and
[00:26:59] Russia and Belarus threatens national security.
[00:27:02] Passenger traffic between Latvia and Russia and Belarus is already
[00:27:05] minimized. Planes do not fly to these countries from Latvia,
[00:27:09] trains do not run, only buses remain.
[00:27:13] In a matter of seconds, an explosion destroys the cooling towers
[00:27:17] of the nuclear power plant. An impressive sight, but
[00:27:20] dismantling the entire plant takes a decade. This
[00:27:24] happens because many materials are radioactive and cannot be simply
[00:27:27] disposed of in the way nuclear waste used to be disposed
[00:27:31] of. Nuclear power is experiencing
[00:27:34] a worldwide revival, but have
[00:27:38] operators thought about decommissioning nuclear power plants, what happens when
[00:27:41] a plant's lifespan comes to an end, and most
[00:27:44] importantly, how much will it cost to decommission and
[00:28:24] Gabyshev, known as Sasha the Shaman, who is walking from Yakutia to
[00:28:27] Moscow to overthrow the government. What
[00:28:31] does that mean? It means
[00:29:02] kilometers
[00:29:06] to pass underground, well, through these mines, to come out on another mountain,
[00:29:10] that is, there is an underground city, as if all
[00:29:13] this was developed
[00:29:17] and extracted
[00:29:17] since 1800-something.
[00:29:26] Protected persons shall in all circumstances be entitled
[00:29:28] to respect for their person, honour,
[00:29:32] family rights, religious convictions and practices,
[00:29:35] habits and customs. They shall at all times be treated
[00:29:39] humanely, and shall in particular be protected against any acts of
[00:29:42] violence or intimidation, against insults and public curiosity.
[00:30:38] No one wants to cooperate with Russia after this terror in
[00:30:41] Ukraine. It is impossible. Putin is
[00:30:43] a fraud.
[00:30:47] If the West closes its borders. These boys
[00:30:50] will hate us when
[00:30:51] they grow up. Some Russian came
[00:30:55] here. Now I come to the store and there's a Russian here too. And it feels like you have
[00:30:59] occupied us.