Contestants climb up a greasy pole to mark Malta's annual festival. Will they be able to make it? Watch and find out!

Malta greasy pole: The big fall

Marco Streng is a miner, though he does not carry a pick around his base in south-west Iceland. Instead, he keeps tens of thousands of computers running 24 hours a day in fierce competition with others across the globe to earn bitcoins. 
 
In the world of the web-based digital currency, it is not central banks that add new money to the system, but rather computers like Streng&#39;s which are awarded fresh bitcoins in return for processing blocks of the latest bitcoin transactions. 
 
Bitcoin can be used to send money instantly around the world, using individual bitcoin addresses, free of charge with no need for third party checks, and is accepted by several major online retailers. 
 
The work Streng&#39;s computers and others do serves two purposes: they record and verify the roughly 225,000 daily bitcoin transactions and, because they earn new bitcoins for the work they do, steadily increase the currency in circulation, worth around $10 billion at present. 
 
The process has come to be known as &#39;mining&#39; because it is slow and intensive, reaping a gradual reward in the same way that minerals such as gold are mined from the ground. 
 
But on Saturday, the reward for miners will be slashed in half. Written into bitcoin&#39;s code when it was invented in 2008 was a rule dictating that the prize would be halved every four years, in a step designed to keep a lid on bitcoin inflation. 
 
From around 1700 GMT on Saturday, instead of 25 bitcoins up for grabs globally every 10 minutes, worth around $16,000 at the current rate, only 12.5 will be available. 
 
That means only the mining companies with the leanest operations will survive the ensuing profit hit. 
 
&quot;The most important thing is to be the most efficient miner,&quot; said Streng, the 26-year-old co-founder of German firm Genesis Mining, which has &quot;mining farms&quot; in Canada, the United States and eastern Europe, as well as in Iceland. &quot;When the others drop out, that means that they leave the market and give you a bigger share of the pie.&quot; 
 
Solving puzzles 
 
The currency was founded eight years ago by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity has not been established. It was set up to operate independently of any single authority, instead relying on a decentralised global network. 
 
Because the bitcoin miners operate autonomously, it is hard to track their numbers and size. But in terms of computing capacity, it was estimated earlier this year that the network is 43,000 times more powerful than the world&#39;s top 500 supercomputers combined. 
 
Computers like Streng&#39;s solve complex, automatically generated mathematical puzzles to help secure each block of transactions and keep the bitcoin network safe from hacking or manipulation. For bitcoin users, that security is one of the currency&#39;s main attractions. 
 
After the first miner secures a block of transactions, its work is verified by the other miners in the network, and that block is added to the &quot;blockchain&quot; - a shared record of all the transaction data - which is virtually impossible to tamper with. The mining, therefore, keeps the whole system going. 
 
Bitcoin is now accepted by major organisations including US online retailer Overstock.com and travel company Expedia. 
 
The speed and anonymity of bitcoin transactions, and lack of a central authority overseeing the currency, has drawn in many users, including those who want to get around capital controls. It has also attracted investors who see it as a potentially lucrative commodity in itself. 
 
Keeping cool 
 
Bitcoin mining started out as a hobby for tech geeks using their home computers in the early years of the virtual currency, but has become more specialised as bitcoin usage expands. 
 
As the bitcoin price has risen, as transaction numbers have grown and as the computers have become so specialised that they can only perform the function of bitcoin mining, a whole industry has emerged. 
 
It can be profitable if firms are able to keep their expenses low. But the costs of running these machines, which cost around $1,800 each, and keeping them cool are fiendishly high. 
 
Streng reckons that, on average, it costs about $200 in electricity, including cooling power, to mine one bitcoin. Equipment, rent, wages and business running costs are on top. 
 
On Saturday, all else being equal, the halving of the reward will double that cost, to $400, leaving a small margin for profit at the current exchange rate of around $640 per bitcoin. 
 
In the same remote region of Iceland as the Genesis mining farm, on a former Cold War US military base lies a bitcoin mining facility belonging to US firm Bitfury. A nearby sub-station means electricity transmission costs are minimal. 
 
In the farm&#39;s two vast buildings, tens of thousands of mining machines whir away, producing a huge amount of heat, so the buildings are open to the cold Icelandic air at either side, save for particle filters to trap dust. 
 
Fans in the ceiling allow hot air to escape, but spin so fast that no rain or snow can enter during the winter. The noise produced by computers and fans is deafening. 
 
It is no coincidence that so many mining companies have chosen to build farms in Iceland - Chinese giant Bitmain also has a huge farm there. The volcanic island&#39;s cheap, bountiful, renewable energy supply, good internet connectivity, and cool temperatures make it an ideal location. 
 
The Icelandic authorities welcome the boost to the economy that the bitcoin miners have brought. Bitmain opened its farm after an approach by the Icelandic embassy in Beijing. Genesis&#39;s Streng says he is such a valued client that the Icelandic energy companies fly him around in helicopters. 
 
Bitfury CEO Valery Vavilov, who estimates electricity makes up between 90 and 95 per cent of bitcoin mining costs, says one way his firm stays competitive is by making its own hardware. 
 
He also says the company, founded in 2011, is prepared for the mining reward cut. &quot;We&#39;re prepared - we already went through one halving event in 2012,&quot; he said. &quot;You can forecast this... so you have time to prepare, and if you&#39;re prepared you can live quite easily&quot;. 
 
Vavilov, and other miners, say the prospect of new supply halving has already helped drive bitcoin up over 50 per cent this year, which should help ease the pain. 
 
Competition from China 
 
Despite the fact that the halving was expected, and that the price has risen, it has already claimed one casualty: Sweden&#39;s KnCMiner filed for bankruptcy at the end of May, citing the hit to its profits that the reward cut would bring. 
 
Daniel Masters, who runs a Jersey-based bitcoin hedge fund and who bought a part of KnC&#39;s business, said the Swedish firm, like everybody else, had faced competition from miners in China, which are estimated to make up more than two-thirds of the bitcoin network&#39;s computing power, or &quot;hashpower&quot;. 
 
&quot;It turned out that the Chinese, who really stormed into the mining market in the last couple of years, could just do this whole thing cheaper,&quot; Masters said. 
 
Some Chinese miners get hydroelectric power from disused dams, while others use cheap coal-powered electricity. 
 
Bitfury and Genesis, though, say their lean operations allow them to fight off the competition. Genesis, for example, keeps cost down by remotely monitoring conditions in its mining farms and adjusting its fans and cooling accordingly. 
 
And the next time the mining reward is halved, in 2020, they hope the number of bitcoin transactions will have grown sufficiently to mean that the small fees paid by users will make up enough of their income to smooth out the profit cut. 
 
&quot;By 2020, we will definitely have had the tipping point,&quot; said Bitfury&#39;s Vavilov. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Written into the online currency's code is a rule that the reward for miners gets cut in half every four years to limit inflation

Marco Streng is a miner, though he does not carry a pick around his base in south-west Iceland. Instead, he keeps tens of thousands of computers running 24 hours a day in fierce competition with others across the globe to earn bitcoins. In the world of the web-based digital currency, it is not central banks that add new money to the system, but rather computers like Streng's which are awarded fresh bitcoins in return for processing blocks of the latest bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin can be used to send money instantly around the world, using individual bitcoin addresses, free of charge with no need for third party checks, and is accepted by several major online retailers. The work Streng's computers and others do serves two purposes: they record and verify the roughly 225,000 daily bitcoin transactions and, because they earn new bitcoins for the work they do, steadily increase the currency in circulation, worth around $10 billion at present. The process has come to be known as 'mining' because it is slow and intensive, reaping a gradual reward in the same way that minerals such as gold are mined from the ground. But on Saturday, the reward for miners will be slashed in half. Written into bitcoin's code when it was invented in 2008 was a rule dictating that the prize would be halved every four years, in a step designed to keep a lid on bitcoin inflation. From around 1700 GMT on Saturday, instead of 25 bitcoins up for grabs globally every 10 minutes, worth around $16,000 at the current rate, only 12.5 will be available. That means only the mining companies with the leanest operations will survive the ensuing profit hit. "The most important thing is to be the most efficient miner," said Streng, the 26-year-old co-founder of German firm Genesis Mining, which has "mining farms" in Canada, the United States and eastern Europe, as well as in Iceland. "When the others drop out, that means that they leave the market and give you a bigger share of the pie." Solving puzzles The currency was founded eight years ago by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity has not been established. It was set up to operate independently of any single authority, instead relying on a decentralised global network. Because the bitcoin miners operate autonomously, it is hard to track their numbers and size. But in terms of computing capacity, it was estimated earlier this year that the network is 43,000 times more powerful than the world's top 500 supercomputers combined. Computers like Streng's solve complex, automatically generated mathematical puzzles to help secure each block of transactions and keep the bitcoin network safe from hacking or manipulation. For bitcoin users, that security is one of the currency's main attractions. After the first miner secures a block of transactions, its work is verified by the other miners in the network, and that block is added to the "blockchain" - a shared record of all the transaction data - which is virtually impossible to tamper with. The mining, therefore, keeps the whole system going. Bitcoin is now accepted by major organisations including US online retailer Overstock.com and travel company Expedia. The speed and anonymity of bitcoin transactions, and lack of a central authority overseeing the currency, has drawn in many users, including those who want to get around capital controls. It has also attracted investors who see it as a potentially lucrative commodity in itself. Keeping cool Bitcoin mining started out as a hobby for tech geeks using their home computers in the early years of the virtual currency, but has become more specialised as bitcoin usage expands. As the bitcoin price has risen, as transaction numbers have grown and as the computers have become so specialised that they can only perform the function of bitcoin mining, a whole industry has emerged. It can be profitable if firms are able to keep their expenses low. But the costs of running these machines, which cost around $1,800 each, and keeping them cool are fiendishly high. Streng reckons that, on average, it costs about $200 in electricity, including cooling power, to mine one bitcoin. Equipment, rent, wages and business running costs are on top. On Saturday, all else being equal, the halving of the reward will double that cost, to $400, leaving a small margin for profit at the current exchange rate of around $640 per bitcoin. In the same remote region of Iceland as the Genesis mining farm, on a former Cold War US military base lies a bitcoin mining facility belonging to US firm Bitfury. A nearby sub-station means electricity transmission costs are minimal. In the farm's two vast buildings, tens of thousands of mining machines whir away, producing a huge amount of heat, so the buildings are open to the cold Icelandic air at either side, save for particle filters to trap dust. Fans in the ceiling allow hot air to escape, but spin so fast that no rain or snow can enter during the winter. The noise produced by computers and fans is deafening. It is no coincidence that so many mining companies have chosen to build farms in Iceland - Chinese giant Bitmain also has a huge farm there. The volcanic island's cheap, bountiful, renewable energy supply, good internet connectivity, and cool temperatures make it an ideal location. The Icelandic authorities welcome the boost to the economy that the bitcoin miners have brought. Bitmain opened its farm after an approach by the Icelandic embassy in Beijing. Genesis's Streng says he is such a valued client that the Icelandic energy companies fly him around in helicopters. Bitfury CEO Valery Vavilov, who estimates electricity makes up between 90 and 95 per cent of bitcoin mining costs, says one way his firm stays competitive is by making its own hardware. He also says the company, founded in 2011, is prepared for the mining reward cut. "We're prepared - we already went through one halving event in 2012," he said. "You can forecast this... so you have time to prepare, and if you're prepared you can live quite easily". Vavilov, and other miners, say the prospect of new supply halving has already helped drive bitcoin up over 50 per cent this year, which should help ease the pain. Competition from China Despite the fact that the halving was expected, and that the price has risen, it has already claimed one casualty: Sweden's KnCMiner filed for bankruptcy at the end of May, citing the hit to its profits that the reward cut would bring. Daniel Masters, who runs a Jersey-based bitcoin hedge fund and who bought a part of KnC's business, said the Swedish firm, like everybody else, had faced competition from miners in China, which are estimated to make up more than two-thirds of the bitcoin network's computing power, or "hashpower". "It turned out that the Chinese, who really stormed into the mining market in the last couple of years, could just do this whole thing cheaper," Masters said. Some Chinese miners get hydroelectric power from disused dams, while others use cheap coal-powered electricity. Bitfury and Genesis, though, say their lean operations allow them to fight off the competition. Genesis, for example, keeps cost down by remotely monitoring conditions in its mining farms and adjusting its fans and cooling accordingly. And the next time the mining reward is halved, in 2020, they hope the number of bitcoin transactions will have grown sufficiently to mean that the small fees paid by users will make up enough of their income to smooth out the profit cut. "By 2020, we will definitely have had the tipping point," said Bitfury's Vavilov. (Reuters)

Bitcoin 'miners' face fight for survival

One of America&#39;s top beauty pageants has axed its swimsuit competition, ditching bikinis for sportswear to fend off years of complaints that parading in a bikini is sexist and demeaning. 
 
Miss Teen USA, open to women aged 14 to 19, said on its website that &quot;in a society that increasingly prioritises feminism and equality, watching women parade across a stage in bikinis can feel outdated.&quot; 
 
The Miss Universe Organization, which operates the pageant, said from now on contestants would be judged on athletic wear, in addition to the evening wear and personality competitions. 
 
&quot;Miss Teen USA&#39;s transition to athletic wear reads as less exploitative and more focused on the importance of physical fitness for its younger participants,&quot; it said. 
 
The reform was welcomed by reigning Miss Teen USA, Katherine Haik, who called it &quot;a great way to celebrate the active lives that so many young women lead and set a strong example for our peers.&quot; 
 
The 2016 Miss Teen USA pageant, which is broadcast online, will be held in Las Vegas on July 30. Each year, a woman from each of the 50 states and one from Washington DC compete for the crown. 
 
Miss Universe was for years owned by billionaire Republican White House candidate Donald Trump. He sold it last year to a talent management group. 
 
(AFP)

Dubbed sexist, the 'outdated' bikini is to be replaced with sportswear as the focus will now be on physical fitness

One of America's top beauty pageants has axed its swimsuit competition, ditching bikinis for sportswear to fend off years of complaints that parading in a bikini is sexist and demeaning. Miss Teen USA, open to women aged 14 to 19, said on its website that "in a society that increasingly prioritises feminism and equality, watching women parade across a stage in bikinis can feel outdated." The Miss Universe Organization, which operates the pageant, said from now on contestants would be judged on athletic wear, in addition to the evening wear and personality competitions. "Miss Teen USA's transition to athletic wear reads as less exploitative and more focused on the importance of physical fitness for its younger participants," it said. The reform was welcomed by reigning Miss Teen USA, Katherine Haik, who called it "a great way to celebrate the active lives that so many young women lead and set a strong example for our peers." The 2016 Miss Teen USA pageant, which is broadcast online, will be held in Las Vegas on July 30. Each year, a woman from each of the 50 states and one from Washington DC compete for the crown. Miss Universe was for years owned by billionaire Republican White House candidate Donald Trump. He sold it last year to a talent management group. (AFP)

No more bikini competition at Miss Teen USA

China wants to boost its domestic capacity to produce cutting-edge energy technologies in the next decade to challenge international energy majors in areas like offshore oil and gas exploration and building state-of-the-art thermal power plants. 
 
China lags behind competitors like Anglo-American oil majors or Japanese and German power turbine makers in the most advanced technologies for deepwater oil and gas production and the most efficient electric generation. But, as the world&#39;s biggest energy consumer, the country yearns to be at the forefront of these technologies to meet internal energy needs and to shift its export economy from less high-tech industries. 
 
A new catalogue, released this week by three ministries including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), proposes increasing China&#39;s energy independence by 2025. The report also seeks export opportunities in technical areas such as deepwater drilling for oil and natural gas, highly efficient so-called ultra-super-critical thermal power plants, as well as renewable electric generation and storage technology. 
 
&quot;Our self-designed capacity is comparably weak, and the core technologies are not in our hands,&quot; said the plan. 
 
The report, led by the National Energy Administration, did not specify which companies would lead this development. But, in the oil and gas sector, China&#39;s state-owned companies including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and its listed subsidiary PetroChina, Sinopec Group, and China National Offshore Oil Corp will likely take leading roles. 
 
China Petroleum Technology and Development Corp, an equipment provider affiliated to CNPC, already has exports worth US$ 3.7 billion per year. 
 
&quot;In offshore oil drilling we&#39;d like to cut the reliance on imports by improving the self-sufficiency,&quot; said Yang Shuangquan, General Secretary of the China Petroleum and Petrochemical Equipment Industrial Association (CPEIA). 
 
&quot;(The plan) draws up... major development projects for the oil industries in exploiting natural gas, shale gas and offshore oil. The latter two will remain as China&#39;s strategic moves to ensure energy supply,&quot; he added. 
 
In renewables, Goldwind is the leading Chinese wind turbine maker and likely to play a role. The biggest investors in thermal and gas power generation are the state-owned China Huaneng Group, China Datang Corporation, along with its listed renewable subsidiary, China Guodian Corp, China Huadian Group Corp, and China Power Investment Corp. 
 
Yang said that no specified investment figures had yet been published, but that the ministry of finance would come up with follow-up strategies for implementation soon, without mentioning a specific time-frame. 
 
To make breakthroughs in these key technologies, the government wants to showcase live projects by 2020, leading to the formation of new, internationally competitive production chains by 2025. 
 
The plan also bolsters government efforts to shift away from less technologically advanced industries such as coal and steel and into more complex sectors. 
 
This includes increasing renewable technology usage, but also employing ultra-super-critical coal power generators, modern natural gas turbines, and large nuclear power plants. 
 
For renewables, China wants to build offshore wind turbines that can produce 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity, beyond the current technology at 7 MW, and modern solar cells. 
(Reuters)

As the world's biggest energy consumer, China yearns to be at the forefront of energy-sector technologies to meet internal needs

China wants to boost its domestic capacity to produce cutting-edge energy technologies in the next decade to challenge international energy majors in areas like offshore oil and gas exploration and building state-of-the-art thermal power plants. China lags behind competitors like Anglo-American oil majors or Japanese and German power turbine makers in the most advanced technologies for deepwater oil and gas production and the most efficient electric generation. But, as the world's biggest energy consumer, the country yearns to be at the forefront of these technologies to meet internal energy needs and to shift its export economy from less high-tech industries. A new catalogue, released this week by three ministries including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), proposes increasing China's energy independence by 2025. The report also seeks export opportunities in technical areas such as deepwater drilling for oil and natural gas, highly efficient so-called ultra-super-critical thermal power plants, as well as renewable electric generation and storage technology. "Our self-designed capacity is comparably weak, and the core technologies are not in our hands," said the plan. The report, led by the National Energy Administration, did not specify which companies would lead this development. But, in the oil and gas sector, China's state-owned companies including China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and its listed subsidiary PetroChina, Sinopec Group, and China National Offshore Oil Corp will likely take leading roles. China Petroleum Technology and Development Corp, an equipment provider affiliated to CNPC, already has exports worth US$ 3.7 billion per year. "In offshore oil drilling we'd like to cut the reliance on imports by improving the self-sufficiency," said Yang Shuangquan, General Secretary of the China Petroleum and Petrochemical Equipment Industrial Association (CPEIA). "(The plan) draws up... major development projects for the oil industries in exploiting natural gas, shale gas and offshore oil. The latter two will remain as China's strategic moves to ensure energy supply," he added. In renewables, Goldwind is the leading Chinese wind turbine maker and likely to play a role. The biggest investors in thermal and gas power generation are the state-owned China Huaneng Group, China Datang Corporation, along with its listed renewable subsidiary, China Guodian Corp, China Huadian Group Corp, and China Power Investment Corp. Yang said that no specified investment figures had yet been published, but that the ministry of finance would come up with follow-up strategies for implementation soon, without mentioning a specific time-frame. To make breakthroughs in these key technologies, the government wants to showcase live projects by 2020, leading to the formation of new, internationally competitive production chains by 2025. The plan also bolsters government efforts to shift away from less technologically advanced industries such as coal and steel and into more complex sectors. This includes increasing renewable technology usage, but also employing ultra-super-critical coal power generators, modern natural gas turbines, and large nuclear power plants. For renewables, China wants to build offshore wind turbines that can produce 10 megawatts (MW) of electricity, beyond the current technology at 7 MW, and modern solar cells. (Reuters)

China plans to boost energy-sector technology capacity over next decade

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