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00:00The European Union Commission warns France, Belgium, Italy and five other countries of
00:07a budget deficit.
00:10European pigs have found themselves at the centre of a trade tug-of-war with China.
00:24The Netherlands Mark Rutte has lined up to become NATO's next Secretary General after
00:29Hungary lifted its veto on his candidacy.
00:33In order to secure his position, the outgoing Dutch Prime Minister gave written guarantees
00:39that he would not force Hungary to take part in the military alliance's new plans to provide
00:44support for Ukraine.
00:47NATO's incumbent chief Jens Stoltenberg hailed the progress made on securing his successor.
01:17Mark Rutte is by far the preferred candidate of the majority of NATO allies, including
01:26big members like the United States and Germany.
01:32Earlier this year, Turkey voiced opposition to Rutte's bid, but lifted its objections
01:37in April.
01:39And although Romanian President Klaus Johannes has also put himself forward for the position,
01:44officials and analysts believe he will not pose a major problem to Rutte.
01:53In its first days of summer, Turkey is hit by a massive heat wave, with temperatures
01:59reaching over 40 degrees in the southern and western regions of the country.
02:04Both the humidity rate and the temperature felt are above seasonal norms, as people rushed
02:11to the sea.
02:16Hungary is also suffering from a massive heat wave.
02:20The country's national chief medical officer has issued the highest level of heat alert,
02:26a level three warning, which is in place until midnight on Saturday across the entire country.
02:35Experts urge everyone to drink more fluids, as they warned that a heat record could be
02:41broken on Wednesday.
02:49The European Championship fan zone in Leipzig and Augustusplatz, Germany, were temporarily
02:55closed on Tuesday afternoon, due to an unexpected thunderstorm.
03:03The fan zones in Berlin, Cologne and Dusseldorf have also previously been closed, due to a
03:09severe weather warning.
03:20A wildfire has broken out in Kiropi, a Greek suburb just east of Athens, triggering the
03:25evacuation of residents.
03:31The local fire service says more than 70 firefighters, assisted by at least 10 water-dropping planes
03:37and helicopters, are working to control the blaze, which started in an uninhabited area
03:43covered by olive trees and shrubs.
03:47The service also said strong winds caused the fire to spread quickly, engulfing at least
03:53two homes, cars and a number of yachts in flames.
04:10It's the latest of dozens of wildfires to break out in Greece over the last few days,
04:15as parts of southern Europe swelter in record temperatures from warm air blown across from
04:21Africa.
04:24Climate experts report Europe is the fastest warming continent, with temperatures rising
04:29at around twice the global average rate.
04:35Heat-related mortality has increased by around 30% in the past 20 years, with southern Europe
04:41bearing the greatest burden of poor health from heat stresses.
04:50The European Commission has warned eight EU member states over their excessive budget
04:56deficits.
04:57The warning comes as the Commission relaunches a controversial fiscal intervention and as
05:02some of the affected countries face political uncertainty.
05:06In Belgium, political parties were trying to form a coalition government, while in France
05:12two parties leading the polls for upcoming legislative elections have promised to grow
05:17public expenditure.
05:19Any government that's going to arrive to power in July will have a very busy summer preparing
05:25a multi-year fiscal plan that has to be more or less compliant with the fiscal rules and
05:30more or less compliant with the economic program under which this government would have been
05:36elected.
05:37And the reality is that no government, including the current one, really has a plan to address
05:45France's fiscal challenges.
05:48Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia were among the eight countries that received
05:53the warning.
05:54Romania, which completes the list, failed to heed previous warnings issued in 2020.
06:01Countries with minor or temporary breaches of budget norms were not included.
06:06The refusal to comply can eventually lead to fines, according to the EU Commission.
06:11Would you like to present yourself?
06:41The EU's fiscal rules, introduced alongside the common currency in the 1990s, say the
06:54imbalance in national fiscal positions shouldn't be over 3% of GDP, with overall debt kept
07:01under 60%.
07:03When exceeding this threshold, Member States must ensure a downward path.
07:08The worst situations are in Romania and Slovakia, where the budget deficit is 7% and 6% this
07:17year, well above the 3% limit.
07:20And these are followed by Hungary, Poland and France, with a budget deficit somewhat
07:26over 5%.
07:28The framework being reintroduced was suspended in 2020 during the Covid crisis, and subsequent
07:34energy price explosion led governments to make unprecedented economic interventions.
07:42Two climate activists have been arrested after they sprayed orange paint on England's ancient
07:48Stonehenge monument.
07:50The incident comes a day before thousands are expected to gather at the 4,500-year-old
07:56Stone Circle to celebrate the summer solstice.
08:00The pair are members of the protest group Just Stop Oil, which says it took action to
08:05demand the incoming government sign up to a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil
08:10fuels by 2030.
08:12Police said the two protesters were arrested on suspicion of damaging one of the world's
08:17most famous prehistoric monuments and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
08:22English Heritage, which manages the site, called the incident extremely upsetting, while
08:27Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took to X to brand the group a disgrace.
08:33Just Stop Oil says it plans to escalate protests this summer, next targeting airports across
08:39the UK.
08:42European pigs have found themselves at the centre of a trade tug-of-war.
08:46Pork is a hugely important market for a lot of European Union nations.
08:51When a Chinese probe into imports of pork from the EU was opened, it caused concern
08:56from farmers who make a significant portion of their money from exports to China.
09:18Retaliatory measures on pork come as no surprise to international trade experts.
09:23Last week, the European Union slapped additional tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric car
09:31imports.
09:32The German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck is travelling to China as tensions escalate.
09:53China imported billions worth of pork from the EU last year, with this trade tug-of-war
10:06meaning it could be the European agricultural sector on the chopping block.
10:17The party is on in Germany, as the hosts are the first team to reach the Euros round
10:24of 16.
10:26The man shaft booked the ticket after a solid 2-0 against Hungary in Stuttgart.
10:33Wonder kid Jamal Musiala found his second net in two games, setting up the team for
10:39yet another convincing performance.
10:46In the other Group A game, Scotland got their first point against Switzerland, but they
10:52wasted their initial lead with an avoidable defensive mistake that served the opponent
10:59the leveller on a silver platter.
11:04The result keeps Switzerland comfortably ahead of Scotland and Hungary.
11:15Croatia and Albania drew 2-2 after an emotional game.
11:19Within the space of only two minutes, Croatia managed to equalise and take the lead.
11:26But it wasn't meant to last, as Albania snatched an incredible leveller at minute 95.
11:33The two teams remain stuck behind Italy and Spain, with one point each.