Latest news bulletin | August 2nd – Midday
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
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00:0024 people have been released in the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and Western
00:07countries since the Cold War.
00:11More records broken in swimming while an Australian judge gets removed for embracing a compatriot.
00:22Women have been freed in the largest Russia-U.S. prisoner exchange since the Cold War.
00:34The European Parliament, elected in June, is the first ever to have less women as MEPs.
00:40But how does it affect the people who lead the different committees and how are women represented there?
00:47According to the European Women's Lobby, even the committees are mostly made up of men.
00:53Portfolios that matter, like what we call hard portfolios, where you have money, where you have power,
00:58like foreign affairs, for instance, budget, economy, usually go to men in terms of, like, you know,
01:03heading the committees, just like the proportion of members in these committees also is highly male-dominated.
01:10So that's unfortunately still a reality in terms of, like, having women chairs, vice-chairs, etc.
01:18This difference is not directly linked to the rise of the far right seen in these elections,
01:24but some experts believe that women elected for those parties do not necessarily defend women's rights.
01:32What is a bit concerning, though, is that the far right parties or groups in the European Parliament
01:40do have quite a substantial representation of women for some of them,
01:44but then it's also groups that are not known to support women's rights.
01:49They're quite hostile to women's rights.
01:51So it's also a new challenge for us in that sense that we are going to have to identify who is going to support us,
01:57who is going to champion women's rights.
02:00The EU has, over the past five years, passed some important legislation.
02:05It includes the first law to prevent violence against women.
02:09Analysts and experts, however, are asking for more.
02:13Something we want to see is also having dedicated budgets to women's rights,
02:19maybe having conditionalities when it comes to, you know, like,
02:22tenders and the attribution of budgeting to women's rights and gender equalities.
02:27The European Women's Lobby says it is aiming for parity in the College of Commissioners,
02:32something that the president, Ursula von der Leyen, is also pushing for.
02:42Another historic day in swimming at the Paris Olympics.
02:47Canada's Summer McIntosh swam the women's 200m butterfly in 2'03.03
02:55to set the fastest time at the Summer Games.
03:00Team US Katie Ledecky won silver in the 200m freestyle relay
03:06to become the most decorated woman in the sport's history.
03:11More joy for the Americans in gymnastics, as Simone Biles
03:15edged Brazil's Rebeca Andrade for her second Olympic all-around title at Paris 2024.
03:23In tennis, Spain's Alcaraz, Serbia's Djokovic, Italy's Musetti
03:28and Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassi reached the men's singles semifinals,
03:34while in women's basketball, Germany, France and the US moved to the quarterfinals.
03:41In surfing, an Australian judge was removed after a picture emerged on social media
03:48of him embracing a compatriot contestant along the shore's edge in Tahiti.
04:04In swimming, the women's women's team won silver in the men's 200m freestyle relay
04:10to become the most decorated woman in the sport's history.
04:16In tennis, Spain's Alcaraz, Serbia's Djokovic, Italy's Musetti
04:21and Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassi reached the men's singles semifinals,
04:27while in women's basketball, Germany, France and the US moved to the quarterfinals.
04:34In tennis, Spain's Alcaraz, Serbia's Djokovic, Italy's Musetti
04:39and Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassi reached the men's singles semifinals,
04:45while in women's basketball, Germany, France and the US moved to the quarterfinals.
04:52In tennis, Spain's Alcaraz, Serbia's Djokovic, Italy's Musetti
04:57and Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassi reached the men's singles semifinals,
05:03while in women's basketball, Germany, France and the US moved to the quarterfinals.
05:14First of all, social housing projects were built,
05:18where the most vulnerable families who had very poor housing conditions
05:22built a building and moved into that building.
05:34There were six people living in this house,
05:37who were moved to the newly built building through the social housing program
05:42implemented by the Municipality of Brno.
05:47I am very happy that this family was the most satisfied with the accommodation.
06:04We have a place to sleep, we are on a rubber bed, like in Sardinia.
06:09I only have one, that's him. I am 17 years old.
06:13Here we have a kitchen, we have a bathroom, we have a place to take a bath and that's it.
06:18We didn't have a place there, we had to live in a tent.
06:22So, it's really great here.
06:25This August marks the entry into force of the AI Act,
06:29the EU framework law to regulate artificial intelligence,
06:33and the first legislation in the world to do that with mandatory rules.
06:37According to the EU Commission,
06:39some practices will become illegal starting from February 2025.
06:43One of them, real-time facial recognition.
06:46Other AI systems that are determined as high-risk,
06:49like the AI-2, will be banned.
06:52Other AI systems that are determined as high-risk,
06:55like the ones used to detect migrants at the borders,
06:58will have strict regulations to follow.
07:01Companies and public services have up to two years to adjust,
07:05according to the EU Commission.
07:09This is the first legislation in the world
07:12that tackles risks created by the usage of AI,
07:17and at the same time, by doing this,
07:20tries to build more trust in the use of AI
07:24and create more opportunities for everyone
07:26to make the best use of AI in Europe
07:29so that people can have better working conditions,
07:33more occasions to learn and live in a better way,
07:37thanks to these technologies.
07:39The European Commission has said it is creating an office
07:42to supervise the law enforcement,
07:44while the EU member states will have to put in place
07:47national authorities for the application of the rules
07:50in their country.
07:52Celebrating the regulation,
07:54the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
07:57said the law will drive AI development,
08:00while supporting European small and medium enterprises.
08:04EU citizens will have some novelties to deal with.
08:09The labeling of AI-generated content
08:12so that people can know when a deep fake
08:15that shows someone saying and doing things
08:18he has never said and done
08:20is actually something that is fake.
08:23So, transparency.
08:25But also, for example,
08:28the prohibition of the use of AI for emotional recognition
08:32in workplaces and study places,
08:35and also the checks on certain use cases
08:42that are more sensitive,
08:44like, for example, the use by a doctor
08:47towards a patient of an AI system,
08:50that with this legislation will be checked
08:53on the data that has been used and on its security
08:56so that it can be used safely.
09:00If a company does not comply with the AI Act,
09:03it could face severe fines,
09:05up to 7% of their global annual turnover,
09:08according to the new rules.
09:19Welcome to Schengen,
09:20about an hour north of Tirana in Albania.
09:23As you can see, it's a bustling tourism destination.
09:26But a couple of years ago,
09:28it also became home to several hundred Afghan refugees
09:31after the Taliban took back power in Afghanistan.
09:34Today, many still remain and are calling it home.
09:37But it has made headlines for another kind of migrant recently.
09:40At the end of 2023,
09:42the Albanian government and the Italian government
09:44signed an agreement that would see migrants
09:47found by the Italian authorities processed in Albania.
09:53Between here, the port, and Jadra,
09:55there will be a capacity of 3,000 people.
09:57They will arrive here first,
09:59they will have their details taken,
10:00they'll then be transferred to Jadra.
10:02Both centers are closed.
10:04That means no one can go in and no one can go out.
10:07They will be guarded and secured internally
10:09by the Italian authorities,
10:11as they're technically Italian soil.
10:13Externally, the perimeter will be patrolled
10:15by Albanian authorities.
10:17When they are at the centers,
10:18they will be provided with healthcare, legal assistance,
10:21and of course, basic necessities, food and toiletries.
10:24Everything is funded by the Italian government.
10:29Today, I have been given exclusive information
10:32from a senior official,
10:34who has said that this center behind me
10:36will be ready to accept people as of the 15th of August,
10:39meaning the initial deadline of the 1st of August will be missed.
10:42So there will be a capacity of 1,000 people
10:45who will be welcomed.
10:46Meanwhile, work is continuing on Jadra.
10:49They confirmed to me that both centers
10:52will be fully operational at full capacity
10:54by the start of September.
10:57So as for what local people think about these two centers,
11:00it's true there have been protests in Tirana and Leja,
11:03and there are people who are against them.
11:05But I spend a lot of time in this area.
11:08I live locally here for half of the year,
11:10and I've spoken to a lot of local people.
11:12And honestly, they're not really that bothered about it.
11:15They understand the centers will be closed,
11:17and they're not particularly worried
11:19about any negative impact on tourism or the local economy.
11:22They've had experience with Afghans coming to live here
11:25who've integrated, who are now part of the community.
11:28They're not really that bothered.
11:30Also, they're not very keen to talk to the media
11:32for a wide range of reasons.
11:34But overall, people are not too concerned,
11:36and they're hopeful that perhaps investment
11:38from the Italian government might improve some infrastructure
11:41such as electric and roads in the local area.