Latest news bulletin | August 22nd – Morning
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Transcript
00:00Ukrainian refugees face homelessness as Hungary amends its asylum rules.
00:11In what is seen as a tit-for-tat move, China initiates an anti-subsidy investigation into
00:16EU dairy products.
00:20Vladimir Putin is in Chechnya to rally military support as Russia struggles to fend Ukraine's
00:27incursion in Kursk.
00:31Sheep breeders in France are suffering a blow following a new blue-tongue disease outbreak.
00:45At least 100 Ukrainian refugees from the Transcarpathia region have been evicted in the Hungarian village
00:51of Koch.
00:53Two and a half years ago, the Hungarian government provided the emergency housing for those fleeing
00:58the war.
01:00But that rule recently changed and now only refugees from parts of Ukraine deemed to be
01:05affected by conflict are eligible for free housing from the Hungarian state.
01:11I live in a small house, it's been two and a half years, there's been a lot of rain,
01:15storms, floods, there's also a tree on the roof, the storm destroyed it, because we used
01:23to go home and complain about who has what in their house.
01:28And unfortunately, for those who couldn't come to Hungary, everything that can be bought,
01:36that can be used, is being used.
01:41NGOs like the Hungarian-Helsinki Committee and Migration Aid argue that the decree denying
01:47shelter breaches international treaties on asylum.
01:52The UNHCR wrote in a statement that the Hungarian government should review the decree and provide
01:58the necessary housing for refugees.
02:02Obviously, those who could afford it, could afford it in any way, some of them went home,
02:09some of them went to relatives, to acquaintances, obviously, those who could pay the rent,
02:16could afford it earlier.
02:19So those people who are here, they are really very vulnerable, in a difficult situation,
02:25they simply don't have the money to pay the rent.
02:30NGOs, locals and policing coach were frantically looking for ways to find temporary housing
02:36for the hundreds that were displaced.
02:39Thousands of other Ukrainian refugees are facing the same problem and risk eviction
02:44from Hungarian state-funded accommodation.
02:51A key Egyptian mediator expressed skepticism about reaching a ceasefire deal as more details
02:57about the proposal emerge.
02:59On Wednesday, Hezbollah fired over 50 rockets towards the Israel-controlled Golan Heights,
03:05claiming it was a retaliation for Tuesday's strike by Israel on Lebanon.
03:10The attack came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with key mediators from
03:16Egypt and Qatar to press ahead with a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.
03:22Blinken said time is of the essence as fear of further escalation grows.
03:27An Egyptian official with direct knowledge of the negotiations says the deal offers promises
03:33instead of guarantees and that Hamas would not accept this.
03:37For example, the deal states Hamas must release hostages in the first phase,
03:42parties would only then negotiate the following phases.
03:46The official says this means Hamas would release civilian hostages in return for a pause of
03:51fighting with no guarantee for a permanent ceasefire.
03:56The proposal also doesn't clearly say Israel will withdraw from the two strategic corridors in Gaza.
04:03Mediators are scheduled to meet on Thursday and Friday in Cairo for more talks on the
04:09proposal before submitting it officially to Hamas.
04:14The Chinese government on Wednesday said it has initiated an anti-subsidy investigation
04:21into dairy products imported from the European Union.
04:24The EU exported 1.7 billion euros in dairy products to China last year, down from 2 billion in 2022.
04:32Analysts say Beijing may be playing into tensions within the farming sector.
04:36There is this Chinese strategy of occupying a space in the European economy and using
04:43what is perceived as our strong point of exports, food and agriculture.
04:50But we must not be fooled and we must see that it is an iron fist that is being played.
04:56We must defend fairly clearly the common agricultural policy, which is a false problem.
05:04Beijing's action is seen as a response to the European Union's decision to update the
05:10tariff rate on electric vehicles imported from China.
05:14In this trade tit-for-tat, the EU is also at odds with Chinese subsidies for wind turbines
05:20and solar panels.
05:22On the other side, Beijing opened an inquiry into European pork, liquor, chemical products
05:28and medical devices.
05:31Speaking at a conference in Spain on Tuesday, the EU's chief of diplomacy, Josep Borrell,
05:36admitted it was possible that a trade war with China was inevitable.
05:40But an analyst says it's too early to say.
05:43I think for a real trade war to happen, you need some kind of a downward spiral where
05:48retaliatory measures of each side basically kind of get to a point where you get to a
05:53very large share of total trade, which would be affected by measures.
05:58Right now it's somewhat contained to certain sectors and certain industries.
06:02And I think it will depend also on how much of these measures actually get into place
06:06eventually.
06:09But some analysts say the real test will be what happens if Republican candidate Donald
06:15Trump, who advocates for greater trade protectionism, wins the US elections in November.
06:22The European Commission has decided to only impose a 9% tariff on Chinese-made Tesla electric
06:32vehicles imported into the EU.
06:35This is significantly less than the original 20.8% tariff Brussels proposed in July, which
06:41was aimed at levelling out the domestic electric vehicle industry that favoured Chinese products
06:47due to generous Beijing subsidies.
06:50Tesla's specific tariffs were handed down once the US-based company, headed up by Elon
06:55Musk, requested an individual assessment.
06:59According to the European Commission's decision, it believes that Beijing's quote
07:04unfair subsidies afforded to Chinese companies do not totally extend to Tesla's EVs.
07:11The EU also revised duties on other Chinese car makers, such as Geely and BYD.
07:18But many heavy tariffs remain for China's EV manufacturers, with the Chinese Chamber
07:23of Commerce to the EU blasting the decision for being quote protectionist.
07:28If approved by member states, the tariffs would last for five years.
07:36Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a surprise visit to Chechnya, a mainly Muslim
07:43republic in the Russian Federation.
07:46The Kremlin leader is rallying military support as his forces face a stunning cross-border
07:54incursion by Ukraine in the Kursk region.
08:16Putin met Chechen special forces that are training to potentially take part in the conflict.
08:29The Chechen leader said on Telegram that more than 47,000 fighters, including volunteers,
08:37have been training at the special military academy since the full invasion of Ukraine
08:43began.
08:44Fighters from Chechnya, whose bid for independence after the Soviet Union's collapse led to years
08:51of war with Russia, are already participating on both sides of the conflict in Ukraine.
09:00Ukraine's parliament approved a ban on religious groups tied to Moscow.
09:06One church in Ukraine has become a target as it historically has been tied to the Russian
09:11Orthodox Church.
09:14The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, or UOC, insists it is independent from Moscow.
09:28The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is independent and self-governing.
09:33It is not subordinated to any center in Ukraine, other than the Kyiv metropolis.
09:42But the Ukrainian government claims the UOC remains tied to the Russian Church, who called
09:48the Russian invasion into Ukraine a holy war.
09:52Considering the fact that Patriarch Kirill proclaimed the murder of Ukrainians and the
10:00destruction of Ukrainian statehood, it is generally difficult to imagine how one can tolerate
10:06the activities of this organization on the territory of our country, which suffers from
10:10this war.
10:11The bill, voted in favor by 265 MPs, requires Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's signature,
10:19which is expected.
10:24The department in France of Isère is being affected by an epidemic of a new variant of
10:30Blue Tongue.
10:31An outbreak of 31 cases has so far been confirmed by the French government, with a further 100
10:37or so suspected.
10:38In Polignas, sheep farmer Cédric Ruzin has already seen 55 of his 150 animals die.
10:50Unfortunately, sheep farmers say there is not much they can do for the affected sheep
10:55and vaccination is too late.
10:57The new strain is causing concern in the industry.
11:00We had lost the habit of vaccinating, of protecting ourselves against this virus, since there were
11:06no symptoms, no loss in breeding.
11:08We had lost the habit of protecting ourselves against this virus, since there were no symptoms,
11:14no loss in breeding.
11:17Vaccination is the solution, but we arrive too late.
11:22We are in the boom of the epidemic.
11:25Unfortunately, it is a disease against which we can be quite detached once it is in the
11:30shepherd, because we just have to do treatments to treat the symptoms.
11:33We cannot treat the disease itself, but we can try to mitigate the symptoms and make
11:37sure that the animals pass the test.
11:39Now, sheep farmers are awaiting answers from officials on if they can get help subsidizing
11:44the vaccines.
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