Latest news bulletin | August 23rd – Morning
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00:00Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has made his first visit to the border area since
00:10his forces launched a surprise offensive into Russia's Kursk region earlier this month.
00:16Speaking to the country's top military commander Oleksandr Siersky, Zelensky said new prisoners
00:21of war would help build an exchange fund to swap for captured Ukrainians.
00:27He also said Ukrainian forces had captured another village in Kursk but didn't name it.
00:33Zelensky said last week that Ukraine has no plans to occupy the area long-term but wants
00:38to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks from that area into Ukraine.
00:44Meanwhile a Ukrainian drone strike targeted the Marinovka airbase in Volgograd.
00:50The region's governor confirmed that a defense ministry facility had been attacked with drones
00:55and said there had been no casualties.
00:58Outside Moscow on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke about the situation with
01:03governors of regions bordering Ukraine.
01:06Putin claimed that Ukraine had attempted to strike the Kursk nuclear power plant.
01:11And in Washington, U.S. officials said the Biden administration will send about $125
01:31million in new military aid to Ukraine.
01:34The latest package will reportedly include air defense missiles, high-mars munitions
01:39and counter-electronic warfare systems.
01:47Romania's Prime Minister Marcello Ciolacco met with European Commission President Ursula
01:52von der Leyen in Brussels to discuss the country's candidate and portfolio in the new executive
01:58term.
02:03Similar to Italy and the Czech Republic, the Romanian leader declared he wanted his commissioner
02:08to have a portfolio linked to economic policies.
02:38Ciolacco's pick for the position is one of the vice presidents of the European Parliament,
02:57the socialist MEP Victor Negrescu.
03:01Bucharest also did not present a female name, despite Ursula von der Leyen requesting this
03:07from all member states.
03:09Negrescu justified his pick to Euronews by arguing that the last two Romanian commissioners
03:14were women and emphasized his youth instead, as he is 39 years old.
03:19I think what is important for the commission is to have someone that is involved at European
03:25level that has the experience necessary to be part of the European Commission.
03:29Of course I'm also young and I think we also need young people in the commission because
03:33we want to be appealing to young citizens across Europe that have participated quite
03:42to a large extent at European elections.
03:49The Prime Minister will only make the official announcement on August 26th, after a final
03:54battle with the other two parties in the government coalition, who have also presented
03:59candidates.
04:03Negrescu has been in the European Parliament for around a decade, interrupted by a year's
04:08experience as Minister for European Affairs.
04:12Ursula von der Leyen expects to receive the names of all the candidates from countries
04:16by the end of August.
04:23Two weeks into Kyiv's surprise incursion into Russian territory and Ukrainian forces
04:28show no sign of stopping, as Ukraine crossing from Sumy into Russia's Kursk region caught
04:34everyone off guard, including civilians, observers, Ukraine's Western allies and some Russian
04:40authorities.
04:41According to Institute for the Study of War analysts, the operational security was crucial.
04:48The basically secrecy in which the planning for this was shrouded in is proving to be
04:53very, very important.
04:55And I think that Ukraine rightly learned from its experience planning for the 2023 counteroffensive
05:02last year, because there was a lot of messaging and a lot of telegraphing for that.
05:08And it really allowed the West, but also Russia to basically anticipate where Ukraine was
05:15going to attack and when.
05:17Experts from the Institute for the Study of War believe that seeing the conflict reach
05:22their own border could change the Russian people's perspective on the war.
05:34There's so many nuances that right now seem very fresh, but I think will generate discontent
05:40in the long term.
05:41The use of conscripts, for example.
05:43And then more broadly, that idea that the Russian border is not impermeable, that it
05:51is actually a vulnerability and that Russian society needs to start seeing it as a vulnerability.
05:57I think that will change a lot of the ways that Russian society is viewing the war and
06:03seeing kind of how the war can actually be felt by the Russian domestic populace, whereas
06:08they've been very largely apathetic towards it in the past.
06:14Ukraine claims to have seized over 1,000 square kilometres in the Kursk region, surpassing
06:19what Russia captured in Ukraine over eight months.
06:23Yet the term war remains banned here, as it does throughout the rest of Russia.
06:33The European Commission is mobilising support for Portugal as it battles a wildfire near
06:40Ribeira Brava Madeira.
06:42The spokesperson for the EU Commission, Bala Juval, said that after Portugal activated
06:49the EU civil protection mechanism, the EU provided two firefighter jets and implemented
06:55additional measures.
06:59Now at the request of Portugal last week, we also activated what we call the Copernicus
07:02satellite system, which has allowed us to provide Portugal with a significant number
07:08of satellite images.
07:10The Commission will of course continue to observe the situation on the ground and we
07:14are ready to mobilise additional assistance if needed.
07:18In anticipation of this year's fire season, the bloc has strengthened its rescue and European
07:23civil protection pool capabilities.
07:26The EU's response now includes 28 airplanes and four helicopters from 10 member states.
07:32Additionally, over 560 firefighters from 12 countries have been deployed across Europe
07:38ready to help local fire brigades.
07:45The body of UK billionaire Mike Lynch has been recovered and brought back to land following
07:52the sinking of his vessel in Sicilian waters.
07:56Five people have been confirmed dead in the incident.
07:59One person is still missing.
08:02Fifteen survived.
08:03They were rescued by a nearby sailboat.
08:09The 56-metre long boat sank in the early hours of Monday morning during a violent storm as
08:16it was moored about a kilometre off the coast of the town of Porticello.
08:23Civil protection officials said they believe the ship was struck by a tornado over the
08:28water known as waterspout, but questions remain open as to how such a large yacht,
08:36the Bayesian, sank in a matter of minutes.
08:40On Wednesday, Italian authorities squeezed the boat's captain James Catfield for over
08:46two hours trying to find out more.
08:53A mobile ramp, a giant swim belt and two helping hands.
08:58That's all it takes to enjoy the summer in Balaton, even for those who live their whole
09:03life in a wheelchair.
09:05After a four-year break, the Maltese charity service has held its five-day youth camp,
09:12in which 105 people with physical disabilities participated in.
09:17Each with a volunteer by their side.
09:36The campers could enjoy a sports exhibition featuring para-athletes, alongside a funfair
09:42with bull riding, skill games and target shooting.
09:47They could even race cars with their minds.
09:49For Richard, this is his sixth camp.
09:52He says the most important thing is that there are no barriers and anyone can make friends
09:57here.
10:08Young people can finally party together.
10:11During the day they sing retro hits on the sailboat, and in the evening they can have
10:16a beer or two during the concerts.
10:38Beer lovers rejoice!
10:43The two-week hop picking season has kicked off in Czech Republic.
10:47It is one of the world's largest hop producers, with over half of its harvest destined for
10:52export, mostly to China and Japan.
11:03While there has been a reduction in beer production since COVID, there has been a rise in demand
11:08for premium beers with higher hop content.
11:13Czech Republic currently has around 5,000 hectares of hop farms, which is 6 hectares
11:18less than last year.
11:22The agricultural ministry counts about 120 registered growers this year.
11:28With the earliest record of its cultivation in the 11th century, hop is one of the Czech
11:32Republic's most traditional and successful crops.