Latest news bulletin | August 27th – Morning
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00:00Telegram and the war, how the arrest of the social media CEO could complicate things for
00:07the Russian military.
00:11The usual vile tactics, Ukraine accuses Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure again.
00:21Thousands of athletes and sports fans descend on Paris for the 2024 Paralympics.
00:34Pavel Durov's arrest could complicate Russian plans in Ukraine.
00:39Telegram is very popular amongst Russian speakers and plays a crucial role in the war in Ukraine,
00:45both for the operations on the ground and for the spreading of Moscow's narrative.
00:51According to the Institute for the Study of War, it is, quote, the main alternative
00:55to official communications for Russian military personnel in Ukraine.
01:02It's not just a news source, but it's a kind of key messenger that is used for coordination
01:09of action on different level, to store video, to share large files and all these kind of
01:16things.
01:17And you've got a lot of channels who are directly, more or less directly connected
01:22with the Kremlin or with the DOD, the Department of Defense of Russia.
01:30Telegram is an encrypted chat and avoided being put under Russian government control
01:35in 2018.
01:36But according to experts, the Kremlin has managed to manipulate it, having brought in
01:41stricter legislation on its activities.
01:44The owners of channels that are grouping more than 10,000 followers have to give the
01:53information to Roskomnadzor, which is more or less the organization who is in charge
01:59of controlling all the medias and social networks.
02:03In the same law, they are explaining that if you've got a channel who is followed by
02:09more than 500,000 packs, you have to give all the information on your users, just if
02:17RKN or the FSB is asking it.
02:20So there is a kind of, not a control, but let's say a kind of more or less cooperation.
02:26With its CEO in prison in a European country, Russian forces may start leaving Telegram,
02:32which in an extreme scenario could also be totally blocked in the country.
02:36This uncertainty will likely impact Russian frontline operations, even if it seems unlikely
02:42that the French authorities could disclose the information contained in the encrypted chats.
02:48They could try to do so.
02:51It would be illegal, because at the EU level, there is no decision about, you know, being
02:57allowed to read messages.
03:01Three months ago, the EU could not reach an agreement on this.
03:04So, yeah, they could try this, the secret services or whatever, but I really don't think
03:09that's the main problem now.
03:12Durov's detention is turning into a diplomatic incident between France and Russia.
03:18The Russian embassy in Paris accused France of refusing to cooperate.
03:21But French President Macron insisted that the arrest was not a political decision.
03:28Moscow has accused France of free speech double standards after the arrest of Pavel Durov,
03:36Russian billionaire and also the founder of the Telegram messaging platform.
03:41The arrest late on Saturday night prompted a stern warning from the Kremlin to the Elysee
03:46Palace that Durov should be accorded his full rights, further aggravating the already tense
03:52relationship between both countries.
03:55On Sunday night, French authorities decided to extend Durov's detention period for not
04:02curbing enough offenses allegedly on the Telegram platform, such as, for example, fraud, drug
04:08trafficking, organized crime and even promotion of terrorism.
04:13Durov could be held up to 96 hours for questioning.
04:17After the end of this detention period, a judge can then decide whether to set him free
04:22or to press charges against him.
04:24French President Emmanuel Macron insisted on Monday afternoon that Durov's arrest was
04:29in no way a political move.
04:32Russia's embassy in Paris said that they had tried to get in touch with Durov but said
04:36that the French side was not cooperating with them and that's because Durov also holds a
04:42dual nationality with France.
04:45Sofia Katsenkova reporting from Paris for Euronews.
04:50Russia fired 100 drones and missiles on 15 Ukrainian regions on Monday, leaving at least
04:58five people dead and energy facilities damaged.
05:02President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia's attack, which appears to be Moscow's biggest
05:08in recent weeks.
05:19Kyiv locals sheltered in subways as air sirens rang throughout.
05:27In the city of Krykvy V, dozens sought shelter after rolling blackouts hit.
05:35Kyiv locals sheltered in subways as air sirens rang throughout.
05:39In the city of Krykvy V, dozens sought shelter after rolling blackouts hit.
06:05In the city of Krykvy V, dozens sought shelter after rolling blackouts hit.
06:24International news agency Reuters announced on Monday one of its staffers, Ryan Evans,
06:30died after a Russian missile hit the Ukrainian hotel where he was residing.
06:35Belarus is concentrating a significant number of armed forces personnel as well as weaponry
06:44along Ukraine's northern border with Belarus.
06:47Ukraine has issued an official warning, urging Belarus to withdraw forces away from the border
06:53to a distance greater than the firing range of Belarus' systems.
06:57In its statement, Ukraine's foreign ministry said,
07:00we warn that in case of a violation of Ukraine's state border by Belarus,
07:04our state will take all necessary measures to exercise the right to self-defence guaranteed by the UN Charter.
07:11Consequently, all troop concentrations, military facilities and supply routes in Belarus
07:16will become legitimate targets for the armed forces of Ukraine.
07:20Kyiv noted that some former Wagner PMC troops were also present in the area.
07:27Ukraine and Belarus share a 1,084 kilometre long border.
07:32According to Ukraine's statement, military exercises in the border pose a global security threat
07:38due to the closeness of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster.
07:48Thousands of athletes will descend on the French capital for the 2024 Paralympics,
07:54set to kick off on Wednesday.
07:564,400 Paralympians, some of which will be torchbearers,
08:01will compete in 23 disciplines, spanning wheelchair rugby to para-athletics.
08:16Twelve torches will travel through 12 French towns before the start of the Games,
08:21giving sports fans a taste of what's to come.
08:31Other spectators witnessed the magic of the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics and have come back for more.
08:51French authorities have ramped up security at the Paralympic village,
08:55but a pair of Australian archers are not worried.
09:09Roughly 43,000 security personnel are on site to ensure that athletes can safely go for gold.
09:16Five of Berlin's highest awarded fine dining restaurants have shut up shop over the last 12 months.
09:23Others in the capital of the world's third largest economy are revamping concepts
09:28in a bid to attract customers and keep their restaurants alive.
09:32Head chef Sebastian Frank at the double Michelin starred restaurant Horvath says the situation is serious.
09:45Ten years later, in 2020, we have 20 restaurants with stars.
09:48The guests also have to spend their money.
09:51And that has changed dramatically.
09:54The market is getting smaller again.
09:57This small bubble, as you might call it, is now receding again.
10:01And the business, fine dining or gastronomy itself, will now be regulated again.
10:08Many restaurants will break away and the supply will become smaller and adapt to the market.
10:15According to a recent study, around 1 in 10 restaurants closed across Germany in 2023 alone.
10:21Experts are warning that many more bankruptcies and closures could be on the way
10:25after restaurants were hit by soaring inflation before they could fully recover from the pandemic closures.
10:31The German hotel and catering association Dehoge already sounded the alarm back in January
10:37that restaurants would have to close down
10:39after the government reintroduced the restaurant VAT from 7 to 19 percent following the pandemic.
10:46And it seems their predictions are already coming true.
10:51Basically, we have to say that in recent years,
10:54the operating costs have changed significantly due to Corona, wars and so on.
11:02We have now started to notice the rubber restaurants or fine dining restaurants.
11:07This is due to the price.
11:10Of course, you have to be willing to pay for it at the end of the day.
11:13The customer has to be willing to pay for it.
11:16I think that we have Corona was just the beginning.
11:19And I think there will certainly be something much bigger coming our way,
11:23where we will say at the end that we will have other problems than whether we can go to the restaurant tomorrow or not.
11:30For many of Berlin's fine dining restaurants, 2023 brought little profit.
11:35And it seems that despite the Euros, 2024 could also leave the same bitter aftertaste.