Latest news bulletin | August 29th – Morning
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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00:00A top UN official raised the alarm on nuclear safety in Ukraine and Russia.
00:11New Canadian-funded NATO infrastructure has opened at the Adazi military base in Latvia.
00:22Flights were grounded and emergency services were hampered after a major IT outage spread
00:27across the Netherlands.
00:38At a Security Council meeting, he says the UN nuclear watchdog reported periodic military
00:44activity near power plants in both regions.
01:08Meanwhile, Russia stepped up its offensive in Ukraine, firing dozens of missiles and
01:14drones in its biggest onslaught in weeks.
01:18Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation near Pokrovsk and other areas
01:24of the Donetsk region remains extremely difficult.
01:27He says this is where Russia's largest forces are concentrated.
01:33He once again called on Ukraine's allies to consider lifting restrictions on the use of
01:38long-range weapons.
01:43The cutting of the red ribbon marks the opening of additional NATO multinational brigade infrastructure
01:49at the Adazi military base in Latvia.
01:53The new Canadian-funded facilities will house the brigade's tanks and armoured vehicles
01:58and will provide areas for maintenance.
02:20The brigade is expected to be ready for combat by 2026.
02:25Meanwhile in Lithuania, construction is underway for the development of a military base in
02:31Rukla.
02:32The base is funded by Germany and implemented via NATO and will be one of the two bases
02:37in Lithuania to house German soldiers.
02:52The brigade will be home to around 2,000 soldiers, including combat vehicles, and is
02:57expected to become completely operational in 2027.
03:04Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced Spain will sign a series of partnership agreements
03:10with Gambia aimed at stemming the surge in migrants arriving to the Canary Islands from
03:15West Africa.
03:18Our countries will sign a memorandum of understanding on circular migration.
03:24This new initiative aims at facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration that will benefit
03:33both our countries and citizens.
03:37Sanchez's visit to Gambia is part of his three-day tour of West Africa, during which he hopes
03:43to reinforce bilateral relations with Mauritania, Gambia and Senegal.
03:49The three coastal African nations have become the main departure points of migrants trying
03:54to reach the Canary Islands, where, according to Spain's interior ministry, more than 22,000
04:00people have arrived since January.
04:05Sanchez reached an agreement with Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani earlier this
04:11week to renew cooperation between their nation's security forces to combat people smuggling.
04:18UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Berlin on Tuesday in a bid to repair relations with
04:25the EU and to renegotiate some of the Brexit terms agreed to by the previous Conservative
04:31government.
04:33Starmer and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a new deal that they hope to finalise
04:38by the end of this year that will focus on security, trading and intelligence sharing.
04:44Whilst both leaders said there was no change in their stances on the Middle East and on
04:48weapons delivery to Ukraine, they said they would focus their efforts on smashing illegal
04:53smuggling rings in a bid to curb irregular migration to both the EU and the UK.
04:59Whilst the two countries celebrated their close friendship, they are becoming increasingly
05:04isolated in Europe as two of the very few remaining countries governed by Social Democrats.
05:11Germany's federal election is scheduled for autumn 2025 and a change in the government
05:16is widely expected to be on the cards.
05:20Liv Stroud, in Berlin, for Euronews.
05:30Emergency services were hampered after a major IT outage spread across the Netherlands.
05:36The outage was a result of a malfunction in the IT system of the Dutch Ministry of Defence.
05:48The highly secured network is used by emergency services, the Royal Maréchaussee and the
05:53Ministry in The Hague.
05:56The outage also impacted Eindhoven Airport, which shares facilities with the Ministry
06:01of Defence.
06:0220 flights were cancelled and others were redirected to Amsterdam and Brussels.
06:09The extent and the cause of the outage remains unclear, although there is reportedly no indication
06:14of militia's intent.
06:25The Defence Ministry have since confirmed they were restarting its systems.
06:33Croatian firefighters say they prevented a large wildfire from growing and engulfing
06:39homes in a town near Split.
06:44A chief fire official said the situation in Jaranovnica has stabilised, with none of the
06:50250 firefighters involved injured.
06:56Two Canadair waterbombing aircrafts extinguished a fire raging in a nearby mountainous area,
07:02he added.
07:06The fire broke out after a lightning storm on Monday and was accelerated on Tuesday due
07:12to strong winds.
07:16Many Balkan countries have battled large blazes over the summer period, including Bulgaria,
07:22Greece and North Macedonia.
07:27Experts warn the Mediterranean will continue to experience the brunt of the climate crisis
07:33as the region battles extreme temperatures and drought.
07:42Northern Greece is facing a significant water crisis, owing to prolonged drought conditions
07:48exacerbated by successive heatwaves and a lack of rainfall.
07:53Until recently, Lake Pykralimni in northern Greece was a popular destination for mud baths,
07:59but this summer it's just cracked earth.
08:01The shoreline of Lake Doirani, which straddles Greece's northern border with North Macedonia,
08:19has receded by 300 metres in recent years.
08:23In Halkidiki, the olive grove of Dimitris Papadakis is also suffering from drought.
08:29Six weeks before harvest, he and his son have to transport water by truck.
08:34And in Nia Potadia town in Halkidiki, a very popular tourist area, locals use all sorts
08:40of ways to cope with frequent household water cuts.
08:43The EU's emergency management service says acute drought conditions extend from the Black
09:11Sea westward into northern Greece.
09:17Extreme heat and drought.
09:19This year in Italy, the product of olive oil, one of the fundamental ingredients of the
09:23Mediterranean diet, will suffer heavy consequences from water scarcity.
09:28The region of Apulia in the south of Italy is responsible for around 50% of the national
09:33olive oil production, but the drought has been felt harshly here.
09:39Pietro Leon manages an agricultural company in the province of Foggia, with around 100
09:44hectares planted with olive trees.
09:46This year, low rainfall has seriously impacted olive production, and next November's harvest
09:51promises to be poorer than the previous year.
09:54The
10:18Cappaccio Dam is the closest to the city of Foggia, and supplies water to the entire province,
10:23for industry, irrigation and drinking purposes.
10:26It is fed by a stream that transports rainwater into the reservoir.
10:30Today, this dam is practically empty and contains just 2.5 million cubic metres of water, compared
10:37to the usual 17 million cubic metres.
10:40What little there is, comes from last winter.
10:43This year, the dam did not fill.
10:46The other three reservoirs in the province of Foggia are only 50% full.
11:16The low water levels of this artificial reservoir may be an advantage for grazing cows, but
11:32are very dangerous for olive trees.
11:34Although these plants need less water than other crops, temperatures above 40 degrees
11:39for 50 consecutive days put the production of olives, and therefore the precious olive
11:44oil, at great risk.