Latest news bulletin | August 30th – Midday
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00French President Emmanuel Macron has signed a deal with President Aleksandr Vucic to sell
00:07Serbia 12 Rafale fighter jets. The announcement was made during a news conference in Belgrade
00:13during Macron's visit to strengthen Serbia's ties with the European Union. Macron called
00:19the deal historic and important.
00:22The choice of Rafale fighter jets by Serbia is a clear choice,
00:26one of a long-term alliance between our two countries
00:30within a stronger and more sovereign Europe.
00:34This choice is part of our strategic autonomy and the strengthening of it.
00:40Serbia needs to upgrade its fleet and Vucic said the Rafale deal was huge news.
01:00Russia has been the traditional supplier of military aircraft to Serbia, which has refused
01:05to join international sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. Macron warned
01:10that after the Russian invasion, Serbia's balancing game between world powers was an
01:15illusion. He said Serbia will only be able to protect its interests and preserve its
01:20identity as part of the EU.
01:36But selling Rafales to Russian ally Serbia, which has occasionally expressed an aggressive
01:41stance towards its Balkan neighbours, has raised some concerns. One of those is how
01:46France plans to prevent sophisticated Rafale technology from being shared with Russia.
02:06What difference would it make for Ukraine to be able to strike deep into Russia's
02:11territory? Allegedly, unnamed US administration officials stated that Russian forces have
02:17moved 90% of the aircraft that conduct glide bomb strikes from Russian airspace away from
02:24the airfields within the range of Storm Shadow and Atacams missiles. Now, look at this image
02:30The Institute for the Study of War says that there are 16 airbases located in the range
02:35of Ukrainian Atacams in Russia. And although the think tank does confirm the redeployment
02:42of Russian aircrafts, it insists it does not reduce the importance of allowing Ukraine
02:48to use Atacams against hundreds of other Russian military objects, nor does it reduce the importance
02:55of allowing Ukraine to use Atacams against hundreds of other Russian military objects,
02:59nor does the reportedly small number of Atacams the US has provided. Ukrainian forces are
03:05using homemade long-range strike systems to hit some of the objects beyond the HIMARS
03:12range, and although they are effective, they do have some vulnerabilities, experts say.
03:18These weapons systems, as we have seen, they have very long ranges, up to 2,000 km, so
03:24Ukraine was able to reach targets really, really far behind the front line. There are
03:29two major issues with these types of weapon systems. That's that they are rather slow,
03:34which means they are quite vulnerable. Once they are detected, it's quite easy to bring
03:40weapon systems in place to shoot them down. And then also they have a very limited payload
03:45capacity, which means that their destructive power compared to, let's say, a Storm Shadow
03:50or a Scalp-EG cruise missile is very, very limited. They're just not as lethal as the
03:56weapon systems are that Western states could provide and have provided Ukraine, but then
04:02of course only allow for them to be used inside Ukraine.
04:05Any assessment that rejects allowing Ukraine to strike legitimate military objects in Russia
04:10on the exclusive basis of air-assault redeployment is incomplete because it fails to account
04:16for the hundreds of other objects supporting Russia's war against Ukraine and would thus
04:23be incorrect.
04:29A top UN official has raised the alarm on nuclear safety in Ukraine and Russia.
04:35At a Security Council meeting, he says the UN nuclear watchdog reported periodic military
04:41activity near power plants in both regions.
04:44The International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, reported deterioration of the nuclear safety
04:53situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
04:58Concerns are also rising over nuclear safety and security in the Kursk region of the Russian
05:05Federation.
05:06Meanwhile, Russia stepped up its offensive in Ukraine, firing dozens of missiles and
05:11drones in its biggest onslaught in weeks.
05:16Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation near Pokrovsk and other areas
05:21of the Donetsk region remains extremely difficult.
05:24He says this is where Russia's largest forces are concentrated.
05:31He once again called on Ukraine's allies to consider lifting restrictions on the use of
05:35long-range weapons.
05:38It's a major river flowing across central Europe, but as Hungary endures another hot
05:43summer, its water level there has plummeted.
05:46Where the Tisza River flows through the county of Dzhaz-Nagykhon-Soyanok, islands of sand
05:52are visible.
05:53Even so, water is still readily available in the county, according to the local authorities.
06:08But there is a severe drought, which is affecting almost two-thirds of Hungary and hitting agriculture
06:14badly.
06:15It's estimated that four million tons of maize have already been destroyed.
06:19And although there's been rain recently, it's not nearly enough.
06:23The government says that the harvest should meet domestic demand this year, and there
06:27will be no need to import maize.
06:29But farmers are still hurting badly.
06:32Two years ago, this farmer says all his maize was destroyed by drought, and now he expects
06:37a 30 to 50 percent drop in yield.
06:42Farmers will be eligible for EU funds worth 87 million euros to make up some of their
06:47losses.
06:48However, agricultural economists estimate their losses at more than 600 million euros.
07:03Only a small percentage of arable land is irrigated, and food prices are sure to rise
07:10again due to this year's significant crop failure.
07:33Kiss Gábor, Euronews, Heves.
07:40Sharp glass needles that are created in volcanic eruptions have started falling on communities
07:45across the Reykjanes Peninsula as a volcano in southwest Iceland continues to erupt.
07:52The Icelandic Meteorological Agency said jets from the latest eruption have been particularly
07:57high, and that's spread the so-called witch's hair over a wide area.
08:02The Iceland Review travel website says as it's essentially fiberglass, witch's hair
08:07shouldn't be touched with bare hands.
08:10The eruption, which began on August 22 following a series of earthquakes, continues to pull
08:15in international visitors to Iceland.
08:18This is the sixth time the volcano on the Reykjanes Peninsula has erupted since December.
08:25Authorities say the eruption's effects remain localized with road closures, but don't threaten
08:30the population.
08:31Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hotspot in the North Atlantic, averages one eruption
08:37every four to five years.
08:39The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption, which sent clouds of ash into
08:44the atmosphere and disrupted air travel for months.
08:55Lilla Greisbach is an academic in Berlin, juggling taking care of her two children with
09:01preparing university lectures.
09:03Every year, her and her husband get a list from the school of what supplies are needed
09:09before their children head back to the classroom.
09:12It could cost up to 300 euros for one child.
09:16The first time when I saw the list, I got a shock because there are a lot of things,
09:22but on the one hand, it's okay that it's a very good structure and you know what your
09:27child needs, but it's very expensive.
09:32Families are facing rising costs in Germany.
09:35The National Statistics Office says that school supplies, like pens and books, rose between
09:415 and 13 percent in July last year, compared to the year before.
09:47Parents in need of financial support can get 195 euros for school supplies per child.
09:54But the Berlin Child Protection Association says that's not enough.
09:58Backpacks alone can cost 150 euros when they're specially designed to protect a child's shoulders
10:05and back.
10:06Costs also differ from state to state.
10:09School lunches are free in Berlin from grades one to six.
10:13In Hamburg, they cost a maximum of 4 euros and 35 cents.
10:19Students can get a free education in Germany even when they go to university.
10:24But some parents are increasingly choosing to pay, sending their children to private schools.
10:29One expert says that this could be due to rising immigration to Germany.
10:34When you ask them what is better at private schools, they say the educational program
10:41or the curricula or something.
10:44But in the most cases, also in Germany, the share of migrants, the share of poor children
10:56is even lower.
10:58And that may be one thing what has impact.
11:03Inflation has gone down to its lowest level in more than three years in Germany.
11:08But Leila is still feeling the financial pressure as a working mom.
11:13She says parents get more support in her native Georgia,
11:16where relatives have a greater role in helping take care of the children.
11:21I have the impression that the costs are getting higher because everything is getting expensive
11:29and therefore I think it's automatically expensive every year.
11:36On top of all the costs, she also has to pay for a babysitter after hours while she works.