Latest news bulletin | August 22nd – Evening
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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00:00Rental advocates are calling on the German government to rein in temporary, expensive
00:07and furnished apartments.
00:12Hot picking season has kicked off in the Czech Republic with many farmers joining in.
00:22President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledges Russia's advancement and emphasizes the importance
00:27for Ukraine's allies to fulfill their obligation with munition supplies.
00:43One person died and at least 16 people were injured after 24 settlements of the Kherson
00:48region came under Russian fire.
00:51And in Pokrovsk, Ukrainian forces defend the city from Russian troops who are quickly advancing
00:57towards the logistical hub.
01:00The defeat of Pokrovsk, which is one of Ukraine's main defensive strongholds, would bring Russia
01:05closer to its stated aim of capturing the Donetsk region.
01:10The Ukrainian president says he also hopes to see advancement in the plan to loan Ukraine
01:15the promised $50 billion from frozen Russian assets.
01:20Earlier this year, 27 EU member states agreed to use the interest earned on Russian central
01:26bank assets to help support Ukraine.
01:32Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Poland to meet Prime Minister Donald Tusk
01:38and President Andrzej Duda, the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Warsaw in 11
01:45years.
01:47The two countries signed an agreement to facilitate the mobility of specialized workers.
01:53The Russia-Ukraine war was also at the core of the talks, as the Indian leader called
01:59for a peaceful resolution.
02:23Modi, however, faced criticism for stopping short of condemning Russia's full-scale invasion.
02:36Last month, he traveled to Russia, where he met and hugged President Vladimir Putin.
02:43Ukraine's President Zelenskyy defined it a devastating blow to peace efforts.
02:50Modi will try to ease tensions when he travels to Kyiv on Friday to meet the Ukrainian leader.
03:01Every day, the number of graves in the park next to the Calvary Cemetery in Ushkhorod,
03:06Western Ukraine, grows.
03:08This place has become the memorial site for recent fallen fighters of Transcarpathia.
03:14Roughly 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according
03:20to U.S. estimates.
03:22Some Hungarian men in Transcarpathia went home to escape Ukraine's military draughts.
03:47Others did not.
03:48Two Hungarian-Ukrainian men hiding in Western Ukraine spoke to Euronews about how dodging
03:54the conscription has impacted them.
04:14While thousands share information online of how to escape the clutches of recruitment
04:44One local says he has heard stories in Ushkhorod of bribes to avoid the front lines getting
04:56more expensive.
05:11According to the Center for European Policy Analysis, Kyiv needs hundreds of thousands
05:17of more soldiers to defeat Russia's army.
05:25The body of UK billionaire Mike Lynch has been recovered and brought back to land following
05:31the sinking of his vessel in Sicilian waters.
05:35Five people have been confirmed dead in the incident.
05:39One person is still missing.
05:41Fifteen survived.
05:43They were rescued by a nearby sailboat.
05:49The 56-meter long boat sank in the early hours of Monday morning during a violent storm as
05:56it was moored about a kilometer off the coast of the town of Porticello.
06:02Coastal protection officials said they believe the ship was struck by a tornado over the
06:07water known as Waterspout, but questions remain open as to how such a large yacht, the Bayesian,
06:17sank in a matter of minutes.
06:20On Wednesday, Italian authorities quizzed the boat's captain, James Catfield, for over
06:25two hours, trying to find out more.
06:33The European Commission is mobilizing 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.
06:56At the request of Portugal last week, we also activated what we call the Copernicus satellite
07:02system which has allowed us to provide Portugal with a significant number of satellite images.
07:09The Commission will of course continue to observe the situation on the ground and we
07:14are ready to mobilize additional assistance if needed.
07:17In 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.
07:44Like many Berliners, Jim Burghauser is on the lookout for a new apartment.
07:49Living on the outskirts of the city means he's traveling an hour and a half to get to
07:53his university.
07:54For me it's more that this living arrangement I have now is so far away from everything
08:00and this also makes people kind of lonely because you always need a lot of time to get
08:09somewhere you don't go somewhere that often and also to university and so much time I
08:15lose every day.
08:16Berlin's tenant association says one of the factors making it more difficult to find a
08:20long-term home is the amount of temporary furnished apartments on offer that aren't
08:25rent-controlled.
08:27Rent prices in Germany aren't allowed to be higher than 10 percent of the average rent
08:31per square meter in an area, but there are exceptions.
08:35One of them is if the apartment is for temporary use, plus owners are allowed to charge extra
08:41if it's furnished.
08:42The association says these apartments can be five times higher than the usual rent prices
08:48and they're taking away supply from people who are looking for unlimited contracts that
08:53are rent-controlled.
08:55The association is calling on the Ministry of Justice, led by the pro-business Free Democratic
09:00Party, to strengthen tenancy laws.
09:03The association wants owners to be required to show how much the furniture is worth and
09:08how much the apartment itself is being charged for, arguing this will eventually decrease
09:13exorbitant prices.
09:15But the Justice Ministry doesn't want to change the law.
09:18It seems that the FDP, the Free Democratic Party, is only in favor of the landlords and
09:26doesn't do anything in terms of the tenants.
09:29They not do anything on changes that would regulate the market.
09:35The Justice Ministry told Reuters that it does not see the need to change the law when
09:39it comes to furnished accommodation.
09:41It says that the construction of new apartments will help fight rising rents in the long term.
09:46The FDP parliamentary group says that instead of regulations, the focus should be on building
09:51more quickly and cheaply.
09:53But rising costs and high inflation has led to a crisis in home building.
09:58Germany has one of the highest portions of renters versus owners in Europe, but it's
10:03not the only one battling short-term rentals.
10:05Spain said that it would investigate websites like Airbnb to check that accommodations have
10:11licenses for tourism.
10:13As for Jim, he says he's gotten cynical about finding an apartment after searching for a
10:18year and a half.
10:19You always have this like rush of energy if you see an apartment you want, you get in
10:24contact, you know they got your message, you got a chance and you're happy for a moment
10:29and you got your hopes up and then in 99% of the cases, the next day or even a few minutes
10:35later or sometimes weeks later, you get the no basically.
10:40The construction minister says the government will present a strategy for people to move
10:44to the countryside to deal with the housing shortage.
10:51Beer lovers rejoice.
10:53The two-week hot picking season has kicked off in Czech Republic.
10:57It is one of the world's largest hop producers with over half of its harvest destined for
11:02export mostly to China and Japan.
11:14While there has been a reduction in beer production since COVID, there has been a rise in demand
11:18for premium beers with higher hop content.
11:23Czech Republic currently has around 5,000 hectares of hop farms, which is 6 hectares
11:28less than last year.
11:32The agricultural ministry counts about 120 registered growers this year.
11:38With the earliest record of its cultivation in the 11th century, hop is one of the Czech
11:42Republic's most traditional and successful crops.