Latest news bulletin | August 8th – 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
00:00Counter-protesters took to the streets of the UK following a week of far-right rioting
00:05fueled by misinformation over a stabbing attack against young girls.
00:10Danish high schools are deciding to block disruptive sites like social media to keep
00:15students focused while they're in class.
00:21The race for the medal table top spot intensifies as the US and China climb their way up with
00:28new goals.
00:32July was the second hottest month ever recorded.
00:35According to data published on Thursday by the European Climate Agency Copernicus, the
00:40air temperature averaged 16.91 degrees Celsius.
00:46The margin with July 2023, the hottest month on record, is very small, just 0.04 decimal
00:53points, but other records were set this month.
01:15These indications bring to an end a cycle of 13 consecutive monthly temperature records,
01:20which began in June last year.
01:23For Copernicus experts, the margin between the data observed between 2023 and 2024 is
01:29so slim that the overall context of global warming remains the same.
01:53In Europe, it was mainly the south and east of the continent that experienced the highest
02:11temperature anomalies in July.
02:15In contrast, the west saw average or even slightly lower temperatures compared to last
02:20year.
02:26Far-right demonstrations anticipated by UK police across the country failed to materialise
02:32as peaceful anti-racism protesters showed up instead.
02:37Police had braced themselves for more violence following a week of rioting and disorder fuelled
02:43by misinformation over a stabbing attack against young girls in Southcourt.
02:48Stand-up to racism and other groups planned counter-protests, but in most places were
02:52instead met with no opposition.
02:55Large peaceful crowds gathered outside agencies and law firms specialising in immigration,
03:01which had been listed by internet groups as possible targets of far-right activity.
03:06It was a vast change from rioting that erupted throughout parts of the UK since July 30th.
03:13Far-right extremists had clashed with police, fuelled by misinformation about the stabbing
03:17attack that killed three girls in Southport.
03:20Social media users falsely identified the suspect as an immigrant and a Muslim.
03:28Upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna were cancelled after Austrian authorities arrested
03:33a 19-year-old man for allegedly plotting an attack in connection with the events.
03:39The man was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna and a second man who was believed to
03:44be in contact with the first suspect was arrested in the Austrian capital itself.
04:14Local media say that the man was previously known to authorities as a terrorism suspect.
04:25Authorities were tipped off about the attack by a foreign security service and the man
04:30was reportedly arrested following a large police operation with over 100 nearby residents
04:36evacuated.
04:38All three of Swift's upcoming sold-out concerts at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna were
04:43cancelled following the arrests.
04:47With the summer holidays coming to an end, several Danish high schools are deciding to
04:51block disruptive sites to keep students focused during the academic term.
04:57Social media streaming, shopping and games are included in the block sites to fight against
05:02the disruptive impact of the internet.
05:05The decision comes following new recommendations from the Danish Ministry of Children and Education.
05:11There are some sites that frustrate you more than other sites, and it can be sensible
05:15to close them down so that you don't get frustrated.
05:17But isn't it a bit presumptuous of the students to tell them what they can and can't do?
05:22No, I don't think so.
05:23We have a responsibility to ensure that they get a really good education.
05:26Despite best intentions, some students are critical of the new policy.
05:30We were all a bit disappointed that we weren't able to decide what we wanted to do.
05:36As a student, I think you feel that some of your rights and freedoms are being taken away from you.
05:40Over the next year, schools will find out whether the decision really is student-proof.
05:50The Austrian branch of the Climate Action Group Last Generation announced that they
05:54are disbanding and ending their protests.
05:57Activists say that they aren't seeing any prospect for success and that the government
06:01is not responding to their requests.
06:03The protest form was absolutely necessary at the time we decided to do it.
06:07We needed a certain daily disruption.
06:09At the end of the day, the problem of failure is that not enough people dared to stand up
06:15peacefully against the government and to oppose it.
06:19Last Generation had several tactics, but mostly relied on disruptive forms of action.
06:25One of the group's infamous acts includes blocking traffic by gluing themselves to busy roads
06:30and airport tarmacs.
06:34Communication experts say that this form of disruption does catch the public's attention,
06:38but is often short-lived and does not result in political change.
06:43I think it's better this way.
06:45Why?
06:46Because they can't achieve anything with it.
06:48Why?
06:49Because it has to be decided on a high level and not on the streets.
06:54I don't think it's good, because the attention of climate activists has already contributed
06:58to people starting to think.
07:01Activists of the group claim that this does not mean the resistance is over, but instead
07:06that it is time for new and different campaigns to form.
07:1215 Russian athletes competing at this year's Olympics have an uneasy status as individual
07:17neutral athletes.
07:19Some in the Olympic village oppose them taking part and Russian opinion is divided, with
07:24some Russian politicians describing those competing as traitors.
07:29Activists gathered information from Russian athletes' social media leading up to the games,
07:33flagging posts they considered showed support for the war.
07:37One of these was allegedly Diana Schneider, who became one of the first Russians to win
07:41a medal at the Paris Olympics after taking silver in women's doubles.
07:46You published in February 2022 two posts on, you liked two posts on Instagram.
07:52I'm not going to answer anything about politics here.
07:55Okay, my question was only do you regret it and your position has changed or not?
08:01No, no comments about it.
08:03I'm here to talk about tennis and my game today.
08:07Ukraine wanted Russian athletes excluded and opposed Olympic efforts to include them as
08:11neutral athletes.
08:15Ukraine briefly boycotted Olympic qualifying competitions that allowed Russians to attend
08:19but changed their policy facing the risk of not being represented at the Olympics at all.
08:45It is quite literally the food of champions and organizers of the Paris Olympics are determined
09:09that it will not go to waste.
09:11Food that goes on eating at the games by athletes, spectators and workers is helping those in
09:17need around the French capital and efforts to cut down on waste and contribute to sustainability.
09:23Since the beginning we've received about for this warehouse here in Gennevilliers we've
09:27received about 15 tons and overall with the other warehouse in Paris about 30 tons.
09:36Some of the bounty collected by the food bank was brought to a grocery store in Epiners-sur-Seine,
09:42a northern suburb of Paris that sells food at deeply discounted prices.
09:47We take advantage of it because it helps us.
09:50It helps us because we don't have a lot of salary.
09:56Instead of going to the grocery store we buy less here.
10:03In addition to helping those in need, organizers say they hope the food donations will set an
10:09example for other Olympics to follow.
10:13China and the U.S. keep battling for the top of the medal table of the Paris Olympics.
10:19Team America won gold in women's team pursuit and in the men's 400 meters with an incredible
10:27comeback by Quincy Ho.
10:30China responded with victories in the men's 61 kilo weightlifting and in artistic swimming.
10:43On the EU side of things, the Netherlands rack up a new gold in women's dinghy to narrow
10:50the gap with Italy.
10:53And in boxing, Taiwan's Lin Yuting advanced to the featherweight gold medal bout in the
11:01face of ongoing misconceptions about her gender.
11:12In the men's 400 meters, Lin Yuting advanced to the featherweight gold medal bout in the
11:19face of ongoing misconceptions about her gender.
11:22In the men's 400 meters, Lin Yuting advanced to the featherweight gold medal bout in the
11:29face of ongoing misconceptions about her gender.
11:32In the men's 400 meters, Lin Yuting advanced to the featherweight gold medal bout in the
11:39face of ongoing misconceptions about her gender.