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00:00At least seven dead in Lviv. Authorities say three children are among those killed in a
00:07Russian attack.
00:10France interior minister blames smugglers after a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized
00:16killing at least 12 people.
00:22Nearly 200 middle schools in France started experimenting this week with a ban on phones.
00:32The Kashkash city council will provide affordable housing for teachers who live far from where
00:37they teach.
00:44Syrian refugees are being prevented from reaching Europe, then deported back to danger in Syria.
00:52And the European Union is complicit.
00:54These are the conclusions of a new report.
00:57Human Rights Watch spoke to 16 Syrian refugees who had tried to cross to Cyprus irregularly
01:03from Lebanon, which hosts 1.5 million displaced Syrians and where hostility towards refugees
01:10is on the rise.
01:1111 had been expelled by the Lebanese authorities back to Syria, four of them after having been
01:17pushed back to Lebanon from Cyprus.
01:20Without legal and safe pathways to Europe, they attempt this really dangerous journey,
01:26trying to cross the sea to reach a better life in Europe.
01:29What we found instead is that the Lebanese armed forces and for their part, the Cypriot
01:36Coast Guard prevented them from continuing their journey.
01:41They were also beaten, shoved, handcuffed at times, arbitrarily detained and really
01:49subjected to inhuman treatment before they were, probably the most devastating part of
01:55the story, forced to return to Syria, where we know and have documented, as many other
02:00organizations have, the way in which refugees, returnees are arbitrarily detained, disappeared
02:09and sometimes killed on return to Syria.
02:13The European Union is funding several migration control projects in Lebanon.
02:17In May, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a further 1 billion euros
02:22in financial support, including money to equip and train the Lebanese authorities to better
02:27manage the borders.
02:29Human Rights Watch says EU money is propping up those responsible for human rights violations.
02:36There really doesn't seem to be any kind of conditionality or consequence for funding
02:45these agencies.
02:46In fact, what we've seen with the EU-Lebanon deal, it's almost a reward.
02:50Here is another pledge to provide outrageous sums of money without, you know, any kind
02:57of conditionality attached to them.
03:00The Cypriot government has indicated it wants to secure the new role of European Commissioner
03:05for the Mediterranean, which would involve overseeing the EU's migration deals with countries
03:10in its southern neighborhood.
03:12Human Rights Watch says the choice would be irresponsible, given the Cypriot authorities'
03:17documented pushbacks against refugees.
03:24The Romanian MEP Roxana Minzatu is her country's designated commissioner after her government
03:30changed candidate and put forward a woman.
03:32The move is in support of Commissioner President Ursula von der Leyen's right for gender equality.
03:40She asked each country to send a man and a woman for her to choose from.
03:46Romania is seeking an economic portfolio and Bucharest believes the former minister for
03:50EU funds and secretary of state for procurement is the right fit in terms of competence.
03:57We're looking at the competitiveness of the European Union and all the tasks and objectives
04:04that lie ahead because we're obviously in a moment where in the global competition Europe
04:08needs to do something, needs to re-industrialize, President von der Leyen has taken on some
04:15ambitious goals in this direction with the re-industrialization, the clean, green re-industrialization
04:21of Europe.
04:24Only around a third of EU countries have sent women, including Spain, Belgium and Bulgaria.
04:30The majority of others have, for their own domestic reasons, defied the request by Ursula
04:34von der Leyen to promote gender balance.
04:36Von der Leyen's last cabinet was nearly 50-50 man to woman.
04:41Menzatu believes the imbalance is in line with the rise of far-right nationalism across Europe.
04:46The numbers are poorer than they used to be, which goes to show that you think you have
04:53progress and it can be reversed.
04:56It is probably also a photograph of the atmosphere and of the spirit of societies in which, as
05:04I've said, politicians are not making enough effort to put this on the agenda.
05:10I've often explained that the lack of women in public authority positions is directly
05:16related, in my opinion, with gender-based violence because it's a mentality, it's a
05:22bias that exists that women are vulnerable, that they are victims and this is enhanced
05:28by the fact that authority positions are male almost all the time.
05:34Ursula von der Leyen is due to announce her nominations for commissioners on September
05:3711th.
05:38After that, each designated commissioner will be scrutinized for their suitability by MEPs
05:44at the European Parliament later in the month.
05:52At least seven people were killed in a Russian missile strike on Lviv on Wednesday.
05:58Three children and a medical worker were among those killed and 35 others were injured, according
06:04to the Western Ukrainian city's mayor, Andriy Sadovyi.
06:08He said multiple houses, two medical institutions and two schools were damaged.
06:15Russia has also attacked several other Ukrainian cities this week, including Kyiv, Kharkiv,
06:20Dnipro and Zaporizhia.
06:26Wednesday's attack comes a day after Russia launched ballistic missiles at a military
06:30academy and nearby hospital in Poltava, killing over 50.
06:36The strike was the deadliest single attack this year.
06:40Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered an investigation and reiterated Kyiv's
06:45demands for help from its allies.
06:55The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
07:01and reassures they will increase nuclear safety assistance to Ukraine.
07:07He says they will expand their inspections to include the electricity substations that
07:12provide power to Ukraine's power plants.
07:15Some of the, not stations, but some of the power lines have been affected.
07:22We indicated already at that time that this was a risk for the plant.
07:28The IEA could or should be looking also at the substations.
07:35It comes after Russians shelling allegedly damaged power lines leading to the Zaporizhia
07:40plant.
07:42That is according to the plant's power producer Energetom.
07:47Grossi is now set to visit the Zaporizhia plant.
07:51It follows shortly after he visited the Kursk plant in Russia last week.
07:58The French government blamed smugglers after a boat capsized in the English Channel, killing
08:03at least 12.
08:05The comments from the French interior minister came after a boat carrying more than 50 migrants
08:09capsized off France's northern coast, with a pregnant woman and six minors reportedly
08:15amongst the dead.
08:17During the incident, he highlighted the importance of re-establishing a better relationship with
08:21the UK.
08:22The smugglers, often of foreign origin, touch a lot of money to be able to smuggle people
08:29to Great Britain.
08:30They are responsible, they are criminals.
08:34Local authorities said the boat got into difficulty off the coast and everyone aboard ended up
08:39in the water.
08:40Boats and aircraft were scrambled for the rescue operation.
08:46The boat was believed to have been heading to the UK in yet another perilous journey
08:50across the Channel, which is a busy and often treacherous waterway.
09:05In this middle school in the southern suburbs of Paris, the students started out their morning
09:10by giving their phones away.
09:12Nearly 200 middle schools in France started experimenting with the so-called digital break
09:17this week, a total ban on cell phones in the classroom.
09:22The goal?
09:23To limit screen time and fight cyberbullying, an initiative that pleases both school staff
09:29and even students alike.
09:42Phones are stored all day in five briefcases like this one, for a total cost of 300 euros,
09:54which the school paid out of pocket.
09:57A financial burden deemed too important by some of the departments that fund middle schools
10:02in the country.
10:03France's education minister disagrees.
10:29If this experimentation goes well, the ban will be extended to every school in January
10:342025.
10:40Cascais City Council is offering affordable housing for teachers who teach in the municipality
10:46but have to travel from far away.
11:01Teachers who live more than 60 kilometres away from where they teach will be eligible
11:05for the housing.
11:08The monthly rent ranges from 150 to 400 euros, depending on the type of accommodation.
11:14Since 2017, rent in Portugal has more than doubled.
11:31The council says they will also provide temporary housing for those who are filling in for just
11:35a few months, for example for teachers replacing individuals who are on sick or maternity leave.
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