00:00A teenage girl has been killed in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian town of Nikopol.
00:10Draghi puts forward proposals to counter Europe's rapid decline. If accepted, the cost will
00:16be 800 billion euros of investment annually.
00:21Russian troops fired at least a dozen artillery shells at the town of Nikopol in Dnipro, Oblast
00:27on Monday morning, killing a 16-year-old girl.
00:32Two men and one woman were also injured in the attack, according to the town's governor.
00:38Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force claims to have downed six out of eight drones launched by
00:43Russia overnight, along with two Russian cruise missiles.
00:48It comes as Ukraine says Russian attacks on its territory over the past day have killed
00:53at least seven people and injured scores more.
00:59Russia's Ministry of Defence has released footage of what it claims shows Russian aviation
01:04crews carrying out air strikes on Ukrainian armed forces in the Kursk region.
01:11Meanwhile, China's state news agency reports Russian naval and air forces will take part
01:17in a joint exercise with China in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk later this
01:22month.
01:28Former Italian Prime Minister and President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi
01:31presented his report on the future of European competitiveness on Monday.
01:36The report has 170 proposals to increase productivity and has security and reduced dependencies
01:42while keeping the European social model intact.
01:47His initiative comes at a crucial moment for the future of Europe.
01:51The EU is losing ground as each passing year it becomes less able to compete with China
01:56and the United States in global trade arena.
01:58It's going to be a slow agony.
02:02And think about the fact population is declining and by 2040 two million workers a year will
02:09disappear from the labour market.
02:12So we're going to be a society that basically shrinks.
02:17Draghi calls for a minimum of 750 to 800 billion euro additional investment per year.
02:22This means increasing the EU's investment share to around 27 percent of EU gross domestic
02:27product.
02:28To achieve this goal the European Union would have to issue common debt instruments one
02:31more time as it was done for the recovery of post-pandemic known as the planned next
02:35generation EU which was also a 800 billion euro model.
02:39And the big question is, is there need of safe common assets?
02:43Yes, the answer is yes.
02:45While the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen seems open to the idea, some
02:49EU governments are likely to oppose it, making it very difficult to achieve.
02:53Overall, the suggested amount is twice the size of what Europe spent after the Second
02:57World War to rebuild.
02:59I think it's not very likely at the moment.
03:01We do not have a German coalition government that is in the position to make any progress
03:08or any moves in that direction.
03:10They are politically very divided and the opposition is also against it.
03:16And we do not have a clear French political landscape that would help to build trust.
03:22So at the end of the day, joint borrowing really only works when you have more trust
03:29among member states, which we don't.
03:31Draghi's report, which helps defining tasks for the next commissioners, also encourages
03:36boosting the European defence industry, research in innovative technologies and decarbonisation.
03:42According to Draghi, without action, Europe will have to either compromise its welfare
03:46or its environment or its freedom.
03:52A massive distortion in the electricity market between the southeast and west of Europe means
03:57energy prices are significantly more expensive in the Balkans.
04:02This was stressed by the Greek prime minister during a press conference, who said he would
04:06be raising the issue with the European Commission.
04:32Mitsotakis admitted that the single energy market has not worked in recent months and
04:58that these distortions did not exist until last May.
05:03He also explained how Greece is currently exporting energy to Ukraine while they historically
05:08imported it.
05:17The Greek prime minister stressed that in the short term what his government has done
05:21and will continue to do so is impose taxes and fees on producers making what he described
05:27as sky-high profits.
05:28He noted that while the electricity producers are not doing anything illegal, they are exploiting
05:34a distortion in the system, and set out plans to return these profits to the consumers.
05:43Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that he and Ukrainian President Volodymyr
05:48Zelensky agree that Russia should be included in a future peace conference aimed at ending
05:52the war in Ukraine.
05:54Scholz also called for increased efforts to solve the conflict.
06:06A previous international peace conference in Switzerland in June ended with 78 countries
06:11expressing support for Ukraine's territorial integrity but otherwise leaving the path forward
06:17unclear.
06:18Russia did not participate in those talks.
06:22Meanwhile, Zelensky has said he is thankful for the support he received at the Ukraine
06:26Defence Contact Group meeting in Ramstein on Friday.
06:30At that meeting, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Biden administration would
06:34announce another $250 million military aid package.
06:39The UK said it would send 650 air defence missiles while Germany pledged a further 12
06:45self-propelled howitzers.
07:04And on the battlefield, fierce fighting continues near the town of Pokrovsk.
07:08More than 20,000 inhabitants remain in the city despite Ukrainian authorities continuing
07:14to evacuate the strategically important town.
07:23The EU's diplomatic service has strongly condemned Russia's municipal elections held in occupied
07:30Crimean territory, stating the vote violates international law, the UN Charter and Ukraine's
07:37sovereignty.
07:39The EU does not recognise the so-called elections or their results in Crimea, the European Union
07:45External Action Service said in a statement on Monday.
07:50They are null and void and cannot produce any legal effects whatsoever.
07:56Eighty-three elections spanning regional to municipal were held throughout Russia from
08:01September 6th to 9th.
08:05Areas included the Ukrainian-controlled region of Kursk in Russia, which saw the country's
08:10third-highest percentage of voter turnout.
08:14The results, strongly expected to tilt towards Moscow-approved candidates, are slated to
08:19roll in by the end of September.
08:27Around 200 striking employees have gathered outside Audi's manufacturing site in Brussels
08:33to protest against potential job cuts, as the plant is threatened with closure.
08:40The blockade on the site's entrance began on Sunday evening and has continued into Monday,
08:45as unions claim management is seeking direct confrontation with workers.
09:03The strike comes after management announced early on Sunday evening that it would keep
09:19the plant closed until workers agreed to resume production normally and ship cars to dealers.
09:27Tensions were raised further after Audi threatened legal action after 200 vehicle keys were taken
09:33by workers as part of the demonstrations.
09:39Barcelona has become the global epicentre of sailing, and during the months of September
09:44and October, the Mediterranean city hosts the Americas Cup tournament, which is considered
09:50the pinnacle of international regattas.
09:58This year's tournament has many new features.
10:19Many watched the tournament from the water.
10:22For the first time in history, a women's team is competing in the Americas Cup, marking
10:34a significant milestone after 173 years of competition.
10:41According to the organisers, the tournament is also expected to generate 1.1 billion euros
10:46in direct and indirect income.
10:57Barcelona also hopes the tournament will leave a long-term legacy in the fields of culture,
11:02education, sustainability and innovation.
11:17However, not everyone in the city believes that the event will have a positive and meaningful
11:34impact on residents. Several groups have repeatedly protested against the privatisation of public
11:39spaces for an event they describe as elitist.
