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00:00 At least four people have been killed in Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, in the latest wave of
00:07 Russian air attacks. Several Iranian-made drones smashed into two apartment buildings
00:13 in the overnight raid. Among those killed were three rescue workers, whose truck was
00:19 hit as they arrived at the scene. One civilian also died and 12 others were injured.
00:25 As Russia intensifies its air and ground offensive, Ukraine has responded by lowering the age
00:31 of conscription from 27 to 25. While public support for the war remains high, the move
00:38 is a harsh reality for many.
00:40 "I don't want to get involved with my child. I have only one son. I am a lonely mother.
00:48 Why should you forgive me? I have been trying to get him out of there for so many years.
00:55 And someone killed him for fun. I don't need it."
01:01 "Overall, I think it's not good. Considering the situation, where many young people are
01:11 dying, I understand that they are dying to protect the country. But did everyone want
01:18 to go there and die?"
01:21 "The new mobilization reflects the pressures the country's forces are facing along the
01:26 front line. Without guns and gradually losing ground, they are desperately in need of fresh
01:32 Western military supplies. Ukraine's only option is to boost the one resource it does
01:38 have - its soldiers."
01:40 NATO foreign ministers will continue forging a plan to provide more stable military support
01:51 to Ukraine. Officials descended on Brussels this week to mark 75 years of the military
01:57 alliance.
01:58 "We are now in the process of developing a more robust and enduring institutionalized
02:06 framework for support to Ukraine. There are different ways of ensuring that our support
02:13 is less dependent on voluntary short-term offers and more on long-term NATO commitments
02:22 and that we have a stronger organization that creates a more robust framework for our support."
02:30 Planning will continue on Wednesday.
02:33 It comes as European Council President Charles Michel spoke with European leaders in Romania
02:39 about the EU's five-year agenda. "The bloc will focus on security and defense, economic
02:44 stability and prosperity, enlargement and the EU project," Michel said.
02:49 After the recent deaths of seven aid workers in Gaza, the Palestinian city is now the most
02:57 lethal place in the world to be an aid worker, says International Rescue Committee.
03:02 "We have seen a significant increase in global attention to this issue, to the safety of
03:07 humanitarian workers in large part because of the nationalities of those who were killed
03:11 on Monday. And that is an uncomfortable reality, but if any good can come of that attention,
03:16 perhaps it can be an increase in political and diplomatic attention focused not just
03:21 on the safety of aid workers, which is important in and of itself, but on bringing about the
03:26 conditions in which aid can be scaled up and provided to Palestinians in Gaza at the level
03:31 that it's needed," Michel said.
03:32 Foreign political leaders have also weighed in on the recent deaths.
03:35 White House Press Secretary Kyrgyn Pierre said U.S. President Joe Biden is "heartbroken"
03:41 over those killed.
03:42 Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez branded comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
03:49 Netanyahu following the airstrike as insufficient.
03:53 "Additional clarification of what happened is needed," he said.
03:57 Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bill Abdullah Rahman Al Thani called the attack a violation
04:04 of international law.
04:06 It comes as internal pressure builds in Israel, with War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz telling
04:11 reporters on Wednesday Netanyahu should call an early election.
04:15 Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini survived a no-confidence vote in parliament.
04:29 The far-right League Party leader has been under fire for his suspected relationship
04:34 with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
04:36 He survived the censure motion easily in Rome on Wednesday with 211 noes, 129 yeses and
04:45 three abstentions.
04:46 Salvini, who is also serving as the transport minister, is known for his conservative immigration
04:54 policies.
04:56 "They voted 129 yeses."
04:58 The French police removed dozens of migrants from the forecourt of Paris City Hall as the
05:07 capital gets ready to begin its 100 days countdown of the start of the Olympic Games.
05:13 About 50 people, mostly women and children aged 3 to 10, were relocated on a bus to a
05:19 temporary government housing in eastern France.
05:22 "These are families, these are minors, these are our patients, these are people we try to
05:25 be supportive of.
05:26 And in the name of the Olympic Games, all we are offering them is to go far from Paris
05:30 to Besançon or Marseille."
05:32 Aid workers have expressed concern that the move is the beginning of a broader effort
05:35 by Paris authorities to clear out migrants in the capital before the Games.
05:40 "These proposals are not adapted.
05:43 There are places in Paris, but they are clear places for the Olympic Games.
05:48 So it's only about social cleansing and making the region invisible."
05:52 Many of the families are from French-speaking African countries.
05:56 "They said we have to go to Provence, but it's better than staying outside with the children.
06:03 It's not easy, it's tiring."
06:09 Olympic organizers have said they are working to find solutions.
06:14 Aid groups have distributed food, blankets and diapers and helped some of them find temporary
06:19 housing for a night or two.
06:22 An unexploded 500 kilogram World War II bomb was discovered this week in the Rhine River
06:36 in the German city of Cologne.
06:38 The explosive was uncovered during construction on the shipping channel near the Kennedy Embankment
06:43 in Deutz.
06:45 The Dusseldorf district government defined the danger zone as 500 meters.
06:49 The Rhine was closed to shipping for the defusing operation, which wrapped up Wednesday afternoon.
06:55 Several roads in the Rhine bank tunnel were also closed.
07:00 Small business owners and entrepreneurs say they have suffered the most from Croatia's
07:10 ban on Sunday shopping.
07:12 The ban has been in place since July and only allows shops to open on 16 Sundays of the
07:17 year of their choosing.
07:19 While unions are satisfied, businesses are not.
07:21 They are facing a 50 million euro drop in turnover this year with the loss of Sunday
07:26 trading.
07:27 Retailers claim layoffs and reduced profits will follow.
07:30 How the new trade law affects revenue in the high tourist season remains to be seen.
07:38 In Belgium, high house prices and the challenges in obtaining a mortgage make it impossible
07:43 for many to own a property.
07:45 Yet, this is expected to change with a social housing plan that would enable individuals
07:50 to purchase a home after renting for a certain period.
07:55 He will rent for 5 to 7 years at a fixed price, at a fixed price at the beginning.
08:00 This house or this apartment, and then after 5 to 7 years, will be able to make this effort
08:06 and then become the owner through a mortgage that will be offered.
08:11 If I decide to buy the property, well, for 4 years, half of the rents are considered
08:16 recoverable, so it's an advance.
08:18 So in fact, by paying my rent, I save half of the rent for future purchase.
08:23 And that's a big innovation in the planning of becoming a real estate owner.
08:27 The new trend in housing is co-living.
08:31 These are often large houses that have been renovated by private companies.
08:35 This upmarket form of shared living is increasingly popular with young workers, aged between 23 and 35.
08:43 (Speaking French)
08:46 Older people are also renting a cheap room to students to accompany their loneliness.
09:00 (Speaking French)
09:03 (Speaking French)
09:30 Democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights are core values of the European Union
09:36 that have been shaken over recent years.
09:39 In 2022, members of the European Parliament were accused of being involved in a
09:44 cash-for-influence corruption scandal which allegedly implicated Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania.
09:50 Fast forward 15 months, the European Parliament filed a lawsuit against the European Commission
09:55 over the release of frozen funds to Hungary, a country it claims failed to meet standards
10:00 of judicial independence set out in the EU treaties.
10:04 I see a lot of complacency in the European political class, all across the political spectrum
10:13 from the right to the left, in which people running for elections say,
10:18 "Well, the European citizens have probably forgotten about this."
10:22 And I don't believe so. I think there is something very profound that has to be attached to the Qatargate
10:29 and several other little or smaller scandals that have occurred since then,
10:34 suggesting that there is a culture of impunity within the institutions.
10:38 As the European elections approach, the credibility of the European institutions
10:46 has come under closer scrutiny.
10:51 According to the latest Eurobarometer poll, the second biggest threat to democracy
10:56 for people across the bloc is the growing distrust and scepticism towards democratic institutions.
11:02 However, the destabilization of democratic processes by threats such as cyber attacks
11:09 was the biggest concern for only 9% of respondents.
11:12 I would say they should live up to the values and standards that they ask of the 27 member states
11:17 when it comes to rule of law, when it comes to integrity of public institutions, when it comes to ethics.
11:22 And they haven't done so.
11:24 There is an unfortunate double standard between the Commission and Parliament and the member states
11:30 on the standards that they ask when it comes to these issues and the standards that they place on themselves.
11:36 And until that discrepancy is balanced or addressed,
11:40 then the credibility will continue to wane in the eyes of voters towards the institutions.
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