Latest news bulletin | October 15th – Midday
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00:00Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated demands that UNIFIL temporarily
00:06leave Lebanon's combat zone.
00:12The European Union is extending its sanctions to Iranian entities and individuals linked
00:17to Russia.
00:19NASA's Europa Clipper is on its way to Jupiter to reveal whether its moon's ocean might hold
00:26the keys to life.
00:35Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated demands that United Nations
00:39peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, temporarily leave the combat zone.
00:46International criticism is growing after Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on UN peacekeepers
00:51since invading Lebanon two weeks ago.
00:55In a video statement released on Monday, Netanyahu rejected allegations that the Israeli military
01:00deliberately targeted the peacekeepers.
01:03The charge that Israel deliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel is completely false.
01:09It's exactly the opposite.
01:11Israel repeatedly asked UNIFIL to get out of harm's way.
01:14It repeatedly asked them to temporarily leave the combat zone, which is right next to Israel's
01:19border with Lebanon.
01:21Staffan Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, emphasized
01:26that the attacks on its peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.
01:30Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international
01:35humanitarian law, and they may constitute war crime.
01:38He called on all parties, including the IDF, to refrain from any and all actions that put
01:43our peacekeepers at risk.
01:45The UN Security Council has reiterated its support for UNIFIL's role in supporting regional
01:50security, as well as its support for the peacekeepers' continued presence in southern
01:54Lebanon, despite Netanyahu's calls for their removal.
02:02The European Union is extending its sanctions to seven Iranian individuals and seven Iranian
02:08entities linked to the shipment of missiles to Russia.
02:12Among them are several airlines, the country's deputy defense minister, and important members
02:17of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
02:20Their assets will be frozen and they will be banned from entering the European Union.
02:25This was one of the decisions taken by EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell, who reiterated
02:30the European Union's disagreement on the Middle East conflict.
02:34We should also be clear-eyed about what the Israeli leadership is doing, and what looks
02:43like a full determination to pursue its military objectives at a high cost.
02:50Borrell also announced that he wants to bring the review of the bloc's trade agreement with
02:55Israel to the next meeting of ministers.
02:59Spain and Ireland called for its suspension months ago if the country shown to be violating
03:04human rights.
03:06But neither Madrid and Dublin's demands nor the High Representative's intentions are shared
03:11by several EU countries.
03:14Among them is the Czech Republic, who said on Monday that they are not closing the door
03:18on armed shipments to Israel.
03:25The European Union is to toughen its air pollution limits, bringing them closer to what is recommended
03:30by the World Health Organization.
03:34Environment ministers signed off the stricter limits at the Environment Council in Luxembourg.
03:39But some countries expressed their reservations about meeting the deadlines.
03:44Malta for example claims it would be impossible for it to meet the new limit on nitrogen dioxide.
03:50And Germany welcomed a clause that allows governments to postpone the deadline until
03:542040.
03:56They also sought reassurance from the European Commission that it will not be forced to restrict
04:01car driving or close industrial plants.
04:10China held large-scale military exercises around Taiwan and its islands in what it called
04:15a warning against Taiwan's independence.
04:20The drills come days after Taiwan's President Lai gave a speech on Taiwan's National Day.
04:25He said China has no right to represent the island and declared his commitment to resist
04:30annexation.
04:33Taiwan's defence ministry condemns the drills as a provocation and say they are prepared
04:38to retaliate.
04:57China have increased its military exercises around Taiwan in recent years.
05:02In May, similar large-scale drills followed Lai's inauguration.
05:08China has previously said Taiwan's independence is a dead-end and that annexation by Beijing
05:13is a historical inevitability.
05:24German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the
05:28six West Balkan states to Berlin on Monday as part of the 10-year Berlin Process summit.
05:34The Berlin Process aims to bring countries such as Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia
05:39and Herzegovina, Albania and North Macedonia together to sign agreements to enable them
05:44to become full EU member states.
05:47Five out of six agreements were signed and restrictions on export from Serbia to Kosovo
05:52were lifted.
05:54Scholz underlined that the states could only join together despite some of them likely
05:58to meet conditions quicker than the others.
06:01He encouraged the states to help each other out.
06:04Montenegro is seen as the first promising country to be integrated to Europe despite
06:09the process beginning more than 20 years ago.
06:12Whilst Montenegro expects to meet all the requirements before 2028, Scholz said he hopes
06:17the whole process would be complete before 2030.
06:22But with Ukraine and Moldova's memberships to the EU being accelerated since Russia's
06:26full-scale invasion in Ukraine, it's likely to leave a sour taste in the mouth of the
06:31six Balkan states.
06:33Liz Stroud, in Berlin, for Euronews.
06:40Poland is accelerating efforts to strengthen the defence of its borders with Russia and
06:45Belarus.
06:47Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Monday that construction of the so-called East Shield
06:51project will begin earlier than planned, by the end of this year instead of next.
06:57This project will increase military fortifications and other defence measures on Poland's eastern
07:02border over a length of approximately 800 kilometres.
07:07Construction is expected to last four years.
07:11Tusk was present at a training ground on Monday where the first exercises took place
07:15in testing elements of the project's new infrastructure, and emphasised that it is part of a combined
07:20effort with the Baltic states and Finland.
07:33Tusk also said that he is to discuss European funding for the project in Brussels in the
07:38near future.
07:48The European Peace Facility was created before the Ukrainian war as an instrument to enhance
07:52the EU's ability to defend its borders.
07:56The European Peace Facility was created before the Ukrainian war as an instrument to enhance
08:01the EU's ability to prevent conflicts.
08:03But the Russian invasion changed it all.
08:07Since then, the EPF has been used to partially reimburse member states for the weapons and
08:13ammunition donated to Kiev.
08:16But for more than a year now, Hungary has been blocking the transfer of 6.6 billion
08:21euros to Ukraine.
08:23These funds are supposed to help Ukraine to strengthen its defence sector and to provide
08:29of course ammunition to the country and all the support the EU can provide so that Ukraine
08:36keeps fighting this war.
08:38Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the funds have been growing.
08:43In total, the EPF amounts to 17 billion euros now, from which more than 11 billion is reserved
08:50for Ukraine.
08:53This money comes from the contributions of EU member states, and it is not part of the
08:57EU budget.
08:59But for the money to flow to Ukraine, member states have to approve it unanimously, and
09:04Hungary opposes it.
09:23That is
09:37why European Union officials and diplomats are exploring a new plan to bypass Hungary's
09:42held veto.
09:44The plan will allow member states to make financial contributions to the EPF on a voluntary
09:49basis, rather than a mandatory one.
09:52The discussions are ongoing.
10:00A NASA spacecraft blasted off on Monday on a quest to explore Jupiter's moon, Europa,
10:06and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean might hold the keys to life.
10:10It will take Europa Clipper five and a half years to reach Jupiter.
10:16Scientists are almost certain a deep global ocean exists beneath Europa's icy crust, and
10:22where there is water, there could be life, making the moon one of the most promising
10:26places out there to hunt for it.
10:29Europa Clipper won't look for life itself, as it has no life detectors.
10:34Instead, the spacecraft will zero in on the ingredients necessary to sustain life, searching
10:39for organic compounds and other clues as it peers beneath the ice for suitable conditions.
10:45If conditions are found to be favorable for life at Europa, it opens up the possibility
10:50of life at other ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond, according to scientists.
10:56With an underground ocean and gazers, Saturn's moon Enceladus is another top candidate.
11:033 U.S.-based men won the Nobel Prize in Economics for studies on how institutions are formed
11:13and affect prosperity.
11:16Daron Acemoglu was amongst the trio of winners and said over a video call he never expected
11:22the accolade.
11:25You dream of having a good career, but this is over and on top of that.
11:29So it's a great surprise and honor.
11:33The research explored how different colonial strategies led to institutional patterns in
11:38Europe that have persisted over time.