Latest news bulletin | October 17th – Morning
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00:00Israeli strikes across Lebanon killed at least 27 people on Wednesday, as the IDF ramps up
00:07attacks in the country.
00:11Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky unveils his ambitious victory plan, claiming it will
00:15end the war in one year.
00:17But Moscow is not impressed.
00:20NATO's chief is noncommittal about Ukraine joining the alliance, despite Zelensky saying
00:25victory hinges on becoming a member before the war ends.
00:30Albanian activists protest the first arrival of migrants on an Italian ship in opposition
00:36to the deal between Rome and Tirana to process asylum seekers.
00:46Israeli strikes across Lebanon killed at least 27 people on Wednesday, according to Lebanon's
00:51health ministry.
00:53In the southern city of Nabatia, at least 16 people were killed, including the city's
00:58mayor.
00:59Lebanon's caretaker prime minister accused Israel of intentionally targeting a municipal
01:04council meeting there to discuss relief efforts.
01:08Israel has ramped up its attacks on the country amid growing international criticism that
01:12it is targeting UN peacekeepers in the region.
01:16UNIFIL again said that Israel deliberately targeted its positions in an attack on its
01:21watchtower.
01:22Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza remains dire as Israel's siege of the
01:28Jabalia refugee camp enters its 13th day.
01:32The top UN humanitarian official is accusing Israel of blocking the delivery of desperately
01:37needed aid to Gaza, saying there's barely any food left in the north.
01:41During the first two weeks of October, just one out of 54 coordinated movements to the
01:49north via the al-Rashid checkpoint was facilitated by Israeli authorities, while another four
02:00were impeded but eventually accomplished.
02:05Following warnings from the U.S., Israel let in a limited amount of aid on Wednesday.
02:09But the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations called the progress insufficient.
02:17Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky finally revealed parts of his so-called victory plan,
02:22which consists of five points and three secret annexes.
02:26After he spent weeks touring Europe to promote the plan, Zelensky claimed the war may end
02:31much sooner than many believe.
02:46The plan includes an urgent official invitation to NATO membership, strengthening the country's
02:51defense, holding a non-nuclear strategic deterrence capability, use of strategic natural resources
02:57and offering Ukraine's military experience for Europe's security.
03:00But above all, it's about bringing the war to Russia.
03:29Kremlin's reaction came quick, as spokesperson Dmitry Peskov slammed and called it some ephemeral
03:35peace plan that used for camouflaging Washington's strategy to fight Russia until the last Ukrainian.
03:42Peskov also reiterated that a peace plan for Russia will only work if Ukraine understands
03:47the need to sober up.
03:51President Zelensky will come to Brussels and join the EU summit on Thursday, where he will
03:56present the plan before the European Council.
04:06NATO's chief has remained non-committal about Ukraine joining the alliance despite Zelensky's
04:11newly announced victory plan hinging on becoming a member before the war ends.
04:18Ukrainian President Zelensky said his victory plan could bring peace to the country by next
04:22year but the first in his five-point plan might be the one most likely to make Western
04:27allies balk.
04:30New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was non-committal about Ukraine's membership.
04:35We are in close contact with allies, with Ukraine to see how we can take next steps,
04:42how to do that in a way which is also successful, which is fruitful, etc.
04:50Obviously these are talks I cannot give you all the insights about, that's impossible
04:55in a press conference like this, but the victory plan, of course, we very much are debating
05:02with them.
05:04NATO's collective security guarantee is a political commitment by all member countries
05:09to come to the aid of any member that might be under attack.
05:13Many in the alliance refuse to allow Ukraine in while fighting continues for fear of being
05:19dragged into a wider war with Russia.
05:28North Korea is supplying Russia not only with weapons but also with people, including those
05:34who can work in Russian factories, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.
05:40Ukrainian outlet The Kiev Independent, citing its sources, reports that North Korea has
05:45sent 10,000 soldiers to Russia to boost its war efforts against Ukraine.
05:52Ukrainian outlets Suspilne and Liga reported on the 15th of October, citing anonymous military
05:57intelligence sources, that Russian 11th Airborne Brigade is forming a 3,000-person battalion
06:03staffed by North Korean citizens.
06:06Now where could they be deployed?
06:09Ukrainian intelligence sources assess that the battalion will likely be involved in ongoing
06:12Russian defensive operations in Kursk region.
06:16Earlier Ukrainian partisan movement claimed that it had identified the presence of North
06:20Korean military personnel in training areas located close to Mariupol.
06:25Euronews could not independently verify these claims.
06:29The Institute for the Study of War says it has recently observed reports that a small
06:33contingent of North Korean personnel was operating near the occupied Donetsk city.
06:40Now the Institute for the Study of War says the Kremlin is likely leveraging the recent
06:44June 2024 Russia-North Korea Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement in part to
06:50offset Russian force generation and border security requirements, further cementing Russian
06:56President Vladimir Putin's commitment to avoiding mobilization for as long as possible.
07:02The think tank says Putin appears more willing to absorb North Korean personnel into Russian
07:07military and resort to other irregular force generation efforts than to call for a wider
07:13mobilization to actually address the combat situation.
07:21Activists in Albania have staged a protest against the first arrival of migrants transferred
07:26by the Italian authorities after their interception in international waters.
07:31Demonstrators on Wednesday gathered at the port of Shenzhen, one of the two centers Italy
07:36has opened in Albania.
07:51The protest followed the arrival of the first group of migrants at the port of Shenzhen.
07:57Under a five-year deal signed last November by the Italian Prime Minister and her Albanian
08:02counterpart, up to 3,000 migrants picked up by the Italian Coast Guard in international
08:08waters each month will be sheltered in Albania.
08:11The first center and area in Shenzhen, northwest of the capital Tirana, is used for screening
08:17newcomers.
08:23The Spanish government is considering setting up an emergency reception center for migrants
08:28at a disused airport south of Madrid.
08:32The proposal was met with condemnation from the town's mayor.
08:48UN refugee agency data shows that roughly 43,000 people immigrated to Spain in the last
08:53year by sea.
09:07The announcement coincides with a controversial offshore migrant processing center in Albania
09:12opening its doors and processing the first round of migrants rescued at sea by Italian
09:18ships.
09:20This Wednesday marks the third and last day that Marine Le Pen, the figurehead of France's
09:25far-right National Rally Party, took the stand in a long-awaited trial on charges of embezzling
09:31EU funds.
09:32Le Pen and more than 20 other senior party officials are currently standing trial at
09:38the Paris criminal court right behind me for allegedly misappropriating millions of euros
09:44intended to pay EU parliamentary assistants.
09:47Instead, Le Pen and her co-defendants are accused of paying staff who worked directly
09:53for her party in France and who rarely even set foot in Brussels or had any sort of role
09:59between 2004 and 2016, therefore violating EU regulation.
10:05During these three days, Marine Le Pen took the stand and she was quite combative, even
10:10accusing the judge of being biased towards her.
10:13Le Pen, who was an MEP for more than 12 years, maintained her innocence and said that it's
10:18not up to the EU Parliament to decide how these assistants should be employed.
10:24And the far-right leader is taking quite a big risk with this sort of argument because
10:28it found guilty Le Pen and her co-defendants face up to 10 years in prison and fines of
10:35up to 1 million euros each.
10:37And most importantly, it could lead to her ineligibility to even run for office, a scenario
10:43that could be disastrous for Le Pen's plans for the 2027 presidential election, her fourth
10:50and arguably most promising attempt.
10:53And this trial is scheduled to last until the end of November.
10:58Sofia Katsenkova reporting from Paris for Euronews.
11:05Frankfurt's book fair opened on Wednesday and this year it is setting its eyes on young
11:10adults.
11:12With the growing use of social media, the book industry is hoping to attract young adults
11:17back to real books.
11:20Trends on social media have more and more influencers presenting books, a good sign
11:24according to the fair's director.
11:27The German fair is the biggest book fair in the world and will run until 20 October, expecting
11:33more than 200,000 visitors.