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00:00At least 38 people have been killed in Khan Yunis on Friday following a series of overnight attacks.
00:11The head of the European Commission is expected to arrive in Serbia as part of a tour of the Balkans promoting EU enlargement.
00:21Strictly for European purposes. How the European Parliament is funding its elected members.
00:30For more information visit www.european.gov.au
01:00Israeli forces struck a school as well as homes in the Jabalia refugee camp and stormed the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, forcing its patients to evacuate.
01:10Three journalists of the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV were also killed in Lebanon on Friday.
01:16Lebanon's information minister called the attack on the compound, which houses several media organizations, a war crime.
01:23Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in London following a trip to the Middle East.
01:33He was in Qatar on Thursday, where he said he is expecting the revival of ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas in the coming days.
01:41President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is expected to arrive in Serbia as part of a tour of the Balkans promoting EU enlargement.
01:52Von der Leyen's expected visit to Serbia comes only a day after visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as North Macedonia.
02:01Whilst in North Macedonia, von der Leyen said the country had made great progress in implementing reforms necessary to join the EU.
02:10Von der Leyen said the EU was committed to its enlargement plans and it will be the Union's top priority.
02:17The Commission President also visited a central Bosnian village after it was devastated by recent floods and landslides, saying the EU stood with the country.
02:27After the disaster claimed 27 lives, Bosnia sought EU aid and many countries sent teams to help through the EU's civil protection mechanism.
02:41President of the European Parliament Roberta Mezzola met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni to discuss the main issues facing Bosnia and Herzegovina.
02:51Mezzola met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni to discuss the main issues facing Europe.
02:57The European leaders discussed topics ranging from Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine to the crisis in the Middle East and the situation in Venezuela.
03:06Mezzola made an appearance on local radio following the meeting to share what had been addressed.
03:11She described how solutions to immigration issues facing Europe must be found and said neither Malta nor Italy should be made to feel alone as the management of migratory flows was a European challenge.
03:24The European Parliament head also stressed the importance of the EU continuing to call for de-escalation in the Middle East as well as continued humanitarian aid.
03:34Mezzola also said Italy's pick for the European Commission, Raffaele Fito, would do an excellent job as commissioner and highlighted the importance of giving vice-presidency to Italy.
03:49Bulgarians are heading to the polls on Sunday for the seventh time in three years.
03:54Bulgaria is in dire need of a period of stable government to accelerate the flow of EU funds in recovery and resilience plan payments and to speed up the process to join the Euro.
04:05Ever since mass anti-corruption protests in 2020 toppled Bulgaria's centre-right government, a series of elections led to unstable and unsuccessful coalitions led by centrist and right-wing parties.
04:18Nikolai Denko, former Prime Minister and leader of the We Continue the Change coalition, said a series of laws relating to climate and corruption need to be passed as soon as possible and sent to the European Commission.
04:30The last elections were held in June when turnout stood at a record low of 34%.
04:36The latest polls suggest not much will change with the same three parties in the lead.
04:41The current coalition's GERB party, whose leader is Bulgaria's longest-serving prime minister since the fall of the Soviet Union, is expected to win the most votes.
04:50The pro-Russian right-wing Revival party is also growing, with approval for the EU reaching an all-time low in Bulgaria at 46%.
04:59All the running party leaders have held their final pitches in the lead-up to Sunday's vote.
05:11Georgia is heading to the polls on Saturday in a parliamentary election many citizens believe will be the most crucial vote of their lifetimes.
05:20The election will pit a coalition of opposition parties against the ruling Georgian dream, which many fear is dragging the nation towards authoritarianism and away from the European Union.
05:31Brussels put Georgia's bid for entry to the EU on hold indefinitely in August after the ruling government passed a Russian law cracking down on freedom of speech earlier this year.
05:43Georgian Dream argue it needed to curb harmful foreign actors trying to destabilise the country.
05:49But journalists and activists say its true goal is to stigmatise them and restrict debate before the election.
05:57Many Georgians fear that if the Georgian Dream party is re-elected, hopes of joining the EU could be permanently extinguished.
06:15This year, an election year, the funds allocated by the European Parliament to the political groups represented in it were paid out on a half-yearly basis rather than annually.
06:26The June election was a game-changer, with some, mostly right-wing groups, winning seats in the chamber and others losing, such as the Greens and the Liberals of the Renew group.
06:36The bulk of these funds is distributed in proportion to the number of MEPs in the group.
06:44During the six-month period, the European Parliament has paid out 31 million euros to the seven political groups and to non-attached members.
06:52The European People's Party, as the biggest group, received more than 8 million euros, the Social Democrats received almost 6 million and the far-right Patriots for Europe received 3.7 million.
07:05At the bottom of the scale, the Europe of Sovereign Nations group, which has 25 MEPs, received 1.17 million euros.
07:14The European Parliament allocates around 65 million euros a year for the support of the political groups. Most of it is distributed proportionally, so 97.5%.
07:242.5% is distributed in equal shares, but the bulk is distributed in proportion to the number of MEPs that the political group has.
07:33So bigger groups get more funding, smaller groups get less funding.
07:39The European Parliament's budget is the only source of funding for political groups and non-attached members.
07:45The funds are used to cover administrative and operational costs.
07:49They explicitly cannot be used to support national political parties or to finance election campaigns.
07:58However, the funds have been misused in the past and Parliament was forced to implement stricter controls.
08:08In Denmark, the Danish People's Party has used this group funding to support Facebook campaigns in the run-up to the Danish national elections.
08:16There have also been similar cases in France, for example, with the Front National back then, so it's quite some time ago,
08:22where group funding was also misused for the purpose of the national party and national candidates.
08:29Other funds from the European Parliament are paid directly to MEPs in order to pay their assistants' salaries.
08:39Vice President Kamala Harris rallied in Georgia on Thursday, an important battleground state where she hopes to win over black voters.
08:49With less than two weeks until election day, the race between Harris and Trump is as tight as ever.
08:55Polls show conflicting predictions, with Harris narrowly leading some and Trump others.
09:00In her speech, Harris had harsh words for her election opponent,
09:04comparing him to the predators, fraudsters, and repeat offenders she prosecuted in her early career.
09:11In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds. Predators, fraudsters, and repeat offenders.
09:21I took them on, and I won.
09:25Well, Georgia, in 12 days, it's Donald Trump's turn!
09:34Biden's campaign won Georgia in 2020, becoming the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the Southern states since Bill Clinton in 1992.
09:44Harris was joined by Bruce Springsteen and also shared the stage with former President Barack Obama for the first time in her campaign,
09:51who also did not hold back in his attacks on Trump, calling him a wannabe king and dictator.
09:58Harris' campaign is hopeful she can keep Georgia blue in 2024.
10:05The wine-growing town of Cognac in southwestern France is at the epicenter of a trade war between China and the EU.
10:15Since mid-October, Beijing has imposed temporary anti-dumping measures for imports of European brandy.
10:22This comes after the EU Commission said it wants to impose heavy tariffs on electric vehicles coming from China.
10:29Anxiety and frustration against the French government are brewing among Cognac makers.
10:35We are hostages in a conflict between Europe and China on electric vehicles.
10:43Cognac is strictly for nothing. We are completely sacrificed.
10:46So we can still catch up with the situation.
10:49It is up to our government to find solutions, to get closer to China, and to see what discussions there may be outside Europe.
10:57I would like to remind you that China is our first market in value, and our second in volume.
11:03France is expected to be the country most affected by this decision, with China importing as much as 99% of the spirit last year.
11:11That's about 1 billion euros in revenue.
11:14In addition to bad weather and harvest this year, Cognac makers fear this decision could threaten the future of their profession.
11:22Adding to this the issue of Chinese taxes, which would make us lose our second market,
11:28would lead to catastrophic consequences for all operators, winemakers, negotiators, and the entire industry around us.
11:34European brandies such as Armagnac, Italian Grappa, and all other grape spirits will also be overtaxed by China.