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00:00Hundreds more emergency responders will be deployed in Spain after devastating flash
00:06floods killed over 150 people.
00:11Germany closes three Iranian consulates in the country in response to Tehran's execution
00:16of Iranian-German prisoner Jamshid Shamad.
00:21Could the European enlargement project be thrown off course following the elections
00:26in Georgia and Moldova?
00:31About seven people have been killed in northern Israel in the deadliest Hezbollah rocket strike
00:36since Israel's military invaded southern Lebanon.
00:45The Spanish government is deploying hundreds more soldiers to distribute essential aid
00:50After devastating flash floods killed over 150 in the country's worst natural disaster
00:56in decades.
01:00Rescue workers are still searching for survivors after torrential rain and hailstorms on Tuesday
01:06devastated several regions of the country, the eastern province of Valencia being the
01:10hardest hit.
01:13Thousands were left without water and electricity and hundreds stranded after their cars were
01:18wrecked or roads were blocked.
01:21More than 1,200 soldiers from Spain's emergency rescue units have joined regional and local
01:27emergency workers in the search for bodies and survivors, with Spanish authorities saying
01:32the death toll is likely to rise.
01:37Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez pledged the government's full support to the areas
01:41affected as he visited Valencia.
01:45He urged people to remain at home, saying the situation remained unstable.
01:55Dramatic flooding in Spain is a reminder that Europe is not immune to extreme weather events.
02:02According to a report by Imperial College London, three of the deadliest such events
02:07in the last 20 years have hit the continent.
02:10The document links climate change with the intensification of these events and the potential
02:16risk of more casualties.
02:21Well, we can't say that extreme weather events are caused purely by climate change.
02:34We know that the severity of them is massively enhanced by climate change.
02:39The heatwaves of 2022 and 2023 claimed almost 90,000 victims in Europe, according to the
02:46report.
02:47However, researchers are also cautious about the figures, pointing out that it is more
02:52difficult to measure the mortality caused by a heatwave than in the case of floods,
02:58but that solutions do exist to prevent such disasters.
03:04We should be able to prepare for these events.
03:06So if you've got heatwaves, we should be able to have early heat warnings to tell people
03:11not to go out, to try and stay in cool places, to drink more water.
03:16When there's flooding coming, we know that we can issue flood warnings.
03:19And if people follow those flood warnings and they may have to evacuate the areas that
03:24are likely to be affected, it can take them out of harm's way and it can massively reduce
03:29the mortality from these events.
03:32This report was published a few days before the opening of COP29, the International Climate Conference.
03:40The UN has also pointed out that on this current course, the increase in temperature is likely
03:45to exceed three degrees before the end of the century.
03:51Germany has ordered the closure of all three Iranian consulates in the country.
03:56Authorities in Berlin said it was in response to the execution of Iranian-German prisoner
04:02Jamshid Shammat, who was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020.
04:06His execution followed a trial last year that Germany and international rights groups dismissed
04:12as a sham.
04:13We have repeatedly made it clear to Tehran that the execution of a German citizen will
04:22have serious consequences.
04:25Therefore, I have decided to close the three Iranian consulates in Frankfurt am Main, Munich
04:32and Hamburg.
04:34According to the Iranian judiciary, Shammat was put to death in Iran on Monday on terrorism charges.
04:40Iran accused him of planning a 2008 attack on a mosque that killed 14 people, including
04:47five women and a child.
04:49Tehran claims over 200 others were injured in the attack.
04:56Following reports of North Korean troops deployed in Russia, Belarus' leader said no one had
05:01seen any Pyongyang soldiers on the front line with Ukraine, accusing the West of inflating
05:06the fact which may lead to escalation.
05:08Belarus has been a staunch supporter of Russia since Alexander Lukashenko, dubbed Europe's
05:13last dictator, came into power decades ago.
05:16The country has allowed Moscow's troops to be stationed within their border, acting as
05:20a staging area for the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
05:24We need this in Europe.
05:26We don't need it.
05:28It's neither Russia nor Ukraine, nor us, nor you.
05:31The Eurasian continent doesn't need it either.
05:35But the danger is great.
05:37Therefore, today, before putting forward some concepts from one side or the other, and
05:45what they call the plan of victory or something else, all this is possible, even stupidity.
05:54But we need to sit down at the negotiating table, without preconditions.
06:00Also speaking at the event, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Moscow
06:05planned to sign a strategic treaty with Iran in the near future.
06:09We will welcome their involvement.
06:11A serious factor in strengthening Russian-Iranian relations will be the upcoming agreement on
06:18a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran.
06:23The agreement, as I said, is being prepared to be signed in the near future.
06:27It will confirm the aspiration of the parties to closer cooperation in the field of defense
06:32and to interact in the interests of peace and security at the regional and global level.
06:40Moscow has not provided any evidence to back its claims of NATO or the West's intention
06:45to act aggressively towards Russia or its troops.
06:48One of the Kremlin's main alleged reasons for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
06:58Despite criticism from other political parties, Austria's newly elected parliamentary president
07:04Walter Rosenkranz, who belongs to the far-right Freedom Party, hosted Hungarian Prime Minister
07:09Viktor Orban in Vienna as his first official guest.
07:15Other Austrian parties, including the Greens and Social Democrats, had pushed back against
07:20Orban's visit, saying the Hungarian leader attacks freedom of expression and democratic values.
07:28The right-wing Freedom Party finished first in recent Austrian elections.
07:34Experts say the party managed to tap into Austrian anxiety on housing and health care,
07:39often successfully blaming migration for a host of other issues.
07:46Both the Freedom Party and Orban's Fidesz party were founding members of the European far-right
07:51Patriots for Europe group, which is now the third largest in the EU Parliament.
08:00The party is opposed to providing Ukraine with military equipment, questioned the efficacy
08:05of Western sanctions against Russia and challenges the project of European integration
08:10as well as the power granted to EU institutions.
08:16Could the European Union's enlargement policy be at a crossroad?
08:23On Wednesday, the European Commission presented its annual progress report on candidate countries.
08:32But the publication comes after two elections in Moldova and Georgia, which have upset the
08:38political momentum seen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
08:42The former said yes to Europe but by a narrow margin of 50.4%.
08:50The Georgians, on the other hand, have kept a party in power that has adopted laws inspired
08:55by Russia. This has raised questions about the attractiveness of the European project.
09:05The European Union definitely has a lot of credibility, particularly in Georgia, and
09:09this is what the people choose for their future. It's not about the credibility of
09:12the EU, it's about the current government that is really taking their choice away from
09:17the Georgian people. In Moldova the situation is a little bit different because Moldovans
09:21are very poor currently and they have been the victims of all the manipulation from Kremlin
09:26including increased prices, inflation, and they're just really vulnerable to that.
09:31With allegations of interference from Russia in two elections, questions are also being
09:37raised about the EU's ability to be a political alternative and a guarantor of security and
09:43stability. This analyst believes that in order to strengthen their credibility, the 27 member
09:50states must no longer delay enlargement.
09:54I don't think any of these countries are looking towards Moscow. I mean, that train left the
09:59station a very long time ago. I mean, Moscow remains a huge threat to the entire region
10:06and to the EU. But the EU really needs to stick to the commitment that it made, not
10:14just for the sake of the candidates and its own security, but also for its credibility
10:20as a geopolitical actor.
10:24Observers like Amanda Paul are calling on the EU to support reforms and the defense
10:29of democratic values among the candidates for accession in order to bind them more closely
10:35to the European project. If the European response is insufficient, they say Russia could strengthen
10:41its influence in these territories.
10:47At least seven people have been killed in northern Israel after a barrage of Hezbollah
10:52militant attacks from Lebanon. Israel's main emergency medical organization confirmed
10:57the deaths of a 30-year-old man and 60-year-old woman in the northern city of Haifa hours
11:04after officials in Metula said that five people were killed. According to Israeli officials,
11:10the deaths in Metula on Thursday included four foreign workers. The attacks marked the
11:16deadliest strikes to hit Israel since its military invaded southern Lebanon earlier
11:21this month. Meanwhile, the Israeli military warned people to evacuate from more areas
11:27of southern Lebanon as airstrikes across the country killed at least eight. According to
11:34Lebanese government estimates, some 1.2 million people have been displaced since the Israeli
11:40escalation.
11:46For more UN videos visit www.un.org