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00:00Volodymyr Zelensky says he hopes the war in Ukraine will end in 2025 through diplomacy
00:07rather than fighting.
00:11Protesters in Abkhazia refused to leave government buildings despite the breakaway region's de
00:16facto president pledging to step down.
00:22Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he hopes the war with Russia will end
00:26in 2025 through diplomatic means.
00:29Zelensky also claimed that Ukraine's military has become one of the most powerful in the
00:34world.
00:35In almost three years of war, Kiev has received almost 120 billion euros of military aid,
00:41mostly from Western allies.
00:43But Zelensky said Ukraine had achieved breakthroughs in its own weapons production, including missiles,
00:48drones and electronic warfare systems.
00:53Ukraine's foreign minister was in Kiev on Saturday to discuss North Korea's deepening
00:58military alliance with Russia.
01:00Takeshi Iwai said cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang didn't just pose a threat to
01:05Europe but also to Asia.
01:07According to intelligence assessments, up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent
01:12to Russia as part of a major defense treaty between the two countries.
01:22Lawmakers in the breakaway region of Abkhazia have refused to leave government buildings
01:26they stormed to protest against a new property deal.
01:30Lawmakers had gathered in the parliament to discuss ratifying measures allowing Russian
01:34citizens to buy property with generous tax breaks.
01:38Opponents say it will drive up prices of apartments and boost Moscow's dominance in the region.
01:44The region's de facto president Aslanbzhania said he would step down and hold early elections
01:49if demonstrators vacated parliament.
01:55But crowds in the capital Suhumi rejected the proposal and said they would only accept
01:59his unconditional resignation.
02:02That property deal has since been scrapped.
02:05Russia recognizes Abkhazia as an independent country, but many Abkhazians are concerned
02:10that the region of around 245,000 people is a client state of Moscow.
02:20Joe Biden has met China's President Xi Jinping for the final time before he leaves the White
02:27House in January.
02:28Xi was apparently looking ahead to Trump's return in his America First policy, saying
02:33Beijing is ready to work with a new U.S. administration.
02:36During their talks at the APEC summit, Xi cautioned Biden to keep exploring the right
02:41way for two major countries to get along well with each other.
02:44Xi's remarks were widely interpreted as being directed at the incoming Trump administration.
02:49Biden had been expected to press Xi to use his leverage over Kim Jong-un to dissuade
02:54North Korea from further deepening its military support for Russia.
02:58However, there were no reports any such talks took place.
03:01Kim's decision to send thousands of troops to help Moscow repel Ukrainian forces has
03:06been widely condemned.
03:08White House officials have expressed frustration with Beijing, which accounts for the vast
03:12majority of North Korea's trade for not doing more to rein in Pyongyang.
03:20An Italian charity has sent 15 tons of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
03:28The aid, which was collected from donors by the charity Misericordi, took off aboard a
03:32military aircraft from an airfield in Pisa.
03:35It will be shipped via the Cyprus Maritime Corridor, an initiative of the Cypriot government
03:40in coordination with the United Nations and international partners such as the European
03:44Union.
03:46Israel has long been criticized of impeding the flow of aid into Gaza, something it's
03:50always denied.
03:52On Thursday, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs accused Israel of
03:57using starvation as a weapon of war.
04:00But Kogad, the Israeli agency that tracks and records all aid transferred into Gaza,
04:04maintains aid is flowing into the Strip.
04:08According to data published on its website, more than 1.1 million tons of aid has passed
04:13into Gaza since the start of the war in October last year.
04:22Andrea Puzcarida has won the 22nd Junior Eurovision Song Contest, representing Georgia.
04:28The 11-year-old bagged 239 points in the final in Madrid with his song, To My Mom.
04:34Puzcarida's victory gives Georgia its fourth win at Junior Eurovision, making it the most
04:38successful country in the history of the contest.
04:41There's no obligation at Junior Eurovision for the winning country to host the next year's
04:45event, so music fans won't automatically be headed to Georgia in 2025.