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00:00NATO countries have called for the de-escalation of renewed violence in Syria, urging the protection
00:06of civilians and humanitarian infrastructure.
00:15German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Ukraine only weeks before he is set to ask his parliament
00:20for a vote of no confidence he is widely expected to lose.
00:25Scholz promised the war-torn country an additional aid package worth 650 million euro at a time
00:31of escalating Russian attacks.
00:35The German leader's approach to Ukraine has come under criticism, primarily due to his
00:39refusal to send powerful cruise missiles to Kiev as he argues it would risk Germany becoming
00:45directly involved in the conflict.
00:49Ukraine's ambassador to Germany called Scholz's refusal to send the weapons a blank check
00:54for the Russians.
00:56Scholz drew further criticism in November after he spoke on the telephone with Russian
01:01President Vladimir Putin.
01:03A call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said undermined international efforts to isolate
01:09Russia.
01:14Russia says it's captured two towns in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, just as
01:19President Vladimir Putin approved plans to raise military spending to its highest level
01:23yet, a third of the national budget.
01:26According to the Ministry of Defence, its servicemen also hit the infrastructure of
01:30Ukrainian airfields, drone assembly shops and warehouses.
01:35Ukraine's air force confirmed the attacks, saying Russia launched 78 drones overnight
01:40from the cities of Kursk, Orel and Bryansk.
01:43The air force also said it jammed about 32 of the drones, whilst regional authorities
01:48said at least 11 civilians were killed from the Russian strikes.
01:52Meanwhile, authorities in the Kherson region say three people were killed in a Russian
01:56strike there.
01:58It's one of four regions that Moscow illegally annexed in September 2022, but hasn't been
02:03able to completely re-occupy.
02:06A Ukrainian counter-offensive recaptured western areas of the Kherson region, including the
02:11regional capital, also called Kherson, nine months later.
02:16Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi makes a visit to the Syrian capital Damascus to
02:25meet President Bashar Assad.
02:28His visit comes as Syria's army launched counter-attacks on Sunday to repel insurgents who've seized
02:33control of Aleppo and areas in Idlib in a surprise offensive on Wednesday.
02:38Pro-Assad media say government forces had killed nearly 1,000 insurgents over the past
02:42three days, but no proof was provided to support those claims.
02:47The Syrian civil defense, a humanitarian group on the ground in opposition-controlled areas,
02:52say at least 18 people were killed in Sunday's attacks.
02:56They say dozens more were injured as they accused the Syrian regime of carrying out
03:00joint airstrikes with Russian forces.
03:02We are at a very critical situation with the latest offensive from the rebels, we have
03:09seen a renewal of the civil war and of course this is first and foremost has a negative
03:16impact on the civilian population.
03:21Iran's top diplomat is set to visit Ankara on Monday to meet his Turkish counterpart
03:25and discuss the escalation.
03:29The U.N. urges all parties involved to prioritize political processes and avoid further destabilizing
03:35the region.
03:39Germany, France, the U.K. and the U.S. have called for de-escalation of violence in Syria
03:45after rebels marched on government-controlled areas, reigniting violence in the 13-year-long
03:50conflict.
03:51In a joint statement, the NATO countries urged the protection of civilians and infrastructure
03:56to prevent further displacement and the disruption of humanitarian aid.
04:01An alliance of Syrian rebel groups seized control of Aleppo over the weekend, with Syrian
04:06President Bashar Assad announcing a subsequent counter-offensive.
04:10Syrian state television claimed government forces had killed nearly 1,000 insurgents
04:14over the past few days without providing evidence.
04:17The surge in violence comes at a time of high political turmoil in the Middle East, with
04:21Israel waging war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
04:26Renewed violence in Syria risks involving more regional powers into the conflict.
04:30Both Russia and Turkey have their own interests to protect, with both sides offering support
04:35to opposing groups in the country.
04:41A fourth consecutive night of protests is underway across Georgia against the government's
04:45decision to suspend European Union accession talks.
04:49Officials say at least 44 people have been hospitalized in increasingly violent clashes
04:54between police and protesters.
04:57Prime Minister Herakli Kobayidze has warned that everyone in the country has to obey the
05:01law.
05:03The unrest began four days ago when the government headed by the populist Georgian Dream Party
05:28announced it was suspending EU accession talks until at least 2028.
05:33That was in response to a European Parliament resolution which criticised the 26th October
05:38parliamentary elections which saw the Georgian Dream re-elected as neither free nor fair.
05:43The EU granted Georgia candidate status in December 2023 but put that process on hold
05:50earlier this year after the passage of a controversial foreign influence law, widely seen as a blow
05:55to democratic freedoms.
05:57Meanwhile Kobahidze has said President Salome Zurbishvili must vacate her post when her
06:02mandate ends later this month.
06:05The pro-EU head of state has vowed to stay on to support the protesters and says the
06:09illegitimate government has no authority to select her successor.
06:14The elections that led to this parliament and then to the government are not legitimate,
06:22they are not recognised by anyone, they have not been recognised by the Georgian population
06:28in the first place, they have not been recognised by the political forces in the country.
06:34Zurbishvili also said Russia had carried out what she called an electoral war on Georgia
06:39and had done the same in recent elections in Romania and Moldova.
06:49Parliament's two main centre-right parties look set to form the country's next government
06:53as the final results from the general election trickle in.
06:57But both Finegale and Fianna Foyle took a reduced vote share and face complex coalition
07:01negotiations to put the new administration together.
07:05Public broadcaster RTE reports 153 seats in the 174 seat lower house of parliament have
07:12been called.
07:13Fianna Foyle have taken 40 with Finegale winning 33.
07:17Well I think there is a very clear route back to government although it's not fully determined
07:23because a lot will depend on those final seats that I've spoken about.
07:27But what I am very confident about is that my party will have a very significant role
07:31to play in the years ahead and I'm cautiously optimistic and excited about what the weeks
07:35ahead hold.
07:37In second place is the left of centre Sinn Féin with 34 seats but it may struggle to
07:42find partners willing to form a coalition with it.
07:46Both Fianna Foyle and Finegale have previously said they wouldn't work with the party citing
07:50its leftist policies and historic links with the IRA.
07:54I understand that that vote was for change, for a change in government and I and we will
08:02do everything that we can once the voting is finished and the seats are filled to pursue
08:06that goal.
08:08The cost of living and Ireland's housing crisis were dominant topics in the three-week election
08:13campaign.
08:14Immigration was also a key issue in the country of 5.4 million people.
08:19The results of the election mean Ireland has partly bucked the global trend of incumbents
08:24being rejected by disgruntled voters.
08:33Romania's future parliament and government will continue the country's strong pro-EU,
08:37pro-NATO and pro-Ukraine national strategy.
08:41The leftist Social Democratic Party has won almost 23% of the vote and have an almost
08:465% advantage over their closest contenders.
08:51And while they've topped the polls for a second consecutive election, far-right populists
08:55have made considerable gains.
08:58The Alliance for the Unity of Romanians won the second most votes, sitting at just over
09:0218%.
09:04But the scores of the pro-EU camp show that the future parliamentary majority and government
09:11will continue Romania's pro-West course as NATO's eastern flank main country.
09:18But the rise of the ultra-nationalist parties is a sobering reality for Romania's political
09:24scene.
09:25A strong turnout in voting is the result of the shock result of the first round of the
09:31presidential election.
09:33Monday morning, we will find out the official results.
09:38Vitaly Ekojocari, Euronews, Romania.
09:45Iceland's Social Democrats have won the largest share of votes at Saturday's parliamentary
09:50election.
09:52With all votes tallied on Sunday, the centre-left party more than doubled its total number of
09:56seats, unsating the ruling coalition of the past seven years.
10:01Iceland's leader Kristján Fróstadóttir is among the favourites to become prime minister,
10:06vowing to tackle a cost-of-living crisis through the Nordic welfare model.
10:12Icelanders voted Saturday after disagreements over immigration, energy policy and the economy
10:17forced the country's prime minister to call an early election.
10:21All the parties in the governing coalition saw their seat count decline, with the left-greens
10:26losing all eight of its parliamentary seats.
10:30While counting was delayed in some areas by snowstorms, election turnout was high by
10:35international standards, with 80% of registered voters casting ballots.
10:44US President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter, sparing him a possible prison sentence for
10:49federal gun and tax convictions and reversing his past promises not to use the powers of
10:56the presidency for the benefit of his family members.
11:01In a statement, Joe Biden said the prosecution of his son was politically motivated and a
11:05miscarriage of justice.
11:07He alleged that no reasonable person could look at the facts of the case without concluding
11:12that Hunter was singled out for being his son.
11:16The Democratic president had previously publicly said he would not pardon his son or commute
11:21his sentence, after his convictions in two cases in Delaware and California.
11:26Hunter Biden was convicted of purchasing a gun when prosecutors said he lied on a form
11:32by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs.
11:36US President-elect Donald Trump called the pardon an abuse and miscarriage of justice.