Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00French President Emmanuel Macron nominates longtime ally and leader of
00:05the centrist bloc Francois Beirut as the new prime minister.
00:10Protests have entered their third week in Georgia as the Euro skeptic
00:15presidential candidate is expected to be sworn in.
00:21Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Italian President Sergio Mattarella
00:26on Friday.
00:32French President Emmanuel Macron named centrist ally Francois Beirut
00:37as the country's new prime minister after MPs
00:40voted to oust the previous government under Michel Barnier last week.
00:45But will he be able to avoid the fate of his predecessor?
00:56French President Emmanuel Macron
01:19The 73-year-old politician is now tasked with the complex goal of forming a new
01:24government and passing next year's national budget plan
01:28in a bitterly divided lower house of parliament.
01:35Protests in Georgia have entered their third week ahead of Saturday's
01:39presidential vote in which loyalist candidate Mikheil
01:43Kavalevich is expected to be appointed. The demonstrations began two weeks ago
01:48when the government announced that negotiations to join the EU would be
01:52pushed back. More unrest is expected on Saturday.
01:59Police have used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds
02:03arresting more than 400 demonstrators. Opponents have accused the ruling
02:07Georgian Dream Party of sacrificing relations with Europe in favor of closer
02:12ties with Russia. President Zorabishvili has repeatedly
02:16spoken out in favor of the protesters, backing their stance that the October
02:21parliamentary elections were tainted by widespread irregularities.
02:26Demonstrators are asking for the release of prisoners and fresh elections.
02:38Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Italian President Sergio
02:42Mattarella on Friday morning at the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
02:47Abbas' visit to Italy reflects the diplomatic efforts of the Palestinian
02:51Authority and international forums to establish a Palestinian state and end
02:56Israeli occupation. Mattarella expressed concern over the
03:00situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem,
03:03with Israeli settlements that contradict UN resolutions and hopes for a two-state
03:07solution. Abbas is also meeting with Italian Prime
03:12Minister Giorgio Meloni on Friday.
03:16Meanwhile, Pope Francis met with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib
03:20Mikati in the Vatican. During the meeting, the Pope emphasized
03:24the importance of solidarity among Lebanese officials,
03:28especially in the face of the country's political and economic crises.
03:34On Thursday, it was Abbas who met with Pope Francis at the Vatican to discuss
03:38the Palestinian humanitarian situation.
03:46Lawmakers in South Korea will hold a second vote in Parliament this Saturday
03:50to impeach President Yun Suk-kyo after his short-lived martial law decree has
03:56brought about political chaos. On Friday, opposition parties submitted a
04:01new impeachment motion against the president. Saturday's votes will
04:05require support from 200 of the 300 National Assembly's members
04:10and only then will the matter proceed to the Constitutional Court.
04:15Last week, an attempt to remove the president failed as the ruling party
04:19blocked the impeachment vote. Refusing to resign, they embattled Yun
04:23in a televised speech on Thursday, declared that he would fight to the very
04:27end and defend his decision to seize control
04:31of the country. Yun's short-lived December 3 martial law
04:34declaration has generated political chaos and large
04:38protests calling for his ouster. The declaration was the first of its
04:43kind in the country in more than 40 years.