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00:00German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has lost a no-confidence vote in parliament, paving the way for snap
00:07elections.
00:11Hungary and Slovakia vetoed a proposal to impose EU sanctions on Georgian officials
00:16involved in the repression of pro-EU demonstrations.
00:21President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde has warned of the potential effects
00:26of new U.S. trade policies.
00:31Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO nations of pushing Russia into its red lines
00:36in Ukraine.
00:45German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has lost a no-confidence vote in parliament, paving the way for snap
00:51elections with polls indicating Germany could be headed for a right-wing shift in power.
01:21German Opposition Leader Friedrich Merz directly attacked Scholz and defended CDU election promises.
01:26The parties have little time to convince the voters.
01:30In just two months, on February 23rd, there will be new elections.
01:34This short election campaign is particularly hard for the small parties.
01:36They have to collect tens of thousands of signatures to even be allowed to run for parliament.
01:42Many are not sure whether they will be able to do so.
01:45The no-confidence vote is only the sixth in the country's post-war history.
02:04Hungary and Slovakia vetoed a proposal to impose EU sanctions on Georgian officials
02:09involved in the repression of pro-European demonstrations.
02:14The sanctions were put forward by High Representative Kaya Kalas during a meeting of foreign affair
02:20ministers in Brussels.
02:22Kalas told reporters that Georgia is currently not going in the right direction where candidate
02:27countries should be.
02:31Thousands of Georgians have been protesting in response to the Georgian government's decision
02:35to halt EU accession talks.
02:38But the suppression of the pro-EU demonstrations led to chaotic clashes in the streets and
02:43resulted in multiple arrests and numerous reports of injuries.
02:47Hungary, who is a close ally to the Georgian ruling party, had announced before the gathering
02:53that they would block any restrictive measures.
02:57Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico often aligned with Hungary's Viktor Orban on foreign
03:01policy, and was also expected to say no.
03:07US President-elect Donald Trump's potential trade policies could negatively impact the
03:14EU economy.
03:16Speaking at a press conference in Vilnius on Monday, President of the European Central
03:20Bank Christine Lagarde said that it will continue to cut interest rates, but is worried about
03:26economic growth.
03:28As inflation continues to ease towards its 2% target, Lagarde explained that there are
03:33both upside and downside risks.
03:37A downside risk might be some of the geopolitical developments, including for instance the change
03:44of the American policies in relation to trade.
03:50These tensions could result in higher energy prices and freight costs.
03:55US President-elect Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to impose tariffs of 10 to 20%
04:01on all imports.
04:08In his first public comment since fleeing Syria and being evacuated to Russia, former
04:12leader Bashar al-Assad says his departure was unplanned.
04:17The ousted Syrian president is claiming instead that his Russian allies decided to evacuate
04:21him from an airbase when it came under heavy drone attack.
04:26Al-Assad also attempted to cast himself as a brave leader who fought until the end as
04:31opposition fighters closed in on Damascus.
04:35His statement was published on the Telegram channel of the Syrian presidency, however,
04:40it is unclear who now controls the account.
04:44Al-Assad claimed that he never considered stepping down or seeking refuge, nor was such
04:49a proposal made by any individual or party.
04:53He now lives in Moscow with his family after being granted asylum.
05:02Russian President Vladimir Putin accused NATO nations of pushing Russia into its red lines.
05:09In his annual meeting with defence officials, the Russian president implied the figurative
05:13point of no return may be reached by escalating the conflict in Ukraine.
05:18The US continues to pump up the illegitimate ruling regime in Kiev with weapons and money.
05:26They send mercenaries and military advisers and thereby facilitate the further escalation
05:32of the conflict.
05:33They bring us to the red line through which we can no longer retreat.
05:37We begin to respond and immediately scare their population, then still in ancient times
05:42Soviet, now Russian.
05:46Putin also voiced his concerns over the developments made by the United States regarding medium
05:52and shorter range missiles.
05:55He added that if the US were to cross this line, Moscow would lift its voluntary restrictions.
06:01The Russian president also applauded Russian forces for capturing 189 settlements this
06:06past year.
06:13Finland is accelerating preparation for all potential conflicts, nuclear, hybrid war or
06:19even a full-scale invasion.
06:21It has a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, although this has been closed for over a year
06:26after Russia sent over 1,000 migrants there to destabilise the country.
06:30Since then, Finland has been dealing with other warfare such as the tampering of undersea
06:35cables, disinformation and the presence of so-called Russian shadow oil fleets which
06:41illegally transport Russian oil, contravening Western sanctions.
06:45The Finnish border guard has been always an organisation, a readiness organisation which
06:52has built its capabilities to operate in a situation like today.
06:58But of course it is also true that for example the phenomenon of shadow fleet, phenomenon
07:03of GPS disturbance and illegal immigration in the eastern borders are something that
07:09we have seen only in last years.
07:12We have seen let's say cable cuts, cable breakdown points which are under criminal investigation.
07:20As I mentioned before, we also see a threat for an environmental accident in the Gulf
07:25of Finland and one part of this is GPS disturbance which can be seen especially in the eastern
07:32parts of Gulf of Finland.
07:35Forces which have long been part of Finland's overall security policy are now training with
07:39the possibility that they could be defending the whole of Europe since the country joined
07:43NATO.
07:45Finland has been preparing for any war for several decades.
07:48The invasion by Russia in 1939 is something that Finns are constantly reminded of and
07:54the key principle of this comprehensive security and defence strategy is deterrence.
07:59To deter any potential invader, in particular Russia, this country is prepared, its society
08:05as a whole and military are well trained.
08:08It's not aimed only towards Finland or the neighbouring countries but Russia is trying
08:14to destabilise the whole of Europe.
08:17So the whole Europe has to take this hybrid war seriously and because Russia cannot pressure
08:25us by threatening in the way of conventional war because we are all members of NATO, the
08:32hybrid war is the mean they use to threaten us.
08:36Helsinki says it's now open to new EU defence spending including defence bonds.
08:41The government says investing in European security fits in with the country's overall
08:45security strategy.
08:47Shona Murray, Euronews, Helsinki.
08:55Ireland's Prime Minister Simon Harris has called Israel's decision to close its embassy
08:59in Dublin deeply regrettable.
09:02But he also said his government wouldn't change its position on how the war in Gaza is being
09:07fought.
09:08Israel announced on Sunday it would close its mission in the Irish capital because of
09:12what officials called extreme anti-Israel policies.
09:15I will push back very strongly against any attempt by any country to misrepresent Ireland's
09:22security.
09:23Ireland is not anti-Israeli but Ireland is absolutely anti-starvation of children, it's
09:30absolutely anti-killing of civilians and it's absolutely pro-peace, pro-international law
09:35and pro-human rights.
09:38Meanwhile Israeli forces have continued to pound Gaza's largely isolated north as the
09:43Palestinian death toll approaches 45,000.
09:47One airstrike hit the Qalila Wada school in the town of Beit Hanoun and killed at least
09:5115 people according to nearby Kamal Adwan hospital where casualties were taken.
09:57And in Gaza city at least 17 people including six women and five children were killed in
10:02three airstrikes that hit houses sheltering displaced people.
10:06Israel's military said in a statement that it struck a terrorist cell in Gaza city and
10:10a terrorist meeting point in the Beit Hanoun area.
10:14The war in Gaza began after Hamas stormed southern Israel on the 7th of October last
10:19year killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 others hostage.
10:30France's interior minister Bruno Reteu arrived in Mamoutsou, the capital of the French overseas
10:36territory of Mayotte, after the island was shattered by its worst storm in nearly a century.
10:42He told rescue staff that all means would be mobilized to help people including by ship
10:47and military aircraft.
11:13The official death toll stood at 14 on Monday, but authorities at Mayotte fear hundreds and
11:19possibly thousands of people have died in Cyclone Chido.
11:24Entire neighborhoods have been flattened and public infrastructure like the main airport
11:28and hospital have been badly damaged, further complicating the response.