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00:00Jubilee spending and tourism are expected to boost the economy, but it seems estimates
00:07might have been too optimistic. More than 30 million pilgrims are set to flock to Rome.
00:12Nearly one month in, half a million visitors have already passed through the holy door
00:16of St. Peter's Basilica. It's too early to assess the economic impact of the jubilee
00:21as Professor Celata tells us. Celata, who works at La Sapienza University in Rome, believes
00:26this forecast is overrated.
00:56The trend is confirmed by a recent study on the possible effects of tourist consumption
01:06during the holy year.
01:27Although prices are set to increase, it's not yet a sold-out situation. While the availability
01:32of properties for long-term rentals is limited, as many are used as holiday homes, most of
01:37them remain empty. Alessandro Galardo is both the owner of a bed and breakfast in Rome and
01:42an estate agent. He knows the market well.
01:56But the question for Rome, a city that has long struggled with over-tourism and poor
02:04local governance, is whether the 2025 jubilee will be remembered as a missed opportunity
02:11for renewal for the Italian capital.
02:13Giorgia Orlandi for Euronews in Rome.
02:41Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened with reciprocal measures if Ukraine does not resume
02:46gas transit from Russia. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels after talks with European
02:51Commission officials, Fico said Slovakia could cut off humanitarian aid to Ukraine, stop
02:57its emergency electricity supplies and reduce or withdraw benefits for Ukrainian refugees.
03:11A pipeline that runs through Ukraine used to be one of the four networks through which
03:29Russian gas flowed to the European Union. Kiev decided to halt this gas supply as a
03:34transit deal signed before the start of the war expired at the end of 2024.
03:42In a post on social media platform X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the decision
03:47to halt the transit means Moscow will lose what he says is one of its most profitable
03:52and geographically accessible markets.
04:04Financing its rearmament is a difficult balance for the EU. On the one hand, public finances
04:11are in the red. On the other hand, the Russian threat and the prospect of a US isolationist
04:15retreat are looming over Europe.
04:20In the wake of the war in Ukraine, different solutions are on the table to finance the
04:23continent's defence such as buying weapons together. However, the specific needs of member
04:29states in terms of armaments sometimes hinder this form of cooperation.
05:00European common debt through Eurobonds could help finance the rearmament, but supporters
05:13of fiscal orthodoxy like Germany remain reluctant to borrow jointly.
05:29Here this would be a way to use the collective power of the EU as a borrower to make it cheaper
05:39to borrow money. We have done that in other cases.
05:45Some like Emmanuel Macron call for buying European in the name of strategic autonomy.
05:50Others prefer to place orders elsewhere to reduce costs or delivery times.
05:59The EU's role in this matter has been, and still is, limited.
06:29Defence remains to be an exclusive competence of the member states.
06:38Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, was arrested after leading a rally
06:42in the capital, Caracas. Her aides say she was violently intercepted by President Nicolás
06:47Maduro's forces as she left the rally on a motorcycle convoy with her security team.
06:53She was later released and in a post on social media platform X informed supporters that
06:58she's in a safe place. Machado had called on supporters to take to
07:02the streets on Thursday, a day before Maduro is sworn in for a third term.
07:07The opposition leader has organized regular protests since elections on the 28th of July,
07:12which they say was rigged. The opposition had routinely stated that they've provided
07:17credible evidence that was verified by international observers, which indicated their win.
07:22Their findings estimated that the opposition candidate Edmundo González crushed Maduro
07:27by a two-to-one margin. Machado had been in hiding for months as the
07:31Maduro regime intensified its crackdown on dissent. Machado and González say they will
07:37continue to protest against this injustice until the will of the Venezuelan people is
07:41delivered.
07:45Lebanon's parliament has elected army commander Joseph Aoun as president, breaking a two-year
07:51deadlock. Aoun's emergence came after parliament held
07:55the two rounds of voting session to elect the country's president on Thursday.
07:59In the first round, the Lebanese army commander secured 71 out of 128 votes and fell short
08:07of the two-thirds majority required for an outright win.
08:11The vote, which saw all 128 members of the legislature present, took place amid chaotic
08:16scenes early in the session, with lawmakers shouting over one another.
08:22Aoun is considered to be the preferred candidate of Lebanon's key allies, the United States
08:28and Saudi Arabia. He now faces a daunting task of governing an
08:32overwhelmed nation. First, by maintaining the ceasefire agreements
08:37between Israel and Hezbollah and working to revive an ailing economy that has decimated
08:43the country's currency and wiped out the savings of many Lebanese.
08:52Three people were killed after police opened fire and used tear gas on a crowd of supporters
08:57of Venezio Mondlane in the centre of Maputo. The crowd was celebrating the opposition leader's
09:03return to Mozambique following his self-imposed exile.
09:07Mondlane fled the country in October when unrest broke out after Mozambique's ruling
09:11party candidate won the presidential election. Earlier in the day, the opposition leader
09:17was greeted by his supporters at the airport, where he made a symbolic inauguration.
09:29The late U.S. President Jimmy Carter was given a state funeral at the Washington National
09:34Cathedral in the U.S. capital. Multiple foreign dignitaries were present at
09:39the final honouring of the 39th president, including Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
09:44and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. Current and former presidents were also in
09:51attendance, including President-elect Donald Trump.
09:55The incoming U.S. President was seated in the second row alongside Bill Clinton and
09:59his wife Hillary, George W. Bush and his wife, and Barack Obama.
10:06Obama and Trump shared a rare moment as the pair talked, joked and laughed together for
10:10several minutes before the start of the service. U.S. President Joe Biden, who's set to leave
10:17office in less than two weeks, delivered the eulogy.
10:21Biden shared an emotional message highlighting the deep friendship he and Carter shared for
10:25almost six decades. The U.S. President praised Carter for his
10:29character and unwavering principles, and celebrated his accomplishments, which he says were heavily
10:35discounted.
11:06Biden ended the message on a personal note, sharing that he misses Carter, but takes solace
11:25in knowing that he'll be reunited with his wife of 77 years, Rosalyn.
11:30Jimmy Carter's casket was once again loaded on a plane headed to his hometown of Plains,
11:35Georgia. The late president, who died aged 100 on the
11:3829th of December, will be given a private funeral with friends and family. He'll then
11:43be buried beside his wife in the small town they were born, grew up, lived most of their
11:48lives and died.