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00:00NATO said it would increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea to protect against critical
00:05infrastructure damage.
00:11EU Commissioner for Enlargement Martakos says any enlargement of the bloc will be based
00:17on merit.
00:20TikTok users are flocking to a Chinese social media app as a potential ban of TikTok looms
00:26in the US.
00:35NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the alliance is launching a new mission to
00:39protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea region.
00:44His announcement comes following a string of incidents in the Baltic that have heightened
00:48concerns about possible Russian activity in the region, including the suspected sabotage
00:53of undersea cables.
01:18Rutte said NATO adversaries must know the alliance will not accept attacks on its critical
01:23infrastructure, with Estonia's Prime Minister adding that plans were in place for the Baltics
01:28to be cut free from the Russian energy sector.
01:35Finland has hosted the first NATO Baltic Sea Summit to bolster defences against hostile
01:40acts such as attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.
01:44On Christmas Day, Finnish authorities seized an oil tanker suspected to be responsible
01:49for damaging undersea communications cables.
01:52Over 95% of the world's data is transported through the cables.
01:57Russia and China are regularly accused of sabotaging them as part of hybrid war.
02:02Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Euronews his country is well prepared, but overall
02:07Europe needs to do more.
02:09There's a lot of malintent coming from the Russian Federation at this particular moment,
02:15and it's a new normal that we have to live with.
02:17And of course, in a country like Finland, which has 1,300 kilometres of border with
02:22Russia, we're quite used to this.
02:24So we're coping with it, we're staying calm, cool and collected.
02:28We take necessary measures, including joining NATO.
02:31We take necessary measures, including confiscating vessels.
02:36So we're quite relaxed about it, really.
02:39Because Mark Rutte isn't.
02:40He said that while we're not in a kinetic war now and we are safe in four to five years,
02:46we won't be unless Europe steps up on security and defence.
02:50Well, the Secretary General of NATO is concerned about the whole alliance.
02:54As President of Finland, I'm concerned about the state of our defence.
02:58And I have to say that we never dropped our guard.
03:00We still have compulsory military service.
03:03We have 900,000 men and women in reserves, 280,000 that we can mobilise at wartime.
03:10We have 62 F-18s.
03:12We have soon 64 F-35s.
03:15We have long-range missiles, land, air and sea.
03:18And we have the largest artillery in Europe, together with Poland.
03:23So I sleep my nights quite well.
03:26And I hope that our allies do as well, because they can be quite assured that we play our
03:31part in the alliance.
03:32But you're also an expert on the EU, having spent a lot of time there.
03:36What would you urge Europe to do for the sake of Finland and 27 member states altogether
03:43to ensure that Europe will be safe?
03:46Well, I think there are a few things that we need to do.
03:48First is we need to hike up our defence expenditure, because our holiday from history is now over.
03:55So it is in our vested self-interest to promote and spend more on defence, unfortunately,
04:01of course.
04:02Secondly, we need to pool our defences better.
04:06So we need to do orders together in order to bring down the price of them.
04:11And of course, the third thing we need to do is to work very closely with our closest
04:14ally, the United States.
04:16Donald Trump has said that he would like to take over Greenland.
04:19So it's not a great start, is it?
04:21Well, we'll take one step at a time.
04:24And I think the sort of calm response from the Prime Minister of Denmark is the correct
04:30one.
04:31Prime Minister Stoke, thank you very much for joining us.
04:36The EU's Commissioner for Enlargement has said any expansion of the bloc will be based
04:41on merit rather than geopolitics and must serve existing member states as well as future
04:47ones.
04:48There will be no geopolitical discount.
04:51The enlargement process remains merit-based.
04:55As I told you on November 7, I will walk the talk about European values.
05:01The rule of law and fundamental values will continue to be cornerstone of the EU's enlargement
05:07policy and the foundations of a reformed and enlarged union in the future.
05:13With the start of a new year, EU members will be watching the progress made in accession
05:18negotiations, particularly with the likes of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, all of whom
05:24were granted EU candidate status after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
05:30Formal accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova began in June last year, a landmark
05:36move which signalled a vote of confidence in Ukraine's future in Europe.
05:42But both countries still have a long path ahead of them, with Moldova under increasing
05:46Russian influence and Ukraine facing hostility from member states such as Slovakia and Hungary.
05:54Meanwhile, Georgia's accession is likely to remain on hold as the EU struggles to reach
06:00a consensus on the ruling Georgian Dream Party, which faces accusations of being both anti-democratic
06:07and pro-Russian.
06:08France's new Prime Minister François Bayrou announced the renegotiation of a contested
06:17plan raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.
06:21Bayrou aimed to please all sides and avoid a no-confidence vote during a much-awaited
06:27key policy speech.
06:29But moments after, the far-left filed a motion of no-confidence against Bayrou's government
06:34to be examined on Thursday.
06:36Bayrou urgently needs to pass a budget bill for 2025 to help reduce France's deficit.
06:46More than 150 Nobel and World Food Prize winners have written an open letter, calling for an
06:53increased commitment to new food distribution efforts in the face of a global hunger crisis.
07:00The letter, which emerged after a meeting of food accessibility experts last year, says
07:06around 700 million people are now food insecure, a number likely to rise with climate change
07:13and population growth unless efforts are made to grow more and different kinds of food.
07:21Despite the gloomy outlook, however, experts remain hopeful that the crisis can be avoided
07:26if people take the necessary actions.
07:31These include an increase in research funding and information sharing, along with more innovative
07:37production methods such as enhancing photosynthesis in essential crops, developing crops less
07:43reliant on chemical fertilisers and lengthening the shelf life of fruit and vegetables.
07:51A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas may be close to coming to fruition as negotiators
08:01meet on Tuesday seeking to finalise its details.
08:05Mediators reportedly gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of the agreement after a midnight
08:10breakthrough.
08:12If successful, it would lead to the biggest release of Israeli hostages since the early
08:16days of the war.
08:19Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on Gaza remain intense.
08:22Several strikes hit areas throughout the Gaza Strip overnight and early on Tuesday, killing
08:27dozens.
08:29A growing number of Israeli soldiers have started to speak out against Israeli conduct
08:33in Gaza and are refusing to continue serving if a ceasefire is not secured.
08:38They say they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines.
08:43At the same time, around 1,000 Israelis demonstrated against a ceasefire deal in Jerusalem, shouting
08:49slogans against humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza, prisoner exchanges or relinquishing
08:54conquered territory.
08:57They say the government should release the hostages only through victory over Hamas.
09:09As the threat of a TikTok ban looms, some U.S. TikTok users are flocking to Chinese
09:14social media app Xiaohongsu, making it the top downloaded app in the U.S.
09:21Users landed on the app, called Little Red Book in English, as an alternative to TikTok,
09:27with some saying they specifically picked the Chinese app to protest the TikTok ban.
09:34Today, it has grown into a popular platform for young people to share practical tips or
09:39tutorials on various topics like beauty, fashion, fitness, adventure or even career advice.
09:48The app has over 300 million monthly active users and most of them are young females living
09:54in the big cities.
09:56The U.S. Supreme Court is due to rule on whether TikTok must divest from its Chinese parent
10:01company or be banned in the U.S. over security concerns.
10:05Masses of TikTok users joined the Chinese app using hashtags such as TikTok Refugee.
10:12Since yesterday, we have seen many new posts in English calling themselves the TikTok refugees
10:17and the reaction from the Chinese users have been mixed.
10:21Some believe this is a great way the Chinese culture get to a global audience, while some
10:26worries this will be a cultural invasion and it might have an impact on the censorship.
10:34Little Red Book has become the top downloaded free app on the U.S. App Store, but it is
10:39not clear if the app will serve as a sustainable replacement for TikTok.
10:51Rising temperatures have brought heavy snow to the mountainous areas of southeastern Europe.
10:56Albania has closed 77 schools after heavy snowfall cut off several villages.
11:02The military is helping to clear roads and carry out emergency services in some areas.
11:07Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Italy also issued weather alerts and closed schools due to heavy
11:14snowfall, which is expected to cause disruptions throughout the week.
11:19In lower-altitude areas, the cold temperatures have also brought flood risks. Sicily issued
11:24a yellow alert on Tuesday due to heavy thunderstorms for the entire island.
11:29France has also issued an orange flood warning in the north and there are avalanche alerts
11:34across the western Alps.
11:37Cold air coming from northeastern Europe has brought low temperatures throughout the rest
11:41of the continent as well, expected to last all week.