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00:00Russia and Ukraine exchanged 150 prisoners of war in the latest agreement mediated by
00:07the United Arab Emirates.
00:10Poland is to raise its defense budget to a whopping 4.7 percent of GDP this year, says
00:17the country's president.
00:21The death toll from a mass shooting at a school for adult education in Sweden rose to 11,
00:26with officials warning this number could still rise.
00:30Angry metal workers from across Europe protest in Brussels, claiming green transition is
00:34causing job losses beyond anticipations, and the funds created for the transition are not
00:39enough.
00:44Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 150 captured soldiers in the latest prisoner of war exchange
00:50between the two countries.
00:54The two sides regularly swap prisoners of war in one of the only forms of cooperation
00:58between Kyiv and Moscow amid the now nearly three-year war.
01:06Some of the soldiers have been in captivity for more than two years, Ukrainian President
01:11Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on social media.
01:19Russia's defense ministry said its troops were undergoing medical checks in allied Belarus
01:24before returning to Russia.
01:29Both sides said the deal was mediated by the United Arab Emirates, which has helped Brugger
01:34manage such exchanges in the past.
01:41For the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukrainian President Zelensky
01:47has stated this Tuesday night that he's ready for direct talks with Russian President Putin
01:52if it's the only way to achieve peace.
01:55The Ukrainian President's statement comes amid mixed feelings in the country.
02:00The scale of losses caused by three years of a devastating war is wearing off on civilians,
02:06and according to opinion polls, more than half of Ukrainians are aspiring to a negotiated
02:11ceasefire.
02:13The military, for their part, are distrustful as to Russia's intentions if Moscow agrees
02:18to the talks.
02:20They say previous ceasefires agreed upon to contain Russia on the Eastern Front a decade
02:25ago were breached and urged for caution at the negotiation table.
02:31Many within the Ukrainian army fear that any new ceasefire agreement would only allow Russian
02:37troops to restore and attack again with renewed force.
02:41I'm Valery Gorya in eastern Ukraine for Euronews.
02:49The Kremlin has successfully launched a rocket into space in the, quote, interests of national
02:54defense, said the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
02:59It released footage showing a Soyuz spacecraft blasting off from Russia's Northern Cosmodrome
03:04in Blesetsk.
03:06According to the ministry, the Soyuz 2.1v carrier was carrying, quote, space devices.
03:13Russian media reported that military satellites were on board.
03:16The launch follows a similar mission in early December last year.
03:24Poland's defense spending will reach 4.7 percent of its GDP this year, the country's president
03:30announced on Wednesday.
03:32Andrzej Duda said the budget is expected to reach 30 billion euro, making it the largest
03:38defense budget among NATO countries.
03:41He also said that Poland will be strengthening its defense alliance with the United States.
04:11Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has publicly agreed that spending needs to be increased
04:23across the alliance and has called for his fellow EU members to protect Europe's eastern
04:28flank against Russian aggression.
04:32During the election campaign, Donald Trump notoriously said he would encourage Russia
04:37to quote, do whatever the hell they want to allies who don't spend at least the required
04:412 percent of their GDP on defense.
04:50The Polish government announced the Election Umbrella program to ensure national cybersecurity
04:56during election campaigns ahead of presidential elections in May.
05:01The program hopes to combat disinformation, model the processes of financing election
05:05campaigns and train election committees.
05:09Speaking to Euronews, the Polish Minister for Digital Affairs said Poland is one of
05:13the country's most exposed to cybercrime.
05:17He reports that Polish services close over 200 internet domains with harmful content
05:22each day.
05:25Government information claims Poles are recruited online and offered between 3 and 4 thousand
05:29euros to cooperate with Russian services ahead of the election.
05:47The Opposition Law and Justice Party considers the ruling coalition's program to be a pre-election
05:52attempt at internet censorship.
06:12The Law and Justice Party will officially present its own proposal and digital platform
06:17next Thursday.
06:19The first round of presidential elections in Poland will take place on May 18.
06:31The death toll from a mass shooting at a school for adult education in Sweden rose to 11 on
06:37Wednesday.
06:38Officials warned that this number could still rise.
06:42Citizens laid tributes to the victims at the site of the attack.
06:45Candles were lit and flowers laid as police helicopters circled above the heavily policed
06:50scene.
06:52A witness said he and his fellow students barricaded themselves in a classroom with
06:56tables and chairs before police came and knocked down the door.
07:01Authorities were working to identify the victims and said the suspected gunman was
07:28among the dead.
07:30There were no warnings beforehand and police believe the perpetrator acted alone but did
07:34not release a possible motive.
07:38US President Donald Trump's announcement that the US could take over Gaza after its population
07:46were permanently displaced to other countries has been condemned across the Middle East
07:50and beyond.
07:54Meanwhile the decision is celebrated by members of Israel's cabinet and received well by the
07:59Israeli public.
08:02Israel's war on Gaza which lasted for 15 months has devastated the region.
08:06Trump claimed Palestinians can't live there and that Gaza could be turned into the Riviera
08:10of the Middle East.
08:12The Chinese side has always believed that 8 people to 8 is the basic principle of Gaza
08:18post-war governance.
08:19We are opposed to the forced migration of the people of Gaza.
08:24We hope that all parties will use the Gaza ceasefire and post-war governance as an opportunity
08:29to promote the Palestinian issue and return to the political solution of the two-state
08:36solution to achieve long-term peace in the Middle East.
08:41The Foreign Ministry of Saudi Arabia issued a statement saying it rejected any attempt
08:46to displace Palestinians from their homeland and that it would not establish ties with
08:51Israel without a Palestinian state.
08:55Also France expressed their opposition to the forced displacement of the Palestinian
08:59population of Gaza and said it would be a serious violation of international law.
09:05And the Kremlin said they believe a Middle East settlement is only possible through a
09:09two-state solution.
09:11Also the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government continues to
09:15support a two-state solution where both Israelis and Palestinians could live in peace and security.
09:31Angry and discontent, metal workers from across Europe met in Brussels.
09:37They fear for their jobs and their livelihoods because of the European green transition.
09:42They are demanding that the bloc's new industrial policy includes more safeguards for workers
09:46and families in the sector.
09:49One of the workers' demand is for the EU to create more effective training and retraining
09:54of workers, even at the expense of working time.
09:59We want workers to make the transition to a climate-neutral industry, to be trained
10:08to make that transition and that we, as trade unions, are involved in the consultation to
10:14make that transition to a climate-neutral manufacturing industry.
10:20Almost one million industrial jobs have been lost in the EU since 2019.
10:25According to the trade unions, employers are cosmeticising the full extent of the crisis
10:30with short-term contracts and reduced working hours, which could mean up to 4.3 million
10:35job losses.
10:36Trade unions say more than 100,000 jobs have been put at risk in recent months.
10:40Large companies across Europe have announced factory closures and redundancies.
10:45Two German companies, ThyssenKrupp and Volkswagen, are on the top of that list.
10:49To help with the transition, the EU has set up the Just Transition Fund as part of the
10:54Green Deal, with 17.5 billion euros.
10:57The amount seems big, but so is the task.
10:59I think it's good that we have a Just Transition Fund, but I think right now it's not big enough
11:04and it can't be used for everything that it needs to be used for.
11:08For my intents, we need to broaden the scope, we need to have enough resources, especially
11:14in those regions where the transition really hasn't taken place yet.
11:19So it's important to have a strong Just Transition Fund to support those sectors that need
11:24to transition and make sure that the workers get the benefit of it.
11:29Trade union representatives also had talks with the European Commissioner for Industrial
11:33Strategy.
11:34They want the executive to draw up a directive on fair transitions, forcing companies to
11:39anticipate and manage change in full cooperation with trade unions.