Latest news bulletin | October 15th – Midday - video Dailymotion

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00:00Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated demands that UNIFIL temporarily

00:06leave Lebanon's combat zone.

00:12The European Union is extending its sanctions to Iranian entities and individuals linked

00:17to Russia.

00:19NASA's Europa Clipper is on its way to Jupiter to reveal whether its moon's ocean might hold

00:26the keys to life.

00:35Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated demands that United Nations

00:39peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, temporarily leave the combat zone.

00:46International criticism is growing after Israeli forces have repeatedly fired on UN peacekeepers

00:51since invading Lebanon two weeks ago.

00:55In a video statement released on Monday, Netanyahu rejected allegations that the Israeli military

01:00deliberately targeted the peacekeepers.

01:03The charge that Israel deliberately attacked UNIFIL personnel is completely false.

01:09It's exactly the opposite.

01:11Israel repeatedly asked UNIFIL to get out of harm's way.

01:14It repeatedly asked them to temporarily leave the combat zone, which is right next to Israel's

01:19border with Lebanon.

01:21Staffan Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, emphasized

01:26that the attacks on its peacekeepers may constitute war crimes.

01:30Attacks against peacekeepers are in breach of international law, including international

01:35humanitarian law, and they may constitute war crime.

01:38He called on all parties, including the IDF, to refrain from any and all actions that put

01:43our peacekeepers at risk.

01:45The UN Security Council has reiterated its support for UNIFIL's role in supporting regional

01:50security, as well as its support for the peacekeepers' continued presence in southern

01:54Lebanon, despite Netanyahu's calls for their removal.

02:02The European Union is extending its sanctions to seven Iranian individuals and seven Iranian

02:08entities linked to the shipment of missiles to Russia.

02:12Among them are several airlines, the country's deputy defense minister, and important members

02:17of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

02:20Their assets will be frozen and they will be banned from entering the European Union.

02:25This was one of the decisions taken by EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell, who reiterated

02:30the European Union's disagreement on the Middle East conflict.

02:34We should also be clear-eyed about what the Israeli leadership is doing, and what looks

02:43like a full determination to pursue its military objectives at a high cost.

02:50Borrell also announced that he wants to bring the review of the bloc's trade agreement with

02:55Israel to the next meeting of ministers.

02:59Spain and Ireland called for its suspension months ago if the country shown to be violating

03:04human rights.

03:06But neither Madrid and Dublin's demands nor the High Representative's intentions are shared

03:11by several EU countries.

03:14Among them is the Czech Republic, who said on Monday that they are not closing the door

03:18on armed shipments to Israel.

03:25The European Union is to toughen its air pollution limits, bringing them closer to what is recommended

03:30by the World Health Organization.

03:34Environment ministers signed off the stricter limits at the Environment Council in Luxembourg.

03:39But some countries expressed their reservations about meeting the deadlines.

03:44Malta for example claims it would be impossible for it to meet the new limit on nitrogen dioxide.

03:50And Germany welcomed a clause that allows governments to postpone the deadline until

03:542040.

03:56They also sought reassurance from the European Commission that it will not be forced to restrict

04:01car driving or close industrial plants.

04:10China held large-scale military exercises around Taiwan and its islands in what it called

04:15a warning against Taiwan's independence.

04:20The drills come days after Taiwan's President Lai gave a speech on Taiwan's National Day.

04:25He said China has no right to represent the island and declared his commitment to resist

04:30annexation.

04:33Taiwan's defence ministry condemns the drills as a provocation and say they are prepared

04:38to retaliate.

04:57China have increased its military exercises around Taiwan in recent years.

05:02In May, similar large-scale drills followed Lai's inauguration.

05:08China has previously said Taiwan's independence is a dead-end and that annexation by Beijing

05:13is a historical inevitability.

05:24German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the

05:28six West Balkan states to Berlin on Monday as part of the 10-year Berlin Process summit.

05:34The Berlin Process aims to bring countries such as Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia

05:39and Herzegovina, Albania and North Macedonia together to sign agreements to enable them

05:44to become full EU member states.

05:47Five out of six agreements were signed and restrictions on export from Serbia to Kosovo

05:52were lifted.

05:54Scholz underlined that the states could only join together despite some of them likely

05:58to meet conditions quicker than the others.

06:01He encouraged the states to help each other out.

06:04Montenegro is seen as the first promising country to be integrated to Europe despite

06:09the process beginning more than 20 years ago.

06:12Whilst Montenegro expects to meet all the requirements before 2028, Scholz said he hopes

06:17the whole process would be complete before 2030.

06:22But with Ukraine and Moldova's memberships to the EU being accelerated since Russia's

06:26full-scale invasion in Ukraine, it's likely to leave a sour taste in the mouth of the

06:31six Balkan states.

06:33Liz Stroud, in Berlin, for Euronews.

06:40Poland is accelerating efforts to strengthen the defence of its borders with Russia and

06:45Belarus.

06:47Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced on Monday that construction of the so-called East Shield

06:51project will begin earlier than planned, by the end of this year instead of next.

06:57This project will increase military fortifications and other defence measures on Poland's eastern

07:02border over a length of approximately 800 kilometres.

07:07Construction is expected to last four years.

07:11Tusk was present at a training ground on Monday where the first exercises took place

07:15in testing elements of the project's new infrastructure, and emphasised that it is part of a combined

07:20effort with the Baltic states and Finland.

07:33Tusk also said that he is to discuss European funding for the project in Brussels in the

07:38near future.

07:48The European Peace Facility was created before the Ukrainian war as an instrument to enhance

07:52the EU's ability to defend its borders.

07:56The European Peace Facility was created before the Ukrainian war as an instrument to enhance

08:01the EU's ability to prevent conflicts.

08:03But the Russian invasion changed it all.

08:07Since then, the EPF has been used to partially reimburse member states for the weapons and

08:13ammunition donated to Kiev.

08:16But for more than a year now, Hungary has been blocking the transfer of 6.6 billion

08:21euros to Ukraine.

08:23These funds are supposed to help Ukraine to strengthen its defence sector and to provide

08:29of course ammunition to the country and all the support the EU can provide so that Ukraine

08:36keeps fighting this war.

08:38Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the funds have been growing.

08:43In total, the EPF amounts to 17 billion euros now, from which more than 11 billion is reserved

08:50for Ukraine.

08:53This money comes from the contributions of EU member states, and it is not part of the

08:57EU budget.

08:59But for the money to flow to Ukraine, member states have to approve it unanimously, and

09:04Hungary opposes it.

09:23That is

09:37why European Union officials and diplomats are exploring a new plan to bypass Hungary's

09:42held veto.

09:44The plan will allow member states to make financial contributions to the EPF on a voluntary

09:49basis, rather than a mandatory one.

09:52The discussions are ongoing.

10:00A NASA spacecraft blasted off on Monday on a quest to explore Jupiter's moon, Europa,

10:06and reveal whether its vast hidden ocean might hold the keys to life.

10:10It will take Europa Clipper five and a half years to reach Jupiter.

10:16Scientists are almost certain a deep global ocean exists beneath Europa's icy crust, and

10:22where there is water, there could be life, making the moon one of the most promising

10:26places out there to hunt for it.

10:29Europa Clipper won't look for life itself, as it has no life detectors.

10:34Instead, the spacecraft will zero in on the ingredients necessary to sustain life, searching

10:39for organic compounds and other clues as it peers beneath the ice for suitable conditions.

10:45If conditions are found to be favorable for life at Europa, it opens up the possibility

10:50of life at other ocean worlds in our solar system and beyond, according to scientists.

10:56With an underground ocean and gazers, Saturn's moon Enceladus is another top candidate.

11:033 U.S.-based men won the Nobel Prize in Economics for studies on how institutions are formed

11:13and affect prosperity.

11:16Daron Acemoglu was amongst the trio of winners and said over a video call he never expected

11:22the accolade.

11:25You dream of having a good career, but this is over and on top of that.

11:29So it's a great surprise and honor.

11:33The research explored how different colonial strategies led to institutional patterns in

11:38Europe that have persisted over time.

Latest news bulletin | October 15th – Midday

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