Latest news bulletin | December 17th – Evening - video Dailymotion

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00:00German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has lost a no-confidence vote in parliament.

00:06It's paved the way for a national snap elections, with polls indicating Germany could be headed

00:10for a right-wing shift in power.

00:13It has just been decided.

00:14The German Bundestag has withdrawn the trust of Chancellor Olaf Scholz with 394 votes.

00:20Olaf Scholz has thus lost the trust issue.

00:23Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier now has 21 days to dissolve the Bundestag

00:27and thus clear the way for a new election.

00:30There is already a campaign mood in the Bundestag.

00:33Scholz and Minister of Economy Robert Habeck refer to followers of the Ampelkoalition.

00:37Opposition leader Friedrich Merz directly attacks Scholz and defends CDU election promises.

00:43The parties have little time to convince the voters.

00:47In just two months, on February 23, there will be new elections.

00:51This short election campaign is particularly hard for the small parties.

00:53The no-confidence vote is only the sixth in the country's post-war history.

01:22An overnight curfew has been put in place in Mayotte starting Tuesday evening, in the

01:27aftermath of Cyclone Chido.

01:30Dozens have died after the worst storm in nearly a century hit the French overseas territory

01:35in the Indian Ocean.

01:38Aid efforts continue as French military aircraft continue to deliver food and water daily.

01:46An airbase on the nearby Réunion Island is being used as a staging post for emergency

01:51relief supplies.

01:54Nearly 70% of Mayotte's population has been gravely affected, with entire neighbourhoods

01:59reduced to rubble.

02:01The island's main hospital remains severely damaged, and a field hospital is expected

02:06to arrive on Thursday.

02:09French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to visit Mayotte soon and to declare a national

02:14mourning period.

02:21Igor Kirillov, a top general in charge of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical

02:27defence forces, was killed in an explosion in Moscow.

02:32An explosive device was planted in a scooter near a residential apartment block, according

02:37to Russia's investigative committee.

02:41Kirillov was found dead alongside his assistant outside the building.

02:47Ukraine's security service was reportedly behind his death, a source in the agency told

02:51local media.

02:54It said it executed a special operation in Moscow on a legitimate target.

03:00A day before his death, Ukraine's security forces charged Kirillov with the use of banned

03:05chemical weapons in Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.

03:09He was under sanctions from several countries, including the UK and Canada, for his role

03:14in Ukraine.

03:21Oil stains washed up for tens of kilometres along the shore in Russia's southern Krasnodar,

03:26that is according to the region's governor.

03:29He said 260 people were deployed to handle with the aftermath, such as by cleaning the

03:34beach covered in black liquid.

03:37It came after a storm damaged two Russian oil tankers over the weekend, one of which

03:42broke in half and sunk.

03:45The submerged vessel was estimated to have spilled 3,700 tonnes of mazut into the sea,

03:50which is a low-quality, heavy-fuel oil.

03:54Last week, the European Union issued new sanctions against Russia and their so-called Shadow

03:59Fleet, which consists of old, uninsured tankers to circumvent Western restrictions.

04:05The European Union and the shipping industry previously expressed their concerns over Russia's

04:10use of the poorly-maintained vessels as they pose significant environmental as well as

04:15safety threats.

04:23Finland is accelerating preparation for all potential conflicts, nuclear, hybrid war or

04:28even a full-scale invasion.

04:30It has a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, although this has been closed for over a year

04:35after Russia sent over 1,000 migrants there to destabilize the country.

04:39Since then, Finland has been dealing with other warfare, such as the tampering of undersea

04:44cables, disinformation and the presence of so-called Russian Shadow Oil Fleets, which

04:49illegally transport Russian oil, contravening Western sanctions.

04:54The Finnish border guard has been always an organisation, a readiness organisation, which

05:01has built its capabilities to operate in a situation like today.

05:07But of course, it is also true that, for example, the phenomenon of Shadow Fleet, phenomenon

05:12of GPS disturbance and illegal immigration in the eastern borders are something that

05:18we have seen only in last years.

05:20We have seen, let's say, cable cuts, cable breakdown points, which are under criminal

05:27investigation.

05:29As I mentioned before, we also see a threat for an environmental accident in the Gulf

05:34of Finland and one part of this is GPS disturbance, which can be seen especially in the eastern

05:41parts of the Gulf of Finland.

05:43Conscripts, which have long been part of Finland's overall security policy, are now training

05:48with the possibility that they could be defending the whole of Europe since the country joined

05:52NATO.

05:54Finland has been preparing for any war for several decades.

05:57The invasion by Russia in 1939 is something that Finns are constantly reminded of and

06:03the key principle of this comprehensive security and defence strategy is deterrence.

06:08To deter any potential invader, in particular Russia, that this country is prepared, its

06:13society as a whole and military are well trained.

06:17It's not aimed only towards Finland or the neighbouring countries, but Russia is trying

06:23to destabilise the whole of Europe.

06:26So the whole of Europe has to take this hybrid war seriously.

06:31And because Russia cannot pressure us by threatening in the way of conventional war, because we

06:39are all members of NATO, the hybrid war is the mean they use to threaten us.

06:45Helsinki says it's now open to new EU defence spending, including defence bonds.

06:50The government says investing in European security fits in with the country's overall

06:54security strategy.

06:56Shona Murray, Euronews, Helsinki.

07:04A large convoy of Russian military vehicles was seen withdrawing from Syria's western

07:08city of Latakia.

07:10They were headed towards the nearby city of Tartus, where the Kremlin operates a naval

07:15base.

07:16It's the third time in the span of a week that Moscow has engaged in the vacating, shifting

07:21or movement of its military assets in the country.

07:25This has prompted claims of a potential Russian withdrawal just one week after their long-time

07:29ally, President Bashar al-Assad, was ousted.

07:33And the spokesman for the new transitional government in Syria, Obeda Arnaout, has declared

07:38the country's new position.

07:57The call for Russia's withdrawal from Syria could go a long way towards building bridges

08:01with the West.

08:03The EU announced that it had taken the first step towards making contact with the HTS since

08:08their dramatic overthrowing of Assad.

08:11And ensuring a Syrian future without Russia is high on the bloc's agenda.

08:14It should be a condition for the new leadership that they also get rid of the Russian influence

08:22there.

08:23Because it is a base where they also conduct their activities towards Africa and the southern

08:30neighbors so this is definitely of the worry of European security as well.

08:38The HTS say they plan to lay the foundation for a Syrian future that is built on unity

08:43and justice.

08:45But the group's history, marred with terrorist activities and accusations of human rights

08:49abuses, is leading many Western countries to tread with caution.

08:59The Palestinian Authority has launched a rare crackdown on militant groups in the West Bank

09:05by deploying security forces to the city of Jenin.

09:09On Saturday, Palestinian security forces raided the Jenin refugee camp, a long-time militant

09:15stronghold.

09:17The operation continued through the weekend and into Monday, killing at least two people,

09:22one fighter and one civilian.

09:25While Israel has regularly raided areas in the West Bank, particularly since the 7 October

09:30Hamas attack, raids by the Palestinian Authority are more unusual.

09:36Such actions are unpopular with the Palestinian public, where many accuse the Palestinian

09:40security forces of collaborating with Israel.

09:49Kyriakos Mitsotakis became the first European leader to visit Lebanon following the ceasefire

09:55with Israel.

09:56The Greek Prime Minister met with his Lebanese counterpart, Najib Merkati, and conveyed Athens'

10:02commitment to support Lebanon.

10:05He also discussed the rapid developments in Syria.

10:08Syria needs to be inclusive to encompass all the groups while addressing the current fragmentation

10:16of the country, because the people of Syria have also suffered a lot and must not be subjected

10:21to yet more displacement.

10:22Of course, we do hope that future stability in Syria will also permit the millions of

10:27refugees who have left the country, many of whom are actually in Lebanon, to return to

10:35their country.

10:36Earlier, the Greek Prime Minister met with the Patriarch of Antioch and acknowledged

10:42the pivotal role of the institution in the troubled region.

Latest news bulletin | December 17th – Evening

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