Latest news bulletin | December 18th – Evening - video Dailymotion

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00:00The HTS rebel group expands its control in the Syrian capital, Damascus, as it gains

00:06a foothold in key security sectors.

00:12A massive beer bar has opened in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang.

00:25The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group is continuing to consolidate its power over Syria.

00:31The rebel group has now taken control of Damascus police.

00:35It's currently working in a very limited capacity, as it has no legal framework to work by or

00:40laws to enforce.

00:42The HTS is set to be working on creating new nationwide laws, but in the meantime the capital's

00:48police are only able to take complaints from the public and provide them with verbal assurances.

00:53The former head of Idlib police, the stronghold region of the ruling rebels, has been appointed

00:58to oversee the capital's stations.

01:01Meanwhile, in the western coastal city of Latakia, the interim government is hosting

01:06a new reconciliation program for former soldiers.

01:10Soldiers and police officers under al-Assad were invited to come to a center and register

01:15for a new special identity card.

01:18The cards are valid for three months and grant their holders freedom of work and movement

01:22in the country.

01:24The interim government says all former security personnel who did not participate in the killing

01:28or torturing of civilians were granted immunity.

01:32They say the new program is an opportunity for them to seek rehabilitation and adapt

01:37to life in a new, safe and united Syria.

01:49All roads leading to Syria pass through Ankara.

01:52Turkey, one of the biggest winners of regime change in Syria, has indirect military presence

01:57in the country and supported the rebels who seized power last week.

02:03This gives Ankara good access to Syria's new leaders as well as international recognition

02:07as a major player in the country's affairs.

02:11From U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to European Commission President Ursula von

02:15der Leyen, Western leaders are visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss

02:19latest developments in Syria.

02:44On Monday, a senior EU diplomat had already made first contact with the provisional government

02:48set up in Syria by HDS.

02:50But for Brussels, it is important to use Ankara's influence to facilitate a smooth transition

02:56that guarantees the unity of the country and respect for all minorities.

03:02If you listen to Turkey, they are ready to play a big role.

03:08They are in favor of tolerance, as we are, as Europeans, of course.

03:12They are in favor of territorial integrity, as we are.

03:16But in the case of Turkey, remember that they have lots of troops in the northern part of

03:22Syria.

03:23So how this will unfold, we don't know yet.

03:26And also, in Syria, we have the remnants of Islamic State, so security there is very important.

03:34But in northern Syria, there is not just a Turkish buffer zone controlled by the Syrian

03:38National Army, but also a significant area under the control of Kurdish groups, which

03:42are supported by the U.S.

03:44And Ursula von der Leyen will try to avoid a new confrontation.

03:49She will not want Turkey and particularly the Turkish-aligned rebel militias inside

03:57Syria to aggressively pursue military confrontation with the Kurdish militias, which is another

04:05way of saying she will want Turkey to help create a unified Syrian country and not start

04:14another civil war to pursue in another theater the ongoing Turkish military operation against

04:25Kurdish rebels, both inside Turkey, inside Iraq, and today occasionally also inside Syria.

04:32There is also the issue of refugees.

04:35Considered not enough by Ankara, Turkey has received some financial assistance in the

04:38past from the EU and a promise for an additional 1 billion euros to host Syrian refugees.

04:42Now Ankara wants to send them back, and this will require stability in the region.

04:50The European Commission launched formal proceedings against TikTok on Tuesday over a potential

04:56breach in the Digital Services Act during Romania's presidential election.

05:02Internationalist and Euroceptic candidate Kalin Djordjescu unexpectedly won the first

05:07round, despite being little known to the public.

05:11The election was annulled after the Constitutional Court received evidence of Russian interference

05:16in the voting process.

05:19Democracy can only develop well if there are no manipulations.

05:25A free citizen must be able to express himself freely and if he is misled by algorithms

05:31that do not work or other means of manipulation that today seem to be running on platforms,

05:38it is unacceptable.

05:39So we have to fight them with the means at our disposal.

05:43TikTok is accused of not adequately mitigating risks linked to the integrity of Romania's

05:49election.

05:50The Commission's concerns relate to how the social media's recommendation algorithm works

05:55and the system of political advertisements, which require labeling.

06:00If found non-compliant with EU law, TikTok could face a fine of up to 6% of its global

06:06revenue.

06:12Russia's security service says a 29-year-old Uzbekistan citizen has been detained over

06:18the killing of Igor Kirilov, a top Russian general.

06:22Kirilov was killed outside an apartment building on Tuesday after an explosion from a device

06:27hidden in an electric scooter.

06:31The SBU, Ukraine's security service, claimed responsibility for Kirilov's death on Tuesday.

06:36He was in charge of the Russian military's nuclear, biological and chemical protection

06:41forces.

06:42Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev vowed to retaliate against

06:47Kiev.

06:48In any case, law enforcement agencies must find the killer in Russia and do everything

06:56to destroy the clients in Kiev.

07:01These clients are also known, this is the military-political leadership of Ukraine.

07:07UN spokesman Stefan Dzerzhik urged all parties involved to exercise restraint.

07:13Meanwhile, the US government says they were not informed or involved in Kirilov's assassination.

07:18It's not something that we were involved in.

07:20Obviously, he was a general who was involved in a number of atrocities.

07:26He was involved in the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian military.

07:30It's something the United States has publicly assessed before.

07:35Russia has denied using any chemical weapons in Ukraine and in turn has accused Kiev of

07:39using toxic agents in combat.

07:46Oil stains washed up for tens of kilometers along the shore in Russia's southern Krasnodar

07:51that is according to the region's governor.

07:55He said 260 people were deployed to handle with the aftermath such as by cleaning the

07:59beach covered in black liquid.

08:02It came after a storm damaged two Russian oil tankers over the weekend, one of which

08:07broke in half and sunk.

08:10The submerged vessel was estimated to have spilled 3,700 tons of mazut into the sea,

08:16which is a low-quality heavy fuel oil.

08:19Last week, the European Union issued new sanctions against Russia and their so-called Shadow

08:24Fleet, which consists of oiled, uninsured tankers to circumvent Western restrictions.

08:30The European Union and the shipping industry previously expressed their concerns over Russia's

08:35use of the poorly maintained vessels as they pose significant environmental as well as

08:40safety threats.

08:47An overnight curfew has been put in place in Mayotte starting Tuesday evening, in the

08:52aftermath of Cyclone Chido.

08:55Dozens have died after the worst storm in nearly a century hit the French overseas territory

09:01in the Indian Ocean.

09:04Aid efforts continue as French military aircraft continue to deliver food and water daily.

09:11An airbase on the nearby Réunion Island is being used as a staging post for emergency

09:16relief supplies.

09:19Nearly 70% of Mayotte's population has been gravely affected, with entire neighbourhoods

09:24reduced to rubble.

09:26The island's main hospital remains severely damaged, and a field hospital is expected

09:31to arrive on Thursday.

09:34French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to visit Mayotte soon and to declare a national

09:39mourning period.

09:47A landmark beer bar has opened in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang.

09:53This government-issued propaganda-style footage shows the massive Western-style establishment

09:58that was built in one of the city's new districts.

10:02Visitors can buy the country's trademark beer, Tae Dong Kang, which comes from a brewery

10:07the government purchased from England and reassembled in North Korea in 2002.

10:25While Pyongyang advertises a rich North Korean beer culture, it remains a drink reserved

10:31for the elite.

10:33Most of North Korea's largely rural population struggles daily with poverty and food insecurity.

10:40People must exchange food vouchers in order to buy beer, and most can't afford to sacrifice

10:45the small amount they can spend on food.

10:48Only in Pyongyang, men are exclusively given special beer vouchers.

10:52In the countryside, people must rely on low-quality home brews.

10:57Because of these limitations, high-end beer houses like this one will likely only be frequented

11:02by Pyongyang's elite and a small number of international tourists.

11:10An injured cave explorer in northern Italy was carried to safety on Wednesday, 75 hours

11:15after she fell while attempting to map an unexplored branch of the Buenofontano cave.

11:20Italian alpine rescuers strapped the 32-year-old Ottavia Piana into a stretcher that reached

11:26the cave's mouth in the early morning hours.

11:28It was her second time in 17 months to be rescued from the cave near Lago d'Eseo, northeast

11:34of Bergamo.

11:35Piana suffered multiple fractures when she fell 5 meters.

11:39Nearly 160 technicians from 13 Italian regions assisted the rescue.

Latest news bulletin | December 18th – Evening

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