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00:00Direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended after just over an hour in Istanbul

00:07as delegations met for the second time in around two weeks.

00:14Neither President Zelensky nor Putin attended the talks.

00:18Both had sent delegations with memoranda outlining their terms.

00:23Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelensky said both sides exchanged documents through the

00:29Turkish side and are now preparing a new release of prisoners of war.

00:35Expectations for a breakthrough in ending the three-year-old war were low, and recent

00:40statements by senior officials from both countries suggested they remain deeply divided on key

00:45conditions.

00:48President Zelensky is calling for a conclusive ceasefire, the release of prisoners and the

00:53return of abducted children.

00:56Times he insists must carry consequences for Russia if they are not met.

01:01Russia has not yet definitively outlined its terms, but Putin has previously demanded Ukraine

01:07withdraw from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, four regions Russia illegally annexed

01:13in 2022 but has never fully controlled.

01:18This was rejected by Kyiv and its allies.

01:21The talks come against the backdrop of a recent escalation in fighting on both sides, with

01:27Ukraine launching a surprise attack on four Russian air bases, and Russia carrying out

01:32the largest-scale drone assault on Ukraine yet on Sunday.

01:39British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday that the UK will build 12 new attack

01:45submarines and six new ammunition factories as part of a strategic defence review.

01:52The externally-led review outlined 62 recommendations which the government endorsed in full, including

01:59Ukraine moving the armed forces into a state of warfighting readiness.

02:03I can announce today that we are going to build at least six new munitions factories in the United Kingdom,

02:10generating over a thousand jobs.

02:13We will build thousands of new long-range weapons in the United Kingdom to boost European deterrence,

02:20supporting around 800 more jobs.

02:23We will defend our homeland by investing in our air and missile defence to better protect

02:29these islands.

02:31We will create a hybrid Royal Navy, blending drones with warships, submarines and aircraft

02:36to patrol the North Atlantic and beyond.

02:39As part of the plan, Starmer said his government was going to invest 15 billion pounds in a sovereign

02:46warhead programme to secure the UK's deterrent.

02:49The investment should make some way into Britain's goal, unveiled earlier this year,

02:54to boost defence spending to 2.5% of the country's GDP by 2027 and to 3% in the next parliament.

03:06NATO defence ministers are meeting in Brussels this week where the Alliance's capability targets,

03:11essentially NATO's overall strength and readiness for war, is high on the agenda.

03:17Meanwhile, closer to the Ukrainian battlefield, a NATO exercise involving 26,000 multinational

03:23troops using all NATO forces structures in a three-week scenario, simulating a full response

03:29from NATO to a potential invasion by Russia.

03:33Baltic soldiers recalled their recent history under Soviet occupation and what they say is the

03:38importance now of being part of NATO.

03:41We definitely were not ready to defend ourselves when the Soviet Union collapsed.

03:46We had the people, we had the willingness but we didn't have training and we didn't have

03:52the equipment and all that has completely changed now.

03:56Do you remember what it was like to live under Soviet occupation?

03:59Luckily we do and that's why we want to make sure that nothing like that returns.

04:04Overall, the training includes a wide gamut of military capabilities including tanks, howitzers,

04:09attack helicopters, drones, live fire drills and fully functional field hospitals.

04:15Trench warfare is a key characteristic of the war in Ukraine and these trenches were built

04:19by hand taken around two to three hours.

04:21The idea here is of course replicating what it might be like in the event of war where NATO

04:26soldiers were required to defend Estonia.

04:28So we're in an MDA at the moment which stands for main defensive area, basically we're tasked

04:33with defending the ground you can see behind us, basically stopping any movement north of

04:39that ground and repelling any attacks.

04:41We've got a few trenches out at the front as well which is where we'll live and fight

04:44out of so if enemy attacks come towards us then that's where our main defensive area will be.

04:48But this is an exercise with Lithuanian and German soldiers using German tanks, both the Leopard

04:57and the Puma.

04:58We know that Germany sent the Leopard tanks to support Ukraine.

05:02It's also got Lithuanian infantry fighting vehicles.

05:05Is the readiness there in the event of an armed conflict or an invasion on NATO territory in

05:12the next year or so?

05:14The capability to rapidly move into these locations are always here.

05:18The 173rd is postured in Italy and ready to go at a moment's notice.

05:22The 82nd in the rear is also always on guard and on watch, prepared to deploy, engage and

05:29destroy in less than 24 hours.

05:31While the evolution of drone technology dominates in the war in Ukraine, traditional battlefield

05:36techniques are still regarded as relevant, whether tanks or paratroopers replicating the

05:41wars of the last century.

05:43150 paratroopers from five NATO countries, Germany, the United States, France, Italy and the Netherlands

05:50will come here and in theory be here to reinforce Lithuanian soldiers in the event of an invasion.

05:57With ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine and growing concerns about hybrid threats ranging

06:02from cyber attacks to disinformation campaigns, NATO says it's always recalibrating its strategy

06:08to respond rapidly to all emerging crises.

06:12Shona Murray, Kaunas, Lithuania.

06:15Conservative Karol Nawrowski has won Poland's presidential runoff election according to Monday's final

06:25vote count.

06:27Shona Murray, Kaunas, Lithuania.

06:29Nawrowski won 50.89 percent of the vote, narrowly defeating liberal Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski,

06:37who received 49.11 percent in a tightly contested race which saw both candidates claim victory

06:44after early exit polls on Sunday night.

06:49Under Nawrowski, who is backed by US President Donald Trump, Poland is likely to move in a more

06:56nationalist direction, a vision he outlined during his speech to supporters over the weekend.

07:18Nawrowski's victory is a significant setback for the coalition government led by Donald Tusk

07:24and is likely to extend the ongoing political deadlock in Poland.

07:34Israel has intensified its military operation in the north and south of the Gaza Strip.

07:40In the southern city of Khan Yunus, Israeli troops advanced towards the European hospital

07:45and demolished the medical center's rear wall, Israeli media reported.

07:49Meanwhile, the Palestinian health ministry said the Israeli military bombed North Gaza's

07:54only remaining dialysis center.

07:57On Sunday, Hamas released a press statement saying they are ready to negotiate over a Gaza ceasefire,

08:03which would include the immediate delivery of aid and withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip.

08:08Israel has not yet responded to the statement.

08:11The army's chief vowed to continue their operations until the remaining hostages held by Hamas are released

08:18and the defeat of the group.

08:25Saudi Arabia has stopped nearly 270,000 people without permits from entering Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

08:34The government blames overcrowding at the Hajj on participants without authorisation

08:41and says they made up large numbers of those who died last year due to extreme heat.

08:48Fines for anyone performing the Hajj without a permit can amount to €4,400

08:54or include other punitive measures such as deportation.

08:57There are currently an estimated 1.4 million Muslims in Mecca, with more expected to arrive in the coming days.

09:13A lot has changed since EU tobacco taxation rules were last updated in 2011.

09:19Novel nicotine products including fruit-flavoured vapes and nicotine pouches entered the market and use skyrocketed.

09:25A revision of tax rules was proposed with an emphasis on the role of raising prices to reduce use.

09:32However, concerns over high inflation delayed this revision.

09:36Experts and EU ministers questioned the delay, stressing a review is essential.

09:41Four teenagers out of ten waped in the last months.

09:46And then when we also look at the data of consumption of heated tobacco products that are also available on the market

09:53and nicotine pouches in some regions, the prevalence is very high.

09:57We see that because these products are not taxed properly in the EU, some countries are not taxing them or barely taxing,

10:06they became very accessible and not just to adults, but to children.

10:12And that's the reason why revision of the directive is urgent now.

10:1815 EU countries wrote to the Commission underlining that the current directive is insufficient.

10:24In response, the European executive reiterated intentions to tackle the long-awaited directive.

10:30The current proposal substantially raises minimum excise rates for cigarettes and cigars.

10:35It would also, for the first time, target e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco,

10:40with a focus on suppressing the youth market.

10:43However, the sector opposed this reasoning.

10:46Attacks will not help in this case because attacks will make the products more attractive

10:53for black market dealers.

10:55And these kind of people and businesses don't care about protecting the miners.

11:01So we think that, or we see in the member states where we already have high tax in place,

11:07that it's fueling the black market and therefore the protection of the consumers and of course the

11:13miners is not better than in other countries.

11:19Lobby groups also argued e-cigarettes are key tools to stop smoking.

11:23But some health experts warned caution is needed, as the long-term risks of e-cigarettes are not yet clear.

11:29Meanwhile, the proposal requires unanimity, which seems a long way off.

11:33Countries like Italy, Greece and Romania, who are tobacco producers and invested in alternatives,

11:38are lobbying against it.

Latest news bulletin | June 2nd – Evening

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