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00:00 ♪ ("CGTN News Package," main theme, by Gari Media Group plays) ♪
00:07 >> This is "CGTN," China Global Television Network.
00:21 ♪ ("CGTN News Package," main theme, by Gari Media Group plays) ♪
00:28 >> Live from London, this is "The World Today."
00:36 >> Hello, I'm Andrew Wilson. Our top story is this hour.
00:40 Israeli attacks continue in Gaza despite the latest UN resolution.
00:44 More Palestinians are forced to flee as the death toll mounts.
00:48 ♪ ("The World Today" theme music plays) ♪
00:52 >> Somber tributes. The Czech Republic observes a national day of mourning
00:56 to honor those killed in Thursday's mass shooting.
01:00 Germany closes the doors on Russia's oldest consulate in an escalating diplomatic crisis
01:05 as Moscow describes relations as "deplorable."
01:09 Shifting away from Russia, Ukraine changes the date it celebrates Christmas
01:13 in its latest attempt to suppress Moscow's influence.
01:17 ♪ ("The World Today" theme music plays) ♪
01:21 >> We begin in Gaza, where sustained airstrikes and ground attacks continue
01:33 as the Israeli military widens its push into the enclave.
01:36 Palestinian officials say at least 18 people have been killed
01:39 in an attack on a refugee camp in central Gaza.
01:42 And strikes have also been reported in hard units in the south,
01:45 despite Israel issuing another evacuation warning for civilians to move to southern areas.
01:51 The UN says Gazans face catastrophic hunger conditions
01:54 with humanitarian groups facing growing difficulties in delivering aid.
01:59 Our correspondent Nur Harazin is in central Gaza.
02:03 >> Well, let's start with the latest from here, where I am,
02:06 inside the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in middle Gaza, specifically in Deir el-Balah.
02:11 This hospital is serving the people in Deir el-Balah
02:15 and also Al-Bureij refugee camp and Al-Nusayrat refugee camp.
02:18 In the past 24 hours, 18 people that were killed were transferred here in the hospital.
02:25 Most of the attacks were actually on the Al-Bureij refugee camp.
02:29 The Israeli airplanes targeted Abu 'Umarah home, Al-Khaldi home,
02:34 and also other homes while the residents were inside their homes,
02:39 even though the Israeli army gave those families 72 hours to evacuate their homes.
02:46 And actually, these 72 hours ends tomorrow.
02:51 However, the Israeli warplanes targeted several buildings, as I said, in Al-Bureij refugee camp.
02:57 At the same time, the Israeli tanks continue shelling, heavy shelling,
03:02 the eastern side of the Al-Bureij refugee camp.
03:06 This is here in middle Gaza, in northern Gaza, and according to eyewitnesses
03:10 and very few journalists who are still reporting from northern Gaza,
03:15 they are talking about massacres in Jubaila refugee camp.
03:19 They are talking about dozens of people who are on the floors, on the streets,
03:25 that were killed two days ago, three days ago, a week ago,
03:29 and the paramedics and ambulances cannot reach them.
03:33 Talking about southern Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah city,
03:36 also there was intensive Israeli shelling in the eastern side of Khan Younis,
03:41 intensive Israeli shelling in the eastern side of Rafah.
03:45 At the same time, there were several Israeli strikes that targeted the two cities in southern Gaza.
03:50 And, Nour, we gather that Israel has issued yet another evacuation warning
03:55 for civilians to head south. How are people reacting to that?
04:00 Well, yes, the newest evacuation order was on the people who are residing in the Al-Bureij refugee camp,
04:08 which is very close to where I am, Deir el-Balah.
04:11 The map that was published on social media by the IDF and the Israeli army,
04:16 it showed that the people from Al-Bureij refugee camp should evacuate to here, where I am, in Deir el-Balah.
04:23 Since the very early hours of this morning, we saw hundreds of Palestinians
04:28 coming here to the Al-Aqsa hospital, trying to find an empty space, an empty tent to take shelter.
04:35 Some of them are actually taking shelter in the open air, in the streets.
04:39 But at the same time, we have a big number of people that did not leave their homes,
04:43 and the reason why is because they don't have anywhere else to go.
04:46 And, yes, actually it is not realistic at all to evacuate that amount, that number of people,
04:53 to Deir el-Balah, which is a very small city in middle Gaza,
04:58 adding the fact that here we are already suffering the lack of water,
05:03 the lack of food and supplies and fuel and electricity.
05:07 So there is actually one out of four Palestinians that are starving in Gaza now.
05:13 So, yes, the situation is catastrophic.
05:15 People are forced to evacuate their homes, while at the same time,
05:19 the Israeli forces continue their attacks on Gaza.
05:22 And they are suffering the strikes and the hungers.
05:28 Lua Harazin there in Gaza, and we'll go live to Israel later in our program.
05:34 After days of delays in negotiations, the United Nations Security Council
05:38 has passed a resolution calling for urgent action to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza,
05:43 but not a full ceasefire.
05:46 Widespread famine looms. More than half a million people, a quarter of the population,
05:52 are facing what experts classify as catastrophic levels of hunger.
05:58 The real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive
06:03 is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid inside Gaza.
06:09 Our correspondent William Denslow has more now from the United Nations headquarters in New York.
06:15 It was a vote initially tabled for Monday,
06:18 but UN Security Council members have finally gotten this resolution over the line
06:22 after days of frantic negotiations.
06:25 Thirteen members of the 15-member body voted in favor of the draft resolution.
06:31 The US and Russia abstained, but crucially, didn't use their power of the veto.
06:36 Russia did try to add an amendment to reintroduce language into the resolution
06:41 calling for the suspension of hostilities in Gaza,
06:44 but that was vetoed by the US.
06:47 Instead, the resolution calls for the creation of conditions
06:51 for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.
06:54 At the council meeting, Moscow's representative accused the US
06:58 of watering down the resolution and twisting the arms of fellow member states.
07:03 Ultimately, the wording that is being put to a vote today has been extremely neutered,
07:09 including its OP4 on the mechanism that would be supposed to facilitate
07:16 the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and ensure its monitoring.
07:20 The United Arab Emirates sponsored the resolution.
07:23 Its UN representative acknowledged that it's not a perfect text,
07:27 adding that only a ceasefire will end the suffering of people in Gaza.
07:31 But there's hope. The resolution will improve the situation on the ground.
07:35 The text calls for urgent steps to be taken to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access into Gaza,
07:42 while also calling for the immediate release of Israeli hostages.
07:46 The resolution ought to request the UN to appoint a humanitarian coordinator
07:51 to set up a mechanism for accelerating the provision of humanitarian relief.
07:57 If deconfliction does not happen, aid simply cannot reach those who need it.
08:02 Current deconfliction efforts are clearly not working if 136 UN workers have lost their lives because of it.
08:11 The UN warns that the entire population of Gaza faces crisis levels of hunger.
08:17 With current aid deliveries insufficient in addressing the growing crisis,
08:22 council members hope this resolution will help improve the humanitarian situation.
08:28 But the US ambassador to the UN warns that progress on the ground can only happen
08:33 if the council's words are turned into action.
08:37 William Denslow, CGTN, New York.
08:40 The conflict between Israel and Palestine has had a devastating impact on the people of Gaza,
08:45 but it's also affecting the regional economy.
08:48 CGTN's Fung-Yi Lei reports now from the occupied West Bank.
08:54 The economic shutdown struck hard at manufacturing industries in Nablus,
08:59 the northern commercial hub in the West Bank.
09:02 This century-old traditional soap factory was not spared.
09:06 The war has hit people's pockets hard.
09:09 They're only buying the bare essentials for their homes, like food and drink.
09:13 Soap has become less of a priority,
09:16 and travel restrictions since the war have made it difficult for our customers to reach us.
09:22 The ripple effects are also visible in declining output.
09:26 So this is one of the boilers of the soap factory,
09:29 but as you can see, this one is empty at the moment.
09:33 And according to the supervisor of the factory,
09:36 actually they haven't used it for a long while because of a reduction in production.
09:42 There are challenges for essential materials to be delivered through checkpoints
09:46 as Israel steps up security measures.
09:49 The arrival of diesel is delayed, sometimes taking two to three more days.
09:54 We rely on it to heat the soap.
09:57 And the quiet workshops suggest difficult commutes prevent some workers from getting to their jobs.
10:03 Our sales decreased 17 percent.
10:05 We are doing our best to keep on work and keep these people working instead of staying at home,
10:11 because they have families and they want to run their own life.
10:19 The impact is being felt across key sectors of the West Bank economy.
10:24 A furniture business owner explains that most of his buyers are in Israel.
10:29 The current situation is pushing his company to the brink of collapse.
10:33 We have so many workers that used to work in Israel.
10:36 Now they cannot go there.
10:38 Also a lot of employees are not getting their salaries.
10:42 His client from Israeli-controlled territories also face difficulties coming to him.
10:47 We had to go through numerous checkpoints.
10:50 It's risky and dangerous to transport furniture and other goods.
10:54 We have to leave now to make it home by around one o'clock at midnight.
10:59 Beyond the individual stories, local government estimates the industrial sector
11:04 has declined by 50 to 60 percent over the past two months.
11:08 It's feared that in some sectors, including hotel services and restaurants,
11:13 that figure could rise to 80 percent.
11:16 Israel's confiscation of Palestinian tax for more than three months
11:20 constitutes almost 30 percent of the market movement.
11:23 We had more than 200,000 workers working there,
11:26 but after the war they were denied entry.
11:29 All of those are important factors on the decline of the Palestinian economy,
11:34 purchasing power and the flow of revenues to the Palestinian market.
11:38 The World Bank has revised its outlook for the Palestinian economy,
11:42 now anticipating a contraction of 3.7 percent this year,
11:46 from the previously forecast growth of 3.2 percent.
11:50 It's destroying the future.
11:52 People are scared now to invest also within the Palestinian territories.
11:59 It's scary because, again, you can't anticipate what's going to be next.
12:06 The shadow of instability looms large,
12:08 with fear of the security and public service collapse if the situation escalates further.
12:14 Fong-Yi Lai, CGTN, in the West Bank.
12:17 Ukraine says it has shot down three Russian fighter jets over the southern Kherson region.
12:22 The aircraft, which can carry out long-distance attacks,
12:25 were reportedly brought down on Friday close to the Dnieper River.
12:29 President Zelensky says Ukraine's anti-aircraft missile brigade,
12:32 based in Odessa, carried out the operation.
12:35 Russia has not commented on the incident.
12:38 The last French soldiers have left Niger five months after the country's military rulers demanded their withdrawal.
12:46 It's seen as a further blow to France's influence in the Sahel region,
12:49 following similar departures from Mali and Burkina Faso.
12:53 Before the coup, Niger had been a key security partner of both France and the US,
12:58 who used the country as a base to fight groups linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
13:03 Early results from a general election in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
13:08 show President Felix Tshikedi with a comfortable lead.
13:12 Voting in the mineral-rich African nation was extended after some polling stations failed to open,
13:17 and voters couldn't find their names on registers.
13:20 Independent observers have raised concerns about the poll,
13:23 and opposition parties are already calling for a rerun.
13:27 Now, a national day of mourning has been observed in the Czech Republic
13:32 two days after the worst mass shooting in the country's history.
13:35 A minute's silence has been held to remember the 14 victims killed at a Prague university.
13:40 Our correspondent Johannes Pleschbergen now reports.
13:43 For Prague residents, Christmas won't be the same this year.
13:47 Flags are flying at half-mast, while church bells across the nation are ringing in memory of the many victims.
13:54 On Saturday, crowds assembled at the university building to pay their respects.
13:59 Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressed his deep sorrow,
14:03 saying the country had been shocked by this horrendous act.
14:07 Meanwhile, his government has announced increased security measures for the whole country,
14:13 deploying police officers with machine guns to various locations.
14:18 The mass shooting has cast a shadow over Prague residents,
14:22 as well as tourists who came to spend holidays in the city,
14:25 which is famous for its Christmas markets.
14:29 The gunman's motivation remains unclear,
14:32 and investigators are trying to determine whether the 24-year-old is connected to another murder case.
14:38 Police believe that he killed his father before carrying his shotgun to Prague's Charles University,
14:44 brutally murdering at least 14 people.
14:47 It was one of the deadliest attacks by a lone gunman in Europe this century.
14:52 Johannes Blechberger, CGTN, Prague.
14:55 You're watching CGTN's Still to Come.
14:58 Ukrainians change the date they celebrate Christmas in the latest move to get away from Russian influence.
15:05 Ever wondered what's the difference between a bear and a bull market?
15:16 Where are the cash cows?
15:18 And who are the lame ducks?
15:22 And what exactly are black swans,
15:25 grey rhinos,
15:28 and unicorn companies?
15:31 Make sense of it all with Global Business, only on CGTN.
15:39 I think it should be more public operation.
15:43 I would like to hear more the voice of the developing countries.
15:50 Globalization has lifted more than a billion people out of poverty.
15:55 The green transition has to happen. It's a necessity.
16:00 For China and the United States, our important powers in the world.
16:06 What unites us is much more than what divides us.
16:11 And I believe China is committed to this agenda.
16:15 Join me, Juliette Maran, to set the agenda at these times every weekend on CGTN.
16:22 Events have consequences. Words create impact.
16:30 One more offensive in a long line of battles that's been ongoing for more than...
16:34 Just got to be careful here with some gunshots.
16:37 The world today matters, but your world tomorrow.
16:42 The number of casualties is growing quickly.
16:45 This is one of the hardest hit towns in the region.
16:49 The world today, every day, on CGTN.
16:54 Welcome back. A reminder of our headlines.
17:02 Czech Republic observes a national day of mourning to honour the 14 people killed in Thursday's mass shooting.
17:09 And Israeli attacks continue in Gaza despite the latest UN resolution.
17:13 More Palestinians are forced to flee as the death toll mounts.
17:17 Now, the Israeli military says more than 200 Hamas militants have been captured in the Gaza Strip over the past week.
17:24 Let's get the view from Israel. Our correspondent Trent Murray is in Tel Aviv for us.
17:29 Trent, what more have we heard from the IDF about its ground operation in Gaza?
17:37 Andrew, a fairly big operational update that has been released this Saturday by both the IDF but also the Shin Bet,
17:43 which is the national security agency here.
17:46 They say it's part of a major operation.
17:48 They apprehended over 200 what they call terror operatives from Hamas,
17:54 but also the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which is another group which operates within the Strip.
17:59 Now, what they are saying is that they have brought all of them back here to Israel
18:03 to be questioned by the country's military intelligence agency.
18:06 They also say some of those operatives were hiding amongst civilians and actually surrendered to troops on the ground.
18:13 Now, this brings the total number of alleged members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad,
18:21 the total number that Israel says it has captured for questioning and brought back to Israel to 700,
18:26 since they launched their ground operation in the Strip.
18:30 We're also hearing some more details about what they say was a very heavy clash between Hamas and IDF on the ground.
18:37 In particular, they say what happened during the operation was the IDF fired gunshots in order to try and deceive
18:45 or make deceptive gunshots effectively to try and confuse those Hamas fighters.
18:50 They then have basically lured them into a building and called in an airstrike,
18:54 which they say killed dozens of Hamas fighters.
18:57 So, look, while all that is happening, of course, we know it is civilians which are getting caught in the crosshairs
19:03 of a lot of those firefights, which is why the UN is warning about the humanitarian situation on the ground.
19:10 But certainly from an IDF perspective, they say that they're going to continue to push forward with their ground operation.
19:16 Having secured much of northern Gaza, they're going to now continue to move southward.
19:21 And, Trent, more exchange of fire on Israel's northern border.
19:26 That's right. And I think this is very noteworthy because obviously there is a lot of focus on Gaza, understandably,
19:34 but we must not forget that tensions are still really simmering on that northern border of Israel with Lebanon.
19:41 We're being told and we have seen multiple incoming rocket sirens today across northern Israel.
19:47 The IDF says Hezbollah has been firing rockets over the border yesterday.
19:51 They fired around 20. Another large number today. We've not been given exact figures.
19:57 But what we do know, according to the IDF, is they have responded from positions within Israel using artillery,
20:03 trying to target the launch sites of those rockets.
20:06 And they also deployed the Israeli Air Force to use fighter jets to launch preemptive strikes on what they say was military infrastructure.
20:15 The spokesperson for the IDF, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, has been warning about this,
20:21 saying that Hezbollah is turning southern Lebanon into a combat zone
20:26 and he says that it risks putting the entire state of Lebanon at risk of a conflict.
20:33 So, look, again, it just shows that there are sort of multiple arenas here across different parts of Israel.
20:40 And that's what has got many analysts and others worried about this conflict spiraling in to other parts of the region.
20:48 OK, Trent, thanks very much indeed. Trent Murray there in Tel Aviv for us.
20:52 Now, Russia's ambassador to Germany says relations between the two countries are at a deplorable level
20:58 after the closure of its oldest consulate.
21:01 In May, Berlin ordered four of the five Russian consulates in Germany to close
21:05 in a diplomatic dispute that has led to the expulsion of a number of top diplomats.
21:09 Well, for more, Dasha Chernysheva joins us now live from Moscow.
21:13 Dasha, just remind us of the background to all this.
21:17 Well, we have seen the diplomatic expulsions,
21:25 this back and forth diplomatic expulsions, tit for tat, between Moscow and Berlin over the past months
21:31 and this is yet another example of what is happening to the bilateral relations between these two countries.
21:38 So now we have seen the Russian consulate general being closed in Leipzig
21:43 after Germany announced that four of Russia's five general consulates in Germany have to be shut down
21:49 in a move that is believed to create the structural and personnel parity between the two countries.
21:55 Now, Russia has five consulates in Germany, in Bonn, in Hamburg, in Leipzig, in Munich and in Frankfurt upon the Main.
22:03 Now Moscow will be represented only by the embassy in Berlin and by the general consulate in Bonn.
22:09 But Moscow has previously said that the number of the German staff, state staff, working in Moscow
22:17 should be reduced to 350 and following that move, Germany said that because of that,
22:22 the general consulates in Yekaterinburg, in Novosibirsk, in Kaliningrad are not able to function.
22:29 They say they have shut them down because of this decision.
22:32 Moscow, however, has said that that was a voluntary decision by Berlin.
22:36 So we are seeing these relationships deteriorating between the two countries
22:41 and even to the level where B and D, according to the German officials,
22:46 have been penetrated by the Russian intelligence with information and secrets from Germany being leaked to Moscow.
22:54 And Dasha, what about the Russian ambassador? What's he been saying?
22:59 Well, Sergei Nechayev has been talking to the people who attended the events of the closure,
23:08 to the ceremony of the closure of the general consulate in Leipzig.
23:12 The Russian flag was lowered down over this building
23:17 and he said that the relations between the two countries is at a deplorable level.
23:21 That is part of the ongoing trend of deterioration of ties between Moscow and other Western countries.
23:27 He also has said that what is even worse is that the diplomatic missions, the general consulates,
23:32 used to be the areas and the actors that helped to promote good relationship between the two countries.
23:39 Now that the diplomatic level of relationship is reducing, now that there is less representation,
23:45 certainly it is much more difficult because there are no more people to talk to.
23:50 And also what is very notable here is that the consulate in Leipzig was the oldest diplomatic mission of the Russian Federation to Germany.
24:00 It was opened by Catherine the Great in 1783 when the territory used to be Saxony
24:07 and it was operational pretty much the whole time until now.
24:12 The Soviet Union used to have its general consulate there in the starting 1950s
24:18 and now it is being closed and obviously Moscow does regret that move.
24:23 Dasha, thanks very much indeed. Dasha Chernysheva there live for us in Moscow.
24:27 Now drones have been used to survey an active volcano in southwest Iceland after its threat level was downgraded.
24:35 Monday's eruption followed weeks of seismic activity that prompted the evacuation of a whole town.
24:40 Engineers took aerial images to assess the situation at the volcano
24:44 and its threat level was earlier lowered from emergency to danger after there was no visible activity.
24:51 The English Premier League has its first female referee.
24:55 Rebecca Welch is officiating the game between Fulham and Burnley which has just got underway.
25:00 The former firefighter is a regular in the women's Super League and has refereed men's matches at championship level.
25:07 A number of Premier League managers have welcomed her appointment.
25:11 Manchester City have won Football's Club World Cup becoming the first English side to bag five trophies in a calendar year.
25:19 They thrashed Brazil's Fluminense 4-0 in the match in Saudi Arabia.
25:24 City also scored the fastest ever goal in the competition with Julian Alvarez hitting the net after just 40 seconds.
25:31 Manager Pep Guardiola said it had capped off an incredible year.
25:37 Now Ukrainians will celebrate Christmas this year on December the 25th not January the 7th.
25:43 President Volodymyr Zelensky has shifted the holiday away from the traditional Orthodox date.
25:47 Ukrainian government says the move is to erase Moscow's historic influence in their country.
25:53 Our correspondent Megumi Lim has more now from Kiev.
26:00 Revelers parade through markets and carol singers serenade shoppers.
26:07 Christmas is going to arrive earlier in Ukraine this year, about two weeks early.
26:14 The festive spirit is here in Kiev despite the conflict with Russia.
26:19 Ukrainian President Zelensky signed a law moving the country's holiday away from the Russian Orthodox calendar.
26:26 So Christmas is being celebrated on December 25th instead of January 7th.
26:31 I feel like it will change not only the date but the feeling inside us.
26:37 Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians and have followed the traditional Julian calendar used by Russia.
26:45 The aim of the law is to abandon the Russian heritage.
26:49 Priests here agree this is an important move.
26:53 Ukrainian people understand this and don't want to go to Russian church.
27:02 Elsewhere in Kiev festivities are more toned down.
27:06 In the past this square used to be lit up with lights and decorations over the holidays.
27:11 But now just one Christmas tree stands.
27:15 And a reminder of the conflict as people gathered to demand the release of Ukrainian soldiers being held by Russia.
27:23 A Kiev resident said her fiancé was captured in Mariupol last year.
27:29 And it really hurts not only our family who are here but also he is hurting I believe also because he is in captivity.
27:38 This will be the second winter in Ukraine since Russia launched what it called its special military operation in February 2022.
27:46 Whether Christmas is celebrated this month or in January, for many it will be another holiday spent apart from loved ones.
27:55 Megumi Lim, CGTN, Kiev.
27:59 And finally gird your loins.
28:02 Load up, ready load up, we have one too many, load up.
28:07 For a Christmas tradition stretching back more than a century.
28:12 Hundreds of people packed into London's historic Smithfield market for an auction of end of year discounted meat.
28:19 It's the first time it's been held in four years because of the Covid pandemic.
28:23 Smithfield's one of the last wholesale food markets located in the centre of a major capital city.
28:29 And it's due to be relocated outside London over the next few years.
28:36 In a moment my colleague Jamie Owen will be here with a special programme as he looks back over thousands of years of civilisation to see what the past can really teach us about the future.
28:46 That's Journey Through Civilisations right after The World Today at 16.30 GMT here on CGTN.
28:54 But for now that's The World Today, thanks for watching.
28:56 There's more news on CGTN Europe's channel on the Telegram app or scan the QR code on the screen to get stories and updates sent direct to your phone.
29:04 More news at the top of the hour. For now from all the team in London, goodbye.
29:09 (upbeat music)