Latest news bulletin | January 8th – Morning
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00:00 Violence flares up in the West Bank as the Israeli army says it`s wrapping up its offensive
00:06 in North Gaza.
00:21 Devastated effects of floods continue for months on.
00:30 The European Parliament will add more votes to its schedule in the next few months as
00:35 it attempts to push through legislation before elections.
00:41 Europe`s inflation is up by half a percent compared to last month, dampening hopes of
00:45 an interest rate decrease by the European Central Bank.
00:53 Multiple attacks in the West Bank were reported on Sunday. Earlier in the day, a Palestinian
00:58 man driving a car with Israeli license plates was fatally shot at the busy intersection.
01:04 Hours after a violent confrontation elsewhere left seven Palestinians and an Israeli border
01:10 policewoman dead.
01:15 Israeli defense spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the IDF has completely dismantled
01:21 Hamas`s military framework in the northern part of the strip and will now focus on dismantling
01:26 in the central and southern parts.
01:32 In Mirage, southern Gaza, rescuers continue to search for survivors through the rubble
01:37 after an Israeli strike. As another child of Al Jazeera`s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dadud,
01:44 was killed in an Israeli airstrike alongside two other journalists west of Canyonist.
01:52 "Europe needs its own sufficient army. We need a strong military system. We need a strong
01:59 military system. We need a strong military system. We need a strong military system.
02:07 We need a strong military system. We need a strong military system. We need a strong
02:15 military system. We need a strong military system. We need a strong military system.
02:22 We need a strong military system. We need a strong military system. We need a strong
02:29 military system. We need a strong military system. We need a strong military system.
02:57 In early September, a severe storm wave named Daniel hit Thessaly in central Greece, claiming
03:03 the lives of 17 people. In Vlohos, most residents left their homes due to the significant damages,
03:10 but Yannis Koukas is not one of them. Almost every day he cleans, tidies up and hopes that
03:16 in a few months he will be able to return with his wife and children.
03:23 "We are trying to clean our homes, our warehouses, to dry our things and to help people who can
03:30 return to their homes after the summer."
03:35 Unfortunately for the children of Vlohos, their primary school has suffered irreparable
03:42 damage. Yet beyond houses, the September floods caused serious problems to the region's economy,
03:50 mostly to farmers and breeders. Thousands of acres were flooded and hundreds of animals
03:56 drowned. Vasilis and Dimitra are livestock breeders who still haven't managed to recover
04:02 from September.
04:04 "We have no livestock left. We lost 80 animals. The farms we had stored, they were all destroyed.
04:11 I'm not talking about the alternatives that were at home. We have no production from the
04:18 farm. We are saying 'go' and we are managing to fight it."
04:23 The flood victims have many complaints for their government, which they believe has not
04:28 done enough, but one association says they are grateful to the thousands of citizens
04:32 from Greece and abroad who rushed to help them.
04:37 "We thank the volunteers who encouraged us. They sent us a thousand things, which we are
04:46 not able to distribute among families. And they come and take all the same things."
04:53 Some years ago, the residents of the area may not have known exactly what a climate change
05:02 or a climate crisis meant. Now, having experienced pain and loss, they ask the state for substantial
05:09 help. They are even asking for anti-pollution projects so that in the next great disaster
05:16 they won't be left with dead and lost property.
05:19 From Vlachos Karditsas for Euronews, Apostolos Staikos.
05:26 Preparing for the future and stabilizing financial aid to Ukraine. Those were among the priorities
05:32 outlined in a joint press conference on Friday by EU chief, First Levander Lion, and Belgian
05:37 Prime Minister, Alexander De Kruy, whose country took over the rotating EU Council presidency
05:42 earlier this week.
05:44 "The European population looks at the European Union. They look at the European Union with
05:51 clear expectations. With expectations to protect them, with expectations to strengthen our
05:57 well-being, our welfare, and with expectations to prepare a common future. A common future
06:05 here in Europe means also, of course, Ukraine in the heart of Europe."
06:12 Belgium assumed the presidency of the European Council from Spain on the 1st of January.
06:18 Their position will rotate again on the 30th of June this year.
06:22 The European Parliament will add more votes to its schedule in the next few months as
06:31 it attempts to push through legislation before elections. There will be more voting sessions
06:36 added to each of its monthly meetings. Europeans go to the polls in June, meaning lawmakers'
06:42 last chance to vote on more than 100 pieces of proposed legislation will be in late April.
06:56 "There will be plenary sessions here in Strasbourg with many issues to vote on. Normally, what
07:02 can be done is to add a voting session, for example, in the afternoon, so that there are
07:07 no more than two or three hours in a row, so that the deputies can keep their concentration.
07:12 You can't be voting for hours and hours."
07:16 The Parliament will have to vote on key laws such as the Migration Pact, artificial intelligence
07:24 and the new fiscal rules of the bloc. In Brussels, many think the accelerated process is down
07:31 to a predicted surge of right-wing MEPs in the next elections. Those MEPs could block
07:37 many of the proposed laws, meaning current lawmakers want to get them through now. But
07:41 many see the latest EU proposals on migration and the Green Deal as dangerous attempts to
07:46 please the far right.
07:48 "There are still many other files on the Green Deal side. There's this infamous asylum
07:55 and migration pact too, on which there's an agreement that won't solve anything, and that
08:02 basically follows the footsteps of the radical right, which I think is also a big mistake.
08:09 I would say, if I look at what my group is going to do between now and the end of the
08:16 term, will be to play defence. Because what I believe is that the vast majority is sleepwalking
08:28 the European Union into disaster, and we must prevent that."
08:33 According to the latest opinion polls, far right and radical forces in the European Parliament
08:41 could make gains in the June elections, with the mainstream parties and Greens losing their seats.
08:47 Europe's inflation is up, after some months of decline. In December, the inflation of
08:58 the euro was at 2.9%, five-tenths up from November's figures of 2.4%. According to Eurostat's
09:05 statistics office, the rebound in price increase was mainly due to the smaller fall in energy
09:10 costs, which has been the main driver of inflation over the last few years. But according to
09:15 analysts, geopolitical tensions could complicate the situation.
09:19 "The security situation in the Middle East is a risk for global prices, in particular
09:30 global oil prices and energy prices in more general. So far the impact has been limited,
09:38 but a possible escalation of the situation could result in rising oil prices, rising
09:45 energy prices, and that could have an impact all around the world, including in Europe
09:52 and the Eurozone, and that could keep inflation pressure higher for longer."
09:58 Other key sectors, including food, alcohol and tobacco, also contributed to the inflation
10:04 rise. The news is likely to dampen hopes of an early interest rate decrease by the European
10:09 Central Bank in 2024. The bank's rate stands unchanged from last October at 4%.
10:16 "In the past few years, high inflation reduced the real wage, but now wage growth accelerated
10:25 and inflation slowed down, so now real wage is the purchasing power of consumers is increasing.
10:33 So this might mean demand pressure and it might make it more difficult for a lasting
10:41 reduction of inflation. That's why I would expect that the ECB will not start cutting
10:47 interest rate any time soon."
10:49 Over the last few days, other inflation figures have showed the same trend. In both Germany
10:55 and France, Europe's leading economies, inflation also rose in December.
11:02 [Beep]
11:06 Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Australian Open due to start on the 14th January after
11:15 he suffered an injury during a comeback tournament, having spent the past 12 months on the sidelines.
11:22 Concerns over his repaired hip were raised after he needed a medical timeout during the
11:28 Brisbane International quarterfinals on Friday. The star player later posted on social media
11:34 that scans revealed a small tear in the muscle and he was flying back to Spain for treatment.
11:40 [SWOOSH]