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00:00 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged 124 million euros in aid to Moldova for energy
00:07 security and to counter Russian disinformation.
00:10 Spain`s parliament has given final approval to a controversial amnesty law for hundreds
00:16 of Catalan separatists.
00:21 Is unlocking the EU anti-discrimination directive a priority ahead of the European elections?
00:27 Spain`s parliament has given approval to a controversial amnesty law for hundreds of
00:38 Catalan separatists involved in the illegal 2017 secession bid.
00:46 The bill was approved by 177 votes to 172 and will become law once it`s published in
00:52 the official Gazette, which could be as early as Friday.
00:58 The new law is expected to set the stage for Prime Minister Sánchez`s second term and
01:03 could also allow the return of exiled pro-independence leader and former Catalan regional president
01:08 Carles Puigdemont.
01:09 But while the bill is popular in Catalonia, the Popular Party and Vox have led protests
01:15 against it in Madrid and other cities across the country.
01:21 There have also been critics of amnesty within Sánchez`s socialist party and the European
01:26 Commission has been investigating the bill after flagging serious concerns last year.
01:31 But despite the heated debate, the Catalan separatist parties hailed the new law a democratic
01:36 victory.
01:37 "We are winning a battle of the conflict that has existed for centuries between the
01:44 two nations, the Catalan nation and the Spanish nation.
01:50 This law is not forgiveness, nor is it clemency.
01:55 It is victory, a democratic and collective victory."
02:01 Courts in Spain now have up to two months to apply the law.
02:07 The deep rift between the right and centre-right in Poland could hinder the making of an overall
02:12 EU conservative coalition, according to the Euronews Polls Centre analysts, who predict
02:18 the conservative forces will win the EU elections in Poland.
02:24 The Euronews Superpol conducted between March and late May sees a neck-to-neck race between
02:28 the Nationalists' right-wing Law and Justice Party and the moderate pro-EU conservatives
02:34 of Civic Coalition, the current ruling party in Poland.
02:39 The far-right party, Confederacia, seem to be losing some consensus between March and
02:44 May, while the centre-left, The Greens and Renew, are expected to have rather meagre
02:49 results.
02:52 The European People's Party-affiliated movement Civic Coalition is the movement of the current
02:57 Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whilst its rival, the ultra-conservative PIS, is a member of
03:01 the European Conservatives and Reformists' group, their deep rivalry in the domestic
03:06 arena could hamper the attempts to create the EU conservative coalition between the
03:10 EPP and the ECR.
03:14 Despite their conservatism and a clear convergence on defence and security matters, the Law and
03:19 Justice Party and the Civic Coalition couldn't resolve the divides, even at EU level.
03:26 As Tomasz Kanicki from the Euronews Polls Centre explains.
03:29 "It's purely about tactics and mechanics.
03:32 In the end, probably on the paper, the situation will look more or less the same, but these
03:35 are parties that are in eternal conflict and conflict on the basic political values of
03:40 respect to the rule of law, the independence of institutions, of respect to its partners."
03:47 According to the projections, the majority of the Polish MEPs will be sitting in the
03:51 EPP, ECR and ID benches.
03:55 It's going to be a key country for the crafting of the conservative coalition, but for many
03:59 moderate and right-wing EU politicians, it should replace the current Grand Coalition.
04:06 Meanwhile, the priority of Prime Minister Tusk is to reset the Polish rule of law system
04:13 with the EU legal principle against the will of his Eurosceptic nationalist rivals.
04:22 The European Union is set to implement a new pact on migration and asylum applications.
04:32 However, experts have raised the alarm it could lead to an increase in hate speech and
04:37 discrimination.
04:38 In response, rapporteur Alice Kunke told Euronews that some are arguing for the adoption of
04:44 the EU anti-discrimination directive.
04:47 "We know for a fact that black people within the EU, but also LGBTQI persons and persons
04:57 with a Roma background are some of them that faces discrimination in their everyday life.
05:04 And the tragic is that this is not a down-going trend, it's a rising trend.
05:11 I am afraid that the migration pact and several parts of it will not help us in fighting racism
05:24 and discrimination, rather the opposite."
05:28 The European Commission first attempted to create a comprehensive law on fighting all
05:32 kinds of discrimination in 2008.
05:37 The Parliament adopted several resolutions, holding a plenary debate on the topic in October
05:42 2019 and approved their last position in November 2022.
05:50 Different political parties in the European Union express varying views on the legislation.
05:57 Only the Socialists and the Left clearly promised to push for the directive's adoption.
06:04 Other three moderate groups make references to the need for fighting against all forms
06:08 of discrimination, racism and exclusion.
06:14 The European Network Against Racism has elaborated on a pledge of commitments to combat the problem
06:20 and asked candidates to sign it.
06:22 It also called for the EU anti-racism action plan to be prolonged beyond 2025 and to revise
06:28 part of the directive that is currently blocked.
06:30 "We believe it's an opportunity to assess the text and adopt a renewed framework, a
06:38 non-discrimination legal framework that can cover all forms of discrimination because
06:44 there are gaps in the current text of the equality treatment directive.
06:48 There are things that have been left unaddressed, the racialization of migration policies, the
06:53 exploitative economic system, the anti-Muslim narrative."
06:58 The EU Council, which brings together Europe's 27 member states, has blocked the directive,
07:04 with some governments arguing that it violates national competence and others claiming it
07:08 would be too costly to implement.
07:11 But the rapporteur claims that the current political landscape means it is urgently needed.
07:23 Israel continues its offensive in Rafa, Gaza's southern city where millions of Palestinians
07:28 settled as it had been designated a safe zone.
07:33 Families dismantled their tents and prepared to move and seek refuge in a safer place.
07:38 "They told us this area is safe, they threw a sign saying it's safe, and they shot us
07:46 with their guns."
07:47 Israel's military says it has taken control over a strategic zone along the border between
07:52 Gaza and Egypt, known as the Philadelphia Corridor.
07:56 Spokesman for the IDF said that about 20 tunnels used by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza
08:02 had been found there.
08:04 Mothers of Israeli soldiers fighting in the Gaza Strip protested in Tel Aviv, calling
08:08 for an end to the war between Israel and Hamas.
08:11 They covered their bodies with red paint, symbolizing the ongoing bloodshed of the war.
08:16 "The government doesn't care.
08:19 They don't care for the lives of the hostages, and they don't care for the lives of the soldiers."
08:26 The military says at least 290 soldiers have been killed since the ground operation in
08:30 Gaza began in October.
08:36 NATO's foreign ministers met to discuss whether to allow Ukraine to use their weapons to launch
08:42 strikes on Russian territory.
08:44 The two-day gathering in Prague focused on the question of potentially lifting restrictions
08:49 that have so far limited Ukraine's ability to inflict damage across the Russian border.
08:55 So far, the West has refrained from allowing its weapons to be used for that purpose, for
09:00 fear of escalating the conflict into a wider war with Russia.
09:06 "Ukraine can still prevail, but only with continued robust support from NATO Allies.
09:14 So at the NATO Summit in July, we plan to put our support on a firmer footing, including
09:21 with a greater NATO role in coordinating security assistance and training, as well as a multi-year
09:27 financial commitment."
09:30 The ministers will also tackle the question of who should become the next Secretary General,
09:35 with Stoltenberg due to step down in October.
09:42 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged 124 million euros in aid to Moldova
09:48 for energy security and to counter Russian disinformation.
09:52 Blinken opened a visit to Eastern Europe with a stop in Moldova's capital, where he announced
09:56 the aid at a press conference with President Maya Sandu.
09:59 "I'm happy to announce that we will also be dedicating $85 million, part of the $300 million
10:06 USAID effort to support energy infrastructure, to help you enhance things like battery storage,
10:16 as well as the high voltage transmission lines that we've already dedicated some funds to.
10:20 And that in turn will strengthen your energy resilience, strengthen your grid.
10:24 The gas corridor as well, from Greece to Moldova, will further help wean you off of Russian
10:31 energy."
10:32 Moldova used to be entirely dependent on Russia for its natural gas supplies, but it faced
10:37 an acute energy crisis after Moscow dramatically reduced supplies in the winter of 2022.
10:45 A volcanic eruption in Iceland on Wednesday spewed lava over 160 feet into the air.
10:51 The creature is located in southwestern Iceland, where authorities evacuated the seaside town
10:56 of Grindavik, including the country's biggest tourist attraction, the Blue Lagoon geothermal
11:01 spa.
11:02 "It went well.
11:03 It was a bit of a mess.
11:04 There were three or four people in the village who wanted to give up their houses, but when
11:10 we took over, they came back."
11:14 The area is part of the Svartstengi volcanic system that was dormant for nearly 800 years
11:19 before reawakening.
11:21 This marks the fifth and most powerful eruption in the region since December.
11:26 The February 8 eruption engulfed a pipeline, cutting off heat and hot water to thousands
11:31 of people.
11:32 Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, sees regular eruptions
11:37 every year.
11:38 -Earth Observation Logo-