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00:00The US and Western allies have called for a 21-day ceasefire to allow for negotiations
00:06in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
00:12The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for a reform of the Security
00:17Council.
00:22Russian forces are assaulting Vuhlydar in Donetsk region, trying to encircle the town.
00:35France and the United States unveiled plans to propose a 21-day ceasefire deal between
00:40Israel and Hezbollah.
00:43The French foreign minister said a diplomatic solution was still possible and that his country
00:48had collaborated with the US on a temporary ceasefire agreement to allow for negotiations.
01:09The news comes amid fears of further escalation between Israel and Hezbollah that appear to
01:15be pushing the region closer to fully-fledged war.
01:18Addressing troops on the northern border, an Israeli top general said the military is
01:22preparing for a possible ground operation.
01:25Meanwhile, Hezbollah hurled dozens of projectiles into Israel, including a missile aimed at
01:31Tel Aviv.
01:36The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for a reform of the Security
01:41Council.
01:42He warns that a failure to punish crimes against humanity risks allowing them to become normalized.
01:48A permanent seat on this Security Council is not a privilege, it is a responsibility,
01:57a grave responsibility bestowed on only five nations to be the guardians of world peace.
02:05Today, some of these members are not living up to their responsibility.
02:11The Security Council must be reformed to make it more inclusive, more legitimate and
02:18more effective.
02:19French President Emmanuel Macron shared a similar sentiment.
02:23As long as we have a Security Council that is blocked, I would say, in a reciprocal way
02:29according to the interests of each other, we will have a hard time moving forward.
02:32And so let's just make these United Nations more effective, first by making them perhaps
02:38more representative.
02:39This is why France, and I repeat here, is in favor of the expansion of the Security Council.
02:45Germany, Japan, India, Brazil should be permanent members of it, as well as two countries that
02:52Africa would designate to represent it.
02:55Speaking on the war in Gaza, Macron urged for an immediate ceasefire and advocated for
03:00a two-state solution.
03:03He added that all parties must respect their obligations along the blue line and that a
03:07war must and cannot break out in Lebanon.
03:17Addressing troops on Israel's northern border, the Israeli Army Chief of Staff announced
03:22that the military is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon, saying Israel's
03:27latest airstrikes in Lebanon were designed to prepare the ground for possible entry.
03:32We will go inside, destroy the enemy there, we will go to destroy the infrastructure.
03:37These are the things that will allow us to return the residents of the north later safely.
03:42The announcement comes as Hezbollah hurled dozens of projectiles into Israel, including
03:47a missile aimed at Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
03:51Israel intercepted the projectile, which was the militant group's deepest strike into Israel
03:55yet.
03:56Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Wednesday that his country would
04:00continue to use force against Hezbollah in Lebanon until displaced residents of northern
04:05Israel return home.
04:07We are throwing projectiles at Hezbollah that have not yet reached their destination.
04:11We are doing this with force, we are doing this with determination.
04:14One thing I can promise you, we will not rest until they return home.
04:20More than 50 people were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, according
04:24to Lebanon's health minister, raising the total death toll from the past three days
04:29to 615.
04:31Since Monday, some 90,000 people have been displaced.
04:35The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, warned against escalation in an address to
04:40the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, saying the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah
04:45risk turning into a full-fledged war.
04:49Portuguese, Spanish, French and UK governments are telling nationals in Lebanon to immediately
04:58leave due to increasing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
05:02IDF strikes targeting members of the Lebanese militant group have killed at least 575 people
05:09in the country's south.
05:10A plane from Beirut landed at Copenhagen airport with passengers who escaped the violence.
05:17The situation is very bad.
05:19He says the situation is very bad.
05:21The situation is very bad, especially in southern Beirut.
05:25The journey from southern Beirut to Beirut was extremely long.
05:31In Brussels, a European Commission spokesperson said leaders will discuss the ongoing situation
05:37at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday night.
05:42He added that if there is a need for coordinated evacuation, the EU is ready to act.
05:48Again, all the contacts, including among the member states of the European Union, are now
05:54happening at the highest level, ministerial level, prime ministerial level or leaders
05:57level in New York.
05:59The evacuation as such, if needed, is conducted by member states affected.
06:05And of course, whenever there is a need for EU-wide coordination, the EAS, our delegation
06:10on the ground and the EAS headquarters are always there for the member states.
06:14Thousands of people in southern Lebanon have been displaced due to Israel's attacks.
06:19An IDF spokesperson said the campaign is designed to be as short as possible.
06:31Russian forces have reached the outskirts of Vuhledar and might be now threatening the
06:35town from three sides amid what appears to be an intensified offensive push near the
06:42settlement.
06:43But analysts say the capture of Vuhledar is unlikely to afford Russian forces any particular
06:48operational edge for further offensive operations in western Donetsk region.
06:54According to the available geolocated footage, Russian forces have broke into eastern Vuhledar
06:59and are advancing there.
07:01They are also pushing on Vuhledar's north-eastern flank via Vodiane and south-western flank
07:07via Prechistivka, likely in an effort to encircle the Ukrainian grouping in Vuhledar and force
07:12it to withdraw.
07:16Located 50 km south of Pokrovsk, the strategic roadway junction and logistics hub, Vuhledar
07:21is often called a fortress, which has been holding on for two years and a half.
07:28There are concerns that its loss would pose a threat to the southern flank of Pokrovsk,
07:32a priority target for Russian army in Donetsk region.
07:36But the Institute for the Study of War argues that Russia's potential seizure of Vuhledar
07:41is unlikely to fundamentally alter the course of offensive operations in the area, saying
07:46that Vuhledar is not a particularly crucial logistics node.
07:51Russian forces already either control or have fire control over most of the main roads running
07:56into the town, so the capture of Vuhledar would not immediately offer Russian forces
08:00access to a new roadway, nor cut Ukrainian forces off from a roadway that is crucial
08:06to their logistical supply.
08:08The Institute for the Study of War previously says that Russian offensive efforts near Vuhledar
08:13and Pokrovsk are mutually reinforcing, and they are intended to stretch Ukrainian forces
08:20along a wider front in Donetsk region.
08:27What lobbying footprint does big oil have on EU climate policy?
08:32The world's top seven fossil fuel companies buy global revenue, along with a network of
08:37over 50 organizations, attended more than 1,000 meetings with the European Commission
08:42between 2019 and 2024, according to a new report published by Transparency International.
08:49Two-thirds of the meetings of the networks are also concerning Green Deal, so Green Deal
08:52was really the most lobbied policy area, and one subject that is recurring over and over
08:56again is the push for the use of hydrogen, but also the push of carbon storage and capture
09:01systems.
09:02Now, these systems are quite controversial today, but they found themselves their way
09:06into the new Commission priorities.
09:08Their total lobbying budget was close to 64 million euros, placing them among the most
09:13well-resourced organizations in Brussels, Corriguno said.
09:17He added that they found an overlap with the networks and the delegates that are present
09:21at the COP28 climate conference.
09:23We saw at the COP28 that it was the COP with the highest presence of fossil fuel lobbyists
09:27or organizations linked to the fossil fuel industry in the history of the COP.
09:31And what we see, the results of what was decided together by the parties, is that a total of
09:35phase-out of fossil fuel was not enacted.
09:40Another report published by Fossil Free Politics claims Russia's invasion of Ukraine facilitated
09:45fossil fuel companies' political access to advise on Europe's response to the energy
09:50crisis.
09:51It shows, of course, that there was a repowering EU agenda, and they opened the door for the
09:57fossil fuel industry to ask for their input, and they basically gave them free access to
10:03draft a new plan for the EU to respond to the threats linked to the Russian invasion
10:09and make the EU less dependent on Russian gas.
10:13Ursula von der Leyen stressed the Commission's transparency system should be strengthened
10:18by subjecting all managers to the Transparency Register, a database listing organizations
10:23that try to influence the European institutions' decisions.
10:30People in most European countries are dining out earlier compared to pre-pandemic times.
10:37New research by Mastercard shows customers have brought the clock forward by 10 minutes
10:42on average.
10:43The starkest changes were observed in Austria 18 minutes earlier, Portugal 16 and Ireland
10:5015.
10:52Previous studies showed that early dinners benefit digestion, reduce cardiovascular risks
10:59and improve blood glucose levels.
11:02But according to the research, that's not the only reason Europeans are having early
11:07dinners.
11:08One reason is that we are working more flexibly, so we have more control over our schedules
11:14and we can decide when we want to go out to eat.
11:18And second reason is that perhaps consumers have become more health conscious.
11:22They prioritize sleep, they go to bed earlier, they sleep longer.
11:27Covid-19 hasn't only changed dining times.
11:32The findings also show that grocery shopping has shifted to earlier in the week.
11:39Consumers now tend to shop more on traditionally quieter days, such as Monday and Tuesday.