Latest news bulletin | October 16th – Morning
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00:00The U.S. threatened to cut some military assistance to Israel if they don't boost humanitarian
00:06aid access to Gaza.
00:10President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has endorsed return hubs outside
00:16of the EU for rejected asylum seekers.
00:20Escalating violence between Swedish gangs means the country now has one of the highest
00:25homicide rates in Europe.
00:31Preparations have begun for Moldova's referendum on EU membership and presidential election.
00:45The U.S. threatened to cut some military assistance to Israel if they don't boost humanitarian
00:50aid access to Gaza within 30 days.
00:55In the letter signed by both the U.S. Secretary of State and Defense Secretary, the Biden
01:00administration said it had deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in
01:05the region.
01:07According to the letter, Israel denied or impeded nearly 90 percent of the humanitarian
01:12aid being transported within Gaza last month.
01:15It also stated that evacuation orders have forced almost two million people into a narrow
01:20strip where they are at high risk of lethal contagion.
01:24Criticism of Israel has become more widespread within global politics as the war between
01:28Israel and Hamas drags on, even more so after the ground invasion of Lebanon.
01:33Fighting shows no signs of letting up, with Hezbollah's acting leader declaring the group
01:38is focused on hurting Israel and driving them out of the country.
01:45Russian attacks on Ukraine's south in recent days have killed at least three civilians
01:51and wounded dozens more.
01:53At least one person died and 23 were injured after Russian troops launched rockets at the
01:59Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Tuesday.
02:03A large fire broke out at a market because of heavy shelling, with damage recorded at
02:09an industrial facility, a residential building and a retail and hospitality business.
02:15Further south, Russian attacks on the Ukrainian city of Kursan killed two, according to local
02:21military officials.
02:27Russian forces struck Ukrainian troops and facilities in over 100 areas in 24 hours,
02:34resulting in the deaths of at least 500 Ukrainian soldiers, Russian news agency TASS reported
02:39on Tuesday.
02:44Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, is in Brussels to join his EU
02:49and Gulf counterparts for the first ever EU-Gulf cooperation summit, your news can
02:54confirm.
02:55Glowing global insecurity, the expansion of wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, trade
03:00and renewed efforts for a two-state solution are all on the agenda.
03:04Jasmin Al-Budawi is Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
03:08One of the requests from EU member states throughout the Gulf summit was for greater
03:16recognition and appreciation from Gulf countries regarding the role of Russia as a global
03:22security threat, but also in particular, obviously, a threat to the security of Europe, because
03:27we haven't really seen that so far.
03:29Do you see Russia as a security threat to the world and do you recognise its threat
03:35to Europe, given of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine?
03:38Nobody should use any kind of force.
03:41I am personally from Kuwait and I know what is the use of force mean.
03:46My country was gone in a few hours when Saddam invaded Kuwait in the 90s.
03:51So when we talk about dialogue or diplomacy, we talk about the need, the humanity need
04:01for dialogue and diplomacy.
04:03We make sure that this message gets across to every single partner that we are engaged
04:09with.
04:10But do you recognise Russia as a security threat, given that they are bombing children's
04:14cancer hospitals in Kyiv and dialogue hasn't worked because it didn't work to prevent
04:20Putin from invading Ukraine?
04:22Well, there is a Security Council, there is a United Nations where we all can go.
04:28It is our court.
04:30This is where you need to address these kinds of questions.
04:35You go to your General Assembly in the United Nations, you go to the Security Council and
04:41address it, Shona.
04:42Security again should be singled out on certain issue or certain file.
04:48It has to be a comprehensive effort, international comprehensive effort that deals with these
04:54kind of questions.
05:00President of the European Commission has endorsed return hubs outside of the European Union
05:05for rejected asylum seekers.
05:07Ursula von der Leyen sent a seven-page letter to EU leaders on Monday, outlining several
05:13proposals to curb the number of asylum applications, including the controversial return hubs.
05:19The letter is very clear on what are considered the priority areas for action, but now of
05:25course it is for the leaders to discuss the way forward based on the letter that the President
05:31has sent.
05:33In the letter, von der Leyen said the EU will be able to learn lessons from the criticised
05:38Italy-Albania asylum processing deal.
05:42She previously described the offshore processing as out-of-the-box thinking, but humanitarian
05:48organisations fear it may set a dangerous precedent.
05:52Italy has set a good example by signing the Italian-Albania protocol to process asylum
05:59applications in the Albanian territory, but under Italian and European jurisdiction.
06:03It is a new, brave and unprecedented way, but it perfectly reflects the European spirit.
06:11In the letter, von der Leyen also pushed for designating safe third countries at an EU
06:16level.
06:18This would speed up deportations and avoid disagreements between member states.
06:25It comes ahead of a two-day summit in Brussels where migration is set to dominate talks.
06:41Member states seem to be further tightening their migration policies.
06:45The subject is high on the agenda of the European Council.
06:51In the letter to capitals, von der Leyen proposed to speed up returns and open detention
06:55centres in third countries.
06:59The Commission President is thus in line with the request of 15 member states to transfer
07:04asylum seekers to safe third countries.
07:10Seventeen countries also called for an accelerated expulsion of foreign nationals whose asylum
07:16application is rejected.
07:20At the return hubs, there is a key question is whether the EU member states will find
07:25willing partners in order to establish those return hubs and more than that, also to figure
07:33out ways to get countries of origin and transit to comply in terms of readmission.
07:40In France, the new Interior Minister, who has made immigration his priority, wants to
07:45regularize undocumented migrants but in small numbers and gradually.
07:51In Poland, Donald Tusk is considering temporarily and partially suspending the right of asylum
07:56to combat illegal immigration.
08:00Russia and Belarus are accused of orchestrating the influx of migrants using the Polish border
08:05to destabilize the EU as a hybrid attack.
08:11In Warsaw, migrants are weaponized in this way.
08:17On the other hand, fundamental EU values are at stake.
08:24This is extremely problematic.
08:26The right to asylum is a fundamental right that cannot be suspended even in times of
08:31politically declared crisis.
08:33It is protected under EU law and international law but also by the Polish constitution which
08:39shows that this is not a migration issue alone but it's a broader rule of law issue.
08:46While Hungary or Italy have been marginalized in the past for their hardline migration policies,
08:52rest of the member states now also seem to be converging in this direction.
09:02Sweden's gang violence has become so severe that its homicide rate linked to gang warfare
09:06is now one of the highest in Europe.
09:09Journalists spoke with a young man who wishes to remain anonymous.
09:14After starting as a drug dealer, he now commits other crimes advertised on encrypted messaging
09:19systems.
09:20Criminals have turned to minors who face the prospect of juvenile justice rather than life
09:49sentences in the adult system for contract killings.
10:14Escalating gang violence is fueled by arms and drug trafficking which flood Sweden's
10:19major ports.
10:22Since 2013, the number of fatal shootings in the country has more than doubled according
10:27to official statistics.
10:30Much of the violence takes place in larger cities but has begun to spread to smaller
10:35towns.
10:42Moldovans will vote twice on Sunday, first in the country's presidential election and
10:48then in a long-anticipated referendum on EU membership.
10:53Around 5.6 million ballots were printed on Tuesday for the election and referendum.
10:59For the first time, they will not only be available in Romanian but also in five languages
11:04of ethnic minorities, Russian, Ukrainian, Gagauz, Bulgarian and Romani.
11:11The outcome of the referendum will determine whether EU accession will be a constitutional
11:16goal.
11:17A yes could lead to further tensions between the pro-Western leadership and the Moscow-leaning
11:22breakaway region of Transnistria in the country's east, where pro-Russian separatists rule.
11:28Incumbent President Maia Sandu, a vocal supporter of Moldova's EU membership, is leading the
11:34presidential race, according to recent polls, as well as a yes outcome in the referendum.
11:41For more UN videos visit www.un.org