Latest news bulletin | October 16th – Midday
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00:00Many member states are preparing to tighten their migration policies and Brussels is in
00:04line with this new reality.
00:06The EU summit this week will be the place to discuss the details of how.
00:11Prague is banning organized nighttime pub crawls, hoping to deter drunk tourists from
00:16the Czech capital.
00:25The US threatened to cut some military assistance to Israel if they do not boost humanitarian
00:30aid access to Gaza within 30 days.
00:35In the letter signed by both the US Secretary of State and Defense Secretary, the Biden
00:40administration said it had deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in
00:45the region.
00:47According to the letter, Israel denied or impeded nearly 90% of the humanitarian aid
00:52being transported within Gaza last month.
00:55It also stated that evacuation orders have forced almost 2 million people into a narrow
01:00strip where they are at high risk of lethal contagion.
01:04Criticism of Israel has become more widespread within global politics as the war between
01:08Israel and Hamas drags on, even more so after the ground invasion of Lebanon.
01:13Fighting shows no signs of letting up with Hezbollah's acting leader declaring the group
01:18is focused on hurting Israel and driving them out of the country.
01:26Russian attacks on Ukraine's south in recent days have killed at least three civilians
01:31and wounded dozens more.
01:33At least one person died and 23 were injured after Russian troops launched rockets at the
01:39Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv on Tuesday.
01:43A large fire broke out at a market because of heavy shelling, with damage recorded at
01:49an industrial facility, a residential building and a retail and hospitality business.
01:55Further south, Russian attacks on the Ukrainian city of Kherson killed two, according to local
02:01military officials.
02:07Russian forces struck Ukrainian troops and facilities in over 100 areas in 24 hours,
02:14resulting in the deaths of at least 500 Ukrainian soldiers, Russian news agency TASS reported
02:19on Tuesday.
02:24Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, is in Brussels to join his EU
02:29and Gulf counterparts for the first ever EU-Gulf cooperation summit, Euronews can confirm.
02:35Glowing global insecurity, the expansion of wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, trade
02:40and renewed efforts for a two-state solution are all on the agenda.
02:44Jassim Al-Budawi is Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
02:49One of the requests from EU member states throughout the Gulf summit was for greater
02:56recognition and appreciation from Gulf countries regarding the role of Russia as a global security
03:02threat, but also in particular, obviously, a threat to the security of Europe, because
03:07we haven't really seen that so far.
03:09Do you see Russia as a security threat to the world, and do you recognise its threat
03:15to Europe, given of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine?
03:18Nobody should use any kind of force.
03:21I am personally from Kuwait, and I know what is the use of force mean.
03:26My country was gone in few hours when Saddam invaded Kuwait in the 90s.
03:32When we talk about dialogue or diplomacy, we talk about the need, the humanity need
03:41for dialogue and diplomacy.
03:43We make sure that this message gets across to every single partner that we are engaged with.
03:50But do you recognise Russia as a security threat, given that they are bombing children's
03:55cancer hospitals in Kyiv, and dialogue hasn't worked because it didn't work to prevent
04:00Putin from invading Ukraine?
04:02Well, there is a Security Council, there is a United Nations, where we all can go.
04:08It is our court.
04:10This is where you need to address these kind of questions.
04:15You go to your General Assembly in the United Nations, you go to the Security Council, and
04:21address it.
04:22Nobody, again, should be singled out on certain issue or certain file.
04:28It has to be a comprehensive effort, international comprehensive effort, that deals with these
04:34kind of questions.
04:41The first asylum seekers from Italy that will have their applications processed in Albania
04:46arrived via ship to the Albanian port of Schengen.
04:50The ship carried 16 men who were rescued at sea after departing from Libya.
04:56The men will undergo health screening and identification procedures, and will then be
05:01transferred to a camp in Jadr, a few kilometres away from the port.
05:07Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloni formally opened the two centres on Friday, where Italy
05:12plans to process thousands of asylum seekers.
05:17Although the centre in Jadr has the capacity for 3,000 migrants, it will start with 400
05:23and increase to 880 in a few weeks.
05:27The centres will only house adult men.
05:30Families will not be separated, and women, children and vulnerable people will be accommodated
05:35in Italy.
05:40President of the European Commission has endorsed return hubs outside of the European Union
05:45for rejected asylum seekers.
05:47Ursula von der Leyen sent a seven-page letter to EU leaders on Monday, outlining several
05:53proposals to curb the number of asylum applications, including the controversial return hubs.
05:59The letter is very clear on what are considered the priority areas for action, but now of
06:05course it is for the leaders to discuss the way forward based on the letter that the president
06:11has sent.
06:13In the letter, von der Leyen said the EU will be able to learn lessons from the criticised
06:18Italy-Albania asylum processing deal.
06:22She previously described the offshore processing as out-of-the-box thinking, but humanitarian
06:28organisations fear it may set a dangerous precedent.
06:32Italy has set a good example by signing the Italian-Albania protocol to process asylum
06:39In the letter, von der Leyen also pushed for designating safe third countries at an
06:55EU level.
06:58This would speed up deportations and avoid disagreements between member states.
07:05It comes ahead of a two-day summit in Brussels, where migration is set to dominate talks.
07:21Member states seem to be further tightening their migration policies.
07:25The subject is high on the agenda of the European Council.
07:31In the letter to capitals, von der Leyen proposed to speed up returns and open detention
07:35centres in third countries.
07:39The Commission President is thus in line with the request of 15 member states to transfer
07:44asylum seekers to safe third countries.
07:50Seventeen countries also called for an accelerated expulsion of foreign nationals whose asylum
07:55application is rejected.
07:59With the return hubs, there's a key question is whether the EU member states will find
08:05willing partners in order to establish those return hubs, and more than that, also to figure
08:13out ways to get countries of origin and transit to comply in terms of readmission.
08:20In France, the new interior minister, who has made immigration his priority, wants to
08:25regularize undocumented migrants, but in small numbers and gradually.
08:31In Poland, Donald Tusk is considering temporarily and partially suspending the right of asylum
08:36to combat illegal immigration.
08:40Russia and Belarus are accused of orchestrating the influx of migrants using the Polish border
08:45to destabilize the EU as a hybrid attack.
08:51In Warsaw, migrants are weaponized in this way.
08:57On the other hand, fundamental EU values are at stake.
09:04This is extremely problematic.
09:06The right to asylum is a fundamental right that cannot be suspended, even in times of
09:11politically declared crisis.
09:13It is protected under EU law and international law, but also by the Polish constitution,
09:19which shows that this is not a migration issue alone, but it's a broader rule of law issue.
09:26While Hungary or Italy have been marginalized in the past for their hardline migration policies,
09:32rest of the member states now also seem to be converging in this direction.
09:43The majority of Montenegro's population still identifies as Montenegrin, about 41%, according
09:50to the country's latest census results revealed on Tuesday.
09:55This is a decrease from the country's last census, held in 2011, when 45% identified
10:01as such.
10:03The latest census was held in December last year, and shows a 4% increase in those who
10:08identify as Serbs compared to the last census, now sitting at 33%.
10:14The small Balkan country's ethnic makeup has long been a sensitive issue, as census results
10:19often play an important political role in the region.
10:24Montenegro was the last state to split from former Yugoslavia, separating from Serbia
10:29in 2006.
10:31Census results continue to have influence on both pro-Serbian and pro-Montenegrin political
10:36goals.
10:45Prague is banning organized night-time pub crawls, in a move aimed at deterring drunk
10:50tourists from the Czech capital.
10:53City councilors announced on Tuesday that specialized agencies can no longer organize
10:58tours hopping from pub to pub between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
11:03Residents have reportedly complained about noise caused by the rowdy pub crawls, particularly
11:08from British tourists.
11:10The move is likely to be a major blow to tour operators who rely on Prague's reputation
11:15as a party city.
11:18The city's deputy mayor said that he hopes to attract more cultured, wealthier tourists.
11:24Prague isn't the first European city to implement measures to deter visitors motivated by alcohol.
11:31Last year, Amsterdam launched a campaign similarly hoping to attract a more sophisticated
11:35tourist, in exchange for those motivated by drugs, alcohol and prostitution.