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00:00NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Allies need to focus more on delivering military
00:08aid to Ukraine ahead of a two-day summit in Brussels.
00:11But we will all need to do more, especially now.
00:16The stronger our military support to Ukraine is now, the stronger their hand will be at
00:21the negotiating table.
00:23And the sooner we can end Russian aggression once and for all in Ukraine.
00:28He argued that increased military support should take priority over discussions on a
00:33peace deal.
00:34But I would argue, let's not have all these discussions step by step on what a peace process
00:39might look like.
00:40Make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to get to a position of strength when those peace
00:46talks start, when the Ukrainian government has decided they are ready to do so.
00:50Rutte also announced that NATO will boost intelligence sharing and enhance the protection
00:55of critical infrastructure in the face of Russian acts of sabotage against Allies.
01:01Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also reiterated his call for his country to
01:05become a NATO member as soon as possible.
01:09Rutte said that the process towards full membership is happening step by step.
01:19At least three civilians were killed in an airstrike on a hospital in Idlib on Monday,
01:24say the Syrian White Helmets, an opposition-run rescue service.
01:29As rebel fighters in Syria continue to advance, government forces have stepped up strikes
01:34on the rebel-held city of Idlib, as well as positions in Aleppo.
01:40Insurgents have taken over large parts of Aleppo since Sunday, including its international
01:44airport.
01:47Footage captured by one of the fighters also appears to show them entering a palace believed
01:52to belong to Syrian President Assad.
01:56The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday that at least 44 civilians,
02:02including 12 children, had been killed in Syria since 26 November.
02:07It added that almost 50,000 people have been displaced, with key infrastructure like schools
02:11and hospitals damaged by airstrikes.
02:18The Israeli Defense Minister warned that if the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah
02:23breaks down, Israel will expand its strikes beyond areas where Hezbollah is concentrated
02:29and target the Lebanese state itself.
02:33His comments come as both sides of the conflict accuse the other of violating the ceasefire.
02:39Our policy together with the IDF is clear and unambiguous.
02:47We will act with all our might to push back all these misunderstandings and the ceasefire
02:58agreement.
02:59And we will have maximum response and zero tolerance."
03:07The UN largely refrained from striking critical infrastructure of the Lebanese Armed Forces
03:12during the 14-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
03:16The war appeared to have come to an end last week after a ceasefire brokered by the United
03:21States and France, but is threatened as attacks continue.
03:29Romania is coming to terms with a new political reality.
03:33Despite their success in parliamentary elections, pro-Western parties are likely to form a coalition
03:39amid the rise in popularity of the far-right.
03:44Many observers believe the outcome was a protest vote, representing a sharp boost from mainstream
03:50parties to an anti-establishment movement.
03:54I think through yesterday's vote, Romanians wanted to send a clear message to their own
04:01politicians rather than to Europe.
04:03The significant increase in support for the extremists compared to 2020 shows that in
04:11Romania there is an important social discontent.
04:15Nevertheless, parts of yesterday's vote came from Romanians who wanted to defend their
04:23country's pro-EU stance, alarmed by the results in the first round of the presidential elections.
04:31Though the new parliament's composition means Romania will continue on its pro-Western
04:35and pro-Ukraine path, all eyes are on this weekend's presidential election and its potential
04:41repercussions in the region and across the EU.
04:46Ultra-nationalist Kalin Georgescu won the first round of the presidential election and
04:52is set to face the pro-European Elena Lascone in Sunday's showdown.
05:12The fragmentation of the vote has prompted pro-Western parties to start discussing possible
05:17coalition options in order to form a government.
05:20However, each of these possibilities points out to a government with reduced stability.
05:26And there is of course the great question mark regarding the results of the second round
05:30of presidential elections next Sunday between the ultra-nationalist candidate Kalin Georgescu
05:36and the pro-Western candidate Elena Lascone.
05:43Canada's foreign minister expressed solidarity with the Georgian people and said their nation
05:47would follow Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in imposing sanctions for those suppressing
05:53legitimate protests in Georgia.
05:55We are very concerned about what Russia is trying to do in Georgia and in that sense
06:01we will follow suit.
06:03We will sanction key individuals and also businesses, entities that are involved in
06:11either human rights violations or corruption based on our own sanctioned regime.
06:19A fifth consecutive night of protests was underway across Georgia against the government's
06:24decision to halt negotiations for the small former Soviet republic to join the European
06:30Union.
06:32The protests have since spread beyond the capital to regional towns and cities.
06:37And schools and universities across the country held strikes and walkouts.
06:42The Georgian prime minister has denied the reasons for the protests and insisted that
06:46the Georgian-European integration plan has not been halted.
06:52A long line of cars are already lining up at dawn as they are on their way to the Hungarian-Austrian
07:00border crossing at Sopron.
07:03Thousands of people commute every day to their jobs in Austria, where they are paid double
07:08compared to in Hungary.
07:12In recent weeks, there has been a significant build-up of vehicles here, as several roads
07:17in Bergenland have been closed to reduce traffic.
07:22A few kilometres away, the road to Klingenbach was closed with a concrete barrier.
07:28The municipality said they made the decision on the grounds of protecting the peace of
07:33its residents.
07:34Because there was too many vehicles coming in, in the morning hours, so this road becomes
07:42crowded.
07:43It's exactly this one, and you have to wait like half hour to exit to this round, and
07:48lots of people are just taking shortcut through the village.
07:51Meanwhile, on the Austrian side, more and more municipalities are trying to prevent
07:56traffic from building up in the streets.
07:59In Agfalva, a large stone was placed on the bridge at the border crossing to prevent cars
08:04from crossing into Bergenland.
08:07And another border crossing between Agfalva and Schattendorf was closed to cars in 2023,
08:13only those who bought a pass were allowed to cross.
08:17However, they were unable to do so regardless for months due to ongoing technical issues.
08:24You have to pay 160 euros, and only those who have a pass are allowed to cross.
08:29But now it's been closed for more than half a year due to electrical problems.
08:36Negligence against Hungarians, because if Hungarians wouldn't be here, their economy
08:41might be closed as well.
08:43Because they take all their economy.
08:45As a result, dozens of cars are parked near the border crossing every day, where people
08:50opt to go to work in Schattendorf on foot or by bicycle.
09:21European member states approved the recommendation to extend a smoking ban to certain outdoor
09:27areas such as cafe terraces, playgrounds or bus stops.
09:31This ban is not only for tobacco but also for emergent products such as electronic cigarettes
09:37or heated tobacco products, which are particularly popular among young people.
09:42However, this recommendation is not binding.
09:46The member states are free to adopt and apply or not.
09:53We went to check the pulse of customers in restaurants to see how they feel about this.
10:17This is a public health issue.
10:2427% of cancers are attributed to smoking.
10:28E-cigarettes also emit toxic substances that cause heart and lung disorders, according
10:34to the WHO.
10:36Public health associations welcome a timely revision.
10:42The last recommendation of the Council on this issue was in 2009.
10:4815 years passed.
10:49Back in 2009, heated tobacco products didn't even exist, and electronic cigarettes, it
10:55was still a novelty.
10:56And now we are faced with these new challenges, so obviously they need to be covered.
11:02Besides shielding people from second-hand smoke, expanding no-smoking areas also seek
11:06to shift social norms, discouraging the next generation from taking up the habit by observing
11:11other smokers.
11:13For us it is very important that smoking-free, so not smoking and not vaping, becomes a new
11:18social norm.
11:20So we want to put a lot of effort into creating this social norm, so that young people who
11:25are now born or who are now under 10 years old will never feel like smoking or vaping.