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00:00Lithuania ramps up security at its power grid ahead of next month's planned decoupling from
00:06Russian electricity grid.
00:10A political analyst says an EU shift in power is inevitable if Austrian far-right leader
00:15Herbert Kickl successfully forms a government.
00:20The EU Commission dismisses incoming US President Donald Trump's threats to annex Greenland,
00:26an autonomous territory that belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark.
00:31A sixth fire has broken out in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills area as authorities continue
00:36to fight blazes across the city.
00:42Lithuania says it's ramping up security around its power grid ahead of a planned decoupling
00:47from Russia's electricity grid next month.
00:50Lithuania's Prime Minister Gintota Spalucka says the government has asked police forces
00:54to take over protection of the Litpol link.
00:58Security of the power link shared with Poland was outsourced to a private security company
01:02last month.
01:03The previous government had contracted them to guard some of the Litpol's assets until
01:07springtime.
01:09But Paluckas has opted to speed up that timeline to next week, assigning the country's public
01:14security service to take over.
01:31Vilnius says it's been observing attempts by its opponents to disrupt the planned decoupling
01:36from the Russian power grid.
01:39Officials provided assurances that the country has enough reserves, and all scenarios evaluated
01:43indicates that there will be no power outages.
01:47They've also issued a message to those attempting to disrupt their plans.
02:09Lithuania plans to disconnect from the Russian electricity grid on the 8th of February.
02:15They will then take over the responsibility of running their own national grids for their
02:19power needs.
02:26A shift in power within the European Union is inevitable if Austrian far-right leader
02:31Herbert Kickl forms a government, according to a political analyst.
02:37Kickl and his Freedom Party are currently preparing for potential coalition talks with
02:41the conservative OVP party.
02:55Kickl's party secured victory in recent parliamentary elections, surpassing outgoing Chancellor
03:00Karl Nehammer and his party, which came in second.
03:04The Austrian president initially tasked Nehammer with forming a government, however the OVP
03:09refused to enter a coalition with the Freedom Party under Kickl, leading to a political
03:13stalemate.
03:14Kickl was then green-listed to attempt to form a coalition.
03:38If Kickl succeeds in forming a coalition, it would be the first far-right government
03:42in Austria since World War II.
03:47Authorities in Spain's Canary Islands say some 780 migrants have arrived in the last
03:5324 hours, continuing the unprecedented and record-breaking influx of arrivals from last
04:00year.
04:01Local officials said the migrants arrived in ten boats on the islands of Lanzarote and
04:06El Hierro.
04:08The first migrant arrivals of the year come after a record year where more than 43,000
04:14migrants arrived in the Spanish archipelago islands.
04:23Co-owner of the Jasmine Catering Company based in Berlin, Fahdi arrived as a Syrian refugee
04:29in Germany in 2013.
04:31Originally born in Damascus, Fahdi feels at home in Berlin and has even catered for former
04:36German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
04:39But how has his journey been over the past 12 years?
05:06And how does Fahdi see Germany's recent decision to freeze asylum applications for Syrians?
06:07In Italy, despite processing fewer Syrian asylum requests than any other EU member state,
06:14the government decided to pause applications.
06:17Human rights organizations have condemned the move.
06:36France also announced a temporary freeze on Syrian asylum claims.
06:51As the country faces an uncertain future, organizations are requesting France put exceptional
06:57measures in place.
06:58There are exceptional measures in the law that allow the return of refugees protected
07:04by international protection without losing their status.
07:08So we ask the French state to put this device in place so that all those who are seeds of
07:15freedom and democracy, who came to take refuge in France, can return to their country and
07:21the summit.
07:22I've been told that for a long time.
07:28Long before I even...
07:29The future US president's threats to Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, have received a
07:34timid response from Brussels.
07:38Although Donald Trump has not ruled out a military intervention to annex the island,
07:43a spokesperson for the European Commission has defined it as fairly wild hypothetical
07:48stuff.
07:49Many threats, which did not materialize, and we don't see any need at this moment in time
08:06to go beyond what we have said.
08:10Trump had already expressed interest in buying the Danish autonomous territory during his
08:14previous term in office and has now given his desire a new impetus with a visit by his
08:20son to Greenland.
08:22But both Denmark and Greenland's prime ministers have reiterated that Greenland is not for
08:27sale and that its sovereignty belongs to its citizens.
08:31Brussels also insists on this point.
08:35Just as a matter of principle for us it is clear the sovereignty of states has to be
08:40respected.
08:41The melting of the Arctic ice, which opens up the possibility of exploiting Greenland's
08:45natural resources as well as increasing maritime routes in the area, are key to understanding
08:51Trump's fixation.
08:53However, Brussels recalls that the mutual protection clause between member states in
08:58the event of military intervention would also apply for Greenland.
09:08No respite for Los Angeles.
09:10A sixth fire broke out in the iconic Hollywood Hills neighborhood in the early hours of Thursday.
09:16Firefighters in the Los Angeles County area have been battling multiple wildfires that
09:20have been scorching the city since Tuesday morning.
09:23Officials say at least five people were killed in the blazes.
09:27Fires are spreading at a rapid rate due to the fast wind speeds.
09:32We are still facing strong and erratic winds.
09:36In Palisades and in Sylmar, we are very much in an active firefight.
09:43And the celebrity favorite Pacific Palisades neighborhood was hit the hardest.
09:48The Palisades fires estimated to have damaged more than 1,000 structures, mostly homes.
09:54Many Hollywood A-list celebrities suffered serious losses.
09:58Paris Hilton's beachfront Malibu family home was burnt to the ground in the fire.
10:04And hundreds of other properties succumbed to the same fate.
10:09About five of my friends' house burned down that live up the street.
10:14And when it's a wind-driven fire, there's nothing, you know, very little we can do.
10:25The fires have cast thick clouds of smoke and ash across multiple areas in L.A.
10:31Authorities say the air quality has worsened significantly and urge residents of the affected
10:36areas to stay indoors and remain alert.
10:44Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza killed around 20 people, nearly all of whom were
10:49women or children, according to local health authorities.
10:53Five children were killed as they sheltered together in the same tent, according to the
10:58director of the children's ward at Akan Younis Hospital.
11:02Their bodies were amongst eight children and five women brought to the hospital after strikes
11:07reportedly tore into tents for displaced Palestinians, a car and two houses.
11:14Israel claimed to have targeted militants who had taken part in the October 7, 2023
11:19attack which sparked the war, but did not provide evidence.
11:24Israel blamed Hamas for the civilian casualties.
11:27The ongoing war in Gaza is raging with no end in sight and has killed tens of thousands
11:33of Palestinians, more than half of whom were women and children, according to local health
11:38authorities.