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00:00Italy's Giorgia Melani downplays Donald Trump's comments to annex Greenland and defends a
00:06potential Elon Musk SpaceX deal.
00:11Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened with reciprocal measures if Ukraine does not
00:16resume gas transit from Russia.
00:22Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Machado was arrested and later freed after leading
00:26a rally in the capital, Caracas.
00:31Joe Biden delivers an emotional eulogy as the late President Jimmy Carter received a
00:36final honoring with a state funeral.
00:43Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melani on Thursday tried to downplay Donald Trump's comments
00:49to annex Greenland, an autonomous territory belonging to Denmark, an EU member state.
00:55Melani said that she thinks that the U.S. under the incoming Trump administration will
01:00not use force to annex Greenland and Panama.
01:21In recent days, Melani met with Trump at his residence in Florida.
01:25She denied reports that whilst there, she discussed the Starlink communication system
01:30with Elon Musk, whom she enjoys a close friendship with.
01:56Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened with reciprocal measures if Ukraine does
02:21not resume gas transit from Russia.
02:24At a press conference in Brussels after talks with European Commission officials, Fico said
02:29Slovakia could cut off humanitarian aid to Ukraine, stop its emergency electricity supplies
02:35and reduce or withdraw benefits for Ukrainian refugees.
03:01A pipeline that runs through Ukraine used to be one of the four networks through which
03:05Russian gas flowed to the European Union.
03:08Kiev decided to halt this gas supply as a transit deal signed before the start of the
03:12war expired at the end of 2024.
03:17In a post on social media platform X, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the decision
03:23to halt the transit means Moscow will lose what he says is one of its most profitable
03:27and geographically accessible markets.
03:40Financing its rearmament is a difficult balance for the EU.
03:45On the one hand, public finances are in the red.
03:47On the other hand, the Russian threat and the prospect of a US isolationist retreat
03:51are looming over Europe.
03:55In the wake of the war in Ukraine, different solutions are on the table to finance the
03:59continent's defence such as buying weapons together.
04:03However, the specific needs of member states in terms of armaments sometimes hinder this
04:08form of cooperation.
04:12The starting point needs to be what do we need to spend money on together to increase
04:20efficiency, become more cost effective, reduce the cost of what we're doing.
04:25I mean, talk about hypersonic missiles, air defence, cyber, satellites.
04:33These are all areas where if we work together, drone warfare also, if we work together in
04:38these areas, we will really get more bang for the buck.
04:44European common debt through Eurobonds could help finance the rearmament.
04:48But supporters of fiscal orthodoxy like Germany remain reluctant to borrow jointly.
04:55The idea behind more EU joint borrowing is the fact that quite a few member states have
05:02problems with their national finances and here this would be in a way then to use the
05:08collective power of the EU as a borrower to make it in fact cheaper to borrow money.
05:18We have done that in other cases.
05:21Some, like Emmanuel Macron, call for buying European in the name of strategic autonomy.
05:26Others prefer to place orders elsewhere to reduce costs or delivery times.
05:31It's also a matter of security, to think about what we buy in Europe, because of course
05:36what we manufacture in Europe we are a priority to consume, what is manufactured elsewhere
05:40than in Europe we are not a priority to consume.
05:42We have signed a contract, if the conditions change, if something happens in the Indo-Pacific
05:48or in Taiwan, Europeans will not be a priority.
05:51So in fact we have to secure our backyards and so it's not that we should only buy European,
05:56I don't think anyone has that in mind, but we have to revalue perhaps the part of what
06:00is European in what we buy.
06:02The EU's role in this matter has been and still is limited.
06:05Defence remains to be an exclusive competence of the member states.
06:13At least 10 people are believed to be dead as wildfires continue to rage in Los Angeles.
06:19The city has been battling five concurrent fires, two of them classified major, that
06:23have caused extensive damage to the iconic city.
06:27And officials confirmed that a sixth fire, named Kenneth, has broken out.
06:32We are now actively engaged in a new brush fire, we're calling it the Kenneth fire, in
06:37the West Hills area of Los Angeles, on the border of Ventura County.
06:43This fire was over 50 acres upon arrival, with the potential for rapid growth.
06:50Authorities say the two biggest fires, the Palisades and Eaton, have destroyed more than
06:5410,000 structures combined.
06:56Homes, buildings, grocery stores, banks, schools and places of worship were burnt to a crisp,
07:02in what U.S. President Joe Biden called the worst fires to ever hit the city.
07:08Many areas across L.A. are covered in thick clouds of smoke and ash, further devastating
07:13Angelenos.
07:14I've woken up with burning eyes and a sore throat, coughing.
07:20I've had friends talk about getting nosebleeds.
07:22It's just awful.
07:23I'm sleeping in a mask.
07:27And the problem is not one that will likely fade soon.
07:31The amount of smog and toxins in the air, it's like, you know, even though our house
07:37is spared, obviously we're probably not going to be able to move back in for months.
07:44Officials say the Palisades and Eaton fires alone have burnt through close to 30,000 acres
07:49of land.
07:51The other four fires that are still ablaze are responsible for even more damage.
07:56Analysts say it can take months or even years to rebuild to pre-fire levels.
08:01And though the government has not yet released figures on how much the damages are estimated
08:05at, private companies believe costs are in the $135 to $150 billion region.
08:17Scientists say the world must find rapid solutions as global temperatures are now teetering on
08:22the edge of passing the crucial 1.5 degrees Celsius warming limit.
08:27According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, 2024 was the warmest year on record
08:34and the first calendar year where the global temperature exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius above
08:40pre-industrial levels.
08:42The limit set by the Paris Agreement refers to temperature anomalies averaged over at
08:47least 20 years.
08:49Though this has not been broken, experts warn that data, however, underscores that
08:54global temperatures are now rising beyond what modern humans have ever experienced before.
09:01Last year brought many deadly extreme weather events around the world from severe storms
09:06to flooding, drought, heat waves and wildfires.
09:09A 2018 United Nations study found that keeping Earth's temperature rise could save and prevent
09:17many people's death and suffering.
09:23The late U.S. President Jimmy Carter was given a state funeral at the Washington National
09:28Cathedral in the U.S. Capitol.
09:30Multiple foreign dignitaries were present at the final honoring of the 39th President,
09:35including Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio
09:40Guterres.
09:43Current and former presidents were also in attendance, including President-elect Donald
09:47Trump.
09:49The incoming U.S. President was seated in the second row alongside Bill Clinton and
09:53his wife Hillary, George W. Bush and his wife, and Barack Obama.
09:59Obama and Trump shared a rare moment as the pair talked, joked and laughed together for
10:04several minutes before the start of the service.
10:08U.S. President Joe Biden, who's set to leave office in less than two weeks, delivered the
10:13eulogy.
10:15Biden shared an emotional message highlighting the deep friendship he and Carter shared for
10:19almost six decades.
10:22The U.S. President praised Carter for his character and unwavering principles, and celebrated
10:26his accomplishments, which he says were heavily discounted.
10:30Many think he was from a bygone era, but in reality, he saw well into the future.
10:41A white Southern Baptist who led on civil rights, a decorated Navy veteran who brokered
10:50peace, a brilliant nuclear engineer who led on nuclear nonproliferation.
10:57A hardworking farmer who championed conservation and clean energy, and a president who redefined
11:08the relationship with a vice president.
11:14Biden ended the message on a personal note, sharing that he misses Carter, but takes solace
11:19in knowing that he'll be reunited with his wife of 77 years, Rosalyn.
11:24Jimmy Carter's casket was once again loaded on a plane headed to his hometown of Plains,
11:29Georgia.
11:30The late president, who died aged 100 on the 29th of December, will be given a private
11:35funeral with friends and family.
11:37He'll then be buried beside his wife in the small town they were born, grew up, lived
11:42most of their lives, and died.