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00:00World leaders have welcomed the newly announced US, Qatar and Egypt co-brokered Gaza ceasefire
00:07deal between Hamas and Israel.
00:11The European Union is considering lifting sanctions on Syria in multiple fields, according
00:16to a non-paper seen by Euronews.
00:22Multiple people have been injured after Russia launched a massive overnight attack across
00:27Ukraine.
00:30NATO defence ministers are in Brussels discussing the latest security situation.
00:34Secretary General Mark Rutte says Europe must shift to a wartime mindset.
00:45A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been announced.
00:49The deal brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt will offer much needed respite for
00:53the people of Gaza who've been enduring 15 months of war.
00:57World leaders have welcomed this development with open arms.
01:18Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who's recently announced his resignation after weeks
01:23of domestic turmoil, also weighed in on the matter.
01:43The United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary David Lammy says the deal is an opportunity for
01:47both sides to begin the healing process, and for this 15-month nightmare to end.
02:13And UN Secretary General António Guterres, who's been an instrumental player in the war,
02:17also expressed his relief following the announcement of the agreement.
02:22He thanked the mediators for their efforts in securing the deal, but stressed that now
02:26attention must turn towards achieving a permanent peace.
02:29Ending the occupation and achieving a negotiated two-state solution with Israel and Palestine
02:38The deal is set to begin on Sunday, January 19.
03:02It will be implemented in three stages, which will feature the release of dozens of hostages
03:06held in Gaza, the release of 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel, and weeks of peace.
03:19The European Union is laying preliminary ground to a wide-range lifting of sanctions on Syria,
03:25according to a non-paper seen by Euronews.
03:28The bloc is considering lifting sanctions on transportation, exports of oil and gas,
03:33and financial and banking activities.
03:36The informal EU document says that any possible change to terrorist designations of al-Qaeda-affiliated
03:41groups, like Syria's ruling Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, must be implemented at the UN Security Council
03:47level before the bloc adopts it.
03:50The paper says that delisting terror groups will have to be conditions-based, as to prevent
03:54any risk of financing terrorism.
03:57The non-paper was produced by the EU Council for Negotiations, and is expected to be substantively
04:03discussed during a meeting of EU foreign ministers on January 27.
04:08The document states that the country's ousted president, Bashar al-Assad, and affiliates
04:13cannot benefit from the lifting, and will still be subjected to sanctions.
04:22Workers participating in a three-hour general strike called by opponents of the incumbent
04:26Georgian Dream Party were attacked in the streets of Tbilisi.
04:30Footage circulating on social media showed baton-wielding individuals assaulting strikers.
04:36Local media says the individuals were titushkis, a term used to describe hired thugs usually
04:42in service of government or political groups.
04:45Demonstrators chanted, blew whistles, and waved Georgian and EU flags side by side.
04:51A report suggests that more than 350 businesses participated in the strike.
04:56Organizers say the demonstration was intended to serve as a warning of what the country
05:00would face in isolation from Europe.
05:30One man was killed in Kharkiv, and several people were also injured in Kherson.
05:49Moscow launched more than 40 missiles and 70 drones, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
05:55said.
05:56The attack comes a day after Ukraine launched what its military called its most massive
06:00attack on Russian military facilities.
06:04Ukrainian forces reportedly struck as deep as 1,100 kilometers inside Russia.
06:10Russia's Ministry of Defense vowed to retaliate, accusing Ukraine of firing multiple Western-made
06:16missiles.
06:17Wednesday's attack has further exacerbated the strain on Ukraine's energy infrastructure,
06:23which Russian forces have persistently attacked during the almost three-year war.
06:31Defense ministers from over 20 NATO members are meeting in Brussels to discuss security
06:35and upcoming challenges to the alliance.
06:40NATO's Chief Mark Rutte opened the two-day session with a clear goal, shifting to a wartime
06:45mindset.
06:48To prevent war, we need to prepare for it.
06:52It's time to shift to a wartime mindset.
06:56And this means we need to make our defenses even stronger by spending more on defense,
07:01producing more, and better defense capabilities.
07:05Russia is hard at work to try to weaken our democracies and chip away at our freedom.
07:10And it is not alone.
07:11It has China, North Korea, and Iran by its side.
07:15Rutte warned the alliance members that Europe's future is at stake, and NATO must do all it
07:20can to keep the people safe amidst growing security threats to the region.
07:25The next summit, in six months' time, will take place in The Hague.
07:38Poland, who has taken over the EU Council presidency, has named security as one of its
07:44key priorities.
07:45But for Warsaw, security has many faces.
07:48In an interview with Euronews, the Minister for European Affairs, Adam Szłopka, explained
07:54that one aspect of security is Europe being independent from Russia in terms of energy.
08:18Europe has managed to overall reduce its energy dependence from Russia.
08:31Some countries, such as Hungary, Slovakia, or Austria, have been less enthusiastic.
08:36These nations could pose a challenge for Warsaw when it comes to security.
08:41Warsaw has also said it's willing to participate in EU cooperation programs, including the
08:46joint purchase of ammunition, and cooperating in strengthening critical infrastructure.
09:07For EU High Representative Kaja Kalas, NATO and the EU complement each other when it comes
09:12to ensuring Europe's security.
09:40Kalas added that Europe's security challenges have only become more complicated and now
09:46involve hybrid threats against energy and food security, as well as cyber attacks.
09:59The presidential race has officially begun in Poland, with the first round taking place
10:03on May 18th.
10:04Eleven candidates have announced their run for the office.
10:07The Polish governing coalition relies heavily on the results of this election.
10:11The current president, Andrzej Duda, comes from the right-wing opposition Law and Justice
10:15Party and has the power to veto pieces of legislation proposed in parliament.
10:20The main issues of the campaign so far include abortion rights, civil partnerships, the rule
10:25of law, and security, the last of which is especially relevant in the context of the
10:30ongoing war in Ukraine.
10:32According to the latest polls, Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski is the current favorite
10:36to win.
10:38His greatest competitor is Karol Nowroczki, a candidate running in name as an independent
10:42but who's endorsed by the Law and Justice Party and who currently heads the Polish Institute
10:47of National Remembrance.
10:49Polling in third place is Sławomir Mensan from the right-wing Konfederacja party, but
10:54the race is expected to be a close competition between the two favorites.
10:59Nowroczki's party, the Civic Coalition, is described as a centrist pro-European, whereas
11:03Nowroczki's Law and Justice Party is described as more skeptical of the European Union.
11:09In the last presidential elections, which took place in 2020, Trzaskowski narrowly lost
11:13to incumbent Andrzej Duda, who's no longer eligible to run due to term limits.
11:19That year, over 10 million polls voted for each of the two candidates.
11:24Only Lech Wałęsa, the first president of Poland to be elected after the fall of communism,
11:28received a higher number of votes.
11:30If a majority of polls do not vote for any of the candidates in the first round, a second
11:35round between the top two candidates will take place on the 1st of June.