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00:00Almost a week after receiving international backlash, Trump doubled down on his plan to
00:07buy Gaza.
00:11The White House says senior members of the administration will meet European officials
00:15this week to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine.
00:21German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says the EU can act in an hour if U.S. President Donald
00:26Trump slaps tariffs on the bloc.
00:31Early results in Kosovo's general elections show Albin Kurti's party in the lead but short
00:37of a clear majority.
00:41U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his plan to buy Gaza, intending to use it as a
00:50site for future development.
00:53Trump initially announced the plan almost a week ago after meeting with Israeli Prime
00:57Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
01:00His offer drew international backlash, with both Arab and European countries, as well
01:05as China, Australia and Brazil expressing their opposition against forcibly displacing
01:10the Palestinian population.
01:12I'm committed to buying and owning Gaza.
01:17As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build
01:22sections of it, other people may do it through our auspices, but we're committed to owning
01:29it, taking it and making sure that Hamas doesn't move back, there's nothing to move back into.
01:35The place is a demolition site.
01:38Speaking on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Trump said he was losing his patience
01:43after seeing footage of the release of the latest three Israeli hostages.
01:50He also spoke on Russia's ongoing invasion in Ukraine, which he wants to end soon.
01:56The U.S. president claimed the war would have never happened if he had been president.
02:05U.S. National Security Adviser Mike Waltz has said senior members of the administration
02:10will meet with European officials this week to discuss how to end the war in Ukraine.
02:15The push comes almost three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
02:21Waltz said the Russian economy isn't doing well and that Trump is prepared to tax, to
02:26tariff, to sanction Moscow to get Putin to the negotiating table.
02:30Waltz also said the Trump administration is looking to use the meetings to begin talks
02:35on clawing back some of the U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
02:38He said European allies will also need to take a greater role in supporting Ukraine
02:43going forward.
02:45Trump said the U.S. is talking to Russia about Ukraine without Kiev's input, saying his administration
02:51has already had very serious discussions.
02:54That runs counter to the Biden administration's position that echoed Zelensky's call of nothing
02:59about Ukraine without Ukraine.
03:02I've had it.
03:03Let's just say I've had it.
03:05And I expect to have many more conversations.
03:08We have to get that war ended.
03:10It's going to end.
03:11And we have to get it ended.
03:12We have to get it ended, sir.
03:14Should have never happened.
03:15Would have never happened if I was president.
03:18Vice President J.D. Vance will head to the Munich Security Conference later this week
03:22where President Volodymyr Zelensky will lead Ukraine's delegation.
03:27Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump's special envoy on
03:32Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg will also attend the Munich conference.
03:37On Wednesday, Hegseth will attend a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at the
03:41NATO headquarters in Brussels.
03:50German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the European Union can act in an hour if US President
03:55Donald Trump slaps tariffs on the bloc.
03:58Speaking in the first TV debate before snap elections later in the month, Scholz said
04:03his strategy for dealing with Trump is clear words and friendly conversations.
04:08He pointed to his public statements about respecting borders after Trump said he wouldn't
04:12rule out the use of military force to take control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
04:18He also stressed the importance of European unity and said he and other countries are
04:22working on proposals to increase NATO's presence in Greenland.
04:26Trump pitched the idea of taking control of Greenland on the campaign trail last year
04:30saying it was important for America's national security.
04:34He said he could impose financial penalties or even use the military to force Denmark
04:39to cede the island to the United States.
04:43Scholz also described Trump's suggestion that the US could take ownership of Gaza, relocate
04:48its population and redevelop it as a scandal.
04:51Scholz's main challenger, the Christian Democratic Union's Friedrich Merz, also voiced unease
04:56about the proposal but suggested there's a lot of rhetoric coming from Washington.
05:01Merz said the new US president is predictably unpredictable.
05:05Merz, who was the frontrunner in the 23rd of February snap elections, also discussed
05:10top domestic issues with Scholz such as Germany's struggling economy and migration.
05:20Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has called Sunday a great day after the Baltic
05:24countries disconnected from the Soviet-era power grid and joined the European electricity
05:30network.
05:31The switchover, which the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said held geopolitical
05:36significance, came more than three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
05:41It ends the Baltic countries' final ties to Russia.
06:01All remaining transmission lines between the Baltics and Russia, Belarus and the Russian
06:11exclave of Kaliningrad were switched off one by one.
06:15The Baltic power system was then merged with the European energy network through links
06:19with Finland, Sweden and Poland.
06:21EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the changeover was about more than just
06:26energy.
06:28It is about European integration.
06:31It is about European sovereignty.
06:35It is about proving once again that when we come together, we can move mountains.
06:44Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, you are at the heart of Europe.
06:54You work tirelessly for this moment.
06:57And today, all of Europe celebrates with you.
07:02The Baltic countries, which are all NATO members, have often had difficult ties with Russia
07:07since declaring independence from the USSR in 1990.
07:11Relations hit a new low over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
07:17Sixteen power lines that used to connect the Baltic states with Russia and Belarus were
07:22dismantled in recent years as a new grid linking them with the rest of the EU was created.
07:28The three Baltic countries informed Moscow and Minsk of the disconnection plan in 2024
07:33to head off any hostile reaction.
07:42Preliminary results from Kosovo's legislative elections show incumbent Prime Minister Albin
07:47Kerti's party in the lead, but short of the majority needed to govern alone.
07:52With 73% of the votes counted, Kerti's leftist self-determination movement party has won
07:58almost 42% of the vote.
08:00Speaking to the press, Kerti said the result confirmed his party was fit to govern.
08:05We are in the lead, and this is a confirmation for our government to be good, to be democratic
08:16and progressive.
08:17Thank you very much, everyone.
08:28Our coalition will form a new government, a new procurement, and in this way we will
08:36continue the work that we have started, but also many others that are in procurement.
08:44Kerti has antagonized Western powers after his cabinet took steps that raised tensions
08:49with Serbia and Kosovo's ethnic Serbs.
08:52That included a ban on the use of the Serbian currency and transfers from Serbia to Kosovo's
08:57ethnic Serb minority that depend on Belgrade's social services and payments.
09:02The U.S., the EU and the NATO-led peacekeeping force urged the government in Pristina to
09:07refrain from unilateral actions that could stoke ethnic tensions.
09:12Brussels also suspended funding for some projects and set de-escalation conditions for their
09:17gradual resumption.
09:19Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe with an annual GDP per capita of under
09:246,000 euros.
09:27All parties made pledges to increase public salaries and pensions and improve education
09:32and health services.
09:33However, they didn't explain where the money would come from nor how they would attract
09:38more foreign investment.
09:43Chinese rescuers worked on Sunday to locate dozens of missing people after a landslide
09:51in southwestern Sichuan killed one person and buried homes.
09:55Two people were pulled out alive with injuries and about 360 others were evacuated, according
10:01to the state broadcaster.
10:03Authorities said the disaster was caused by recent heavy rainfall and geological conditions.
10:09President Xi Jinping expressed his concern and urged authorities to make every effort
10:13to search for the missing people and minimize casualties.
10:20In the Dutch province of Limburg, residents had the rare chance this weekend to walk on
10:25the bottom of a drained canal.
10:27For months, they had been watching the works at the Juliana Canal from a distance.
10:32The chance to see it up close meant the 3,600 tickets for this open day were sold out in
10:38no time.
10:45Those who managed to buy a ticket expressed excitement as they walked along the four-kilometer
10:51stretch of drained land.
10:53Some residents hoped to find some treasure on their visit, but were left disappointed.
11:24The canal is being made deeper and wider so that larger ships can pass through it.
11:34In order to drain it, a dam was built, after which 1.9 billion liters of water could slowly
11:40drain away.
11:41The project will take months and is expected to be completed this spring.