Latest news bulletin | February 22nd – Morning
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/02/22/latest-news-bulletin-february-22nd-morning
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/02/22/latest-news-bulletin-february-22nd-morning
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Top German politicians and chancellor candidates face off in a final debate ahead of Sunday's
00:07federal election.
00:10Political opponents of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set aside their criticisms
00:15as U.S. President Donald Trump calls him a dictator without elections.
00:22As Germans gear up to take to the polls on Sunday, candidates for the top chancellor
00:26job faced off one last time in a televised debate.
00:30The war in Ukraine and shifting U.S. foreign policy dominated much of the discussion.
00:35Since Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. President, his desire to broker a peace deal
00:40in Ukraine has come at the expense of alienating European countries.
00:45German politicians acknowledged that the shifting approach in Washington has heightened the
00:49threat of war, but some argued that it's time to adapt.
01:19But some of the candidates believe that securing Europe starts with Ukraine and showing a
01:40united front against Russian aggression.
01:47A recent study revealed that continental peace and security was the most important
02:11issue for some 45 percent of voters.
02:14Immigration and the economy are also among the top contentious issues, which will decide
02:19the country's next leader.
02:29This is Rene from Berlin.
02:31She's in the western city of Cologne today for the famous burlesque cabaret.
02:35She's excited about the show, but not about the state of her country.
02:54Polls say the conservative Christian Democrats will come out first, followed by the far-right
02:59AfD.
03:00The socialists and greens have gone down in popularity.
03:04Voters here are eager to decide who should run their country for the next four years.
03:31But despite all the gloomy predictions about the German economy contracting here in the
03:36main shopping street of downtown Cologne, business seems to be doing just fine.
03:41In fact, some outlets are even opening up.
03:56No voter apathy here in downtown Cologne.
04:20People very motivated to cast their ballot.
04:23All eyes now on the 23rd of February to see the outcome.
04:26Rene from AKMH in Euronews, Cologne.
04:37Ukraine is about to enter a fourth year of war since the Russian-led invasion.
04:41On a trip to Brussels, Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko has put aside his past criticism of Ukrainian
04:46President Volodymyr Zelensky for the time being.
04:53In response to the U.S. President's comments describing Volodymyr Zelensky as a dictator
04:56without elections, Vitaly Klitschko has joined forces with the entire opposition to support
05:01his leader.
05:09The two have had a tense relationship for several years, marked by exchange of accusations.
05:15The situation during the war is very difficult and the country in the war, the millions of
05:28people right now on the front line, millions of people outside of the country, millions
05:33of people inside the country are refugees.
05:35And during the war to make election, it's actually with competition, political competition
05:42inside the country during the war can destroy the country from inside.
05:49But political unity and the rule of law in Ukraine are not without their flaws.
05:54Ukrainian opponent and former President Petro Poroshenko has been sanctioned by Volodymyr
05:57Zelensky, who accused his predecessor of high treason.
06:02This move is perceived as a political quarrel between the two leaders over the electoral
06:06debate.
06:07Faced with this crisis, the Union's leading political force, the European People's Party,
06:20of which Petro Poroshenko's party has long been a member, came to his defense.
06:27The EPP recalls that it's urgent to preserve the unity of Ukraine in this crucial phase
06:31of the war and international efforts to bring it to an end.
06:36Instead of calling him a traitor, I emphasize Poroshenko's invaluable services to Ukraine,
06:41particularly his work in building a strong army, said Manfred Weber, the EPP president.
06:48We have to fight and have to defend our independency and we have to defend our wish to be the part
06:57of European family because everyone have to understand the reason of this war.
07:01We want to be the part of European family and Russian Federation told, no, you are always
07:10was a part of Russia and we're fighting for our democratic future.
07:14Vitaly Klitschko believes that at this crucial moment for Ukraine, emotions should be put
07:18aside.
07:20But Volodymyr Zelensky's heavy-handed actions against his opponents will continue to fuel
07:25the political debate in Ukraine about elections and the rule of law.
07:31With hundreds of thousands of dead or wounded and no end in sight, war has been raging on
07:42for nearly three years in Ukraine.
07:47But the successes and mistakes of both Ukraine and Russia are a lesson for the French army.
07:54This high-intensity conflict foreshadows the war of tomorrow due to the many technological
08:00and tactical innovations.
08:02It's even pushed the French army to go as far as to create its own special defense innovation
08:07unit.
08:08What is important for us is the innovation and the ability to adapt that we have observed
08:17during this conflict, which for us really mobilizes our energy in preparation.
08:29One key takeaway this year, the hidden electronic warfare battle that's reshaping the Ukraine war.
08:36This has forced French military leaders to consider where there are gaps in their own capabilities.
08:43If you are no longer able to use your mobile phone because it is no longer able to connect to a
08:50board, it's still a little complicated.
08:52So in the military field, whether it's for communications, whether it's for GPS-based
08:57guidance systems, which is part of our daily life, whether it's for aircraft exchange systems
09:04between them, or even the guidance of a drone with its pilot, all this exploits the electromagnetic
09:11field.
09:12And so being able to act on this field is being able to prohibit its use.
09:19And it's a field that moves very, very fast.
09:22We have to be very present on this because it's a key element.
09:26The war even inspired the creation of a new NATO-Ukraine center in Poland, inaugurated
09:32this week to help the alliance learn important lessons from the battlefield in Ukraine.
09:40Pope Francis' health has shown a slight improvement one week after being hospitalized for pneumonia.
09:47According to the Vatican, the pontiff's clinical condition is slightly improving with no fever.
09:54The 88-year-old Pope is reportedly still suffering from the lung disease but continues to breathe
09:59independently with his heart still holding up well.
10:03On Wednesday, Italy's Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, said she was happy to have found him
10:08alert and responsive after visiting.
10:11Earlier this week, local media reported that Francis privately told Confident he may not
10:16survive the ongoing health scare, prompting fears across the Catholic Church and among
10:22the Christian faithful.
10:24Francis has led the Roman Catholic Church since 2013 and won praise in progressive quarters
10:30for making the church more inclusive in rhetoric and practice.
10:41Six Israeli hostages are set to be released by Hamas in what the militant group says will
10:46be the last of living captives to be returned under the first phase of a ceasefire deal
10:51with Israel.
10:52According to the militant group, Israel will be releasing 602 Palestinian prisoners and
10:57detainees in exchange for the hostages.
10:59It comes as controversy greeted Hamas' return of four bodies on Thursday that Israel said
11:05did not contain the remains of Shiri Bilbas, a mother of two who was killed alongside her
11:11children in the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
11:15Meanwhile, relatives of some of the remaining hostages still being held in Gaza at a Friday
11:20ceremony in Tel Aviv called once again for the immediate release of all abductees.
11:25Hamas and Israel have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase in which the
11:30militant group is expected to release some 33 remaining hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire.