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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/2025/03/24/latest-news-bulletin-march-24th-evening
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Crowds gathered outside Istanbul City Hall for a fifth consecutive night of protests.
00:07Earlier on Sunday, a court formally arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on corruption
00:11charges.
00:13Clashes erupted as protesters threw flares and stones at riot police units, who in turn
00:18responded by using pepper spray to disperse the crowds.
00:22The protests came just a day after a major demonstration saw hundreds of thousands protest
00:26across Istanbul calling for Imamoglu's release.
00:30He was detained on Wednesday after a dawn raid of his residence amid an investigation
00:34into alleged corruption and links to terror groups.
00:38The court decided to jail the mayor on reasonable suspicion of running a criminal organization,
00:43accepting bribes, extortion, illegally recording personal data, and bid rigging.
00:49He was not, however, arrested on terrorism charges, with the court arguing that it was
00:53not necessary at this stage as he was already arrested for financial crimes.
00:58The largest opposition party, the CHP, also held a solidarity ballot in its first primary,
01:04where they were nominating their presidential candidate for the 2028 race.
01:08Symbolic ballot boxes were set up nationwide to allow people beyond the party's 1.7 million
01:14members to express their support for the jailed mayor.
01:20European Union's foreign policy chief Kaya Kalas has warned of a dangerous escalation
01:24following Israel's resumption of war in the Gaza Strip last week with a wave of surprise
01:28airstrikes.
01:30Speaking in Jerusalem during a briefing with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, Kalas
01:34condemned the violence, saying it only fuels more conflict.
01:38Resuming negotiations is the only feasible way to end the suffering on all sides.
01:44Violence feeds more violence.
01:47What we are witnessing now is a dangerous escalation.
01:50It is causing unbearable uncertainty for the hostages and their families, and it is likewise
01:57causing horror and death for the Palestinian people.
02:00The recent bombardment has killed hundreds and brought the total Palestinian death toll
02:04in the war to over 50,000, according to the health ministry.
02:07Saar insisted the conflict could end tomorrow if Hamas fulfills Israel's conditions.
02:12The war can end tomorrow with releasing our hostages, the demilitarization of Gaza, and
02:20the withdrawal of the armed Hamas and Islamic Jihad forces from there.
02:26War is not an ideology.
02:29We would be happy, and we will be happy, to achieve our aims by diplomatic means.
02:36But if that is not possible, we have no choice but continuing our military efforts.
02:42The next phase of the ceasefire, which was to include the release of 59 hostages, never
02:46started after Israel cut off humanitarian aid to pressure Hamas.
02:55Ukrainian officials held a second round of ceasefire talks with U.S. officials in the
02:59Saudi capital, Riyadh.
03:01Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky tasked his Defense Minister Rustem Umarov with leading
03:06the delegation.
03:07Umarov said in a post after the meeting on social media platform X that many key points,
03:12including energy, were discussed.
03:15He described the meeting as focused and productive.
03:18Zelensky, addressing the meeting, reiterated his country's commitment to peace.
03:23He also emphasized the need to exert more pressure on his Russian counterpart.
03:27Our team works absolutely constructively.
03:33The talks are sufficient and useful.
03:35The work of the delegation is ongoing, but in order not to talk to our partners, we need
03:44to put pressure on Putin to stop the attacks.
03:49Whoever brought this war, he must take it away.
03:56Leading the talks for Washington was U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve
04:00Whitkoff.
04:02According to U.S. media outlets on Sunday, Whitkoff said he believes Putin, despite European
04:07concerns, is also interested in peace.
04:10On Friday's EU summit in Brussels, leaders agreed on the need to be fully capable of
04:15defending themselves against further Russian attacks by 2030.
04:19Downplaying Europe's fears, Whitkoff said he takes Putin at his word that he's not interested
04:24in expanding his territory.
04:26I just don't see that he wants to take all of Europe.
04:30This is a much different situation than it was in World War II.
04:33In World War II, there was no NATO.
04:36So you have countries that are armed there.
04:40To me, I take him at his word in this sense.
04:44And I think the Europeans are beginning to come to that belief too.
04:47But it sort of doesn't matter.
04:49That's an academic issue.
04:52Whitkoff and his team are set to meet the Russian delegation on Monday.
04:56Trump had said previously he hoped this round of talks can offer some breakthrough towards
05:00finally ending the war.
05:07Greenland's Prime Minister accused Washington of interfering in its political affairs ahead
05:11of an upcoming visit to the territory by Second Lady Usha Vance and National Security Adviser
05:17Mike Waltz.
05:19Speaking to a Greenlandic newspaper, Mircea B. Ege called the visit aggressive, particularly
05:25objecting to Waltz joining.
05:27He added that his presence in Greenland would fuel American belief in Trump's mission.
05:33Trump has repeatedly insisted that the U.S. annex Greenland, a move opposed by the Greenlandic
05:38and Danish governments.
05:41The White House said the upcoming visit is a cultural one, during which the U.S. delegation
05:45will visit historical sites to learn about Greenlandic heritage and attend the national
05:50dog sled race.
05:56Greenland's Inuits are reclaiming their identity as the independence debate grows.
06:02During colonial rule, Denmark enforced assimilation policies, unofficially banning the Inuit language,
06:09forced sterilizations and the removal of children from their families to be placed in Danish
06:14homes.
06:16Policies which left Greenlanders bitter.
06:21Inuit Greenlander Aviaja Raquel says it is time for the Inuit people to speak up.
06:28Inuit hasn't been heard.
06:30We have been so isolated for hundreds of years.
06:35And this time is the time for Inuit to speak up.
06:39As Greenland regained autonomy in the late 20th century, its population is still made
06:44up of 90% Inuit today, most of them which are Lutheran, a faith introduced by Danish
06:51missionaries over 300 years ago.
06:55The sacredness of Christianity is still sacred in my eyes, but so is Buddhism, so is Hinduism,
07:03and so is my work.
07:05And that's where I stand in this, that the arising of our culture and us as a people
07:12is also to get the equality within our culture, to acknowledge that our culture is legit.
07:21Some Greenlanders say global interest in their minerals and the push for independence has
07:27allowed them to speak more openly about abuses committed by Denmark.
07:32I used to feel like it was cooler to be a Dane, or cooler to be able to speak Danish,
07:40where it was embarrassing to practice our traditions.
07:49Greenland is experiencing immigration, with 300 to 400 more people leaving than arriving
07:55each year.
07:57Whether the revival of ancient traditions can reverse the trend remains to be seen.
08:10Commemorations have been held in Germany, France and Spain for the victims of the German
08:15Wings plane crash, ten years after the tragedy took place.
08:21150 people were killed after the passenger jet which was travelling from Barcelona in
08:27Spain to Düsseldorf in Germany was deliberately downed by its co-pilot in March 2015.
08:35The victims included 16 students and two teachers from a high school in the western German town
08:41of Haltern am See, who were returning home from an exchange trip to Spain.
08:48In Haltern, students placed roses in the courtyard of the Joseph Koenig High School, while hundreds
08:54of people gathered in front of a plaque bearing the victims' names.
09:00At 10.41am, the exact time of the crash, a moment of silence was held.
09:06Wreaths were also laid at the town cemetery, where some of the students are buried.
09:13Elsewhere, relatives of victims travelled to the site of the crash in the French Alps,
09:18while commemorations were also planned at the airports in Düsseldorf and Barcelona.
09:26For economic security, the Panama Canal was built for a military.
09:31Are spheres of influence making a comeback on the international stage?
09:36The concept lost some of its relevance at the end of the Cold War, but seems to be regaining
09:41traction with the return of Donald Trump to the White House and the war in Ukraine.
09:46According to this expert, it's in Europe's interest to prevent the formation of exclusive spheres of influence.
09:53The immediate threat of a sphere of influence is that you cut others off from resources and trade.
10:01And certainly for Europe, this is a problem, because we are an export economy and we need
10:07to import most of our resources.
10:10If you would get the general race to establish spheres of influence, then you would see great
10:14powers trying to convince or even to coerce other states to join their side.
10:20That would certainly increase geopolitical tensions and ultimately it could trigger conflict.
10:25Russia, China and the United States are trying to gain ground.
10:30The US has threatened to annex Greenland and Canada.
10:34But this is about territorial expansion, not spheres of influence, says Biskop.
10:39So Russia is definitely trying to establish an exclusive sphere of influence by military means
10:45in its near abroad.
10:48China is very smartly gaining lots of influence across the world, but mostly through an economic
10:54and political strategy.
10:56But that could only become an exclusive sphere of influence if other players, including the
11:01European Union, would abandon those countries to China.
11:05But that's not happening.
11:10For the EU, enlargement is a means of promoting its values.
11:13It's not about a sphere of influence.
11:16So the European Union is, of course, increasing its power and influence by enlarging.
11:21But enlargement is not creating a sphere of influence.
11:24If another state joins the Union, it becomes part of us.
11:29A sphere of influence would be around ourselves, not be part of ourselves.
11:35A sphere of influence refers to a geographical area that a power has unilaterally declared
11:40to be its exclusive space, and over which it exerts its political, economic and military control.