00:00 The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly in favor of a humanitarian
00:06 ceasefire in Gaza.
00:11 Poland`s new prime minister Donald Tusk and his cabinet have been sworn in, ending eight
00:16 years of populist rule.
00:20 The EU institutions reach a political agreement on regulating and improving the working conditions
00:26 of platform workers.
00:33 The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday evening to demand
00:37 a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
00:40 The 193-member world body was 153 in favor, 10 against, with 23 abstentions.
00:47 Unlike Security Council resolutions, which last week saw the U.S. veto a bid to back
00:52 a Gaza ceasefire, General Assembly votes are not binding, but are an important barometer
00:57 of world opinion.
00:59 The vote also shows the growing isolation of the U.S. and Israel.
01:03 Earlier, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a Hanukkah reception at the White House, telling
01:09 guests Washington will continue to provide military assistance to Israel until Hamas
01:13 is gone.
01:14 But in his harshest criticism of Israel, he warned it was losing support around the world
01:20 due to its indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.
01:24 And he suggested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu change his far-right coalition government,
01:29 which is largely opposed to the creation of a Palestinian state.
01:33 Meanwhile, Israel has continued its bombardment of Gaza, with the main focus on Khan Yunus
01:39 in the south.
01:40 It has also been fighting in Rafah, near the Egyptian border.
01:45 The World Health Organization says the health system in Gaza has gone from 36 hospitals
01:50 to only 11 since Israel launched its bombing mission.
01:54 The Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave says Israel has killed more than 18,000 people.
02:00 Israel began its strikes after Hamas fighters launched a cross-border attack, killing 1,200
02:06 people and taking 240 hostages, some of whom have since been released.
02:15 Heading no objection, it is so decided.
02:21 Enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation as a landmark deal is agreed on at the end
02:26 of the United Nations Climate Summit in Dubai.
02:29 While it doesn't specifically mention a phase-out of fossil fuels, something more than 100 nations
02:34 had wanted, it does call for parties to contribute to efforts to transition away from fossil
02:40 fuels and energy systems in a way that will achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
02:45 by 2015.
02:47 President of the conference, Sultan Al-Jubeir, said delegates had worked hard to secure a
02:53 better future for people and the planet.
03:00 While the COP28 final text has been hailed as a workable compromise, many at the climate
03:06 summit have highlighted its shortcomings, particularly in relation to the language surrounding
03:11 the move away from fossil fuels.
03:13 "Clearly, many, many people here would have liked clearer language about the need to begin
03:19 peaking and reducing fossil fuels in this critical decade.
03:23 But we know this was a compromise between many parties."
03:27 Small island nations who are among the most affected by climate change made clear their
03:34 disappointment.
03:36 "We have come to the conclusion that the course correction that is needed has not been
03:43 secured.
03:44 We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual when what we really needed
03:51 is an exponential step change in our actions and support."
03:54 Germany's foreign minister sympathised with the island's concerns but says for the EU,
04:02 the COP28 deal was just the starting point.
04:05 More than 100 nations had pleaded for the phasing out of fossil fuels to be explicitly
04:11 mentioned in the text.
04:12 Their disappointment was shared by climate activists who had staged a vigil throughout
04:16 the conference in the UAE.
04:21 Another sleepless night under attack for residents of Kiev.
04:24 At least 53 people were injured, six of them children, in what was Russia's second missile
04:30 assault on the Ukrainian capital this week.
04:33 Loud explosions could be heard as the city's air defences were activated.
04:38 Ukraine's army says it downed all the ballistic missiles but that debris blew a large crater
04:43 in the ground, destroyed cars and damaged the homes of distraught people.
04:47 "Let Putin and those bears and the government in Russia hear what they are doing, what's
04:54 wrong with their brains, their heads, if there is even one soul left.
04:58 To make such a mess in the 21st century and throw missiles at Ukrainians.
05:05 It was a brotherly country, a neighbouring country."
05:08 The Red Cross is taking care of people forced to leave their homes in a building that was
05:12 on fire.
05:13 Officials say the windows of a children's hospital were shattered and that falling debris
05:17 also damaged the city's water supply system.
05:19 More than 100 homes were also left without electricity.
05:27 The new Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, and his cabinet members took office on Wednesday
05:32 after they were sworn in by the President Andrzej Duda, officially ending 80 years of
05:37 nationalist populist rule in Poland.
05:40 Tusk has pledged to restore Poland's position in the European Union.
05:44 "I am very pleased to say that I have accepted the President's full cooperation.
05:52 Everyone who wants to act in accordance with the oath we swore today will be our ally,
06:01 regardless of where they come from and what their role is.
06:07 There is nothing more important to us than the good of our homeland and the intelligence
06:17 of our citizens."
06:22 Tusk's government has challenges ahead.
06:25 His cabinet must now prepare and approve a general budget in less than two weeks and
06:30 implement important institutional reforms.
06:34 Uber drivers or Deliveroo delivery workers?
06:41 Are they freelance or are they employees of these companies?
06:44 An agreement between the EU institutions reached Wednesday in Brussels should help answer this
06:49 question as it seeks to regulate and improve the working conditions of platform workers.
06:54 The deal fixes what the criteria are for them to be considered employees of the companies
06:58 they work for.
06:59 "There cannot be false freelance workers among the riders, among the most exploited,
07:07 among the least paid, among the most precarious.
07:09 Either you are a true freelance worker or you are a dependent worker and you deserve
07:14 all the social benefits."
07:15 The agreement establishes five key indicators, which include whether the company fixes up
07:21 limits to the employees' remuneration, supervises their performance through an app, controls
07:25 the distribution of their tasks, chooses their working hours and makes them wear corporate
07:30 clothing.
07:31 If two of these criteria are fulfilled, then workers should be made employees and benefit
07:36 from social rights, including paid holidays.
07:38 For some MEPs, one of the difficulties has been dealing with the platform companies.
07:43 "The platform lobby has managed to find allies within the Parliament, but especially within
07:48 the Council of the European Union, which represents the Member States.
07:50 And so, until the last moment, they did everything to untie the knot, to sabotage the directive.
07:54 We have gone two steps, you know, to have a directive that is not favourable for workers,
07:59 but that is a directive favourable for platforms, which is a pro-Uber directive."
08:03 Representatives from the platforms have not replied to Euronews' request for comment.
08:07 And according to data from the European Parliament, around 5.5 workers are now worryingly misclassified
08:13 as freelance.
08:14 The new law will also make algorithms more transparent and clarify for workers how they
08:18 are used to allocate work, as well as how their personal data is treated.
08:27 British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has faced down rebels in his ruling Conservative Party
08:32 to win a knife-edge parliamentary vote on his latest plans to send migrants to Rwanda.
08:39 The eyes to the right, 313.
08:43 The nose to the left, 269.
08:48 The government says the scheme is designed to deter migrants from crossing the channel
08:53 in small boats, something Sunak and his cabinet have made one of their key priorities.
08:58 The treaty that I signed last week puts beyond legal doubt the safety of Rwanda.
09:03 It provides the basis to end the merry-go-round of legal challenges that have second-guessed
09:09 the will of Parliament and frustrated this policy, this House and the desire of the British
09:16 people.
09:18 Sunak took to social media to say that the British people should decide who gets to come
09:22 to their country, not criminal gangs or foreign courts.
09:26 That he says is what this bill delivers.
09:29 Meanwhile, an asylum seeker on board the Bibby Stockholm barge, which houses migrants off
09:35 Britain's Dorset coast, is believed to have committed suicide.
09:39 The three-storey vessel houses people awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications and
09:44 has the capacity to house up to 500 men.
09:50 The night train connecting Berlin to Brussels and Paris is running again for the first time
09:56 in nearly a decade.
09:58 The cooperation between the German, Austrian, French and Belgian train companies is paving
10:03 the way for a more climate-friendly Europe.
10:05 "We are happy that after nine years there is another night train to Paris.
10:12 We have fought for this for a long time, and now we are here and can accompany the departure
10:19 of the first train."
10:22 The demand for the sleeper trains linking major European capitals has seen seats fully
10:27 booked for weeks in advance.
10:29 "Of course, you have to see that the new trains are also bringing more modern trains
10:39 to be competitive with other providers.
10:43 I think that the new generation of night trains is on the right track."
10:49 Germany's Deutsche Bahn has suffered from a lack of investment, with Austrian railways
10:54 far outstripping the quality of its trains.
10:57 "It was a pleasant trip.
11:01 It's quite comfortable to not have to worry about catching the flights or something like
11:05 that.
11:06 Only disadvantage is that they are slightly late occasionally, as it's today."
11:10 As demand for night services increases, train companies will be under pressure to invest
11:15 in infrastructure if they want to attract more business customers.
11:18 "Follow Sleep in Berlin and Wake Up in Brussels.
11:22 This year, sleeper trains are making a comeback.
11:25 With climate change dominating headlines, train companies are putting down tracks to
11:29 connect European cities with one another.
11:31 But will that be enough to make travelling more about the journey than the destination?
11:37 Liv Stroud on the sleeper train for Euronews.
11:39 [WHOOSH]
