00:00 (Music)
00:07 European data confirms that 2023 was the hottest year on record,
00:11 likely exceeding temperatures of any period in the last 100,000 years.
00:16 (Music)
00:19 On a mission to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East,
00:21 the US Secretary of State has held talks with the Israeli Prime Minister,
00:26 Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders.
00:28 Anthony Blinken is seeking to prevent Israel`s war in Hamas becoming a wider regional conflict.
00:34 He also discussed the post-war governance of Gaza with Netanyahu
00:38 and with the country`s foreign minister, Israel Katz.
00:42 Blinken has just secured the backing of Arab nations and Turkey for the reconstruction
00:46 of Gaza and is pushing Israel for its support.
00:50 Yet some, including a minority within Israel, are calling for an immediate ceasefire
00:54 before any plans for the territory`s future are implemented.
00:58 A small group made their feelings clear as Blinken met with Israeli leaders.
01:04 But there seems no prospect of a truce soon with Israeli forces pushing deeper into southern
01:09 Gaza and intensive aerial bombardments continuing.
01:12 The offensive has already left over 23,000 Palestinians dead
01:16 and displaced nearly 85 percent of Gaza`s population of 2.3 million.
01:21 Hamas` October 7 attack killed around 1,200 Israelis
01:25 and militants took about 250 others hostage.
01:37 Some 3,000 people gathering outside the European Commission office
01:41 in the Polish capital Warsaw on Monday evening.
01:44 They were calling on the EU to provide much needed support and weapons to Ukraine.
01:49 It was organized by the EuroMaiden Warsaw Initiative.
01:51 "The whole territory of Ukraine is being bombed.
01:56 Many victims, including the victims of the death, are usually civilians.
02:02 Europe is still sleeping.
02:04 We are coming here today to the EU to wake up Europe a little bit."
02:10 Meanwhile in Berlin, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on European Union states to
02:16 step up support for Ukraine.
02:18 "The German contribution is so important.
02:21 It alone will not be enough to guarantee the security of Ukraine permanently.
02:25 I therefore call on the allies in the European Union to strengthen their efforts for the
02:32 benefit of Ukraine.
02:34 The weapons supply planned by the majority of EU member states for Ukraine is too small
02:41 anyway."
02:43 And in Ukraine, soldiers in the Kharkiv region have urged the world not to forget their war
02:48 against Russia.
02:49 "If we do not protect our country, no one will protect it except us.
02:54 No one will come here to fight.
02:56 If we want to live in our independent, democratic country, it is our duty."
03:02 He says they are continuing to fight despite the harsh winter conditions.
03:09 After 12 months which saw new daily and monthly record highs, 2023 has been confirmed as the
03:15 hottest year to date.
03:17 In its annual global report, Europe's Copernicus Space and Climate Data Agency says unprecedented
03:23 temperatures from June onwards led 2023 to surpass 2016 as the warmest year so far.
03:30 The data charts the rise of global surface temperatures relative to pre-industrial levels.
03:35 It shows daily averages briefly topped them by more than 2 degrees Celsius at certain
03:40 points in the year.
03:41 Across the world, the extreme impact was evident in extensive wildfires and sustained heat
03:47 waves which may have been intensified by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
03:52 Temperatures in Europe were above average for 11 months of the year and 2023 saw the
03:57 warmest September on record.
04:00 The report also extrapolates that a 12-month period ending in January or February 2024
04:06 would exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius global temperature rise level that the UN says would
04:11 trigger irreversible climate change.
04:17 The snow and extreme cold in Europe continue to complicate life for thousands of citizens
04:22 throughout the continent, north and south.
04:26 Sweden recorded -43.6 degrees Celsius, its lowest temperature since 1999, while in Denmark
04:34 temperatures have dropped to -20 degrees, causing traffic disruption.
04:40 This morning, Danish car assistance companies received inquiries from more than 2,000 motorists
04:45 who needed help.
04:47 There have been traffic accidents in several places.
04:52 Snow and sub-zero temperatures on Monday also caused another day of disruption across Moldova,
04:57 prompting authorities in the capital to close schools and suspend public transport.
05:03 Police have also warned drivers to take caution after assisting vehicles that veered off the
05:08 roads amid the icy conditions.
05:10 Spain`s Ministry of Health will impose the mandatory use of masks in hospitals and health
05:20 centers from Wednesday due to a flu wave.
05:24 According to the latest report from the Carlos III Health Institute, the global incidence
05:28 of respiratory virus infection is close to 1,000 cases per 100,000 habitants.
05:35 Yet the hospitalization rate remains under 30 cases per 100,000 habitants.
05:41 The rule is transitory in nature, while the epidemic peak of flu and coronavirus infections
05:46 last.
05:51 A happy ending in Slovenia after divers rescued five people who`d been trapped underground
05:57 for more than two days.
05:59 They`d entered the Krizna Jamad cave on Saturday, but got stuck off to heavy rain, caused the
06:04 subterranean water to rise fast.
06:07 The popular tourist destination features a string of emerald colored lakes and is only
06:11 accessible by boat and raft.
06:14 Rescue workers say the hours-long operation on Monday only became possible when the water
06:18 levels dropped.
06:20 Officials say all five are in good spirits and were not in need of medical help.
06:26 German farmers blocked the main motorway access roads in some parts of the country on Monday.
06:32 That`s the start of a week of protests against the government plan to eliminate tax benefits
06:37 for farmers.
06:38 In Berlin, hundreds of tractors blocked the main access to the Brandenburg Gate.
06:44 Protests planned for the next seven days include rallies that will disrupt traffic in several
06:49 regions.
06:50 Farmers are promising to block the roads for the next eight days, despite the German government
06:54 revising the 2024 budget that sparked these protests in the first place.
06:59 The changes will see agricultural diesel subsidies reduced over the next two years before ending
07:04 in 2026.
07:05 But farmers say this is not enough.
07:09 "The federal government is taking a tax increase that is unilateral against the only industry
07:19 that works climate-neutral, namely agriculture.
07:22 It uses solar energy mainly, sold as a reduction of climate-harmful subsidies.
07:29 This is so absurd and false."
07:32 The ruling coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz infuriated farmers last month with plans
07:38 to abolish the car tax exemption for agricultural vehicles and tax breaks on diesel fuel.
07:47 United Mass murderer Anders Breivik appeared in court on Monday in a second attempt to
07:52 sue the Norwegian state for allegedly breaching his human rights.
07:56 Breivik, a right-wing extremist who killed 77 people in a deadly rampage, appeared before
08:02 a judge in Oslo, claiming his solitary confinement since being imprisoned in 2012, amongst the
08:08 inhumane treatment under the European Convention of Human Rights.
08:13 A similar claim during a case in 2016 was accepted, but later overturned.
08:20 On the 22nd of July 2011, Breivik killed 8 people in a bomb attack in Oslo before heading
08:26 to a youth camp on Utøya Island, where, dressed as a police officer, he stalked and gunned
08:32 down 69 more, mostly teenagers.
08:36 He has shown no remorse for his attacks, which he portrayed as a crusade against multiculturalism
08:41 in Norway.
08:47 The terrifying moments after an Alaska Airlines plane lost a door plug mid-flight last Friday.
08:53 And on Monday, the airline said an inspection revealed some loose hardware visible on some
08:58 of its aircraft.
08:59 Now, United Airlines says it too has found loose bolts on several of its planes of the
09:05 same model.
09:06 Preliminary inspections of its aircraft on Saturday found what it described as "installation
09:11 issues" including bolts on the door plug that needed additional tightening.
09:16 Following the Alaska Airlines incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration grounded
09:20 all Boeing Max 9s installed with the same panel.
09:24 The United Airlines find means the investigation will likely now be expanded to the whole fleet.
09:32 It was the perfect liftoff for the first United States attempt at a moon landing in over 50
09:37 years.
09:38 Less than 24 hours into the mission, the company that developed the lunar lander it was carrying
09:42 said it was abandoning an attempt to put the Peregrine spacecraft on the moon.
09:47 Astrobotic technology said while it had resolved an orientation problem preventing the craft
09:51 from charging its batteries, the thrusters stopping an uncontrollable tumble would likely
09:56 only operate for another 40 hours at the most.
09:59 It said it was aiming to get Peregrine as close to lunar distance as possible before
10:03 losing power.
10:06 South Korea`s parliament on Tuesday passed a landmark ban on production and sales of
10:11 dog meat.
10:13 The bill would make slaughtering, breeding and sales of dog meat for human consumption
10:17 illegal from 2027 and punishable by two to three years in prison.
10:22 It doesn`t provide any penalties for eating dog meat.
10:26 Dog meat consumption is a centuries old practice on the Korean peninsula.
10:30 Recent surveys show that more than half of South Koreans want dog meat banned and the
10:35 majority no longer eat it.
10:43 The average liter of bottled water has nearly a quarter million invisible pieces of ever
10:47 so tiny nanoplastics detected and categorized for the first time by a microscope using dual
10:54 lasers.
10:56 Researchers at Columbia and Rogers University discovered about 10 to 100 times more nanoplastics
11:02 than microplastics in bottled water.
11:06 I mean, whether we see it or not, it`s out there.
11:08 So, it`s better that we actually know how much is out there and what they are.
11:15 But I myself as a scientist, I would want more data in terms of the toxicology study
11:22 to actually know that whether how harmful it would be to my own body.
11:31 Nanoplastics are particles that are less than a micron in size.
11:34 A human hair is about 83 microns wide.
11:40 To answer the big question as to whether nanoplastics pieces are harmful to our health, experts
11:45 agree that the new study opens doors to better understanding of the potential risks.
11:51 [SWOOSH]
