00:00 The Israeli military rescued two hostages in Rafah in an operation that has left dozens
00:07 of Palestinians dead.
00:11 Elon Musk has denied Ukrainian claims his company's Starlink terminals are being sold
00:16 to Russia's military.
00:21 Nearly half of the world's migratory species are in decline, largely due to human impact,
00:26 according to a UN study.
00:31 Costa Rica is drowning in narco activity and wants the EU to help in the fight.
00:43 The Israeli military rescued two hostages in Rafah in an operation that has left dozens
00:48 of Palestinians dead.
00:50 Both were airlifted to Sheba Hospital and were reported to be in good medical condition.
00:55 They have been identified as 60-year-old Fernando Simon Marmon and 70-year-old Luis Ha, who
01:01 were kidnapped by Hamas militants in the 7th of October cross-border attack that triggered
01:06 the war.
01:25 At least 67 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes that were part of the raid, according to Palestinian
01:31 hospital officials, among them women and children.
01:34 Several others were wounded.
01:37 The Israeli attacks left a path of destruction in Rafah, a designated safe zone where 1.4
01:43 million of Gaza's displaced sought refuge.
01:46 The attacks come a few hours after President Joe Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
01:52 that Israel should not conduct a military operation against Hamas in Rafah without a
01:56 credible and executable plan to protect civilians.
02:04 SpaceX founder Elon Musk has denied that his company is selling its Starlink terminals
02:09 to Russia.
02:11 Ukraine's military service said on Sunday that attacking Russian forces had been found
02:15 using the terminals to aid their attack.
02:19 It released what it said was a recording of an intercepted conversation between two Russian
02:24 soldiers as proof.
02:25 Russia also denied the claims.
02:42 Starlink terminals use a series of satellites run by Elon Musk's company SpaceX to provide
02:48 high-speed communications.
02:51 They have been vital in giving Ukraine's military an edge over invading Russian troops.
02:58 The US Senate voted on Sunday to advance a foreign aid bill that, if approved, could
03:03 mean billions of dollars of much-needed support for Ukraine.
03:16 Russian forces appear to have constructed a 30-kilometre-long barrier dubbed the Tsar
03:21 Train in occupied Donetsk region, possibly to serve as a defensive line against future
03:27 Ukrainian assaults.
03:29 The Institute for the Study of Forces' satellite imagery, dated 10 May 2023 and 6 and 10 February
03:38 2024, shows that Russian forces constructed a long line of train cars stretching from
03:45 occupied Olenivka, south of Donetsk city, to Volnovakha, south-east of Vuhlydar and
03:51 north of Mariupol over the past nine months.
03:55 A Ukrainian open-source intelligence interactive online map of the military operations' deep
04:00 state reported on 11 February that Russian forces have assembled more than 2,100 freight
04:07 cars into a 30-kilometre-long train.
04:11 The source reported that Russian forces began assembling the train in July 2023 and suggested
04:17 that Russian forces intend to use the train as a defensive line against future Ukrainian
04:23 assaults.
04:24 The railway line between Olenivka and Volnovakha is roughly six kilometres from the Institute
04:30 for the Study of Forces' current assessed front line, south-east of Novomikhailivka
04:35 at its closest point, and is in the area of the front that was relatively inactive when
04:40 Russian forces reportedly began construction.
04:44 Russian forces have recently made marginal territorial gains in this area.
04:49 The Institute for the Study of Forces says the Russians could have assembled the train
04:53 for other purposes as well.
05:00 Close to half of the world's migratory animals are in drastic decline due to factors including
05:05 humanity's impact on their habitats and climate change.
05:10 That's the alarming conclusion of a new UN study of 1,200 species around the world.
05:16 It says 44% of them are in decline and around a fifth of those are threatened with extinction.
05:25 These species live in habitats where the habitats are very important in terms of providing us
05:30 with clean water, clean air, food, coastal and other littoral protection and so on.
05:37 And the habitats can't provide these ecosystem services if we don't look after the animals
05:42 that are part of them.
05:44 Forests aren't just about trees.
05:45 Wetlands aren't just about reeds and grasses.
05:48 It's very much about the whole ecosystem and the animals that live in them.
05:51 And migratory species are part of all of these ecosystems.
05:56 Delegates at a UN conference on the crisis agreed to evaluate proposals for targeted
06:01 conservation measures to be taken by international authorities.
06:06 The report's authors stress that because migration is a transnational phenomenon, only
06:11 coordinated action by world governments can save some species.
06:20 Costa Rica is drowning in narco-activity and wants the EU to help in the fight.
06:26 Cocaine and fentanyl have already swarmed the outskirts of the country's capital, where
06:31 police are hunting for gang leaders.
06:34 The tropical paradise is on the brink of collapse.
06:48 We're in Pavas, one of Costa Rica's most dangerous drug districts.
06:52 Almost every day police come here searching for cartel bosses that are suspected to hide
06:57 in these buildings.
06:59 What's happening to Costa Rica?
07:01 Is the popular tourist destination slowly turning into a narco-state?
07:15 Last year, gang warfare over territory saw Costa Rica's murder rate soaring by 40 percent
07:21 to a record high.
07:22 Having abolished its army 70 years ago, the peaceful country has little means to suppress
07:27 the violence.
07:28 We were not prepared to face such violent drug trafficking that kills so many people.
07:37 There is a big difference between the resources that the police have and the resources that
07:44 drug trafficking has today.
07:47 Costa Rica and the European Union now want to cooperate more closely on security issues.
07:52 Tough intervention in Central America could also reduce the record amount of cocaine in
07:57 Europe.
07:58 We are ready to help also in terms of sharing good practices and what is being done in Europe.
08:03 So there will be experts which will help on the port authorities, on the police side,
08:09 and also on the legal aspect.
08:12 Meanwhile, Costa Rican police continue to search for the gang leaders in Pavas.
08:21 The government plans to increase the number of police officers by 10 percent.
08:26 Too late according to many who fear the country will fall under narco-control within just
08:31 months.
08:32 Anna Splashberger, Euronews, Pavas, Costa Rica.
08:41 Solar panel manufacturers in Europe say the sector is facing an existential challenge
08:47 from heavily subsidized Chinese competitors.
08:51 According to insiders, Chinese solar panel manufacturers have a near monopoly on the
08:56 sector and if no measures are taken, Europe's industry could collapse within months.
09:02 European manufacturers have asked the European Commission for emergency aid, including the
09:06 purchase of accumulated stock to provide liquidity.
09:12 So China has been subsidizing their industry for more than a decade.
09:16 They took a strategic decision for more than like 15 years ago that they saw PV as a strategic
09:25 technology.
09:26 They have done so in other areas such as electric vehicles and batteries, etc.
09:32 Lower prices elsewhere have made several companies decide to relocate outside of the continent,
09:38 whilst others have made staff redundant.
09:41 To fight against the fierce Chinese competition and avoid falling into the broken bench, solar
09:47 panels in low-income countries have had to adapt and innovate much more.
09:50 For example, by creating this solar panel, which is much lighter than the usual ones
09:54 and can be installed on roofs that don't support the weight.
10:01 But even for those innovators, the situation could soon become untenable.
10:05 If it takes one or two years, a lot of companies and also us, we will see some impact, definitely,
10:13 with having to go down with price levels and being less competitive and profitable.
10:19 Chinese competition not only endangers companies, but also could affect Europe's industrial
10:24 independence.
10:25 A module produced in China is about 50% cheaper than one made in Europe.
10:30 Meanwhile, European producers account for only 3% of the EU market.
10:36 In the medium term, the EU has two directives almost finalised that could reduce competition.
10:41 The first would require 40% of the clean technologies installed in the EU to be manufactured here
10:48 as well.
10:49 The second would prohibit the sale in the EU of products made with forced labour, something
10:54 that happens in several areas of China.
10:56 The European Commission has not yet announced any emergency measures and is still assessing
11:01 the situation.
11:02 It's important that the solar market in Europe keeps growing because we're still not at the
11:07 levels that we need to reach the 2030 targets.
11:11 So any industrial strategy for the manufacturing needs to make sure that it doesn't impact
11:16 negatively the continued growth of the European solar markets.
11:22 Striking the right balance is essential for the EU.
11:26 Solar energy is one of the cheapest and easiest to install.
11:29 So rapid deployment could make a difference in meeting climate targets.
11:34 By 2030, 42.5% of all EU energy will have to come from renewable sources.
11:40 [SOUND EFFECTS]
