00:00 Poland, France and Germany vowed to make Europe a security and defence power in response to
00:06 Trump's NATO remarks.
00:09 Spanish, Polish and Moldovan farmers continue their mass protests against EU policies, unfair
00:16 competition and insufficient government subsidies.
00:24 Israel is facing growing international pressure over its intentions to launch an all-out military
00:29 assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
00:33 With more than 1.5 million people now crammed into the city, promises from Israel's Prime
00:39 Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of evacuating civilians have been slammed by Joseph Bouré,
00:45 the EU's foreign policy chief.
00:47 Everybody goes to Tel Aviv begging, "Please don't do that, protect civilians, don't kill
00:54 so many."
00:55 How many is too many?
00:58 Which is the standard?
01:01 But Netanyahu doesn't listen to anyone.
01:05 They're going to evacuate.
01:06 Where?
01:07 To the moon?
01:11 Where are they going to evacuate these people?
01:13 The UK's foreign secretary David Cameron speaking in Scotland was more diplomatic.
01:19 Really we think it's impossible to see how you can fight a war amongst these people.
01:25 There's nowhere for them to go.
01:27 They can't go south into Egypt, they can't go north and back to their homes because many
01:31 have been destroyed.
01:32 Whilst Netanyahu has been focusing on the successful rescue of two Israeli hostages
01:37 from Gaza, he's been congratulating the soldiers who mounted the dramatic operation.
01:43 Israel's military has released footage of the rescue, showing the moment the soldiers
01:48 moved in to extract the two men.
01:51 At least 67 Palestinians were killed in support airstrikes launched nearby the rescue.
01:57 With Israel believing Rafah and southern Gaza are Hamas strongholds, hostilities continue.
02:03 The WHO say hospitals are overwhelmed and undersupplied.
02:07 Over 20,000 people are sheltering in the European Gaza hospital, with no safe place to go.
02:17 The governments of Poland, France and Germany have vowed to make Europe a security and defence
02:23 power with a greater ability to back Ukraine.
02:27 It's the message new Prime Minister Donald Tusk took to both Paris and Berlin as he tries
02:32 to revitalise his nation's relations with key European partners.
02:38 Fears grow that former President Donald Trump might return to the White House and allow
02:43 Russia to expand its aggression.
03:09 Tusk then headed for Berlin.
03:11 His diplomatic push comes after Trump shocked many in Europe over the weekend by appearing
03:16 to invite Russia to invade any NATO member, not spending enough on its own defence.
03:23 German Chancellor Olaf Scholz blasted Donald Trump's comments without mentioning him.
03:29 "The NATO's promise of protection is unrestricted.
03:33 All for one, one for all.
03:35 Let me put it another way, any relativisation of the NATO's guarantee of support is irresponsible
03:44 and dangerous and is only in the interests of Russia.
03:48 Nobody is allowed to play with Europe's security."
03:53 The one-time President of the European Council, Tusk, says he sees the European Union becoming
03:59 a military power in its own right.
04:02 The Russian forces appear to have constructed a 30-kilometre-long barrier dubbed the Tsar
04:14 Train in occupied Donetsk region, possibly to serve as a defensive line against future
04:20 Ukrainian assaults.
04:22 The Institute for the Study of Borussia's satellite imagery, dated 10 May 2023 and 6
04:30 February 2024, shows that Russian forces constructed a long line of train cars stretching from
04:38 occupied Olenivka, south of Donetsk city, to Volnovakha, south-east of Vuhlydar and
04:44 north of Mariupol over the past nine months.
04:48 A Ukrainian open-source intelligence interactive online map of the military operations Deep
04:53 State reported on 11 February that Russian forces have assembled more than 2,100 train
05:00 cars into a 30-kilometre-long train.
05:04 The source reported that Russian forces began assembling the train in July 2023 and suggested
05:10 that Russian forces intend to use the train as a defensive line against future Ukrainian
05:16 assaults.
05:17 The railway line between Olenivka and Volnovakha is roughly six kilometres from the Institute
05:23 for the Study of Borussia's current assessed front line, south-east of Novomykhailivka
05:28 at its closest point and is in the area of the front that was relatively inactive when
05:33 Russian forces reportedly began construction.
05:37 Russian forces have recently made marginal territorial gains in this area.
05:42 The Institute for the Study of Borussia says the Russians could have assembled the train
05:46 for other purposes as well.
05:52 It's been seven days and counting as Spanish farmers continue their nationwide protests
05:58 with tractors and roadblocks against the EU's sustainability policies.
06:03 They are also demanding support in the face of the effects of drought and rising production
06:08 costs.
06:09 For the past three years, the country has been in the grips of a severe drought which
06:12 has depleted water stores, impacting the majority of farmlands.
06:17 "In the last two years we have had losses, for example, with the 40% of grain."
06:25 "Last year we had a drought, a ruin.
06:29 We should have given the grain to 4,000 kilos in dry season and we have given it to 1,000."
06:35 On Monday, Moldovan farmers blocked the main gateway road to Romania.
06:39 The Farmers' Force Association is protesting against diesel fuel donations from Romania
06:45 and insufficient government subsidies.
06:48 They say farmers need help to alleviate the losses suffered in the last two years and
06:53 an injection of government cash is needed or there will be no spring sowing of crops.
06:59 Meanwhile in Poland, farmers spilled Ukrainian grain on the road as part of their latest
07:05 protest.
07:06 The country has been hit hard by the introduction of so-called "solidarity corridors" to facilitate
07:11 food exports from Ukraine after Russia invaded the country.
07:15 Instead of transiting further, much of the Ukrainian produce is stuck on the national
07:20 market causing a decline in the demand and prices for local Polish production.
07:30 Three victims were shot dead this Monday in the offices of a shipping company in Greece.
07:36 The owner of the company near Athens was among the victims.
07:41 The alleged perpetrator, who police say was a former employee, was also found dead.
07:47 Greek media reported that the gunman killed two men and a woman before turning the gun
07:51 on himself.
07:53 According to witnesses, the man, identified as being in his 70s, entered the building
07:58 armed with a shotgun and a pistol.
08:05 The Spanish police has announced the arrest of three people in Barcelona linked to the
08:10 18th Street Gang, a powerful transnational criminal organization with roots in the United
08:16 States and Central America.
08:19 Investigations began in October 2023 after a growing number of crimes linked to members
08:24 of the Latin American diaspora were reported in the city.
08:28 Some suspects boasted publicly about their affiliation with Calle 18.
08:33 The FBI was involved in the operation.
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.
09:11 "So China has been subsidizing their industry for more than a decade.
09:16 They took a strategic decision for more than 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 countries like this have had to adapt and innovate much more.
09:50 For example, by creating this solar panel, which is much lighter than usual and can be
09:55 installed on roofs that do not support the weight."
10:00 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."
10:18 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, so rapid deployment could make
11:31 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 -Elon Musk-
11:41 "The European Union is a global powerhouse, and we need to be a global powerhouse.
11:42 We need to be a global powerhouse.
11:43 We need to be a global powerhouse.
11:44 We need to be a global powerhouse.
