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Europe Today: a WHO szerint alacsony a pestiskockázat Szibériában
Az Egészségügyi Világszervezet szerint csekély a pestisjárvány esélye egy szibériai laborhalál után. Beszámolunk a Románia és Bulgária közelében hajókat elsüllyesztő dróntámadásokról és a 2022 óta legnagyobb orosz szankciócsomag jóváhagyásáról.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/10/07/europa-ma-who-szerint-alacsony-a-pestiskockazat-sziberiaban-dronok-sullyesztenek-hajokat-a
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
Az Egészségügyi Világszervezet szerint csekély a pestisjárvány esélye egy szibériai laborhalál után. Beszámolunk a Románia és Bulgária közelében hajókat elsüllyesztő dróntámadásokról és a 2022 óta legnagyobb orosz szankciócsomag jóváhagyásáról.
BŐVEBBEN : http://hu.euronews.com/2026/10/07/europa-ma-who-szerint-alacsony-a-pestiskockazat-sziberiaban-dronok-sullyesztenek-hajokat-a
Iratkozzon fel: Az Euronews elérhető 12 nyelven
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00:14Good morning, it is Wednesday the 7th of October. I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today,
00:21your daily dose of European news and analysis live here on Neuronews.
00:25Coming up, today marks three years since the October 7th Hamas brutal terror attacks that killed 1,200 Israelis
00:33and 251 hostages were also taken by Palestinian militants.
00:38Over 73,000 Palestinians have since lost their life in the Israel war on Hamas.
00:44We'll speak to the Israel ambassador to France.
00:46Meanwhile, German intelligence rocked by major spy scandal.
00:50The former Bay and Day chief, August Hanning, has been arrested on suspicion of treason and espionage,
00:56accused of hoarding thousands of classified files and leaking state secrets.
01:01Prosecutors say it's one of the most explosive security breaches in the country's modern history.
01:07Plus, a twist in Spanish politics.
01:10Spain's Supreme Court has officially lifted the national arrest warrant for exiled Catalan separatist leader Carlos Puddemont,
01:17clearing the path for his return nearly nine years after fleeing.
01:21The move comes hot on the heels of Pedro Sánchez's snap election announcement for the end of November.
01:27But first, the World Health Organization says the risk of a new plague epidemic is low,
01:33following the sudden death of a lab technician in Siberia.
01:36Hundreds remain under medical observation and European health authorities are on alert.
01:41The Commission and member states will be holding last-minute talks this morning on the matter.
01:45For more, we're joined now by the well-known Belgian virologist, Marc van Rans.
01:49Good morning, Marc.
01:50Good morning.
01:50Great to have you with us.
01:51So how worried should people be about this plague, if at all?
01:54I mean, Russian secrecy means we don't really know how serious the threat is.
01:57No. We don't know.
01:59But we have to assume that this is either an isolated incident or even a non-incident.
02:04And I'm always surprised when something happens in Russia, it becomes news.
02:09But this happens very frequently in DRC, in Congo, and in Madagascar.
02:15We have hundreds of cases every year of plague.
02:18And people are always surprised.
02:19They think it's something medieval, something very special.
02:21Of course, here, it's lab-associated.
02:25That makes it a little bit more serious, I guess.
02:28And it brings back memories of COVID.
02:30People are worried it could escape from the lab, right?
02:32We have now people, a population that has been trained in microbiology for a couple of years.
02:36They're more interested in everything that has to do with microbes.
02:40And, of course, they're going to be attuned to these stories and be worried.
02:44So what should the EU be doing this morning?
02:45What would you be advising EU officials as they sit down this morning?
02:48Try to get as much information as they can.
02:51That's what they're doing.
02:51WHO is doing.
02:53The Trump administration is doing this.
02:55Everybody is asking questions to the Russian government.
02:57And they're probably not going to answer it truthfully, I guess.
03:02But then, with every day that passes, when no secondary cases appear,
03:06and if they would appear, it probably would be known,
03:10we can be more certain that this is either a non-incident or something very small and under control.
03:16Okay.
03:17So that's some relief, I guess, for our viewers this morning.
03:19But what about COVID?
03:20COVID seems to be back.
03:21Many people have COVID.
03:22Should we all be going out getting boosters?
03:24Should we be isolating if we get COVID?
03:27During the summer months, there was very little COVID.
03:31And I even thought, okay, maybe it's disappearing.
03:33It has not disappeared.
03:35It is back.
03:36But it is back under the mild form, milder form of Omicron.
03:40That is the type of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID that is appearing now everywhere in Europe.
03:48But we have antibodies against it.
03:50This is extremely contagious, which means that all of us have had it probably multiple times.
03:55And many of us, they have received vaccines in the past years.
04:01So we're doing okay against Omicron.
04:04So this might be the period of the year, as it is for many other respiratory viruses,
04:10that they appear and then they will reach a peak and go away again.
04:14But nothing, there is really no evidence at all that this will be 2020 or 2021 revisited.
04:23This is not going to happen.
04:25This will be a mild epidemic at best.
04:28Okay.
04:28Lots of good news this morning from Mark.
04:29Ron Rance, thank you so much for joining us here in the studio.
04:32But now, moving on today marks three years since the October 7th attacks by Hamas,
04:37a day that shocked Israel and the world.
04:40Meanwhile, the war on Hamas in Gaza continues to produce a human tragedy with thousands dead
04:45and no clear path to peace.
04:47At the parliament in Strasbourg, tensions erupted with one French MEP of Palestinian and Kurdish
04:53origin accused of kicking an Israeli flag to the ground.
04:57Rima Hassan denies throwing the flag and says she actually just removed it from its stand.
05:02Taking to X, she said,
05:04my gesture is part of the denunciation of the ongoing genocide,
05:07of violations of international law and of this incessant and unbearable double standard.
05:12She said a Russian flag would never be admitted.
05:16After that instant, Israel's ambassador to France, that's Joshua Zarca,
05:19told our Europe editor, Maria Tadeo, that the episode reflects rising anti-Semitism in France.
05:25I cannot understand how a person that aims to be a politician,
05:30that aims to represent the public, can be so violent and disrespectful of the death of thousands of people
05:37that has been caused by the same cause that she's trying to help.
05:43The head of the European Parliament is saying this is unacceptable and she takes this extremely serious.
05:48From your part as the Israeli ambassador to France,
05:51will you ask for the European Parliament to put forward more sanctions?
05:56Will you ask the French government to take action once the details are clarified?
06:01You know, Mrs. Reema Hassan, the member of Parliament that kicked down the flags,
06:07is accused of support to terrorism.
06:11She is supposed to appear before court in the next few days.
06:15This is a person that has been extremely active in her anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism
06:22in the support of terrorism.
06:23She openly supports Hamas.
06:25She openly supports what Hamas did on October 7th.
06:30This is a terrible person.
06:31Let's be clear.
06:33And I think that she's perceived to be a terrible person by the largest part of the French politics.
06:39So it's not that I need to convince anybody that that's the case.
06:44And she's also supporting openly terrorism in her statements
06:49and in the support that she gave to terrorist acts that took place in Israel in the past.
06:53So she's a terrible person.
06:55Let's be clear about that.
06:58I do want to clarify, there is an ongoing legal process, but she has denied.
07:02She supported or expressed an apology of terrorism.
07:05Of course, that case will continue its path.
07:07But specifically, though, given that this incident took place in the European Parliament in Strasbourg,
07:13will you escalate this matter to French authorities?
07:15Will you ask for this to be investigated as hate, anti-Semitism?
07:20This is an issue that has been dealt with by the European Parliament.
07:25In our division of Labour, our embassy to Brussels, the embassy to the European Union,
07:31is the one in charge of following this issue.
07:34And to the best of my understanding, there is a very close dialogue
07:38between our embassy and the president of the European Parliament concerning this issue
07:44with the purpose of making sure that something like that will never happen again
07:47and that this is Rima Hassan faces the charges that she needs to face.
07:52But you say all anti-Semitism is unacceptable.
07:54I have to ask you about the allegations that have appeared in the French press
07:58that Jordan Bardella, the right-hand man of Marine Le Pen,
08:01made anti-Semitic comments when he was 17.
08:03Some of these comments include, the Jews control all the banks.
08:08Do you see that also as equally worrying?
08:10Of course. Any type of anti-Semitism, any statement, any type of statement, act,
08:17anyway, is unacceptable and is comprehensible.
08:20Now, the question is, as you said, these are allegations and we are following very closely.
08:25And we will make or we will react to it once it is clear that these allegations are true
08:32or if not, then we react otherwise.
08:35For the time being, we will reserve our response.
08:38We have an issue. There is an issue of anti-Semitism in France.
08:41There is an issue of anti-Semitism in Europe.
08:44Unfortunately, the raise of anti-Semitism has happened significantly after October 7th.
08:50But there is one party who is openly in France, openly anti-Semitic, and that's LFI.
08:57And the leader of that party, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is copying the mimics of leaders that were active in Europe
09:08in the 30s of the last centuries.
09:10So are you making a comparison also to Nazism and Hitler?
09:13Would you say that this gentleman acts like Hitler did in the 30s?
09:17I've said that publicly in the past already, yes.
09:22Now moving on to the Black Sea, which has become a battlefield of late,
09:27with drone incursions off both Romania and Bulgaria's coast, resulting in fiery blazes, sunken ships and loss of life.
09:34For more, we can bring in now our defence correspondent, Angela Scudgens.
09:38Good morning, Angela. Just tell us more about the recent instance.
09:40Yes, good morning, Maeve. So the latest incursion that we saw occurred yesterday, roughly 130 kilometres off Bulgaria's coast in
09:48the early hours.
09:49Two commercial vessels were attacked by sea and aerial drones.
09:53One suffered significant damage and sank on the spot.
09:57The other caught fire.
09:58Thankfully, no one was significantly injured and no one died in this incursion.
10:03Now, Bulgaria, of course, is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as well as the European Union.
10:08The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen came out with strong words yesterday,
10:13stating that Brussels stands in support with countries on Europe's eastern flank
10:17and attacks on civilian shipping are simply unacceptable.
10:22We also heard similar rhetoric coming out of Sofia from Bulgaria's Prime Minister Ruman Radov.
10:27He didn't mince words when he decried this incident that occurred yesterday following an emergency meeting.
10:34Let's take a listen to what he had to say.
10:41This is an absolutely unacceptable attack within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone.
10:48It is a flagrant violation of international law and maritime norms,
10:53further disrupting shipping in the Black Sea,
10:57driving insurance costs even higher,
10:59and making navigation increasingly difficult.
11:09The thing is, this is not the first incursion, right?
11:12Certainly not.
11:13And not only is it the first, not the first incursion in the Black Sea,
11:16but also along Europe's eastern flank.
11:19Now, we've got a little map here.
11:20Let's take a look.
11:21There have been three major incursions of late.
11:24Of course, there was this recent incident in Bulgaria.
11:26The day before that, on Monday,
11:28we saw an incident off Romania's coast.
11:31And on the 20th of August,
11:32there was a similar incident off Romania's coast once again.
11:36But let's take a look at Monday,
11:37because this was a significant escalation when it comes to alleged hybrid warfare,
11:41if we can even call it that anymore.
11:43A cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain operated by Turkish authorities caught fire,
11:50was attacked by drones and sank.
11:52As a result, two people died in this incursion and scores were injured.
11:57Of course, there was that other incident on the 20th of August in Romania, too,
12:01where an explosive-laden drone was shot down by fighter jets.
12:05Now, this really shows an escalation of behaviour and a pattern,
12:09but we also need to look at blame.
12:12So Romania has been quite clear in attributing blame to Moscow,
12:15but they've stated that these are merely what happens
12:18as a by-product of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
12:21The rhetoric has been significantly toned down
12:24to what we saw in Berlin with that Leipzig drone incident.
12:27However, Bulgaria hasn't said the same things when it comes to who's to blame.
12:31My understanding is that they're still investigating this drone incursion
12:34that occurred on Tuesday.
12:35But I guess the bigger question is, Maeve,
12:38how much the European Union, as well as NATO, can stomach
12:40when it comes to these incidents,
12:42which have resulted in two people dying, as well as what they can do.
12:45We know the European Union is working on an anti-hybrid warfare playbook,
12:49but whether these incidents even fall within the remit of hybrid warfare
12:53is yet to be seen and what they can really do to counter these incursions.
12:57It's also my understanding that Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey
13:00are working with the machinations of NATO to bolster security in the Black Sea too.
13:05So civilian vessels can do their jobs and bring grain to Europe
13:09as well as the Middle East and Africa.
13:11OK, Angela Scudins, thank you so much for your report there.
13:14And now we can move on as EU ambassadors are close to finalising
13:18about 1,650 new additions to the sanctions list against Russia.
13:23This comes less than a month after Alisher Usmanov,
13:26often dubbed one of Putin's favourite billionaires,
13:28and Michel Friedman, a banking magnate,
13:31were controversially dropped from the lists
13:33after pressure from France and Slovakia.
13:35For more, we can head now to Strasbourg,
13:37where the human rights activist Bill Brider joins us this morning.
13:40Good morning, Bill. Thank you so much for joining us.
13:42Has the EU just shown that its sanctions regime
13:44can be cracked by political backroom deals, do you think?
13:51Well, could you repeat the question?
13:53I'm sorry, I didn't hear you.
13:54Do you think the EU has just shown that its sanctions regime
13:58can be cracked by political backroom deals,
14:01the fact that two countries got their way here?
14:06Absolutely.
14:06And I think that this is a shameful decision
14:10to let these two guys off the sanctions list.
14:13And I think it's actually a dangerous decision,
14:16particularly in the case of Alisher Usmanov.
14:20Here you have a situation where he was effectively
14:23taken off the sanctions list
14:24because a hostage was swapped for him from Azerbaijan.
14:31And so what does this say to other Russian oligarchs
14:35who continue to be on the sanctions list?
14:36They could encourage other countries to take hostages
14:40to put into this type of negotiation.
14:42The fact that these types of backroom deals,
14:45these dirty, dirty deals are possible
14:48really puts a very dark cloud
14:51over the whole sanctions program.
14:53That's the thing, Bill.
14:54Do you fear a precedent now is set after this saga?
15:01A very bad precedent has been set.
15:03So imagine that you're one of these other thousands
15:06of oligarchs sitting in Russia.
15:08And I should point out that all these oligarchs,
15:11these sanctions hang over their head.
15:14It's the worst thing that could happen to them.
15:16Every single one of them is scheming
15:18and trying to come up with ways
15:19of getting off the sanctions list.
15:20They've now seen these two different things.
15:22One, a very nasty legal fight
15:25against the Luxembourg authorities.
15:27And the second is this whole hostage negotiation
15:30with the Azeris.
15:32And these other oligarchs are going to be saying,
15:35OK, this is a precedent.
15:36This is something we can do.
15:38The Europeans will blink.
15:40And therefore, we're going to try to use
15:42these same things to get off the sanctions list.
15:45Now, there is one saving grace in the whole situation,
15:48which is that the current sanctions list
15:50has now been renewed for three years,
15:53which means that there's a bit of time,
15:55three years of time,
15:56before we come up with another one
15:59of these moments of weakness.
16:01But it really is a terrible thing
16:05at the same time that we have Russia
16:07bombing civilians on a daily basis
16:09in Kiev and other cities around Ukraine.
16:11Well, that's the thing.
16:12And you know Russia well.
16:13You know how Putin ticks.
16:14Do you think he's feeling any pressure
16:16from his inner circle?
16:21Putin doesn't feel pressure
16:22from anything at the moment.
16:25The only way that this war will stop
16:28is not because people inside Russia
16:30are going to put pressure on him.
16:32There's no politics.
16:32There's no civil society.
16:34The way that this war will stop
16:36is if Ukraine inflicts enough economic damage
16:39on Russia that they cannot afford
16:41to continue this war.
16:43And the only way that's possible
16:45is if the West continues to support
16:47Ukraine militarily
16:48and if the West were to get tough
16:50on Russia as far as oil sanctions.
16:53We haven't done that yet.
16:54And we give Russia,
16:56I should say we give Ukraine
16:58enough to fend off Russia
17:00to some extent,
17:01but not to the extent necessary
17:03to get Putin to back down.
17:04So would you argue that the sanctions,
17:06the EU sanctions are just not working?
17:08Because as you say,
17:08the war is still very much ongoing.
17:10Ukraine facing its fifth winter of war
17:12and it's actually worse than ever.
17:17Well, I'm not saying the sanctions
17:19aren't working.
17:19I'm saying sanctions are certainly
17:21putting pressure on Putin.
17:22But Putin is ready to starve
17:24his whole country completely
17:27in order to keep the war going.
17:29If the war were to stop,
17:30Putin would effectively lose power.
17:33And if he loses power,
17:35he would lose his life.
17:36And so he's ready to make
17:37unbelievable sacrifices.
17:38But at the same time,
17:40the sanctions are working
17:41in the sense that it's grinding
17:42Russia down,
17:43it's causing Russia economic damage.
17:46We're seeing the refining capacity
17:48of Russia declined
17:49by somewhere between 20 and 40 percent.
17:52We're seeing inflation going up.
17:55We're seeing all sorts of stuff.
17:56But at the end of the day,
17:59sanctions aren't stopping the war
18:00because Putin is ready
18:01to suck up his gut
18:03and deal with the pressure.
18:06And so what I'm saying
18:08is that there should be more sanctions,
18:09not less sanctions,
18:11in order to try to put Putin
18:14in a position where he just can't
18:15physically afford to carry on the war.
18:18And just finally, Bill,
18:19you find yourself in Strasbourg,
18:21at the European Parliament
18:21in Strasbourg this morning.
18:23You've been meeting with
18:23the likes of Kaya Callas.
18:25Is your message getting through to them?
18:30Well, I'm speaking to,
18:32I should say I'm pushing on an open door
18:34at the European Parliament
18:35and certainly with the officials
18:38of the European Commission.
18:39I think everybody here believes
18:41that Ukraine should be supported,
18:43that Russia is the villain
18:45and we need to do more.
18:47It's obviously complicated
18:49because we also have these situations
18:51like what we just started
18:53this conversation with,
18:54with France putting pressure
18:56on the European Union
18:58to take Usmanov off the sanctions list
19:00because of backroom deals.
19:02But at the end of the day,
19:03there's a lot of people here,
19:04most people here,
19:05almost everybody here,
19:06supports Ukraine,
19:07which is certainly hardening.
19:10Okay.
19:10Bill Brighter,
19:11speaking just there
19:11from the European Parliament,
19:12in Strasbourg,
19:13thank you so much for joining us.
19:14And that brings this edition
19:16of Europe Today to an end.
19:18As always,
19:18you can read more about
19:19all the stories we're covering
19:20on euronews.com
19:22or you can drop us a line,
19:23europtoday at euronews.com.
19:25That is our email address.
19:26But for now,
19:27thank you so much for tuning in.
19:28As always,
19:28take care
19:29and stay with us here
19:30on Euronews.
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