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00:00After Hezbollah wilds retribution for the device attacks, Israeli jets strike the group's
00:05rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.
00:09A big step forward, says von der Leyen, EU to loan Ukraine 35 billion euros.
00:20Around 1,000 people were evacuated in northern Italy as extreme flooding continues across
00:26Europe with new areas under threat in the Czech Republic.
00:33Israel Defense Forces said its fighter jets struck several Hezbollah targets across southern
00:37Lebanon on Thursday, September 19.
00:40Warplanes hit some 100 rocket launchers and approximately 1,000 barrels, IDF claims.
00:45The wave of strikes came hours after Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah wiled in a TV address
00:51tough retributions for deadly attacks that targeted its members' communication devices.
00:56At least 12 people were killed and thousands were injured when pagers exploded.
01:01And a day later, at least 20 people were killed and 450 were wounded in a series of blasts
01:06targeting walkie-talkies.
01:08Israel has not made any official comment on the explosions but is being blamed for the
01:12coordinated blasts.
01:15Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Golan said on Wednesday that the country was entering a
01:19new phase in its war and would be shifting its focus toward Lebanon and the front with
01:23Hezbollah.
01:25Images from the region show huge plumes of smoke billowed over Kfarsir village in southern
01:30Lebanon.
01:36The European Union will raise a 35 billion euro loan to support Ukraine.
01:42President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the amount during
01:46her visit to Kiev on Friday along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
01:52The loan is part of an agreement by G7 countries to raise 50 billion dollars in total for Ukraine
01:58from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets mainly held in Europe.
02:03This is a huge step forward.
02:06We are now confident that we can deliver this loan to Ukraine very quickly.
02:12A loan that is backed by the windfall profits from immobilized Russian assets.
02:20So crucially this loan will flow straight into your national budget.
02:26This will improve Ukraine's macro financial stability and it will provide you with significant
02:33and much needed fiscal space.
02:36The EU budget will be used as a financial guarantee and the money paid back by Ukraine
02:41through the profits from the Russian assets.
02:43But it will have to be approved by the European Parliament and by EU member states.
02:47But crucially it doesn't require unanimous approval amongst all EU countries.
02:52Von der Leyen said it's up to Ukraine how to spend this money.
02:56President Zelensky said the money will be spent on kindergartens, on bomb shelters,
03:00on reconstructing the energy sector and on Ukrainian made missiles.
03:04He called for all other money pledged to Ukraine to be released immediately.
03:07Both he and Ursula von der Leyen stress the urgency of the situation given that the Ukrainian
03:12energy sector is near breaking point.
03:14Shona Murray, Euronews, Kyiv.
03:23Ukraine's government officials, military personnel and critical infrastructure workers are banned
03:28from using the Telegram messaging app.
03:31Ukraine's National Cyber Security Coordination Center announced on Friday.
03:36The country's National Security and Defense Council described the move as necessary for
03:40national security.
03:43During a meeting on Thursday, Ukraine's security service and the general staff of the armed
03:47forces said Telegram is used by Russia for cyber attacks, phishing, spreading malware,
03:53establishing user locations and calibrating missile strikes.
03:59An exception to the ban will be allowed for people who use the app in their official duties.
04:04Ukrainians are free to use the app in their personal devices.
04:08The app is widely used in Ukraine to stay up to date on Russian air attacks and also
04:13the primary way Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, engage with
04:18the public to relay war developments.
04:28Flooding continues to ravage parts of Europe as Storm Boris presses on with its path of
04:33destruction.
04:37Around a thousand people were evacuated across northern Italy after torrential rains and
04:43severe flooding.
04:46Rivers burst with local officials urging people to stay on the upper stories of their homes
04:51or leave them outright.
04:53Hundreds had to find shelter in schools or sports centers.
04:59In the Czech Republic, new areas were threatened as the massive flooding continued moving across
05:05the area.
05:07The interior minister said another person was reported killed in the hard-hit northeast,
05:13bringing the death toll there to five.
05:17Helicopters distributed humanitarian aid while soldiers and emergency services participated
05:23in clean-up and recovery efforts.
05:27Residents of the southwestern Polish town of Klodzko began cleaning up damage after
05:32a local river rose almost three times above its alarm level.
05:38Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the situation in Klodzko was the most dramatic
05:44in the entire country.
05:48So much was destroyed in the houses of residents in Lower Austria, there is now huge amounts
05:54of garbage.
05:55However, the large waste incineration plant in Dornrohr was flooded and therefore at a
06:01standstill.
06:02Flooding in Central Europe combined with deadly wildfires in Portugal are proof of a climate
06:08breakdown that will become the norm unless drastic action is taken, according to the
06:13EU's head office.
06:19The EU pledged 10 billion euros for flood recovery for Central European countries as
06:24extreme weather grips the region.
06:28The announcement was made by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen
06:32while she was visiting a flood-damaged region in southeastern Poland.
06:38While there, she met with the government heads of affected countries like Poland, Austria,
06:43the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
06:48Here we say it's 100% European money, no co-financing.
06:53These are extraordinary times and extraordinary times need extraordinary measures.
06:59At first sight, 10 billion euros are possible to mobilize from the cohesion funds for the
07:07countries that are affected.
07:09This is an emergency reaction now.
07:14EU countries usually are required to co-finance projects to access cohesion funding, meaning
07:20the decision for the EU to finance 100% is an extraordinary measure.
07:26Across Europe, homes have been destroyed, hundreds evacuated and lives lost as several
07:32countries were affected by flooding and extreme weather.
07:38German car manufacturer Volkswagen has denied its planning to cut up to 30,000 jobs following
07:45a report in a German business magazine.
07:49The article also claims the car giant is planning to cut funding for investments over
07:54the next five years to 160 billion euros.
07:59Volkswagen has been suffering from weak electric vehicle sales, made worse by the German government's
08:052023 decision to shut down the electric car subsidy programme.
08:13Germany's economics minister Robert Habeck has said the government wants to help Volkswagen
08:18avoid factory closures, but says the company will need to fix most of its problems itself.
08:24As far as Volkswagen is concerned, I hope I'm not saying anything wrong here in these
08:30halls, if a large part of the tasks of Volkswagen have to be solved by themselves.
08:36Partly costs of the past, cost structures that have to be checked, that's the job of the company.
08:42However, Habeck has agreed to host a summit with representatives from the car industry
08:47early next week.
08:52Albania will not allow countries other than Italy to house migrants in reception camps
08:58on its territory, Prime Minister Edi Rama has insisted, despite growing international
09:03interest in the deal.
09:05It comes days after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her British counterpart
09:10Keir Starmer had expressed great interest in the scheme, which should see Italy transfer
09:16up to 36,000 migrants a year to two reception centres in Albania, while Rome's right-wing
09:23government processes their asylum requests.
09:27This is an exclusive agreement with Italy because we love everyone, but with Italy we
09:33have unconditioned love.
09:35The first-of-their-kind centres were first due to open in the spring of this year but
09:39are facing delays.
09:41The scheme has been hailed as out-of-the-box thinking by the European Commission president
09:45and is gaining traction among European governments.
09:48Fifteen member states, led by Denmark, have jointly called for the outsourcing of migration
09:53and asylum policy to tackle an unsustainable increase in irregular arrivals.
09:58Prime Minister Rama says his government is trying to offer a pragmatic solution to an
10:03issue that is becoming a hot-button political topic in Europe.
10:07When we decided to do this, we decided based on the feeling of responsibility as neighbours,
10:19as Europeans.
10:20Of course, we are not Europeans with a U, but we are still E, so we are Europeans and
10:28this cannot be taken from us.
10:31And this is also something we did instead of not doing anything.
10:37So is it new or is it not new?
10:41Is it innovative or is it not innovative?
10:45It will work or it will not work.
10:47This is all to be seen, but for sure it's better than just fighting ideologically about
10:54this issue and doing nothing.
10:57Rama denied that the move, described by the European Commission chief as an innovative
11:01solution to one of the bloc's most politically divisive issues, could give Albania a competitive
11:06edge in its bid for EU membership.
11:09Albania has been bidding to join the bloc for a decade.
11:16Venezuela's government rejected a non-binding resolution approved by the European Parliament
11:20to recognize opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as president of Venezuela.
11:26MEPs had recognized Gonzalez as, in their words, the legitimate and democratically elected
11:32president of Venezuela.
11:34Their decision follows disputed presidential elections within Venezuela in July, which
11:39opposition claims to have won.
11:41However, the country's electoral council proclaimed Nicolas Maduro the winner.