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00:00Negotiators are meeting in Doha to finalize the details of a ceasefire deal between Israel
00:07and Hamas.
00:11Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun names head of the International Court of Justice Nawaf
00:16Salem as the country's new prime minister.
00:21NATO's top leader says the current 2% GDP members are contributing is not enough to
00:27keep the alliance safe.
00:35A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas may be close to coming to fruition as negotiators
00:41meet on Tuesday seeking to finalize its details.
00:45Mediators reportedly gave Israel and Hamas a final draft of the agreement after a midnight
00:50breakthrough.
00:52If successful, it would lead to the biggest release of Israeli hostages since the early
00:56days of the war.
00:58Meanwhile, Israeli strikes on Gaza remain intense.
01:02Several strikes hit areas throughout the Gaza Strip overnight and early on Tuesday, killing
01:07dozens.
01:08A growing number of Israeli soldiers have started to speak out against Israeli conduct
01:13in Gaza and are refusing to continue serving if a ceasefire is not secured.
01:18They say they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines.
01:23At the same time, around 1,000 Israelis demonstrated against a ceasefire deal in Jerusalem, shouting
01:29slogans against humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza, prisoner exchanges or relinquishing
01:34conquered territory.
01:36They say the government should release the hostages only through victory over Hamas.
01:49Iran's new president, Joseph Aoun, has named Nawaf Salam as the country's new prime minister.
01:55Salam got the backing of 84 deputies from the 128-seat parliament, while incumbent caretaker
02:01Prime Minister Najib Mikati only received nine votes.
02:20Nawaf, a prominent diplomat and current president of the U.N.'s top court, the International
02:27Court of Justice, has long been linked with the job.
02:30His candidacy, however, has always been imposed by the Hezbollah parliamentary bloc, who accuse
02:35him of being a puppet of the U.S.
02:38Thirty-four legislators abstained from the vote, among them members of Hezbollah.
02:43Salam's appointment as prime minister ends more than two years of caretaker governance
02:47headed by Najib Mikati.
02:50Salam has a difficult job ahead, as he has the responsibility of rebuilding the country
02:54battered by 14 months of war with Israel.
02:58He's also expected to carry the country out of a years-long economic crisis which has
03:02crippled the Mediterranean nation.
03:05Salam comes from a well-known family.
03:07His uncle Saeb Salam was one of the leaders who fought for Lebanon's independence from
03:12France.
03:13Saeb and his son Tamim both went on to become prime ministers.
03:18It's unclear whether Nawaf Salam plans to resign from his post as head of the ICJ.
03:24He's expected to arrive to Lebanon on Tuesday to meet with the president, who will officially
03:28designate him as the next premier.
03:31For many Lebanese, the appointment of both a new president and a new prime minister is
03:36a sigh of relief, and hope for better days ahead.
03:48Spending 2% GDP for defence is not enough, according to NATO's Secretary-General Mark
03:54Rutte, who says that alliance members must put more on the table.
03:59But Rutte, speaking at the European Parliament on Monday, avoided talking about the 5% target
04:05that US President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly called for.
04:09Instead, he said that improving the Common European Procurement and the existing infrastructure
04:15could help set NATO's future defence spending at around 3.7%.
04:19Spending more on defence means spending less on other priorities.
04:23But it can make a big difference for our future security.
04:28On average, European countries easily spend up to a quarter of their national income on
04:33pensions, health and social security systems.
04:37And we need only a small fraction of that money to make defence much stronger.
04:43So I count on you to make sure we all invest more in defence.
04:48It is an investment in our security and the security of our children and grandchildren.
04:53Currently, 23 NATO allies meet the 2% guideline, led by Poland at over 4%.
04:59However, countries like Spain and Italy lag behind, making Trump's 5% target unrealistic.
05:06Germany's Olaf Scholz called it too costly.
05:10The defence spending target will have to be increased, most likely as a deliverable
05:14for NATO's Hague summit in June.
05:16Of course, nobody knows the size of the percentage, so to say.
05:21It might be 3%, it might be 3.5%.
05:23And I think overall it will be a mixed picture with some allies indeed, perhaps even meeting
05:305%, particularly on the front line of Russia's war against Ukraine.
05:34And perhaps others meeting 3.5%.
05:37But overall, it's almost a certainty that the defence spending target will rise.
05:43The EU Commission estimates that Europe's defence industry needs an additional 500 billion
05:49euros over the next decade to remain competitive and meet current demand.
05:58Defence ministers from Poland, France, Italy and Germany met in Warsaw on Monday to discuss
06:03military aid to Ukraine and security in Europe.
06:07The meeting of the NATO defence ministers, together with the Deputy Defence Minister
06:11of the UK, comes as Poland begins its rotating presidency of the EU.
06:17There is nothing more important than spending for security, organisation and three basic
06:24pillars of a strong Europe.
06:26It is a strong society, which is our resistance to hybrid warfare.
06:31It is a strong army, a strong national army and the strength of our alliance.
06:36As a key NATO member on the alliance's eastern frontier, Poland has been a strong voice
06:42about NATO's future for Eastern Europe and Ukraine.
06:46It remains one of Ukraine's strongest allies in terms of both defence and humanitarian
06:51aid, particularly as its geographical position allows for the rapid movement of supplies
06:57to Ukraine's front lines.
06:59Poland is NATO's biggest relative defence spender.
07:02After Warsaw, he emarked 4.7% of his GDP spending on defence this year.
07:09Trump wants NATO members to increase the current 2% target to 5%.
07:19More than 150 Nobel and World Food Prize winners have written an open letter, calling for an
07:25increased commitment to new food distribution efforts in the face of a global hunger crisis.
07:32The letter, which emerged after a meeting of food accessibility experts last year, says
07:39around 700 million people are now food insecure, a number likely to rise with climate change
07:45and population growth unless efforts are made to grow more and different kinds of food.
07:53Despite the gloomy outlook, however, experts remain hopeful that the crisis can be avoided
07:59if people take the necessary actions.
08:03These include an increase in research funding and information sharing, along with more innovative
08:10production methods such as enhancing photosynthesis in essential crops, developing crops less
08:15reliant on chemical fertilisers and lengthening the shelf life of fruit and vegetables.
08:27More animals are continuing to be preemptively killed in Germany following the first outbreak
08:32of the foot-and-mouth disease in the country in 35 years.
08:37German authorities confirmed the outbreak of the disease known as FMD in a herd of water
08:42buffalo in a farm in Brandenburg state, which surrounds Berlin.
08:47Another farm, also in Brandenburg, reported an outbreak after it had purchased hay from
08:51the affected buffalo farm.
08:54For now, authorities say the disease does not appear to have spread further.
09:16Germany's last FMD case was in 1988.
09:20The new outbreak signals strong economic consequences for the country.
09:24Berlin will now not be able to acquire veterinary permits to transport animals outside the European
09:30Union.
09:31The export of animal products like meat and dairy will also likely suffer as countries
09:36and state bans on German imports, straining a multi-billion euro per animal industry.
09:41More tests are being carried out on animals and farms in the outbreak vicinity.
10:06Officials say the primary goal is to ensure the containment of the disease.
10:14University students in Serbia have protested outside the Constitutional Court in Belgrade
10:19against what they say are civil rights violations under the government of Aleksandar Vucic.
10:25They also claim to have come under pressure from the secret service.
10:29Pro-government media have published personal data of some of the protesters, which wouldn't
10:33be possible without the involvement of Serbia's secret service, the BIA.
10:38The ongoing protests reflect wider discontent with what they see as President Aleksandar
10:43Vucic's increasingly autocratic rule.
10:45Vucic says he wants to steer Serbia towards European Union membership, but he's faced
10:50accusations of curbing democratic freedoms rather than advancing them.
11:06The rally began with thousands of people standing in silence to commemorate the victims of a
11:10concrete canopy collapse at a railway station in Novi Sad, which killed 15 people.
11:16That incident triggered almost daily anti-corruption protests.
11:20Many in Serbia believe the canopy collapsed in November because of sloppy reconstruction
11:25work that resulted from corruption.
11:28Prosecutors have filed charges against 13 people, including a government minister and
11:33several state officials.
11:35But doubts remain about the probe's independence.