Latest news bulletin | February 24th – Morning
Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
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Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/02/24/latest-news-bulletin-february-24th-morning
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00CDU Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz declares victory in federal elections as Scholz's SPD
00:06appear on track to have their lowest ever result.
00:11The Vatican says Pope Francis is conscious and receiving supplemental oxygen as he remains
00:17in a Rome hospital.
00:22More than 80% of Germany's almost 60 million eligible voters cast their ballots in Sunday's
00:27federal election.
00:29Exit polls released shortly after vote counting began indicated that frontrunner CDU candidate
00:35Friedrich Merz was on course to win 28.5% of the vote.
00:39The
01:02big disappointment of the night was reserved for outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose
01:06party the Social Democrats secured only 16% of the vote, their lowest ever result in a
01:12federal election.
01:35Far-right AFD candidate Alice Weidel is on course to win just over 20% of the vote, making
01:40significant gains and doubling their results from the last election in 2021.
02:16Speaking
02:38on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President
02:43Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to step down if it meant peace and NATO membership.
02:49He also called for further security guarantees from both Europe and the US.
02:56Several top European and international leaders, including President of the European Commission
03:01Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, will commemorate three years
03:05of war in Kiev on Monday.
03:09When asked by Euronews' Sasha Vakulina which decisions would be made during this visit,
03:14the Ukrainian leader did not give away any details but said he was adamant over certain
03:18decisions to be made regarding support for the country.
03:32French President Emmanuel Macron, UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, on the other hand,
03:37will have separate meetings at the White House to put Europe back at the centre of
03:40Ukraine's peace talks.
03:43Zelensky admitted that Ukraine may be forced to sign an economic agreement with the US
03:47if it would ensure continued aid for the country, but said he would not sign a deal that will
03:51be paid off by 10 generations of Ukrainians.
03:57Authorities in Ukraine say Russia attacked the country on Saturday night with a barrage
04:02of drones that President Zelensky called the single biggest assault since Moscow's
04:07invasion began almost three years ago.
04:10A record 267 Russian drones were launched, according to Ukraine's air force command.
04:16Emergency services reported destruction in several regions overnight.
04:20The strikes came on the eve of the third anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion
04:43of Ukraine.
04:45Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was the largest drone attack on the country
04:50since Russia began using Iranian-made drones.
04:57French President Emmanuel Macron is heading to the White House on Monday for a crucial
05:02meeting to try to put Europe back at the centre of the high-stakes Ukraine peace negotiations
05:07held bilaterally between the US and Russia.
05:11This meeting comes as European leaders are trying to come up with a united response to
05:15the lightning rapprochement between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir
05:20Putin.
05:21So what's Macron's plan exactly?
05:23Well, during a live Q&A on his social media, Macron said that he will try to convince Trump
05:28on Monday that pandering to Putin's demands will only make him seem weak.
05:33But this won't be an easy feat.
05:35On Friday, Donald Trump slammed both Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer baselessly
05:41claiming that both leaders haven't done anything to end the war.
05:44Macron will be the second European leader to go to the White House since Trump's inauguration
05:51after Polish President Duda's meeting with Trump on Saturday.
05:55But the diplomatic ballet is far from over with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer set
06:00to meet with Trump on Thursday in order to try to shore up support for Ukraine.
06:09As the war rages in Ukraine, European states from NATO's reaction force are conducting
06:14the force's largest scale military exercise.
06:17SEDFAST-R25 comprises of 10,000 military personnel from nine nations, including soldiers, sailors
06:24and marines.
06:26It involves 1,500 military vehicles, including battle tanks, rocket launchers, infantry fighting
06:32vehicles, armored personnel carriers and 17 naval assets, including frigates, destroyers,
06:38submarines and more than 20 aircraft.
06:42But here between Ukraine and Moldova close to the Black Sea, this exercise is a rapid
06:47response force ready to be deployed if necessary.
06:50It also represents a significant strengthening of European defence strategy within NATO.
06:57The U.S. has no direct involvement with this exercise, but looming large are comments from
07:01the U.S. President Donald Trump who said Ukraine bears responsibility for the war it's fighting
07:07on its territory.
07:09Senior military personnel say it's NATO's clear view that the war in the Ukraine was
07:13an attack by Russia.
07:23Lieutenant General Lorenzo Daddario is the commander of NATO's Rapid Deployable Corps,
07:28a rapid force which can be deployed quickly under the authority of the Supreme Allied
07:33Commander.
07:35It's a completely different scenario than we had up to a few years.
07:40And I think that has prompted us as an alliance to continue to get ready and also to continue
07:46to demonstrate our ability to defend.
07:50Is it your firm belief that this war in Ukraine was unprompted, unprovoked?
07:55It certainly was unprovoked and certainly it was a war that was an aggression on Ukraine.
08:03There's been a lot of pressure for European countries within NATO to provide more weapons
08:08and more defence.
08:09Has that shown up?
08:11I think all countries that are on NATO are intent in making sure that their defence,
08:17their tools are better tooled and better trained.
08:21This is for sure.
08:22This is what we do as soldiers.
08:24NATO says steadfast ART25 increases NATO's interoperability, efficiency and resilience
08:30for the serious risks that lie ahead for Europe.
08:33Shona Murray, Rural News, Smardan, Romania.
08:40Pope Francis is conscious and still receiving high flows of supplemental oxygen following
08:45a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions.
08:49The Vatican said in a statement that the Pope rested well and that the night passed quietly.
08:54Further clinical tests are being performed on the 88-year-old pontiff who had part of
08:58one lung removed as a young man.
09:00Pope Francis, who has chronic lung disease, was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on
09:05the 14th of February after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened.
09:10Doctors first diagnosed a complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and
09:15then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.
09:19Doctors said that his prognosis is reserved and have warned of the risk of sepsis, a serious
09:24infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia.
09:28He's been prescribed absolute rest and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics along with extra
09:34oxygen when needed.
09:39The futuristic battery-powered race birds hit the waters of Qatar's capital this weekend
09:44and Team Rafa delivered its first ever win at the Doha Grand Prix of a much-talked-about
09:49new sport, the E1 Series.
09:51The world's first all-electric powerboat championship is currently in its second season
09:56and its teams are hoping to make waves in the racing industry.
09:59So E1 is a brand-new electric form of motorsport on the water, so we're racing with foiling
10:05boats and combining that with the electric motor.
10:07It's a brand-new format and it's a brand-new experience for everyone, so everybody's really
10:12working together to figure out how to fly the birds really fast.
10:16Team Alula, owned by NBA legend LeBron James, is the latest to join a star-studded paddock
10:22with other A-list owners including Tom Brady, Will Smith and Rafael Nadal.
10:26Its celebrity ownership and a list of extravagant host cities like Miami and Monaco has resulted
10:32in the E1 facing some criticism for being a playground for the rich and famous.
10:36But its CEO and co-founder says that the championship is more than a high-end commercial sporting
10:42spectacle, calling it a testbed for sustainable innovation that aims to revolutionise marine
10:47transport and racing.
10:49Our mission is to accelerate a responsible water mobility for the future.
10:54It's not only based on electric propulsion and then zero emission, but by using the foils
10:59we don't generate any waves that affects the coastal area erosion and on the same time
11:07our event is designed to globally recognise standards for net zero event and of course
11:15the next step is to become a zero impact event.
11:19Only a year after its launch in 2024, it's too early to tell how much, if any, the E1
11:25is contributing to heal global coastal waters and accelerate a cleaner future in water transport.
11:31But this newest championship on the world's racing calendar sure is fun, fast and hopefully
11:36a little more friendly to the planet.