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News and analysis of the biggest business stories from China and across the world. Brought to you from CGTN's European headquarters in London. Watch live each day at 16:00GMT.
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00:00 ♪ ("CGTN News Package," main theme, by Gari Media Group plays) ♪
00:07 >> This is CGTN, China Global Television Network.
00:20 ♪ ("CGTN News Package," main theme, by Gari Media Group plays) ♪
00:30 >> Live from London, this is "Global Business."
00:39 >> Hello, welcome to the program. I'm Jamie Owen.
00:41 >> And I'm Robin Dwyer. Our top stories.
00:44 >> China's economic recovery is still at a critical stage, so says President Xi Jinping as the country tries to stimulate domestic demand.
00:53 >> For other headlines, job growth in the United States rises more than expected in November as the country continues to grapple with higher interest rates.
01:02 >> Fighting rages in Gaza as Israel faces mounting pressure to do more to protect civilians.
01:09 Aid groups say the enclave is now on the brink of collapse.
01:13 >> Phase down or phase out negotiations resume at the COP climate summit as countries work towards a final deal on the future of coal, oil and gas.
01:23 >> And after decades of conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan agree to work towards normalizing relations and exchanging prisoners of war.
01:35 >> China's economic recovery is still at a critical stage, the words of President Xi Jinping. He said the current financial situation was complex with cyclical and structural challenges.
01:46 He was addressing political parties and groups outside the Communist Party of China.
01:51 President Xi called on them to offer advice on China's development on industrial and agricultural modernization.
01:59 Meanwhile, China's top decision-making body, the Politburo, has been discussing its economic plans for the coming year. Our correspondent Li Jianhua has the story.
02:07 >> Well, this meeting is a prelude to the annual Central Economic Work Conference which sets the national economic agenda.
02:15 The Politburo says China will implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy in 2024.
02:23 Expanding domestic demand was also discussed with what was described as a virtuous circle, promoting domestic consumer spending and investment.
02:32 Meanwhile, the meeting also called for an expansion of opening up and a consolidation of foreign trade and investment. Now, back to you.
02:40 >> Li Jianhua, thank you very much indeed for that.
02:44 >> A hundred and ninety-nine thousand jobs were created in the United States last month with unemployment falling to 3.7%, the lowest level since July.
02:54 This all comes as the Federal Reserve tries to reduce inflation from its highest levels in a generation.
03:01 Well, let's talk to our correspondent John Terras watching events for us in New York.
03:05 John, what's the reaction there?
03:11 >> I think the reaction, Jamie, is welcome to crazy town, really. Welcome to crazyville.
03:16 I mean, nobody knows what's going on.
03:18 I'm telling you, nobody expected what happened today.
03:22 And every time one of these big reports comes out, it's fundamentally different from what the economists told us to expect.
03:29 So this is the capital of crazy town, the New York Stock Exchange.
03:32 Let me try and explain to what happened.
03:34 So in November, the government jobs report tells us there were a hundred and ninety-nine thousand new jobs added.
03:41 OK, now, economists have told us to expect somewhere between one hundred and sixty-one thousand and one hundred and eighty-three thousand.
03:47 So one hundred and ninety-nine thousand is north of that.
03:50 It is elevated. However, and it's a big however, manufacturing was up by twenty-eight thousand, including returning striking auto workers who've been striking for a while.
04:02 You remember against the big three car makers in Detroit.
04:06 Also, actors included in some of these numbers as well after the Hollywood strike ended.
04:11 And so if you take one hundred and ninety-nine and you deduct just the manufacturing number, which is twenty-eight thousand, you get one hundred and seventy-one thousand,
04:20 which is pretty much in the ballpark that economists had told us to expect, which is why, as you'll see in a minute, the stocks are going back up after falling initially.
04:29 Now, let me just run through some other numbers for you. Private jobs up ninety-nine thousand, government jobs up forty-nine thousand,
04:35 transport down five thousand, professional down nine thousand, retail down thirty-eight thousand and construction actually up two thousand.
04:44 I see here. But the big story of the day, the big shock of the day was the unemployment rate.
04:48 With all those job losses I just quoted there and others, we were expecting the unemployment rate to go to three point nine.
04:55 It went to three point seven. Crazy. See what I'm talking about? No one really understands that.
05:00 Average hourly earnings were up. Not point four percent, not the estimated 0.3.
05:04 So that's OK. Bringing average hourly earnings to around four percent for the year.
05:08 That could be better, but it's not bad. The Federal Reserve really focuses on that when it decides on interest rates.
05:13 Labor participation was also higher. Well, the result of all that was that the bond market did not like this at all.
05:20 And there was big movement there and the dollar shot up against the euro.
05:25 And initially, stocks in America were down very, very sharply in the futures markets.
05:29 But now they've completely turned around. And one of the reasons for that is the University of Michigan has just given us its sentiment survey,
05:35 which it does every month. And the sentiment survey came in much brighter than expected,
05:40 with people telling the survey that they were much less worried now about inflation issues.
05:44 And so the stock shot up on that news. And right now we have the Dow up 77 points, but it's been up more like 111.
05:51 And the S&P 500 is ahead by nine points. So what they're doing here now is looking past this jobs report,
05:57 which I think is pretty benign when all is said and done.
06:00 And they're now looking forward to the CPI report, the inflation report, which comes out next week.
06:06 Jamie? John, there's been a lot of ups in your thought for the day.
06:09 Lots of people watching next week hoping there's no ups on Rates Wednesday.
06:17 Well, the story of that is that next Tuesday and Wednesday, the Central Bank, the committee, the FOMC, they have their regular meeting.
06:25 It's 12th and 13th of December, and they'll meet all day Tuesday.
06:28 And then on Wednesday, they'll meet in the morning, make a decision, have a lunch and go home.
06:32 And then the boss will come out, make the announcement and do a news conference.
06:35 Now, that's a 19 hours GMT next Wednesday. Put it in your diary.
06:40 Now, nobody here on Wall Street is expecting there to be a hike based on the numbers that we saw on the jobs report.
06:45 We're expecting there to be another pause and not another hike like we've seen for the best part of the last 20 months
06:51 to bring inflation down from 9.4 percent to around 3 percent where it is now.
06:55 The question on everybody's mind right now is what happened today enough to change the Federal Reserve Committee mind?
07:02 And I don't think it is. I think this bifurcated economy that we have where some areas are doing really well,
07:08 like the stock market, as you've seen in recent weeks, compared with the fact that many Americans have two or three jobs just to get by.
07:16 And they're paying compound inflation rates in the stores, remember, because they're paying for what inflation was at last year, plus a little bit more this year.
07:24 So prices for them are going up just not as much as they were last year.
07:28 I don't think there's enough evidence really to guarantee a pause again next Wednesday.
07:33 Economists are now talking about a soft hard landing or a hard soft landing and not a recession in 2024.
07:39 Wall Street still bets on a cut in March because of the pending presidential election.
07:44 Jerome Powell told us last Friday on this program, I reported, it's too early to speculate on that.
07:50 But he has to say that. He's the head of the Central Bank.
07:53 And I will now introduce a final thought to you, because I think the chances of a cut in interest rates might have gone away now, actually.
08:00 And what we're looking at is interest rates here higher for much longer than anybody thought.
08:05 So no hikes, but no cuts either. And us living with inflation around about two point five to three percent, but coming down.
08:13 And the Fed funds rate of five point two five percent to five point five percent where it is right now.
08:19 And I've got to say, under almost any other circumstances, that will be considered to be quite normal.
08:25 You know, it's only that we had inflation at two percent for so long that people want to get back to that.
08:30 But like 20, 25 years ago, if you could have interest rates at five percent, you will be absolutely delighted.
08:38 So, you know, we'll see what happens.
08:41 John, I wanted to ask you a third question about the difference between a hard, soft landing and a soft, hard landing.
08:46 But unfortunately, the producer tells me you've got to get off.
08:50 See you next week. Our correspondent John Terrence in New York.
08:54 Bye bye.
08:55 Well, as John was saying, the end credits are rolling on a long running drama.
08:59 It was the longest strike in Hollywood history.
09:02 But now the months long labor dispute is officially over.
09:06 A deal between the US Union of Actors and major film studios has been ratified with nearly 80 percent of SAG-AFTRA members voting in favor.
09:13 Our correspondent Adees Tianshan reports.
09:16 Actors in Hollywood have formally ended six months of labor unrest in the entertainment industry.
09:24 Members of the SAG-AFTRA union voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday in favor of a new three year contract.
09:31 I think having almost an 80 percent yes vote with almost a 40 percent turnout for our members,
09:37 that's really unprecedented for any kind of contract where it's not just a unanimous chorus of yeses.
09:44 The vote brings an end to the 118 day walkout by actors and other performers, which followed a separate writers strike earlier this year.
09:54 Union leaders are confident the gains made in their agreement made it worth the trouble.
09:59 No one has ever had a billion dollars in gains in one contract term before, not us or any other union in this industry.
10:05 It has huge improvements in a whole number of areas besides AI, like casting, self tapes.
10:12 We broke the industry minimum wage pattern.
10:15 You know, we established the streaming bonus fund for the first time.
10:18 So many things that our members said they wanted and needed are addressed in this contract.
10:23 The contract is not without issues, as some members would have liked to have seen stronger protections against the use of artificial intelligence.
10:31 And the reality is there are members who've spoken out a lot over the last three weeks about their concerns, primarily about artificial intelligence.
10:39 I'm very mindful of and I consider their concerns legitimate.
10:44 I think those concerns are mostly directed at the question of trying to just stop a I or ban air block, a I which from a strategic point of view, I don't agree that that's feasible or practical.
10:55 The vote marks the ramping up of filming on Hollywood sets once again, but the full recovery of the movie industry is expected to take months as the prolonged production shutdown took out thousands of jobs in the entertainment industry.
11:10 It is Tian Shan, CGTN, Hollywood.
11:21 Phase down or phase out. That's the debate raging at the COP28 climate conference.
11:27 Negotiations have resumed as countries work towards a final deal.
11:32 The fate of fossil fuels remains up in the air with divisions remaining on the future use of coal, oil and gas.
11:38 President of COP28 says governments must step up and get out of their comfort zones in search of a final agreement.
11:45 We have the potential to deliver a paradigm shift that can define global economies and our future and put the most vulnerable in the center of climate action.
12:00 Let this COP be remembered as the collective COP, a COP that changed the game, a COP that did transform how COPs are conducted.
12:17 Let's please get this job done.
12:21 China's special envoy at the climate summit, COP28, has called for more inclusiveness in finding solutions to the climate crisis.
12:31 This year's COP28 is vital for the implementation of the Paris Agreement.
12:37 Now we have sorted out the focus of disagreements through negotiations.
12:42 The second phase is to find solutions to the problems.
12:45 I think the solutions should be as inclusive as possible so that all parties can express their opinions and everyone can have their contribution.
12:53 And we need to make sure we're headed in the right direction.
12:56 Once all that is done, we can achieve our goals through multilateral cooperation.
13:01 Let's talk now to our correspondent Yasser Hakim, who's at the climate conference in Dubai.
13:07 So Yasser, how likely is a complete phase out of fossil fuels looking?
13:13 Well, it's not an easy situation.
13:18 We expect a strong debate within the next few days.
13:24 80 countries are pushing for the phase out.
13:28 U.S., Canada, European Union, a couple of countries in Africa like Kenya and Ethiopia.
13:36 But there's also a lot of countries that are against it, especially countries that see that they need the fossil fuels for development, for electricity, for power, for industries and so forth.
13:52 And they're still developing nations and they feel that they cannot really have a phase out so quickly.
13:59 Even Saudi Arabia itself has made it very clear that in a statement that it rejects a complete phase out.
14:08 What we expect now is something called equity.
14:11 There are differences in wordings.
14:13 So maybe a balance between who will first make this phase out.
14:19 Will the developed nations make sure that they are first to phase out and then the developing nations?
14:26 Some countries are calling for that, such as Uganda.
14:29 Or are we going to see some kind of an agreement halfway through?
14:34 So maybe not a total phase out, but let's say a plan that will see some kind of a development or progress.
14:43 Maybe not a total phase out or phase down, but at least it will see some progress and improvement in the next few years or at least by 2030 or 2050.
14:56 So there is a lot to happen.
14:58 And you have to remember that even with all the projects, renewable energy projects and everything, the fossil fuel amounts still to 80% of total energy.
15:09 So it's not an easy situation. It will take time.
15:13 And you need a lot of convincing to do in order to get the countries on board on this plan in the next few days.
15:21 Back to you.
15:22 So day eight has been a youth day at the summit.
15:25 What's happened?
15:33 Yes, it's been the youth day.
15:36 Most of it was mainly UNESCO, for example, had a session on how to teach green education.
15:46 There's been a lot of activities, not formal sessions, but activities to try to create education within the youth and awareness on how to bring the youth to understand the importance of climate action and transformation to green economy and renewable energy.
16:13 So it was quite different than the usual sessions and meetings and talks that you see in the other days.
16:22 It was more active work.
16:25 A lot of work happened in the green zone, not just the blue zone.
16:30 The blue zone is where it's open for the non-formal meetings and even visitors, not just delegations, can go there and watch the activities over there.
16:44 There are plays by youth to try to create awareness for the children and the youth on how to accept something that could be a bit boring for the youth, the climate, talk about climate.
16:58 You have plays, we have songs.
17:00 We had a lot of different approach to climate change.
17:05 So that was mainly a lot of what has happened today in the COP 28 concerning the education and youth.
17:13 Yes, thank you very much.
17:15 Yes, Hakeem in Dubai.
17:17 You're watching CGTN still ahead out of the office and working from home.
17:22 What's the future for commercial real estate around the world if we don't need to be in cities?
17:35 Ever wondered what's the difference between a bear and a bull market?
17:40 Where are the cash cows?
17:42 And who are the lame ducks?
17:45 And what exactly are black swans?
17:49 Grey rhinos?
17:52 And unicorn companies?
17:57 Make sense of it all with Global Business only on CGTN.
18:03 I think it should be more public operation.
18:07 I would like to hear more the voice of the developing countries.
18:14 Globalization has lifted more than a billion people out of poverty.
18:19 The green transition has to happen.
18:21 It's a necessity.
18:24 For China and the United States are important powers in the world.
18:30 What unites us is much more than what divides us.
18:35 And I believe China is committed to this agenda.
18:39 Join me, Juliette Maran, to set the agenda at these times every weekend on CGTN.
18:50 Events have consequences.
18:52 Words create impact.
18:54 One more offensive in a long line of battles that's been ongoing for more than a year.
18:58 Just got to be careful here with some gunshots.
19:02 The world today matters, but your world tomorrow.
19:06 The number of casualties is growing quickly.
19:09 This is one of the hardest hit towns in the region.
19:13 The world today, every day, on CGTN.
19:25 Welcome back to Global Business Europe.
19:27 Three more divisions of property developer Cigna have filed for insolvency,
19:32 following in the footsteps of its Vienna-based Holden company.
19:35 The total debt of the conglomerate could be as high as $30 billion,
19:39 sending shockwaves across Europe's embattled real estate sector.
19:44 Our correspondent Johannes Pleschberger reports.
19:48 Gerhard Weinhofer represents the banks that loaned Cigna money
19:52 and now fear they won't get it back.
19:55 He will be petitioning the administrator now steering the company through insolvency
19:59 to return as much of the debt as possible.
20:02 The creditors are not amused about the situation.
20:05 It's a tough case. It will be a hard ride.
20:08 I think the likely outcome is to accept the restructuring plan on February 12th
20:14 and to get the 30% of insolvency quota for the creditors.
20:20 30% would be about $1.5 billion.
20:23 It remains to be seen whether this amount is available.
20:27 While construction works at most of Cigna's landmark projects have ground to a halt,
20:31 Austria is trying to salvage what's left of the worst business failure in the country's history.
20:37 Cigna is not only a symbol of Europe's property crisis,
20:41 but also of a lavish company lifestyle.
20:45 The Austrian insolvency administrator decided to cut off
20:48 all of Cigna's non-essential business activities to preserve cash.
20:53 And these activities are party planners, hunters and private jet crew,
20:58 which apparently made up the majority of the property developing group's staff.
21:04 Cigna Holding went into insolvency owing roughly $5 billion.
21:09 If all of its subsidiary companies were to go bankrupt,
21:12 the total debt could rise as high as $30 billion.
21:17 Now, so far, one company of this group of companies has filed for bankruptcy.
21:23 That is Cigna Holding in this diagram.
21:26 Now, below that, there are as many as 1,000 separate companies.
21:31 And we do not know at present about the debts of these companies.
21:37 Despite this huge sum, Professor Kodak doesn't believe that Europe's property sector is in serious danger.
21:43 I would not take the Cigna Holding bankruptcy as an indication for the state of the entire real estate sector.
21:53 Meanwhile, uncertainty prevails about the total amount of Cigna Group's debt.
21:58 The problem seems to be the group's reluctance in the past to provide information on their turnover,
22:03 allegedly violating European Union law.
22:06 Johannes Blechberger, CGTN, Vienna.
22:09 Well, it's not just retail real estate that's taking a hit.
22:13 Those trying to sell office space are also feeling the pain as working patterns have changed.
22:18 Large companies are holding off signing those property deals, leading to record vacancy rates worldwide.
22:25 They're now running at around 16 percent.
22:27 That's compared with 10 percent before the Covid pandemic.
22:32 North America has the highest individual rate.
22:36 More than one fifth of its office space is empty.
22:39 Major cities like Shanghai, San Francisco, New York and London have been hardest hit,
22:45 struggling with the worst vacancy rates in decades.
22:49 Properties and city centres are losing their appeal, with big companies moving to the suburbs.
22:56 Take London's Canary Wharf, which is home to the capital's major financial institutions.
23:02 15 percent of the office space there was empty at the end of the second quarter, and the rate is still rising.
23:09 Well, let's try and make sense of all this with Mike Ingram,
23:12 senior market strategist at ActiveTrades, the UK-based brokerage firm.
23:17 Mike, welcome. Good to see you.
23:18 First, give us a quick overview.
23:19 Just explain how a property and retail giant like Cigna becomes the largest casualty in Europe's property crash.
23:31 Well, I think it's down to a combination of events, some of which you mentioned in your presentation.
23:38 Certainly, interest rates, soaring interest rates have played their part.
23:42 Cigna Group, we don't know the total indebtedness there, but they certainly borrowed a lot of money,
23:47 the cost of servicing which went up.
23:50 It's faced with a sluggish European economy that's put downward pressure on occupancy rates, rental income.
23:57 And as you also mentioned, you know, there are structural issues such as working from home,
24:02 which is set to depress the demand, certainly for office space for the foreseeable future.
24:08 And then, you know, you've got lavish spending that you've also mentioned.
24:12 I think there was a 40 million euro yacht in there somewhere in the bill.
24:18 And, you know, turning back to the expenses of the business, things like property development,
24:23 construction costs, labor costs have all soared in recent years.
24:27 So that's also put pressure on their finances.
24:29 And none of that is good news. And all of it, I suspect, would have contributed to Cigna's demise.
24:35 I think Cigna Group eventually amassed something like 29 billion US dollars with at least 13 billion euro in debt.
24:44 Where was all the oversight? How did it get this far before someone was able to say, look, you know, this is out of order.
24:51 You need to stop and sort this out.
24:54 Yeah, well, I think, you know, 2023 has been a year where a lot of risk models employed by banks and elsewhere have really been turned on their heads.
25:02 I mean, of course, you know, in the US earlier this year, we had a sort of a mini panic in the midsize bank, Silicon Valley Bank.
25:09 And it just seems that their risk models are unfit for purpose.
25:12 They really relied on a zero interest rate environment.
25:17 They relied on the fact that rates were really would have to be zero forever.
25:21 The asset prices would continue marching ever, ever upwards.
25:26 And none of this has turned out to be true over the last two years.
25:30 And it seems like the risk these risk models generally have been massively behind the curve.
25:36 And certainly in this particular instance, also appears that perhaps the creditors haven't necessarily been as stringent in demanding disclosure from Cigna, as you said yourself.
25:50 The company has refused in the past to hand over necessary information for creditors to actually make an informed lending decision.
25:58 That didn't happen. They've been caught out.
26:01 Just look into your crystal ball then for us. Let's let's look at the tea leaves.
26:05 And more generally, global real estate seems to be in a real hole here.
26:10 If we're no longer working full time in cities around the world and we no longer need to live in them either.
26:18 I mean, what is the future for the world's office space?
26:24 Well, I think it's fairly clear that it's going to be, you know, structurally impaired going forward.
26:30 Yes, a lot of employers are trying to tempt employees back into the office.
26:34 But when you've got large employers such as HSBC saying, you know, we're going to have our global real estate footprint, then you have to know that something is up.
26:44 So the business model will have to evolve. I think it's as simple as that.
26:48 I mean, over the short term, it may well be repurposing some of this excess commercial real estate, some of this excess office space into residential units.
26:58 And for instance, here in the UK, you know, we have a big, big shortage of housing over the longer term.
27:04 You know, probably a pivot towards more things, things like, you know, logistics, maybe factories.
27:10 You know, there's a lot of reshoring occurring from global deglobalisation, which is helping to drive demand in other areas of commercial real estate.
27:21 But also it might be there's a broader pivot towards, you know, residential investment at an institutional level.
27:27 I mean, you certainly see private equity being quite interested in this space.
27:32 And in any event, I don't think anybody should be, you know, perhaps relying on selling office space in the future for a reasonably diversified commercial real estate portfolio.
27:46 Mike, good to talk to you. Thanks for coming on the programme.
27:48 Mike Ingram, senior market strategist at Active Trades, the UK based brokerage company in London.
27:55 Oil prices were heading for a seventh straight week of falls over concerns of oversupply and weak Chinese demand until the world's two biggest oil exporters intervened.
28:05 What would have been the longest decline in five years ended after Saudi Arabia and Russia lobbied OPEC plus members to join output cuts.
28:13 The cost of crude rebounded in response, rising 2 percent.
28:18 Following an impressive rally at the start of this week, the price of gold has dropped, snapping a three week winning streak.
28:25 A gold surge to an all time high on Monday, passing two thousand one hundred dollars per ounce before retreating.
28:32 It's now slumped further after the release of that strong United States job data.
28:38 Spotify's CFO says he will leave the company in March after eight years with it.
28:43 Paul Vogel's announcement comes four days after Spotify said it would lay off 17 percent of its workforce, losing fifteen hundred jobs worldwide.
28:52 Spotify's founder and CEO said the company's entering a new phase and needs a CFO with a different mix of experiences.
29:01 In the UK, car manufacturers are facing more than one point two million pounds compensation claims following allegations that so-called defeat devices were fitted to diesel vehicles.
29:12 The technology can help vehicles pass emissions tests.
29:15 The diesel gate scandal first broke back in 2015 when Volkswagen was found to have installed software designed to deceive environmental testing.
29:26 You're watching CTTN. Still ahead, tens of thousands more Palestinians flee to the border with Egypt as intense fighting continues across Gaza.
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32:05 [Music]
32:12 Hello, welcome back to Global Business Europe with Jamie Owen and Robin Dwyer, our top stories.
32:17 China's economic recovery is still at a critical stage, so says President Xi Jinping, as the country tries to stimulate domestic demand.
32:27 Job growth in the United States rises more than expected in November as the country continues to grapple with higher interest rates.
32:44 We are just hearing that the United States has confirmed that it will not support a vote at the United Nations Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
32:56 That vote is expected in the coming hours following increased international pressure for Israel to do more to protect civilians.
33:05 Tens of thousands more Palestinians have fled to Raqqa near the border with Egypt as fierce fighting continues across the enclave.
33:14 The Israeli military says it hit more than 450 Hamas targets in Gaza over the last 24 hours.
33:21 Aid organizations say the territory is on the brink of collapse.
33:26 The US Secretary of State says there is a gap between Israel's stated intent to protect civilians and how the conflict has been unfolding in Gaza.
33:35 In his strongest public criticism yet, Antony Blinken urged Israel to do more to reduce the suffering of innocent civilians.
33:43 It is imperative, it remains imperative that Israel put a premium on civilian protection.
33:48 And there does remain a gap between exactly what I said when I was there, the intent to protect civilians and the actual results that we're seeing on the ground.
33:58 We continue to recognize the extraordinary difficulty of this task as Israel is dealing with a terrorist adversary that intentionally embeds itself with civilians.
34:06 But again, Israel has an obligation to do everything possible to put a premium on protecting civilians and maximizing humanitarian assistance.
34:15 Our correspondent Noor Harazin is in central Gaza.
34:19 This morning the Al Qasam Brigades, which is the militant wing for Hamas, said in a statement that was published on social media here in Gaza
34:29 that they stopped a rescue attempt by the Israeli forces to rescue one of the hostages.
34:35 They also published information about this hostage.
34:38 They said that he is an Israeli army soldier.
34:43 They even published his name, his age and his number, even though there was no comment from the Israeli side.
34:51 But they said that the Israeli forces tried to rescue this hostage.
34:55 However, clashes erupted.
34:57 A number of Palestinian fighters were killed.
35:00 Also, the hostage was killed.
35:03 They also added that the Israeli warplanes raided the area during the attempt and a number of people were killed.
35:15 And this is from the Hamas side.
35:17 This is what the Al Qasam Brigades said.
35:19 They also added in the statement that over the past 24 hours they destroyed a number, either partly or completely, of Israeli tanks.
35:30 They also said that there were intensive clashes between the Palestinian militant fighters and the Israeli forces in different parts on the ground here in Gaza,
35:40 like in the Jubailia refugee camp, in Al Shijaiya, also here in middle Gaza, between Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis.
35:47 Talking about the latest on the ground, I'm here standing inside the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital.
35:52 The Israeli warplanes continue targeting homes, residential towers here in middle Gaza.
36:00 While we are standing here, actually, we witnessed the arrival of a number of people that were killed, including children and women.
36:08 Inside the al-Fari'a refugee camp, this refugee camp is close.
36:14 It's between Tobas and Nablus cities and the West Bank.
36:19 The Israeli forces raided this camp overnight.
36:23 Clashes erupted between Palestinians and the Israeli forces.
36:27 According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, in the West Bank, six people were killed.
36:33 At the same time, Israeli forces arrested a number of people from their homes in al-Fari'a refugee camp.
36:40 This is actually happening on a weekly basis, if not daily basis, in the West Bank.
36:47 Reports of Israeli raids on Palestinian towns and cities and refugee camps along the West Bank, in Nablus, in Jenin.
36:58 Of course, over the past weeks, the Israeli forces many times raided Jenin refugee camp.
37:03 A number of people were killed.
37:05 We're talking about thousands of people that actually were arrested from the West Bank over the past eight weeks.
37:13 Our correspondent, Nur Harazin, in Gaza.
37:16 Let's get a view from Israel now and talk to our correspondent, Sarah Coates, in Tel Aviv.
37:20 So, Sarah, that news coming in that the United States has confirmed it won't support a vote at the UN Security Council, calling for an immediate ceasefire.
37:28 Has there been any reaction yet from Israel?
37:32 Hello there, Robin.
37:36 Well, look, no reaction yet here in Israel, but this was certainly widely expected, given that the US has used its veto powers on these other resolutions.
37:44 What it could see is a real, you know, start of potential negotiations for maybe another resolution.
37:51 But at this stage, it really does seem that the United States is giving Israel all the power it needs at this time to continue this ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
38:01 And look, as Nur said, it is coming at such a heavy price.
38:04 More than 80 percent of the 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip internally displaced.
38:10 And this aid that's coming in is simply not enough.
38:13 Less than 70 trucks came in yesterday.
38:16 And there are these calls still for Israel to open this Kerem Shalom crossing.
38:21 Right now, it is only open for inspections, but that still hasn't happened.
38:26 The Kogut organization, which deals with civil liberties down in the Gaza Strip, it hasn't actually given a date for when this Kerem Shalom crossing will actually open.
38:37 And this is what the international community is really hoping for now, so that more aid can get into the Strip at such a crucial time, Robyn.
38:46 And Sarah, what's the Israeli military saying about the fighting in Gaza?
38:50 Well, look, I'll bring you up to speed firstly with what's actually happening here on the ground in Israel.
38:59 There have been three barrages of rockets sent over.
39:02 The last one about 20 minutes ago, and it was one of the heaviest ones that I've felt since I've been here on the ground in this more than two months of this war.
39:10 All of my equipment was shaking.
39:12 All of the lights hanging from the roof were shaking, and dust was falling from the ceiling.
39:17 So it just does go to show that despite this heavy ground operation in the Gaza Strip, that there are still a lot of rockets being kept down there.
39:25 And look, over the last 24 hours, the Israeli military says it struck more than 450 Hamas targets, not just from the air, but also from the ground and from the sea.
39:36 We heard also that it has taken out a number of weapons storage facilities.
39:41 And look, Robyn, with regards to these pictures that have been widely circulated on social media,
39:47 showing these hundred or so men who've been stripped down to their underwear, they've been blindfolded, their hands tied behind their backs,
39:55 and they've been kneeling in the sand surrounded by Israeli military personnel.
40:00 Well, we have now had comment from the Israeli establishment.
40:04 Here's what a spokesperson for the Prime Minister has to say about that incident.
40:09 We are talking about individuals who are apprehended in Jabali and Shajia, Hamas strongholds and centres of gravity.
40:17 We're talking about military-aged men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago.
40:24 We've been calling for an evacuation of those Hamas strongholds in order to locate the Hamas October 7th monsters with minimal harm to civilians.
40:37 And look, this is certainly coming at a heavy cost to Israel as well.
40:40 Ninety-three fallen soldiers now, and one of those, the son of the former IDF Chief of Staff Gady Eisenhout-Cott,
40:47 rather, his 25-year-old son, Gal, was buried today not far from here in Tel Aviv,
40:53 and that funeral was attended by the Israeli War Cabinet, including the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
40:59 Sarah, thank you very much.
41:01 Our correspondent, Sarah Coates in Tel Aviv.
41:03 The British government is paying Rwanda more than a quarter of a billion dollars,
41:08 despite no asylum seekers being sent there under a new deal between the two countries.
41:13 Details have emerged of a previously unknown payment in April and another to be paid next year.
41:19 Critics say it's unclear what this extra money is for and that the costs of the scheme outweigh the benefits.
41:26 The UK government has promised to deter illegal migration, but has faced a series of legal defeats over the Rwanda plan.
41:34 China is cutting more visa fees.
41:38 Costs are to fall by 25 percent for travellers from several countries, including Thailand, Japan, Mexico, Vietnam and the Philippines.
41:45 The reductions will start next week and run to the end of 2024.
41:49 It's the latest measures from Beijing to boost tourism in a bid to help the economy.
41:54 The United States says it will carry out flight patrols with Guyana as border tensions grow with Venezuela.
42:00 A long-running dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo region escalated over the weekend,
42:05 when voters in Venezuela backed plans to declare it part of the country.
42:10 The UK has called on Venezuela to stop unilateral action.
42:15 Hunter Biden has been indicted on nine tax charges in California, as an investigation into his business dealings intensifies.
42:23 The new charges, three felonies and six misdemeanours, come in addition to federal firearms charges in Delaware,
42:29 alleging the president's son broke a law against drug users having guns.
42:34 He'd previously been expected to plead guilty to misdemeanour tax charges as part of a plea deal.
42:39 Defence attorneys have signalled that they plan to fight any new charges.
42:43 Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed to work towards normalising relations and an exchange of prisoners of war.
42:51 Both countries say they hope to sign a peace treaty by the end of the year.
42:56 The two neighbours have been involved in a decades-long conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region,
43:02 which Azerbaijan reclaimed in September.
43:05 Our correspondent Yolo Abdavid is following the story for us.
43:09 So Yolo, the fact that this is a joint agreement in itself speaks volumes about it, doesn't it?
43:15 In sheer contrast to what we've just seen in Israel and Gaza,
43:20 there is some good news on the diplomatic front that Armenia and Azerbaijan have this joint statement,
43:26 a historical chance, they say, to bring long-awaited peace to the region,
43:31 because Nagorno-Karabakh is mainly an ethnic Armenian enclave within the territorial region of Azerbaijan,
43:40 and it's been recognised such historically and internationally.
43:45 So the fact that they've decided to have this joint agreement, they will swap prisoners, 32 from one side, 2 on the other side,
43:53 and Armenia has supported the claim of Azerbaijan or the bid of Azerbaijan to stage the next COP negotiations, next year, COP29.
44:03 So all that looks good. It also looks good that even though President Daliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Pashinyan
44:12 didn't speak directly, it was their offices, their staff who were talking and agreeing on this,
44:17 it is a huge step forward when you bear in mind that the last two meetings between Armenia and Azerbaijan didn't take place,
44:24 and even though the European Union has tried to mediate this agreement for quite a while,
44:31 the reaction has been very positive indeed, not just from the EU, but also from Turkey, from NATO, from Russia, and the United States.
44:41 They have all applauded the moves by both countries, and of course there is still a long way to go in terms of a peace treaty as such,
44:51 but I think this is a really big, huge, positive step forward in the region.
44:56 The conflict between the two countries has gone on forever and ever.
44:59 Where does this peace, if we can call it that, leave people, especially for those who fled the Nagorno-Karabakh region?
45:08 Well, there was a big change, we were last discussing this in September,
45:11 when more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians decided to leave Nagorno-Karabakh and move to Armenia,
45:19 because the Azeris had one day a lightning strike against most of the Armenian separatist-controlled areas,
45:29 and actually pursued them so hard that they actually surrendered.
45:34 And that led immediately, given the history for the last 30 years, but also until the end of the 19th century,
45:41 even before the Bolshevik revolution and the building of the Soviet Union, when of course both were republics in the Soviet Union,
45:49 even before then, there's been such a lot of accusations and mutual distrust between both sides.
45:55 So the history is one of mutual distrust and loathing between two very distinct people, even though they share that area of Nagorno-Karabakh.
46:06 So the question now is what happens to the people who've left, if they want to return, if some of them want to return,
46:12 because more than 100,000 left, which is huge, and that area for centuries was predominantly an ethnic Armenian majority.
46:20 Will they go back? What kind of rights will they have? There is a Human Rights Court judgment from last month,
46:28 which says if they want to return, they should be able to do so safely.
46:31 There is a lot to unpick in this joint agreement, but it is a positive step.
46:37 YOLO, thank you very much. Correspondent YOLO, at Davos.
46:40 You're watching CGTN, still ahead, why the natural world is perhaps the key to saving the planet.
46:47 That's the message from the World Wildlife Fund.
46:50 Events have consequences. Words create impact.
47:02 Unprecedented scenes that we saw.
47:04 The clean-up operation is now well and truly underway.
47:08 Parts of southern Europe remain in a state of emergency.
47:11 Context gives meaning. People make history.
47:15 Far more than 1,000 people have come here today.
47:19 But authorities are still on high alert.
47:21 So now we've actually become the border on this road.
47:24 A complex world demands a comprehensive view.
47:27 But with the clean-up efforts more or less under control...
47:31 The economic impact is bound to ripple across the country.
47:34 There's plastic pollution everywhere.
47:36 Because the world today matters, but your world tomorrow.
47:40 This is the living area of the crew.
47:43 The focus is firmly on future technologies.
47:46 Well, this is something completely different.
47:49 The World Today, every day on CGTN.
47:53 [♪♪♪]
47:56 [♪♪♪]
48:00 [♪♪♪]
48:04 [♪♪♪]
48:30 [♪♪♪]
48:33 Hello. Welcome back to Global Business Europe.
48:39 [♪♪♪]
48:42 Government environmental policies must be better integrated...
48:49 to tackle the climate crisis.
48:51 That's the blunt message from the World Wildlife Fund.
48:54 Their research, published at COP28, says...
48:57 that nature's ability to capture and store carbon...
49:00 means that nature-based solutions must be prioritized.
49:03 Manuel Pulgar Vidal is a global leader of climate and energy at the WWF...
49:08 and was president of COP20 in 2014.
49:11 There is clear consequences of climate change...
49:14 when we think about its impact on nature.
49:17 So climate change is changing ecosystem, habitat...
49:21 and it's making us to lose species.
49:24 The IPBES report, when it identified the five drivers of nature loss...
49:29 identified climate change as one of those.
49:32 So it is clear that climate is changing ecosystem...
49:36 but also it is clear that climate change is creating extreme climate events...
49:41 that it is damaging nature...
49:43 and it is damaging economic conditions and livelihood.
49:47 So we have to bring nature into the core debate...
49:51 or the core climate debate...
49:54 as a way to address the intertwined crisis in a more effective way.
49:58 So do you think that at this point nature is talked about enough...
50:02 at events like COP?
50:05 Nature is becoming a clear element in this COP28.
50:09 Let's remind that in COP25 that it was organized by Chile in Madrid...
50:14 and in COP26 in Glasgow...
50:16 nature was clearly recognized in the cover decisions of both COP.
50:20 Then in Charmel-Chayes we got a good political recognition...
50:23 of nature-based solutions as a key instrument...
50:26 to address the climate crisis and the nature emergency.
50:30 In this COP what we have seen in the first week...
50:33 it is a strong political willingness to bring nature into the core debate of climate.
50:39 But we are expecting to have in what it is called the global stocktake...
50:44 that it must produce a strong outcome...
50:47 that could help us to improve our climate plans.
50:50 We are looking to have nature even more as a strong reference...
50:54 because if not we will have in the next cycle of the NDCs by 2025...
50:59 weak climate plans if they are not recognizing nature as a key ally.
51:06 Let's talk about that global stocktake...
51:09 which is measuring whether the goals set in Paris are being met.
51:12 What would you like to see come out of it?
51:16 The global stocktake is a key element of what is called the Ratchet mechanism.
51:22 When we adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015...
51:25 we decided to have a five-year cycle climate plans...
51:30 through what is called the NDCs.
51:32 With this global stocktake we are defining not only where we are...
51:38 but we have to produce a strong recommendation for the next cycle of the NDCs.
51:43 That is the only way in which we can enhance ambition...
51:47 in which we can put the NDCs well on track with our net zero and 1.5 objective.
51:53 That is why the importance of the global stocktake.
51:56 In the time in which we are having this interview...
51:59 a new draft text of the global stocktake potential outcome...
52:03 it has just been released.
52:05 So we will see how well the global stocktake is addressing...
52:09 the energy transition that it is a key one...
52:12 the global goal on adaptation, reference to finance...
52:15 but also how much it is including nature and nature-based solutions.
52:19 So we are in the decisive time of this COP28.
52:23 We are in the time in which we will see the ability of the presidency to build trust...
52:29 and by doing that to bring and to build consensus.
52:32 That is the key element.
52:34 The second week of a COP it is the decisive one.
52:38 And probably the last two days of the COP we will see how much consensus it has been built.
52:45 Fortunately today the president of COP has appointed eight ministers...
52:50 to facilitate the debate and the negotiation.
52:53 So we have ministers from Chile, from Singapore, from Canada, from Norway...
52:57 among some others helping him in building that consensus.
53:02 So we are expecting a strong global stocktake outcome...
53:06 because it is the only way to put this process well on track towards our 1.5 objective.
53:12 Hungary has generally been seen as a country with enough water...
53:16 but global warming is starting to change all that.
53:19 Farmland has become increasingly dry...
53:22 with the experts warning that some parts of the country could turn into deserts.
53:27 Our correspondent Pablo Guterres reports.
53:32 Lake beds parched and cracked are increasingly common in Hungary's Great Plain region.
53:37 The once foreboding prospect of desertification here has now become a stark reality.
53:43 Nobody anticipated the rapid and severe onset of climate change effects here in Hungary.
53:49 You can see how it has devastated the landscape.
53:52 Wildlife and the environment are undergoing significant changes.
53:56 The grass cover is diminishing, forests are drying and the surface waters are gradually vanishing.
54:03 And we are severely affected by the effects of climate change.
54:06 For example droughts or flash floods or heavy rainfalls and strong storms.
54:12 When it gets hotter within the Carpathian Basin...
54:15 there are no big wind streams which can move this hot air quickly out of the basin.
54:22 Hungarian farmers are coming to terms with the possibility that dry pastures and weathered fruits...
54:27 might become the new normal.
54:29 Global warming is expected to adversely affect a significant portion of Hungary's agricultural land.
54:37 Droughts have led to the destruction of over half a million crops...
54:41 resulting in multi-million dollar losses for farmers.
54:45 Some farm owners say they started adjusting to the changing climate conditions.
54:50 Peter Szabo is one of a few paprika growers using a technique to combat drought.
54:55 This involves blending volcanic minerals into the soil to enhance its water retaining ability.
55:01 One kilogram of volcanic products and I could pour seven liter water.
55:07 Seven liter.
55:09 And that volcanic water is getting just bigger.
55:12 So the volcanic material can keep the water inside for eight or ten days and the plant still growing.
55:20 For some farmers the situation has reached a critical point.
55:24 Soltán Kúrcsár often travels to Budapest with his livestock...
55:27 to raise awareness outside of Hungary's government buildings.
55:31 He says the intense summer heat and prolonged drought transform farmland into barren dunes.
55:38 We require effective water resource management and improved land management practices...
55:44 to minimize our environmental impact.
55:47 The Hungarian government plans to increase irrigation system coverage...
55:51 from the existing 90,000 to 300,000 hectares by 2030.
55:56 However this will only account to 7.2% of the country's total farmland...
56:01 which amounts to 4.1 million hectares.
56:04 The alarming scenes we're witnessing now might just be a preview of what lies ahead for Hungary.
56:11 Pablo Gutiérrez, CGTN, Budapest.
56:14 Europe.cgtn.com has all the week's top stories from China.
56:19 Here's a quick take of some of them.
56:21 The deepest and largest underground lab in the world opened in southwest China's Sichuan province.
56:32 China expects to realize the commercial application of 6G technology by around 2030.
56:39 A conservation project in northwest China's Shanxi province...
56:44 has saved the wild-crested ibis from extinction.
56:48 The China-Europe Railway Express operated more than 16,000 trains in the first 11 months of this year...
56:56 up 7% year on year.
56:59 China successfully sent a satellite jointly developed with Egypt...
57:04 into orbit from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.
57:08 The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, were observed in many parts of northern China...
57:14 including the country's capital.
57:17 All that and more at cgtn.com.
57:23 The headlines again. China's economic recovery is still at a critical stage...
57:27 so says President Xi Jinping as the country tries to stimulate domestic demand.
57:32 Job growth in the United States rises more than expected in November...
57:37 as the country continues to grapple with higher interest rates.
57:40 And fighting rages in Gaza as Israel faces mounting pressure to do more to protect civilians.
57:47 Aid groups say the enclave is now on the brink of collapse.
57:52 And that's it for Global Business Europe. Thanks for watching.
57:55 More on all of our stories at europe.cgtn.com.
57:58 And do follow CGTN Europe on Facebook and Instagram and TikTok.
58:02 And you can go to CGTN Europe's channel on the Telegram app...
58:05 or scan the QR code on the screen to get stories and updates sent direct to your phone.
58:10 Coming up next on CGTN, it's Africa Live.
58:14 We'll see you again on Monday, same time, same place.
58:16 From all of the team here in London, it's goodbye.
58:18 Goodbye.
58:19 ♪ ♪
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