The World Today on CGTN at 2023/12/9

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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 "The World Today."
00:35 >> Hello, I'm Paul Barber. Our top stories this hour...
00:38 Growing condemnation out of the United States after it vetoes a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
00:47 Israel's bombardment, meanwhile, continues across Gaza, with strikes reported in central and southern parts of the enclave.
00:55 The European Union reaches a historic deal on the world's first laws to regulate the use of artificial intelligence.
01:03 Plus...
01:05 (shouting)
01:09 A Chinese company becomes the first to launch satellites from a methane-powered rocket.
01:16 ♪ ("CGTN News Package," main theme, by Gari Media Group plays) ♪
01:28 >> Palestinian officials have condemned the United States' veto of a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, calling it disastrous and a disgrace.
01:41 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the veto makes Washington complicit in what he describes as Israeli war crimes.
01:49 The proposal was backed by 13 of the 15 UN Security Council members, with the U.K. abstaining.
01:55 The U.S. ambassador criticized the resolution for failing to condemn the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people.
02:04 He told members the proposal was unsustainable.
02:08 >> Long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, any ceasefire is at best temporary and is certainly not peace.
02:17 And any ceasefire that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza would deny Palestinian civilians the chance to build something better for themselves.
02:27 For that reason, although the United States strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war.
02:44 >> China, one of the co-sponsors of the resolution, says that the United States' veto is disappointing and regrettable.
02:51 It says Washington has contradicted itself by condoning the continuation of fighting while claiming to care about the lives and safety of Gazans.
03:00 >> All this shows once again what double standard is.
03:06 Although the draft resolution has been vetoed, the international community's strong cause for ceasefire and ending the fighting, the protection of civilians and the prevention of greater humanitarian disasters will not subside.
03:20 >> Associated Press correspondent Philip Crowther has more now from Jerusalem.
03:25 >> The United States, the provider of diplomatic, of financial and of very significant financial aid for Israel, certainly looked isolated at the U.N. Security Council.
03:36 It was the U.S. deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, who was the only one who held up his hand to oppose this resolution, thereby showing a diplomatic fracture for the United States within the Security Council with some of its closest allies, the likes of Japan and France, for example, come to mind.
03:56 Here in Israel, though, not surprisingly, there has been praise for the United States' stance, the minister of defense, Yoav Galant, for example, saying this, that a ceasefire is handing a prize to Hamas, dismissing the hostages held in Gaza.
04:12 The simple fact that this vote was held in the first place and had been made possible by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres had been criticized beforehand harshly by Israel's foreign minister, Eli Cohen, saying on the platform Twitter that Guterres, the secretary general of the United Nations, was a supporter of Hamas and that his tenure was a threat to world peace.
04:38 And Philip, you report a lot in the United States, of course. What will this mean at home for the U.S. with a presidential election looming there?
04:50 You're right to ask that question. That could very well be an impact on the election result in November of next year. What the Biden administration here is essentially saying with its vote in the Security Council is, first of all, that it does not believe in an open ended ceasefire.
05:07 It believes that Hamas would still remain a threat. But what we have seen, though, from within the Biden administration have been some misgivings of the huge humanitarian toll, the huge civilian toll that Israel's war against Hamas has brought so far.
05:23 Some of those misgivings have been made publicly, many of them privately. And what we're seeing from recent polls as well is that a majority of Democrats believe that not just Israel has gone too far in its war against Hamas, but that the United States is simply going too far in its support for Israel at this point.
05:43 But it becomes clear, though, from what you hear from diplomats and officials within the administration, that they're finding it pretty hard to really influence Israel, despite the fact that somebody like the U.S. deputy national security adviser is saying that, yes, there is U.S. influence on Israel, but that it does not have control over what Israel does and that it also has not given Israel a deadline as to when the United States expects it to finish its military operation in the Gaza Strip.
06:12 And speaking of that military operation, Israel has intensified its fighting across Gaza. What's the latest we're hearing?
06:20 Well, relentless bombardments is the answer to that. There are reports from residents in the north and the south of the Gaza Strip of artillery and airstrikes against those parts of that area.
06:38 In the south, that includes Rafa, which is right on the border with Egypt, of course, and was essentially deemed one of the last remaining safe places for civilians to go to.
06:49 In fact, it was the Israeli military that had said that civilians should be evacuating to that area.
06:55 But that tiny sliver of land within a small sliver of land already that is the Gaza Strip seems to be getting smaller and smaller and does not seem to be a safe place at all.
07:05 The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, saying this ahead of that vote at the UN Security Council, that civilians in Gaza are being told to move like human pinballs.
07:16 He says that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is at a breaking point. And indeed, we are getting more and more reports of there being a lack of food, for example, in the Gaza Strip.
07:28 That situation, that dire humanitarian situation is expected to get worse.
07:33 Philip Crowther there in Jerusalem, while our correspondent, Nour Harazine, is in central Gaza, where health officials say that dozens of people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike.
07:44 I am here inside the Shohada al-Aqsa Hospital, which is located in middle Gaza, and it is serving the people who are residing in middle Gaza, in Deir el-Balah, al-Maghazi refugee camp, al-Pureish camp and al-Nusayrat refugee camp.
07:57 And according to the latest from the hospital here, 73 people were killed here in middle Gaza over the past 24 hours.
08:09 32 of them are actually from one family, which is a Waida family that were targeted overnight, and the paramedics only managed to evacuate the bodies of the family this morning.
08:22 According to doctors inside the hospital, 70% of the 72 people that were killed in middle Gaza overnight are women and children.
08:33 At the same time, from Khan Younis and inside the Al-Nusayrat complex, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 62 people arrived to the hospital killed in Israeli airstrikes over the past 24 hours.
08:46 This is in middle Gaza and southern Gaza. In northern Gaza, we do not have an exact number. However, talking to some of the journalists who are still there, even though the networks are really bad,
08:56 but they talked about hundreds of people that were killed, hundreds that are still stuck under the rubble, dozens of people that are still thrown in the roads.
09:06 And unfortunately, the paramedics and the ambulances cannot reach them because of the Israeli incursion in some of these areas and the Israeli snipers who are stopping people and paramedics from reaching the bodies of those killed.
09:20 And the United Nations is warning of a complete collapse of humanitarian efforts in Gaza. We heard Philip Crowther just talking then about food running out.
09:30 What are you seeing there on the ground?
09:40 Well, yes, food is running out. It is a struggle for everyone here in Gaza, not only those displaced people, but even us journalists, medical teams, people who are working at the organizations.
09:51 I mean, it is not a matter of money, but it is a matter that there is nothing actually in the markets here in Gaza. The stores and the markets, the shelves are empty.
10:04 Here we have on the ground some vendors, but they are selling very little of what they have from leftovers, vegetables.
10:12 So yes, there is a struggle actually here in the Gaza Strip in finding food and also access to clean water.
10:21 However, there were some news from the UN about opening the Kerma-Abu Salim border between Gaza and Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
10:33 He said that this humanitarian aid will be firstly checked by the Israeli forces before it enters Gaza.
10:39 And this is something very important, significant actually for Palestinians, because this will help the Egyptian efforts in allowing more aid into the Gaza Strip.
10:48 According to statistics released recently, they said that the Gaza Strip needs at least 1,000 of humanitarian aid trucks daily.
10:59 However, the number that is entering Gaza these days is between 50 to 100, which is barely meeting the needs of some of the people who are residing in UN camps in southern Rafah.
11:11 But the people who are actually in middle Gaza, the people who are in northern Gaza do not have access to this humanitarian aid at all.
11:19 That was Norhara Zain reporting from Gaza.
11:22 This is CGTN Still Ahead. Packing their bags, two of Berlin's biggest celebrities prepare to move to their ancestral homeland.
11:31 Ever wondered what's the difference between a bear and a bull market?
11:43 Where are the cash cows?
11:45 And who are the lame ducks?
11:48 And what exactly are black swans, grey rhinos and unicorn companies?
11:58 Make sense of it all with Global Business, only on CGTN.
12:06 I think it should be more public oppression.
12:10 I would like to hear more the voice of the developing countries.
12:17 Globalization has lifted more than a billion people out of poverty.
12:23 The green transition has to happen. It's a necessity.
12:27 For China and the United States, our important powers in the world.
12:34 What unites us is much more than what divides us.
12:39 And I believe China is committed to this agenda.
12:42 Join me, Juliette Maran, to set the agenda at these times every weekend on CGTN.
12:49 Events have consequences. Words create impact.
12:57 One more offensive in a long line of battles that's been ongoing for more than a decade.
13:02 Just got to be careful here with some gunshots.
13:05 The world today matters, but your world tomorrow.
13:09 The number of casualties is growing quickly.
13:12 This is one of the hardest hit towns in the region.
13:16 The world today, every day on CGTN.
13:21 Hello, welcome back. Our top story again.
13:29 Growing condemnation at the United States after it vetoes a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
13:38 Israel's bombardment continues across the Palestinian enclave with strikes reported in central and southern regions.
13:46 The European Union has reached a provisional deal to regulate artificial intelligence in the world's first such agreement.
13:54 The proposals in the AI Act include regulating the use of surveillance technology as well as systems such as chat GPT.
14:01 Citizens will have the right to launch complaints while its use by law enforcement agencies will be limited.
14:08 The legislation will be voted on early next year, taking effect in 2025.
14:13 Virginia Dignam is a member of the European Union's high level expert group on AI and professor of social and ethical artificial intelligence at Sweden's Umeå University.
14:24 It is very necessary. It is and it is very important.
14:28 I agree with the commissioner that it's an historical moment.
14:32 It's the very first in the world set of rules established specifically for AI.
14:39 And it's based on the protection of fundamental rights and European values.
14:44 It is an example and it is, I think, something which will be a flagship or a pointer for all the developments in the world.
14:55 I actually I'm a member of the United Nations Advisory Board on AI and we were having a meeting the last two days in New York.
15:03 I just arrived from New York and all of us there from all over the world.
15:07 We are looking at the developments in Europe as something which is going to be really influential for the rest of the other countries and other regions are going to deal with the regulation.
15:18 OK, so the world is looking what the Europeans are doing about this and calling it a flagship.
15:24 And so looking at the details of this, what key elements stand out to you?
15:29 And do they go some way to regulating the AI used within systems like chats, GPT and facial recognition?
15:37 The first we need to understand is that it is a professional agreement.
15:41 We need to still to wait some time to read the final text.
15:45 So there will be some work still in the coming weeks towards the final text.
15:50 So I cannot really speak with certitude what will come there. But from what we have seen, there are definitely some big steps forward towards strong prohibitions.
16:01 And there is a list of banned applications, including, for instance, remote biometric identification and also other types of manipulative techniques.
16:12 So those, I think, are very strong bans and no-go. So the red lines for our AI should be used within Europe.
16:22 And at the same time, with respect to general purpose models or general purpose AI, as the Act talks about them,
16:33 there are some clear indications that those systems need to comply with at least some transparency requirements.
16:44 And if they are of systemical level, then there needs to be some extra steps and extra requirements to those that develop and those that use the systems.
16:57 Could this rulebook help or might it hinder researchers and startups in the AI industry?
17:04 Research is explicitly set out of the regulations. So while things are in the research level, there is not many requirements.
17:15 Once things start being used in practice, then, of course, we need to take into account the regulations,
17:23 again, following this risk-based approach and the different levels of risk.
17:29 But that's not different than in other areas in which when we move from research to application, there are extra rules.
17:39 I don't think that it's a hinder for startups. I think that it gives startups a direction in which to go.
17:46 It gives also a kind of a level playing field in which everybody knows what are the rules of the game.
17:53 A game without rules is a game where no one can win and no one can play.
17:58 So I think it's important for also, especially for startups, to have this type of opportunities to also innovate within a specific set of rules
18:09 and also innovate in the new standards and the new requirements that are coming with this law.
18:17 China's lead diplomat at the COP28 climate talks says that Beijing is seeking a fossil fuel deal that is acceptable to all.
18:33 Speaking in Dubai, Special Envoy Xie Zhenhua said a lot of progress has already been made, including on loss and damage funding issues.
18:41 He reiterated China's support for efforts to triple the global capacity for renewable energy.
18:47 On the deal to phase out fossil fuel, Xie says that China is working with all major groups to find consensus amid vastly different views.
18:57 Copenhagen was awarded the title of UNESCO Capital of Architecture this year, and the Danish capital wants to use its status to promote eco-friendly construction right across the globe.
19:08 Our correspondent Johannes Plaschberger spoke to some of the city's architects who are transforming entire neighborhoods in Denmark and also in China.
19:17 In a few years, this former landfill will be Copenhagen's first all-timber neighborhood.
19:25 So this wooden building, it sits on a foundation of tiles like this, so there's no digging in the ground.
19:33 So that's part of the low carbon emission of this building.
19:38 According to lead designer Sine Congerbro, using timber instead of conventional materials makes construction twice as fast.
19:46 And this is the insulation that's inside the outer wall. It's also wooden fibers.
19:53 So the carbon footprint of this development here is almost zero because it's made out of biogenic.
20:00 Denmark's green landmark, Fælleby, which is designed by the Henning Larsen firm, will provide homes to 5,000 people.
20:08 Despite covering two-thirds of the former grass field with buildings, the project is set to triple the area's biodiversity through birdhouses and other animal habitats integrated in the facades and landscaping.
20:22 No other city has recently produced as many award-winning architects and building innovations as Copenhagen.
20:30 The current UNESCO World Architecture Capital is at the forefront of sustainable building, setting lower and lower limits to the allowed carbon footprint of new constructions.
20:41 City Hall member Jens Christian Lutken says the recycling of building materials can help developers to stay within emission limits.
20:49 How can we reuse materials in the building process?
20:53 Because the construction business, they're throwing out a lot of things. Can we reuse them and can we be a role model for the rest of the world in that way?
21:02 That's a way to save a lot of CO2.
21:05 You will find here some, the steel beam from the previous building that was here, but also the column there from the existing building on the side that we have been reused.
21:18 And this project shows also a way into the future how big cities are going to be developed in a completely new way.
21:27 So instead of just doing high-rise and in concrete, we'll have to find a new type of design where we can have all species flourishing, people and animals and plants.
21:42 One of Henning Larsen's current biggest projects is transforming the Chinese city of Shenzhen.
21:48 Working with two partners, the Danish firm has developed a green and sustainable master plan to reinforce the reputation of Shenzhen's business district as China's main center for innovation.
22:00 The importance is that it's actually taking up the whole harbor front and redeveloping that into a public area.
22:08 So from being an industrial backside, it's actually being a front side of the whole bay area.
22:16 While Shenzhen's new waterfront is set to be finished in 2050, Copenhagen's Fellerby development is due for completion in nine years.
22:25 If the project is as successful as its designers envision, more biodiverse wooden communities like this might emerge around the world.
22:34 Johannes Blechberger, CGTN, Copenhagen.
22:38 A Chinese company has become the first to successfully launch satellites into orbit via a rocket powered by methane and liquid oxygen.
22:47 The launch of the Zhuchuo-2 looks set to boost exploration of methane as a potential rocket fuel, which is seen as cheaper and more sustainable than traditional ones.
22:56 Our correspondent, Xing Yibing, reports.
23:00 Light it up!
23:02 China's Zhuchuo-2 Y3 has become the world's first methane and liquid oxygen propelled rocket to successfully send effective payloads into orbit,
23:18 working under the bricks for half a year after the rocket's first success.
23:22 Compared with its previous test launch in July, this time the rocket carries three commercial satellites to the sun's synchronous orbit.
23:29 This, according to its developer, the Chinese private aerospace company, Landspace, proves the rocket's reliability for commercial delivery.
23:38 Saturday's launch went on smoothly with hundreds of people gathering at the launch site, cheering for this mission.
23:45 Landspace also announced its plans for the Zhuchuo-2 in the coming three years, including further technical improvements and cost reduction.
23:53 Xing Yibing, CGTN, in Jiuxuan Satellite Launch Center.
23:57 Now, two of Berlin's biggest and cutest celebrities are heading to China this month.
24:03 Pitt and Pauli, also known as Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, were born at Berlin Zoo in 2019.
24:10 The twin cubs were supposed to go back a few years ago, but the move was put on hold due to the pandemic.
24:15 Our correspondent Peter Oliver reports.
24:17 On August 31st, 2019, two of Berlin's biggest stars were born in the city's zoological gardens.
24:25 The twin boys, Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, quickly nicknamed Pitt and Pauli by Berliners, will soon be heading off to Chengdu Panda Base in China,
24:35 part of an agreement reached between the two countries that will see the cubs' parents remain in Berlin.
24:41 So, what exactly is involved in flying panda cubs? How is the plane prepared for the journey?
24:48 So, they do not get a seat, they fly in a cargo machine and they are in crates, but everything is well prepared.
24:56 The cargo machine is temperature controlled, so they have always their comfortable temperature in the machine.
25:04 They have bamboo as much as they want, so they can eat if they feel like they want to eat.
25:09 A vet will travel together with the giant pandas and a colleague from Chengdu Panda Base will travel with them, so they are under best care.
25:17 Around 3 million people visit the Berlin Zoo every year.
25:22 The panda garden was opened in 2017 by then-Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
25:30 It's regarded as one of the finest habitats in the world.
25:33 Bits and Pauli are in quarantine right now, just behind me, ahead of their trip to China.
25:39 And while their stay here in Germany is coming to an end, Berlin maintains a special relationship with the panda.
25:47 Yes, they have a place, of course. So, the place is, of course, that Zhao Qing, he is the one behind me, he is the adult male.
25:57 And Meng Meng, she is a female here, so she is the mother of both cubs now going to China.
26:04 And what's all about and what's very important, so we need to plan, of course, in advance how we can bring them here together for the next offspring, of course.
26:14 That is what we are planning, of course, because she is in best age, Meng Meng.
26:18 And maybe waiting for her Easter time, showing up, "Oh, I'm now a female, and let's get pregnant again."
26:25 Hopefully she is crying this out, the charming boy behind me.
26:29 And this usually happens in springtime, so usually in, let's say, April or May.
26:36 And then we all cross fingers.
26:38 Then sperm find an egg or two, maybe, and it's going on again with new cubs.
26:46 And I cross my fingers personally.
26:48 Piss and Paulie are the first pandas born in Germany, and the cubs have A-list celebrity status in Berlin.
26:56 Well, Berlin received their first pandas in 1980, and they had to wait almost 40 years for a baby giant panda.
27:06 So I think this is something, yeah, a lot of people waited.
27:10 So it's very important for me to see them.
27:14 I was there for their naming ceremony, so I saw them.
27:19 They were only 100 days old, so I'm happy to say them goodbye before they leave Germany.
27:27 The exact date of departure is a closely guarded secret.
27:31 While everyone wishes Pete and Paulie all the best for their journey,
27:35 the hope is the pitter-patter of baby paws will be heard again soon in the zoo's panda garden.
27:41 Peter Oliver, CGTN, Berlin.
27:45 And finally, here's a tune to put you in the Christmas mood.
27:49 [Music]
28:00 Renowned Chinese pianist Lang Lang, who's just started a seven-month world tour,
28:05 has shared this festive video to his social media followers.
28:09 Lang performed at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics,
28:12 and more recently, at the coronation concert for Britain's King Charles.
28:19 And our headlines again.
28:21 Growing condemnation at the United States after it vetoes a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
28:30 And the European Union reaches an historic deal on the world's first laws to regulate the use of artificial intelligence.
28:38 And that is the world today. Thank you for watching.
28:40 There's more news at the top of the hour.
28:42 Up next, it's the agenda with Juliette Mann.
28:45 For now, though, from all the team in London, it's goodbye.
28:48 [Music]