00:00The trial started against former Danish minister Henrik Suss Larsen, who is accused of possessing child sexual abuse material.
00:11A Ukrainian citizen suspected of links to the damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 has been arrested in Italy.
00:20The EU and the United States publish a joint statement setting out new customs duties as both partners move from trade intentions to implementation.
00:30The trial against a former Danish minister Henrik Suss Larsen started on Thursday in Copenhagen.
00:39The former Social Democrat MP faces two charges, including the possession of 6,000 images and 2,000 video files containing child sexual abuse material.
00:49Suss Larsen is also accused of possessing a childlike doll designed for sexual purposes.
00:54The former minister is rejecting the charges, claiming the images were part of a search for images of himself as a child, as he says he was a victim of abuse himself.
01:05He also claims the doll had been an accidental gift.
01:09If proven guilty, Suss Larsen could face up to one year in prison for each charge.
01:13A Ukrainian citizen who is suspected of participating in the undersea explosions in 2022 that damaged several Nord Stream gas pipelines has been arrested.
01:28German prosecutors believe that the suspect, who was arrested overnight in Italy's Zermini province, was one of the coordinators of the operation.
01:35The pipelines were built to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea.
01:41The damage had added tensions over the war in Ukraine as European countries moved to wean themselves off Russian energy sources following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
01:51Russia accused the U.S. of staging the explosions, a charge Washington denies.
01:56One person was killed and at least 15 injured in one of Russia's largest aerial attacks on western Ukraine on Thursday, despite recent talks that aimed to hammer out a peace deal.
02:08A strike in the western city of Lviv killed one person and injured three others, Ukraine's emergency services said.
02:16The region's governor reported the blast damaged 26 residential buildings, a kindergarten and several office buildings.
02:23A wave of missile and drones also caused fires at a large electronics plant in the city of Mokhachevo.
02:30Russia has continued its barrage of strikes against Ukraine, despite high-level peace talks focused on finding an end to the war earlier in the week.
02:39U.S. President Donald Trump sparked cautious optimism by suggesting the U.S. would take part in providing security guarantees for Ukraine in a post-war agreement.
02:48Kyiv has said assurances against future Russian aggression are a key element for it to agree to a peace deal.
03:00Where will the meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin take place?
03:06The arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for abduction of Ukrainian children puts Russia's president at risk of detention in any of the ICC's 125 members if Putin steps into their territory.
03:21But some countries are ready to make an exception and promise not to arrest Putin if he comes for the meeting, which could put an end to Russia's war against Ukraine.
03:30Switzerland, a signatory to the ICC, is a possible option.
03:36The country's foreign minister said Switzerland would be ready to host Russian president for any peace talks on Ukraine, despite an existing arrest warrant for him.
03:45Austrian chancellor also weighed in, saying his country, also a signatory to the ICC, supported any initiative leading to just and lasting peace that protects Ukrainian and European security interests.
03:59Now, where else could this meeting take place?
04:03The Middle East could be a solid compromise location.
04:06In March, Saudi Arabia hosted a U.S. delegation for the talks, first with Ukrainian and then Russian officials.
04:14The meeting also could take place in Qatar or the United Arab Emirates.
04:19Now, these countries are believed to be among the most possible options.
04:23Euronews correspondents from Dubai and Doha explain why.
04:28Now, the question is, why Qatar?
04:30Despite being a relatively small Gulf state, Qatar firmly has a seat at the international table and is frequently called upon to be a go-to mediator in several international conflicts.
04:41Those mediation efforts include Russia and Ukraine.
04:45Just last month, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it had successfully reunited 100 children with their families.
04:51During his recent visit to Doha in May, U.S. President Donald Trump praised Qatar for its efforts in regional stability and particularly crisis diplomacy in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
05:04Qatar believes mediation efforts are a core tenant of its foreign policy and a clear indicator of its soft power.
05:10Why the United Arab Emirates?
05:13Well, the UAE has deliberately shaped its role as a diplomatic broker, a state able to move between rival powers while maintaining credibility of both.
05:21That strategy has extended directly to the war in Ukraine.
05:24Earlier this year, Emirati officials helped arrange exchanges that brought home Ukrainian prisoners of war, along with children taken to Russia.
05:32It was a reminder that Emirates can act where others have limited reach.
05:35At the same time, Abu Dhabi has preserved its dialogue with Moscow.
05:40Earlier this month, President Mohammed bin Zayed traveled to Russia for talks with Vladimir Putin, a meeting that highlighted the trust that both sides placed in the relationship.
05:51Iran has launched its first military exercise since the end of its 12-day war with Israel, state television reported on Thursday.
06:00A video shared by the Iranian military showed Navy vessels launching missiles at targets in the sea in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean.
06:10While such drills are routine in the Islamic Republic, the sustainable power 1404 exercise comes in the wake of a war that saw Israel destroy Tehran's air defense systems, bomb nuclear facilities and other sites.
06:25A state TV report said naval vessels would fire cruise missiles at targets and use drones over the open water.
06:34Iran's navy estimated to have some 18,000 personnel avoided any major attack during the June war.
06:43Tehran's defense authorities on Wednesday claimed to have equipped its forces with new missiles in response to what it called any potential enemy adventurism.
06:53Police in Brazil say they found text messages on former President Jair Bolsonaro's phone that show he wanted to flee to Argentina and request political asylum.
07:07A police report said Bolsonaro drafted a request for asylum from Argentine President Javier Milay's government in 2024.
07:16The report is part of a wider police accusation of obstruction of justice.
07:20Police accused Bolsonaro of ignoring measures related to his house arrest and spreading content aimed at attacking Brazil's democratic institutions.
07:29He has 48 hours to explain why he sought political asylum and failed to comply with other measures of his house arrest.
07:37At the time, Bolsonaro claimed he was being politically persecuted in Brazil.
07:41The former leader is also currently waiting on a Supreme Court ruling over an alleged coup attempt.
07:53The European Union and the United States are moving from trade intentions to implementation.
08:00On Thursday, the two partners published a joint statement setting out new customs duties.
08:05The text provides for a maximum duty of 15% on a large proportion of EU exports to the US.
08:13Once again, the European Commission is defending this compromise, which has been the subject of much criticism.
08:18Let me say this clearly, the alternative, a trade war with sky-high tariffs and political escalation helps no one.
08:32It hurts jobs, it hurts growth, and it damages businesses across both the EU and the US.
08:39And this is not theoretical, as nearly 5 million European jobs, including many in SMEs, would be at risk.
08:48This deal avoids that path.
08:52The 15% ceiling ultimately includes cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
08:58But uncertainties remain for other goods.
09:00A joint statement remains vague on steel and aluminium, two products that are soaring transatlantic relations.
09:09We still don't have a clear solution on the steel and aluminium tariffs, where here it says there is supposed to be a tariff rate quota,
09:15meaning that there will be some amount of steel from Europe that will not have their 50% tariffs on them.
09:21But we don't know how much that will be and what will be the actual tariff rate on that.
09:25As implementation kicks in, exemptions from the 15% cap are granted for aircraft and spare parts, generic medicines and chemical precursors.
09:35Will French people travelling outside the EU be subjected to stricter tax controls?
09:41A video has gone viral on TikTok that claims that any French person travelling outside the EU from September this year
09:50will automatically be reported to the country's tax authorities and subjected to stricter controls.
09:55It has garnered 1.5 million views.
09:58This states that when someone boards a plane in France to leave Europe,
10:01they are signing up for an automatic tax audit upon their return.
10:05People's passport data will reportedly be cross-checked with income declarations.
10:09If they don't comply with a request for extra info, this is followed by stricter checks on income,
10:14a possible summons and a fine of up to 10,000 euros.
10:17The author refers to this new procedure as the automatic travel verification system.
10:22The video was published by the TikTok account Passion Mondial AFR,
10:25which claims to offer daily information and news and has 17,5 thousand followers.
10:30The video has sparked outrage among thousands of internet users.
10:34One person said,
10:35Welcome to the new North Korea, while another said this was more than harassment.
10:39However, the claims made about such a new measure in France are false.
10:43The author says that the news was announced by the Interior Ministry
10:46and then picked up by reputable news organizations, including BFM TV, Le Parisien and France Info.
10:52But searches for such reports from these media and other well-known media yielded nothing
10:56and no information can be found about such a measure on any French ministry website.
11:01Moreover, tax issues and controls are the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy and Finance,
11:07not the Interior Affairs.
11:09Another clear sign this is fake news.
11:11A spokesperson for this ministry confirmed here or verified that the claims made in the video were fake
11:16and that no such measure is being introduced in France.
11:19Finally, a look at the other content on the TikTok channel behind this video
11:23is further proof that the content is not to be trusted.
11:26Several videos feature AI-generated presenters.
11:28Other videos make fake claims, for example, that low-income households have to justify shopping for over 100 euros.
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