00:00Nine European countries gathered in Hamburg have agreed to expand offshore wind turbine projects across the North Sea.
00:10Truck drivers from four western Balkan countries have blockaded border crossings in protest to the EU's tightening of immigration rules.
00:20A historic storm that pummeled much of the United States is not quite over yet, as more Arctic air is expected to prolong freezing temperatures.
00:30Nine European governments have agreed to expand offshore wind turbine projects across the North Sea.
00:38Energy ministers gathered in Hamburg on Monday and said the project could see electricity prices drop by 30% by 2040.
00:47The goal is to increase offshore wind capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2050 and by facilitating cross-border projects.
00:55First and foremost, we need to produce more of our own energy.
01:01The good thing about wind, offshore wind, renewables as such, is that they are also cheaper.
01:08So not only will it be good for our security and our safety,
01:11it will also mean that we can bring down the prices of energy,
01:16that we can indeed become more competitive in Europe compared to the rest of the world.
01:23More than 6,000 offshore turbines provide clean electricity in Europe,
01:28but deployment has been held back by weak auction design,
01:31increased costs of capital and lack of visibility for the supply chain
01:36due to an uncertain project pipeline, according to the industry.
01:40Greenland's mining minister Naya Nathanielsen told Euronews that there is not yet a deal
01:49between its government, Denmark and the US.
01:52Her comments follow US President Donald Trump's announcement last week
01:57that he worked out the framework for a future deal on the Arctic Territory with NATO chief Mark Rutte.
02:03She stressed that clarity on the US's intentions is needed to progress talks.
02:09There is no deal yet.
02:12What we have is an agreement to venture into a dialogue.
02:16It's going to be, I think, maybe a number of different dialogues.
02:19I think there will be a NATO-led dialogue that has to do with maybe an increased presence from NATO in the high north.
02:27That could be Greenland.
02:28We would welcome that.
02:29Then there would be these trilateral dialogues between the US on one side
02:36and the Kingdom of Denmark, consistent in this part of Greenland and Denmark on the other side.
02:40And we still have to gain clarity about what is the American interests concretely,
02:47because we really haven't heard anything yet.
02:50And then there might be something regarding a more closer business tie.
02:56And that would be a whole other dialogue as well.
03:00Greenland's icy terrain is rich in rare earths and other minerals.
03:05Nathanielsen emphasized that any talks on Greenland's mineral resources should be kept separate from any defense agreement with Washington.
03:14She welcomed US investment in the territory's untapped mineral wealth,
03:18but warned Greenland must benefit from any deal.
03:21I do not want to combine any form of defense agreement with access to our minerals.
03:28We need to keep these things in their separate baskets, if you will.
03:32And we are very much open to investments and collaborations with the US.
03:37We already have a memorandum of understanding that is from 2019 under Trump 1 that we have been seeking to update.
03:44But we cannot, I think, start to put it all together in the same basket because it's different things.
03:50We cannot give another country full access to our minerals.
03:55This is a rule-based country.
03:57So we, of course, you need to follow the local rules and regulations in order to gain access.
04:03But we have definitely every interest in deepening our relationship and figuring out how can we,
04:09to our mutual benefit, develop our mineral sector.
04:11NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutter insisted on Monday that Europe is incapable of defending itself without US military support
04:22and would have to more than double current military spending targets.
04:27Speaking at the European Parliament, Rutter told EU lawmakers that without the United States,
04:33Europe would lose the ultimate guarantor of its freedom.
04:36And I don't mind him publishing text messages.
04:40And if anyone thinks here, again, that the European Union or Europe as a whole can defend itself without the US,
04:46keep on dreaming.
04:47You can't.
04:48We can't.
04:49We need each other.
04:50Rutter's comments come as tensions fester within NATO over US President Donald Trump's renewed threats
04:57in recent weeks to annex Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of NATO-allied Denmark.
05:03Trump also said he was slapping new tariffs on Greenland's European backers
05:07but later dropped its threats after a court framework for a deal over the mineral-rich island
05:14was reached with Rutter's help.
05:16Not much details of the agreement have emerged.
05:19Transport operators from four western Balkan countries have blockaded border crossings
05:29in Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and North Macedonia
05:33in protest against the EU's tightening of entry rules.
05:37Under EU regulations, citizens of these countries can enter the Schengen area without a visa
05:42but they can only stay there for a maximum of 90 days.
05:46The transporters are demanding that the length of stay be extended
05:50as it's currently not sufficient for them to carry out their work.
05:54They're also demanding the scrapping of the electronic entry system, launched back in October.
05:59The new system is expected to be fully implemented by April and aims to prevent illegal migration
06:17and ensure consistent compliance with Schengen rules.
06:21The blockade has brought traffic on the main Balkan roads to a standstill.
06:25The truck drivers have announced that the blockade will continue until their demands are met.
06:45They're expecting a response to their letter of protest sent to the European institutions
06:49within the next seven days.
06:51Israel's military says the body of the final hostage left in Gaza, Ron Gveli,
07:00has been recovered on Monday, clearing the way for the next phase of the U.S. brokered ceasefire.
07:06The announcement that Gveli was found and identified comes a day after the IDF said
07:11it was conducting large-scale operations at a cemetery in northern Gaza.
07:15Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the news, calling it an incredible achievement
07:21for his country and its soldiers.
07:22The return of all remaining hostages, living or dead, has been a key part of the first phase
07:36of the ceasefire deal reached in October, brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.
07:41Israel and Hamas have been under pressure from truce mediators, including Washington,
07:46to move into the second phase, commonly viewed as an even trickier part.
07:51The second phase aims to create an international stabilization force in the besieged territory,
07:57form a technocratic Palestinian government, and disarm Hamas.
08:02Many in Gaza say they're not optimistic, accusing Israel of not abiding by its terms
08:07under the first phase, which mandated the widespread flow of aid, immediate halt to attacks,
08:12and a full Israeli withdrawal from the enclave.
08:20A historic storm that pummeled much of the United States is not quite over yet,
08:25as more Arctic air is expected to prolong freezing temperatures in areas already blanketed in snow and ice.
08:33Although the winter storm affected millions of Americans,
08:36its most lasting impacts are concentrated in a band from far eastern Texas across north Louisiana,
08:42Mississippi, and into Nashville, Tennessee.
08:46As the freezing temperatures persist, the death toll rose to at least 30.
08:50Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands were left without electricity.
08:54There is currently 750,000 homes across the country without power.
09:02Over one in five of them, over 20 percent, are here in Mississippi.
09:07We reached a peak of about 180,000.
09:10That has now down below 150,000.
09:14Heavy snowfalls stretching from Arkansas to New England caused widespread travel disruptions,
09:20flight cancellations, and school closures.
09:22The U.S. had more than 12,000 flight delays or cancellations nationwide on Monday.
09:29A day prior on Sunday, almost half of U.S. flights were cancelled,
09:32the highest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic.
09:41Four stubbling stones were laid here on the outskirts of Berlin in Johannestal
09:46on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
09:48They commemorate the Jewish Levi family, who fled to what is now Israel during the Nazi regime.
09:57Dozens of people have come, including seven descendants.
10:00They have traveled from Israel and Italy, including granddaughter Dana Yesherun.
10:06It's very moving.
10:07We've been working on it for over two years now.
10:12They were able to discover a few facts that we didn't know about.
10:17We never knew that our great-grandfather served in the German army in the First World War.
10:24And so it was an interesting experience.
10:29More than 116,000 so-called Stolpersteine worldwide, most of them in Germany,
10:35commemorate the horrors of National Socialism and the Holocaust.
10:38A few kilometers away in Berlin-Kreuzberg, people are also taking a stand against violence against Jews.
10:46With candles, they provide light and a feeling of warmth.
10:49As they do every week, residents hold a vigil in front of the Frankaloufer Synagogue.
10:53Police fans provide additional security, as is the case in front of many syndicates.
11:23At least six million people were murdered during the Holocaust during the Holocaust.
11:29Even today, Jews are discriminated in Germany.
11:33In the past few years, the number of antisemitic crimes has increased significantly.
11:37Laura Fleischmann, Berlin, for Euronews.
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