00:00Iranian attacks on oil tankers and commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz
00:04continued on Thursday as oil prices soared back above $100 a barrel.
00:10The Czech Republic is reducing its defense spending,
00:14falling short of the 2% of GDP NATO target in its 2026 budget.
00:19A Hungarian government delegation has entered Ukraine to assess the Duzburg pipeline,
00:25damaged an alleged Russian drone strike in January.
00:32Iranian attacks on oil tankers and commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz
00:37continued on Thursday as oil prices soared back above $100 a barrel,
00:42despite a record release of strategic crude by the International Energy Agency.
00:47A projectile struck a container ship near the United Arab Emirates,
00:52and two tankers in Iraqi waters were also reported struck, as well as a fuel tank in Bahrain.
00:59While Iran said it was ready for a long war of attrition that would destroy the world economy,
01:05Trump continued to claim the U.S. has won the war.
01:08We don't want to leave early, do we? We got to finish the job, right?
01:16Over the past 11 days, our military has virtually destroyed Iran. Tough country.
01:27Their air force is gone. Totally gone. That took the better part of about three hours.
01:38Meanwhile, Israel's military said multiple waves of Iranian missiles were fired at Israel early on
01:43Thursday and that air defenses were deployed to intercept them. Israel said that it was in turn
01:49carrying out wide-scale strikes on Tehran and a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon's capital.
01:54Lebanon said an Israeli strike on central Beirut's seafront early on Thursday killed at least seven people.
02:06In a video conference on Wednesday with the leaders of the G7 on the Iran war,
02:11French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged that Iran's military capabilities had been weakened,
02:17but had not been fully eliminated.
02:37The G7 leaders also discussed the situation in the Strait of Ormuz and the possibility of Iran
02:43laying mines in this narrow maritime passage. Macron stated he had not seen evidence of this taking place.
02:56The United States announced that it had destroyed 16 Iranian ships capable of laying mines.
03:03Mining the Strait would have serious consequences for global trade.
03:07Approximately 20% of the world's oil passes through this maritime zone.
03:16The international energy agency said that its member countries have agreed to release oil from
03:22its reserves in a response to the Iran war. The agency agreed to release 400 million oil barrels,
03:30the largest emergency oil distribution in its history.
03:33This is a major action aiming to alleviate the immediate impacts of the disruption in markets.
03:43But, to be clear, the most important thing for a return to stable flows of oil and gas is the
03:52resumption of transit through the Strait of Ormuz.
03:56The decision aims to bring down oil prices amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
04:02Iran has effectively halted cargo traffic through the Strait of Ormuz,
04:07through which around a fifth of all oil is shipped from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.
04:13Germany, Austria and Japan had already announced they would release parts of their oil reserves as well.
04:24European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jorgensen urged European countries to lower their taxes on electricity
04:32as soon as possible in response to the current spikes in energy prices due to the war in the Middle
04:37East.
04:38Of course there is a very clear concern for us that the prices are too high for our citizens and
04:45our industry.
04:46We've sent a very clear signal to the member states of the Union and we recommend that you lower the
04:51taxes on electricity.
04:53That would make it easier for your industry to compete, it will make it easier for your citizens.
04:58He said the rise of global energy prices due to the war in the Middle East shows the EU should
05:04move away from fossil fuel,
05:05stressing the green transition would lower prices, help decarbonize and improve energy security.
05:12However, the energy situation is not as bad as in February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of
05:18Ukraine
05:19and Europe currently doesn't have security of supply issues, Jorgensen stated.
05:27Czech lawmakers approved the country's 2026 budget on Wednesday, which falls short of the 2% NATO target
05:35for defense spending, despite pressure from the United States and the country's own president.
05:40The legislators loyal to the new government of populist Prime Minister Andrei Babis voted to allocate just
05:47over 1.7% of gross domestic product for the defense ministry.
05:52The Czech spending would inch above 2% only if funding for defense-related projects at other ministries is factored
05:59in.
06:00It was not clear if that would be acceptable to the alliance, which the Czech Republic has been a member
06:05of since 1999.
06:08The new government of Andrei Babis says the state budget is strained and it has other priorities, including healthcare.
06:14President Petr Pavel had urged lawmakers to increase the budget and noted the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine,
06:22but still agreed to sign the budget once it was passed.
06:27A Hungarian government delegation has entered Ukraine to inspect the Duzba oil pipeline,
06:33which has been out of operation since an alleged Russian drone strike damaged it in late January,
06:39resulting in an escalating dispute between Budapest and Kyiv that has drawn in the EU.
06:45The mission, which includes a deputy minister at Hungary's Ministry of Energy and a team of oil industry specialists,
06:52comes after months of disputes involving Hungary and Slovakia.
06:57Both nations are the two remaining importers of Russian crude via the Duzba pipeline and Ukraine,
07:03which controls the transit infrastructure on its territory.
07:08The pipeline has become a flashpoint in Hungarian domestic politics ahead of parliamentary elections in April,
07:15in which Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party faces a significant challenge from Peter Mayer's Titsa party.
07:23Orban has made energy security a central campaign theme,
07:27accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of exploiting the pipeline disputes to destabilize his government.
07:37Europe's energy cooperation with Azerbaijan is more important than ever,
07:42as the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East rattles global markets.
07:46European Council President António Costa said Wednesday during a visit to the country.
07:52Costa's visit comes as Europe fears the Iran war could further disrupt energy supplies and push prices even higher.
08:00Today, the impact is clear.
08:03With the war in Iran shaking global energy markets,
08:07our energy partnership is more important than ever.
08:11So, we are now working on a new framework for a closer cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan.
08:21This sends a strong signal of our joint vision for the future.
08:27We are also exploring ways to deepen our cooperation in defense and security.
08:34The important part of our partnership always was, is, and definitely will be cooperation in the energy field,
08:43especially after 2022, when we signed with the European Commission a document on strategic partnership in the energy field.
08:53And since that time, we increased our gas export to European countries with respect to the volumes and with respect
09:05to the number of countries.
09:08Aliyev said that some 16 European countries currently receive Azerbaijani gas, with 10 EU member states among the recipients.
09:22Ziliat Binos visited Thessaloniki in a different role this time.
09:30The renowned star of cinema presented her first directorial work, Inai in Motion, at the Thessaloniki documentary festival.
09:40The film follows her collaboration with the famous British dancer and choreographer Akram Khan.
09:47The acclaimed doctors spoke to Euronews, and among other things, referred to the events unfolding around the world, including wars,
09:54crisis and genocide.
09:58Talking about artists and what is happening around us today, we live in increasingly troubled times with wars and genocide
10:07around us.
10:09So, what can artists do about all of that, and is there a time for doing something else, except art,
10:18action?
10:18We are here as artists to celebrate life, and to love it, and to be united.
10:26And I think we are all different, where each of us, we have different points of view, different, you know,
10:34needs.
10:36But deep down, there's a unity we can find, and it's for us to make this journey, this road, and
10:45walking on the road of each of us, in each of us, in order to find out being humble again.
10:51I think that's what it is, there's a lot of egos going on.
10:55And, you know, we have to let go of a lot of values that we think were, you know, cannot
11:07change.
11:07It's not true.
11:08A lot of values can change, and will change, because nature will tell us to change, you know.
11:15But if we don't do it with our intelligence, and our wisdom, we will be told with a big finger,
11:23so we better change.
11:25And artists, I think it's a place where you can ask questions, explore questions, and it's about beauty.
11:38Deep down, it's about beauty.
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