00:00Hungary's veto of a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine, the widening war in the Middle East
00:05and persistently high energy prices are set to dominate Thursday's EU summit.
00:11Iranians have celebrated the annual fire festival despite military attacks from Israel and the United States.
00:20A Russian gas tanker has been drifting in the Mediterranean Sea for nearly two weeks, posing a serious ecological threat.
00:32The 27 leaders of the European Union are heading into a stormy summit on Thursday,
00:37with Hungary's veto of a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine, the widening war in the Middle East
00:43and persistently high energy prices set to dominate the talks.
00:47From the moment leaders arrive, all eyes will be on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban,
00:53whose decision to block the support loan for Ukraine at the very last stage of the legislative process
00:58has caused widespread outrage.
01:01Another major point on Thursday's agenda will be the widening war in the Middle East
01:06and the far-reaching consequences it has triggered worldwide.
01:10Europeans were caught off guard when U.S. President Donald Trump last week asked for their help
01:15to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for energy exports that Iran has closed off.
01:20The 27 leaders agree that energy prices, which have remained stubbornly high since the 2022 disruption,
01:28are a major problem but disagree on how to tackle them.
01:31As an immediate solution to offset high energy bills,
01:35Brussels recommends that governments either lower taxes or roll out subsidies, both of which affect revenues.
01:42The long-term recipe, however, is far less clear,
01:45as leaders remain fiercely divided on the need for structural reforms of the energy market.
01:54The EU has set its sights on a landmark trade deal with Australia
01:58as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to visit Sydney and Canberra
02:02for a final round of talks next week.
02:05The hard-fought agreement collapsed in 2023 due to a standoff over agriculture,
02:10with Canberra accusing Brussels of blocking market access for Australian meat exports.
02:15However, mounting global trade tensions and sweeping U.S. tariffs have revived negotiations
02:19as the EU races to diversify its partners.
02:22The Commission knows that 83% of EU trade now takes place with countries beyond the United States,
02:28following recent deals with India, Mexico and Indonesia.
02:32For Brussels, the deal is also a strategic move to secure critical raw materials,
02:36including lithium and cobalt, needed for the bloc's green energy transition.
02:41Beyond economy, the agreement carries significant geopolitical weight in the Indo-Pacific,
02:46where rivalry with China continues to intensify.
02:48Von der Leyen's visit marks the final stretch of a process designed to strengthen ties
02:53with a like-minded partner in one of the world's most dynamic economic regions.
03:04Iranians have celebrated the annual fire festival,
03:07despite military attacks from Israel and the United States
03:11and the Islamic Republic's prohibition of fireworks.
03:15Reza Pallavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran,
03:20called on citizens to hold the celebrations while urging the U.S. and Israel
03:25to protect Iranians from Iranian security forces.
03:30Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the people to celebrate,
03:34saying Israel was watching over them from above.
03:38In videos recorded in Tehran, security forces can be seen entering an apartment complex
03:45with a large convoy of vehicles,
03:47while chanting slogans and gunshots can be heard.
03:55Chahar Shanbe Suri is an ancient Persian festival held on the last Wednesday of the year.
04:01It involves jumping over fire to burn away negativity and start the new year positively.
04:07In recent years, the Islamic Republic has consistently opposed these celebrations,
04:13and young Iranians often used the occasion to express their discontent with the regime's policies.
04:27About 90 ships, including oil tankers, have crossed the Strait of Hormuz
04:32since the start of the conflict with Iran.
04:34The country has exported more than 16 million barrels of oil since the beginning of March,
04:39according to maritime and trade data, despite the waterway being effectively closed,
04:44and Iran claiming it will attack tankers attempting to cross.
04:48Many of the vessels were engaged in so-called dark transits,
04:52evading Western sanctions and oversight, and are likely to have links to Iran.
04:57More recently, vessels linked to India and Pakistan have also crossed the Strait
05:02as governments step up negotiations.
05:04China remains the largest buyer.
05:06Oil prices rose above $100 a barrel in recent weeks,
05:11prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to urge allies and trading partners
05:15to send warships to reopen the route in a bid to bring prices down.
05:19The Strait of Hormuz is a key route for global oil and gas,
05:22carrying about one-fifth of the world's crude oil.
05:28A Russian gas tanker has been drifting in the Mediterranean Sea for nearly two weeks,
05:33posing a serious environmental threat.
05:36The massive 277-meter tanker, blackened by fire, has been adrift since explosions occurred
05:43on the 3rd of March, causing the crew to abandon ship.
05:46Moscow claims that the vessel, part of sanctioned Shadow Fleet,
05:50was attacked by Ukrainian naval drones.
05:52Kiev has not commented.
05:54According to Russian reports, explosions continue on board,
05:57gas leaks are being detected, and localized fires are breaking out.
06:01The tanks still contain about 700 tons of fuel and large volumes of natural gas,
06:08representing a high emergency risk.
06:10Environmental campaigners warn that a leak or explosion could cause long-term damage
06:15to one of the most biodiverse regions in the Mediterranean.
06:18The vessel is drifting approximately 50 nautical miles from Malta,
06:22where rescue specialists are already on site.
06:25Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow is keeping the situation
06:31under control, as the flag states, but emphasized that international law places
06:36the responsibility for preventing an environmental threat on coastal states.
06:40While discussions continue over who should intervene,
06:43the gas tanker continues its uncontrolled course,
06:46and the risk of an environmental disaster is growing.
06:53A Belgian court has suspended its ruling on a groundbreaking climate case
06:58between a Belgian farmer and Total Energies,
07:00two years after it was filed.
07:03The farmer, Hugh Fallis, is backed by environmental groups,
07:06including Greenpeace, in a case they hope could prove a turning point in the climate fight.
07:11A verdict in the case, which has been ongoing since November,
07:15was expected on Wednesday, but has now been postponed until September,
07:19pending a decision in a similar French case which is set to take place at the end of June.
07:25Fallis is seeking compensation for damage to his farm in four extreme weather events
07:30that he says is directly caused by climate change.
07:33But the farmer and his backers are also seeking much broader action
07:37from Total Energies on countering climate change.
07:40For it to stop investing in new fossil fuel projects.
07:44Making its case in court, the company called it absurd to single out a particular firm
07:50over the pace of the energy transition,
07:52arguing that it accounts for less than 2% of the oil and gas sector.
08:02Georgian Orthodox Church leader Ilya II died on Tuesday at 93,
08:07the church said, after nearly five decades at the helm of one of Georgia's most powerful institutions.
08:15Ilya II was hospitalized on Tuesday morning in critical condition,
08:19with mass bleeding from the stomach, the hospital said.
08:23He was an epochal figure.
08:25It is a tremendous loss for the entire Orthodox Church,
08:28Shio Mujiri said, who will lead the church until the election of a new patriarch.
08:33Ilya II led the Georgian Orthodox Church since 1977,
08:38when the Caucasus' country was part of the Soviet Union
08:41and religious practices were restricted.
08:44It makes him one of the world's longest-serving religious leaders.
08:48A new patriarch is set to be elected within two months.
08:59Argentina has formally withdrawn from the World Health Organization, WHO,
09:04one year after announcing its decision.
09:07According to Foreign Minister Pablo Curno,
09:10Argentina's withdrawal from the WHO is effective
09:13after the formal notification made on 17 March 2025
09:17to the UN Secretary-General.
09:20President Javier Miller and his team's dispute with the WHO
09:24aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump's criticisms of
09:28and pending withdrawal from the international body
09:31with the U.S. administration criticizing the organization's mishandling
09:36of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises.
09:40The U.S. administration handed in its formal withdrawal announcement in January.
09:45Despite the withdrawal, the government assured that it will,
09:49quote, continue to promote international cooperation in health
09:53through bilateral agreements and at regional levels.
09:57The announcement has provoked criticism from local experts
10:01who consider the measure an aberration from a health policy point of view.
10:25It's the outcome of his time in Normandy. He moved there in 2018 and then worked there very intensely, also
10:32during the lockdown.
10:33And U.S. in Normandy is very much basically a composite image.
10:38It's a 70-meter long work here composed of, you know, a hundred works he did on the iPad, plein
10:43air, outdoors.
10:45It was inspired, of course, by the Chinese scrolls he saw in the 80s in the Metropolitan Museum, but also
10:50very much inspired by Bayeux.
10:59I think foreign artists, as they get older, of course, they've got a lot of memory to lean back on
11:04and all their career that they've been through.
11:06But he's also living in the present. This is him living in Normandy, spending a year there, seeing how the
11:11seasons change.
11:12He's still enriched by nature, which I think is really beautiful and wonderful.
11:41I think it's beautiful.
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