00:00Until Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the consensus in Finland was that it wasn't necessary to join NATO.
00:07Since the Second World War, when Finland was temporarily occupied by Russia,
00:11the country developed and maintained the highest level of defense protection through public vigilance and deterrence
00:17with a well-funded military which has conscription for young men for at least one year's mandatory service.
00:23Even throughout the peaceful post-Soviet era, Finland never let its guard down.
00:28Now in this moment of untold volatility, Europe is hoping to learn from Finnish preparedness.
00:35Finnish border guards have to be prepared for any low-level incident, but also including a full-scale invasion.
00:40This is Finnish territory, but also NATO territory.
00:43Also not too far away from here is Russia's nuclear deterrence.
00:47It's part of the defense system of Finland, so we prepared also to be part of Finnish territorial defense.
00:56And what does that mean?
00:56We, for example, we train our conscripts for our reserve, which is a useful tool if necessary on the wartime.
01:06So basically a full-scale invasion?
01:09Yeah, that's correct.
01:10On the Russian border, conscripts are trained for the wide gamut of roles in the army, including sniper or marksman.
01:17I've never held a rifle in my life, so first time shooting was in the army.
01:21You start off with the basic assault rifle, and I found out in the army that I have a gift
01:26for shooting.
01:28So that's how I got into this marksman.
01:31Russian aggression in Ukraine has had dire consequences for the indigenous Sami people, who are native to Russia, Finland and
01:38Norway.
01:38Finland's Sami people have had to cut dives from their Russian brethren, many of whom were forced into the Russian
01:44army to attack Ukraine.
01:47One of the terrible, terrible things is that some of the Sami brothers on the Russian side have been forcibly
01:54conscripted to the Russian army and sent to the war front in Ukraine.
02:00And we have also lost at least, I think, seven Sami young men.
02:05And it's a huge loss in a small community, about 2,000.
02:09Europe now acknowledges the transatlantic alliance is not as viable as it once was.
02:13The U.S. is now calling for Europe to help its war efforts in Iran, or risk them pulling completely
02:19away from helping Ukraine with military intelligence as it defends itself from Russia.
02:25Ukraine is not a bargaining chip.
02:26As I said, a huge shift of attention, also from the U.S., would be a huge mistake.
02:34But what we have to do is to continue to convince the U.S. that they have to be engaged
02:40to help Ukraine.
02:41And we have to do our job also to reinforce our support to Ukraine from the military financial perspective.
02:47Finland's border guard stretches 1,350 kilometers with Russia, the largest inside NATO.
02:53But the Finns say they're ready for anything.
02:55Shona Murray, Euronews, Giuseppe, Finland.
03:03Kiev has agreed to provide Gulf countries with its complete air defense system, including maritime drones, electronic warfare and interception
03:12technology against Iranian drones.
03:14Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy unveiled what he called his strict agreements on his way back from his visit of Saudi
03:22Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Jordan.
03:26We are talking about strategic cooperation in the U.S. and other areas.
03:35We are talking about 10-year-old agreements.
03:40Zelenskyy added that Ukraine is willing to share its expertise in unblocking maritime trade routes with naval drones.
03:46In 2022, the Black Sea Grain Initiative signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN unblocked the export of grain
03:55from Ukrainian ports.
04:20The deals with the Gulf countries are an opportunity for Kyiv to open its arms exports on a global basis.
04:35Spain has banned U.S. military aircraft involved in the Iran war from using its airspace and military bases.
04:42The ban extends an earlier restriction that applied only to two American installations on Spanish soil and now covers the
04:50entire country.
05:07The restrictions have been communicated to U.S. forces from the outset and are not a sudden policy shift, she
05:13stressed.
05:14Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez added Madrid would block any U.S. flights linked to the conflict from entering Spanish
05:21airspace.
05:22The U.S. did not immediately comment, but U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened earlier this month to cut
05:29off all trade with Spain over its refusal to allow the bases to be used for Iran operations.
05:34Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has taken a stance against the war in Iran, led by the United States and
05:42Israel, calling it an extraordinary mistake.
05:50U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to destroy Iran's oil export hub of Karg Island, along with other oil
05:58wells and power plants, if Tehran does not agree to end the war soon.
06:04He wrote on his truth social network that the United States is in, quote, serious discussions with a more reasonable
06:11regime.
06:12About 90% of Iran's crude oil exports leave the country via Karg Island, much of it destined for China
06:19and other Asian markets.
06:21Any attack on its energy infrastructure could have serious consequences for global oil markets that have already been pushed to
06:28the brink.
06:30Meanwhile, a fire broke out on Monday at an oil refinery in the northern Israeli city of Haifa for the
06:36second time during the month-long war with Iran.
06:39Images showed flames on a large refinery tank with thick black smoke that was quickly extinguished by Israel's fire and
06:46rescue services.
06:48It wasn't clear if it was a missile strike or debris from the interception that caused the blaze.
06:55The attack comes as Israel launched attacks targeting Iran's South Par's natural gas field.
07:06Syrian Interim President Ahmed Al-Shaara has been invited to talks with the German government on Monday.
07:13He was first received by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
07:17Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Foreign Minister Johan Wadepul also met the Syrian ruler.
07:22This is despite critics accusing Al-Shaara of serious crimes against minorities in Syria.
07:29Last weekend, armed Islamists are said to have attacked Christian shops.
07:33In Western Syria, the attackers also tried to set fire to several houses.
07:38Since the fall of the dictator Assad in December 2024,
07:43attacks on Alevis, Druze, Kurds and Christians in Syria have been on the rise.
07:47Government spokesman Stefan Cornelius rejected criticism of the visit on Friday.
07:53It was very important to exchange views with the leaders of this region.
07:57We have interest there, Cornelius told journalists.
08:01The agenda includes the situation in the region and the domestic political situation in Syria, explained Cornelius.
08:09The coexistence of the various ethnic groups is also a topic as the return of Syrians.
08:19Heavy rains have caused widespread flooding in several regions of Russia's North Caucasus.
08:24Dagestan and Chechnya were hit hardest, where massive evacuations took place.
08:29In Makashkala water flooded streets, rescuers carried out children and the elderly,
08:35while residents tried to save documents and belongings.
08:39Many said the flood came suddenly and literally swept away everything in its path.
08:51The Dagestan authorities have declared a state of emergency, bridges have been damaged and more than 130 settlements are without
09:00electricity.
09:01According to the authorities, more than 3,300 people have been evacuated in the region.
09:07In rural areas, the water rose so high that it reached the animals' chests, residents and their livestock were led
09:14to higher ground.
09:16A state of emergency is also in effect in Chechnya, where local services continue to pump out water and clear
09:22roads.
09:22Rivers that burst their banks destroyed roads and flooded hundreds of homes.
09:27In the Good Hermes district, one of the hardest hit areas, about 500 people have been evacuated.
09:34According to weather forecasters, the intensity of the rains decreased by Sunday evening, but the full extent of the damage
09:41has yet to be assessed.
09:51The Paris-Berlin night train has made a comeback.
09:54It has made its first journey on the new route relaunched by the Dutch-Belgian company European Sleeper without public
10:01money.
10:02The first travellers to arrive in the German capital described it as more environmentally friendly than flying and cosy.
10:09I prefer to take the train because I like to avoid flying for environmental reasons.
10:14And secondly, taking the night train, it just saves time, you know?
10:18I mean, well, obviously it takes the time, but you travel while you sleep and then the day is there
10:24to enjoy.
10:25Well, finally, yes. Maybe it doesn't look at my head, but we slept well. It was fun.
10:31The comeback fills the gap left by the discontinuation of the Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna night trains, which have
10:38been briefly relaunched by the SNCF, Deutsche Bahn and EBD in 2023.
10:53Italian police have confirmed the robbery of several paintings worth millions of euros at a museum near the northern city
11:01of Parma one week ago.
11:04Among the pieces of art stolen were paintings by Cezanne, Matisse and Renoir.
11:12Local media reported that the four thieves were able to force a door open before stealing the paintings and escaping
11:19across the museum gardens.
11:22The heist took place in under three minutes and bears similarities with the high-profile robbery that rocked the Louvre
11:30museum in Paris last October.
11:35Police have stated they believe a quote, structured and organized gang is responsible for the theft.
11:41Police have told me this is quite a while...
11:44Police have told me that this is quite a long history of the city of Parma and Batista,
11:44I think the city of Parma because the city of Parma is cancelled off the 250th place.
11:44Police have been around the city of Parma and the pack of the-Benz.
11:45Police are being so good.
11:45Police have been a lot of Assistant President, police have already started out of Clemsor and making a deep operation...
11:46Police have been who are not allowed to believe in Paris by the building.
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