00:01at least seven people were killed in two separate strikes on lebanon's capital
00:06beirut early on wednesday the lebanese health ministry said
00:10it added that at least 24 people had been injured as israel claimed it had struck a
00:15senior hezbollah commander and another member of the group
00:19more israeli strikes also hit southern lebanon as fierce clashes with hezbollah fighters continued
00:26meanwhile israeli defense minister israel katz said his country intends to occupy large parts
00:32of southern lebanon and the strongest language yet from israel since invading its northern neighbor
00:37in addition to the
01:07Defense Minister Michel Manasseh quickly condemned the comments, saying the plans reflect a clear
01:13intention to impose a new occupation of Lebanese territory and forcibly displace hundreds of
01:19thousands of citizens. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney denounced Israel's deployment of
01:26troops against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as an illegal invasion that violates its integrity and
01:32sovereignty. Lebanese authorities say the war has so far killed more than 1,200 people and displaced
01:39more than 1 million. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he is considering pulling
01:49his country out of NATO, describing the transnational alliance as a paper tiger. I would say it's beyond
01:56reconsideration, he said in remarks to the UK daily The Telegraph. Trump has repeatedly railed against
02:03Western partners for not responding to his call to assemble a naval force to help reopen the crucial
02:09Strait of Hormuz, which has effectively been closed by Tehran as the war in the Middle East continues
02:15to drag on. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer came to NATO's defence on Tuesday.
02:20NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen and has kept us safe for
02:28many decades and we are fully committed to NATO. Earlier on Tuesday, it was revealed that Italy had
02:36denied an U.S. aircraft permission to land while it was on the way to the Middle East for a
02:42combat
02:42mission. On Monday, Spain closed its airspace to U.S. planes carrying out missions against Iran.
02:51The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing opening arguments on Wednesday in President Donald
02:56Trump's historic bid to abolish birthright citizenship. The landmark case is a pillar of
03:02Trump's attempts to restrict immigration and with it, looking to end what is a constitutional
03:07raid in the U.S. under the 14th Amendment. The Republican president broke protocol by choosing
03:14to attend the opening remarks in person, where he sat in the audience, a move unprecedented by any
03:20sitting president. He was present as a Solicitor General John Sauer presented the administration's
03:26arguments, but did not sit in as American Civil Liberties Union Attorney Cecilia Wang presented
03:32the defense. I come out of the court today with the thought of my parents and so many of our
03:41parents and ancestors who came to this country seeking refuge, seeking new opportunities, and who
03:49relied on the rule that we've had in this country for 150 years, that everyone born here is a United
03:57States citizen all alike. A crowd of protesters opposed to Trump's efforts to limit the rate
04:03also gathered outside the courthouse. If the Supreme Court chooses to overturn birthright citizenship
04:10after 158 years, then we would have to climb on top of that building and erase those words
04:19equal protection under the law. We might as well replace it with gold letters that says
04:25Trump Court, not Supreme Court, Emperor's Court, King's Court. But today we come to say it's our
04:33court, it's the people's court. Trump signed an executive order following his return to office
04:39last year suspending birthright citizenship and move lower courts blocked until a Supreme Court decision
04:45was issued. The top U.S. court will now hear arguments over the coming months and is expected
04:51to hand down a ruling in early summer.
04:55The European Union High Representative Kaya Kalas has said that if Hungarian Prime Minister
05:01Viktor Orban continues to block the 90 billion euro loan intended for Ukraine, the European Union
05:08will have to reconsider using frozen Russian assets. Kaya has made the comments during a visit to
05:15Kyiv with several EU foreign ministers to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Bucha massacre.
05:21The loan that we are working right now to deliver that we agreed in the end of last year,
05:30but let me remind you that that was actually plan B. Plan A was the use of frozen assets. So
05:37we should also keep in mind that if plan B does not work, let's go back to plan A. But
05:43we definitely
05:44need to deliver Ukraine the financing that they need to resist the Russian aggression.
05:51At the commemoration event, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took the opportunity to
05:57emphasize that Europe's own security is also at stake because of the war.
06:01Russia must not be left in any position that it could see as better than before, not in territory,
06:10not in technologies, not in politics. This is essential for peace and Europe.
06:17Zelenskyy also said he was confident that the U.S. will also resume its support for Ukraine
06:22as soon as its attention is no longer tied in the Middle East conflict.
06:32European prosecutors demanded that Greece lift the parliamentary immunity of 11 members of
06:38parliament suspected of involvement in a scam that siphoned off millions of euros in EU farm
06:44subsidies for years. The case has piled pressure on Greek Prime Minister Kayakos Mitsotakis,
06:50given his famous political influence in Crete, where most of the allegedly fraudulent subsidies
06:56went.
06:56The today's announcement of European legislation is a very serious accomplishment. We
07:01continue to defend the rights of the government of the Hellenists, so that it will be an
07:05explanation for every situation.
07:09The police in Greece made dozens of arrests in connection with the scandal last year. According
07:15to the Greek authorities, the network defrauded at least 23 million euros since it began operating
07:21around 2018, the suspects are accused of making subsidy claims for land they did not own and
07:27exaggerating the number of animals on farms.
07:39Germany's top economic research institutes have more than halved their growth forecasts for 2026.
07:45While economists were still forecasting growth of 1.3 percent last autumn, they now expect a
07:51GDP to expand by only 0.6 percent this year and by 0.9 percent in 2027.
08:18The
08:19institutes expect average annual inflation to reach 2.8 percent in 2026 and 2.9 percent in
08:272027. While parts of the German defense industry and civil engineering are benefiting from government
08:33spending, industry as a whole is struggling. The chemical sector is bearing the sharpest pain.
08:40Experts argued against short-term activism, in particular a cut to fuel prices.
08:49Three same-sex couples tied the knot just after midnight at Amsterdam City Hall on Wednesday.
08:54In honor of the 25th anniversary of the world's first gay marriages.
08:59The celebration honored the 2001 group wedding when four same-sex couples were married in a landmark
09:06ceremony for LGBTQ plus rights that paved the way for similar legislation in nearly 40 countries around the world.
09:14Some of the couples who exchanged vows on that momentous night were present at the anniversary wedding ceremony.
09:20As well as Prime Minister Rob Jette who himself is openly gay and plans to marry his partner soon.
09:27As a Prime Minister I'm very proud that we celebrate 25 years of universal marriage here in the Netherlands.
09:32And also for me personally, I can still remember when I was 14 years old watching TV seeing the first
09:37couples getting married here in Amsterdam.
09:39That was also very inspiring and emancipating for me personally as it has been for so many others.
09:44While such weddings are commonplace now in the Netherlands, Jette says there is still more work to be done.
09:50Yeah, I think the Netherlands needs to get back on track, especially protecting trans persons in the Netherlands,
09:57or creating better legislation for surrogacy to make sure that we become a top ten country again in terms of
10:04queer rights.
10:05Since 2001, more than 36,000 same-sex couples have married, according to the country's official statistics office.
10:16Australia's online safety watchdog is considering legal action against social media giants including Meta, TikTok and YouTube,
10:23alleging they have failed to keep children under 16 of their platforms.
10:26The first compliance report since the ban's implementation on 10th of December found that a substantial number of children continue
10:33to bypass age assurance systems,
10:35and that half of the monitor platforms are not taking reasonable steps to prevent underage access.
10:41Communications Minister Annika Wells accused the companies of deliberately doing the absolute bare minimum to undermine the legislation to discourage
10:48other nations from following Australia's lead.
10:50As of early March, five million social media accounts have been deactivated or removed.
10:57We have seen some progress, but the e-safety compliance update released today lays bare the facts.
11:04Australia's world-leading social media laws are not failing, but big tech is failing to obey the laws.
11:12Court could now impose fines up to 30 million euros for systemic failures, with a final decision on court action
11:18expected by media.
11:20In response, Meta stated that determining age online remains an industry-wide challenge,
11:25while Snapchat reported locking 450,000 accounts to date.
11:29Meanwhile, Reddit and Digital Freedom Project have filed constitutional challenges in the High Court,
11:34arguing the ban infringes upon the implied freedom of political communication.
11:39A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 21st of May.
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