00:01The European Union has formally launched the internal process to unblock the 90 billion euros loan for Ukraine.
00:10Germany is reorganizing its armed forces. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius presented a military strategy.
00:21The European Union has formally launched the internal process to unblock the 90 billion euros loan for Ukraine
00:28and the 20th package of sanctions against Russia.
00:31Hungary or Slovakia may still prevent the adoption,
00:35but diplomats believe it is unlikely following the restoration of the Drozba oil pipeline.
00:40The procedure is expected to be concluded on Thursday.
00:44So indeed, once the measure is taken also by the Council,
00:51we can move on and without wasting any further time on moving on to the next steps
01:01in terms of being able to disburse the Ukrainian loan amounts to Ukraine.
01:10Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the pipeline damaged in late January by Russian drones
01:17was repaired and could resume operations.
01:34The EU loan has been blocked for a month by outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
01:39He has accused Kyiv of blocking oil flows for political reasons.
01:47Germany is reorganizing its armed forces.
01:51German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius presented a military strategy on Wednesday.
01:56The German government has analyzed how threats could develop in the future,
02:01which scenarios are realistic and which potential conflicts Germany must prepare for.
02:31This rethinking strategy includes air defense, long-range weapon systems,
02:35and the ability to conduct modern data-based combat.
02:39New technologies, such as artificial intelligence, will also play a greater role in the future.
02:45Another focus is on deep strike capabilities, the ability to hit targets far behind the front line.
02:52Pistorius made it clear that such capabilities will become increasingly important in the future.
02:57This includes long-range precision weapons that can be used to take out enemy supply routes, command centers, or infrastructure
03:04at an early stage.
03:06In parallel to the reorganization of content, the German government is planning a significant expansion of the Bundeswehr.
03:14The aim is to have a total of 460,000 soldiers consisting of active troops and reserves.
03:21There are currently around 184,300 active soldiers.
03:29Former Finnish Prime Minister Sainer Mairin believes Europe is vulnerable without Ukraine
03:35and demands the EU build its own military capabilities and increase European nuclear deterrence.
03:43Speaking with Euronews on Wednesday, Sainer Mairin said Europe cannot rule out a war with Russia and so must adequately
03:50prepare.
03:51Russia is, as we speak, they are preparing themselves, they are modernizing their army and they are preparing themselves to
03:59much wider fight.
04:02So they are preparing for war with Europe, the rest of the continent?
04:05I wouldn't rule that out.
04:06And we also need to prepare.
04:08And for that we need strong Ukraine because Ukraine has the largest, most functional and modern army with modern warfare
04:16experience.
04:17Speaking about NATO, the former Finnish Prime Minister said the Defence Alliance is a different organization now than it was
04:24before.
04:25Because of the changing relationship between US and Europe, it has already changed and it is changing and this is
04:32a fact that we cannot escape.
04:34And it means that we need to focus on our own game.
04:36We cannot anymore only rely on the US presence and US capabilities.
04:41We have to build our own.
04:43And now we are speaking European defence capabilities and European unity, European military forces.
04:50And I think this is extremely necessary discussion.
04:53And we should also discuss more about the European nuclear deterrence.
04:59This is a discussion that I see happening already and the necessity to have it.
05:10Luxembourg's foreign minister, Xavier Betel, compared the discrimination of minorities in Hungary under the urban government to policies of fascist
05:18regimes.
05:19It's not the fact that I'm gay that I just fight for gay rights, but it's the fact that I
05:22fight for minorities.
05:23And it's always easier to fight against the smallest group in some countries.
05:31Being gay is not a choice, but being homophobic is a choice.
05:33And to do politics by blaming someone reminds me seriously how it starts also with Jewish people and then with
05:43gypsies.
05:46Our ban's legislation prohibited showing to children content relating to gay or transgender issues, arguing it violated child protection laws.
05:57I told to Victor at that moment when he wants also a ban in Hungary to speak even about LGBTI
06:07questions that I didn't become gay because I watch TV.
06:11Betel was speaking to Euronews at a meeting of foreign ministers in Luxembourg when the European Court of Justice ruled
06:18that Hungarian anti-LGBTQ laws violate EU rules and infringe inequality and minority rights.
06:30The Russian publishing house Exmo has confirmed that its CEO and three other employees are being questioned as part of
06:37a criminal case on extremism
06:39over the publication of books dealing with LGBT themes.
06:44In its statement, Exmo said the probe was related to titles published by another company, Popcorn Books, which was bought
06:50by Exmo in 2023 but closed this year.
06:55Popcorn Books' audience was targeted at teenagers and young adults, and some titles contained LGBT characters or storylines.
07:03According to the version of the publishing house, which rejects all accusations,
07:08the interrogations are related to the testimony given by the Popcorn Books employees accused in the case.
07:14The Kremlin has for years been hardening repressive laws against the LGBTQ community
07:19as part of what President Vladimir Putin touts as a drive to promote traditional values,
07:24including cracking down on films, books, art and culture.
07:28The ultra-conservative social turn has accelerated amid the Ukraine war,
07:33with strict censorship on media and the outlawing of what Moscow calls the LGBT movement as extremist.
07:44Pope Leo XIV denounced the colonization of Africa's minerals
07:48and the lust for power in Equatorial Guinea as he made his final visit in his tour of Africa.
07:54Adoring crowds in the largely Catholic country lined the roads from the airport
07:58into the administrative capital, Malabo, cheering his visit.
08:02The Poniff is the first to visit since St. Pope John Paul II in 1982.
08:07The former Spanish colony on Africa's western coast is run by the continent's longest-serving president,
08:14Teodoro Mbasogo, who has long been accused of corruption and authoritarianism.
08:18Leo, who arrived from Angola, met with Mbasogo at the presidential palace
08:24and then addressed government authorities, diplomats and civil service representatives.
08:29Pope Leo, marking the first anniversary of the death of his predecessor,
08:34quoting Pope Francis, denounced income inequalities,
08:38which he says were exacerbated by the evils of capitalism
08:41and a global economy focused on the pursuit of profits at all costs.
08:49Graphics of persecuted Russian female activists, imprisoned artists
08:54and innocent political prisoners have filled Madak Square in Budapest.
08:59Most of them committed little more than daring to criticize the Putin regime,
09:04particularly its invasion of Ukraine.
09:07In some cases, a single social media post was enough to be condemned.
09:11Their stories are being commemorated in an exhibition
09:14organized by the Russian feminist anti-war resistance
09:18and the Austrian cultural forum.
09:35The women against war human rights exhibition has already traveled to Paris and Vienna in Budapest.
09:42It remains open day and night until April the 30th.
09:49In mid-February, a large cage from an abandoned fish farm surfaced in the waters of Ithaca.
09:55Drifting through the Ionian Sea, it polluted the surrounding waters of the Greek island
09:59and posed a risk to passing ships and boats.
10:01The Coast Guard eventually brought it a shore,
10:03after which the Environmental Organization Hearthi Seas took responsibility
10:07for removing it from the beach and recycling the materials.
10:10There is a system change needed.
10:13There are existing laws,
10:16but they are not applied or enforced properly in Greece.
10:20So, first, the responsible owner of the fish farm,
10:23abandoned farms, should take care of removing them,
10:27cleaning them up,
10:28or if not, then the competent authorities.
10:30But it's a matter of capacity, money, skills.
10:37Abandoned fish farms have been a long-standing problem on the island.
10:41At some point, operators seized their activities,
10:43but failed to dismantle the installations
10:45or remove the nets from the seabed.
11:06Since 2021, Healthy Seas has cleared tons of discarded nets
11:09from the island's seabed.
11:11The team is made up of divers from the Netherlands,
11:13the United Kingdom, Greece, Lebanon and Hungary.
11:15Following its initial mission,
11:17the organization received dozens of reports
11:19about abandoned fishing gear from across Greece.
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