00:00British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced he will step down as leader of the Labour Party
00:05on Monday, bowing to mounting internal pressure following a bruising round of local elections.
00:11Delivering an emotional speech outside 10 Downing Street, Starmer confirmed he accepts
00:16the party's decision with good grace and will remain as caretaker Prime Minister until a
00:21successor is chosen in September.
00:22And when I leave the biggest job in the country, I shall spend more time on the most important
00:30job, being the best husband I can to my fantastic wife, Vic, who has been a rock by my side
00:38through
00:39good times and bad, and being the best dad I can to my beautiful children who are my pride
00:46and my joy.
00:49Thank you very much.
00:52The dramatic downfall was triggered after former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham
00:57won a crucial by-election in Makerfield, gaining a seat in the House of Commons and positioning
01:02himself as the favourite to take power.
01:04Let's go two down here, the other.
01:06To Andy Burnham, Member for Makerfield.
01:09After being sworn in as a Member of Parliament for Makerfield, Burnham called for orderly
01:14and responsible transition, declaring on social media that he will seek to replace Starmer
01:19as Prime Minister.
01:21Responding to the resignation, hard-right reform UK leader Nigel Farage demanded an immediate
01:26general election, insisting that the British public will not accept another professional
01:31politician being pushed into office.
01:33Have the courage in the-
01:34European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Starmer for his statesmanship,
01:39noting his work in strengthening continental and Ukrainian security during his two years
01:43in office.
01:45The impending transition will see the United Kingdom appoint its seventh Prime Minister
01:49in just ten years, highlighting a decade of intense political volatility across Westminster.
02:01Spain's Supreme Court has sentenced ex-Transport Minister José Luis Avalos to 24 years in
02:07prison for corruption.
02:09Avalos was once a senior figure in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's Socialist Party.
02:14He was convicted of offences including participation in criminal organisation, corruption, embezzlement
02:20of public funds and influence peddling.
02:23The court also sentenced Avalos' former aide, Goldo Garcia.
02:27The two men were accused of having pocketed kickbacks for handing out public contracts worth millions of euros for
02:33medical supplies such as face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic.
02:37The ruling is a major political blow for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez as he is facing mounting
02:43pressure from opposition parties over a series of separate corruption investigations involving
02:48current and former figures linked to his political and personal circle.
02:52The Supreme Court's decision is particularly significant because it is the first major final conviction
02:58involving a former senior member of Sánchez's administration.
03:07The second EU-Moldova summit taking place Monday in Brussels is a testament to Cicino's institutional
03:14reforms progress, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Moldova Mihai Popsoy told
03:20your own news.
03:21Last week Moldova reached a milestone in its EU accession talks with the launch of the negotiations
03:26on the so-called fundamentals cluster, which reviews the rule of law, the justice system and
03:31fundamental rights in a candidate country.
03:34It is very much in our interest, in the interest of Moldovan citizens, to make sure that we
03:38consolidate Moldovan institutions, that we make democratic consolidation irreversible,
03:44that we deliver to the promise we made to our citizens to combat effectively corruption,
03:49to consolidate democratic freedoms.
03:51In parallel to EU accession talks, Cicino has to deal with Russian disinformation and the
03:57Transnistria issue.
03:58The two tracks, the European integration and the reintegration of the Transnistrian region,
04:03are two parallel tracks, because otherwise we would give the Kremlin leverage and de facto veto
04:09over our accession process. But we are working hard to make sure that all Moldovan citizens benefit,
04:16like they had already benefited from the deep and comprehensive free to aid area, which the
04:20Transnistrian region of Moldova has benefited a lot as well.
04:23After Moldova applied to join the EU in March 2022 and received candidate status soon after,
04:30accession negotiations were formally opened in June 2024.
04:38China has imposed export controls on 10 American companies involved in defense, aerospace and rare
04:45earth mining in response to Washington's decision to expand a blacklist of Chinese firms it says have
04:52links to the country's military. The measures were announced on Monday by China's Commerce Ministry,
04:57which said Chinese exporters would be prohibited from supplying dual-use items to the listed entities.
05:05Dual-use goods are products that can have both civilian and military applications.
05:10The sanctions come a month after US President Donald Trump visited Beijing for talks with Chinese
05:17President Xi Jinping aimed at stabilizing relations between the world's two largest economies.
05:23Although both sides agreed to work towards reducing tariffs, tensions have since resurfaced over
05:30technology and defense. Earlier this month, the US Defense Department added several major Chinese companies,
05:37including Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, to a list of firms it says have links to the Chinese military.
05:43The designation prevents them from receiving U.S. military contracts.
05:54Hope Leo XIV warned that it is far easier in today's world to feed conflicts than to feed people
06:00during a visit to the United Nations World Food Programme headquarters on Monday. Speaking in Rome,
06:06the pontiff strongly denounced complex political decisions and skewed ideological positions that create
06:11numerous administrative barriers to humanitarian assistance while allowing weaponry to pass unhindered.
06:18Strength and solidarity. In this spirit, I wish to appeal to the governments and peoples of the
06:24world to renew and strengthen their commitment, to increase the resources dedicated to combating hunger
06:31and its root causes, and to remove the obstacles that prevent aid from reaching those in need.
06:38The Pope also stressed that this operational imbalance represents a severe breakdown in moral priorities,
06:45noting that chronic hunger actively erodes social cohesion and accelerates forced global migration.
06:51The pontiff also reiterated that access to essential nourishment, water, and healthcare
06:57must never be subordinated to market commodities or volatile geopolitical interests.
07:02While praising the international organization for its dedicated commitment during natural disasters,
07:08he urged global leaders to place human dignity above market profit to ensure international stability.
07:20In the Greek island of Andros, visitors can explore five monasteries, including the oldest one in the Aegean.
07:28Perch at an altitude of 600 meters, the monastery of Panahra dos Saint-Pandeleimon is like a fortress
07:33on the northern slopes of Mount Yirakones, being there since 961 AD. Its abbot is 93 years old and has
07:41lived there
07:41for the past 70 years.
08:02The monastery quickly attracted thousands of pilgrims and became a point of reference for the people of Andros.
08:25In recent years, however, the historic monastery has also become an ark of contemporary Greek art.
08:30Its imposing restored tower has been transformed into the Guardian of Art,
08:34an art gallery dedicated to spirituality and contemporary artistic creation.
08:38The collection consists of approximately 60 works by Greek artists, representing a wide range of styles and artistic approaches.
10:08venue in 1961. Demand for the production was extraordinary with all tickets selling out as early as February.
10:47The original 1961 production was directed by Alexis Minotis with sets and costumes designed by Yannis Charouchis and choreography by
10:55Maria Horse.
10:56Reconstructing this landmark staging proved particularly challenging as no video recording of the original production survives.
11:02The revival was the result of many years of research and meticulous study of archival material preserved in the historical
11:07archive of the Greek National Opera,
11:09the cultural foundation of the National Bank of Greece and various private archives and collections.
11:14We have only images that are dark.
11:20These images helped us to manufacture the painting.
11:25It was not the same for us because we had a lot of costumes, about 150 in the previous era
11:30of the Tzarouchis.
11:31And if you see the result today, you do not understand the difference between the prototype and what we have
11:37done now.
11:38Thank you very much.
