00:00At least 164 people were killed and nearly a thousand were injured after powerful back-to-back earthquakes hit Venezuela.
00:11Iran has warned that vessels navigating outside Iran's designated routes were acting illegally.
00:20Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says Ukraine has received 3.2 billion euros as the first disbursement under the
00:27European Union's 90 billion euro loan.
00:31At least 164 people lost their lives and nearly a thousand were injured after powerful back-to-back earthquakes hit
00:38Venezuela on Wednesday evening.
00:40Acting President Delcy Rodriguez warned the toll was expected to rise as rescuers searched collapsed buildings.
00:46The casualty figures excluded the state of La Guerra, which Rodriguez described as a disaster zone, and the area hardest
00:53hit.
00:54She declared a state of emergency during an address to the nation, adding that several countries had offered help, including
01:00the United States and several Central and South American nations.
01:04I want to thank the governments of the world that immediately occurred to these sismos,
01:12they communicated with Venezuela to offer solidarity and support.
01:16Estados Unidos, Panama, Qatar, Cuba, Nicaragua, Turquía, Jordania, Barbados, Curacao, Colombia, Reino Unido, Brasil, México.
01:31Organización de Naciones Unidas, ONU, y organismos multilaterales financieros que ya se comunicaron por distintas vías con el gobierno venezolano
01:41para expresar su solidaridad con el pueblo de Venezuela.
01:44The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes were among the strongest to strike Venezuela in more than a century,
01:51causing damage in several states, including at the country's main airport, in Caracas.
02:04With peace talks tentatively set to proceed next week, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned
02:10that vessels navigating outside Tehran's designated route was acting illegally.
02:16Though it did not reference it directly, the IRGC's statement challenges Oman's announcement of a new temporary corridor
02:23running close to its own coast.
02:26IRGC-affiliated media claimed three oil tankers using Oman's southern corridor
02:32had turned back into the Persian Gulf after receiving warnings from the Iranian navy.
02:36South Korea's oceans ministry said separately that five South Korean-operated vessels
02:42had successfully exited the strait on Thursday, indicating traffic was still moving.
02:48Meanwhile, speaking in Bahrain, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said no country owns the Strait of Hummus
02:54and therefore no country has the right to charge for its use.
02:57If in fact we accepted that you can charge money to use an international waterway
03:01because it happens to be near your territorial space,
03:04well then this would spread throughout the world, like a contagion.
03:08Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had assured Washington it was not seeking to impose fees
03:13and threatened to immediately halt negotiations if that proved false.
03:17The International Maritime Organization showed a gradual normalization of traffic through the Strait of Hummus.
03:27Ukraine has received 3.2 billion euros as the first disbursement
03:31under the European Union's 90 billion euro support loan, Assela von der Leyen has announced.
03:37The announcement at the Poland-Ukraine conference on Thursday
03:40marks a turning point in the six-month political struggle to get the loan off the ground.
03:46The monies will help cover Kyiv's budget-free gaps and guarantee financial stability.
03:51And indeed today we are transferring the first tranche under this loan, dear Julia,
03:58more than 2, it's exactly 3.2 billion euros in microfinancial assistance.
04:05So you're right, I'm happy and proud to announce this disbursement today.
04:09A second disbursement dedicated to drone production and worth about 6 billion euros
04:16is expected to be unveiled in the coming days.
04:19The 27 EU leaders agreed on the extraordinary assistance package in December
04:24after an inventive proposal to tap into Russia's immobilized assets fell apart at the 11th hour.
04:31The news of the disbursement comes as Ukraine enjoys renewed momentum on the battlefield against Russian troops
04:38and as Moscow's war machine shows growing strain.
04:45U.S. President Donald Trump told NATO Chief Mark Ritter on Wednesday
04:49that he was let down by members of the Transatlantic Alliance who did not back his war against Iran.
04:55Trump's second term has been marked by tensions with NATO allies
04:58who have voiced skepticism over the need for the conflict in the Middle East.
05:02I just want their loyalty. We don't need their money, we don't need anything.
05:06We have the most powerful military in the world by far.
05:09But I just want loyalty. You know, we're so loyal to them.
05:13We're always fighting for them.
05:14We have thousands of troops all over Europe.
05:18In Germany we have 50,000 troops and then you want a little,
05:21give us a little nudge, give us a little kiss. We don't want much.
05:25Ritter for his part defended the conduct of NATO countries,
05:28pointing to the use of air bases in Europe.
05:30I know there have been debates about whether your allies in Europe were with you enough.
05:34I just want to say one thing.
05:36They were.
05:36Yeah, but let me say one thing, which is, I know you think,
05:39but let me, and I know about the, let's say, your, yeah, irritation about that.
05:47But when you look at the numbers, 4 to 5,000 U.S. planes taking off from bases in Europe
05:54in the six weeks this war took place, still the ceasefire took place mid-April.
05:59Ritter's remarks sparked immediate condemnation from Iran,
06:03who accused him of admitting to NATO complicity in the war.
06:06Italy quickly distanced itself from Ritter's statement, calling it misleading,
06:10and adding that Italy had only allowed technical and logistical U.S. flights under existing agreements.
06:20In solarity and the need to support the millions of Europeans living in the European Union's island and coastal regions
06:26were the focus of the meeting between Raffaele Fito and Nikos Christodoulidis.
06:31The European Commission executive vice president for cohesionary reforms was received by the president of Cyprus
06:36and congratulated the country on its achievements during its presidency of the Council of the European Union.
06:43This is an important occasion also to present the strategy for islands.
06:47The strategy for islands was an important new approach of the European Commission.
06:52We have worked very, very well.
06:55We have 17 million people that live in the islands.
06:58And the message that we want to give is that this is an important tool for the future,
07:03in particular also to use better the new approach of the new European budget, the next MFF,
07:09because we have the opportunity also to use the resources with these strategies
07:17also to face the big challenge of the cost of insularity.
07:20This is the first message that I would like to give.
07:24And now we have to continue our work with the Cyprus government to achieve these very important results.
07:36Direct U.S.-Iran talks are threatening the peace process between Israel and Lebanon.
07:41A former Israeli government spokesperson told Euronews as it would allow Iran to dictate terms
07:46and maintain its influence in Lebanon.
07:49The fifth round of Lebanese-Israeli talks began on Tuesday,
07:53but it was overshadowed by U.S.-Iran talks that concluded on Monday in Switzerland.
07:58The Iranian regime is trying to rebuild its network of proxy armies in the Middle East right now,
08:03and that's why Israel is warning that the direct U.S.-Iran talks
08:07threatened to derail the fragile peace process between Israel and Lebanon itself.
08:13Israel's ambassador to the U.S. this week warning, we're heading for a train wreck.
08:17Vice President J.D. Vance said the U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland
08:21resulted in an agreement to end hostilities in the region,
08:24reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and provide sanctions relief to Tehran.
08:29Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is touring Gulf countries in an attempt to ease their concerns.
08:36Levi fears a U.S.-Iran deal would empower Tehran again and weaken Israel.
08:41If this war ends with an American withdrawal from the region,
08:45if it allows the Iranians to charge tolls on the Strait of Hormuz,
08:49if it lets them rebuild their ballistic missiles,
08:51then Gulf countries that were thinking of making peace with Israel
08:55are going to be looking over their shoulders
08:57and trying to reach accommodations with the Iranian regime.
09:01That is the threat at this current moment.
09:03To prevent a Hezbollah comeback,
09:06Israel refuses to withdraw from southern Lebanon
09:08and continues its deadly attacks on the country,
09:12despite the announcement of a new U.S. brokerage ceasefire on Friday.
09:18An exceptional heat wave continues to grip France,
09:21with Météo-France placing a record number of 72 districts on red alert
09:26and a further 17 on amber alert
09:28after the country recorded unprecedented maximum temperatures.
09:32The punishing climate conditions have severely disrupted public infrastructure.
09:37Education Minister Édouard de Gaffray confirmed that 13,500 schools
09:41have been closed or forced to adjust schedules.
09:45Public health services are under unprecedented strain,
09:49with emergency room visits for severe heat stroke tripling across all age brackets,
09:54including young adults aged 15 to 44.
09:58Relief is expected to arrive gradually from the southwest
10:01as a cooler air mass is moving in from the Atlantic coast,
10:05triggering severe thunderstorm warnings across 10 regions.
10:09Meteorologists warn these incoming storms could bring volatile wind gusts
10:13of up to 90 kilometers per hour,
10:15but allowing authorities to lift the red heat wave warnings
10:18in 11 western coastal regions by late evening.
10:22However, the dangerous conditions are forecast to persist over the weekend
10:26across the rest of the country,
10:28with daytime temperatures lingering at an oppressive 40 to 42 degrees Celsius.
10:46Thank you, everyone.
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