00:00French President Emmanuel Macron and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have called on Europe to strengthen its
00:07space industry.
00:11Asylum applications in Europe reached a five-year low in the first half of the year, according to new data.
00:20The European Central Bank's governing council lifted the deposit facility rate to 2.5%.
00:30Yemen's Houthis have reportedly seized control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha and were advancing toward the
00:37Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
00:40French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen have called on Europe to strengthen its space
00:48industry.
00:49Speaking on Thursday in Paris, the second day of the International Space Summit, co-hosted by France and Germany,
00:56Macron described Europe's space sector as fragile.
01:00Notre Europe spatiale reste fragile et nous devons accélérer.
01:06La France a pris ce tournant.
01:08Nous avons ces dernières années continué et accru l'investissement dans ce secteur,
01:13avec en particulier France 2030, avec aussi la loi de programmation pour la recherche
01:18et avec la loi de programmation militaire.
01:21Mais nous devons maintenant aller plus loin et franchir l'étape européenne qui est à l'échelle des grands enjeux.
01:26For her part, Ursula von der Leyen stressed Europe must build together what no member state could build alone.
01:33The ability to access and act in our space not only underpins our prosperity,
01:41it increasingly determines our security and our independence.
01:48Nowhere is this clearer than in Ukraine.
01:51Europe's push to build up its military space assets has been driven by Russia's war in Ukraine
01:57as well as its decision to distance itself from its long-standing dependence on the U.S. in the space
02:03domain.
02:042025 marked a turning point as the European Space Agency approved a record-breaking 22.3 billion euro budget
02:12for its three-year funding cycle, here marking 35 billion euros for space security and defence.
02:25Asylum applications in Europe reached a five-year law in the first half of the year,
02:30according to new data from the European Union Agency for Asylum.
02:34EU member states plus Switzerland and Norway received about 332,000 applications for international protection
02:41in the first half of 2026.
02:44It represents a 17% decline compared to the same period last year,
02:49following a downward trend since 2024.
02:51The bloc's asylum agency said this decline is due to the ongoing political transition in Syria
02:57as well as the EU's cooperation with countries of origin and transit.
03:01The EU has, for instance, signed agreements with Tunisia and Mauritania,
03:06providing financial aid in exchange of border control in a bid to curb irregular migration flows.
03:12The countries that received the most asylum applications were France,
03:16closely followed by Italy, Spain and Germany.
03:19For its part, Greece received the most applications per capita,
03:23with one application for every 400 or so residents.
03:2631% of asylum applicants were granted international protection in the first half of the year.
03:32The countries of origin with the highest recognition rate were Mali, Haiti and Afghanistan.
03:37Meanwhile, the largest applicants' group were Afghans, Venezuelans and Bangladeshi.
03:46The European Central Bank's governing council lifted the deposit facility rate from 2.25% to 2.5% on
03:55Thursday
03:55as the ongoing global energy shock pushes inflation higher.
04:00It is the second hike since June, when the ECB moved for the first time in three years.
04:05In its statement, the central bank noted that the conflict in the Middle East continues to generate inflation pressures
04:12and inflation is said to remain well above target for an extended period.
04:17The ECB staff projections continue to estimate that headline inflation will average 3% this year.
04:24However, it has revised up the expectations for 2027 and 2028 to 2.5% and 2.1% respectively,
04:34compared with June.
04:36Energy costs did nearly all the work, with energy inflation jumping to 14.3% from 10.3%
04:43as fighting around the Strait of Ormos kept crude supply constrained.
04:48Underneath, the picture is calmer,
04:50Co-inflation, which strips out energy, food, alcohol and tobacco
04:54actually fell to 2.4% from 2.5% in August
04:59while services inflation, the component most sensitive to wages
05:03dropped to 3% from 3.3%
05:12Russia launched 149 drones overnight across Ukraine
05:17killing at least three people, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Canada
05:22for talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney.
05:25At least three people were killed and 14 were injured in a Russian strike on Wednesday night
05:31on a car park in the city of Sumy, according to Sumy region official Ole Hirohov.
05:37While attacks on the eastern city of Kharkiv have left at least two people injured
05:42after residential buildings were damaged by drones, according to the city's mayor, Ihor Terekhov.
05:48Ukraine's Special Operations Forces said they had carried out their deepest strike inside Russia,
05:55with their drones traveling 300 kilometers to target two gas-condensate plants
06:00located in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Ogrug, one of Russia's key oil and gas regions.
06:07Attacks were also reported on the southern Russian coastal city of Sushi
06:12by Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels, sparking multiple fires, according to Russian officials.
06:20Meanwhile, Zelenskyy traveled to Canada on Wednesday to hold talks with Prime Minister Carney
06:26as he hopes to build a closer relationship with his allies.
06:31Carney said Zelenskyy's visit will focus on deepening defense, economic and energy cooperation.
06:41Yemen's Houthis
06:43Yemen's Houthis seized control of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha on Thursday
06:47and were advancing towards the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, according to a Yemeni military source.
06:54Witnesses said they saw Houthis forces entering the city while chanting
06:57Death to America, Death to Israel.
07:00The rebel group, which controls about one-third of Yemen's territory,
07:04is vying to seize and potentially disrupt the narrow waterway,
07:08which links Asia to Europe via the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
07:12They launched a large-scale offensive last week against Yemeni government forces,
07:17who are backed by Saudi Arabia.
07:20They also launched attacks on Saudi territory that left dozens wounded,
07:24leading Riyadh to respond with daily strikes on Houthi-held territory.
07:29The Houthis came to power in late 2014,
07:33after storming Sana'a and seizing the presidential palace and key military sites,
07:37forcing Yemen's government into exile.
07:39They fought a Saudi-led coalition from 2015
07:43until a United Nations brokered ceasefire in 2022.
07:48The ongoing exchanges risk returning Yemen to a conflict
07:52that left hundreds of thousands of people dead
07:55and sparked one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
08:01U.S. President Donald Trump slammed Democrats as extremists
08:05and staunchly defended the war in Iran
08:07while making the extraordinary pledge to pay every adult American $5,000.
08:13Speaking at the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas,
08:16Trump said the conflict with Iran was necessary
08:18because Tehran was perhaps two, maybe three weeks away from having a nuclear weapon.
08:24He also appeared to acknowledge that the war had hurt the U.S. economy
08:27before explaining why he believed he had to start the conflict.
08:31Trump urged the voters to treat the midterms
08:34as if he were personally on the ballot,
08:36highlighting around 35 key House and Senate races
08:39and promising to visit those states.
08:42He also attacked Democrats as radical left Democrats,
08:46warning that the country could spend a decade recovering if they won.
08:50Trump then placed a $5,000 Trump dividend to every adult
08:54if Republicans retain control of Congress.
08:57And here is my promise.
08:59If the Republicans win the House of Representatives
09:02and the United States Senate, both of them,
09:05because of our economic, tremendous economic success,
09:11I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen
09:15in the United States of America
09:17for $5,000.
09:22The proposal could cost at least $1 trillion
09:25and would require congressional approval.
09:28We're at $1,776.
09:29We're at $1,776.
09:56We're at $1,776.
10:26We'll see you next time.
10:34We'll see you next time.
10:59Instead of stretchers and medical supplies, the space inside is fitted up for maintenance work, computers, spare parts and robots.
11:06Its developers say the vehicle is the first of its kind in Japan.
11:11The service is starting with a single vehicle, but the company says it could add more vehicles if demand increases.
11:27The launch comes as Japan tries to gain ground in a robotic industry increasingly shaped by competition with the US
11:34and China.
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