Finnish police have boarded a ship which they believe was operating as part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet. The Lithuanian defence minister, Dovilė Šakalienė, tells Newshour she wants to see additional US sanctions on Russia. Also on the programme: the new authorities in Syria have carried out an offensive against militias loyal to the deposed president Bashar al-Assad; and the Bald Eagle has been officially named as America's national bird - we speak to a man who campaigned for the recognition. (Photo: European Union flags fly outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels. Credit: REUTERS/Yves Herman)
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Hello, this is Jackie Leonard from the Global News Podcast.
Let me tell you about our annual review of the happiest news stories of 2024.
From the work of thousands to raise the magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral from the ashes to the astonishing success of the Chopsticks maneuver to catch a rocket booster as it came back to earth, to the young Irish rappers who went massively viral with an absolute banger of a.
Tune, the Happy Pod.
Just search for the Global News Podcast.
Wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service, brought to you live from London with me John Donison.
And coming up, a post Christmas quiz for the amateur ornithologist out there.
What bird is this?
Well, you can find out in about 20 minutes time and why that particular bird has been in the news this week.
But we're going to start the program in the Baltic.
The fear amongst many of the Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland is that once Russia is finished with Ukraine, the they could be next in Vladimir Putin's sights.
Already they accused the Russian bear of poking them.
Finnish authorities are investigating whether a Russian ship was involved in the sabotage of electricity and data cables running between Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea.
The vessel is thought to be part of Russia's so called shadow fleet, which is made up of ships that carry embargoed Russian oil products.
Well, Finland's National Police Commissioner, Ilka Kozmaki told a news conference in Helsinki that they'd seized the ship suspected of causing the damage.
There is reason to suspect that this.
Vessel, registered in the Cook Islands, has caused damage to this EST link power cable.
But in addition, we also suspect that.