Latest news bulletin | April 4th – Midday
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Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/04/04/latest-news-bulletin-april-4th-midday
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00At least 100 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes across Gaza as Israel ramps up its offensive on the enclave.
00:10Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announces Budapest's withdrawal from the International Criminal Court
00:16as he welcomes Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
00:22At least 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza.
00:2727 or more of those were killed in a strike on a school in the Tofah neighborhood in the north, housing displaced Palestinians.
00:34More than a dozen of those killed in that attack were children and five were women.
00:39A separate attack on homes in a nearby neighborhood killed at least 30 more, according to Palestinian medical authorities.
00:46The attacks come as Israel ramp up their offensive on the enclave
00:50in what it said is a campaign intending to increase pressure on Hamas and eventually expel the group from Gaza.
00:56UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk expressed his concern at the increased violence in a Security Council session.
01:03Since 1 March, Israeli military operations have killed more than 1,200 Palestinians,
01:10including at least 320 children, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
01:16And bombardments continue of residential buildings, tents, hospitals and schools,
01:22including places where Palestinians have been ordered to move.
01:26There was no let-up, even as Palestinian families celebrated Eid.
01:32Israel says it's targeting Hamas operatives in what it called command and control centers.
01:37The IDF spokesperson says they've struck over 600 targets in Gaza,
01:41eliminating more than 250 Hamas members since it resumed fighting on 18 March.
01:48Hamas condemned the attacks and called them a heinous massacre of innocent civilians.
01:52The UN is demanding the immediate cessation of hostilities
01:56and urged all parties involved to work together to immediately restore the ceasefire
02:00and prevent the further suffering of the Palestinian people.
02:07Hungary pulled out of the International Criminal Court
02:10as it says it has become a political body in which a democratic state has no place.
02:15Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced the decision
02:18at a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart,
02:21Benjamin Netanyahu, in Budapest on Thursday,
02:24a move the Israeli Prime Minister labeled as bold.
02:29You stand with us at the EU, you stand with us at the UN,
02:35and you've just taken a bold and principled position on the ICC,
02:40and I thank you, Viktor.
02:41This is not only important for us, it's important for all democracies.
02:45It's important to stand up to this corrupt organization.
02:52Orban emphasized that Hungary has a zero-tolerance approach to anti-Semitism.
03:11I can say with confidence that the Hungarian Jewish community
03:15is the third largest Jewish community in Europe.
03:21And I can say with confidence that they have the greatest security in the whole of Europe.
03:29Before the press conference, Netanyahu was received with military honors at the Buda Castle.
03:35Last year, the ICC issued a warrant for his arrest on suspicion of genocide,
03:40but Orban made clear that the Israeli premier has nothing to fear in Hungary.
03:45Coinciding with his visit, the Hungarian government has begun the process of withdrawing from the ICC.
03:52It's a backtrack from 25 years ago when Budapest ratified the Rome Statute
03:56during Orban's first stint as Prime Minister.
04:00Central Asia Summit
04:06The main day of the EU Central Asia Summit started with a big announcement.
04:11Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union is allocating 12 billion euros
04:16as an investment for the region.
04:19This shows how important Central Asia is for the European Union.
04:24The leaders also agreed on a joint declaration with the aim of the strategic partnership.
04:30This strategic partnership will mean strong political relations between the two blocs
04:36and also very, very strong business relations.
04:40Here we mostly talk about natural gas, raw material and infrastructure projects.
04:46And let's not forget that this summit was the first time
04:50when Central Asian leaders were ready to discuss sensitive topics
04:55like human rights violations or sanction circumvention.
05:00So far, they were not ready to discuss those topics at all.
05:04So overall, we can clearly say that this summit was a major step forward
05:10in the relationship between the European Union and the Central Asian countries.
05:16Sandor Zhirosh reported for Euronews from Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
05:24North Macedonia warns of growing Russian influence in the Western Balkans
05:28if the EU doesn't commit quickly and clearly on enlargements.
05:32Talking to Euronews, Foreign Affairs Minister Tim Chomuchinsky
05:36emphasizes the country's many difficult compromises for EU membership.
05:42We've changed our flag, we've changed our currency,
05:44we've changed our constitution several times.
05:46We've even changed the name of our country.
05:48All with the promise of a window of opportunity that we've been told existed
05:53if we do these changes for our path towards the European Union.
05:57Can I ask you a little bit about Russian interference in North Macedonia?
06:00I mean, one of the reasons why enlargement needs to happen quickly, they say,
06:05is because the countries in the Western Balkans need to be brought into the EU
06:08away from the Russian orbit.
06:09Is that something that you would agree with that narrative, that premise?
06:13I think enlargement needs to happen for many reasons,
06:16but one of these reasons, from a security perspective,
06:20is of course the malign Russian influence that has been existing in our region,
06:25that is there.
06:27I sometimes like to very openly point out that Russian influence,
06:31especially in our region, comes very cheap, and they know how to utilize it.
06:36Chomuchinsky thinks the credibility of the EU is at stake,
06:40and enlargement needs to happen to avoid giving ammunition to Russian propaganda.
06:46There are malign actors out there who like to point the finger and say,
06:49do you really believe that the EU is honest in its intention for enlargement?
06:54Look at what they're doing to the Macedonians.
06:56North Macedonia applied for EU membership 20 years ago,
07:00but the accession bid is at a standstill following a series of disputes with Greece and Bulgaria.
07:06Catch the full interview next week on The Europe Conversation.
07:15NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stressed that any ceasefire or peace deal in Ukraine must be lasting.
07:22His comments came during a joint press conference with Ukraine's top diplomat Andrei Sebeha,
07:27as NATO foreign ministers convened at the Brussels HQ for a meeting.
07:31Rutte emphasized the need to stand by Ukraine to bring an end to what he called a global conflict.
07:37He added that the outcome of this war will determine the future stability and security of other areas like the Indo-Pacific.
07:44Ultimately, there is an audience of one which will be judging the outcome of this war,
07:49and that is the first secretary of the Communist Party of China, Mr. Xi Jinping.
07:53And he will be watching who comes out on top.
07:57Is it Russia or the West?
08:00And that will also inform him in his next steps in the Indo-Pacific, I have no doubt.
08:05Sebeha reaffirmed his country's commitment to peace.
08:09The Ukrainian foreign minister noted that more pressure must be exerted on Russia to agree to a peace deal and end the bloodshed.
08:16Russia must get serious about peace.
08:19For this, it is time to increase pressure on Moscow.
08:23Now is the time for diplomacy, but also pressure and deterrence.
08:28While the media attention is on global trade wars, we must not forget.
08:33There is a real full-scale war going on in Europe.
08:38Russia remains an existential threat to Europe.
08:42Sebeha says Kiev accepted a US proposal for a full unconditional ceasefire, which Putin has not.
08:48The top Ukrainian diplomat is set to hold bilateral talks with partners and allies to explore ways to bring the fighting in his country to an end.
08:59World leaders have been reacting to US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 10% baseline tariff on all countries,
09:07with Australia threatening to use dispute resolution powers in its free trade agreements with the United States.
09:15We will continue to make the strongest case for these unjustified tariffs to be removed from our exporters.
09:22Our existing free trade agreement with the United States contains dispute resolution mechanisms.
09:30China, which was hit with an extra 34% tariff, has said it will resolutely adopt countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests,
09:40claiming Trump's so-called reciprocal tariffs violate international trade rules and amount to unilateral bullying.
09:48Japan, too, has called the tariffs extremely regrettable,
09:52with officials arguing Japan deserves an exemption considering the additional 24% levies already imposed on their country.
10:01And in South Korea, which was hit with a 25% rate, the stock market opened lower amid concerns over the tariff announcement.
10:11Although Canada and Mexico were exempt from this particular round,
10:15Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Ottawa will respond,
10:19as the current 25% levies on steel and aluminium imposed on both nations remain in place.
10:27The president of South Korea has been removed from office in a unanimous ruling by the country's constitutional court.
10:38Yoon Suk-yo was impeached by the National Assembly in December,
10:43with his presidential power suspended after he imposed martial law,
10:48triggering the country's worst political crisis in decades.
10:53Following their ruling, the court justices said this act violated people's fundamental rights.
11:12Anti-Yoon protesters welcomed the verdict with cheers at a rally near the old palace,
11:19while outside Yoon's official residence, his supporters chanted angry slogans,
11:24calling anyone accepting the ruling their enemy.
11:30An election will be held within two months to replace Yoon,
11:33but it's likely to be overshadowed by the deep-rooted political divide caused by the former president's impeachment.