Latest news bulletin | April 17th – 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/2025/04/17/latest-news-bulletin-april-17th-midday
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni is in Washington to meet U.S. President Donald Trump,
00:04which will be his first face-to-face with a European leader after the announcement of tariffs.
00:10Trump officials could face contempt of court for defying an order to turn around deportation flights to El Salvador.
00:21Glaciers in Sweden and Norway are melting at an increased rate as the planet continues to get warmer.
00:30Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni is in Washington for a scheduled meeting with the U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday.
00:37She'll be the first European leader to meet the U.S. President face-to-face since he announced and then suspended 20% tariffs on European exports.
00:46Meloni is travelling in her role as Italy's leader,
00:49but she has been in close contact with the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the trip.
00:54The visit is found to be timely since the U.S. President may also be feeling increased domestic pressure to settle any tariffs
01:01as many voters say they returned Trump to the White House with the specific goal of improving the economy.
01:11Giorgio Meloni's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday comes at a crucial time.
01:17With Trump threatening a trade war against the EU, her visit could be key to help both Italy and Europe avoid an escalation in tensions.
01:27Trump's decision to pause some of the planned measures has softened the tone,
01:31but can Meloni actually bring home a meaningful result?
01:34La possibilità di ottenere delle concessioni è limitata e questo sarà un problema perché naturalmente gli europei chiederanno conto alla Meloni per questa visita.
01:48I dossier su cui maggiormente si concentrerà l'attenzione saranno quelli economici, industriali, in particolare quelli della difesa.
01:55La Meloni andrà a offrire un aumento della spesa per la difesa.
02:00Questa spesa naturalmente andrà a favore anche delle industrie americane.
02:04Qui c'è un punto di tensione perché questo entra in conflitto con il progetto Rearm Europe
02:10che dovrebbe essere invece a favore dell'industria della difesa europea.
02:14Meloni also supports the EU's proposed zero for zero tariff deal on industrial goods with the U.S.
02:21But the feeling here in Rome is that beyond what Meloni may achieve from this meeting,
02:26her aim is to send a message to her coalition partners and strengthen her leadership,
02:31striking a balance between the positions of the two deputy prime ministers.
02:35On the one hand Matteo Salvini who is more focused on safeguarding Italian interests
02:40and on the other Antonio Tajani with his pro-european stance.
02:44Un vero leader non è qualcuno che va improvvisa, è qualcuno che sente tutti i propri partner,
02:50usa qualsiasi strumento per consolidare lo scambio di opinioni e il valore di quello che i partner possono portare.
02:57Gli interessi italiani e gli interessi europei in generale collimano, ovviamente l'Europa è leggermente più complessa,
03:05ma Meloni va negli Stati Uniti come primo ministro italiano per ragionare in un bilaterale,
03:12il primo bilaterale ufficiale con il presidente eletto degli Stati Uniti.
03:16Poi ovviamente l'Europa sta molto confidando in Giorgia Meloni.
03:20Giorgio Orlandi for Euronews in Rome.
03:27A US federal judge has said he's found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in contempt of court
03:34for violating his order to turn around planes carrying deportees to El Salvador.
03:41Judge Boersberg said he could initiate legal proceedings
03:45if officials do not return to US custody those who were sent to the Central American country in breach of his order.
03:53The Trump administration has said it will appeal the ruling.
03:59Meanwhile, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen travelled to El Salvador on Wednesday
04:04to advocate for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia,
04:08a man deported in March despite a court order blocking his removal.
04:12I'm asking President Bukele under his authority as President of El Salvador
04:19to do the right thing and allow Mr. Abrego Garcia to walk out of a prison.
04:28Van Hollen claims he was told the Salvadoran government would not return Abrego Garcia
04:33and denied his request to visit him in detention.
04:36In his first major speech since leaving office,
04:42former US President Joe Biden criticised the Trump administration for, he said,
04:48causing so much damage and destruction.
04:50Fewer than 100 days this new administration has done so much damage and so much destruction.
05:01It's kind of breathtaking if it could happen that soon.
05:03Biden spoke at a disability rights event in Chicago on Tuesday evening,
05:09during which he also accused the Republican president of taking a hatchet to Social Security.
05:14As part of a push to reduce federal spending,
05:18Trump's government has targeted the Social Security Administration,
05:22with the Department of Government Efficiency planning to cut 7,000 jobs.
05:27Thousands of staff members have already left the agency,
05:30leaving benefit claimants to deal with website crashes and long-call wait times.
05:36The Trump administration responded to Biden's comments
05:39by alleging that he was lying to Americans.
05:46Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cambodia on Thursday
05:49for the final stop on his Southeast Asian tour.
05:53The two-day visit follows earlier stops in Vietnam and Malaysia.
05:56Xi aims to strengthen Beijing's already close ties with Phnom Penh,
06:03which Cambodia's PM has described as an indispensable friend.
06:08Several cooperation deals are expected to be signed.
06:14Throughout the tour, Xi has stressed boosting trade and investment
06:17amid global uncertainty and US trade tensions.
06:20He has positioned China as a stable partner,
06:25calling for opposition to protectionism,
06:28referencing US tariffs under President Trump.
06:32Xi also told Malaysia's leader on Wednesday
06:35that China will be a collaborative partner
06:37and stand with its Southeast Asian neighbors
06:39in the wake of global economic shocks.
06:42Those tariffs worry export-reliant economies across the region.
06:46Iran has confirmed that the next round of nuclear talks
06:54with the United States this weekend will be held in Rome.
06:58The announcement comes after earlier confusion
07:01over the location of the negotiations.
07:03Officials initially identified Rome as hosting the negotiations,
07:07only for Iran to insist early on Tuesday
07:09that they would return to Oman.
07:12An Iranian state TV announcement said Oman
07:14will again mediate the talks on Saturday in Rome.
07:18Meanwhile, Iran's President Masoud Pazeshkian
07:20formally approved the resignation of one of his vice presidents,
07:24Mohammad Javad Zarif,
07:25who served as Tehran's key negotiator
07:27in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
07:31The 2015 deal saw Iran agree to limit its nuclear activities
07:35in return for international sanctions relief.
07:39But since US President Donald Trump's withdrawal
07:41of the deal in 2018,
07:43Iran has abandoned all limits on its nuclear program.
07:52Commemorations were held in several locations across Budapest
07:55to mark Memorial Day for Holocaust victims in Hungary.
07:59Speaking at a synagogue,
08:00Andrea Agardini Arai,
08:02the executive director of the Miniti and Lenin Foundation,
08:05told attendees it was a day to remember
08:07that a half a million people who lost their lives
08:09to the evil anti-Semitism.
08:12The first ghetto was created in Hungary 81 years ago
08:14on the 16th of April 1944.
08:17Soon after,
08:18the deportation of Hungarian Jewish people began.
08:24During the commemorations,
08:25the names of victims were played out from loudspeakers,
08:28paying tribute to their memory.
08:29Following this,
08:36the National Chief Rabbi,
08:37Robert Froelich,
08:38gave the Jewish prayer of Kaddish.
08:42Dr. Andor Grosz,
08:44who is the president of Marzihi,
08:45the largest federation of Jewish communities in Hungary,
08:48said that remembering the horrors of the Holocaust
08:50was everyone's responsibility,
08:52not just the Jewish community.
08:54Speaking at Budapest's Holocaust Museum,
08:56he concluded that whilst Jewish ghettos
08:58and the deportation of Jews
09:00were facilitated by the state,
09:02these actions received broad popular support at the time.
09:06In Hungary,
09:06hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens
09:08were deported to death camps.
09:10By July 1944,
09:12the majority of Jewish people
09:13from the Hungarian countryside
09:14had been exterminated.
09:20Polish authorities say
09:22they have retrieved two bodies
09:23from the Bug River
09:24on the border with Belarus.
09:26They are believed to belong to two men
09:28who had attempted to cross the border
09:30into Poland illegally.
09:32The Polish border guard said
09:33there has been an upward trend
09:35of attempted border crossings,
09:37with 300 attempts to cross
09:38the Polish-Belarusian border
09:39in the Lublin province this year.
09:42The Polish deputy minister of internal affairs
09:45accused Belarus of having pushed
09:46the two people whose bodies were found
09:48into the river,
09:50claiming it to be a tactic of provocation
09:52used by Belarus.
09:54Warsaw says Belarus lures asylum seekers
09:56to the Polish border
09:57in collaboration with Russian President
09:59Vladimir Putin to destabilize Poland.
10:02In March,
10:03Poland temporarily suspended
10:04the right of migrants arriving from Belarus
10:06to apply for asylum.
10:09Human rights groups have criticized the move,
10:11saying it would worsen
10:12an already existing humanitarian crisis
10:14at the Polish-Belarusian border.
10:16Glaciers in Sweden and Norway
10:21have been melting at an accelerated rate
10:24as the planet continues to get warmer
10:26as a result of climate change.
10:29In 2024, the warmest year on record in Europe,
10:33they melted by an average of 1.8 meters.
10:37Glaciology experts warn the disappearance of glaciers
10:41could have significant ecological consequences
10:44in the long term.
10:45We must be afraid of these small islands
10:47which are incredibly important for us people.
10:50Energy,
10:51land,
10:52water,
10:53water,
10:53everything,
10:54and the whole ecology
10:55in the mountains and lakes
10:57depending on the water that will go.
10:59This year,
11:00heavy snowfall
11:01has helped the glaciers recover slightly,
11:04but Professor Nina Kirchner
11:05said this has just created
11:06a false sense of security.
11:09The biggest thing is
11:10that you take the snow-rich winter
11:12not as a sign of
11:14that it is not a danger.
11:16We know that it will not play any role
11:20and the glaciers will crash in Sweden.
11:24The IPCC has warned
11:26that if we continue as we are,
11:28four out of five glaciers in Sweden
11:30will have shrunk significantly
11:32or completely melted
11:33by the year 2100.
11:36So
11:37that's a great deal.