News from April 8, 2025 at 2 AM

US President Donald Trump defended sweeping tariffs on imports, calling them necessary 'medicine'. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump claimed the measures would make the US 'wealthy like never before'. His top officials insisted the tariffs, announced last week, would be implemented as planned, downplaying recession fears. Asian stock markets plunged on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling 7.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropping over 12%. US stock indexes fell more than 5% on Friday, marking the worst week since 2020. Saudi Arabia's stock exchange closed nearly 7% lower, its biggest daily loss since the pandemic. JP Morgan predicted a 60% chance of a US and global recession. Trump's officials minimized recent stock market falls, describing them as an 'adjustment process'. Higher tariffs on about 60 countries are set to take effect on April 9. Indonesia and Taiwan said they would not impose retaliatory tariffs, while Vietnam requested a delay. China announced a 34% tariff on US imports starting April 10. UK and Canadian leaders agreed that an all-out trade war is not in anyone's interest. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet Trump for trade talks. Large anti-Trump protests were held across the US over the weekend.

On March 23, an Israeli military attack in the southern Gaza Strip resulted in the deaths of 15 aid workers. A video released by the Palestinian Red Crescent shows clearly marked ambulances with flashing emergency lights being subjected to heavy gunfire. The Israeli military claimed it did not randomly attack ambulances, but the footage contradicts this assertion. The United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent have condemned the attack, stating that the victims included eight Red Crescent staff, six members of the Gaza civil defense agency, and one employee of a UN agency. The bodies were found in a mass grave near the city of Rafah.

A central Ukrainian city, Kryvyi Rih, began three days of mourning on Monday for 11 adults and nine children killed in a Russian missile strike last week, one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in months, jeopardizing Washington's ceasefire efforts. The Friday evening strike in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's hometown sprayed shrapnel across a dense residential area. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk condemned Russia's use of explosive weapons in a densely populated area. Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul stated it was the deadliest attack on the city, with victims ranging from 3 to 79 years old, and 33 people, including 4 children, still hospitalized. Local clergy held a memorial service near the strike site, and residents bid farewell to a nine-year-old boy killed on a swing. Russia claimed the strike targeted a meeting of Ukrainian and foreign military personnel, a claim dismissed by Kyiv as disinformation. U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to end the war swiftly and restore relations with Moscow. Russia rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal last month, and both sides accuse each other of violating a limited pause in attacks on energy infrastructure.

On March 26, 2025, Pope Francis made his first public appearance at the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, two weeks after being discharged from the hospital following a five-week treatment for double pneumonia. The 88-year-old pontiff had been out of public view since March 23, when he gave a brief greeting before leaving Rome's Gemelli hospital. Entering St. Peter's Square in a wheelchair to greet the crowds, Francis marked his return to public life.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated hockey player Alexander Ovechkin on breaking the record for the most goals scored in the NHL regular season. Putin noted that this achievement was not only a personal success for Ovechkin but also a significant celebration for fans in Russia and abroad. On Saturday night, Ovechkin scored two goals against Chicago, reaching 894 goals to tie the record held by Canadian legend Wayne Gretzky. On Sunday, the 39-year-old Russian added another goal against the New York Islanders, bringing his total to 895 and becoming the sole record holder in the NHL.

On April 6, France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen vowed to pursue her presidential ambitions despite being found guilty of embezzling European Union parliament funds and banned from public office. Speaking at a rally in Paris, she claimed her National Rally (RN) party was the target of a “witch hunt.” The RN, along with centrist and left-wing groups, held rival gatherings six days after a Paris court convicted the 56-year-old. Polls show Le Pen as the frontrunner for the presidential election in two years. She condemned the sentences against her and other RN officials at a central Paris rally, while former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal supported the court's decision. Le Pen received a four-year jail term, with two years suspended, and a five-year ban from public office. She pledged not to give up, calling the conviction a “political decision.” RN deputy Jordan Bardella claimed 10,000 people attended the rally, though police estimated 7,000. Bardella described the conviction as a direct attack on democracy. The judges who convicted Le Pen have received death threats, and US President Donald Trump labeled the sentence a “witch hunt” by “European leftists.” President Emmanuel Macron insisted on the independence of the French judiciary, and the Paris Court of Appeal will review Le Pen's case, allowing her to contest the 2027 election if the conviction is overturned or the punishment altered.

On April 6, Texas officials reported the death of a second child from measles, amid an outbreak that has resulted in nearly 500 cases in Texas and spread across 22 states. The school-aged, unvaccinated child with no underlying health conditions died on April 3 from measles pulmonary failure. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated on social media that vaccines are the best protection against measles. As of April 6, there are 642 confirmed measles cases nationwide, with 499 in Texas. Kennedy, who has previously downplayed the importance of vaccines, faced criticism from Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who urged universal vaccination. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported a total of 481 cases in the state since the outbreak began.

Officials report that torrential rains and floods in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, have killed at least 33 people. President Félix Tshisekedi vowed on Monday not to abandon the victims and convened a government crisis meeting. Residents are desperately trying to escape the floodwaters by wading, swimming, or using homemade canoes. Kinshasa, home to 17 million people, sits on the Congo River, which recently reached its highest level in six decades. Many homes in western Kinshasa were swept away, with about half of the city's 26 districts affected. The mayor says search and rescue teams have been deployed, with the outskirts and poorest neighborhoods worst hit. The floods have also caused water shortages across much of Kinshasa, and major roads, including the one to the international airport and the motorway to the main port of Matadi, are impassable. Further heavy rains are expected in the coming weeks in Kinshasa and the eastern city of Goma.

Mali's security minister accused neighboring Algeria of shooting down one of its surveillance drones near their shared border in a statement broadcast on national TV on Sunday. Mali, along with its allies Burkina Faso and Niger, announced the recall of their ambassadors from Algeria for consultations over the incident. The drone wreckage was found 9.5 kilometers south of the Algerian border after being downed between March 31 and April 1. The Malian government concluded that the drone was destroyed in a premeditated hostile action by the Algerian regime. In a joint statement, the three Sahel countries strongly condemned the irresponsible act by Algeria. Algeria's Defence Ministry stated on April 1 that its army had shot down an armed surveillance drone violating its airspace near Tinzaouaten, without providing further details. Mali's army had previously reported that one of its unmanned aircraft crashed during a routine surveillance mission.

Turkey's main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel of the Republican People's Party (CHP) pledged further protests against the arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan's chief rival. The protests began on March 19 when Imamoglu was detained on corruption charges, sparking Turkey's largest demonstrations in over a decade. Ozel, re-elected as party leader, announced weekly protests in different cities and Wednesday evening rallies in various Istanbul districts. The protests have drawn hundreds of thousands, including university students nationwide. Nearly 2,000 people have been detained, with around 300 jailed pending trial. The CHP has launched a signature campaign demanding Imamoglu's freedom and early elections, garnering over 7 million signatures.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has nominated Djuro Macut, a politically inexperienced medical professor, as the new prime minister following the resignation of the previous incumbent amid anti-government protests. Demonstrations intensified after a railway station roof collapse in November killed 16 people, with protesters decrying government corruption and incompetence. The government denies the accusations, blaming Western intelligence agencies for instigating unrest. Vucic announced Macut's nomination on Sunday, tasking him with forming a new government by April 18. The 62-year-old, who lectures in endocrinology at Belgrade University, has previously supported Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Opposition parties mocked Macut's nomination, calling him a puppet of Vucic. The government-controlled parliament is expected to endorse Macut, who will succeed SNS head Milos Vucevic. Protesters demand a transitional government before parliamentary and presidential elections in 2027.