Morning Briefing: April 20, 2025

ISTANBUL

Here is a rundown of all the news you need to start your Sunday, including the conclusion of the second round of indirect US-Iran nuclear talks in Rome; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledging to 'mirror' Russia's actions on the battlefield following a ceasefire announcement and the Turkish foreign minister and the head of Hamas’ Shura Council discussing a ceasefire in Gaza.

TOP STORIES

• 2nd round of indirect US-Iran nuclear talks in Rome wraps up

The second round of indirect negotiations between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear program, held in Rome, has concluded.

“The second round of talks between Iran and the United States has just wrapped up,” Iran's official news agency, IRNA, wrote on X.

The agency confirmed that a third round will take place next week, without specifying the location.

• Ukraine's Zelenskyy pledges to 'mirror' Russia's actions on the battlefield following ceasefire announcement

Responding to Russia's Easter ceasefire announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv will act in a "mirror manner."

Zelenskyy said Ukraine will reciprocate, provided Russia upholds the truce but will respond proportionately should Moscow initiate hostilities.

"Ukraine will act in a mirror manner, as it will from the Russian side. Silence in response to silence, strikes in defense of strikes," he said.

• Turkish foreign minister, head of Hamas' Shura Council discuss attempts for ceasefire in Gaza

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the head of Hamas’ Shura Council discussed efforts to establish a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Turkish diplomatic sources said Fidan and Muhammad Darwish, along with his delegation, met in Ankara.

It was underlined that Israel, by blocking the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, is trying to starve the Palestinian population, stressing the need for the international community to step up efforts to deliver aid to the region.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, released a brief video featuring an audio message from an Israeli captive, titled “Soon ... Time is Running Out.”
• Israeli authorities denied Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa permission to visit Palestinian towns and villages in the occupied West Bank that have been repeatedly targeted by illegal settlers, a Palestinian official said.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed concern about recent US airstrikes in and around Yemen’s port of Ra’s Isa, his spokesman said.
• Mt. Etna, Europe’s tallest active volcano, erupted again on the Italian island of Sicily, sending ash and lava from its southeastern crater.
• Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met US congressman Cory Mills at the Presidential Palace in Damascus, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
• Moscow and Kyiv each exchanged 246 prisoners of war, the largest since the outbreak of the war more than three years ago, the Russian Defense Ministry announced.
• Three people died in a small aircraft crash in the Midwestern US state of Nebraska, with officials confirming all bodies were recovered.
• Israeli authorities blocked Christian worshippers’ access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied Jerusalem when they tried to mark Holy Saturday (Holy Fire), a sacred day in Easter weekend celebrations.
• Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar met Maulvi Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s Taliban-led interim foreign minister, in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• US oil rig count up by 1 for week ending April 17

The oil rig count in the US increased by 1 this week, oilfield services company Baker Hughes data showed.

The number of rigs, an indicator of short-term production in the country, rose to 481 for the week ending April 17.

• China holds world's 1st robot race along with human participants

China held the world's first humanoid robot race alongside human participants.

Chinese-made Tien Kung Ultra came in first in the half-marathon in nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes.