Esra Tekin
03 April 2025•Update: 03 April 2025
ISTANBUL
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday with, including US President Donald Trump signing an executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs on countries worldwide, Israeli airstrikes on Syrian territory injuring dozens of civilians and military personnel, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departing for Hungary in defiance of an ICC arrest warrant issued against him for war crimes in Gaza.
TOP STORIES
- Trump signs order imposing reciprocal tariffs on countries worldwide
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order delivering on his long-promised vow to impose reciprocal tariffs on nations worldwide in a move that has sent markets sharply lower for months.
A minimum baseline tariff of 10% will be imposed on all countries, with higher sums charged on nations that Trump has deemed to be the "worst" trade offenders. The president said his new economic effort seeks to "help build our economy and to prevent cheating."
"This is one of the most important days, in my opinion, in American history. It's our declaration of economic independence," he said in remarks delivered from the Rose Garden.
- Israeli airstrikes hit Syria’s Damascus, Hama
Israeli fighter jets struck the Syrian cities of Damascus and Hama, the Syrian news agency SANA reported.
“An Israeli occupation airstrike targeted the vicinity of the building of the scientific research center in the Barzeh residential district of Damascus,” it said.
In a separate attack, airstrikes hit the vicinity of Hama city in central Syria.
- Israel's Netanyahu departs for Hungary, defying ICC arrest warrant over Gaza war crimes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed for Hungary, defying an arrest warrant issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Gaza.
Netanyahu “departed for a four-day visit to Hungary, accompanied by his wife, Sara,” Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.
He is expected to land in the capital Budapest in the early morning hours, where his visit will officially begin, the newspaper added.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- The Israeli army made an incursion near the city of Nawa in western Daraa Governorate in southern Syria, local media reported.
- Türkiye condemned Israel's raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.
- A senior UN official denounced Israel's war on Gaza, calling it "a war without limits" as humanitarian workers continue to be targeted.
- Britain’s prime minister said that jumping into a trade war with the US "cannot be the first response of the United Kingdom," noting that his government has been preparing for all eventualities ahead of the confirmation of US tariffs.
- The head of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee sharply criticized US President Donald Trump's announcement of a new 20% tariff on goods from the European Union as part of his long-promised vow to impose reciprocal tariffs on nations worldwide.
- Myanmar’s ruling military declared a three-week ceasefire against rebels following a devastating earthquake that has claimed nearly 2,900 lives.
- At least 16 Palestinian civilians, including nine children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an UNRWA health clinic in northern Gaza, a medical source said.
- Israel announced that it is expanding its military campaign in the Gaza Strip with the aim to seize more territories in the course of its genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.
- Sudan’s Khartoum State government announced the resumption of its activities from its official headquarters in the nation’s capital, becoming the first government entity to resume operations in Khartoum after the military regained control of the city from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
- Syria strongly condemned recent attacks by Israel targeting its territory.
- The US Senate passed a resolution aimed at blocking President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on Canada.
- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the US for imposing tariffs on the European Union, calling it a “wrong measure."
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
- Türkiye joins EU's Safe2Eat food safety campaign
Türkiye has joined the Safe2Eat campaign implemented by the European Union’s European Food Safety Authority to help consumers make informed choices about food.
According to a statement by Türkiye's Agriculture Ministry, the communication campaign, which was open only to EU member states in previous years and in which candidate countries can also take part as of this year, aims to guide consumers with up-to-date information based on scientific data on food.
Since 2020, the campaign has aimed to ensure that consumers make informed choices and prevent food waste.
- US stocks close higher ahead of Trump's 'kind' reciprocal tariffs
US stocks closed higher before President Donald Trump announced his long-awaited reciprocal tariffs.
Trump called his plan "kind," as the rates will be half of other countries' tariff rates to the US.
“We will charge them approximately half of what they are and have been charging us,” he said in a news conference at the White House, adding: “So the tariffs will be not a full reciprocal.”
