00:00Iran launched a new round of attacks across the Middle East early on Wednesday, hours
00:05after U.S. President Donald Trump insisted that Washington was in negotiations with Tehran,
00:09even claiming they had sent him a gift.
00:12Trump suggested the gesture indicates he's dealing with the right people in secret peace
00:17negotiations.
00:17Media reports have suggested that the U.S. is communicating with Iran via mediation
00:22by Pakistan, but Iranian officials have not confirmed any formal talks.
00:26They're going to make a deal. They did something yesterday that was amazing, actually. They
00:31gave us a present, and the present arrived today. It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount
00:38of money, and I'm not going to tell you what that present is.
00:42Meanwhile, in Iran, former Revolutionary Guard Commander Mohammed Bahir Zolhadir has been named
00:48the new Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larejani, who was killed
00:53in a recent airstrike. In Tehran, the Red Crescent has released footage of survivors being pulled
00:58from the rubble of residential buildings following fresh U.S.-Israeli strikes. Simultaneously,
01:04Iranian missiles were launched across the Middle East aimed at Israel and bases hosting U.S. military
01:09personnel in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan. Israel is continuing its own military operations in Lebanese
01:15territory in its campaign against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. Israel has said its military would
01:21take control of South Lebanon up to the Litane River, around 30 kilometers from the border.
01:26Meanwhile, the Lebanese government has declared Iran's diplomatic envoy Persona Lan Grata,
01:31giving him five days to leave the country.
01:38Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats finished first in Denmark's general
01:44elections, but lost ground compared with the last election in 2022,
01:48as did her two partners in the outgoing government. Official results showed neither left-leaning
01:54nor right-leaning blocs won a majority in parliament. The left bloc was credited with 84 seats in the 179
02:02-seat
02:02parliament and the right with 77, while 90 are needed for a majority. The centrist moderate party,
02:09headed by Foreign Minister Lars Laka Rasmussen, became kingmaker with 14 seats, and thorny negotiations are
02:15expected in the coming weeks to build a coalition government. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen,
02:21a Social Democrat who has been in office since 2019, was widely seen as the favorite in opinion polls
02:27running up to the election after standing up to US President Donald Trump over Greenland.
02:32She told supporters that she's ready to stay on as Prime Minister.
02:40Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Siato has acknowledged that he regularly contacts his Russian counterpart,
02:47Sergei Lavrov, during private EU meetings on foreign affairs. The Hungarian government had earlier dismissed
02:54the allegations as fake news, but Siato acknowledged they were true during a speech on Monday evening.
03:02The allegations are explosive as EU member states are bound by the principle of sincere cooperation,
03:09and the content of such meetings is understood to be confidential. In a video posted on social media
03:16on Tuesday, Siato rejected claims that he had breached security protocols, insisting that secrets are not
03:23discussed at the ministerial level meetings in question. Siato said he also speaks to his counterparts in
03:31Serbia, Israel, the United States and Turkey, both before and after EU meetings on foreign affairs.
03:38The revelations come as political tensions mount ahead of Hungary's parliamentary elections next month,
03:44in which the ruling party is behind in the polls against opposition leader Peter Magyar's teaser party.
03:56The European Commission has delayed the presentation of a highly anticipated proposal to permanently ban the imports of Russian oil,
04:04as the war in the Middle East continues to send shockwaves across energy markets and keep the Brent barrel over
04:10$100.
04:11It also comes amid a tense standoff with Hungary and Slovakia, the only two member states that
04:17still buy Russian oil over the Soviet-era Drushba pipeline.
04:22I do not have, first of all, a new date to give. What I can reassure you of is that
04:27we remain committed to making this proposal.
04:29What the president has been very clear on is that going back to importing Russian energy would be repeating a
04:36mistake from the past.
04:38It would be a strategic blunder. So we have successfully already put in place and in force and the gas
04:47repower gas regulation,
04:48which already banned, as from last Wednesday, the new short term and long term gas contracts.
04:55And we are determined to continue with other energy forms as well.
05:00The legislation, which is part of the Repower EU roadmap, was tentatively scheduled to be unveiled on the 15th of
05:07April.
05:07But the date has now been removed from the calendar.
05:10The Commission insisted the change in timing did not mean a change in policy,
05:15saying the proposal had not been cancelled and would still be published, though no longer by the mid-April date.
05:25In this case, I will declare that...
05:27Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's Social Democrats and the left-wing bloc are set to win Denmark's general elections,
05:35but it appears they failed to secure a majority, according to two exit polls published after voting stations closed on
05:42Tuesday evening.
05:43The exit polls were conducted by Danish public broadcaster DR and private broadcast channel TV2.
05:50They predict the left-wing bloc will take between 83 and 86 seats in the 179-seat parliament.
05:58The right-wing bloc is expected to get between 75 and 78 seats, while the centrists moderates are seen as
06:05becoming the kingmaker with 14 seats.
06:07Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, a Social Democrat who has been in office since 2019,
06:13was widely seen as the favorite in opinion polls running up to the election after standing up to US President
06:19Donald Trump over Greenland.
06:26Here in Doha and across the Gulf, there's a sense of cautious relief after the US announced it has started
06:32negotiations with Iran.
06:34For many people here, that's offered a bit of breathing room, at least for now.
06:38But officials say Qatar is not out of the eye of the storm just yet.
06:43Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Dr. Majid Al-Ansari said Qatar is not involved in mediation efforts,
06:48as it focuses on defending itself from Iran's attacks, and the country reserves the right to respond.
06:54At the same time, Dr. Al-Ansari acknowledged Qatar and Iran will have to find a way forward and coexist
07:01after the war,
07:02but that rebuilding trust will be up to Iran.
07:05Our country has been attacked. Our sovereignty has been attacked.
07:09We have seen the effects on our economy, on the daily lives of people living here,
07:13and we don't take it lightly and we don't see the attacks on our sovereignty as something that we can
07:18live with.
07:19Now, that said, obviously, living next to 90 million people in Iran,
07:25a proud people that we have shared the Gulf with for, as I said, millennia, will continue,
07:31and we will have to find a way past this. This is a very difficult moment, but we will find
07:36our way out of it.
07:37The attacks on the region persists. We remain vigilant. We are not out of the eye of the storm.
07:43Well, I can't explain to you why these couple of days were without incident, but what I can tell you
07:51is that we welcome any reduction of escalation.
07:55He also condemned the targeting of energy facilities in Qatar and across the region,
08:00warning of what he called catastrophic consequences for the Gulf.
08:04With the risk of further retaliation still a concern, he says protecting critical infrastructure remains a top priority.
08:10I can assure you that we have taken all possible precautions and planned for every possible
08:15contingency with very clear scenarios on possible escalation, but we are confident in our security
08:23apparatus right now and our response to the crisis. Plans are being implemented fully and we have not
08:28seen any breakdown within the scenarios that were built for such contingency. Meanwhile, authorities say
08:36it's now safe for people to return to work as part of efforts to restore a sense of normal life.
08:41So while there is cautious optimism, there's also real uncertainty. People here are watching closely
08:46and waiting to see what happens next. Adil Halim, Euronews, Doha.
08:56The small denomination cash crisis in the Gaza Strip is worsening at an unprecedented rate,
09:02with a sharp decline in cash liquidity and a prevalence of large denomination bills which has
09:08disrupted daily transactions and created a distorted market that makes even the simplest
09:14buying and selling difficult.
09:37In the markets of Gaza, the paradox is cruel. People have money but they can't spend it.
09:43A 200 shekel note, about 60 dollars, is worth plenty on paper. But in the street of Nusirat,
09:50it can't buy a single loaf of bread. The reason there is no change.
10:16Small coins and low-value bills have vanished. At the stalls, the exchange is no longer silver for bread.
10:23It's a negotiation of survival. If a vendor can't break your bill, you leave empty-handed,
10:29or you're forced to take your change in matches, spices, or a piece of candy.
10:51The market is now dominated by the blue shekel, the 200 notes. It makes up 80% of the cash
10:58left in
10:58Gaza. But getting your hands on one comes at a price. Cash-out agents are charging up to 40%
11:04commission just to turn a digital bank balance into paper.
11:27Equidity has plummeted by 45%. While some turn to digital wallets, the elderly and the disconnected are
11:33being erased from the economy. In Gaza today, change isn't just money,
11:37it's the difference between eating and going hungry.
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