00:00Norway's foreign minister has pushed back against criticism from U.S. president over what he described as zero European support
00:07in the conflict with Iran.
00:10A Swedish Intel report says Russia faked its economic data to appear more resilient to its war on Ukraine and
00:18sanctions.
00:20The European Union is growing optimistic about the imminent lifting of Hungary's contentious veto on a 90 billion euro loan
00:28for Ukraine.
00:30In times like this, it's particularly important.
00:31Norway's foreign minister has pushed back on your news program Europe Today against criticism from U.S. president Donald Trump
00:40over what he described as zero European support in the conflict with Iran.
00:45Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO allies for not backing Washington.
00:50He raised the issue again during a White House meeting earlier this month with NATO Secretary General Mark Ruther.
00:57NATO is a defensive alliance. It's not an attack alliance.
01:00However, many NATO countries, including my own Norway, is now dedicated to work on making sure that the Hormuz Strait
01:09is open and remains open.
01:11Not as NATO, but as in the context of a broad coalition of interested parties who are third parties to
01:18the conflict, who are not fighting with either side, but who have a shared interest in protecting the principle of
01:27freedom of navigation at sea.
01:28So NATO countries are doing something, but it's not as party to a conflict.
01:33Heider argued that, unlike past interventions such as those in the Balkans during the 1990s, there had been no prior
01:41preparation or consensus within the alliance.
01:44As a result, there is very limited appetite among member states to join the war.
01:49He said that while both the U.S. and Iran may have reasons to end the conflict, the sides are
01:56far apart with negotiations hindered by opposing demands.
02:03Qatar has called for a return to negotiations and says it remains in contact with all parties as uncertainty surrounds
02:10talks between Iran and the United States.
02:12Qatar supports the current condition of the ceasefire and we are aiming to see a continuation of the ceasefire until
02:20there is a diplomatic resolution.
02:22It has not been anyone's benefit to return to hostilities that would, again, put more pressure on the international economy,
02:30but also put the peoples of the region and all the countries of the region at risk.
02:34There are also mixed signals around talks in Islamabad with no clear indication of whether negotiations are moving forward.
02:41Qatar says it is in a strong position to weather any disruption, but warns that if tensions in the Strait
02:47of Hormuz continue, the impact could extend far beyond the region.
02:51Our call has always been for an end to this war that has put all of us at risk here
02:56in the region and put international economy and international energy markets in a very dangerous place.
03:02And therefore, for us, the call has always been to end this war, get back to the negotiation table.
03:07Qatar says it is pushing to keep the ceasefire in place, but with tensions still high, much will depend on
03:13whether diplomatic efforts can hold in the coming days and prevent a return to escalation.
03:18Mohamed Al-Ashi, Your News, Doha.
03:24NATO intercepted Russian strategic bombers and fighter jets that flew over the Baltic Sea on Monday.
03:31French Rafale fighters were deployed from a Lithuanian airbase where they are stationed as part of a long NATO effort
03:38in place since the three Baltic countries, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, joined the alliance in 2004.
03:45There is a lot of traffic from the Russian and there are plenty of times in which, on purpose or
03:52not, they are not really respecting the ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization rules regarding flight plans and behavior.
04:01So, obviously, we are forced to take off and just make sure that they are who they say they are
04:08and their intention is peaceful and just transitioning back to their home airfields.
04:14The Lithuanian defense minister stated that last week, NATO aircraft had scrambled on four occasions to intercept Russian aircraft that
04:24had failed to comply with flight regulations by switching off their transponders and flying without a flight plan.
04:31Even before the war in Ukraine, NATO was intercepting Russian planes around 300 times each year, mostly over waters around
04:40northern Europe.
04:41The Russian defense ministry declared that the long-range bomber's flight was scheduled and occurred in airspace over the neutral
04:48waters of the Baltic Sea.
04:54Sweden's military intelligence said late Monday that Russia is manipulating financial data to hide the real state of its economy
05:02amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
05:05According to a statement from Sweden's military intelligence and security service, MUSC, must, even though official figures showed falling GDP
05:15and weak industrial production, Russia was likely plagued by higher inflation and a larger budget deficit than it was communicating.
05:25The intelligence service said, despite the recent period of high oil prices, which has provided Russia with increased revenues, it
05:34would take a price of over $100 per barrel for an entire year to remedy the Russian budget deficit.
05:42The intelligence service said the real inflation rate in Russia is closer to the key interest rate of 15%
05:48than to the Russian central bank's official estimate of 5.86%.
05:53The head of the Swedish intelligence agency said Russia is now living in debt and Stockholm has recorded financial indications
06:02that could point to an impending banking crisis.
06:05At a recent government meeting on economic issues, Russian President Vladimir Putin downplayed the statistics, stating they represented, quote, generally
06:15expected trends.
06:21The European Union is growing optimistic about the imminent lifting of Hungary's contentious veto on a €90 billion loan for
06:29Ukraine, ending a political dispute that has severely undermined the bloc's collective decision-making.
06:35EU Foreign Chief Kayakala signaled the sentiment as EU foreign ministers met in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
06:42We have a full day ahead, so first we discuss, of course, the war in Ukraine, and we expect some
06:50positive decisions tomorrow on the €90 billion loan.
06:53Ukraine really needs this loan, and it's also a sign that Russia cannot outlast Ukraine.
07:00This is extremely important at this moment.
07:04Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has indicated he will remove his veto as soon as Russian oil flows resume
07:11through the Drushba pipeline, which is at the core of the controversy.
07:15He recently cited indications from Brussels that flows would return soon.
07:21EU officials said on Monday they would seek to get the final green light to release the loan during a
07:26meeting of EU diplomats in Brussels on Wednesday.
07:29EU Economy Commissioner Valdes Dombrowskis said Brussels expected to start releasing the loan in May or early June, even if
07:38it needed to wait for the incoming Hungarian government.
07:46The European Court of Justice has ruled that Hungary's amended child protection law violates EU law and discriminates against gay
07:54and transgender people.
07:56The court said the legislation stigmatizes and marginalizes non-cisgender people, including transgender people, and noted that the law's title
08:06links them with people convicted of pedophilia.
08:10According to the court, this association increases stigma and may encourage hostile behavior.
08:16It said the amendments seriously interfere with key rights, including protection from discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation, respect
08:27for private and family life, and freedom of expression and information.
08:31Hungary amended its child protection law in 2021, saying the changes were needed to protect minors from sexual abuse.
08:40The law banned the depiction or promotion of homosexuality and gender reassignment.
08:46As a result, Hungarian media outlets and publishers were required to remove TV series, films and books that portrayed homosexuality.
08:56It is the first time the court has found that an EU member state breached the fundamental values set out
09:02in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
09:05The law was pushed by Viktor Orban in a referendum coinciding with a general election vote.
09:15Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down from the job that he inherited from the late Steve Jobs,
09:23bringing to an EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, bringing to an end a 15-year tenure that saw the company's
09:27market value soar by more than €3.3 trillion during an iPhone-fueled era of prosperity.
09:35The 65-year-old will turn the CEO duties over to Apple's head of hardware engineering, John Turnus, on September
09:441,
09:44but he will remain in the company as executive chairman.
09:48To allow Cook to assume his new job, Arthur Levinson will relinquish his role as Apple's non-executive chairman while
09:56remaining on its board of directors.
10:00Turnus, 50, has been with Apple for the past quarter century, including the past five years overseeing the engineering underlying
10:08the iPhone, iPad and Mac.
10:11Cook joined Apple in 1998 and became CEO in 2011.
10:16The company said that the leadership transition was unanimously approved by its board of directors and followed a long-term
10:24succession planning process.
10:30More than 1,000 artists, including Massive Attack and Kneecap, have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of
10:38Eurovision Song Contest 2026.
10:41In protest of Israel's participation.
10:44The campaign, organized by No Music for Genocide and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel,
10:52is calling on the European Broadcasting Union to ban CAN, the Israeli public broadcasting corporation, from the contest in May.
11:01Organizers applauded the five countries, including Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, the Netherlands and Iceland, which have withdrawn from this year's contest.
11:10The EBU has repeatedly defended its decision to allow Israel to take part in the Eurovision, despite allegations of hypocrisy.
11:20In 2022, the organization barred Russia from participating in the Eurovision.
11:26After its invasion of Ukraine and the ban remains, Israel has consistently denied that it is committing genocide in Gaza.
11:34However, in September 2025, a United Nations inquiry concluded that Israel is committing genocide.
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