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Good morning from Brussels.
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Events in Washington DC this weekend caught Brussels off guard as officials were enjoying the start of spring.
A 31-year-old man named as Cole Tomas Allen has been arrested after opening fire Saturday evening outside the reception hall of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA gala), which Donald Trump was attending for the first time. The White House says it was a targeted attempt at the life of Trump and his officials.
Fortunately, no one was killed.
In Europe, EU leaders quickly voiced support for the US President, who had skipped the event for years before agreeing this time to attend, despite strained relations between the White House and the press corps under his second term.
“I just spoke to @POTUS Donald Trump to express my solidarity with him and @FLOTUS after the attempted attack,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. She added that “political violence has no place in our democracies”.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the incident “unacceptable”, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: “We decide by majorities, not by the gun.”
Transatlantic tensions briefly faded, even as Reuters reported the US could seek to suspend Spain from NATO over its refusal to back the US and Israel’s war in Iran.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez played down the threat and joined EU leaders in condemning the attack. “Violence is never the answer,” Sánchez wrote on X. “Humanity will only move forward through democracy, coexistence and peace.”
On Sunday, Trump rejected any link between the armed intrusion at the WHCA dinner and the Middle East war. He said the incident would not “deter” him from “winning the war”.
Earlier in the weekend, Trump cancelled a trip to Pakistan planned for envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, writing on social media: “Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” He added, referring to Iran: “There is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership’.”
On his side, after going to Oman and Pakistan over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghtchi landed in Russia to meet Vladimir Putin.
According to the Iranian news agency Fars, Tehran has sent, via Pakistan, written messages to Washington regarding its “red lines” in the negotiations.
After talks with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, Araghchi wrote on Telegram that he had briefed his French counterpart on ceasefire developments and ongoing diplomatic efforts “to end the imposed war”. He stressed “the importance of European countries playing a constructive role in this process”.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the situation remains fragile. Over the weekend, Israel and Hezbollah accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
The Shia Islamist political party and military organisation released several statements on Sunday saying its fighters targeted Israeli troops and positions in response to Israeli ceasefire violations and attacks on Lebanese villages.
On Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a group of ministers and senior security officials to discuss both Iran and the situation in Lebanon, according to local media. One option under consideration is escalating strikes against Hezbollah, including targeting areas beyond southern Lebanon.
At least 2,509 people have been killed and 7,755 injured in Lebanon since the start of Israeli strikes in early March, the country’s health ministry said.
Lebanon’s Minister for Displaced Persons, and Technology and AI, Dr. Kamal Shehadi told Euronews’ Europe Today that “the truce is not holding” but there are “clear signs that both sides are making an effort” to avoid escalation beyond the current level of violence.
Shehadi said the government’s most important leverage to help disarm Hezbollah is having the vast majority of the Lebanese people backing them and calling for Hezbollah to surrender its weapons to the Lebanese Armed Forces.
“The international community is supportive of Lebanon’s intention to control all the weapons on Lebanese territory. Now, that’s not enough, clearly, and so what we need to do is continue to put pressure on Hezbollah to get Hezbollah to accept and to relinquish its weapons, because the weapons today are only going to bring more retaliation from Israel,” Shehadi said. Watch the full interview here.
Meanwhile, Brussels is preparing for the visit of Péter Magyar, whose opposition party won Hungary’s 12 April election.
“I will travel to Brussels on Wednesday for informal talks with the President of the European Commission on unlocking EU funds,” he wrote on X. “We have no time to waste.”
A honeymoon now begins between Budapest and Brussels after 16 years of tension under outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who announced on Saturday he won’t take up his seat in parliament after his Fidesz party suffered a heavy loss in the 12 April vote.
Meanwhile, incoming Prime Minister Magyar said on Saturday he had information that wealthy figures linked to Orbán’s outgoing government were moving assets abroad and called on authorities to detain fleeing oligarch families.
“I am aware that Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), based on reports from banks, has suspended several high-value transfers linked to Antal Rogán’s circle on suspicion of money laundering. I call on the leadership of NAV to immediately freeze these stolen funds,” Magyar wrote on X, referring to the outgoing top minister under Orbán’s administration.
On 40th Chernobyl disaster anniversary, Zelenskyy accuses Russia of committing ‘nuclear terrorism’
As Ukrainians marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of “nuclear terrorism”, alleging it repeatedly sends attack drones over the site.
On social media, Zelenskyy warned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has once again pushed the world to “the brink of a man-made disaster”.
He also said drones now regularly fly over Chernobyl. “The world must not allow this nuclear terrorism to continue, and the best way is to force Russia to stop its reckless attacks.”
Russian strikes on Ukraine continued through the anniversary, with Moscow launching 144 drones in a barrage during the night between Saturday and Sunday.
Read the full story by Lucy Davalou.
Germany suspects Russia of Signal phishing attacks targeting politicians
The German government believes Russia is behind a new phishing campaign targeting lawmakers and senior officials via the Signal messaging app.
The incident is the latest in Moscow’s hybrid war targeting Europe.
Victims are said to receive messages posing as Signal support, prompting them to enter a PIN, click a link or scan a QR code. If successful, the scam gives hackers access to messages, group chats, and any photos or files shared by the user.
Media reports say at least 300 accounts belonging to political figures were compromised. Civil servants, diplomats, military personnel and journalists were also targeted.
Vice-President Andrea Lindholz (CSU) has ruled out banning Signal, saying MPs should be free to decide how they communicate.
You can read the story of Sonja Issel & Evelyn Ann-Marie Dom here.
More from our newsroom
Zelenskyy says he is ready to meet Putin in Azerbaijan. On a visit to Azerbaijan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin there, as US-led diplomatic talks have stalled in recent weeks. Read **Sasha Vakulina’**s story here.
Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe becomes first person to run marathon in less than two hours. In London, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe made history by becoming the first athlete ever to break the two-hour barrier in the marathon. Jesús Maturana has the full story.
Today we are also keeping an eye on
– European Parliament plenary session kicks off in Strasbourg. A debate on the “Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU” is scheduled later today.
Read the full article here
