Le Pen:

Ruling should scandalize anyone who believes in democracy

I am innocent.

Qatargate: Netanyahu condemns the arrest of his two advisers, calling them ‘hostages’.

Trump:

Stop shooting at U.S. ships, and we will stop shooting at you. Otherwise, we have only just begun, and the real pain is yet to come, for both the Houthis and their sponsors in Iran.

Le Pen:

This ruling does not mean I will retire from politics.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has resigned from his position in protest against Ben-Gvir's request for an additional ministerial position.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his wife hosted the children of victims of the Assad regime in the Syrian presidential palace.

Advisor to the Iranian Leader, Ali Larijani:

Any American mistake regarding our nuclear program could force us, under pressure from the people, to manufacture a nuclear weapon.

Houthis claim to have shot down yet another American MQ-9 Reaper UAV. This would be the 16th Reaper downed by the Houthis.

Trump:

I would love to run against Barack Obama for a third term.

Danish Defence Minister Poulsen:

It's completely unrealistic to think that we could stop cooperating with the United States and buying its military equipment.

NEW: Benjamin Netanyahu has withdrawn the nomination of ex-admiral Eli Sharvit as head of the Shin Bet, just 24 hours after announcing it.

The move follows backlash from members of his religious-right coalition, who opposed Sharvit’s reported appearance at a 2023 anti-judicial overhaul protest.

Denmark's foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen is set to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week in Brussels—the first high-level US-Denmark talk since Trump’s re-election and renewed interest in Greenland.

According to two officials familiar with the plans, the meeting is tentatively scheduled and could still be cancelled due to the strained relations between the US and Denmark.

Source: FT

President Donald Trump said he plans to reach out to North Korea “at some point” and reiterated that he has a “very good relationship” with leader Kim Jong Un.

“There is communication — I think it’s very important,” Trump told reporters, without giving a timeline. “There is a big nuclear nation, and he’s a very smart guy.”

Source: Bloomberg

China held military exercises around Taiwan involving the most naval vessels in nearly a year.

The Chinese military launched drills on Tuesday “from multiple directions,” Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a statement released by the People’s Liberation Army, adding that army, naval, air and rocket forces were involved.

The exercises, which involved army, naval, air, and rocket forces, come after the US vowed to deter Beijing's aggression in the region.

The Defense Ministry in Taipei said it detected 19 Chinese ships.

The value of frozen Russian assets in Switzerland rose to 7.4 billion Swiss francs ($8.38 billion) at the end of March 2025 from 5.8 billion francs a year ago, the Swiss government said.

The 1.6 billion franc increase was due to the identification and blocking of additional funds, the government said.

The Trump administration has imposed new sanctions on six Chinese officials over human rights abuses in Hong Kong and Tibet. Targets include Hong Kong police commissioner Raymond Siu and justice secretary Paul Lam. The move signals a shift toward prioritizing human rights in U.S.-China policy. China condemned the sanctions as interference.

Source: WSJ

Abu Dhabi is quietly expanding its influence in the Central African Republic (CAR), with plans to establish a limited but strategic military footprint centered around the Birao airfield.

According to sources familiar with the issue, the United Arab Emirates does not intend to develop the site into a permanent military base. Instead, the airfield is expected to serve as a logistical hub for the projection and transit of equipment—primarily aimed at supporting operations linked to neighboring Sudan.

Source: Africa Intelligence

💰 The MQ-9 Reaper UAV has an estimated unit cost of approximately $30 to $32 million.

Total cost of the Reaper UAVs lost by the U.S. in Yemen: $480-512 million.

The European Union has a plan to counteract the swathe of tariffs U.S. President Trump is planning to impose on foreign goods, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

“Europe has not started this confrontation,” she said in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday. “We do not necessarily want to retaliate, but we have a strong plan to retaliate if necessary.”

Source: WSJ

Germany is set to deport four young foreign residents over alleged involvement in protests against Israel’s war on Gaza.

With no convictions, the cases draw comparisons to U.S. deportation tactics against social movements.

Source: +972 Magazine