Possible Electoral Ban on Marine Le Pen Has France on Edge

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who has failed three times to win the presidency, may be barred from running again if convicted of embezzlement in an upcoming verdict.

Le Pen considers a possible guilty verdict as a “political death” and views it as a severe attack on democratic choice, potentially sparking political upheaval amid national dysfunction.

Prosecutor Nicolas Barret emphasized the impartiality of justice, asserting that the courtroom is a legal—not political—venue, and laws apply equally to all citizens.

Source: NYT

The cost of a single THAAD interceptor missile is approximately $12.6 million, as reported in FY2017.

The cost of six THAAD missiles would be about $75.6 million.

German Chancellor Scholz warns EU will retaliate if U.S. imposes metal tariffs.

"So I say to the United States: Europe's goal remains cooperation. But if the U.S. leaves us no choice, such as with the tariffs on steel and aluminium, we as the EU will react as one".

Trump on running for a third term:

A lot of people would like me to do it. I am not joking. There are methods.

One method for a third term according to Trump:

Letting JD Vance become President and then passing the role back to Trump.

Source: NBC

Trump on firing Mike Waltz because of the Signalgate:

"I don’t fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts."

Zelensky:

We have had the US proposal for an unconditional ceasefire for several weeks now. The Russian response to this proposal is drones, bombs, ballistics.

Finnish President Stubb after meeting with Trump:

Trump is quite impatient with Russia's actions, and this kind of scheming and delaying regarding the ceasefire.

The UK will purchase American F-35A fighter jets in a multi-billion pound deal.

Ministers are set to confirm the purchase of F-35 jets instead of “expensive” Eurofighter Typhoons.

Officials are confident that the UK, which makes 15% of every F-35, will be able to operate the aircraft independently of the US.

Source: The Times

Keir Starmer and Trump discussed "productive" negotiations for an economic agreement between the two countries during a phone call.

Columbia grads chant “Free Palestine,” tear diplomas in protest of school’s ties to pro-Israel lobby and Trump-era deportations of dissenting students.

Trump:

Zelensky is trying to walk away from the rare earths deal and if he does, he's going to have problems, big, big problems.

Trump says that his upcoming tariffs will hit all countries.

Israeli army has issued evacuation order for Al-Salam, Al-Manara, Qizan al-Najjar neighbourhoods in Rafah, Al-Nasr, Al-Shawka municipalities of the Gaza Strip, where it will launch a ground attack

China's Xi Jinping will visit Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia on his first overseas trip this year, likely starting in mid-April.

The visit comes as Beijing seeks to strengthen ties with regional partners amid the US-China trade war, with Vietnam and Malaysia exposed to higher tariffs.

Source: Bloomberg