World
36 MEPs want to deny Knesset member entry to European Parliament
A letter accuses Israeli lawmaker Amit Halevi of “dehumanising statements” towards Palestinians and urges EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola to bar him from participating in an upcoming conference.
Thirty-six members of the European Parliament have opposed hosting an Israeli colleague.
Amit Halevi from Likud, the same party as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was invited by Dutch MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group to participate in a conference on the Iranian regime.
The event, organised by the Israel Alliance Foundation in cooperation with the ECR group, is set to be held in the European Parliament in Brussels at 13.30 local time on Wednesday.
However, a letter signed by 36 MEPs, obtained by Euronews, urges European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to bar Halevi from attending.
The letter was initiated by Dutch Greens/EFA MEP Tineke Strik, in collaboration with Slovenian Socialist MEP Matjaž Nemec and Irish Renew Europe MEP Barry Andrews. The signatories include members from the Socialists and Democrats, Greens/EFA, Renew Europe, and The Left groups.
Proponents argue that Amit Halevi’s participation in an event at the European Parliament would violate key principles, including disinterest, integrity, openness, diligence, honesty, accountability, and respect for the institution’s dignity and reputation.
The objection stems from “extremely concerning, dehumanizing, and even genocidal statements” that Halevi has made in recent months. The letter highlights several of his controversial remarks from the past year.
In an interview, Halevi claimed, “In the Al-Shifa Hospital, they caught 150 terrorists and killed them. At the same time, 300 terrorists were born in the maternity ward,” implying that children born in Al-Shifa would inevitably become terrorists.
In the same interview, he defended that “There is nothing called Palestinian people, never was, and will never be.” and that “From the river to the sea, the national rights are only for one people, the nation of Israel”.
In a Facebook post, reported by local newspaper Arutz Sheva, he claimed that all the Palestinian people belong to two categories. “There are Palestinians who support Hamas’s Nazi education and Palestinians who serve as human shields for them. We can and must bomb both.”
The letter also reminds that Halevi has introduced legislative proposals in the Israeli Knesset to annex and resettle Gaza, while expelling its civilian population. “If each country takes in 5,000-6,000 families, most of the problem is solved”, he said according to Israeli Radio103.
The signatories of the letter have urged President Metsola to “protect the dignity and reputation of this house” by preventing Halevi from joining the panel discussion.
“The president can always limit access to individuals from entering the Parliament by denying that person accreditation”, MEP Nemec told Euronews.
“We also reached out to the organiser but received no concrete reaction as to the possible change of the participants of the event”.
However, MEP Bert-Jan Ruissen, the conference organiser, defends Halevi’s participation and said he is “looking forward to meeting him in the conference tomorrow, with other guests”, in a written reply to Euronews.
Ruissen’s office further claims that one of the quotes attributed to Halevi in the letter was misreported and that he has never endorsed killing children.
EP President Roberta Metsola has not commented on the letter yet.
World
Video: Humpback Whale Stranded Off German Coast Is Freed by Rescuers
new video loaded: Humpback Whale Stranded Off German Coast Is Freed by Rescuers
By Axel Boada
March 27, 2026
World
Russian man who assaulted woman during Barron Trump FaceTime call sentenced to 4 years
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A Russian man convicted of assaulting a woman in London in an attack witnessed by Barron Trump, President Donald Trump’s youngest son, on a video call was sentenced to four years in prison by a London court on Friday.
Matvei Rumiantsev, 23, an MMA fighter, was convicted by a jury on Jan. 28 of assault with bodily harm but was acquitted of rape and choking charges. He was also convicted of perverting the course of justice stemming from a letter he sent the woman from jail asking her to retract her allegations.
After the assault, Rumiantsev admitted he was jealous of his girlfriend’s friendship with the 19-year-old son of President Donald Trump.
BARRON TRUMP REPORTEDLY SAVED WOMAN’S LIFE AFTER WITNESSING VIOLENT ASSAULT ON FACETIME CALL
Barron Trump attends inauguration ceremonies in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool/Getty Images)
“Your lack of insight and empathy was apparent at trial,” Justice Joel Bennathan said. “You continue to try to blame the complainant for everything that has happened.”
Trump told investigators he had placed a late-night FaceTime call to the woman, whom he had met on social media, and had been startled when the call had been briefly answered by a shirtless man on Jan. 18, 2025.
“That view lasted maybe one second and I was racing with adrenaline,” Barron Trump said. “The camera was then flipped to the victim getting hit while crying, stating something in Russian.”
BARRON TRUMP SPOTTED ON NYU CAMPUS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE INAUGURATION
Barron Trump looks on ahead of the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, 2025. (KEVIN LAMARQUE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Barron Trump called the police in London.
“It’s really an emergency … I’m calling from the U.S., uh, I just got a call from a girl, you know, she’s getting beat up,” he told an operator.
Police responded to the address and arrested Rumiantsev, a London-based receptionist.
At his trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Rumiantsev was acquitted of rape and choking related to the attack, as well as a separate rape and assault allegation from November 2024.
His attorney, Sasha Wass, said that Trump wasn’t aware the woman had a boyfriend and questioned how much he could have seen in just a few seconds of video.
Barron Trump watches as his father, President Donald Trump attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
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Trump never testified in the case. However, the judge praised him for his quick-thinking actions.
“Mr, Trump properly and responsibly, despite being in the United States, made sure the emergency services here were called, and he told them what he had seen,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
EU Parliament unblocks key political hurdle in digital euro talks
Published on
EU lawmakers have overcome a key political hurdle in the negotiations of digital euro, making the project closer to approval, according to a draft text seen by Euronews.
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The Parliamentary rapporteurs involved in the legislation have found an agreement on the design of the digital euro, which will be able to function both online and offline.
The digital euro would be an electronic form of cash issued by the European Central Bank, designed to sit alongside banknotes and the payments services offered by commercial banks.
It has taken on new political weight as economic tensions between the EU and the US sharpen the debate over Europe’s reliance on American payment giants, such as Visa and Mastercard.
Under the European Commission’s proposal, digital euro users would have a wallet for both online and offline payments, with transactions designed so they are not trackable.
The situation in Parliament changed on Wednesday evening, when the centre-right politician Fernando Navarrete, who is the leading rapporteur on the file, announced the withdrawal of his position to reduce the scope of the digital euro to offline use only.
His position blocked the advancement of negotiations for months, jeopardising the whole legislative process, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations.
The political deadlock has pushed EU leaders to accelerate progress on the digital euro. At the European Council meeting on 19 March, they set a goal to have the digital euro legislation approved by the end of 2026.
With the Council, representing EU countries, having already adopted its position, the European Parliament is now the only institution left to advance the law.
“Thanks to our amendments and firm stance, we have finally broken the political deadlock on the digital euro. The distinction between online and offline has been removed, and it is now established as a single payment system,” Pasquale Tridico, the rapporteur for The Left, told Euronews.
However, lawmakers still need to agree on two key aspects: the “hold limits” and the “compensation.”
The hold limits determine the maximum amount a user can store in a digital euro wallet, while compensation sets out a model for reimbursing commercial banks that provide digital euro services.
Although negotiations are not yet complete, the text is expected to be voted on in the Parliament’s economy committee before the summer, according to a source familiar with the matter.
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