Paris police shoot, injure knife-wielding man who tried to attack officers at Arc de Triomphe
Paris (AP): A man wielding a knife tried to attack police during a ceremony beneath the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris on Friday, and was shot and injured by a police officer, officials said.
The attacker targeted an officer securing the ceremony for relighting the eternal flame honouring unknown soldiers at the Napoleon-era landmark, according to a Paris police official. Another officer shot the attacker, who was hospitalised, the official said.
No bystanders or police officers were injured in the incident, the official told The Associated Press.
The French counterterrorism prosecutor's office said it is investigating the case and sent an investigator to the scene.
The Arc de Triomphe is one of Paris' most famous sites, and sits atop the busy Champs-Elysees avenue.
A large police presence was visible Friday evening near the monument, which was closed to the public. The traffic circle surrounding the Arc de Triomphe remained open to vehicles.
The nearby metro station was closed for security reasons at the request of police, Paris public transport operator RATP said.
No other details were immediately available.
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EU summit will focus on Iran war, loan to Ukraine blocked by Hungary
Brussels (AP): European Union leaders are holding a summit in Brussels on Thursday for talks on the Iran war, energy prices, migration and an enormous loan for war-ravaged Ukraine being held up by Hungary.
Many of those leaders have deflected entreaties by US President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the global flow of oil, gas and fertiliser.
Rising energy prices because of the war and fears in Europe of a new refugee crisis have pushed leaders to make the Middle East one of the top priorities at the summit.
The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, has floated the idea of a “toolbox” of measures to lower energy prices for leaders to discuss because no single policy will work across the myriad markets in the 27-nation bloc to blunt economic shocks from the war, according to a senior European diplomat who wasn't authorised to be publicly named so spoke on condition of anonymity.
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The summit will also focus on a long-brewing standoff between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and most other EU nations.
The last EU summit was held in December at a Belgian castle, where the leaders including Orban agreed to a 90 billion-euro (USD 104 billion) loan for Ukraine for help overcoming a budget shortfall in the country as it grapples with a grinding war with Russia.
But a month later, Orban backtracked after the Druzhba oil pipeline was disabled in January after what Ukrainian officials said was a Russian drone attack.
The pro-Russia leader, who has held office in Hungary since 2010, is running an aggressive media campaign villainising both Brussels and Kyiv as he seeks reelection next month.
“If there is no oil, there is no money,” Orban said in a social media post on Tuesday.
To get Ukraine the much-needed loan, EU leaders and diplomats will lobby Orban and Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico, whose government has also taken pro-Russia stances.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered for the EU to pay to repair the Druzhba pipeline and the development of alternative fuel lines for Hungary and Slovakia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that any obstruction to the loan is “absolutely unfair” and that there is “no alternative” for the embattled nation than those funds as it faces a severe budget crisis because of the war, which began on February 24, 2022.
“There may be alternatives in terms of financing mechanisms, but there is simply no alternative to strengthening our army,” Zelenksyy said on Wednesday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told lawmakers in Berlin on Wednesday that the EU must swiftly reach an agreement on the 20th package of sanctions against Russia and the loan.
He said that he would “advocate for that emphatically” in Brussels and that “we must not take into consideration a single country in the European Union that is currently setting up this blockade in Europe now for domestic political reasons and because of an election campaign that is being conducted there.”
Merz said, in urging for more sanctions, that “the needs of the moment call for us to increase the pressure on Moscow together – the US and the European partners together."
