"Putin killing a lot of people"; Erdogan meets Sharif | Hook News Brief

Hook News Brief | 26.05.25

"Putin killing a lot of people": Trump

US President Donald Trump has slammed his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, following Moscow's largest aerial attack yet on Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said that he’s “not happy with what Putin is doing” and that he's killing a lot of people".

Trump’s comments came after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged that the US's "silence" after the recent Russian attack is encouraging President Vladimir Putin.

An overnight attack saw Russia fire 367 drones and missiles - the highest number in a single night since Putin launched a full-scale invasion in 2022. At least 12 people, including three children, were killed and dozens more injured.

Trump agrees to EU deadline extension

Staying with Trump - and the US President has agreed to extend a deadline to negotiate tariffs with the European Union until July 9. This after President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said she had a "good call" with Trump on Sunday.

Trump on Friday had threatened to raise tariffs on all goods sent to the US from the EU to 50% by 1 June, saying “discussions [with the EU] are going nowhere”.

Spain calls for “Two-state solution”

Spain has urged the world to consider sanctions on Israel as it hosts foreign ministers from 20 European and Arab nations in Madrid to push for a “Two-state solution”.

The high-level talks on Sunday adds to growing global pressure following Israel's expanded military operations in the Gaza Strip and the nearly three-month aid blockade.

Frances sees back-to-back blackouts in suspected sabotages

Staying with Europe and French authorities have launched an investigation into a power blackout blamed on sabotage that affected at least 45,000 people in the French Riviera region of Nice.

This was the second power outage in two days after a similar outage disrupted the final day of the Cannes film festival in another suspected act of sabotage.

Erdogan holds talks with Sharif in Istanbul

Moving on - Turkiye’s President Erdogan held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Istanbul, weeks after a military conflict between Islamabad and New Delhi.

A statement from Erdogan’s office said that he told Sharif it was in the interest of Turkiye and Pakistan to increase solidarity in education, intelligence sharing and technological support in the fight against “terrorism”.

The meeting comes as Turkiye faces a backlash from India over its alleged supply of weapons to Islamabad during the recent conflict between the two nuclear-powered neighbours, which they have denied.

Stay Hooked for more news updates.