Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu appeared before police for questioning on terror-related charges on Saturday, a day after his interrogation over corruption allegations. His arrest this week has sparked widespread protests across Türkiye, with demonstrators rallying in multiple cities to voice their opposition. The mayor, who is a popular opposition figure and seen as a top challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was detained on Wednesday following a dawn raid on his residence over allegations of financial crimes and links to Kurdish militants.

European Union leaders said on Thursday that they will continue to support Ukraine, but they did not immediately endorse a call by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to provide at least 5 billion euros for artillery ammunition purchases. The EU’s leaders also discussed the Commission's defence proposals, which include a call for European countries to pool resources on joint military projects and buy more European arms.

The President of the European Council, António Costa, along with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, will be travelling to Uzbekistan for the first EU-Central Asia summit on 3-4 April. The summit will be hosted by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Samarkand, with the participation of the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The summit will present a key opportunity for the EU to demonstrate its geopolitical interest in intensifying bilateral engagement and enhance regional cooperation with Central Asia.

Hamas said it fired rockets at Israeli commercial hub Tel Aviv on Thursday in its first military response to the growing civilian death toll from Israel's resumption of air and ground operations in Gaza. Israel said it had closed off the territory's main north-south route as troops expanded the ground operations they resumed on Wednesday. Gaza's civil defence agency said 504 people had been killed so far in the Israeli assault, including more than 190 children. The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired rockets at Tel Aviv in response to Israel's "massacres" of Gaza civilians.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed Tuesday on a halt in Russian attacks against Ukrainian energy targets but fell far short of securing a full ceasefire in a highly anticipated phone call. The US and Russian leaders spoke for more than an hour and a half and both expressed hopes for repairing relations between the countries. However, there was no agreement from the Russian president for Washington's proposed full 30-day ceasefire in Russia's invasion of its pro-Western neighbour.

In less than two months the Eurovision Song Contest will be held once more, this time in Switzerland. The competition, established by the European Broadcast Union in 1956, has many detractors but also many loyal fans. Intended to bring the countries of the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) together, the event is meant to be a celebration of cultural diversity and creativity. That hasn’t always been the case, however, especially when the acts are from the South Caucasus.

The Baltic country is preparing to increase its defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product, up from 3.7% planned for 2026. This was announced by Prime Minister Kristen Michal.

Prosecutors in Georgia have launched a criminal investigation into five civil society organizations, accusing them of “sabotage” and ordering the freezing of their bank accounts in relation to their role in anti-government demonstrations. In a statement on Monday, the Prosecutor’s Office said the groups had funneled more than two million lari (650,000 euro) to finance “illegal activities,” including paying protesters’ fines and purchasing equipment. Authorities claim the groups bear responsibility for violence and destruction linked to recent demonstrations.

Poland and the three Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia want to withdraw from the international treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines. The four NATO countries say it is necessary to be able to mount an optimal defence against the growing threat of Russian aggression.