Morning newspapers focused on Harvard's battle against Trump's ban on international students, with the university filing a lawsuit describing it as a "death sentence" for elite global institutions. By noon, Trump shocked markets by announcing 50% tariffs on all EU goods starting June 1, causing immediate DAX declines. European sources described EU-US trade negotiations as "crashed" while Trump officials claimed the measure would "heat up the EU."
Russia-Ukraine developments included a major prisoner exchange of 390 captives, while Putin's confidant revealed details about Trump's "turn" on Ukraine policy. A Berlin school stabbing case concluded with the 13-year-old suspect's arrest.
By evening, attention shifted to a knife attack at Hamburg's main train station where a 39-year-old German woman in a "psychological state of emergency" injured 17 people. Police reported no political motive behind the attack, which occurred in a designated knife-free zone.