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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died, the Vatican said in a video statement today. Joshua McElwee reports for Reuters.
A Tunisian court has handed down prison sentences ranging from 13 to 66 years to prominent opposition figures, marking the culmination of a high-profile trial involving 40 individuals accused of conspiring against state security, according to Tunisian media reports. The Associated Press reports.
Pakistan has deported over 19,500 Afghans so far this month, part of more than 80,000 who have left the country ahead of a 30 April deadline, according to the United Nations. Pakistan’s foreign minister visited Kabul for discussions with Taliban leaders on Saturday, with his Afghan counterpart voicing “deep concern” over the deportations. Yama Bariz reports for BBC News.
Hong Kong’s oldest and largest pro-democracy party is preparing to disband after recent warnings from Chinese authorities, as Beijing’s broad crackdown has effectively eliminated space for even moderate opposition groups to function, sources told CNN. Chris Lau and Kristie Lu Stout report.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has suspended former President Joseph Kabila’s political party and ordered the seizure of his assets, accusing him of supporting Rwandan-backed rebel groups in the country’s eastern region, the government announced. Yassin Kombi reports for Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Ukraine’s military has reported Russian drone attacks overnight, hours after an unexpected 30-hour “Easter truce” declared by Russia expired. Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations of violating the temporary truce, with Moscow confirming fighting had resumed. BBC News reports.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. airstrikes killed 12 people and wounded 30 others in Yemen’s capital overnight, the Houthi rebels said today. The U.S. military’s Central Command has declined to comment on the strike or discuss civilian casualties from its campaign. Jon Gambrell reports for the Associated Press.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
The Israeli military said “professional failures,” including an “operational misunderstanding” and a “breach of orders,” led to the deaths of 15 emergency workers in Gaza last month. Israel originally said its troops opened fire because the convoy approached “suspiciously” without headlights, but it later said that account was “mistaken” after a video found on the phone of one of the killed medics showed the vehicles with their emergency signals flashing.The deputy commander of the IDF unit involved has been dismissed, the military said. Gary O’Donoghue reports for BBC News; Isabel Kershner reports for the New York Times.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
El Salvador’s president yesterday proposed repatriating to Venezuela detainees sent to his country from the United States in return “for the release and surrender” of the “thousands of political prisoners” held by Venezuela, including key opposition figures. Annie Correal and Julie Turkewitz report for the New York Times.
China has imposed sanctions on some U.S. congressional members, government officials, and leaders of non-governmental organisations for what it calls “egregious behaviour on Hong Kong-related issues,” its foreign ministry said today. Reuters reports.
A second round of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations concluded in Rome on Saturday after four hours of discussions, led by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister. A further round of high-level talks is set for next Saturday, Iran’s foreign ministry said. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
Marking the first visit to India by a U.S. Vice President for over a decade, JD Vance is set to arrive in New Delhi today. Talks are set to focus on defense cooperation, civil nuclear agreements, and increasing Indian investment in the United States. Karishma Mehrotra reports for the Washington Post.
The United States is slashing its military presence in Syria over the coming months, following the “significant steps” made “toward degrading ISIS’ appeal and operational capability regionally and globally,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell announced on Friday. Colin Demarest reports for Axios.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. RESPONSE
The Trump administration is ready to recognize Russian control of Crimea as part of the U.S. framework to end the war in Ukraine, a source told CNN on Friday. Kylie Atwood and Catherine Nicholls report.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Government officials under both the Biden and Trump administration improperly shared sensitive documents, including White House floor plans, with thousands of federal workers, according to internal records reviewed by the Washington Post. Hannah Natanson reports.
Four Seattle police officers who were present at Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021 — held just before the attack on the Capitol — have appealed to the Supreme Court in an effort to prevent their names from being disclosed in public records related to the attack. Emily Mae Czachor reports for CBS News.
DHL Express is temporarily halting deliveries to the United States valued over $800 “until further notice” due to a “significant increase” in customs procedures triggered by the implementation of Trump’s new tariff regime. Dearbail Jordan reports for BBC News.
Barbara Lee, a progressive lawmaker renowned for casting the sole vote against military action following the September 11 attacks, emerged victorious in the Oakland, California mayoral race on Saturday, just four months after retiring from her long-standing congressional career. Soumya Karlamangla reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS
Three senior Defense Department officials who were recently fired said in a statement on Saturday that “unnamed Pentagon officials have slandered our character with baseless attacks,” further intensifying a standoff that has sparked growing concerns about dysfunction within the Defense Department under Secretary Pete Hegseth. Dan Lamothe reports for the Washington Post.
Secretary Hegseth shared details about upcoming U.S. airstrikes in Yemen in a Signal group chat that included his wife, brother, and personal attorney, sources say. On March 15, messages containing flight schedules for strikes on Houthi targets were reportedly shared — the same day Hegseth mistakenly sent similar sensitive details to a Signal chat that included The Atlantic editor-in-chief, raising alarm over senior officials’ handling of classified military information. Greg Jaffe, Eric Schmitt, and Maggie Haberman report for the New York Times; James LaPorta, Eleanor Watson, and Fin Daniel Gómez report for CBS News.
A draft executive order is calling for a sweeping overhaul of the State Department, including the elimination of nearly all Africa-related operations, and the closure of numerous embassies and consulates across the continent, according to U.S. officials and a copy of the draft order. The proposal also seeks to shut down bureaus that focus on climate change, refugee matters, and issues related to democracy and human rights. Secretary of State Marc Rubio called the article “fake news.” Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.
Trump raised $239 million for his inauguration, more than doubling his own record in 2017, according to a filing disclosed yesterday by the Federal Election Commission. Theodore Schleifer reports for the New York Times.
The Justice Department is reassessing the legal basis of White House trade adviser Peter Navarro’s criminal contempt of Congress conviction, according to recent court filings, a move that could potentially lead to the case being overturned. Spencer S. Hsu reports for the Washington Post.
After a week of escalating dispute and tensions, the Trump administration is said to be so irate at Harvard University that it is planning to pull an additional $1 billion of the school’s funding for health research, sources say. It follows the university publicizing a government demand letter that requested federal oversight of the campus. Douglas Belkin and Liz Essley Whyte report for the Wall Street Journal.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) yesterday accused Trump of sending the United States into a constitutional crisis, saying members of the Trump administration “are very much flouting the courts as we speak.” Referencing the case of Ábrego García, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, Van Hollen said, “I am not defending the man … I’m defending the rights of this man to due process.” Alexandra Marquez reports for NBC News; Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu reports for BBC News.
At the same time as ICE buses were nearing their approach to the airport exit in North Texas on Friday night, Justice Department lawyer Drew Ensign told U.S. District Judge James Boasberg said that he understood there would be no flights Friday night, and that he was “not aware of any plans” for flights Saturday. A video shows the buses abruptly turning around to a detention facility on Friday night before the Supreme Court ruled that the deportations under the Alien Enemies Act must be effectively paused “until further order.” Vaughn Hillyard, Julia Ainsley, Kayla McCormick, Sarah Dean, and Rebecca Cohen report for NBC News.
Trump administration lawyers urged the Supreme Court in a court filing Saturday to reject an emergency request by the American Civil Liberties Union to temporarily halt the deportations of Venezuelan migrants. The deportations remain paused while the justices consider the matter. Abbie VanSickle reports for the New York Times.
The Supreme Court intervened “literally in the middle of the night” and without adequate justification for halting efforts to deport detained Venezuelan nationals, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a dissent criticizing the seven-justice majority. The Associated Press reports.
One day after the Trump administration sent layoff notices to nearly 1,500 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s workers, a federal judge halted the move until at least April 28, and scheduled a hearing to assess whether the mass layoffs violated an injunction she had imposed the previous month. Stacy Cowley reports for the New York Times.
A federal judge in Boston ruled on Friday that the Trump administration must issue passports reflecting the self-identified gender of six transgender individuals, rather than requiring the passports to display the sex listed on their original birth certificates. The ruling came after a group of transgender plaintiffs sued Trump and the State Department over a new policy that barred passports from reflecting a gender different from the one on the applicant’s original birth certificate. Amy Harmon and Maya Shwayder report for the New York Times.
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