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A curated weekday guide to major news and developments over the weekend. Here’s today’s news:
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR — U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE
North Korea confirmed for the first time today that it has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine, showing the “highest strategic level of the firm militant friendship,” KCNA state media reported Pyongyang’s ruling party as saying. Russia confirmed the news Saturday, saying North Korean soldiers have been fighting alongside Russians in the Kursk region. Jack Kim reports for Reuters; Hyung-Jin Kim reports for the Associated Press.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday that the Trump administration will decide this week whether to continue pursuing a negotiated resolution to the war in Ukraine or shift its focus elsewhere. Edward Wong reports for the New York Times.
The death of a senior CIA official’s son who was killed fighting with Russian forces in eastern Ukraine in April 2024 is “not a national security issue,” the agency said on Friday. Michael Gloss’s family say they had no inkling he was in Ukraine, much less fighting with Moscow’s forces, with the news being delivered in person by a State Department official. Ellen Nakashima and Alex Horton report for the Washington Post.
On the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting, which the White House called “very productive,” was the first since the two leaders’ Oval Office shouting match in February. Barak Ravid reports for Axios.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
Russian authorities have charged a “Ukrainian special services agent” with terrorism after his arrest in connection with a car explosion that killed Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik on Friday. Victoria Butenko and Michael Rios report for CNN.
Russia claimed on Saturday to have retaken the final village in its Kursk region, though Ukrainian officials denied it had been pushed out and said that its military operations inside Russia were continuing. Ivan Nechepurenko, Paul Sonne, and Marc Santora report for the New York Times.
GLOBAL AFFAIRS
Over 250,000 mourners attended a “simplified” funeral service for Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday. The two-hour funeral was attended by over 100 delegations, including world leaders and reigning monarchs. CNN reports.
Canadians head to the polls today to decide whether to grant interim Prime Minister Mark Carney a full four-year term, or give the Conservative opposition a chance to govern after over nine years of Liberal Party rule. Max Saltman, Paula Newton, and Hira Humayun report for CNN.
A 30-year-old man has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder after a car plowed into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver on Saturday killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens more. Police say they have ruled out an extremist motive for the attack, adding that the suspect was known to them. Neal Razzell and Bernd Debusmann Jr report for BBC News.
India said today it had responded to “unprovoked” small arms firing from multiple Pakistan Army posts along the de facto border for the fourth consecutive night, intensifying its search for militants in the region after last week’s terrorist attack in Kashmir killed 26 people, which it has linked to Pakistan. In response to the attack, India has ordered almost all Pakistani citizens to leave the country. Fayaz Bukhari and Shivam Patel report for Reuters; Suhasini Raj, Mujib Mashal, and Pragati K.B. report for the New York Times.
China and the Philippines have each raised their national flags on small sandbars in the South China Sea, asserting competing sovereignty claims on Sandy Cay, located near a Philippine military outpost in the disputed Spratly Islands. The images were released as U.S. and Philippine forces conduct their largest-ever joint military drills in nearby waters, just weeks after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged to strengthen the U.S.-Philippine military alliance to counter “China’s aggression” in the region. Nectar Gan and Kathleen Magramo report for CNN.
The death toll from Saturday’s explosion at a port in southern Iran has risen to 40, with over 900 others injured, the country’s state-run IRNA news agency reported yesterday. The cause of the explosion remains unknown, with officials declaring a public health emergency due to airborne toxic pollutants. Mikhail Klimentov, Susannah George, Niha Masih, and Abbie Cheeseman report for the Washington Post.
Dozens of self-identified NGOs in Geneva with secret ties to the Chinese government have been involved in a campaign to undermine the U.N. Human Rights Council, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The Beijing-backed groups reportedly disrupt U.N. human rights sessions by presenting favorable accounts of China that contradict credible NGO reports of repression. Greg Miller, Jelena Ćosić, and Tamsin Lee-Smith report.
Congo and Rwanda have pledged to draft a peace agreement by May 2 and halt military support for armed groups, according to a deal signed Friday in Washington as part of efforts to end the conflict in eastern Congo. Reuters reports.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Hearings have begun today at the International Court of Justice over allegations that Israel is breaking international law by refusing to allow aid into Gaza. Israel has said it will not allow the entry of supplies until Hamas releases all remaining hostages. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme said on Friday it has run out of food in Gaza, seven weeks after Israel imposed its blockade. Bart Meijer reports for Reuters; Astha Rajvanshi reports for NBC News.
Following a meeting with the head of Mossad on Thursday, Qatar’s prime minister said there has been “a bit of progress” in efforts to broker a new Israel-Hamas ceasefire, but added there remains “no answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war.” Meanwhile, a senior Hamas delegation left Cairo on Saturday following talks with Egyptian officials “for reaching a comprehensive deal that achieves a ceasefire, prisoner exchange, relief, and reconstruction,” Hamas said in a statement. Sebastian Usher and Jessica Rawnsley report for BBC News; Ibrahim Dahman, Eyad Kourdi, Dana Karni, and Kaanita Iyer report for CNN.
Defending his decision to remove Ronen Bar as the head of Shin Bet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday publicly accused Bar of lying to Israel’s Supreme Court. Netanyahu’s 13-page affidavit follows Bar submitting his own equally scathing affidavit to the Supreme Court last week, with the legal battle deepening national political divisions. Isabel Kershner and Johnatan Reiss report for the New York Times.
ISRAEL-HEZBOLLAH CEASEFIRE
The Israeli military yesterday struck a residential neighbourhood in the Dahiya district in southern Beirut, an area where Hezbollah maintains a stronghold. Hezbollah has not commented at the time of writing, while Lebanon’s president warned Israel’s actions would “escalate tensions,” raising concerns that the ceasefire which ended the Israel-Hezbollah war may be in jeopardy. Ephrat Livni reports for the New York Times.
HOUTHI DEVELOPMENTS
At least 68 people have been killed in a U.S. airstrike on a detention center housing African migrants in Houthi-controlled northwestern Yemen, the rebel group’s TV channel said. The U.S. military has not commented on the reported strike, but it came hours after the U.S. Central Command announced its forces had hit over 800 targets since Trump ordered an escalation of its campaign against the Houthis on March 15. Jaroslav Lukiv and David Gritten report for BBC News.
U.S. FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Iran and the United States held several hours of government expert talks in Oman on Saturday over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, ending the negotiations with a vow for further talks. A U.S. official said the talks were “positive and productive,” while Iran’s foreign minister called the discussions “very serious and work-focussed.” Jon Gambrell reports for the Associated Press.
The Trump administration has been consulting outside experts and discussing ways to potentially restart talks with North Korea, sources told Axios. The talks, which come after Trump’s two unsuccessful summits with Kim Jong-Un, follow North Korea making significant nuclear advances. While no meeting is imminent, Trump has expressed interest in re-engaging, possibly even face-to-face, with his national security team preparing for that possibility. Barak Ravid and Dave Lawler report.
Syria has formally responded to a list of U.S. conditions for potential partial sanctions relief, stating it has addressed most of them, while others require “mutual understandings” with Washington, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by Reuters.
U.S. DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
Former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was sentenced on Friday to more than seven years in prison, after pleading guilty last year to charges of committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Santos, who has been ordered to surrender by July 25, criticized the judge’s sentence and has called on Trump to intervene. Katherine Korteski and Dareh Gregorian report for NBC News.
Trump administration officials are considering allowing some Afghan refugees to stay in the United States after Customs and Border Protection recently revoked humanitarian parole for a group of vulnerable Afghans, sources say. Prominent Christian leaders and nonprofits are lobbying to protect what they say are hundreds of at-risk Christian Afghan refugees from potential persecution under Taliban rule. The effort is unlikely to aid Muslim Afghans, including those who supported U.S. forces. Jake Traylor and Myah Ward report for POLITICO.
Justice Department officials are exploring ways to clear homeless encampments and expand the involuntary hospitalization of people with mental illnesses, signaling the Trump administration’s push to more aggressively remove homeless individuals from public spaces, according to an email viewed by The Washington Post sent on Thursday by employees in the Office of Justice programs. Perry Stein and Tom Jackman report.
Law enforcement authorities yesterday arrested a second individual in connection to the theft of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s purse, sources say. The Attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, said both suspects were in the country illegally, adding, “there is no indication” Noem was targeted because she was the Department of Homeland Security chief. Laura Stickler, Jonathan Dienst, Ted Oberg, and Rebecca Cohen report for NBC News.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IMMIGRATION ACTIONS
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, defended the administration yesterday, denying that three U.S. citizen children were “deported” to Honduras on Friday, arguing instead that the children were sent because their deported mothers chose to bring them. One of the children, a 4-year-old with stage four cancer, was reportedly sent without medication or access to doctors, according to the family’s lawyer. Meanwhile, a federal judge said there was a “strong suspicion” that a 2 year old U.S. citizen was sent to Honduras “with no meaningful process.” Mariana Alfaro reports for the Washington Post.
Trump administration officials reportedly acknowledged the deportation of Abrego Garcia as an “administrative error” and considered efforts to ensure his safety through diplomatic channels used in other mistaken deportation cases, before reversing its stance after the Supreme Court ruling mandating the government facilitate Garcia’s return, sources say. Nick Miroff reports for The Atlantic.
Federal immigration authorities arrested the wife of an active-duty Coast Guardsman last week at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida, after she was flagged during a routine security check in the family housing area, officials reported on Saturday. Michael Biesecker and Lolita C. Baldor report for the Associated Press.
Federal agents raided an underground nightclub in Colorado Springs yesterday and detained over 100 people who they said were undocumented migrants, according to the Drug and Enforcement Administration. Over a dozen active-duty members of the U.S. military were also detained, they said. Eduardo Medina reports for the New York Times.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LITIGATION
The Trump administration on Friday abruptly reinstated the legal status of thousands of international students studying in the United States.The significant move, disclosed during a court hearing in Washington, came as immigration officials maintained they could still seek to revoke legal status to students in future, along with their visas. Zach Montague and Hamed Aleaziz report for the New York Times.
Hundreds of newly-released records including emails and testimonials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have been submitted to court ahead of a two-day hearing set to begin Tuesday to determine whether to extend the order blocking the planned firings of nearly 1,500 employees. Stacy Cowley reports for the New York Times.
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