Welcome back to Global Overview, where we feature Vatican aim Palace10 days of ceasefire between Israel and Lebanonand Russiathe worst attack Ukraine this year.
The President of the United States against the Pope of the United States
Pope Leo XIV may be America’s first Vatican leader, but he is certainly no friend of the White House. Since assuming the papacy last May, the Chicago native has maintained a low international profile. However, the outbreak of war in Iran has thrown that book out the window, with Leo targeting the Trump administration for its conduct in (and words surrounding) the Middle East.
Welcome back to Global Overview, where we feature Vatican aim Palace10 days of ceasefire between Israel and Lebanonand Russiathe worst attack Ukraine this year.
The President of the United States against the Pope of the United States
Pope Leo XIV (center) holding a white dove before releasing it after meeting the Cameroonian community of Bamenda on April 16.Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images
Pope Leo XIV may be America’s first Vatican leader, but he is certainly no friend of the White House. Since assuming the papacy last May, the Chicago native has maintained a low international profile. However, the outbreak of war in Iran has thrown that book out the window, with Leo targeting the Trump administration for its conduct in (and words surrounding) the Middle East.
“The world is being destroyed by a few tyrants,” Leo said during a speech in Cameroon on Thursday, in what many observers interpreted as slightly veiled reference to US President Donald Trump. “They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and destruction, but the resources needed for healing, education, and restoration are nowhere to be found.”
The US is estimated to have already spent at least 28 billion dollars on the Iran war before the start of the ceasefire. According to NBC News study published last week, that amount could fund a year of childcare for 2 million children or pay the taxes of 1.2 million people.
Such criticism could be particularly damaging to the White House, as several prominent figures in the Trump administration have used their positions. promote national Christian beliefs or he used Christian ideology defend the administration’s actions, including immigration and military operations abroad.
Just last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth compared the heroic rescue of American personnel shot down over Iran to the resurrection of Jesus. “It was shot on Friday-Good Friday. It was hidden in a cave, in a cave, all Saturday. And it was rescued on Sunday. It flew from Iran at sunrise on Easter Sunday,” Hegseth told reporters. “A pilot born again, at home and counted, a happy nation. God is good.”
Leo condemned this act on Thursday. “Woe to those who falsify religion and the name of God for their own military, economic, and political benefits, dragging what is sacred into darkness and filth,” the pope said.
The comments, which Leo made during his four-country tour of Africa, cap a week of angry reprimands from the White House. This started on Sunday, when Trump accused the pope of being “WEAK on Crime, and bad on Foreign Policy.” Writing on Social Truth, Trump said, “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States,” adding that Leo would not be pope if Trump had not been elected.
That same day, Trump posted image generated by artificial intelligence himself likened to Jesus. Since then deleted the postsaying that he thought it was a picture of him as a doctor. But on Wednesday, the president of the United States published another Image generated by AIthis time of Jesus hugging Trump, and a quote indicating that God put Trump in power.
However, the pope seems unconcerned. After Trump’s initial comments on Sunday, Leo told reporters, “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration.” In response, US Vice President JD Vance—the first Catholic convert to be elected to that office and a express yourself “a Catholic child” who in 2025 admitted that “as a convert … there is a lot I don’t know”—warned Leo to “be careful” when he talks about theological issues.
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What we’re after
Uncertain agreement. Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10 days of ceasefire starting Thursday at 5 pm EDT. According to Trump, senior US officials will work with both countries in the future “to achieve Lasting PEACE.” This comes a few days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio became a mediator a rare conversation in Washington to discuss ending the Israel-Hezbollah war. Trump also said Thursday that he plans to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the White House for further talks.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the announcement. However, without instant feedback from Israel or Hezbollah, it is unclear whether the ceasefire will work in practice. Lebanon has no direct control over the Iranian proxy group, and Hezbollah representatives were not present at the talks in Washington earlier this week.
The renewed threats of the United States against Iran have also cast doubt on the stability of the agreement. Hours before the announcement, Hegseth warned Tehran that the US military is “closed and loaded“Resuming strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure.” If Iranian officials decide not to accept US peace terms, then “they will have blockades and bombs dropping infrastructure, power and energy,” Hegseth said. “Remember, this is not a fair fight.”
On Thursday, Pakistan said it plans to host a the second round of US-Iran peace talks, although it did not give a specific date. A two-week interim agreement between the two countries, which Iran has threatened to pull out of if Israel continues to attack Hezbollah, is expected to expire on April 22.
Meanwhile, General Dan Caine, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, he suggested on Thursday that US forces will “fully pursue any Iranian-flagged ship or any ship attempting to provide material support to Iran” anywhere in the world. This would greatly expand the criteria for Washington restrictions of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.
The worst attack of 2026. Russia’s nighttime attacks across Ukraine have killed 17 people, injured several others and set fire to several buildings, Russian and Ukrainian officials said. information on Thursday. The attack—which saw Russia launch hundreds of drones and missiles at the major cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro—was by Moscow. the worst attack on Ukraine this year. And it came a few days after both parties the suspect each for violating a 32-hour ceasefire to mark the Orthodox Easter weekend.
“The other night has proven that Russia should not be reduced to international policy or the removal of sanctions,” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. he wrote on X on Thursday in response to the attack. “We cannot have a normal situation in Russia as it is today. The pressure on Russia must work. And it is important to fulfill every promise of aid to Ukraine on time.”
Securing such aid appeared to be Zelensky’s top priority this week. In a whirlwind of 48 hours diplomatic missionZelensky met with leaders in three European capitals to discuss more military and financial aid. His efforts seem to be successful. On Tuesday, Germany agreed to a $4.7 billion defense deal, and on Wednesday, the UK he announced his biggest package ever. Norway has also pledged nearly $10.6 billion in aid.
The political future is in doubt. South African authorities to be judged Opposition leader Julius Malema was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for firing a gun into the air at a political rally in 2018. “It is clear that crime, if allowed to go unchecked and unpunished, is a serious threat to our democratic nation,” said judge Twanet Olivier. The court also convicted Malema of illegal possession of weapons and illegal possession of ammunition.
Malema’s legal team has already indicated its intention to appeal against the sentence; Malema will not be transferred to prison while the appeal is pending. If the opposition MP loses his appeal, then according to the South African Constitution, he will be barred from serving in Parliament. This would indicate a a big deficit for his left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters (EEF), which maintains popularity among many young activists. color balance.
Among Malema’s most controversial beliefs, he has defended it redistribution of land they were originally captured by white Africans. EEF supporters have framed cases against Malema as politically motivatedsaying that the sentence is an effort to appease Trump, who has repeatedly condemned South Africa for what he calls “white genocide” against the country’s farmers. The case against Malema preceded Trump’s criticism of South Africa.
Odds and Ends
To be or not to be … in London? That is no longer a question. For the first time, experts have been able to determine area of the London property that famous playwright William Shakespeare once bought. According to a floor plan discovered by Shakespeare scholar Lucy Munro, the English author bought a residence in the Blackfriars Gatehouse on St. Mary’s Hill. Andrew’s in 1613, near the Blackfriars and Globe theaters where he worked. This leads historians to wonder if Shakespeare planned to spend more time in London rather than returning to Stratford-on-Avon in retirement, as previously thought.
As Shakespeare might say, “Now there’s no way I can go astray; But back to England, all the world is my way.”
