News Briefs

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope, called for an end to conflicts worldwide, emphasizing Easter’s message of hope and transformation. With ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, he acknowledged indifference to the suffering caused by wars. Leo announced a prayer vigil for peace on April 11. In the Holy Land, Easter celebrations are subdued due to restrictions on public gatherings, while Gazan Christians celebrated the first Easter since a ceasefire. Armenian Christians gathered in the Iranian capital during the fifth week of war.

Pope Leo's challenge: How to build unity in a fragmenting world

The Congolese government said that the deportees will start arriving in Congo in April. At least seven other African nations have received migrants from the U.S. Lawyers say many migrants have judicial protection orders not to be returned to their home countries over major safety concerns, and that several of the African nations involved have repressive governments and poor human rights records. The Trump administration has spent at least $40 million to deport about 300 migrants in this program, according to a report by the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Nigeria had no shelter for returned male migrants. So, he built one.

The fighter jet crew member had been missing since Friday, when Iran shot down an F-15E Strike Eagle. A second crew member had been rescued earlier. President Donald Trump wrote on social media that the aviator is injured but “will be just fine.” A frantic search and rescue operation unfolded after the jet crashed, as Iran promised a reward for anyone turning the aviator in. The last time a U.S. warplane was shot down in combat was during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

The Iran War and international law: Fears grow of 'age of impunity'

In Tokyo, the birthplace of Japan’s popular Somei Yoshino cherry blossom variety, many of the trees planted during the country’s postwar advancement of the 1960s are now getting old and frail. Some have fallen, including two last week, and many others require support, triggering safety concern as the Japanese celebrate the season of their favorite flower. People gather under the trees during the season of hanami, or cherry blossom viewing Last year alone, there were 85 cases of fallen trees, many of them cherry trees, in Tokyo parks, injuring three people, according to metropolitan officials.

The administration wanted higher education institutions to prove they aren't considering race in admissions. The ruling follows a lawsuit filed last month by 17 Democratic state attorneys general. President Donald Trump had raised concerns that institutions were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race. The states argue the administration's effort threatens student privacy and could lead to baseless investigations. The federal judge said the government likely has the authority to collect the data, but the demand was rolled out in a “rushed and chaotic” manner.

How Trump has battled universities over antisemitism and DEI

British men Hamza Iqbal and Rehan Khan, and a 17-year-old male, had appeared in court on arson charges and were ordered to remain in custody. They are accused of torching four ambulances in London. The March 23 blaze in Golders Green destroyed the vehicles and caused explosions that broke windows in a nearby apartment block. Counterterror police are investigating the fire as an antisemitic hate crime. The three defendants are set to appear at London's Central Criminal Court on April 24.

The pilot’s plane, identified as an F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two U.S. aircraft attacked Friday, with one service member rescued. It was the first time the U.S. lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the five-week-long conflict. Iran called on people to turn the U.S. service member in, promising a reward. Separately, Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces. Meanwhile, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said an airstrike hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility. 

President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at fixing college sports that would give federal agencies authority to cut funding at schools that don’t comply with mandates covering transfers, eligibility and pay-for-play in the rapidly changing industry. The order is a laundry list of proposed fixes that lawmakers and college leaders have been pushing for. Among the notable parts of the order was a call to establish “clear, consistent and fair eligibility limits, including a five-year participation window.”

A stolen Vincent van Gogh painting is back on display in the Netherlands. “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring” (1884) was taken from a Dutch museum in 2020. In 2023, an unidentified man delivered the painting in an Ikea bag to a renowned art detective. Now on view at the Groninger Museum, the piece underwent months of restoration to remove damage and past alterations, bringing it closer to its original form.

Families wrapped their arms around freed loved ones outside Cuban prisons on Friday. Cuba’s government said it was going to release 2,010 prisoners in what it said was “humanitarian gestures” ahead of Holy Week. The Cuban government has faced extreme pressure and a crippling oil blockade by the Trump administration, which has openly expressed the desire for regime change and the release of prisoners arrested for protesting. It was unclear whether any of the prisoners released Friday are among the 1,214 people activist groups say are imprisoned for political reasons.

Newly sworn-in Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire unveiled a 20 million-euro plan to tackle violence in the city’s after-school programs. Mr. Grégoire intends to create an easy alert system for parents and children, after announcing that 78 after-school teachers have been suspended in 2026, with 31 suspected of sexual violence. Since being sworn in on Monday, Paris’s new mayor has faced pressure from parent groups. They say insufficient action has been taken to address violence in after-school care.

One crew member has been rescued after an American aircraft went down in Iran. That’s according to one U.S. and one Israeli official, who both spoke on condition of anonymity to describe sensitive ongoing military operations. The U.S. military launched a rescue operation after Iranian state media reported that an American fighter jet went down and at least one crew member ejected. It would be the first time the U.S. has lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the five-week war.

On Thursday, 40 nations held a virtual meeting about diplomatic and political strategies to reopen the strait controlled by Iran. The U.S. did not attend the talks, chaired by the U.K. Military planners from the coalition will convene in London next week to discuss how to aid shipping once there’s a ceasefire. As energy costs rise due to Iran's blocade of the strait, a European official told Reuters that a plan would focus on clearing mines and protecting ships.

The U.S. created a net 178,000 new jobs in March, the Labor Department reported Friday. It was the economy’s best showing in President Donald Trump’s second term and more than double what a consensus of economists had forecast. The unemployment rate edged down to 4.3%. Much of the gain came from healthcare, but even the slumping manufacturing sector posted its strongest rebound in more than three years. The report was not all positive. Job losses in February were revised upward from 92,000 to 133,000.

The Trump administration’s proposed 2027 budget includes $1.5 trillion for defense - a 40% increase. On Monday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the spending would “send a message to the world.” The White House said it would offset some of the increase with a 10% cut ($73 billion) in domestic programs, including fair housing and teacher training. Congress, which balked at last year’s White House proposal for even higher cuts, will mull the budget as midterm elections loom.

Myanmar’s parliament has elected Min Aung Hlaing as the country’s new president. He's the general who ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government in 2021 and has maintained tight control for the past five years. The move marks a nominal return to an elected government but is seen as an effort to keep the army in power. The election, organized by the military, was deemed neither free nor fair by opponents and independent observers. Min Aung Hlaing was one of three nominees but was virtually guaranteed the job due to the military-backed majority in parliament.

The Swedish Coast Guard has boarded a tanker suspected of causing an oil spill on the Baltic Sea. The vessel, Flora 1, is under European Union sanctions for transporting Russian oil. The spill was detected early Thursday east of Gotland island. The Coast Guard boarded the vessel early Friday and took it to anchorage near Ysted in southern Sweden. The vessel's flag and destination remain unclear. The EU sanctioned the vessel for carrying Russian oil using irregular and high-risk practices, including turning off its tracking system.

Reports suggest that Mr. Hegseth and Gen. Randy George disagreed over the secretary’s decision to block the promotion of several top Army officers, including women and Black service members. General George, the Army chief of staff, worked closely with Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, a fellow Trump administration appointee with whom Mr. Hegseth has also reportedly clashed. The Defense secretary, who also fired the Army’s top chaplain yesterday, reposted a social media statement from a Pentagon spokesperson thanking General George for his “decades of service” and wishing him well in retirement.