WORLD

VATICAN NEWS: With Pope Francis’ passing, we recall his unforgettable efforts that contributed to friendship and dialogue between Christians and people of all religions. Vatican, Italy | THE INDEPENDENT |   The first visit of a Pope to the Arabian Peninsula and to Iraq; his dear friendship with Rabbi Abraham Skorka …

COMMENT | KONSTANTY GEBERT |   Can an Israeli prime minister dismiss the country’s internal security chief? The Israeli Supreme Court considered that question on April 8, when it placed a pause on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s firing of Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet since October 2021. Seemingly expecting …

Putin and Francis were personally acquainted MOSCOW | TASS | Russian President Vladimir Putin held deep respect for Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “The president sent a telegram expressing his condolences over the Pope’s death. They had met many times …

The only clue about how the election is proceeding is the smoke that emerges twice a day from burning the cardinals’ ballot papers. Black signals failure. The traditional white smoke means the new Pope has been chosen. Rome, Italy | BBC |  Pope Francis has died at the age of …

  According to Archbishop Diego Ravelli, Master of Apostolic Ceremonies, the late Pope Francis had requested that the funeral rites be simplified and focused on expressing the faith of the Church in the Risen Body of Christ. Vatican, ROME | THE INDEPENDENT |  Vatican News has this morning reported that, …

COMMENT | NANCY QIAN |  With little economic or political rationale, US President Donald Trump has introduced some of the highest tariffs in more than a century, and imposed them on nearly every economy in the world. Then, suddenly, despite his insistence that the tariffs were here to stay, he paused the …

SACRAMENTO, the United States | Xinhua | Foreign travel to the United States saw a sharp drop in March, according to the latest data released Thursday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The agency reported an 11 percent fall in inbound visitors compared to the same month last year, marking …

  MOSCOW | Xinhua | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday declared a unilateral Easter truce for the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. The truce will start from 6:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Saturday and last until midnight on Sunday into Monday (2100 GMT on Sunday). “I have ordered a …

Washington, the United States | THE INDEPENDENT | Donald Trump’s  administration is advancing major efforts to continue cutting US foreign aid and dismantling USAID. A draft Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposes cutting the State Department by nearly 50%—over $30 billion—with foreign aid reduced by up to 75%, including the closure …

  How Xi Jinping promotes China-Malaysia friendship BEIJING | Zhao Bochao – Xinhua | Over three decades ago, when Xi Jinping, then the top official of China’s southeastern city of Fuzhou, visited Malaysia on an investment promotion trip, he found himself deeply impressed by two symbolic sites. One is the …