Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the Vatican taking aim at the White House, a 10-day cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, and Russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year.
American President vs. American Pope
Pope Leo XIV may be the Vatican’s first American leader, but he is certainly no friend of the White House. Since assuming the papacy last May, the Chicago native has maintained a relatively low global profile. However, the eruption of war in Iran has effectively thrown that playbook out the window, with Leo now taking aim at the Trump administration for its conduct in (and rhetoric surrounding) the Middle East.
Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the Vatican taking aim at the White House, a 10-day cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, and Russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year.
American President vs. American Pope
Pope Leo XIV (center) holds a white dove before releasing it after he met with the Cameroonian community of Bamenda on April 16.Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images
Pope Leo XIV may be the Vatican’s first American leader, but he is certainly no friend of the White House. Since assuming the papacy last May, the Chicago native has maintained a relatively low global profile. However, the eruption of war in Iran has effectively thrown that playbook out the window, with Leo now taking aim at the Trump administration for its conduct in (and rhetoric surrounding) the Middle East.
“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants,” Leo said during a speech in Cameroon on Thursday, in what many observers interpreted as a thinly veiled reference to U.S. President Donald Trump. “They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education, and restoration are nowhere to be found.”
The United States is estimated to have already spent at least $28 billion on the Iran war before the start of the cease-fire. According to an NBC News investigation published last week, that amount could have funded a year of child care for 2 million minors or paid rent for 1.2 million people.
Such criticism could be particularly damning for the White House, as several prominent figures in the Trump administration have used their positions to promote Christian nationalist beliefs or used Christian ideology to defend the administration’s actions, including immigration and overseas military operations.
Just last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth compared the daring rescue of a U.S. crew member shot down over Iran to the resurrection of Jesus. “Shot down on a Friday—Good Friday. Hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday. And rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday,” Hegseth told reporters. “A pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing. God is good.”
Leo denounced this practice on Thursday. “Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” the pope said.
These comments, which Leo delivered during his four-country tour of Africa, cap off a week of angry rebukes from the White House. These began on Sunday, when Trump accused the pope of being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Writing on Truth Social, Trump said, “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States,” adding that Leo would not have become pope had Trump not been elected.
That same day, Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated photo of himself being likened to Jesus. He has since deleted the post, arguing that he thought it was a portrayal of him as a doctor. But on Wednesday, the U.S. president posted another AI-generated image, this time of Jesus embracing Trump, with a caption that implies that God put Trump in power.
Yet the pope appears unconcerned. After Trump’s initial comments on Sunday, Leo told reporters, “I have no fear of the Trump administration.” In response, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance—the first Catholic convert to be elected to that office and a self-described “baby Catholic” who in 2025 acknowledged that “as a convert … there’s a lot I don’t know”—warned Leo to “be careful” when talking about matters of theology.
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What We’re Following
Uncertain truce. Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day cease-fire beginning on Thursday at 5 p.m. EDT. According to Trump, senior U.S. officials will work with both countries in the coming days to “achieve a Lasting PEACE.” This comes just days after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio mediated rare talks in Washington to discuss ending the Israel-Hezbollah war. Trump also said on Thursday that he plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the White House for further dialogue.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed the announcement. However, with no immediate comment from Israel or Hezbollah, it is unclear whether the cease-fire will be effective in practice. Lebanon has no direct control over the Iranian proxy group, and Hezbollah representatives were not present at talks in Washington earlier this week.
Renewed U.S. threats on Iran have also cast doubt on the stability of the truce. Just hours before it was announced, Hegseth warned Tehran that the U.S. military is “locked and loaded” to resume strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure. If Iranian officials choose not to accept U.S. peace terms, then “they will have a blockade and bombs dropping on infrastructure, power, and energy,” Hegseth said. “Remember, this is not a fair fight.”
On Thursday, Pakistan said that it plans to host a second round of U.S.-Iran peace talks, though it did not provide a specific date. The two countries’ two-week truce, which Iran has threatened to withdraw from should Israel continue attacking Hezbollah, is set to expire on April 22.
Meanwhile, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested on Thursday that U.S. forces will “actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran” anywhere in the world. This would drastically expand the parameters of Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.
Deadliest attack of 2026. Overnight Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least 17 people, injured dozens of others, and set fire to several buildings, Russian and Ukrainian officials reported on Thursday. The assault—which saw Russia launch hundreds of drones and missiles at the major cities of Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro—was Moscow’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year. And it came just days after both sides accused each other of violating a 32-hour cease-fire to mark Orthodox Easter weekend.
“Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X on Thursday in response to the attack. “There can be no normalization of Russia as it is today. Pressure on Russia must work. And it is important to fulfill every promise of assistance to Ukraine on time.”
Securing such aid appeared to be Zelensky’s top priority this week. In a whirlwind 48-hour diplomatic mission, Zelensky met with leaders in three European capitals to discuss further military and financial support. His efforts seem to have been successful. On Tuesday, Germany agreed to a $4.7 billion defense deal, and on Wednesday, the United Kingdom announced its largest-ever drone package. Norway has also pledged around $10.6 billion in assistance.
Political future in doubt. South African authorities sentenced opposition leader Julius Malema on Thursday to five years in prison for firing a rifle in the air at a political rally in 2018. “It is clear that if crimes are allowed to go unchecked and unpunished, it poses a serious threat to our democratic state,” magistrate Twanet Olivier said. The court also convicted Malema of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.
Malema’s legal team has already indicated its intention to appeal the sentence; Malema will not be transferred to prison while the appeal is pending. If the opposition lawmaker loses his appeal, then under the South African Constitution, he will be barred from serving in Parliament. This would mark a major setback for his far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EEF) party, which maintains popularity among many young people who advocate for better racial equality.
Among Malema’s most controversial beliefs, he has advocated for the redistribution of land previously seized by white Afrikaners. EEF supporters have framed the case against Malema as politically motivated, arguing that the sentencing 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 predates 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 pinpoint the location of the London property that renowned playwright William Shakespeare once purchased. According to a floor plan unearthed by Shakespeare scholar Lucy Munro, the British writer purchased lodgings in the Blackfriars gatehouse on St. Andrew’s Hill in 1613, close to the Blackfriars and Globe theaters where he worked. This has historians wondering whether Shakespeare planned to spend more time in London rather than return to Stratford-upon-Avon for retirement, as previously speculated.
As Shakespeare might say, “Now no way can I stray; save back to England, all the world’s my way.”
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