US

President vs. Pope: How feud with Leo could hurt Trump

BY DANNY KEMP

  • "On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus," one time ally and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene said.
  • US President Donald Trump has feuded with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war -- setting off an unholy row that could have serious political implications for the Republican leader at home.
  • "On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus," one time ally and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene said.
US President Donald Trump has feuded with Pope Leo XIV over the Iran war -- setting off an unholy row that could have serious political implications for the Republican leader at home.
Trump has drawn barbs even from some allies over the attacks on the US-born pontiff, who has criticized the Trump administration over its immigration crackdown, the intervention in Venezuela and the Iran war. The president risks alienating the religious right in November's crucial US midterm elections.
So far the unprecedented clash between the leader of the most powerful military on Earth and the head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics shows no signs of abating.
"There's nothing to apologize for. He's wrong," the 79-year-old Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
In the post on Sunday, Trump called the pontiff "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," suggesting that Leo was elected pope in May 2025 only because he was American and a possible bridge to the Trump administration.
Trump then posted an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as a figure like Jesus Christ, which he later deleted. He insisted on Monday that he believed the image showed himself as a doctor.
For his part, Pope Leo told reporters on the papal plane en route to Africa earlier Monday that he has "no fear, neither of the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel."
Leo had earlier this month branded Trump's threat to destroy a "whole civilization" in Iran as "truly unacceptable." He has also previously criticized Trump's mass deportation campaign as "inhuman."
Three-times married billionaire Trump has long reached out to America's evangelical Christians with his conservative, nativist vision.
They backed him in his election wins in 2016 and 2024 despite a series of scandals and an ambiguous personal relationship with religion.
But Trump, who has previously hawked $60 Bibles branded with his name, appeared to have had something of an awakening during his second term.
At his inauguration last year he said he had been "saved by God" after a 2024 assassination attempt on the campaign trail and has taken a more explicitly religious tone.

'Evil tirade'

Yet over the recent Easter period, which is sacred to Christians, Trump has made a series of eye-opening posts when it comes to religion.
On the morning of Easter Sunday, as Christians were celebrating around the world, Trump posted a profanity-laced warning to the "crazy bastards" of Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or else -- bizarrely signing off: "Praise be to Allah."
Then, amid what appeared to be increasing frustration after talks with Iran produced no breakthrough, came Sunday's attacks on Pope Leo. 
"I am disheartened that the president chose to write such disparaging words about the Holy Father," the head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Paul Coakley, said in a statement.
At least one prominent Catholic in Trump's administration backed the US president over the pontiff. 
US Vice President JD Vance, a recent convert, told Fox News on Monday, "in some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality... and let the President United States stick to dictating American public policy." 
There was no immediate reaction from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also Catholic.
Perhaps more worrying for the White House is the ire on the religious right, particularly among former allies.
Any slackening of support for Trump will add to concerns among Republicans that they could lose control of Congress in November's mid-term elections, with the economy already a worry amid high oil prices caused by the Iran war.
"On Orthodox Easter, President Trump attacked the Pope because the Pope is rightly against Trump’s war in Iran and then he posted this picture of himself as if he is replacing Jesus," one time ally and former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor-Greene said.
"This comes after last week's post of his evil tirade on Easter and then threatening to kill an entire civilization. I completely denounce this and I’m praying against it!!!"
Conservative commentator Riley Gaines also railed against the apparent Jesus image. 
"Seriously, I cannot understand why he'd post this," Gaines said on X, urging Trump to show humility and adding: "God shall not be mocked."
dk/pnb/sla/dw

conflict

Around 100 pro-Palestinian protesters detained at NY demo

  • Gathering under the banner of the group Jewish Voice for Peace, the detainees were part of a group of about 200 protesters who blocked a major avenue in Manhattan for just under an hour to protest US military support for Israel. 
  • Police detained around 100 people taking part in a rally Monday by a Jewish organization that promotes Palestinian rights, an AFP correspondent saw, with Chelsea Manning among those held.
  • Gathering under the banner of the group Jewish Voice for Peace, the detainees were part of a group of about 200 protesters who blocked a major avenue in Manhattan for just under an hour to protest US military support for Israel. 
Police detained around 100 people taking part in a rally Monday by a Jewish organization that promotes Palestinian rights, an AFP correspondent saw, with Chelsea Manning among those held.
Gathering under the banner of the group Jewish Voice for Peace, the detainees were part of a group of about 200 protesters who blocked a major avenue in Manhattan for just under an hour to protest US military support for Israel. 
They had gathered near the offices of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and his colleague Kirsten Gillibrand, whom they accuse of voting against a measure aimed at blocking US arms sales to Israel.
Manning is the army intelligence analyst who leaked documents to WikiLeaks, and had her 35-year sentence commuted by President Barack Obama in 2017. She now campaigns for pro-Palestinian causes.
"Our actions matter in shaping the course of history. Senators Schumer and Gillibrand have repeatedly supported weapons sales to Israel that are being used to commit atrocities across Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran. We call on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to follow the will of New Yorkers and vote to block weapons and bulldozer sales to Israel," she said in a statement issued by JVP.
Police confirmed to AFP there were "multiple arrests" but could not immediately give a number.
ct-rh-gw/ksb

economy

McDonald's, Iran, and the pope: Trump's bizarre press conference

BY DANNY KEMP

  • Trump's self-imposed blockade on Iranian ports took effect just over two hours before the press conference, following the failure of talks in Pakistan at the weekend.
  • If the McDonald's delivery to the Oval Office on Monday wasn't extraordinary enough, President Donald Trump's press conference on Iran, the pope and Jesus certainly was.
  • Trump's self-imposed blockade on Iranian ports took effect just over two hours before the press conference, following the failure of talks in Pakistan at the weekend.
If the McDonald's delivery to the Oval Office on Monday wasn't extraordinary enough, President Donald Trump's press conference on Iran, the pope and Jesus certainly was.
The 79-year-old, a well-known fast food fan, emerged from the heart of the White House to take possession of two bags of burgers from a DoorDash employee.
"I have a DoorDash order for you Mr President," said delivery worker Sharon Simmons, wearing a red t-shirt with her company's logo, as she handed him the paper bags.
"This doesn't look staged does it?" Trump asked reporters after receiving the delivery from Simmons, whom the company described as a grandmother of ten from Arkansas.
The event was designed to highlight billionaire Republican Trump's "no tax on tips" policy, which he said had resulted in an $11,000 rebate for Simmons this year.
But as ever with the oldest elected president in US history it quickly swerved into surreal territory, on the biggest possible topics.
"Mr President, did you post that picture of yourself depicted as Jesus Christ?" asked a reporter.
Trump had come under fire after a now-deleted, AI-generated image appeared on his Truth Social account on Sunday night showing him as Jesus, shortly after he criticized Pope Leo XIV over his stance on Iran.
The president was having none of it.
"I did post it -- and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do (with the) Red Cross," Trump replied. 
"And I do make people better. I make people a lot better."
The questions then turned to the Iran war, a conflict that has sent oil prices soaring and raised questions about the US economy ahead of crucial midterm elections in November.
Trump's self-imposed blockade on Iranian ports took effect just over two hours before the press conference, following the failure of talks in Pakistan at the weekend.
Insisting that Iranian representatives had called Washington since, Trump said Iran "very badly" wants to make a deal, which he said had to include stopping Tehran from ever getting a nuclear weapon.

'Good tippers'

With the bemused delivery worker still at his side, Trump then also made it clear he was not going to be apologizing any time soon to the first US-born head of the Roman Catholic Church.
"There's nothing to apologize for. He's wrong," Trump told reporters, a day after another Truth Social Post and comments to reporters slamming Pope Leo over his opposition to the Iran war.
"Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran," said Trump, adding that Leo was "very weak on crime and other things."
Trump then veered onto one of his favorite topics -- his administration's ban on transgender people in women's sports -- and asked Sharon Simmons what she thought. 
"I really don’t have an opinion on that," she told the president of the United States. "I'm here about no tax on tips."
Another question for the DoorDash employee came from reporters. 
"Are the White House good tippers?" she was asked.
"Um..." she said with a shrug.
"Wait," said Trump, before reaching into his trouser pocket, pulling out what appeared to be a folded $100 bill and handing it to Simmons.
"Thank you," the grinning president said to the reporter. "You reminded me!"
dk/sms

religion

Trump deletes Jesus post of himself after outcry

BY MALCOLM FOSTER

  • Trump has previously used religious images in his posts.
  • US President Donald Trump on Monday deleted a social media image apparently depicting him as Jesus after an outcry from religious leaders that he was being blasphemous.
  • Trump has previously used religious images in his posts.
US President Donald Trump on Monday deleted a social media image apparently depicting him as Jesus after an outcry from religious leaders that he was being blasphemous.
The image posted on Trump's Truth Social platform showed him in flowing red and white robes, touching the forehead of what appeared to be a sick man and with light shining from his hand and head.
An American flag waved in the background while various figures gazed up at the president in reverence.
The AI picture was posted late Sunday and removed Monday.
Asked about the post, Trump denied that he was trying to look like Jesus Christ.
"I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do Red Cross," he told journalists. "It's supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better."
The post generated an outcry from a series of prominent conservative Christians who are among Trump's biggest backers.
"I don’t know if the President thought he was being funny or if he is under the influence of some substance or what possible explanation he could have for this OUTRAGEOUS blasphemy," Megan Basham, a conservative journalist and commentator wrote on X.
"He needs to take this down immediately and ask for forgiveness from the American people and then from God."
Trump has previously used religious images in his posts. During his 2023 bank fraud trial, he shared a sketch from a supporter that showed him sitting next to Jesus in the courtroom.
His advisors have also repeatedly cast him in a Jesus-like role. 
During an Easter lunch event at the White House earlier this month, Paula White-Cain, a televangelist who has served as his spiritual advisor, likened Trump to Jesus. "You were betrayed and arrested and falsely accused. It's a familiar pattern that our Lord and Savior showed us."

'Spared' for a reason

Trump has more avidly embraced his perceived messianic role after the July 2024 assassination attempt, said Matthew Taylor, a visiting scholar at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University who studies Christian nationalism.
"Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason, and that reason was to save our country and to restore America to greatness," Trump told supporters in his victory speech after his 2024 election win.
The Jesus image post could further fracture Trump's base at a time when they are questioning the Middle East war, particularly Catholics offended by his public spat with Pope Leo, who has criticized the US bombing of Iran, Taylor told AFP.
"A lot of right-wing supporters were already pushing back against the war in Iran. The rift was already emerging for a lot of his Catholic base, and with the denunciations of Pope Leo this does threaten to alienate that crowd," Taylor said.
But Kristin du Mez, a historian at Calvin University, doesn't see the support among his die-hard fans wavering.
His conservative Christian supporters "are keeping their distance from what would clearly count as blasphemy," she said.
"But I also see a lot of dodging. Yes, blasphemy is bad, this is inappropriate, he should take this down," du Mez told AFP. "What I’m not seeing is in any way suggesting that they’re not going to continue supporting the man."
mjf/sms

Congress

Two congressmen resign as US House braces for rare expulsions

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • He suspended his campaign to become governor of California but this did little to calm the uproar in Washington, where calls for him to resign from the House spread across party lines.
  • Two US lawmakers stepped down Monday and two more faced possible expulsion over a series of scandals that have rattled both parties and thrown the House of Representatives into turmoil.
  • He suspended his campaign to become governor of California but this did little to calm the uproar in Washington, where calls for him to resign from the House spread across party lines.
Two US lawmakers stepped down Monday and two more faced possible expulsion over a series of scandals that have rattled both parties and thrown the House of Representatives into turmoil.
Democrat Eric Swalwell of California, who had already ended his bid to become governor, announced his resignation from Congress on Monday via X, after multiple women accused him of sexual assault or misconduct. 
Hours later, Texas Republican Tony Gonzales announced plans to retire from office in an X post, amid mounting pressure after acknowledging an affair with a former aide who later died by self-immolation. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican leaders had already urged him not to seek reelection.
Lawmakers are still zeroing in on separate controversies involving two Florida lawmakers -- Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Republican Cory Mills -- in an unusual push for disciplinary action.
"Congress should not tolerate representatives who abuse staff, betray public trust for personal gain, and generally violate their oath of office," New York Democrat Nydia Velazquez posted on X, calling for all four to resign and adding "if they refuse, they should be expelled."

Threshold

Expulsion from the House requires a two-thirds majority, a threshold so high that Congress has wielded the sanction only in the gravest cases, removing just six members in its 237-year history.
Swalwell's troubles escalated rapidly over the weekend as reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN detailed allegations from four women, including a former staff member who said he sexually assaulted her twice while she was too intoxicated to consent. 
Swalwell has apologized for what he called "mistakes in judgment" while insisting the accusations are false. 
He suspended his campaign to become governor of California but this did little to calm the uproar in Washington, where calls for him to resign from the House spread across party lines. Late Monday afternoon he announced on X he was resigning his seat.
"I will fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make," Swalwell said.
Republican Anna Paulina Luna had been set to introduce a resolution Tuesday to expel Swalwell, and support for votes to oust the other three, beginning as early as this week, has come from an ideologically wide group of lawmakers. 

'Despicable'

"These allegations are despicable and they demean the integrity of Congress," Florida Republican Byron Donalds told NBC, adding that both Swalwell and Gonzales "need to go home." 
The Swalwell and Gonzales cases in particular have fed talk on Capitol Hill of a politically symmetrical purge: one Democrat for one Republican, or perhaps two from each party. 
"Gonzales and Swalwell exploited their staffers' ideals and commitment to public service as a vulnerability. These staffers work incredibly hard and instead of being treated with respect, they were preyed upon," Democratic New Mexico Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernandez said.
Cherfilus-McCormick is already facing a sanctions hearing after an Ethics Committee subpanel found she committed 25 violations tied to campaign finance and related conduct, and she is also due to face a federal criminal trial next year. 
Cherfilus-McCormick has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in her criminal case.
The Ethics Committee, a bipartisan but notoriously slow-moving body that handles misconduct cases in the House, was investigating Gonzales and on Monday opened a new file, on Swalwell -- but the committee's jurisdiction only extends to sitting members.
Mills, meanwhile, is under investigation over allegations ranging from sexual misconduct and domestic violence to campaign finance and gift violations, all of which he denies. 
Many lawmakers remain skeptical the chamber will act as soon as this week. 
The House is already operating with an exceptionally thin Republican majority, and any vacancies would trigger special elections whose timing would depend on state governors. 
ft/msp/dw/sla/ksb

Iran

'Bad news'? Vance comes up empty-handed on Iran and Hungary, for now

BY DANNY KEMP

  • Vance's frustration was clear as he addressed the media after the marathon talks that went through the night in Islamabad but failed to produce a deal to turn a two-week ceasefire into lasting peace.
  • JD Vance had two jobs last week: get an Iran deal and keep Hungary's Viktor Orban in power.
  • Vance's frustration was clear as he addressed the media after the marathon talks that went through the night in Islamabad but failed to produce a deal to turn a two-week ceasefire into lasting peace.
JD Vance had two jobs last week: get an Iran deal and keep Hungary's Viktor Orban in power. Neither happened for the US vice president.
The 41-year-old Vance looked exhausted as he left Pakistan on Sunday after 21 hours that failed to produce an agreement with Tehran to end a war he had never wanted to begin with.
At a terse press conference in Islamabad, Vance delivered the "bad news" and took just three questions before getting on a plane for the long flight back home. 
But just before landing there was more bad news.
Days after he rallied with Orban on stage in Budapest, the long-serving Hungarian prime minister had conceded defeat in elections despite an all-out effort by Donald Trump's administration to save him.
It was a double reality check for the ambitious Vance, who is widely tipped as a frontrunner in the race to being named heir to Trump in the 2028 US presidential election.
On Hungary, Vance insisted that it was still worth the Trump administration backing a man it views as its MAGA disciple in Europe.
"It wasn't a bad trip at all, because it's worth standing by people even though you don't win every race," Vance told Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier" on Monday.
"We didn't go because we expected him to cruise to an election victory. We went because we thought it was the right thing to do."
As one of the administration's most fervent supporters of far-right parties in Europe, Vance was the ideal person to go and support Orban, on paper.
In Budapest, Vance hailed Orban, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as to Trump, as a "model" for Europe.
But Vance's appearance alongside Orban means the White House effectively owned the defeat of one of its closest allies -- and the first major setback for its official national security strategy of backing European anti-immigration parties.

'Things went wrong'

In Pakistan, Vance faced a very different, and arguably even tougher, challenge.
The former Ohio senator built his political brand around his anti-interventionism, and was among the most vocal opponents of the Iran war in Trump's cabinet behind the scenes.
Yet Vance then found himself leading the delegation in the highest-level talks with Tehran for half a century, as he sought to negotiate a way out of one of the foreign wars he had long railed against.
Vance's frustration was clear as he addressed the media after the marathon talks that went through the night in Islamabad but failed to produce a deal to turn a two-week ceasefire into lasting peace.
"We go back to the United States having not gone come to an agreement," he told reporters in the Pakistani capital on Sunday morning.
But a day later, Vance was casting things in a more positive light.
"I wouldn't just say that things went wrong, I also think things went right," Vance told Fox. "We made a lot of progress." 
The fate of the US-Iran talks remains up in the air, with Trump saying that Iranian representatives had called and still wanted to make a deal -- even as Washington imposed a naval blockade on Iran's ports.
Vance said the "ball is in Iran's court" when it comes to further talks but did not rule them out.
The effect on Vance's political ambitions also remains unclear.
The battle for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination will begin in earnest after November's US midterm elections, with Vance expected to face off against Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
But while a vice president's role provides increased visibility for a potential candidate, it can also tie them to the outgoing president's policies -- which in Trump's case are increasingly unpopular.
dk/sla

Global Edition

Pro-EU Magyar vows 'new era' in Hungary after ousting Orban

BY ANDRAS ROSTOVANYI

  • He began by promising on Monday to limit the prime minister's mandate to two terms, "a total of eight years" or half the time that Orban had spent at the helm.
  • Within hours of becoming Hungary's prime minister-elect, Peter Magyar pledged on Monday to usher in a "new era" after defeating long-time nationalist leader Viktor Orban in an election seen as a blow to hard-right populism.
  • He began by promising on Monday to limit the prime minister's mandate to two terms, "a total of eight years" or half the time that Orban had spent at the helm.
Within hours of becoming Hungary's prime minister-elect, Peter Magyar pledged on Monday to usher in a "new era" after defeating long-time nationalist leader Viktor Orban in an election seen as a blow to hard-right populism.
Orban, a self-described "thorn" in the European Union's side, who was backed by US President Donald Trump and maintained close ties to Moscow, was ousted in Sunday's ballot after 16 years in power in the EU and NATO member.
Hungarians fed up with corruption handed the conservative Tisza party of former government insider Magyar a decisive victory, with a two-thirds majority in parliament. The vote saw a record turnout and Magyar's achievement received widespread international praise. 
Magyar, 45, said he would do "everything in our power" to ensure the "beginning of a new era". Hungarians "didn't vote for a mere change of government, but for a complete regime change," he declared.
He began by promising on Monday to limit the prime minister's mandate to two terms, "a total of eight years" or half the time that Orban had spent at the helm.
In power since 2010, Orban has transformed the central European country of 9.5 million people into a model of "illiberal democracy", making wide-ranging reforms that restricted civil rights and the independence of the judiciary, media and academia.
Orban, 62, frequently clashed with Brussels, which has frozen billions of euros in funds over rule-of-law concerns.

'No time to waste'

Magyar said he was "willing to take on" reforms, including anti-graft measures, to seek to unlock the funds.
He urged President Tamas Sulyok, an Orban ally, to convene parliament "as soon as possible".
The president has 30 days, until May 12, to call a session. And Sulyok said he had invited party leaders to a meeting on Wednesday.
"Our country has no time to waste. Hungary is in trouble in every respect. It has been plundered, looted, betrayed, indebted and ruined," Magyar told reporters.
Many EU leaders welcomed Magyar's win. The Kremlin said it hoped for "pragmatic" relations with Hungary's new government, while China -- which Orban also courted -- congratulated Magyar.
Magyar thanked Moscow and Beijing for "being open to pragmatic cooperation, just as Hungary is."
Orban conceded defeat on Sunday, saying the message was "painful but unambiguous".
Magyar was a longstanding supporter of Orban and his Fidesz party before becoming his most serious challenger.
He stepped into frontline politics just two years ago, promising to fight corruption and offering better public services.
He garnered support against a backdrop of economic stagnation and despite an electoral system skewed in favour of Orban's Fidesz.
Ahead of the vote, US Vice President JD Vance, a fervent supporter of far-right parties in Europe, visited Hungary last week to attend a rally with Orban.
Vance said Monday he was "sad" that Orban had lost, but promised Washington would work with his successor. 
Trump had promised to back Hungary with the United States' "economic might" if Orban won a new term.
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said it was "a significant defeat for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, for Trump and for the forces of authoritarianism around the world".

'Weight lifted off'

The election "could mark a real turning point for Donald Trump's culture war in Europe", said Pawel Zerka, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
It gave "confidence (to) pro-European forces across the continent" and meant that association with Trump's culture war was now becoming "more of a liability than an asset", he said.
Orban, who repeatedly blocked EU moves to help Ukraine fight Russia's invasion, made Ukraine a central campaign issue, portraying Kyiv as "hostile" to Hungary.
Like Orban, Magyar opposes sending EU military aid to Ukraine or offering Ukraine a fast-track route to join the 27-nation bloc.
He reiterated that stance on Monday, saying: "We are talking about a country at war. It is completely out of the question for the European Union to admit a country at war."
On election night, jubilant supporters poured into the streets to celebrate in the capital, Budapest.
"At long last it feels so good to be Hungarian. It's like a weight lifted off our shoulders," Csilla Bekesi, 25, told AFP.
burs-jza/yad/rh/cms

immigration

Brazil's fugitive ex-spy chief detained by US immigration

  • Ramagem, 53, is a former police officer who commanded Brazil's main intelligence agency, ABIN, under Bolsonaro.
  • US immigration officers on Monday detained Brazil's former intelligence chief, who fled to the United States after being convicted for his role in a coup plot.
  • Ramagem, 53, is a former police officer who commanded Brazil's main intelligence agency, ABIN, under Bolsonaro.
US immigration officers on Monday detained Brazil's former intelligence chief, who fled to the United States after being convicted for his role in a coup plot.
The fugitive Alexandre Ramagem was sentenced in September to 16 years in prison over the failed scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after winning the 2022 election over far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Ramagem sneaked out of the country before he could be arrested.
Brazilian police said in a statement that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement had detained "a fugitive from Brazilian justice following his conviction for the crimes of armed criminal association, attempted coup d'etat, and the attempted violent abolition of the rule of law."
A police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP that the detainee was Ramagem -- who is listed as being in ICE custody on the website of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Ramagem, 53, is a former police officer who commanded Brazil's main intelligence agency, ABIN, under Bolsonaro.
He was later elected a federal lawmaker, but lost his seat after his conviction.
Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year jail term over the conspiracy, which prosecutors said failed only because of a lack of support from military top brass.
Local media reported that Ramagem left Brazil via the border with Guyana, bypassing immigration controls, and entered the United States on a diplomatic passport.
Brazil formally requested the extradition of Ramagem in December.
The police statement said the arrest was the result of "international police cooperation between the Federal Police and US law enforcement authorities."
Bolsonaro ally and influencer Paulo Renato Figueiredo, who lives in the United States, wrote on X that Ramagem had been detained for a "minor traffic infraction."
Figueiredo -- grandson of the last general to preside over Brazil during the 1964-1985 dictatorship -- said that Ramagem's immigration status was legal, and that he has a pending asylum application.
"We expect him to be released as quickly as possible, at this time, we see no risk of deportation."
In a separate case, Ramagem is under investigation for allegedly leading a criminal group which carried out illegal spying on behalf of the far-right leader and his inner circle using Israeli surveillance software.
Federal police have recommended that charges be brought against Ramagem and around 30 others, including the former president's son Carlos Bolsonaro, in connection with this probe.
Ex-president Bolsonaro has been serving his sentence under house arrest for health reasons since last month, when he was rushed from prison to hospital with bronchopneumonia.
He has chosen his eldest son, the senator Flavio Bolsonaro, to face off against Lula in October elections.
The latest poll by the Datafolha Institute published Sunday showed Flavio Bolsonaro with 46 percent of voter intentions compared to 45 percent for Lula in a potential runoff.
fb-rsr/dw

Global Edition

US stocks finish higher amid hopes for US-Iran deal as oil price gains moderate

  • Oil prices, which had surged back above $100 a barrel as the United States imposed a blockade on Iran's imports, later eased.
  • Wall Street stocks shrugged off early weakness and pushed higher Monday as oil price gains moderated amid optimism that the United States and Iran would strike a peace agreement.
  • Oil prices, which had surged back above $100 a barrel as the United States imposed a blockade on Iran's imports, later eased.
Wall Street stocks shrugged off early weakness and pushed higher Monday as oil price gains moderated amid optimism that the United States and Iran would strike a peace agreement.
Some analysts cited President Donald Trump's claim that Iranian representatives phoned him and expressed keen desire for a deal after weekend talks in Pakistan failed to yield an agreement.
Oil prices, which had surged back above $100 a barrel as the United States imposed a blockade on Iran's imports, later eased. Both major contracts ended higher but below $100 a barrel.
"The market is betting that Trump will get some sort of a deal," said Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities. 
Trump warned Monday that any Iranian attack boats that approach the American naval blockade around Iran's ports would be destroyed, despite international calls for a ceasefire to be respected.
But markets also took in the US president's White House comments that Iranian representatives had called to make a deal since the Islamabad talks failed.
"I can tell you that we've been called by the other side. They'd like to make a deal. Very badly, very badly," he told reporters outside the Oval Office, without identifying which officials had called.
US indices picked up momentum after Trump's remark near midday, with the broad-based S&P 500 finishing up 1.0 percent.
The advance in stocks suggests "that the market remains confident that a potential end to the conflict could be imminent and that it will spur a sharp upward move across equities," said Briefing.com.
But the heightened risk of inflation and a global slowdown is expected to dominate this week's annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington.
On Friday, the US government reported that consumer-level inflation climbed to 3.3 percent in March, the highest since May last year.
"The stagflation word is being widely aired once again as geopolitical turmoil threatens to stymie international growth and stoke inflationary pressures," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Asian and European markets ended the day mostly lower.
"Reopening the Strait of Hormuz remains the key requirement for reigniting a sustainable rally across risk assets," said David Morrison, an analyst at Trade Nation.
"Yet there's also a conviction, rightly or wrongly, that the war will end relatively soon," he said, noting that oil futures contracts for deliveries later this year are currently priced well below current market prices. 
"As far as oil traders are concerned, this war may be in its seventh week, but it should be resolved by summer," Morrison said. 
But Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned Monday that Germany, Europe's biggest economy, would feel the effects of the energy shock from the war "for a long time to come, even after it is over", as his government announced relief measures including a fuel-tax cut.
In Hungary, stocks rallied five percent after conservative Peter Magyar won a thumping majority in parliamentary elections Sunday, ousting Prime Minister Viktor Orban after 16 years in power and opening the way to improved relations with the European Union. 
Economists at ING said that alongside economic reforms, Hungary's new pro-Europe government could set a target date for adopting the euro.
"If timed perfectly, this could boost market confidence and give the Tisza party more time to work on the Hungarian economy with some tailwinds," they wrote in a research note. 

Key figures at 2040 GMT

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 4.4 percent at $99.36 a barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 2.6 percent at $99.08 a barrel
New York - Dow Jones: UP 0.6 percent at 48,218.25 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.0 percent at 6,886.24 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.2 percent at 23,183.74 (close)
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burs-jmb/dw 

US

Trump says 'not a big fan' of Pope Leo after his anti-war message

  • "I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo.
  • US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he is "not a big fan" of Pope Leo XIV, after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for peace amid the war in the Middle East.
  • "I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo.
US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he is "not a big fan" of Pope Leo XIV, after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for peace amid the war in the Middle East.
The 70-year-old American pope publicly implored leaders on Saturday to end the violence, telling worshippers at St Peter's Basilica: "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!"
"I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person, and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
He accused the pontiff of "toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon."
Trump later doubled down on his comments to reporters with a post on Truth Social, saying: "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."
"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," he said.
The president added that Leo had only been elected "because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump." 
"If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican."
Trump later posted an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as Jesus Christ. 
In the image, the president appears dressed in red and white robes as he cures a man with his healing hand. The American flag is shown over his shoulder. 
Trump and the White House have previously shared AI-generated images, including one that showed the president dressed as the pope.

Rejecting a rift

Washington and the Vatican have rejected reports of a rift.
On Friday, a Vatican official denied reports that a top Pentagon official gave the church's envoy to the United States a "bitter lecture" over Pope Leo's criticisms of the Trump administration.
The story in the Free Press -- which the Pentagon had already dismissed as "distorted" -- reported that Cardinal Christophe Pierre was summoned in January to the Pentagon, where he was given a dressing-down by US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby.
The military official reportedly told the cardinal that the United States "has the military power to do whatever it wants -- and that the Church had better take its side."
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement "the account presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth in any way."
While both parties insist the meeting was cordial, the Holy See and the White House have openly been at odds over the Trump administration's hardline mass deportation campaign -- which the pope called "inhuman" -- and the use of military force in the Middle East and Venezuela. 
When Trump made genocidal threats against Iran Tuesday -- saying "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" -- the pontiff slammed the "truly unacceptable" statement and urged parties to "come back to the table" for negotiations. 
Earlier this month, Pope Leo hailed the news of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran as a "sign of real hope."
But peace talks between the United States and Iran, held in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, ended abruptly and without a resolution on Saturday, with US Vice President JD Vance telling reporters after a marathon-session of talks that Washington has delivered its "final and best offer."
sla/cms/lkd/lga

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • - Iran says deal was 'inches away' - Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had been just "inches away" from a deal with Washington during weekend talks in Pakistan.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Trump says doesn't care if Iran returns to talks - US President Donald Trump said he does not care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the United States after weekend talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal.
  • - Iran says deal was 'inches away' - Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had been just "inches away" from a deal with Washington during weekend talks in Pakistan.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Trump says doesn't care if Iran returns to talks

US President Donald Trump said he does not care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the United States after weekend talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal.
"I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, upon his return from Florida.

Countdown to US Gulf blockade

The US military said it will blockade all Iranian Gulf ports on Monday at 1400 GMT, effectively seizing control of maritime traffic in the critical Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which a fifth of the global oil supply passes.
"The blockade will be enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman," US Central Command said in a post on X, adding the United States would "not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports".
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Iranian security forces had full control over the Strait of Hormuz and warned enemies would be trapped in a "deadly vortex" in case of any "wrong move".
Iran's navy chief Shahram Irani called Trump's threat "ridiculous and funny", according to state TV, adding the country's military was "monitoring and supervising all the movements of the aggressive American army in the region".

Iran 'will not bow' to threats

Iran's parliament speaker, who led the weekend talks, said his country would not give in after Trump's earlier threats to blockade the strait.
"If they fight, we will fight, and if they come forward with logic, we will deal with logic," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said, cited by several Iranian news agencies.
"We will not bow to any threats, let them test our will once again so that we can teach them a bigger lesson."

Oil rises above $100 again

The US oil benchmark rebounded above $100 a barrel on Monday after peace talks failed and Trump ordered the blockade of Iranian ports.
Shortly after trading began, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery rose around eight percent to $104.50, while June delivery of international benchmark Brent rose seven percent to $102.

Iran says deal was 'inches away'

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had been just "inches away" from a deal with Washington during weekend talks in Pakistan.
"Iran engaged with US in good faith to end war," he said in a post on X.
But when "just inches away" from an agreement, "we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade", he added.

Lebanon working for Israeli withdrawal

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he was working to stop the Israel-Hezbollah war and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
"We will continue to work to stop this war, to ensure the Israeli withdrawal from all our lands, the return of all the prisoners, to rebuild our destroyed villages and towns, and the safe return of the displaced," Salam said.

Netanyahu says threat of invasion removed

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visiting troops who invaded southern Lebanon, said Israeli forces had eliminated the threat of an invasion by Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
"The war continues, including within the security zone in Lebanon," Netanyahu said in a video released by his office.

Israeli tank rams UN vehicles

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said an Israeli tank twice rammed peacekeeping vehicles in the country's south where Israel and Hezbollah have been at war since last month.
Israeli soldiers had also blocked a road in south Lebanon's Bayada "that is used to access UNIFIL positions", it said a statement.

Lebanon deaths

Lebanese official media reported extensive Israeli strikes across the country's south as the health ministry said at least five people were killed and the war's overall toll on that front rose to 2,055 dead.
Israel insists the current Middle East ceasefire does not apply to its military operations in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah.
burs/jj/rmb/msp/lkd/mtp

US

Trump says 'not a big fan' of Pope Leo after his anti-war message

  • "I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo.
  • US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he is "not a big fan" of Pope Leo XIV, after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for peace.
  • "I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo.
US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that he is "not a big fan" of Pope Leo XIV, after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for peace.
"I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person, and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
He accused the pontiff of "toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon."
On Saturday, the 70-year-old American pope publicly implored leaders to end the violence, telling worshippers at St. Peter's Basilica: "Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!"
Trump reiterated his comments to reporters with a post on Truth Social saying: "I don't want a Pope who think it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."
Washington and the Vatican have recently denied reports of a rift.
On Friday, a Vatican official denied reports that a top Pentagon official gave the church's envoy to the United States a "bitter lecture" over Pope Leo's criticisms of the Trump administration.
The story in the Free Press -- which the Pentagon had already dismissed as "distorted" -- reported that Cardinal Christophe Pierre was summoned in January to the Pentagon, where he was given a dressing-down by US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby.
The military official reportedly told the cardinal that the United States "has the military power to do whatever it wants -- and that the Church had better take its side."
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement "the account presented by certain media outlets regarding this meeting does not correspond to the truth in any way."
While both parties insist the meeting was cordial, the Holy See and the White House have openly been at odds over the Trump administration's hardline mass deportation campaign -- which the pope called "inhuman" -- and the use of military force in the Middle East and Venezuela. 
When Trump made genocidal threats against Iran Tuesday -- saying "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again" -- the pontiff slammed the "truly unacceptable" statement and urged parties to "come back to the table" for negotiations. 
Earlier this month, Pope Leo hailed the news of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran as a "sign of real hope."
But peace talks between the United States and Iran, held in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, ended abruptly Saturday with US Vice President JD Vance telling reporters after a marathon-session of talks that Washington has delivered its "final and best offer."
sla/cms

Mamdani

New York's new mayor touts 'socialist' plans 100 days in

  • The young mayor was joined at the rally by his close ally, 84-year-old leftist icon Bernie Sanders.
  • New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked his 100th day in office on Sunday with a rally to tout early successes and vow to follow through on his unabashedly "socialist" agenda.
  • The young mayor was joined at the rally by his close ally, 84-year-old leftist icon Bernie Sanders.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked his 100th day in office on Sunday with a rally to tout early successes and vow to follow through on his unabashedly "socialist" agenda.
"I know there are many who use 'socialist' as a dirty word, something to be ashamed of," the 34-year-old told a packed room in Queens.
"They can try all they want, but we will not be ashamed of using government to fight for the many, not simply the few," he said.
Mamdani pointed to a program to fill city street potholes -- over 100,000 since January 1 -- as evidence he is committed to making the lives of everyday New Yorkers better.
"If government can't do the small things, how could you ever trust it to do the big ones? How can we promise to transform our city if we can't pave your street?"
The young mayor was joined at the rally by his close ally, 84-year-old leftist icon Bernie Sanders.
Mamdani touted progress on signature campaign promises, such as launching city-run grocery stores -- the first of which will open next year -- and providing free childcare for young children.
He has also reshuffled city committees that could pave the way for freezing rent increases in the coming months.
Free bus rides, however, are still only under discussion with New York State authorities, he said.
The new mayor's approval rating, according to two polls released this week, stood at 48 percent with New York residents and 43 percent among voters.
According to the Emerson College Polling/PIX11 survey of voters, 54 percent praise his initiatives on childcare and 49 percent on housing costs.
However, the survey also shows that 68 percent of Hispanic voters and 58 percent of Black voters believe the city is "on the wrong track."
Although highly critical of Donald Trump during his campaign, Mamdani has apparently struck up a cordial relationship with the Republican US president, visiting the White House twice in recent months.
According to a Marist Poll, 59 percent of New Yorkers believe he has struck the "right balance" with Trump.
pel/des/sla

US

After unsuccessful US-Iran talks, what next for Trump?

BY SUSAN STUMME

  • "Iran already has no trust in Trump," Telhami told AFP. "Hard to understate what this makes of what's left of America's global credibility."
  • The failure of US-Iran peace talks has left President Donald Trump with several unpalatable options, as analysts say his order to blockade the strategic Strait of Hormuz could further complicate his next move.
  • "Iran already has no trust in Trump," Telhami told AFP. "Hard to understate what this makes of what's left of America's global credibility."
The failure of US-Iran peace talks has left President Donald Trump with several unpalatable options, as analysts say his order to blockade the strategic Strait of Hormuz could further complicate his next move.
Any hopes that US Vice President JD Vance would emerge from the marathon day of negotiations with top Iranian officials with a deal to end a war that has rippled across the Middle East were dashed when he left Pakistan emptyhanded.
Protracted talks would undermine Trump's insistence that Iran has "no cards" left to play, while ramping up military action would expose US forces to heightened risk and could alienate voters -- already angry with surging gas prices -- ahead of midterm elections.
And the blockade of the strait through which a fifth of the world's oil moves would do little to ease global economic jitters.
For Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, Trump's propensity to talk off the cuff and make threats -- what he called the president's "carnival barker" style -- leaves his close aides scrambling to chart a path forward. 
"He may be simply buying more time to move in more military assets or because he doesn't know what else to do. I wouldn't call it a strategy; it is a military-centric approach without strategy," Katulis told AFP.
Shibley Telhami, a professor of peace and development at the University of Maryland and a fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, says the threat of a blockade was "bewildering and seems self-defeating."
"Iran already has no trust in Trump," Telhami told AFP. "Hard to understate what this makes of what's left of America's global credibility."

'Untrustworthy and duplicitous'

Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards on Sunday pledged that Tehran's enemies would be trapped in a "deadly vortex" if they were to make a wrong move in the strait.
Danny Citrinowicz, a fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, said a naval blockade would indeed expose US forces to increased risk.
"There is little reason to believe that a blockade would force Iranian capitulation. If anything, Iran's demonstrated resilience thus far suggests the opposite," Citrinowicz wrote on X.
"Iran's geographic scale and military capabilities mean that sustaining such an operation would demand substantial and prolonged allocation of American resources."
And such a prolonged military engagement may not sit well with Americans who say they are worried and stressed about the conflict, which began in late February. 
A CBS News poll published Sunday revealed that worry, stress and anger far outweigh safety and confidence, when those polled were asked how they feel about the war.
More than 80 percent of respondents said the United States should seek to reopen the strait and improve global access to oil, which would bring gas prices down, and make sure that the Iranian people are "free."
But fewer than 10 percent said they believed those goals had been achieved.
"I don't see how, 40-plus days into this war, that we are safer, that our allies are safer. I'm not even sure Israel is safer," Democratic US Senator Mark Warner said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" talk show.
"I don't understand how blockading the strait is going to somehow push the Iranians into opening it. I don't get the connection there."
So if the blockade is not an answer, what about more negotiations?
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine suggested that would not be an easy path, given that Trump removed the US from a 2015 accord reached by Tehran and world powers on restricting its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
"This is not going to be an easy negotiation because the last negotiation that led to a control of Iran's nuclear program, the US made the decision to tear it up and walk away from the deal," Kaine told CNN.
Katulis echoed that idea.
"Iranian officials are also untrustworthy and duplicitous, but the Trump administration is providing the mirror image of that," he said.
"If I were an Iranian official leaving Islamabad, I would wonder if I am back on the Israeli kill list."
sct-sst/mlm

US

Trump orders US naval blockade of Strait of Hormuz

  • The US leader slammed Iran for "knowingly" failing to deliver on a pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, writing: "As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!"
  • President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of failed peace talks with Iran -- a significant escalation that would test an already fragile ceasefire.
  • The US leader slammed Iran for "knowingly" failing to deliver on a pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, writing: "As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!"
President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of failed peace talks with Iran -- a significant escalation that would test an already fragile ceasefire.
In lengthy social media posts and an interview on Fox News, Trump acknowledged that the marathon negotiations in Islamabad had gone "well" and "most points were agreed to."
But he said Tehran had been "unyielding" in its refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions, and had failed to open the strait, through which a fifth of the world's crude oil passes -- a condition of the two-week ceasefire currently in place.
And he threatened China with a massive 50 percent tariff on its goods entering the United States if it decides to help Tehran militarily.
"Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"Any Iranian who fires at us, or at peaceful vessels, will be BLOWN TO HELL!"
Trump initially suggested that "other countries" would be involved in the blockade effort, and then told Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" that Britain "and a couple of other countries" would be sending minesweepers.

'Staggering' tariff threat

US Vice President JD Vance left Pakistan without a deal after weekend talks with a team led by Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf -- the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The talks were meant to solidify a fragile two-week ceasefire with a final deal to end the conflict that has engulfed the Middle East, leaving thousands dead and roiling global markets. But no conclusions were reached.
"We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We'll see if the Iranians accept it," Vance told reporters.
Trump said he had been fully debriefed by the US negotiating team of Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law.
The US leader slammed Iran for "knowingly" failing to deliver on a pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, writing: "As they promised, they better begin the process of getting this INTERNATIONAL WATERWAY OPEN AND FAST!"
Iran has effectively blocked the strait for weeks, since the United States and Israel launched a bombing campaign against the Islamic republic more than six weeks ago.
On Saturday, the US military announced that two of its warships had transited the strait at the start of a mine clearance operation.
Trump on Sunday warned China that it would face a high price if it were to help Tehran militarily at this phase of the war.
"If we catch them doing that, they get a 50 percent tariff, which is a staggering -- that's a staggering amount," Trump told Bartiromo.
He also reiterated a threat to destroy Iranian power plants and other civilian energy infrastructure if no lasting deal is reached, and warned that US forces would "finish up the little that is left of Iran" if necessary.
"We are fully 'LOCKED AND LOADED,'" he wrote.
sst/mlm

US

Vance says talks failed to reach deal with Iran on ending Mideast war

BY AFP TEAMS IN ISLAMABAD, TEHRAN AND WASHINGTON

  • Iranian demands for any agreement to end the war include unfreezing sanctioned Iranian assets and ending Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Vance has said would not be up for discussion in Islamabad.
  • Iran and the United States failed to reach an agreement to end the war in the Middle East, US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday after marathon talks in Islamabad, adding that he was leaving after giving Tehran the "final and best offer".
  • Iranian demands for any agreement to end the war include unfreezing sanctioned Iranian assets and ending Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Vance has said would not be up for discussion in Islamabad.
Iran and the United States failed to reach an agreement to end the war in the Middle East, US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday after marathon talks in Islamabad, adding that he was leaving after giving Tehran the "final and best offer".
Vance said Washington was seeking a "fundamental commitment" from Iran that it would not develop a nuclear weapon, but that "we haven't seen that" after holding the highest-level meeting between the two sides since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
However, he signalled that he was still giving Iran time to consider the offer from the United States, which on Tuesday said it would pause attacks with Israel for two weeks pending negotiations. 
Pakistan, which hosted the talks and whose leadership had ushered the rival sides to the table, said it would keep facilitating dialogue and urged both countries to continue respecting the temporary truce.
Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said negotiations stalled over "unreasonable demands of the American side", though the country's foreign ministry spokesman later noted that "no one" could have expected that after 40 days of war, they would reach an agreement within one session.
The United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, sparking retaliation from Tehran that has plunged the Middle East into conflict and the global economy into tumult. 
Iran and the US had entered the talks mediated by Pakistan with maximalist positions, with Washington piling pressure by saying it had sent minesweeping ships through the vital Strait of Hormuz maritime route.
Signs of strain in the negotiations appeared when Iranian media accused the United States of making "excessive demands" over the strait, through which one-fifth of the world's oil transited before its effective closure by Iran during the war.
US President Donald Trump had also insisted several hours into the talks on Saturday that the United States had already triumphed on the battlefield by killing Iranian leaders and destroying key military infrastructure.
"Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. The reason is because we've won," Trump said.
After 21 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital, Vance told reporters that no deal could yet be struck.
"We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We'll see if the Iranians accept it," Vance said, before departing for a nearby airport and flying out of Pakistan.

Leverage

Suggesting efforts to keep the sides talking would continue, Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said his government would "continue to play its role to facilitate engagement and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America in the days to come".
"It is imperative that the parties continue to uphold their commitment to ceasefire," he added. 
The high-stakes meeting had unfolded in Islamabad with intense mistrust by both sides. 
Iran was in the middle of negotiations on its nuclear programme in February with Trump's real-estate friend Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner when the United States and Israel launched their attack. The first salvos of the war killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Both Kushner and Witkoff were part of Vance's team in Pakistan. The 70-strong Iranian delegation was led by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the powerful speaker of parliament, and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Iranian demands for any agreement to end the war include unfreezing sanctioned Iranian assets and ending Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Vance has said would not be up for discussion in Islamabad.
The opening of the Strait of Hormuz has also presented a key friction point.
Iran throughout the war exercised its global economic leverage by asserting control of the important maritime route, sending oil prices soaring and piling political pressure on Trump as Americans complained of rising costs at the pump.
The US military said Saturday that two Navy warships transited through the strait to begin clearing it of mines and ensure it is a "safe pathway" for tankers.
The Iranian military denied that any American warships had entered the waterway and threatened to respond if they do so.
The Revolutionary Guards' Naval Command said Iranian promises of safe passage during a two-week ceasefire applied only to "civilian vessels under specific conditions".
The United States is heavily impacted by soaring oil prices on global markets but imports less directly from the Gulf than many of its European allies -- which Trump has berated for not joining a war that they were not consulted about beforehand.
"We'll open up the strait even though we don't use it, because we have a lot of other countries in the world that do use it that are either afraid or weak or cheap," Trump said.

Lebanon violence

Ghalibaf, speaking shortly after landing in Pakistan, made clear that Iran remained highly suspicious of the United States.
"Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises," Ghalibaf said.
Vance said before leaving for Pakistan that if Iran was willing, the United States would "negotiate in good faith" but would not be receptive "if they're going to try to play us".
A major complicating factor has been Israel's assertion that the ceasefire does not affect Lebanon, where the Israeli military has launched massive strikes and a ground invasion in response to fire from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia Muslim movement. 
Lebanese authorities said Israeli strikes on the country's south on Saturday killed 18 people, bringing the death toll from Israel's operations since the war broke out past 2,000.
Israel and Lebanon will hold their own talks next week in Washington. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that he wanted a peace deal with Lebanon that "will last for generations".
But Israel has ruled out a ceasefire with Hezbollah, signalling it will instead seek to pressure the historically weak central government in Beirut.
burs/hmn/ceg/axn

WhiteHouse

Trump ballroom renovation allowed to proceed, for now

  • The order also calls on the federal district court Judge Richard Leon to clarify questions on White House safety and security raised in earlier proceedings.
  • A federal appeals court has ruled US President Donald Trump's $400 million White House ballroom renovation can proceed, albeit temporarily, and called for a district judge to clarify national security-related questions.
  • The order also calls on the federal district court Judge Richard Leon to clarify questions on White House safety and security raised in earlier proceedings.
A federal appeals court has ruled US President Donald Trump's $400 million White House ballroom renovation can proceed, albeit temporarily, and called for a district judge to clarify national security-related questions.
The project aims to construct a massive ballroom on the site of the White House's East Wing -- previously best known for housing the First Lady's offices. It was demolished in September. 
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled 2-1 to give the administration until April 17 to continue working on the project and "seek Supreme Court review," in the court order released Saturday.
The order also calls on the federal district court Judge Richard Leon to clarify questions on White House safety and security raised in earlier proceedings.
Last month, Leon ordered a halt to construction, saying Trump needed congressional approval for the project.
Leon wrote in that order that Trump is a "steward" of the White House, adding: "He is not, however, the owner!"
The lawsuit against the renovation was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States.
sla/aks

Israel

Vance says talks failed to reach agreement with Iran

  • "We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer.
  • US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement, saying he was leaving after putting forward a "final and best offer".
  • "We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer.
US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement, saying he was leaving after putting forward a "final and best offer".
Vance signalled that he was still giving time to Iran to consider the offer from the United States, which on Tuesday said it would pause attacks with Israel for two weeks pending negotiations.
"We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We'll see if the Iranians accept it," Vance told reporters after 21 hours of talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
Vance said that the core dispute was on nuclear weapons. Iran insists it is not pursuing an atomic bomb, and the United States and Israel bombed sensitive Iranian sites both in the war launched on February 28 as well as last year.
"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance said.
"The simple question is, do we see a fundamental commitment of will for the Iranians not to develop a nuclear weapon -- not just now, not just two years from now, but for the long term?
"We haven't seen that yet. We hope that we will."
Vance, in brief remarks at a luxury hotel in Islamabad where the two sides have been meeting, did not highlight disagreement on another key issue, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil transits.
He insisted that President Donald Trump -- who on Saturday in Washington said he did not care if the two sides sealed a deal -- had been accommodating in the talks.
"I think that we were quite flexible. We were quite accommodating. The president told us, You need to come here in good faith and make your best effort to get a deal. 
"We did that and, unfortunately, we weren't able to make headway."
sct/sla

US

War in the Middle East: latest developments

  • The 79-year-old Republican's comments came as Vice President JD Vance was leading the US delegation in Islamabad, with discussions heading into a second day.
  • The latest developments in the Middle East war: - Vance says talks failed to reach agreement - US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that 21 hours of talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement, saying he was leaving after putting forward a "final and best offer".
  • The 79-year-old Republican's comments came as Vice President JD Vance was leading the US delegation in Islamabad, with discussions heading into a second day.
The latest developments in the Middle East war:

Vance says talks failed to reach agreement

US Vice President JD Vance said Sunday that 21 hours of talks with Iran failed to reach an agreement, saying he was leaving after putting forward a "final and best offer".
"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon and will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," he told reporters in Islamabad, on the main sticking point for talks moving ahead. 

Iran says talks hinged on avoiding 'excessive demands'

The success of peace talks between the United States and Iran depended on Washington avoiding "excessive" and "unlawful" demands, the Iranian foreign ministry's spokesman said early on Sunday after marathon talks in Islamabad.
"The success of this diplomatic process depends on the seriousness and good faith of the opposing side, refraining from excessive demands and unlawful requests, and the acceptance of Iran's legitimate rights and interests," Esmaeil Baqaei wrote on X.

Iran and US spar over strait

Iran denied Washington's claims that two US Navy warships crossed the Strait of Hormuz to clear the strategic waterway of mines, with Tehran warning that military ships attempting the passage "will be dealt with severely".
US Central Command's claim that mine detection operations were already underway was echoed by President Donald Trump, who told reporters Saturday "we have mine sweepers out there. We're sweeping the strait".  
A fifth of the world's crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump says Iran deal 'makes no difference'

Trump told reporters Saturday it "makes no difference" if a peace deal comes out of the trilateral US-Iran talks in Pakistan, insisting the United States has already won the war. 
The 79-year-old Republican's comments came as Vice President JD Vance was leading the US delegation in Islamabad, with discussions heading into a second day.
Earlier, Iranian media said the United States was making "excessive demands" on the Strait of Hormuz during the talks.

Iran nuclear programme crushed: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the joint US-Israeli campaign against Iran had succeeded in "crushing" the Islamic republic's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
"They wanted to strangle us, and (now) we are strangling them. They threatened us with annihilation, and now they are fighting for survival," he said, adding that the war against Tehran had also weakened Iran's leadership and its regional allies.
He agreed to Lebanese requests for peace talks on two conditions, he added: "We want the dismantling of Hezbollah's weapons, and we want a real peace agreement that will last for generations."

Lebanon death toll past 2,000

Lebanon's health ministry said the death toll since the start of the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah is now 2,020.
The new toll from the Lebanese health ministry includes 248 women, 165 children and 85 medical and emergency personnel killed, along with 6,436 people wounded since Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2. 
Earlier Saturday, Lebanon said Israeli strikes on a village near Sidon in the south killed eight people, after earlier strikes killed 10 people including three emergency workers.
Israel's military said it had struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the last 24 hours.

Pope denounces warmongers

Pope Leo lashed out against warmongers while calling on billions of people around the globe to embrace peace and "believe once again in love, moderation and good politics".
In one of his most passionate entreaties yet to end the raging conflict in the Middle East, the American pope said faith was needed "in order to face this dramatic hour in history together". 

Macron appeal

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had urged his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian to use the talks to achieve "a lasting de-escalation."
"I urged him to seize the opportunity presented by the talks launched in Islamabad to pave the way for a lasting de-escalation and a robust agreement that provides solid guarantees for security in the region," Macron said on X.

Iran says lacks 'trust' with US

Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said shortly after arriving in Pakistan's capital that previous experiences negotiating with the United States had led to a lack of trust. 
"Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises," Iranian state media quoted him as saying.

Israel won't discuss ceasefire

Israel's US ambassador Yechiel Leiter told his Lebanese counterpart in Washington that he "refused to discuss a ceasefire with the Hezbollah terrorist organisation", according to a statement after a meeting.
Israel "agreed to begin formal peace negotiations" with the Lebanese government, with which it has no diplomatic relations, the Israeli ambassador said.
Lebanon's presidency said a meeting would be held at the US State Department on Tuesday "to discuss declaring a ceasefire and the start date for negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices."
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Congress

Democrats see 'blue wave' building for US midterms

BY FRANKIE TAGGART

  • "There will be a blue wave, but not powerful enough to surf on," said political analyst Donald Nieman, who predicted a Democratic majority in the House of around 10 seats. 
  • Democrats are growing bullish about a possible "blue wave" in November's US midterm elections, buoyed by eye-catching local votes that suggest a backlash against President Donald Trump may be spreading beyond the party's usual strongholds.
  • "There will be a blue wave, but not powerful enough to surf on," said political analyst Donald Nieman, who predicted a Democratic majority in the House of around 10 seats. 
Democrats are growing bullish about a possible "blue wave" in November's US midterm elections, buoyed by eye-catching local votes that suggest a backlash against President Donald Trump may be spreading beyond the party's usual strongholds.
From a staunchly conservative congressional district in Georgia to a mayoral contest in Wisconsin and state legislative races across the South, Democrats have consistently beaten recent benchmarks -- often by double digits. 
Analysts caution that special elections and off‑year contests are imperfect predictors, yet the breadth and consistency of the swings have sharpened Republican anxieties and revived memories of the 2006 and 2018 wave elections. 
"It certainly looks like a blue wave is not only possible, but probable. Democrats continue to overperform and expand their margins," said political analyst Andrew Koneschusky, a former Democratic Senate aide. 
"If the overperformance holds, it could mean Democrats pick up 40 or more House seats in November."
The clearest sign of Democratic gains came this week in Georgia, where a race to fill the House seat vacated by estranged former Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene saw the Republican margin cut to 12 points in a district the president carried by 37. 
In Wisconsin, liberal-backed judge Chris Taylor crushed her conservative rival by 20 points in a state supreme court race, while Democrats also won the mayor's office in Waukesha, long a Republican bastion.

'Few competitive seats'

The broader record since Trump's 2024 win has been similarly encouraging for Democrats, who have improved their vote share by an average of 13 points in congressional special elections. 
Democrats have flipped dozens of Republican-held state legislative seats while Republicans have flipped none. 
In the US House of Representatives, Republicans hold a tiny four-seat majority and an election night even modestly favorable to Democrats would likely flip the chamber.
The overperformance now showing up nationwide points to much larger gains -- along the lines of Koneschusky's estimate, or perhaps the 2006 cycle, when the Iraq war soured voters on Republicans and helped Democrats gain 31 seats. 
Democratics argue that Trump has saddled his party with a similarly unpopular conflict in the Middle East, exposing it to the political cost of higher gas prices, economic unease and another foreign entanglement many voters never wanted.
"There will be a blue wave, but not powerful enough to surf on," said political analyst Donald Nieman, who predicted a Democratic majority in the House of around 10 seats. 
"That's because American politics remain polarized, most voters have picked sides, and there are so few competitive seats -- in fact, only about 60."
The Senate remains a harder target but no longer looks fanciful to Democrats. 
They need four seats to win back the chamber, and party leaders have highlighted North Carolina, Maine, Ohio and Alaska as the most plausible path. 

'Vision'

For Trump, losing Congress would carry heavy consequences. 
A Democratic legislature could slam the brakes on much of his domestic agenda and complicate efforts to fund or sustain foreign conflicts, including through war powers votes or resistance to large spending packages. 
It would also regain subpoena power, opening the door to corruption investigations, scrutiny of administration conduct and aggressive oversight.
Still, Washington watchers are not treating a Democratic wave as guaranteed. 
Special elections can be imperfect predictors, Republicans continue to enjoy fundraising advantages, and several expert voices caution that anti-Trump sentiment is not the same thing as a broad embrace of Democrats.
Party strategist Caroline Welles, who works to elect first-time Democratic women to state legislatures, said the 13-point swing from 2024 margins across special elections is "reason for us to feel bullish." 
"However, it's important to note that the midterms are over six months away," she added, "and the landscape could totally change by then."
Aaron Cutler, a former House staffer and congressional lobbyist at law firm Hogan Lovells, went as far as suggesting that Republicans could defy historic trends to win the midterms. 
"I also don't think there is a unified Democrat message right now besides 'not them,'" he said. "It's important to sell a vision to the American people." 
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