U.S. evangelist Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Evangelical aid organization Samaritan’s Purse, urged Christians to pray for the Catholic Church following Pope Francis’s death.

China on Monday warned it will retaliate against countries that align with the U.S. in ways that harm Beijing’s interests, as the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies increasingly entangles other nations. Beijing specifically cautioned against trade agreements with Washington that come at China’s expense, vowing countermeasures in response.

The United States will reduce its military presence in Syria to fewer than 1,000 troops in the coming months, Pentagon officials said Friday, as it consolidates forces to reflect the evolving mission to defeat ISIS.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law the ratification of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement with Iran, solidifying long-term military and diplomatic ties between the two allies, according to Russian state media.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a devout Catholic and the last known foreign leader to have met Pope Francis before his death, has expressed sadness about the pontiff’s passing at the age of 88.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday, April 21, 2025, at the age of 88, at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican confirmed Monday.

“Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling celebrated Easter by welcoming a British Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not legally considered women under British law.

Iran and the United States held a second round of nuclear talks Saturday in Rome, where both sides agreed to begin drafting a potential deal. Iran’s foreign minister confirmed the move, while a U.S. official reported “very good progress.”

Easter Sunday remained far from peaceful in Ukraine as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia intensified shelling and the use of drones. The reported attacks came despite Moscow’s announcement of an Easter ceasefire.

As Easter approached, there was some hope for hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war and scores of injured soldiers, with officials saying they were being exchanged on Saturday. It also came after U.S. Vice President JD Vance cautiously expressed optimism about an end to the more than three-year war following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The United States may abandon efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine within days if no clear progress is made, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on April 18. Speaking after talks in Paris with European and Ukrainian leaders, Rubio said President Trump is prepared to “move on” from the negotiations in the absence of any clear signs of progress.

Italy’s rightwing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says U.S. President Donald J. Trump has accepted her invitation for an official trip to Rome at a time when the third largest economy in the European Union tries to bridge differences between the EU and the U.S. over trade and security.

An area near Italy’s southern city of Naples plunged into mourning early Friday after authorities confirmed that at least four people died and one was seriously injured when a cable car crashed to the ground.

Ukraine and the United States have taken a significant step toward forging a full economic partnership agreement, Ukrainian Economy Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced on April 17

President Trump said Thursday that the U.S. expects to hear from Moscow this week regarding his administration’s proposed ceasefire plan for the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.