I do not fear Trump, says Pope Leo after US president calls him ‘weak’

Leader of Catholic church says he will continue to speak out against war after president’s extraordinary criticism

Pope Leo said he did not fear the Trump administration and would continue to speak out against war after Donald Trump delivered an extraordinary broadside against him in which he said he did not think the Chicago-born pontiff was “doing a very good job”, while also suggesting he should “stop catering to the radical left”.

In remarks that have been widely criticised, the US president used a lengthy social media post to sharply criticise Leo while he flew from Florida to Washington on Sunday night, then continued in comments on the tarmac to reporters. “I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he said.

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‘This scene is alive’: Abidjan art week showcases city as growing cultural hub

Late-night gallery tours and new venues signal a city staking its claim as a regional arts capital

On a recent weekday evening, the doors of more than a dozen galleries and museums across Abidjan stayed open till midnight, several hours later than usual, as art enthusiasts went around town on a bus tour. It was the Night of the Galleries, designed for people to drop in after work and enjoy Abidjan art week to the fullest.

The after-hours special showcase was first tested in January 2024 on the sidelines of the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament hosted and won by Côte d’Ivoire. The tradition continued this year during the art week’s third edition, which ran from last Tuesday to Sunday.

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Monday briefing: Hungary chooses Péter Magyar over Viktor Orbán

In today’s newsletter: Orbán concedes defeat after 16 years in power, ushering in a new era for Hungary’s relations with the EU, US and Russia

Good morning. The people of Hungary are waking up in an unfamiliar political landscape – one in which Viktor Orbán, who has served as prime minister since 2010, is stepping aside after defeat to Péter Magyar, whose Tisza party has won an election likely to reshape the country’s ties with the EU, the US and Russia.

Less than three hours after polls closed on Sunday, Orbán conceded defeat after what he described as a “painful but unambiguous” result. Magyar, who has pledged to repair Hungary’s strained relationship with the EU, crack down on corruption and channel funds towards long-neglected public services, said Tisza voters had rewritten Hungarian history and that “truth prevailed over lies”.

Middle East | Donald Trump has said the US will begin blockading the strait of Hormuz in an attempt to take control of the strategic waterway from Iran in the aftermath of failed peace negotiations.

Carers | Thousands of unpaid carers will continue to be hit with hefty and potentially unfair benefit repayment demands, as a government initiative gets under way to fix welfare injustices that have drawn comparison to the Post Office scandal

UK news | The Home Office is to announce the closure of 11 asylum hotels this week as part of its pledge to close all such facilities by the end of this parliament.

Ireland | Police have cleared a blockade of central Dublin by farmers and hauliers who were protesting about fuel prices, signalling a possible end to six days of protests that have rocked Ireland.

UK politics | Ministers are planning to reshape Britain’s relationship with the European Union, with new legislation that could result in the UK signing up to EU single market rules without a normal parliamentary vote.

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‘Hungary has chosen Europe’: EU leaders jubilant after Péter Magyar’s victory over Orbán

Congratulations pour in from across EU, with leaders from Spain, Poland, France, Britain, Denmark, Romania, Sweden and beyond hailing a new chapter

EU leaders heaped praise on Péter Magyar after his decisive election victory in Hungary against the long-serving prime minister Viktor Orbán, who many saw as a direct threat to Europe’s peace and prosperity.

The outpouring reflected a deep frustration with Orbán across the EU’s 27 member states and its institutions.

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€1m Picasso painting to be won for €100 in charity raffle

Number of tickets to win Tête de Femme will be capped at 120,000 and proceeds will go to Alzheimer’s research

A raffle in France is offering the chance to win a portrait by Pablo Picasso for the price of a €100 (£87) ticket, with proceeds going to Alzheimer’s research.

Picasso painted the gouache-on-paper Tête de Femme (Head of a Woman) in 1941. The raffle organisers’ online sales platform says the number of tickets will be capped at 120,000, meaning the draw could net €12m if they are all sold.

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Nigerian airstrike targeting jihadists reportedly kills at least 100 civilians

Officials confirm misfire as Amnesty gives death toll after speaking to survivors of strike on market in Yobe state

A Nigerian air force strike targeting jihadist rebels hit a market in north-east Nigeria, killing more than 100 people and injuring many others, Amnesty International and local media have said.

Officials confirmed a misfire had occurred but did not provide details.

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Interest in EVs surges in Europe as fuel prices jump after Iran war

Demand at online marketplaces could settle at a new, higher normal, with the crisis leaving consumers ‘scarred’

Car buyers’ interest in electric cars has surged across Europe since the start of the war in Iran, as the rising cost of petrol highlights the cheaper power available from a plug.

Online marketplaces in the UK, Germany, France and Spain reported huge increases in inquiries about electric vehicles since the start of the conflict in February.

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Planeloads of negotiators and too little time: US and Iran’s 21 hours of talks

The two sides turned up to test one another’s resolve. It was probably unrealistic to expect a dispute that has taken up years of discussion to be settled in one marathon session

It was if the two delegations in the Iran-US peace talks in Islamabad hoped that the sheer number of negotiators flown into Pakistan could overcome the handicap of having only a finite number of hours in which to settle a 20-year dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, now overlaid by complex new issues such as future control of the strait of Hormuz and US compensation for its attack on Iran.

Iran sent two planeloads of negotiators. They included many members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), present to ensure that no gains made in the field were relinquished at the diplomatic table. Diplomats fanned out across political, legal, security, economic and military files. One Iranian-drafted technical explanation on nuclear facility safety ran to more than 100 pages.

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Irish police clear Dublin blockade staged by fuel price protesters

Hundreds of officers deployed to regain control of O’Connell Street on sixth day of protests by farmers and hauliers

Police have cleared a blockade of central Dublin by farmers and hauliers who were protesting about fuel prices, signalling a possible end to six days of protests that have rocked Ireland.

Mounted units and hundreds of officers regained control of O’Connell Street in a peaceful operation that emptied the thoroughfare of trucks and tractors on Sunday morning.

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Collapse of US-Iran talks heightens fears of prolonged energy shock

Oil prices and borrowing costs are expected to rise this week as tankers remain stranded in the Gulf

The failure of the US and Iran to reach a peace deal after marathon negotiations has put markets on alert for further oil and gas price rises.

With large numbers of oil tankers remaining stuck in the Gulf, the US vice-president, JD Vance, blamed the collapse of the talks on Tehran’s refusal to abandon its nuclear weapons programme, while Iranian sources hit back at “excessive” demands from Washington.

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Indian music legend Asha Bhosle dies aged 92

Two-time Grammy nominee was one of Bollywood’s most versatile and celebrated voices

The Indian singer Asha Bhosle, whose voice defined Bollywood cinema and whose career spanned almost eight decades, has died in Mumbai at the age of 92.

Bhosle, who recorded more than 12,000 songs, became her country’s pre-eminent exponent of playback singing – recording tracks that were then lip-synced on film by actors. She also boldly embraced cabaret and western-influenced melodies to forge a distinctive musical identity.

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At least 30 killed in crush at historic fortress in Haiti

Officials said many killed at popular tourist site were young, with more people reported injured or missing

At least 30 people, many of them young, have died and dozens more are reported to have been injured after a crush at a mountaintop fortress in northern Haiti that is a popular tourist spot.

Jean Henri Petit, the head of civil protection for the country’s Nord department, said the incident took place on Saturday at Citadelle Henry, also known as Citadelle Laferrière, a large 19th-century fortress built shortly after the Caribbean country’s independence from France.

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JD Vance says talks failed due to Iran’s refusal to give up nuclear programme

Iranian delegates in Islamabad say Washington needs to do more to win their trust if talks to resolve US-Iran conflict are to be successful

The US vice-president, JD Vance, has blamed the failure of marathon negotiations with Iran on the country’s refusal to abandon its nuclear weapons programme, while Iranian delegates have claimed Washington needs to do more to win their trust.

Vance, who left Islamabad on Sunday morning after 21 hours of talks with Iranian officials in the Pakistani capital, said his team had been very clear on its red lines, as hopes faded of a quick end to the conflict that began on 28 February.

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Man arrested for allegedly damaging US military aircraft in Shannon airport

Suspect in 40s arrested after man apparently climbed on to USAF C130 Hercules transport plane on remote taxiway in County Clare

A man has been arrested after entering an unauthorised area of an airport in the Republic of Ireland and allegedly causing damage to a US military aircraft, police have said.

The suspect, aged in his 40s, was arrested for alleged criminal damage and remains in custody over the incident on Saturday at Shannon airport in County Clare.

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Russian drone attacks persist despite Kremlin’s Easter ceasefire, Ukrainian forces say

Ukraine reports 469 violations of Putin’s 32-hour ceasefire, hours after deadly drone attacks on Odesa and Kherson

Russia continued to strike Ukrainian positions with drones after a Kremlin-declared Easter ceasefire took effect on Saturday, a Ukrainian military officer said.

“The ceasefire is not being observed by the Russian side,” said Serhii Kolesnychenko, a communications officer for the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade.

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French man charged with keeping nine-year-old son locked in van since 2024

Police rescued boy after neighbour reported sounds of a child coming from vehicle in Hagenbach in eastern France

A malnourished nine-year-old boy was rescued after being locked in his father’s van since 2024 in eastern France, a prosecutor said.

A neighbour alerted police to “sounds of a child” coming from a vehicle in the village of Hagenbach, near the borders of Switzerland and Germany.

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US state department revokes green cards of three Iranian nationals it links to regime

Three arrested by federal agents had family ties to Iranian military general, regime spokesperson or security chief

United States federal agents arrested three Iranian nationals – including the son of a revolutionary at the center of the 1979 Iran hostage crisis – after the US state department terminated their green cards, the department announced on Saturday.

State department officials revoked the green card status of Seyed Eissa Hashemi, whose mother was an Iranian revolutionary who served as the spokesperson for Iran’s regime during the hostage crisis that defined the late Jimmy Carter’s presidency. The state department also revoked the green card – or legal permanent resident – statuses of Hashemi’s wife and son.

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Native Americans were gambling with dice 6,000 years earlier than anyone else, study says

Archaeological record suggests hunter gatherers were playing games of chance at the end of the last ice age

Native American hunter gatherers were using dice for gaming and gambling more than 6,000 years before the practice appeared anywhere else, a new study argues.

It says dice were being made and used on the western great plains of North America at the end of the last ice age, more than 12,000 years ago.

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Explosives found near pipeline in Serbia probably ‘Russian provocation’, says expert

Former Ukrainian major general says 4kg of material was most likely an attempt to influence Hungary’s election

The amount of explosives discovered in Serbia last week would not have been enough to destroy the Balkan Stream gas pipeline, prompting an expert to conclude it was probably a Russian intelligence plot aimed at influencing Hungary’s impending election.

A former Ukrainian major general and a munitions specialist told the Guardian calculations made by his company showed the 4kg of explosives recovered by Serbia’s military security agency in Kanjiža could not have seriously ruptured the pipe.

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UK forced to shelve Chagos Islands legislation after US dropped support

Officials accept that time has run out to pass law to allow transfer of islands to Mauritius

The UK government has been forced to shelve its legislation to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after the US dropped its support for the agreement.

On Friday, UK government officials acknowledged that they had run out of time to pass legislation within the current parliamentary session, which ends in the coming weeks.

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