“Algeria has asked 12 French embassy staff to leave in 48 hours, the French foreign minister said Monday, adding that this was linked to the arrest of three Algerian nationals in France. ‘I am asking Algerian authorities to abandon these expulsion measures … if the decision to send back our officials is maintained, we will have no other choice but to respond immediately,’ Jean-Noël Barrot said. The 12 include some members of the French interior ministry, a diplomatic source told AFP. On Friday, French prosecutors indicted three Algerians, including a consular official, on suspicion of involvement in the April 2024 abduction of an Algerian influencer, Amir Boukhors, in a Paris suburb.” (04/14/25)
“Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa won the country’s presidential election on Sunday based on preliminary results, an electoral official said, as his main rival demanded a recount of the vote following a race overshadowed by drug-fueled violence that has consumed the once-peaceful South American country. Noboa, a conservative, has made fighting crime and economic revitalization two of his main goals — summed up in the slogan ‘New Ecuador’ — as he faces, among other challenges, violence by criminal groups and an energy crisis that has caused constant blackouts in the country. With 90% of the ballots counted, the trend in favor of Noboa is irreversible and he is considered the winner, National Electoral Council president Diana Atamaint told a press conference Sunday. But Noboa’s closest challenger, leftist lawyer Luisa González, said she rejected the results and demanded a recount.” (04/13/25)
“At least 31 people have been killed and dozens injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Sumy as people were going to church for Palm Sunday. Two missiles landed in the crowded city centre. One hit a trolley bus full of passengers. Footage from the scene showed bodies lying in the street, burning cars, and rescuers carrying bloodied survivors. Two of the dead were children. … Sumy is 15 miles (25km) from the border with Russia and is a Ukrainian military hub. The missiles landed in a downtown civilian area where many people carrying willow branches for Palm Sunday were on their way to church.” (04/13/25)
“A suspect was arrested over a fire at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s (D) Harrisburg residence that forced the governor and his family to evacuate early Sunday, officials said in the evening. The suspect was found with ‘homemade’ incendiary devices, Pennsylvania State Police deputy commissioner George Bivens said at a Sunday evening briefing. Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, will face charges including attempted murder, terrorism, aggravated arson and aggravated assault against an enumerated person, Pennsylvania District Attorney Fran Chardo said at the briefing.” (04/13/25)
“Israeli forces have bombed al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, the largest remaining functioning hospital in northern Gaza. Critically ill patients were left on the street after fleeing the attack in the early hours of Sunday morning. According to the Reuters news agency, the hospital staff began evacuating patients from the building after a man said he received a call from someone identifying himself with Israeli security, shortly before the attack. Authorities in Gaza have condemned the bombing, noting that al-Ahli Hospital was treating hundreds of patients when it was hit by at least two missiles. … Israel has repeatedly attacked hospitals in the Palestinian enclave with impunity throughout its devastating war – according to the Government Media Office in Gaza, Israel has targeted 36 hospitals since October 2023.” (04/13/25)
“President Donald Trump is exempting [American buyers of] smartphones, computers and more electronics from his global reciprocal [sic] tariffs after a tumultuous week in the markets due to his global trade war. A guidance published by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection late Friday exempted [American buyers of] these consumer electronics — many are manufactured in China — from Trump’s back-and-forth tariff escalation with China and the 10 percent global tariff. Machines used to make semiconductors will also be exempt. While these electronics won’t be subject to the escalating tariff rate Trump levied this week in a back-and-forth with China, these goods still could be hit with a significant duty if made there.” (04/12/25)
“Luigi Mangione’s attorneys have asked a federal court to block the government from seeking the death penalty in his case, saying that the manner in which U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the government’s intentions was ‘political and arbitrary.’ In a court filing Friday, Mangione’s attorneys argued that the government breached the protocol for seeking the death penalty, prejudicing the case and the potential grand jury pool. They pointed to three of Bondi’s public statements about Mangione: her April 1 press release announcing she directed prosecutors to seek the death penalty; a post on her newly created Instagram account that painted Mangione, who has not yet been indicted on federal charges, ‘as guilty of murder;’ and a Fox News appearance in which she talked about Mangione’s federal case.” (04/13/25)
“Pope Francis made a brief appearance in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday at the end of a Palm Sunday service, greeting the crowds from his wheelchair as he continues to recover from double pneumonia. ‘Happy Palm Sunday, Happy Holy Week,’ the pope said, before once returning inside the Vatican, stopping occasionally to talk with the faithful, including a group of delighted nuns. Unlike last Sunday, when he made his first public appearance since being discharged from hospital three weeks ago, the pope was not receiving oxygen via a small hose under his nose. Francis, 88, was discharged from hospital on March 23 after spending five weeks being treated for the lung infection, which his doctor later said had nearly killed him.” (04/13/25)
“A roadside bomb suspected to have been planted by Islamic extremists in northeastern Nigeria struck a passenger bus, killing eight people and wounding more than a dozen others, authorities said. The bus was traveling along the Damboa-Maiduguri highway in the conflict-battered Borno state on Saturday when it drove over the explosive device, Borno state police spokesman Nahum Daso said in a statement. Islamic extremists with the Boko Haram group took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law. The conflict, Africa’s longest struggle with militancy, has spilled into Nigeria’s northern neighbors and has left some 35,000 civilians dead and more than 2 million displaced, according to the U.N.” (04/13/25)
“The U.K. Parliament authorized the government to seize control of the Chinese-owned British Steel plant in Scunthorpe to prevent its closure and the loss of up to 2,700 jobs. Members of Parliament approved a government takeover of the steel plant that is owned by Chinese firm Jingye during an emergency session Saturday morning to stop its owners from shutting down two blast furnaces and ending steel production in the United Kingdom, the BBC reported. The British government and Jingye officials had been negotiating to keep the steel plant open, but those talks broke down, which triggered Saturday’s emergency session of Parliament.” (04/12/25)
