Pope Leo issues warning on democracy after Trump criticism

By Joshua McElwee

April 14, 2026, 7:14 AM PDT

Updated 1 hour ago

ANNABA, Algeria, April 14 (Reuters) - Pope Leo warned of the risk of democracies sliding into "majoritarian tyranny" on Tuesday, in a ​letter issued by the Vatican two days after U.S. ‌President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff on social media.

The economic game of chicken between Iran and the US is about to enter a dangerous new phase

Analysis by David Goldman
7 hr ago
Iran has been winning its economic game of chicken with President Donald Trump

Trump’s extraordinary blockade of the Strait of Hormuz this week shows the United States isn’t backing down just yet. But America’s significant new step adds substantial risk – to more than just the economy.

Hezbollah official says the group won’t abide by any agreements from Lebanon-Israel talks in the US

BY ABBY SEWELL
Updated 3:28 AM PDT, April 14, 2026
BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah will not abide by any agreements that may result from the direct Lebanon-Israel talks in the United States, negotiations it firmly opposes, a senior Hezbollah official said Monday.

Graphic: Tracking ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz

Twenty percent of the world’s natural gas and oil used to pass through the strait.

April 14, 2026, 8:22 AM PDT

By Jiachuan Wu, Max Burman, and Joe Murphy

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been at a near-standstill for weeks amid the Iran war, sending prices of oil and other key goods soaring. President Donald Trump made reopening the strait a condition of the ceasefire with Tehran, but with little change and no deal reached in peace talks, he announced a naval blockade of Iran.

Trump and Putin just lost their ‘poster boy’ in Europe. What now for Hungary?

CNN World > Europe

By Christian Edwards 

Budapest, Hungary — In recent decades, the United States and Russia have rarely backed the same candidate in a foreign election. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán was an exception. But as it turned out, they backed the loser.

Liberals set to form historic majority government after sweeping three byelections

Liberal Danielle Martin wins Toronto byelection
Sarah Ritchie
Mon, April 13, 2026 

OTTAWA — It took nearly a full year and a handful of byelections and defections for Prime Minister Mark Carney to assemble enough members of Parliament to turn his minority government into a slim majority — a feat that has never happened in Canadian politics before.

Live updates: Trump vows to ‘kill’ Iranian warships that near US blockade of ports

President Donald Trump confirmed Monday a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports is underway, saying “we can’t let a country blackmail” the world.

Edited By BRIDGET BROWN, LORIAN BELANGER, HRVOJE HRANJSKI, MIKE HARRISON, MICHAEL WARREN, LUENA RODRIGUEZ-FEO VILEIRA, DREW CALLISTER, and NELL CLARK
April 13, 2026

Trump posts AI image of himself as Jesus-like figure, drawing outrage

By Helen Coster and Joseph Ax

April 13, 2026

Summary

• Trump's post depicts him in a white robe with his hand on a man's head
• Some supporters criticize the image, which was later deleted
• Pope Leo says he has no fear of the Trump administration

Inside Trump’s Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections

Animation by Matt Rota and Henrike Lendowski

by Doug Bock Clark and Jen Fifield

April 13, 2026

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.

Reporting Highlights

• Safeguards Destroyed: In advance of this year’s midterm elections, President Donald Trump has systematically demolished federal guardrails that prevented him from overturning the 2020 election.
• Changing of Guard: At least 75 career staff are gone. Two dozen appointees, including many from the election denial movement, have been hired. Ten helped try to overturn the 2020 vote.
• Political Interference: Once-fringe actors now have access to vast powers, which they’ve already used to push forward unprecedented actions that critics say amount to partisan interference.

These highlights were written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

Trump threatens 50% tariffs on China as report suggests plans for arms shipment to Iran

World Politics
Published Mon, Apr 13 2026

3:47 AM EDT

Updated 4 Hours Ago
Matthew Chin

Key Points

• U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened to impose a 50% tariff on China, after a report suggested Beijing was preparing to deliver a shipment of air defense systems to Iran.
• Speculation has mounted over Beijing’s role in Iran’s war efforts.
• But just as China’s reported weapons shipment remains unverified, Trump’s intention to follow through on tariff threats is similarly unclear, ahead of a May summit.

UK ‘will not be involved’ in Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade

INDEPENDENT
Trump has threatened to stop tankers from entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz
Sophie Wingate
Sunday 12 April 2026 13:45 EDT

The UK is not going to be involved in Donald Trump’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, it is understood.

Hungary election: Trump ally Viktor Orbán concedes defeat after 16 years as prime minister

Updated 3:49 PM EDT, 

Sun, April 12, 2026
CNN World 

What to know

•  BREAKING:  Veteran Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat in a parliamentary election and congratulated Péter Magyar, leader of the opposition party Tisza and a former member of the ruling Fidesz party.
• Record turnout: Sunday’s election had the highest turnout in Hungary’s post-Communist history, officials said shortly before the polls closed, with almost 78% of eligible voters having cast their ballots.
• Trump ally: The nationalist, pro-Russian Orbán, in power for 16 years and seeking his fifth straight election win, was endorsed by US President Donald Trump and hailed as a model for the rest of Europe by Trump administration officials.

After Iran talks falter, the big question is what happens next?

7 hours ago
Lyse Doucet 

Chief International Correspondent, in Islamabad
Twenty-one hours was not enough to end 47 years of hostility between Iran and the US.

The historic high-level talks in Islamabad, during a pause in weeks of grievous war, were always unlikely to end any other way.

What Hippies, Tradwives, and Trump Voters Have in Common

 MOTHER TONGUE  MAY + JUNE 2026 ISSUE 
They’re all obsessed with the same thing
Grace Byron / Bio

Illustration: Till Lauer

During this year’s Super Bowl, boxer Mike Tyson took a big bite out of an apple in a commercial that commanded us to “eat real food.” The ad felt more like a political gambit than a PSA. Here was a chance to show off the seemingly strange alliance of the second Trump administration: MAGA and MAHA.

Ray Dalio says we're in a world war — and it's only just beginning

By Theron Mohamed

Apr 8, 2026
Ray Dalio says we're in the "early stages of a world war" and it won't end anytime soon. The hedge-fund billionaire pointed to several ongoing clashes, military as well as economic and geopolitical. Also, he listed potential conflicts and said at least one is likely to happen in the next five years.

No Deal Reached in Pakistan: Black Smoke Reigns Over Hopes for Peace

The Greek Courier

Sunday, April 12, 2026
Vance Confirms No Consensus After Prolonged US-Iran Discussions in Islamabad
The prospects of a ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz are now uncertain as negotiations stall. Meanwhile, Israel's airstrikes in Lebanon persist.

Europe Is Done With Appeasing Trump

Opinion

April 9, 2026

By Serge Schmemann

Mr. Schmemann, an Opinion writer, is a former Moscow bureau chief of The Times.

“When we’re serious, we don’t every day say the opposite of what we said the day before,” President Emmanuel Macron of France said last week, adding, cuttingly: “And, maybe, one shouldn’t speak every day.”

UPDATED: Two U.S. Warships Sail Through Strait of Hormuz to Establish New Route for Merchant Ships

Heather Mongilio and Sam LaGrone
April 11, 2026 2:05 PM - Updated: April 11, 2026 7:26 PM This post has been updated with additional information on the transit.
Two Navy guided-missile destroyers entered the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the first American warships to transit the strait since the U.S.-Israel offensive in Iran began on Feb. 28.

USS Frank E. Petersen (DDG-121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) operated in the Persian Gulf after transiting the strait as part of the U.S. plan to “ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines,” according to a Saturday U.S. Central Command news release. Frank E. Petersen is part of the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, while Michael Murphy is an independently-deployed destroyer, according to USNI News’ Fleet and Marine Tracker. The pair of ships transited back through the strait to the Gulf of Oman, according to ship spotters.