Pope Francis died at the age of 88 in his residence in the Vatican. The pontiff had experienced months of ill health. In February he was taken into hospital for bronchitis. On Easter Sunday Francis briefly appeared in St Peter’s Square for Mass. Francis appointed most of the cardinals who will choose his successor, meaning that the next pope will probably continue his progressive approach.
A 30-hour ceasefire to the war in Ukraine ended, with the Kremlin saying it would not extend the pause in fighting. Not that there had been much of an Easter truce to talk of. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia had violated the ceasefire thousands of times along the front lines. Russia, meanwhile, said it had repelled several Ukrainian assaults.
It was reported that Pete Hegseth, America’s defence secretary, had for a second time last month shared details on Signal of an imminent attack on Yemen. According to Reuters, the messaging app’s group included Mr Hegseth’s wife, brother and personal lawyer. It follows the debacle of the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic mistakenly being added to a similar Signal chat. The Pentagon decried a media frenzy based on a “single source”.
Israel said on Sunday that its killing of 15 aid workers in Gaza on March 23rd was due to an “operational misunderstanding”. The finding comes from an inquiry conducted by the Israel Defence Forces. The IDF fired the deputy commander of the battalion responsible for the killings. On Saturday Binyamin Netanyahu said that Israel had “no choice” but to continue fighting in Gaza.
America’s vice-president headed to India, hoping to make progress on a bilateral trade deal. J.D. Vance will blend negotiations with a family visit. Trade talks have taken on a particular urgency since Donald Trump’s imposition of a 26% “reciprocal” tariff on the country earlier this month, although it was quickly paused for 90 days. America is India’s largest trading partner.
Meanwhile China threatened “resolute” countermeasures against any government that cuts a trade deal with America at its expense. China was the only country not given a temporary reprieve from Mr Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs. The rate levied on China is 145%. It has been reported that America is using the threat of sanctions to persuade countries to scale back trade with China.
America and the Philippines began their annual military exercises. America said that this year’s drills were the first “full battle tests” of the countries’ forces in the South China Sea. Japanese forces will participate for the first time. In March Pete Hegseth, America’s defence secretary, said that America wanted to “re-establish deterrence” in the region.
Figure of the day: 17,000, the accumulated tonnes of rubbish on roadsides in Birmingham, Britain, after a strike by binmen. Read the full story.
A monetary fix for China’s economy?
“The Fix” is a recent sci-fi movie about a world-changing drug. It is also the informal name of the benchmark exchange rate of the yuan, set daily by China’s central bank, that anchors trading in the currency. After America imposed high tariffs on China this month, the fix has commanded close attention. Investors are wondering if China will now allow a rapid cheapening of the yuan to help exporters.
The fix is not the only tool in the central bank’s kit. It could also cut interest rates to boost demand. On Monday China made no change to the Loan Prime Rate, a reference point for mortgages. But it could cut its shorter-term policy rate before the end of this quarter, according to some economists. But the prime rate has moved first in the past. Monetary easing could spur borrowing and spending, but it could also damage the profitability of China’s banks. As the movie trailer puts it, “every drug has its price”.
The World Bank pitches itself to Donald Trump
As a property mogul, Donald Trump has had a complicated relationship with banks. Now, as America’s president, he leads the largest shareholder of a very important one: the World Bank. Finance ministers and central bankers will gather in Washington on Monday for the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, in which America also has the biggest stake.
Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, is expected to speak, presenting the Trump administration’s position on the organisations for the first time. It has already gutted USAID, which had been a big part of America’s contribution to global development. The World Bank’s boss, Ajay Banga, has pivoted from a climate agenda to one focused on jobs and the private sector. He hopes to convince Mr Trump that the bank is a smart investment. Joe Biden had pledged $4bn over the next three years in the World Bank’s most recent funding drive. The money is to be distributed to poor countries in cut-price loans. Mr Trump’s administration can fulfil the commitment—or revise it.
Thailand woos Trump
Asian leaders are trying different ways of dealing with Donald Trump’s trade war. China retaliated. But South-East Asia, which faces some of Mr Trump’s steepest levies, is trying to placate him. Vietnam has offered to buy more American liquefied natural gas and cut tariffs on imports to zero. Thailand, South-East Asia’s second-biggest economy (after Indonesia), is next to negotiate. Its exports risk a 36% levy. Its finance and commerce ministers will meet American officials on Monday.
Thai officials promise to boost American imports and to try to balance trade with Uncle Sam within ten years. They have also vowed to make sure other countries do not use Thailand to circumvent tariffs. America is Thailand’s biggest export market. And Thailand’s economy was struggling even before the tariff announcements. Growth is meagre and its export industries are dominated by old-school firms. Thai negotiators will hope Mr Trump is charmed by their latest offering: cutting tariffs on American sweetcorn.
Trump nixes plastic eggs
The White House Easter Egg Roll, a tradition that dates back to the 1870s, takes place on Monday. Plans for the event were briefly scrambled after questions arose about whether it was appropriate to use real eggs amid a nationwide shortage. The festivities—which include an egg hunt and egg decorating, along with the famous egg-roll race—will require 30,000 eggs. “They were saying that for Easter, ‘Please don’t use eggs. Could you use plastic eggs?’ I say we don’t want to do that,” said Donald Trump earlier this month.
It was not clear who asked Mr Trump to use plastic eggs, but the president won some support from Emily Metz, head of the American Egg Board. “Continuing the celebration of the White House Easter Egg Roll will not create additional strain on the nation’s egg supply or egg prices,” she said. She pointed out that nearly 9m eggs are sold in America each day.
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