International

Good morning,

The long journey of Leo XIV has ended. An extensive 11-day tour, which touched four countries and had begun with the weight of the very serious accusations directed by Donald Trump against the American Pope for his anti-war positions. A burden from which the Pontiff tried to free himself immediately, responding to the president: “I am not afraid of the Trump administration,” but making it clear that he did not want to “debate” with him. A request reiterated in the following days to journalists who had interpreted some of his speeches as messages directed at the White House.

The Lebanese government attends the meeting with Israel’s negotiating team at the White House, with Donald Trump present in the room, to close an improbable deal that would end the war with Hezbollah. After two months of conflict against the Shiite militia – which is not part of the negotiations – Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, where they have established a so-called ‘yellow line’, a replica of the military division that splits the Gaza Strip in two.

Vladimir Putin justified this Thursday the recent restrictions on mobile internet in Russia for security reasons. However, although the measures help prevent attacks against Russian territory, the Kremlin chief asked in a teleconference meeting with the Government that the interests of citizens be taken into account.

After two months of high-voltage community drama, billions in European Eurobonds can now start to reach Ukraine. The EU formally unblocked this Thursday the 90 billion loan that had been blocked until now by the still Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán. Once the elections were lost and Russian oil flowing towards Budapest, Hungary has raised no further objections, and European leaders are now starting to turn the page, now considering the next challenge: opening the first round of negotiations in Ukraine’s EU accession process.

The indefinite truce between Iran and the United States, announced on Tuesday by President Donald Trump, remains fragile after the capture of at least five ships since then in the region, three intercepted by Tehran and two by Washington. The naval blockade imposed by the Pentagon on Iranian ports, which overlaps with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the Revolutionary Guard, is making a second round of peace talks impossible, as the Iranian regime considers it an “act of war” that violates the terms of the agreement. Financial markets breathed a sigh of relief when Trump extended the ceasefire just hours before it expired, but have stabilized, cautious because peace still seems distant.

The United States Army has announced that it intercepted two Iranian supertankers that attempted to evade its blockade. President Trump also threatened to attack any Iranian vessel involved in mining the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington continues to obstruct shipments from the Islamic Republic.

When U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance lands in Islamabad (Pakistan) for his second round of dialogue with Iran, he will encounter the same impediments as in the failed meeting of April 11. The ayatollahs’ regime remains standing and inflexible to Washington’s demand that it renounce its uranium enrichment, nor does it seem willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz while the American naval blockade lasts, nor to withdraw its financial and logistical support for its allied militias in the region.

Secretary of the Navy John Phelan was fired, a source close to the matter said Wednesday. This is another wartime reorganization at the Pentagon, just weeks after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Chief of Staff Randy George.

Berlin announced on Wednesday that Russia will suspend the supply of Kazakh oil to a major refinery supplying eastern Germany starting May 1. The suspension comes amid the global energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East.