A meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky descended into bitter chaos, with Mr Trump saying afterwards that Ukraine’s president was “not ready for peace”. Mr Zelensky left the White House early and abandoned a planned signing of a deal giving America access to Ukraine’s rare minerals. In a heated exchange in the Oval Office, Mr Trump said that Mr Zelensky was “in no position to dictate” to him. America’s president said that he was “in the middle” of the two sides, and “for both Ukraine and Russia”.
European leaders rallied behind Mr Zelensky following the clash in the White House. Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, said that “Ukraine can rely on Germany—and on Europe”. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, said “the free world needs a new leader”. Meanwhile the Kremlin revelled in the acrimony. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s security council, called Mr Zelensky an “insolent pig” who had received a “proper slap down”.
Scott Bessent, America’s treasury secretary, urged Canada to match American tariffs on Chinese goods. Speaking to Bloomberg, Mr Bessent suggested that Mexico had already proposed matching those levies—presumably to avoid American tariffs on Mexican goods. Should Canada follow suit, he said, it could create “fortress North America” against the “flood of Chinese imports”.
Pope Francis “remained alert and aware” after suffering an “isolated” breathing crisis, according to the Vatican. A bronchial spasm caused the 88-year-old pontiff to inhale vomit and be put on “noninvasive” ventilation. He has long battled respiratory problems, and has been in hospital with pneumonia for two weeks. The Vatican said that it would take one or two days to determine how the incident affected his prognosis.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a militant Kurdish group that has been a thorn in Turkey’s side for decades, called a ceasefire. The move followed a public demand for the group to disarm by its long-imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The ending of the insurgency could help deliver another term in power for Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Further talks will establish what the Kurds get.
Clashes with the police broke out in Athens as hundreds of thousands of Greeks rallied on the second anniversary of the country’s deadliest train crash, which killed 57 people near Tempi, in central Greece. A general strike halted air, sea and rail transport. Protesters accuse the government of a cover-up. Parliament will debate political responsibility for the disaster next week.
Microsoft said it plans to shut down Skype on May 5th. The internet-calling service, which disrupted the landline industry when it launched in 2003, has struggled to keep up with rivals, such as Zoom and Slack. Microsoft, which bought Skype in 2011, said it will now double down on Teams, its workplace-collaboration product.
Word of the week: güero, a Spanish term used in Mexico and the United States to describe a white person, often affectionately. Read the full story.
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