Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said he is “fully committed” to talks between Ukrainian and American officials in Saudi Arabia next week on ending the war. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, will lead the American delegation. Earlier, Russian strikes on Ukraine killed at least 20 people and wounded dozens, officials said. The president of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics, said that some European countries should introduce conscription to counter Russian aggression.
The new leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, called for peace and “national unity” after days of violent clashes between the security forces and supporters of Bashar al-Assad, the deposed president. More than 1,000 people have been killed overall, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor. That number includes about 700 Alawite civilians killed execution-style by pro-government forces in the coastal strip, Mr Assad’s sectarian stronghold.
Germany’s incoming chancellor said he would welcome talks with Britain and France to share their nuclear weapons. However, Friedrich Merz added that any new arrangement would be “supplementing” the existing American nuclear shield in NATO rather than replacing it. Mr Merz also added that he would like to wrap up talks on forming his new coalition government by Easter, April 20th.
Britain’s government outlined plans to reform the civil service. Pat McFadden, a cabinet minister, told the BBC that under-performing officials would be given incentives to leave and performance-related pay will be introduced. He said overall civil service numbers “would and can become smaller”, but denied any comparisons to Elon Musk’s assault on federal bureaucracy in America, arguing that he just wanted a bigger “bang for our buck”.
France, Britain, Germany and Italy said they support an Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza. The proposal has been rejected by Israel and Donald Trump, who wants to turn the war-ravaged enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East”. Meanwhile Israel and Hamas signaled they were preparing for the next stage of ceasefire negotiations, as mediators sought to extend a fragile truce.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he would not negotiate under “bullying”. His comments follow Donald Trump’s letter proposing the talks. Mr Khamenei accused America of imposing new demands on Iran’s missile programme. During his first term America’s president abandoned a nuclear pact with Iran, which he said was too generous, but failed to secure a stricter agreement.
Cyclone Alfred tore through Australia’s Queensland state, causing flash flooding and leaving more than 300,000 people without power. The storm, which was downgraded to a “tropical low” on Saturday, made landfall near Brisbane, the state’s capital. One man died in floodwaters in the state of New South Wales. Tropical cyclones are becoming more damaging because of climate change.
Word of the week: sertanejo, Brazil’s most popular music genre, a country-inspired style reflecting the country’s rural and agricultural roots. Read the full story.
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