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US Democratic lawmakers visit Cuba, call on Trump to ‘bring the rhetoric down’

Two Democrats from the US House of Representatives visited Cuba last week, the first such delegation to go to the island this year since US president Donald Trump imposed a de facto oil blockade in a bid to bring Cuba's communist-run government to its knees. Congressional representatives Pramila Jayapal, a leading member of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and Jonathan Jackson, a Democrat with a long interest in Cuba, said they had come to "see the suffering that is happening on the ground" as a result of Trump's fuel embargo, which they called "an illegal blockade of energy supplies." The lawmakers' visit comes at a time of unprecedented tension in the decades-long frosty relationship between the US and Cuba. The Trump administration has closed the tap on remittances to Cuba, threatened to slap tariffs on countries that provide oil to the island and placed it on a list of nations that sponsor terrorism. "This is the most sanctioned par...
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On Easter, Pope Leo urges world leaders to end wars, renounce conquest

Pope Leo urged global leaders in his Easter message on Sunday to end the conflicts raging across the world and abandon any schemes for power, conquest, or domination. The pope, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war, lamented in a special message to the thousands gathered in St Peter's Square that people "are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent". "Let those who have weapons lay them down!" the first United States pope exhorted. "Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!" Read: Pope Leo says God rejects prayers of leaders who wage wars Leo did not mention any specific conflicts in the message, known as the "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing. It was unusually brief and direct. The pope said that the story of Easter, when the Bible says Jesus rose from the dead three days after not resisting his execution by crucifixion, shows that Christ was "entirely nonviolent". "On this day of celebration, let us abandon every desire for conflict, domination, and power, and implore the Lord to grant his peace to a world ravaged by wars," Leo urged. Leo, who is known for choosing his words carefully, has been forcefully decrying the world's violent conflicts in recent weeks and ramping up his criticism of the Iran war. In an address on March 29, the pontiff had also said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have "hands full of blood". The pontiff called the Gulf conflict "atrocious" and said Jesus cannot be used to justify any wars. Read More: Pope Leo condemns Gaza conditions in unusually direct Christmas sermon In a sermon for the Easter vigil on Saturday night, he urged people not to feel numbed by the scope of the conflicts raging across the world but to work for peace. The pope made a rare direct appeal to US President Donald Trump ​on ⁠Tuesday, urging him to find an "off-ramp" to end the Iran war. In his address from the balcony of St Peter's Basilica on Sunday to the Square below, decorated with thousands of brightly coloured flowers for the holiday, Leo offered brief Easter greetings in ten languages, including Latin, Arabic and Chinese. The pope also announced he would return to the Basilica on April 11 to host a prayer vigil for peace.

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At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

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