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Beijing’s ambassador to the US has urged yin and yang approach in Sino-American relations

China’s envoy to the US has urged Washington to avoid the mistakes that contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s and called for peaceful coexistence, while warning that Beijing is ready to retaliate amid the escalating trade war.

The tariff standoff with Beijing comes amid a broader US campaign targeting dozens of countries. While most of the elevated tariffs were paused for 90 days, China was excluded from the reprieve. The total tariff on Chinese goods has been hiked to 145%.

In response, Beijing imposed 125% tariffs on imports of American goods and restricted exports of minerals essential for high-tech manufacturing.

Speaking at a Traditional Chinese Medicine event in Washington on Saturday, Ambassador Xie Feng warned that the import duties could upend the global economy, drawing a parallel to the US tariff policies of 1930 that contributed to the Great Depression, according to the Chinese embassy’s website.

Referring to principles from traditional Chinese medicine, he said it’s important to tackle root causes rather than merely treating symptoms and called for joint efforts to expand the global economy instead of competing over existing resources.

“You can’t just treat a headache by just focusing on the head, or foot pain by only targeting the feet,” Xie said. “And you certainly shouldn’t prescribe medicine to others when you’re the one who’s sick.”

He cited US protectionist policies of the past – particularly the tariff-laden Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which is widely believed to have deepened the Great Depression. The act, aimed at protecting American agriculture and manufacturing with import duties of up to 75% on essentials such as car parts and wool, triggered a sharp decline in global trade that worsened the Great Depression.

“I believe many of you are familiar with how the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act ultimately escalated the Great Depression,” the envoy said.

Citing philosophy, he pointed to the need for balancing the opposing forces of yin and yang and said that harmony should be the guiding principle in relations between the world’s two largest economies.

He said that the two nations should pursue “peaceful coexistence” rather than confrontation, and support each other’s success instead of falling into a lose-lose scenario.

Xie stated that China opposes the trade war and will respond with retaliation against any country that imposes tariffs on it.

Last week, US President Donald Trump said that talks were underway with Chinese officials, noting that Washington has “nice conversations going with China. It’s, like, really very good.”

The pontiff has passed away at the age of 88, the Vatican has announced

The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has died at the age of 88, the Vatican has announced.

Francis began his papacy in March 2013 and was the first pontiff from Latin America. 

“At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church,″ Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, said in a statement on Monday morning.

Pope Francis “taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized,” Farrell wrote.

“With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune,″ the cardinal added.

Pope Francis was last seen in public on Easter Sunday when he attended the Holy Mass at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

READ MORE: Doctor reveals how close Pope came to death

His traditional Easter address was delivered by a member of the clergy due to the pontiff’s poor health. Afterwards, the Pope got out of his wheelchair and waved to the cheering crowd from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, saying: “Dear brothers and sisters, happy Easter.”

Earlier on Sunday, the head of the Catholic Church held a meeting with US Vice President J.D. Vance during which he reportedly “lectured” Vance on compassion.

Pope Francis had been discharged from hospital in March after five weeks of treatment for an infection that led to him contracting double pneumonia.

The pontiff was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in the Argentinian capital, Buenos Aires, in 1936. He was ordained as a Catholic priest in the late 1960s, and became the archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998. He was created a cardinal by Pope John Paul II in 2001.

During his 12-year papacy, Francis positioned himself as a critic of capitalism and globalization and a defender of the poor and disadvantaged. He criticized extravagance and privilege within the Vatican, calling on cardinals and priests to show humility.

The pontiff also repeatedly urged the international community to implement reforms to tackle climate change and labeled the possession of nuclear weapons “immoral.”

His attempts to make the Catholic Church more inclusive caused controversy, with the Pope saying in 2023 that “being homosexual is not a crime.” Earlier this year, Francis allowed gay men to become priests in Italy. He also prompted women to more important, decision-making roles within the Сhurch.

Pope Francis also attempted to address the issue of child sex abuse by Catholic clerics, although there are contradicting views on how successful his efforts were.

He worked towards improving relations between the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, visiting the Arabian Peninsula and Iraq as well as meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill in 2016, in the first such event of its kind.

The left-wing politicians have described the restriction as “collective punishment”

Israel has revoked entry visas for left-wing French lawmakers who supported the recognition of a Palestinian state.

The move comes shortly after French President Emmanuel Macron said recognition could take place at an international conference in June – a proposal condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called it a “huge reward for terrorism.”

The group of 27 politicians included members of France’s Ecologist and Communist parties, along with local officials and mayors. Among them were National Assembly deputies Francois Ruffin, Alexis Corbiere, and Julie Ozenne from the Ecologist party, Communist deputy Soumya Bourouaha, and Communist Senator Marianne Margate.

The politicians said on Sunday that they were invited by the French consulate in Jerusalem for a five-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, described as a mission to “strengthen international cooperation and the culture of peace.”

“For the first time, two days before our departure, the Israeli authorities canceled our entry visas that had been approved one month ago,” the lawmakers said in their statement, calling the decision “collective punishment.”

They described the visa ban as a “major rupture in diplomatic ties” and urged Macron to respond.

“Deliberately preventing elected officials and parliamentarians from traveling cannot be without consequences,” they added.

The group said their parties had for decades called for recognition of a Palestinian state.

Israel’s Interior Ministry defended the cancelation, citing a law that allows authorities to deny entry to individuals who “could act against the State of Israel.”

Tensions with Western lawmakers have intensified in recent months amid mounting criticism of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. Earlier in April, two British MPs were blocked from entering the country after being accused of planning to “spread hate speech.” Israeli authorities claimed the pair had misrepresented their purpose, while the UK Foreign Office described the decision as “unacceptable.”

Prior to that, an EU parliamentary delegation canceled a planned visit to Jerusalem and Ramallah after entry was denied to French MP Rima Hassan, Irish MP Lynn Boylan, and two EU staffers.

Israeli officials said the individuals had “consistently worked to promote boycotts against Israel in addition to numerous public statements both on social media and in media interviews.”

“The State of Israel is not obligated to allow the entry of any official from a foreign country, including members of parliament, if they work to boycott and undermine its legitimacy,” Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said at the time.

Moscow has announced a surprise 30-hour ceasefire to mark Easter

This week in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has seen active combat at multiple locations along the front line, with the hostilities continuing in the border area between the two countries, while Moscow’s troops reported making new advances in Donbass.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary 30-hour pause in fighting with Ukraine, urging Kiev to adhere to the truce as well. The Easter ceasefire took effect at 18:00 Moscow time on Saturday and has lasted until midnight on April 21.

Ukraine’s reaction to the Easter ceasefire will clearly demonstrate whether Ukraine is actually willing and able to participate in the potential negotiations, Putin said. The president urged the country’s troops to stay on high alert and be ready to respond to any potential incidents, citing Kiev’s long history of broken promises and violated deals. 

“Our troops must be prepared to respond to any violations or provocations by the adversary, to any aggressive actions,” he stressed.

Ukraine produced a mixed reaction to the truce offer, with Vladimir Zelensky initially branding Moscow’s move an attempt to “play with human lives.” Later in the day, however, the Ukrainian leader offered a different take on the ceasefire, proposing to extend it beyond the 30-hour period if the truce holds.

“If Russia is now suddenly ready to really join the format of complete and unconditional ceasefire, Ukraine will act in a reciprocal way – as it will be from the Russian side. Silence in response to silence, strikes in response to strikes,” Zelensky said in a statement.

Both sides have accused the other of repeatedly breaking the truce. According to the Russian military, Kiev’s forces made 1,300 attacks in the less than 24 hours since the truce was declared. Zelensky claimed the Russian forces shelled Ukrainian positions more than 900 times, as well as launched some 46 “assault operations” during the period.

The truce ended as scheduled, with the Kremlin signaling some five hours before the deadline it had no plans to extend it with no additional orders concerning the matter issued by the Russian president.

On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry provided an update on the outcome of the truce, noting a certain lull in the hostilities during the period. However, around 4,900 violations have been recorded, with the Ukrainian forces launching some 3,300 short-range drones at Russian positions, conducting artillery strikes and staging six offensive operations, the military said.

Border warfare 

Over the week, the Russian military has continued its effort to destroy the remnants of the Ukrainian forces that invaded the country’s Kursk Region last year. The Ukrainian zone of control in the area has shrunk to a small strip of land along the border, roughly between the villages of Oleshnya and Guyevo, liberated last week. On Saturday, The Russian Defense Ministry said the troops have seized control of Oleshnya as well.

This week, the main events in the area unfolded in the vicinity of the village of Gornal and the adjacent Belogorsky Monastery. The village and the monastery sit atop of a large hill, with a vast network of chalk caves underneath, which effectively make the location a natural fortress.

According to Russian media reports, some 300 Ukrainian servicemen were holed up at the monastery, with Moscow’s forces attempting to negotiate their surrender or withdrawal in order to avoid inflicting more damage on the facility. The negotiations, however, have ultimately flopped, while the Ukrainian officer who maintained contact with the Russian forces was reportedly murdered by his fellow servicemen. 

The Russian troops stormed the monastery, with some 30 Ukrainian soldiers believed to be still hiding in the caves under it. Drone footage circulating online shows the monastery sustained considerable damage during the hostilities. 

According to the latest estimates by the Russian military estimates, Ukrainian forces suffered extremely heavy losses during the invasion of Kursk Region. More than 75,00 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and wounded in the area, with over 400 tanks, 335 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), 307 armored personnel carriers (APC), and more than 2,700 other armored vehicles destroyed or captured.

Donbass push

The Russian military has reported making new gains in Donbass, advancing on the flanks of Pokrovsk (also known as Krasnoarmeysk), the largest city remaining under Ukrainian control in the southwest of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

This week, the Russian troops expanded their zone of control to the southwest of the city, liberating the village of Preobrazhenka. Moscow’s forces also seized control of Yelizavetovka. It has seen the most intensive combat over the past few weeks, with the small village repeatedly changing hands, according to media reports. 

Yelizavetovka is located by a strategic road running through Pokrovsk deeper into Donbass. The route has been actively used by the Ukrainian troops for supply, albeit its importance somewhat dwindled as of late due to the proximity of the frontline and the destruction of multiple road bridges in Pokrovsk and its satellite city of Mirnograd. 

The Russian military also made new gains further to the east, liberating the villages of Kalinovo and Valentinovka. The development suggests that Moscow has achieved a tighter grip on the city of Toretsk (also known as Dzerzhinsk), as well as opens way for the potential advance further to the north towards the city of Konstantinovka, a major Ukrainian logistics hub located some 10km to the northwest of Toretsk. 

Geran-2 drones

The past week has seen the Russian military conducting massive strikes on Ukraine’s military industry, stockpiles and other rear facilities. Moscow extensively used Geran-2 (Geranium-2) kamikaze drones during the strikes, with dozens of such UAVs striking targets in Ukraine.

The delta-wing drones have been playing an increasingly important role during the conflict, becoming a key supplement for long-range missile strikes, as well as commonly substituting such sophisticated munitions. 

A large swarm of Geran-2 drones attacked military and industrial facilities in the Ukrainian city of Dnepr (formerly Dnepropetrovsk) on Thursday. The drones made it through anti-aircraft defenses, with over 20 blast reported from the city. Footage circulating online shows its nighttime skyline brightly lit by multiple explosions and fires sparked by the drones. 

A video taken in Sumy this week shows Geran-2 drones striking a staging area where multiple Ukrainian military trucks were parked. The vehicles were destroyed by the drones with a thick plume of smoke emitting from the location. Footage itself was reportedly taken by a new upgraded surveillance version of Geran-2. While some of the drones of the type were previously fitted with cameras, the new variant appears to be a full-fledged surveillance UAV packed with high-resolution adjustable optics, given the quality of the video. 

Geran’s smaller cousin, Gerbera, has apparently received an upgrade as well. The small drones have been widely used alongside their larger counterparts, serving as decoys to uncover anti-aircraft positions and exhaust their ammunition and carrying no explosives on board

Now, however, the drones of the type were apparently turned into full-fledged kamikaze UAVs. A fresh video that emerged online this week, features a Gerbera packed with a warhead and a camera chasing a Ukrainian Buk-M1 anti-aircraft system. The vehicle appears to be converted into a so-called FrankenSAM system, given it carries US-made RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles rather than its native munitions.

The anti-aircraft system sustained a hit into its rear, seemingly catching fire. While the extent of the damage was not immediately clear, the FrankenSAM was likely rendered inoperable wit hits radar pelted by fragments of the drone. 

Hunt for Ukrainian artillery 

The Russian military has continued its effort to hunt down Ukrainian long-range mobile artillery, with multiple pieces destroyed over the week. Several fresh videos feature the Lancet-family drones, which has been playing an increasingly important role during the campaign and become a key short-to-medium range tool in Russia’s arsenal.

A surveillance drone video released by the Russian Defense Ministry shows a Lancet drone taking out a Polish-made AHS Krab 155mm self-propelled howitzer in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region. The artillery piece was caught outside its hiding spot, appearing to be a covered dugout. The howitzer appeared to sustain a perforating hit that ignited its ammo stock and destroyed the vehicle.

Another video circulating online features Lancet strikes on an extremely rare Swedish-supplied Archer 155mm self-propelled artillery system, as well as a strike on Ukrainian home-grown Bogdana 155mm wheeled howitzer, largely analogous to French-made Caesar vehicles. While the video, said to be taken in the south of the DPR does not show the result of the strike on the Archer, it appears to confirm the destruction of the other piece. 

A dramatic compilation of FPV drone strikes, said to be taken in the south of the DPR as well, showcases an intense hunt for a Caesar howitzer. The vehicle was discovered in a wooded strip at a concealed position, but survived the initial hit and its crew attempted to drive away. The vehicle ended up stuck in the open and was hit by another drone, with the strike apparently sparking fire on board.

The crew quenched the blaze, with apparent extinguisher marks captured by the third FPV drone that approached the howitzer when an old Soviet-era ATS-59G artillery tractor arrived to tow the Caesar away. While the unarmored tractor is hardly suitable for battlefield recovery, it managed to survive the first hit and the next drone witnessed the two vehicles attached to one another. The howitzer and the tractor were targeted by several other FPVs, ultimately catching fire and ending up destroyed.

The Russian military has also managed to find and destroy a US-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launcher, that was tracked down to its hiding position to the west of the city of Kramatorsk. Surveillance drone footage shows the launcher and a soft support vehicle traveling to the hideout, where the high-value asset was hit by a ballistic missile fired by an Iskander-M system.

The strike caused the detonation of the launcher’s ammo stock, with distinctive white smoke trails left by burning solid rocket fuel observed by the drone. At least eight Ukrainian servicemen have been reportedly killed by the strike and the resulting secondary detonation.

The South China Morning Post has cited researchers as saying the 2kg magnesium hydride device generated a 1,000 degrees Celsius fireball

Chinese researchers have successfully tested a non-nuclear hydrogen bomb that created a sustained fireball, far outperforming traditional explosives, the South China Morning Post has reported.

In an article on Sunday, the newspaper cited the researchers’ study published last month in the Chinese-language Journal of Projectiles, Rockets, Missiles and Guidance. According to the report, a team from the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) 705 Research Institute — a key player in underwater weapon systems — developed a 2kg (4.4lbs) bomb primarily composed of magnesium hydride, with conventional explosives serving as the catalyst.

In a field test, the device reportedly generated a fireball with temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) that lasted for more than two seconds, which is "15 times longer" than what an "equivalent TNT blast" is capable of producing.

In the reaction, magnesium hydride, a compound originally developed as an efficient fuel, rapidly releases stored hydrogen gas, resulting in a sustained inferno.

The novel explosive device’s destructive power thus is said to lie not in its blast pressure, but rather in the ability to generate extreme heat.

The South China Morning Post quoted CSSC research scientist Wang Xuefeng as explaining that its properties also allow for “precise control over blast intensity, easily achieving uniform destruction of targets across vast areas.”

If fully developed, the method could presumably yield a weapon similar to a thermobaric device – ideal for annihilating defensive structures and armored vehicles.

While the production of magnesium hydride used to be mostly small-scale and rather complicated, China has recently developed a cheaper and safer production method and built a plant capable of producing 150 tons of the compound per year.