The U.S. and Iran reported progress in nuclear talks. Both parties agreed Saturday to meet again this week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, following talks in Rome. Before they formally meet in Oman on April 26, technical-level talks would be held, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. The fact that experts would be discussing details of a possible deal suggests movement in the talks. – The Associated Press

The Signal story appeared to deepen. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth shared sensitive information about U.S. military strikes on Yemen last month in a second Signal chat group that included his wife and brother, according to a weekend report by The New York Times. Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said “no classified information” was shared, in a statement to the press Sunday night. – Staff
Related Monitor story: Last month, we looked at how Signal group chat leak threatened U.S. military morale.

U.S.-China trade war makes more ripples. Last week, the Trump administration reportedly suggested it would ask other countries to restrict trade with China as a way to negotiate lower tariffs with the U.S. Today, China warned countries that it will retaliate against any such steps, calling them “selfish.” Beijing “firmly opposes” any deal reached at China’s expense, and will take “countermeasures,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said on its website. – Staff

Netanyahu declared ‘no choice’ on Israel’s Gaza fight. The Israeli prime minister said Saturday that Israel will not end the war before destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages, and ensuring that the territory won’t present a threat to Israel. He said that Hamas has rejected Israel’s latest proposal to free half the hostages for a continued ceasefire. Many in Israel now question the continuation of the war. The prime minister spoke after Israeli strikes killed more than 90 people in 48 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. – AP

The U.S. escalated its airstrikes in Yemen. Attacks on a port held by Houthi rebels killed 74 people and wounded 171, the group said April 18. It was the deadliest known attack under President Donald Trump’s current maximum pressure campaign. It also represented the first strike on oil facilities. The Houthis reported more U.S. airstrikes Saturday, including on an airport, a port in the Red Sea city of Hodeida, and in the capital, Sanaa. – AP
Related Monitor stories: The U.S. first attacked Houthi rebels in January 2024 in an effort to secure Red Sea shipping lanes. 

Consumer bureau layoffs were blocked. President Trump’s attempt to fire nearly everyone at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was paused Friday by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who said she was “deeply concerned” about the plan. The decision leaves in limbo a bureau created after the Great Recession to safeguard against fraud, abuse, and deceptive practices. Administration officials argue that it has overstepped its authority. A new hearing is scheduled for April 28. – AP

Pope Francis has died. The first Latin American pontiff, he was celebrated for his humble style and concern for the poor, but alienated conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change. From his first greeting as pope of a simple “Good evening” to his embrace of refugees and the downtrodden, the Argentine-born pope signaled a different tone for the papacy, stressing humility over hubris for a Catholic Church beset by scandal and accusations of indifference. –AP

America’s executive and judicial branches are at a constitutional standoff over fundamental democratic ideals: The handling of illegal immigration and citizen safety has led to court orders, questions over due process, and charges of government overreach. Federal courts have mostly ruled against the executive branch. (On Saturday, the Supreme Court blocked the deportations of Venezuelans held in northern Texas under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, after an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union.) But the equivocation that has characterized the administration’s legal responses to date is turning into objection and refusal, raising concerns that a simmering constitutional crisis could reach a full boil. 

Iraq has often been in the midst of regional tensions, its territory a proxy field for others’ battles. But as Turkey talks with the Kurds, and the United States engages Iran, Iraq’s leaders and citizens are daring to look to an era of progress and stability as the country moves past war and the long-lasting harms left by conflict with the Islamic State. There is hope amid risk. Iraq’s stability could either be cemented or collapse, depending on the two talks’ outcomes. 

Chinese restrictions on exports of rare earth minerals, which have critical military and commercial uses from flight-control systems to electric-vehicle batteries, are spurring calls for increased U.S. production. Reestablishing that domestic supply chain has long been an interest of a bipartisan array of lawmakers. It has strategic importance, along with ecological risks. And it means that companies will have to figure out how to make a cleaner extractive industry – or the government will have to reduce environmental and permitting regulations.

In traditional Chinese culture, “mianzi” means “face,” or honor. It’s a concept enshrined in Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s goal to achieve national rejuvenation after what is known here as the “century of humiliation” between the mid-1800s and the mid-1900s at the hands of Western colonial powers and Japan. To minimize the risk of face-jeopardizing diplomatic encounters, Beijing has for months sought to forge back-channel communications with Washington, enabling the quiet diplomacy that China favors. From Beijing’s perspective, the Trump administration has done little so far to suggest that it is sensitive to concerns.

In recent months, Panama’s relationship with China has come up often in connection with geopolitics and the Panama Canal. But Panama also has a long history of Chinese culture – including gastronomic culture – within its borders. Consider the dumpling. At Panama City’s Lung Fung Chinese restaurant, our writer met server Susana Zhuo, born here nearly four decades ago to Chinese parents who came from Guangdong province. “I consider myself Panamanian,” says Ms. Zhuo. And dim sum “is as Panamanian as you can get.”

If any Mideast country has a big heart these days, it would be Iraq. A country that has suffered so much from war and terrorist attacks made a magnanimous gesture this week toward its neighbor Syria, which itself is now emerging from years of conflict.  

The gesture was to invite Syria’s interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to Baghdad for an Arab summit in May. The magnanimity lies in its measure of forgiveness: Mr. Sharaa was once a leader of Al Qaeda based in Iraq and was jailed for years after the 2003 American-led invasion. He left Al Qaeda in 2016 and formed a more moderate Islamist group that overthrew Syria’s dictator this past December. He now appears to be a reformist leader guiding Syria toward an inclusive democracy.

There’s another aspect to Iraq’s generosity. The country’s majority Shiite Muslims have steadily learned to work toward a common good with the minority Sunnis and others. That sets an example for Syria’s dominant Sunnis, like Mr. Sharaa, to act without sectarian fear toward the nation’s minority faiths.

The top United Nations official for Iraq confirms the shift. “Iraq has crossed that bridge from being a country that was a subject and a victim of violence to an active nation that would like to play a positive role, as it used to do historically,” U.N. special representative Mohammed Al Hassan told The National.

Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, met with Syria’s new leader this week. He is also cooperating with Syria on trade and security along their border. And he offered this advice to Mr. Sharaa: “Protect Syria’s diverse social, religious, and national fabric as well as safeguarding holy sites, houses of worship and places of prayer.”

Iraq has benefited from the occasional moral intervention of its leading Shiite scholar, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. This month, for example, he stated through a representative that Iraqis should stay true to the national values in their constitution and move toward recovery and stability without fear.

Iraq still has a long way to go to heal its divisions and end Iran’s influence. Yet its progress so far now allows it to mentor a neighbor struggling toward postconflict reforms. Writing for the website 1001 Iraqi Thoughts, Iraq analyst Muhammad Al-Waeli wrote, “It is in Iraq’s strategic interest that the Syrians ... learn from Iraq’s lessons.”

Iraqis, he added, “understand the importance of enabling the Syrian people to practice their own agency to manage the transition period the best way possible.”