Zelenskyy says Russia is trying to create an 'impression of a ceasefire' as attacks continue
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia on Sunday of creating a false appearance of honoring an Easter ceasefire, saying Moscow continued to launch attacks overnight after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a unilateral temporary truce in Ukraine.
鈥淎s of Easter morning, we can say that the Russian army is trying to create a general impression of a ceasefire, but in some places, it does not abandon individual attempts to advance and inflict losses on Ukraine,鈥� Zelenskyy said in a post on X.
Despite Putin鈥檚 declaration of an Easter ceasefire on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had recorded 59 instances of Russian shelling and five assaults by units across various areas along the front line, as well as dozens of drone strikes.
Zelenskyy said that Russia must fully adhere to the ceasefire conditions and reiterated Ukraine鈥檚 offer to extend the truce for 30 days, starting midnight Sunday.
He said the proposal 鈥渞emains on the table鈥� and added: "We will act in accordance with the actual situation on the ground.鈥�
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Ukrainians mark Easter with little faith in Russia ceasefire
LUKASHIVKA, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Dozens of Ukrainians gathered outside the ruins of a damaged church in northern Ukraine on Sunday to mark Easter, doubting a ceasefire with Russia is possible.
Russian President Vladimir Putin unilaterally announced a temporary Easter truce from Saturday evening to midnight following Easter Sunday, citing humanitarian reasons. This came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are 鈥渃oming to a head.鈥�
Kyiv has voiced skepticism about the Easter ceasefire, saying it would only mirror a genuine halt in hostilities. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine鈥檚 offer of a 30-day, full and unconditional ceasefire and called on Moscow to respond.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday night that Russian strikes continued, although with less intensity, particularly near the border where Ukrainian forces maintain footholds in Russia鈥檚 Kursk and Belgorod regions. Ukrainian soldiers interviewed by The Associated Press at various frontline positions confirmed the ongoing hostilities.
In the village of Lukashivka in the Chernihiv region, briefly occupied by Russian forces in 2022, parishioners of the damaged Ascension Church arrived early at a small makeshift wooden church built last year to cater to the needs of the faithful, holding traditional Easter baskets and cakes to have them blessed.
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Vatican's Easter Mass opens without Pope Francis as he continues recovering from pneumonia
VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥� The Vatican celebrated Easter on Sunday without Pope Francis presiding, as the 88-year-old pontiff continues his recovery from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia.
In his place, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, the retired archpriest of St. Peter鈥檚 Basilica, celebrated the open-air Mass before thousands of people in St. Peter鈥檚 Square and delivered the homily that Francis had prepared.
St. Peter's was awash in daffodils, tulips and other flowers donated by The Netherlands on a chilly but sunny spring morning.
Francis has only appeared in public a handful of times since returning to the Vatican on March 23 after a 38-day hospital stay. He skipped the solemn services of Good Friday and Holy Saturday leading up to Easter, but he was expected to make an appearance on Sunday, according to the Mass booklet and liturgical plans released by the Vatican.
Easter is the most joyful moment on the Christian liturgical calendar, when the faithful celebrate the resurrection of Christ after his crucifixion. This year, Easter is being celebrated on the same day by Catholics and Orthodox Christians, and has been marked by Russia's announced a temporary Easter truce in its war in Ukraine.
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JD Vance meets Pope Francis on Easter Sunday after flap over migration
VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥� U.S. Vice President JD Vance met briefly with Pope Francis on Easter Sunday as the pontiff recovers from pneumonia.
Vance鈥檚 motorcade entered Vatican City through a side gate and parked near Francis鈥� hotel residence while Easter Mass was being celebrated in St. Peter鈥檚 Square. Francis, who has greatly cut back his workload to recover, delegated the celebration of the Mass to another cardinal.
The Vatican said they met for a few minutes at the Domus Santa Marta 鈥渢o exchange Easter greetings.鈥�
Vance and the pope have tangled sharply over migration and the Trump administration鈥檚 plans to deport migrants en masse. Francis has made caring for migrants a hallmark of his papacy.
Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, met with the Vatican secretary of state and foreign minister on Saturday.
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Vance set to visit India for bilateral talks on economic, trade and geopolitical ties
NEW DELHI (AP) 鈥� U.S. Vice President JD Vance will embark on a four-day visit to India on Monday as the two countries seek to unlock economic opportunities and negotiate a bilateral trade deal.
Vance will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi for talks on the economy, trade and geopolitical ties. Vance鈥檚 visit is seen as an important diplomatic mission by President Donald Trump鈥檚 administration, and it coincides with a rapidly intensifying trade war between Washington and Beijing, which is New Delhi's main rival in the region.
A trade deal between India and the U.S. could significantly enhance economic ties between the two countries and potentially strengthen diplomatic ties.
The U.S. is also India鈥檚 largest trading partner, with bilateral trade valued at $190 billion until recently.
India鈥檚 foreign ministry has said the visit will 鈥減rovide an opportunity for both sides to review the progress in bilateral relations鈥� and two leaders will 鈥渆xchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest.鈥�
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Netanyahu says Israel has 'no choice' but to continue fighting in Gaza
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) 鈥� Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said again Saturday that Israel has 鈥渘o choice鈥� but to continue fighting in Gaza and will not end the war before destroying Hamas, freeing the hostages and ensuring that the territory won鈥檛 present a threat to Israel.
The prime minister also repeated his vow to make sure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.
Netanyahu is under growing pressure at home not only from families of hostages and their supporters but also from reservist and retired Israeli soldiers who question the continuation of the war after Israel shattered a ceasefire last month.
In his statement, he said Hamas has rejected Israel鈥檚 latest proposal to free half the hostages in return for another temporary truce. Hamas has said it will only free the remaining hostages in return for an Israeli withdrawal and a lasting ceasefire, as called for in the agreement that Israel ended.
Israeli strikes meanwhile killed more than 90 people in 48 hours, Gaza鈥檚 Health Ministry said Saturday. Israeli troops have been increasing their attacks to pressure Hamas to release the hostages and disarm.
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'I thought I'd died.' How landmines are continuing to claim lives in post-Assad Syria
IDLIB, Syria (AP) 鈥� Suleiman Khalil was harvesting olives in a Syrian orchard with two friends four months ago, unaware the soil beneath them still hid deadly remnants of war.
The trio suddenly noticed a visible mine lying on the ground. Panicked, Khalil and his friends tried to leave, but he stepped on a land mine and it exploded. His friends, terrified, ran to find an ambulance, but Khalil, 21, thought they had abandoned him.
"I started crawling, then the second land mine exploded,鈥� Khalil told The Associated Press. 鈥淎t first, I thought I'd died. I didn鈥檛 think I would survive this.鈥�
Khalil鈥檚 left leg was badly wounded in the first explosion, while his right leg was blown off from above the knee in the second. He used his shirt to tourniquet the stump and screamed for help until a soldier nearby heard him and rushed for his aid.
鈥淭here were days I didn鈥檛 want to live anymore,鈥� Khalil said, sitting on a thin mattress, his amputated leg still wrapped in a white cloth four months after the incident. Khalil, who is from the village of Qaminas, in the southern part of Syria鈥檚 Idlib province, is engaged and dreams of a prosthetic limb so he can return to work and support his family again.
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An incessant crackdown in Belarus hurls dozens of independent journalists into harsh prisons
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) 鈥� Journalist Ksenia Lutskina served only half of her eight-year prison sentence in Belarus after being convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the government. She was pardoned after she kept fainting in her cell from a brain tumor diagnosed during pretrial detention.
鈥淚 was literally brought to the penal colony in a wheelchair, and I realized that journalism has really turned into a life-threatening profession in Belarus,鈥� she told The Associated Press in Vilnius, Lithuania, where she lives.
Lutskina was one of dozens of journalists imprisoned in Belarus, where many face beatings, poor medical care and the inability to contact lawyers or relatives, according to activists and former inmates. She compared the prisons to those from the Soviet era.
The group Reporters Without Borders says Belarus is Europe鈥檚 leading jailer of journalists. At least 40 are serving long prison sentences, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.
Lutskina had quit her job making documentaries for Belarus' state broadcaster in 2020 when mass protests broke out after an election 鈥� widely denounced as fraudulent 鈥� kept authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko in power. Trying to set up an alternative TV channel to fact-check government officials, she was arrested that year, put on trial and later convicted.
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Zimbabwe's stone carvers seek a revival as an Oxford exhibition confronts a British colonial legacy
CHITUNGWIZA, Zimbabwe (AP) 鈥� A pair of white hands blinding a Black face. A smiling colonizer with a Bible, crushing the skull of a screaming native with his boot. Chained men in gold mines, and a pregnant woman.
These stone sculptures from Zimbabwe will take center stage at an upcoming exhibition at Oxford University in Britain, aiming to 鈥渃ontextualize鈥� the legacy of British imperialist Cecil John Rhodes with depictions of religious deception, forced labor and sexual abuse.
Rhodes conquered large parts of southern Africa in the late 19th century. He made a fortune in gold and diamond mining and grabbed land from the local population. His grave lies under a slab of stone atop a hill in Zimbabwe.
Oxford鈥檚 Oriel College, where the exhibition will be held in September, is a symbolic setting. A statue of Rhodes stands there despite protests against it since 2015. Rhodes, who died in 1902, was an Oriel student who left 100,000 pounds (now valued at about 10.5 million pounds, or $13.5 million) to the school. His influence endures through a scholarship for students from southern African countries.
For Zimbabwean stone carvers at Chitungwiza Arts Center near the capital, Harare, the exhibition is more than an opportunity for Western audiences to glimpse a dark history. It is also a chance to revive an ancient but struggling art form.
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Marijuana holiday 4/20 coincides with Easter and Passover this year. Here's what to know
Marijuana culture's high holiday, known as 4/20, falls this year on Easter Sunday, as well as the last day of Passover, meaning cannabis fans can celebrate in some unusual ways, including an 鈥淓aster nug hunt鈥� in Los Angeles, kosher-style THC gummies in New York and a 鈥渂laze and praise鈥� drag brunch in Portland, Oregon.
鈥淚t seemed appropriate with egg prices today that we'd be searching for something else,鈥� said Brett Davis, who runs the marijuana tour company Weed Bus Los Angeles and organized the 鈥淓aster nug hunt.鈥�
Here鈥檚 a look at 4/20鈥檚 history and how it's being celebrated this year:
The origins of the date, and the term 鈥�420鈥� generally, were long murky.
Some claimed it referred to a police code for marijuana possession or was derived from Bob Dylan鈥檚 鈥淩ainy Day Women No. 12 & 35,鈥� with its refrain of 鈥淓verybody must get stoned,鈥� 420 being the product of 12 times 35.
The Associated Press
