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US Considering Adding Israel, Romania, Bulgaria to Visa Waiver Program

Passengers arrive on a flight from London amid restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at JFK International Airport in New York City, US, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Passengers arrive on a flight from London amid restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at JFK International Airport in New York City, US, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
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US Considering Adding Israel, Romania, Bulgaria to Visa Waiver Program

Passengers arrive on a flight from London amid restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at JFK International Airport in New York City, US, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
Passengers arrive on a flight from London amid restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at JFK International Airport in New York City, US, December 21, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Tuesday the United States is considering adding four countries to its visa waiver program that allows citizens to come to America without a visa for a stay of up to 90 days.

"We have four candidates in the pipeline: Israel, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Romania," Mayorkas said on Tuesday at a travel industry event. "We're very, very focused on the program," he added, saying it provides significant economic and security benefits.

In September, the United States added Croatia to the visa waiver program. US Travel Association Chief Executive Roger Dow said on Tuesday adding Croatia is a $100 million boost to the US economy. "Each time you add one of these countries, the travel just booms," Dow said.

The White House said in after a meeting between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that Biden emphasized "his administration would strengthen bilateral cooperation with Israel in ways that would benefit both US citizens and Israeli citizens, including by working together towards Israel’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program."

Mayorkas also met with Israel's US ambassador in August and discussed the waiver issue.

In February, Mayorkas spoke with the European Commission’s Commissioner for Home Affairs and both "expressed their continued interest in maintaining the US-EU Passenger Name Record Agreement and working with Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania to meet the qualifications for the Visa Waiver Program."

To participate in the program, a country must meet requirements related to counterterrorism, law enforcement, immigration enforcement, document security, and border management, Reuters reported.

There are currently 40 countries in the program.

"These requirements include having a rate of nonimmigrant visa refusals below 3%, issuing secure travel documents, and working closely with US law enforcement and counterterrorism authorities," DHS said last month.

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World

Pope Leo Marks First Easter as Pontiff with Call for Hope Amid Global Conflicts

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
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Pope Leo Marks First Easter as Pontiff with Call for Hope Amid Global Conflicts

Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)
Pope Leo XIV presides over Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, April 5, 2026 (AP)

Pope Leo celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call Sunday to exercise hope against “the violence of war that kills and destroys,” saying “we need this song of hope today” as conflicts spread around the world.

With the US-Israeli war on Iran in its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo has repeatedly called for a halt in hostilities. In his Easter homily, the pope singled out those who wage war, abuse the weak and prioritize profits.

Leo, the first US-born pope, addressed the faithful from an open-air altar in St. Peter’s Square flanked with white roses, while the steps leading down to the piazza where the faithful gathered were filled with spring perennials, symbolically resonating with the pope’s message of hope.

The pontiff implored the faithful to keep their hope in the face of death, which lurks “in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable.

“We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys,” he said.

He quoted his predecessor Pope Francis in warning against falling into indifference in the face of “persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty,” because “it is also true that in the midst of darkness, something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit.”

He will later deliver the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” message — Latin for “to the city and the world.”

Christians in the Holy Land were marking a subdued Easter Traditional ceremonies at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, revered by Christians as the traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, were scaled back under an agreement with Israeli police. Authorities have put limits on the sizes of public gatherings due to ongoing missile attacks.

The restrictions also dampened the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr holiday, as well as the current weeklong Jewish festival of Passover. On Sunday, the Jewish priestly blessing at the Western Wall — normally attended by tens of thousands — was limited to just 50 people.

The restrictions have strained relations between Israeli authorities and Christian leaders. Police last week prevented two of the church’s top religious leaders, including Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

On Tuesday, the pope had expressed hope that the war could be finished before Easter.

World

France Condemns China’s Execution of a French Citizen Held on Death Row for 15 Years

A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
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France Condemns China’s Execution of a French Citizen Held on Death Row for 15 Years

A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)
A child holds a Chinese national flag near the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in Beijing, China, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP)

France said China has executed a French citizen convicted of drug trafficking after keeping him on death row for more than 15 years. 

Chan Thao Phoumy, 62, was executed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, despite French authorities’ clemency appeals, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Saturday. It didn’t say when the sentence was carried out. A Chinese court sentenced him to death in 2010. 

The ministry’s statement expressed “consternation” and added: “We particularly regret that Mr. Chan’s defense did not have access to the final court hearing, which constitutes a violation of his rights.” 

“We extend our condolences to his family, whose grief we share,” it said. 

In a short statement Sunday that didn't mention Chan by name, the Chinese Embassy in Paris said that China “treats defendants of all nationalities equally, handles all cases impartially and strictly in accordance with the law.” 

France abolished the death penalty by act of parliament in 1981, and has become a vigorous campaigner against its use and for its abolition everywhere. 

China's use of executions — carried out by firing squads or lethal injections — is shrouded in secrecy but has long been extensive. Amnesty International says China is the world's lead executioner, believed to sentence and put to death thousands of people annually. 

World

Iran Internet Blackout Is Longest Nationwide Shutdown on Record, Says NetBlocks

Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
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Iran Internet Blackout Is Longest Nationwide Shutdown on Record, Says NetBlocks

Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians pose for pictures as they celebrate Iranian Nature's Day on the thirteenth day of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in a park in Tehran, Iran, 02 April 2026. (EPA)

Iran's internet blackout, first imposed well over a month ago, is now the longest nationwide shutdown on record, according to the monitor NetBlocks.

"Iran's internet blackout is now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country, exceeding all other comparable incidents in severity having entered its 37th consecutive day after 864 hours," NetBlocks said in a tweet.

In another tweet, the monitor noted some countries had experienced intermittent or regional-level shutdowns over longer periods, while North Korea had never been connected to the global internet at all.