Janet Jalil

The US president accused the pontiff of being, quote, weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy, and uploaded an AI-generated image of himself dressed as Jesus curing the sick, before later telling reporters that he is, quote, not a big fan of the pope.

The Pope has described Mr. Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization as unacceptable. Speaking en route to another mainly Muslim country, Algeria, a visit that has been described as an attempt to build bridges between the Muslim and Christian world, Pope Leo spoke about why he felt compelled to speak out.

Pope Leo's visit to Algeria kicks off a 10-day tour of Africa, one of the fastest growing regions for the church and home to a fifth of the world's Catholics. Our global religion correspondent Lebu Di Seco told me more about the row that's threatening to overshadow his visit.

The tensions between the Trump administration and Pope Leo have been going on for quite some time, but more recently they've centered around the war. And we saw, for example, on Palm Sunday, he was very pointed, didn't name the Trump administration or Donald Trump, but said Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them. He used his Easter message to

yrittävät maailman järjestäjät etenkin työskentelemään rauhassa, mutta ovat aktiivisesti osoittaneet ihmisiä, jotka suosittelevat konfliktiin, yrittävät ratkaisua asioita rauhallisesti. Tämä on ollut tullut jo melko pitkän aikaa. Luulen, että Donald Trumpin ja hänen hallituksensa on näyttänyt suhteen konservatiiviset katolaita. On paljon hyvin suurta profiilia konservatiiviset katolaita hallituksessa,

J.D. Vance, vice presidents, for example. So for Donald Trump, the conservative Catholic vote is an important one. And I guess for him, this is partly why he might be speaking to this at the moment. And a lot of people were very puzzled about President Trump.

Making that expletive-laden threat against Iran on Easter Sunday, ending with the words praise be to Allah. This is alarming Republicans, given that they rely so much on the Christian vote.

Luulen, että jatkuvasti on ollut jotkut kristianit, jotka ovat olleet valmiita sanoa, että katsotaan, mitä Donald Trump sanoo ja hänen liikkeensä. Emme katsota häneltä, että hän on järjestelmä. Katsotaan häneltä, että hän on järjestänyt poliiseja, joita haluamme. Sen jälkeen, jopa niiden kristianit, konservatiivisten kristianit, järjestelmä, Jumalan päivä ja kielet, ja se, että hän kertoi Allahia, oli todella haastavaa monille ihmisille.

And Lebu, this row is threatening to overshadow Pope Leo's visit to Algeria, the first papal visit to the mainly Muslim nation at the start of an African tour.

Varsinkin, yksi teemansa algerilaisessa paikallisuudessa on dialogi islamilaisesta maailmasta. Hän käy algerilaisessa maailmassa. Se on tärkeä hetki. Hän paikallistaa myös Our Lady's Basilica Afrikan paikalla, joka on islamien ja kristillisten päiväkirjauksen paikalla.

It is a bit of a chicken and egg situation because I suppose the Vatican would say it only will overshadow it if the media keeps giving it the importance that we are giving it. With that said, it is difficult when you have such heated comments from certainly one of the most powerful men in the world and one of the most powerful religious leaders in the world.

Lebu de Seco.

Teheran on pysähtynyt globaalista energiaa, jolla on aloitettu USA-Israelin vallan. Se on pysähtynyt globaalista energiaa, jolla on aloitettu USA-Israelin vallan. Se on pysähtynyt globaalista energiaa, jolla on aloitettu USA-Israelin vallan.

This all comes after direct high-level talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend, which ended without any deal being reached, and with just days to run on the two sides' fragile ceasefire. Leila Nathu spoke to Nicholas Hopton, who was the UK ambassador to Iran from 2016 to 2018. How will President Trump's blockade work?

So you think there is still a path towards a negotiated settlement here?

You mentioned China and the impact of a squeeze on Iran's oil exports on China. Is there a more vocal response now from China if they start to really feel the effects of a US blockade?

That was the former British ambassador to Iran, Nicholas Hopton. While the world's eyes are once again focused on the Strait of Hormuz, the number of executions inside Iran is reported to have risen sharply. A joint report by two NGOs says that the Iranian authorities executed more than 1,600 people last year, the highest number since 1989.

And they warn that the regime may use capital punishment even more extensively this year after its crackdown in January in which thousands of peaceful protesters were gunned down. Here's our Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher.

The number of executions is never completely clear as the Iranian authorities don't disclose official figures. A number of Iranian activist organizations keep a tally with the Iran Human Rights Group verifying each death with at least two sources. The group says that the rate of execution goes up when the regime feels under threat.

and that the aim is to forestall internal opposition by instilling fear in the population. Almost all executions are carried out inside prisons, but public hangings did also increase in 2025. There were some executions last year for protesters or alleged spies, but that figure could be considerably higher this year in the wake both of the mass anti-government protests in January and the war with the US and Israel.