Global Pulse

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  • Pope Leo XIV carries cross for full Good Friday procession, the first pontiff to do so in decades

    Pope Leo XIV carries cross for full Good Friday procession, the first pontiff to do so in decades

    ROME – In a striking break from recent papal practice that revives a tradition not seen in nearly 30 years, Pope Leo XIV personally carried a wooden cross through all 14 stations of the iconic Good Friday Way of the Cross procession at Rome’s Colosseum, marking a meaningful milestone during his first Holy Week as head of the Roman Catholic Church.

    Speaking to reporters earlier this week outside the papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo, the new pontiff framed the act as more than a ceremonial gesture. He emphasized that the cross-bearing carries a profound spiritual message for the modern world: “I think it will be an important sign because of what the pope represents, a spiritual leader in the world today, and for this voice, that everyone wants to hear, that says Christ still suffers,” he said. “I carry all of this suffering in my prayer.”

    Flanked by two torchbearers who stayed at his side for the full hour-long journey, Pope Leo lifted the cross to launch the rite inside the ancient Colosseum. The procession wound through thousands of gathered faithful outside the monument, climbed the steep slopes of Palatine Hill, and concluded with the pontiff delivering the final blessing at the traditional end point.

    The meditations for each station, crafted specifically for Pope Leo’s inaugural Good Friday by Rev. Francesco Patton, who served as Custodian of the Holy Land from 2016 to 2025 overseeing Christian sacred sites, carried a sharp focus on the moral weight of power. At the opening station, which commemorates Jesus’ condemnation to death, the meditation highlighted that all holders of authority will ultimately answer to God for how they exercise their influence. “The power to judge; the power to start or end a war; the power to instill violence or peace; the power to fuel the desire for revenge, or for reconciliation,” the text read.

    Roughly 30,000 pilgrims and faithful from around the world gathered for the event, joining the recitation of the stations broadcast over loudspeakers. Among them was Sister Pelenatita Kieoma Finau, a member of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary from Samoa, who described the experience as unparalleled. “We have been part of our parish stations of the cross, but this is so exciting,” she said. “It is very meaningful to have the experience of being with the people of Rome on this special occasion.”

    To understand the significance of Pope Leo’s choice, it is necessary to look back at recent papal tradition. John Paul II carried the cross for the entire procession from his first Good Friday as pontiff in 1979 until he underwent hip surgery in 1995, after which he only bore the cross for part of the route. During his first two years as pope, Benedict XVI carried the cross only for the opening station inside the Colosseum before following other cross-bearers for the remainder of the procession to Palatine Hill. Pope Francis never personally carried the cross, participating in the procession only until his declining health forced him to step back; he died last year on Easter Monday, April 21, after a long period of illness.

    Age and physical health have long shaped popes’ participation in the procession. John Paul II was just 58 when he assumed the papacy and was famously an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast. His two immediate successors were both in their late 70s when they began their papacies, and Francis lived with partial lung loss from a youth pulmonary infection. At 70, Pope Leo is in excellent physical condition: he is an enthusiastic tennis player and regular swimmer, and his former trainer has confirmed that before his election, he worked out consistently at a gym near the Vatican following a fitness routine typical of a man decades younger.

    In his introduction to the procession’s meditations, Patton outlined the core purpose of the centuries-old ritual, which commemorates the final hours of Jesus’ life, from his death sentence to crucifixion, death and burial. “The Way of the Cross is not intended for those who lead a pristinely pious or abstractly recollected life,” Patton wrote. “Instead, it is the exercise of one who knows that faith, hope and charity must be incarnated in the real world.”

    The Good Friday procession kicks off a full schedule of Holy Week observances for the new pontiff. On Holy Saturday, he will preside over the overnight Easter Vigil, where he will baptize new converts to Catholicism and lead the Church into Christianity’s most sacred celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. On Easter Sunday, he will celebrate an open-air Mass in St. Peter’s Square, deliver his first official Easter message as pope, and bestow the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing to the city of Rome and the entire world.

  • US deports eight people ‘of African origin’ to Uganda

    US deports eight people ‘of African origin’ to Uganda

    In the first major implementation of a bilateral migration agreement struck between Washington and Kampala last year, eight migrants hailing from different African nations have been transferred and deported from the United States to Uganda. Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in an official statement that the group touched down on Ugandan soil Wednesday, after a U.S. federal judge signed off on the approval of their deportation cases.

    Under the terms of the 2024 agreement, Uganda was formally designated a “safe third country” for migrants who are unable to return to their home countries, most commonly due to documented persecution or violence that prevents safe resettlement there. The deal forms a core pillar of the Donald Trump administration’s hardline immigration enforcement agenda, which the president has ramped up across the board since launching his second term in office.

    Uganda’s foreign ministry noted that it cannot release detailed personal information about the eight deportees to protect their privacy. In its statement, the department reaffirmed the East African nation’s long-standing tradition of hosting vulnerable displaced people, adding that “Uganda continues to uphold its longstanding commitment to providing sanctuary to persons in need and assuring they are treated with dignity.” It also clarified that none of the transferred individuals hold Ugandan or U.S. citizenship; they are African-born migrants who were denied asylum status in the U.S. and were unwilling or unable to return to their countries of origin. According to CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. partner, Uganda agreed to take in these deported migrants on the condition that none have a prior criminal record, a stipulation that differs from U.S. third-country deportation policy that often sends convicted migrants to partner nations.

    The deportation move has already sparked sharp condemnation from legal and human rights groups within Uganda and internationally. The Uganda Law Society, the country’s apex legal professional body, has publicly denounced the transfers, arguing that the process by which the migrants were brought to Uganda was “undignified, harrowing and dehumanising.” The organization has formally called the entire transfer process unlawful and confirmed it intends to challenge the agreement and the deportation in Ugandan courts. Global human rights campaigners have also echoed this criticism, raising long-standing questions about the legal standing of the Trump administration’s third-country deportation policy, which has already seen dozens of undocumented migrants sent to partner nations since the current administration took office in January 2025.

    Uganda is not the only African nation participating in this program: Eswatini, Ghana, and South Sudan have also joined the U.S. as third-country safe haven destinations for deported migrants. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which oversees immigration enforcement, has yet to issue a public comment on this first deportation under the Uganda agreement, following a request for statement from the BBC.

  • Trump seeks $1.5tn for defence alongside domestic spending cuts

    Trump seeks $1.5tn for defence alongside domestic spending cuts

    The Trump administration has tabled a historic proposal on Capitol Hill that would push U.S. defense spending to $1.5 trillion — the single largest expansion of military outlays since World War II — in a push to advance the president’s long-stated goal of rebuilding domestic defense manufacturing and bolstering national defense capabilities. If approved, the budget would mark a 42% jump in defense spending compared to the prior fiscal year, representing the most dramatic reordering of federal spending priorities in decades. The massive request, which requires congressional approval to take effect, is structured separately from the separate $200 billion in emergency funding the Pentagon has already requested to support ongoing military operations in Iran. Breaking down the $1.5 trillion total, roughly $1.1 trillion would be allocated as discretionary Pentagon spending, a figure that sets a new all-time record for the department. An additional $350 billion earmarked for expanding the domestic defense industrial base would advance through the budget reconciliation process, a Senate procedural rule that allows the measure to pass with a simple 51-vote majority rather than the 60-vote threshold usually required for most major legislation. Among the top funded priorities outlined in the proposal is the White House’s ambitious Golden Dome missile defense initiative, a multi-layered system designed to shield the continental U.S. from advanced next-generation missiles and drone attacks. The system will integrate interception and sensor technology positioned on land, at sea, and in orbit, according to administration officials. While the White House has pegged the total cost of Golden Dome at $185 billion, independent analysts have raised major concerns about the true long-term price tag. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has already estimated that just the space-based components of the system alone could cost $542 billion over 20 years, and many defense experts warn the full cost could eventually consume a large share of the total expanded defense budget. The proposal also allocates $65.8 billion for expanded U.S. naval shipbuilding, part of the administration’s plan to build what Trump has called a “Golden Fleet” of next-generation warships. This funding supports the production of the newly unveiled Trump-class battleships, a class of heavily armed vessels first announced by the president in December. Trump confirmed earlier this year that construction on the lead ship of the class, the USS Defiant, will begin shortly after budget approval, with the first vessels projected to enter active service within two and a half years. Administration officials have repeatedly justified the expanded shipbuilding investment by warning that the U.S. currently lags far behind China in both overall shipbuilding capacity and total naval vessel output, a gap they argue must be closed quickly to protect U.S. strategic interests globally. In addition to capital investments, the budget also includes funding for targeted pay raises for active-duty military personnel, a long-sought priority for uniformed service members. To offset the massive increase in defense spending, the administration has proposed deep cuts to non-defense domestic programs, cutting overall domestic spending by 10% — a reduction of roughly $73 billion. The cuts target a range of federal initiatives, including existing climate action programs, housing assistance, and public education initiatives. In an online summary of the budget proposal, the administration frames the cuts as a necessary step to eliminate what it calls “woke, weaponised and wasteful programmes,” and to shift control of domestic social programs back to state and local governments, in line with longstanding conservative policy priorities. President Trump doubled down on this framing during a private White House event earlier this week, where comments caught on camera reaffirmed his view that national defense must be the top federal priority moving forward. “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare, all of these individual things, they can do it on a state basis,” Trump told attendees, adding that the federal government’s core focus must remain on “military protection.” The proposal now heads to Congress, where it will face debate and a vote before any spending changes can be enacted.

  • Italy’s Uffizi Galleries targeted in cyber-attack but deny security breach

    Italy’s Uffizi Galleries targeted in cyber-attack but deny security breach

    One of the world’s most famous cultural institutions, Florence’s Uffizi Galleries, has confirmed that it fell victim to a cyber intrusion earlier this year, but has pushed back firmly against widespread reports that core security infrastructure protecting its iconic art collection was breached. The conflicting accounts of the incident, first reported by leading Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, have sparked debate about digital security risks facing major global cultural heritage sites.

    According to Corriere della Sera’s reporting, hackers gained unauthorized access to the museum’s interconnected IT networks between late January and early February 2026, later confirming the attack specifically took place on February 1. The outlet claimed the intruders moved through connected workstations, office computers and staff mobile devices to gradually compile sensitive data: including internal facility maps, access codes, and the exact placement of CCTV cameras and alarm systems. The report added that after extracting the data, the attackers sent a ransom demand directly to Uffizi director Simone Verde’s personal mobile phone, threatening to auction the stolen information on the dark web if their demands were not met. The attack was also said to have expanded beyond the main Uffizi site to hit two affiliated Florence landmarks: the Palazzo Pitti former Medici royal residence and the adjacent Boboli Gardens.

    Corriere della Sera further claimed that in response to the hack, Palazzo Pitti’s Medici Treasure exhibition galleries were closed starting February 3, and the valuable historic collection held there was secretly moved to a secure vault at the Bank of Italy for protection. The report also alleged that several doors and emergency exits at the palace were bricked up, and staff were ordered not to discuss the incident with external parties.

    In an official statement addressing the reporting, the Uffizi leadership has pushed back against most of the outlet’s key claims, while acknowledging that a cyber attack did occur. Museum officials stressed that the physical security systems protecting the gallery’s world-famous artworks—including masterpieces like Botticelli’s *The Birth of Venus* and *Primavera*—were never put at risk. Unlike interconnected office IT networks, the museum’s security systems operate on a fully closed, internal network that cannot be accessed from external actors, the Uffizi explained.

    The institution also addressed specific claims one by one: it noted that any member of the public visiting the gallery can easily observe the location of security cameras, as is standard for all public spaces, so there is no risk in this information being known. It added that no passwords were stolen at any point, because the closed-circuit security system does not require external password access, and no staff personal devices were compromised by the intrusion. In response to claims that the hackers stole the Uffizi’s entire decades-long digital photographic archive of artworks and historical documents, museum officials confirmed that the main server was temporarily taken offline, but this was a precautionary step to restore from a pre-existing full backup. The restoration process is now complete, and no data was lost, the statement confirmed.

    Regarding the reported closure of Palazzo Pitti galleries and the transfer of the Medici Treasure to the Bank of Italy, the Uffizi did not deny the move, but clarified it was part of pre-planned renovation work, not a response to the cyber attack. On the subject of bricked-up doors and exits, the museum explained the work is tied to long-overdue fire safety upgrades and structural preservation for the 16th-century historic building, which had lacked official fire safety certification for decades. Just two days before the Uffizi’s statement, the institution submitted its full safety documentation to Italian fire brigade authorities, officials added.

    The incident comes at a time when major international museums are re-evaluating their physical and digital security protocols, in the wake of a high-profile daylight robbery at Paris’ Louvre Museum in late 2025. During that incident, a masked gang exploited the Louvre’s outdated, poorly functioning CCTV system to steal priceless artifacts, prompting widespread security reviews across top cultural institutions globally. The Uffizi noted that it had already been upgrading its security infrastructure before the cyber attack, including replacing all outdated analog cameras with modern digital systems following 2024 police recommendations, a process that has only been accelerated after the February intrusion. It also emphasized that its security posture is nothing like the Louvre’s pre-robbery infrastructure.

    Despite the cyber incident and ongoing public controversy around its details, the Uffizi—Italy’s second most visited museum after the Vatican Museums, which generates approximately €60 million in annual visitor revenue—remains fully open to the public. Ticketing operations and all public visitor areas have remained largely unaffected by the incident.

  • Min Aung Hlaing elected Myanmar’s president

    Min Aung Hlaing elected Myanmar’s president

    In a landmark electoral vote held in Myanmar’s capital Nay Pyi Taw on Friday, junta leader Min Aung Hlaing has secured a decisive victory in the country’s presidential election, earning more than half of all votes cast by the Union Parliament, according to a Xinhua update published on April 3, 2026.

    The vote unfolded through the country’s Presidential Electoral College, a legislative body made up of all sitting Union Parliament representatives. A total of 584 members of the Electoral College attended Friday’s voting session, which drew three competing candidates each nominated through different parliamentary blocs under Myanmar’s current electoral framework.

    Under the country’s existing system, three vice presidents are first selected to serve as the only eligible candidates for the presidency. Earlier that week on Tuesday, Min Aung Hlaing, U Nyo Saw, and Nan Ni Ni Aye had been confirmed as the three vice presidents, and by Thursday, the Union Parliament had completed mandatory qualification reviews, clearing all three to appear on the presidential ballot.

    When votes were counted, Min Aung Hlaing — who was put forward as a candidate by members of the Pyithu Hluttaw, Myanmar’s lower parliamentary house — collected 429 votes, a clear majority of the 584 ballots cast. His closest competitor, U Nyo Saw, who ran as a representative of the joint military caucus from both parliamentary houses, secured 126 votes. The third candidate, Nan Ni Ni Aye, who received a nomination from members of the upper parliamentary house, the Amyotha Hluttaw, won 29 votes to round out the results. The outcome of the election formalizes Min Aung Hlaing’s assumption of the country’s highest office, capping a weeks-long electoral process laid out by the country’s current legislative structure.

  • Watch: Artemis II’s journey so far as it leaves Earth orbit… in 85 seconds

    Watch: Artemis II’s journey so far as it leaves Earth orbit… in 85 seconds

    A newly released 85-second timelapse video has condensed months of preparation and progress for NASA’s Artemis II mission, offering audiences a sweeping look at the spacecraft’s journey from development through its eventual departure from Earth orbit. This condensed visual chronicle pulls back the curtain on one of the most anticipated space exploration initiatives of the decade, highlighting key milestones that have brought NASA one step closer to returning human explorers to deep space near the Moon.

  • France’s Muslim gathering ban overturned by courts

    France’s Muslim gathering ban overturned by courts

    A major four-day annual gathering of French Muslims in northern Paris will proceed as scheduled after a French administrative court struck down a government attempt to ban the event in a last-minute ruling delivered just two hours before the gathering was set to open at 14:00 local time.

    The Paris Police Prefecture had justified the ban by citing heightened national and international security tensions, arguing the event — known as the Annual Encounter of Muslims of France — faced significant risk of terrorist targeting against attendees, and that far-right extremist groups could mobilize to disrupt the gathering, potentially with remote backing from foreign actors. French authorities have repeatedly accused nations including Russia and Iran of fomenting domestic division through proxy groups carrying out small-scale provocations and sabotage. Police also claimed the gathering would place an unsustainable strain on local law enforcement resources.

    Organized by the Muslims of France (MF) association, the largest Muslim representative body in the country, the event combines religious and cultural conferences with a commercial trade fair. The gathering was a long-running annual tradition that regularly drew tens of thousands of attendees from across Europe before it was paused in 2019. Critics have long claimed MF has close ties to the international Muslim Brotherhood, an allegation the organization repeatedly denies.

    Following the ban announcement, MF filed an emergency injunction to challenge the government order, arguing that a prohibition would violate fundamental French civil liberties. In its ruling, the court sided with organizers, finding that evidence provided by police failed to prove a concrete risk of counter-protests or targeting by far-right groups. The court also rejected the police resource strain argument, noting that event organizers had already committed to funding and deploying additional private security measures.

    The court decision comes amid a broader policy push by the French government to advance a new anti-separatism law, primarily targeting religious institutions that promote ideologies deemed inconsistent with French republican principles. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez explained the proposed legislation would build on a similar law enacted five years prior, which allowed the government to shut down associations accused of spreading Islamic separatism. Nunez noted that existing legal powers left gaps in regulation, particularly for oversight of collective childcare services, and that the new law would also enable authorities to ban publications that incite hatred, violence, and discrimination.

    During the injunction hearing, MF lawyer Sefen Guez Guez argued that the proposed ban represented a clear violation of the constitutional right to peaceful assembly, and that the government’s push for the prohibition was primarily a political maneuver to build support for its new anti-separatism legislation. In response, legal representatives for the police maintained that the ban was rooted exclusively in public safety concerns, and rejected claims that the order was anti-Muslim or anti-Islam.

  • Exclusive: Orbán challenger Magyar says election is a ‘referendum’ on Hungary’s place in the world

    Exclusive: Orbán challenger Magyar says election is a ‘referendum’ on Hungary’s place in the world

    With just one week remaining until Hungary’s high-stakes national election on April 12, opposition leader Péter Magyar has cast the upcoming vote as a defining national referendum: will Hungary continue its shift toward Eastern authoritarianism, or reaffirm its place in Europe’s democratic community? A one-time ally of long-serving pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Magyar has emerged as the most formidable threat to Orbán’s hold on power since the nationalist leader first took office in 2010.

    In an exclusive interview with The Associated Press following a campaign rally for his center-right Tisza Party in the southern Hungarian city of Kiskunhalas, Magyar argued that Orbán has steered the country on a 180-degree ideological turn over his tenure, endangering Hungary’s longstanding Western alignment while building closer political and economic ties to Moscow. Despite this shift, Magyar emphasized that a majority of Hungarians still view EU and NATO membership as the only guarantee of the country’s long-term peace and sustainable development. “I think this really will be a referendum on our country’s place in the world,” he told AP.

    Magyar’s grassroots campaign has been relentless: he has crisscrossed Hungary, holding hundreds of rallies in cities, towns and rural settlements, stopping at as many as six communities a day in the lead-up to voting. The rapid rise of Magyar and Tisza has shocked political observers across Europe. For 14 years, Hungary’s fragmented opposition groups failed repeatedly to unseat Orbán, with most opposition leaders neglecting outreach to Orbán’s core rural base and leaving many opposition supporters demoralized and apathetic after a string of crushing electoral defeats.

    A 45-year-old lawyer and former insider within Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party, Magyar has unique insight into the ruling party’s system: he previously worked as a diplomat in Brussels, held roles in Hungarian state institutions, and was once married to a former Fidesz justice minister and close Orbán ally. His break with the ruling party came in early 2024, amid a public scandal over a presidential pardon granted to an accomplice in a child sexual abuse case. After publicly cutting ties, he accused Fidesz of systemic, entrenched corruption and the systematic capture of Hungary’s independent institutions.

    Magyar launched Tisza, named for Hungary’s second-longest river, just four months before the 2024 European Parliament elections, where the new party won an surprising 30% of the national vote. Its skyrocketing popularity spawned the rallying chant that has become the party’s unofficial motto: “The Tisza is flooding.”

    Heading into the national election, Magyar leads Orbán in most public opinion polls. He has centered his campaign on pocketbook and quality-of-life issues that resonate with everyday Hungarians: the crumbling state of Hungary’s public healthcare system, underfunded public transportation, and widespread government corruption that he says has left Hungary the poorest and most corrupt member state in the EU. He promises voters a “peaceful, humane and functioning” Hungary that is within reach if Fidesz is voted out.

    On the international stage, Magyar has drawn sharp lines with Orbán’s approach to Europe and Russia. Orbán, the EU’s longest-serving national leader, has built a reputation as a persistent disruptor within the bloc, using his veto power to block key EU initiatives repeatedly – most recently holding up a €90 billion ($104 billion) macroeconomic assistance package for Ukraine. His hardline euroskeptic posturing has prompted renewed calls within the EU to reform its unanimity requirement for key policy decisions, a change intended to prevent obstructionist member states from paralyzing bloc-wide action.

    Magyar argues that Orbán’s vetoes are almost always performative, used solely to rally his domestic base rather than advance genuine Hungarian interests. A Tisza government, he says, will take a “constructive but critical” approach to EU governance: Hungary will remain a willing participant at the negotiating table, will advocate forcefully for Hungarian national interests when needed, and will retain the power to veto decisions as a legitimate tool when appropriate. “The European leaders have no problem with this, they have a problem with the unnecessary troublemaker role,” Magyar said.

    Orbán’s closest alignment with Russia has drawn particular condemnation from European leaders. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, nearly all EU member states cut ties with Russian fossil fuel suppliers – but Hungary, alongside Slovakia, maintained and even increased its imports of Russian energy, drawing accusations from across the bloc that it is indirectly funding Putin’s war effort. Orbán’s warm relationship with Putin has also led many analysts and opposition figures to accuse Russian intelligence of meddling in the 2025 election to boost Orbán’s chances of victory.

    Magyar has condemned both Orbán’s pro-Russian drift and alleged Russian election interference, but says a Tisza government will pursue a pragmatic, sovereign approach to Moscow: “Pragmatism means that we have no say in Russia’s internal affairs, and they don’t have any say in our affairs. We are both sovereign countries, and we respect each other, but we don’t have to like each other.” He has criticized Orbán’s failure to diversify Hungary’s energy supply, a critical vulnerability for the landlocked country, and has called for new infrastructure and trade agreements to bring energy from alternative suppliers, while noting that an immediate full cut-off of Russian oil is not practical, and that EU funds should be leveraged to facilitate a gradual transition.

    Notably, Magyar has retained popular positions from Orbán’s policy platform that enjoy broad support among Hungarian voters, including the southern border fence designed to block irregular migration and the widely used utility price reduction program. Unlike the rising tide of far-right nationalist populist movements across Europe and North America that hold Orbán up as a ideological model, Tisza is a member of the center-right European People’s Party, the largest political grouping in the European Parliament. Orbán enjoys strong support from American right-wing populists, including former U.S. President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement; U.S. Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to travel to Budapest next Tuesday to publicly endorse Orbán’s re-election campaign.

    Across the EU, national leaders are closely watching the election results, with many quietly hoping for an Orbán defeat. For Magyar, however, the outcome will be decided by Hungarian voters’ core values: even many Fidesz supporters do not want their country to become a Russian client state rather than a full member of the European democratic community. “I think that Tisza will have an overwhelming electoral victory,” he said.

  • Who is Christopher LaNeve, set to lead the US Army?

    Who is Christopher LaNeve, set to lead the US Army?

    A major leadership shift is underway at the top of the United States Army, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth requested the incumbent chief of staff Randy George step down from his post. George, who assumed the role in 2023, was serving a standard four-year term as the service’s highest-ranking officer before the leadership change.

    Vice Chief of Staff Gen Christopher LaNeve will step into the role as acting chief of staff, the Pentagon confirmed this week. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell highlighted LaNeve’s decades of frontline experience in an official statement, framing him as a proven combat leader who fully enjoys Hegseth’s confidence to advance the current administration’s national security and military strategy without error.

    The leadership shake-up at the Army’s top ranks comes against two key backdrops: ongoing United States military operations targeting Iran, and a sweeping overhaul of senior uniformed leadership that Hegseth has pursued since taking office. Over just more than a year, the defense secretary has removed more than a dozen senior military leaders, a series of changes that has cleared the way for LaNeve’s rapid ascent through the Pentagon’s ranks.

    This appointment marks LaNeve’s third promotion under Hegseth’s tenure. Most recently, he was elevated to vice chief of staff in February 2026, filling an early vacancy created by the retirement of James Mingus. At the time of that appointment, Hegseth praised LaNeve as an exceptional generational leader, saying he would lead efforts to reinvigorate the Army’s warrior culture, modernize the force for 21st-century battlefield challenges, and strengthen deterrence against adversaries across the globe.

    Before taking the vice chief role, LaNeve served as a senior military assistant to Hegseth starting in April 2025. He stepped into that position after Hegseth fired Lt Gen Jennifer Short, just months after Hegseth took office at the Pentagon in January 2025.

    Commissioned into the Army through the University of Arizona in 1990, LaNeve has built a 36-year career marked by a string of high-profile command and staff assignments. His prior leadership posts include commander of the Eighth Army based in South Korea and head of the elite 82nd Airborne Division. He has also deployed on multiple combat tours, with service in both Afghanistan and Iraq, giving him deep on-the-ground experience in counterinsurgency and large-scale operational missions.

  • China’s Communist Party investigates ex-Xinjiang leader Ma Xingrui

    China’s Communist Party investigates ex-Xinjiang leader Ma Xingrui

    BANGKOK (AP) — In an announcement made Friday, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the top anti-graft watchdog of the Communist Party of China, confirmed that it has launched a formal investigation into Ma Xingrui, a former top regional party official and sitting member of the party’s Central Committee, over suspected violations of disciplinary rules and national law.

    Ma, who has held a series of high-level leadership positions across China, served as the Communist Party Secretary of the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region between 2021 and early 2025. Prior to taking on the top role in Xinjiang, he held posts including director of the National Ethnic Affairs Commission and deputy Communist Party Secretary of southern China’s Guangdong Province. As of the announcement, no specific details have been released regarding the nature of the alleged violations linked to Ma.

    The investigation of Ma marks the latest high-profile leadership shakeup within China’s senior ranks this year. Back in January, Chinese leader Xi Jinping oversaw the removal of the country’s top military general from his post, in a move that drew widespread international attention.

    Ma was actually replaced as Xinjiang’s top party official by Chen Xiaojiang back in July 2024, months before the formal investigation was announced. Xinjiang has long been a region at the center of global controversy, due to a years-long Chinese government campaign that has been widely criticized by international observers and human rights groups.

    For years, international reporting and investigations have documented that Chinese authorities detained over 1 million ethnic minority groups, predominantly Uyghur Muslims, in a network of extrajudicial detention camps across the region. Beijing has repeatedly defended the policy, framing it as a necessary counterterrorism measure aimed at addressing violent attacks carried out by a small faction of Uyghur extremist groups.

    By the time Ma took up his post as Xinjiang’s party secretary in 2021, Beijing announced that it had closed the vast majority of the original detention centers. But reporting from the Associated Press, based on leaked internal information, has confirmed that many former camp facilities were converted into formal, prison-like facilities. Documentation shows that thousands of Uyghur detainees have been transferred to these facilities to serve long criminal sentences, which independent legal and policy experts have widely described as baseless, politically motivated charges.

    Earlier this year in March, China’s national legislature passed a new national-level ethnic affairs law. Independent analysts who study the region say this new law formalizes and codifies the government’s long-running assimilationist policies targeting ethnic minority communities across the country, building on incremental policy changes that have been rolled out at the provincial level in Xinjiang and other regions with large ethnic minority populations over the past decade.