Trump expresses doubts Putin is willing to end the Ukraine war, a day after saying a deal was close

ROME (AP) — President Donald Trump says he doubts Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine. Trump is expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. And his comments come only a day after saying Ukraine and Russia were “very close to a deal.” Trump said in a social media post Saturday as he flew back to the United States after Pope Francis’ funeral that “there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days.” Trump said, “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along.”

Russia says it has fully reclaimed the Kursk region. Ukraine says it is still fighting there.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — All Ukrainian troops have been forced from parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow lost control of last year to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s top general said in a Kremlin meeting Saturday. Russia’s General Staff chief, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, also confirmed that North Korean soldiers fought against Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian officials denied the claim and said their troops continue to fight in Kursk. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials said three people were killed overnight by Russian attacks across Ukraine. The attacks came hours before U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Vatican City on the sidelines of the funeral of Pope Francis.

A massive explosion at an Iranian port linked to missile fuel shipment kills 18, injures some 750

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — A massive explosion and fire has rocked a port in southern Iran purportedly linked to a shipment of a chemical ingredient used to make missile propellant. State media said the blast killed 18 people and injuring around 750 others. Helicopters and aircraft dumped water from the air on the raging fire through the night into Sunday morning at the Shahid Rajaei port. The explosion occurred just as Iran and the United States met Saturday in Oman for the third round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program.

Iran and the US hold hours of expert talks in Oman over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program

MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — A person with knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press that the third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program have ended. The person close to U.S. mediator Steve Witkoff spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks on Saturday. Iranian state television also acknowledged that they concluded. It follows the pattern of the two earlier rounds of talks in Muscat and Rome.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a new deputy in a major step in naming a successor

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has named a veteran aide and confidant as his new vice president. It’s a major step by the aging leader to designate a successor. The appointment Saturday of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestine Liberation Organization does not guarantee he will be the next Palestinian president. But it makes him the front-runner among longtime politicians in the dominant Fatah party who hope to succeed the 89-year-old Abbas. Abbas hopes to play a major role in postwar Gaza. He has been under pressure from Western and Arab allies to rehabilitate the Palestinian Authority, which has limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Israeli airstrike kills 10 people, half of them children, as mediators try to restart a ceasefire

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike has flattened a three-story home in Gaza City and killed 10 people. A hospital says half of the victims were children. Israel’s military says it struck a Hamas militant and the structure where he operated collapsed. Health officials in Gaza on Saturday said that Israeli strikes have killed at least 49 people in the past 24 hours. Hamas said that it sent a high-level delegation to Egypt to try and get the ceasefire back on track. The truce was shattered last month by Israeli bombardment. Israel has continued its nearly two-month blockade of Gaza even as aid groups warn that supplies are dwindling.

Conclave politics begin with the question: Continue Pope Francis' radical legacy or change course?

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Cardinals this week will start in-depth discussions on planning the conclave to choose Pope Francis' successor. No date has been set. But there's already a wrinkle going into the meetings. One of Francis’ enduring legacies was that he greatly expanded the ranks of the cardinals who will elect his successor, naming “princes of the church” from faraway countries that had never had one before. That legacy is now throwing a wrench in the traditional sport of speculating about the next pope, since these cardinals don’t know one another well and haven’t coalesced into clear voting blocs.

Only about half of Republicans say Trump has focused on the right priorities, AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — An AP-NORC poll finds many Americans don't agree with President Trump’s aggressive efforts to quickly enact his agenda, and even Republicans aren't overwhelmingly convinced his attention has been in the right place. Americans are nearly twice as likely to say Trump has been mostly focusing on the wrong priorities as to say he's been focusing on the right ones. The findings suggest Democrats are even unhappier with the reality of the second Trump term than before he was sworn in. While about 7 in 10 Republicans say Trump has been at least a “good” president so far, only about half say he’s emphasized the right things.

Boston celebrates 1965 Freedom Rally led by MLK as advocates urge continued fight against injustice

BOSTON (AP) — Sixty years after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led a rally protesting housing discrimination and segregated schools in Boston, hundreds of people gathered at the same site to honor and reflect on the historic event. The rally was held Saturday at the Boston Common near the site of a 20-foot-high memorial to racial equity, which shows King embracing his wife, Coretta Scott King. King's eldest son, Martin Luther King III, gave a keynote speech, saying he never thought racism would still be around and on the rise like it is today. He urged people to increase efforts to create a more just and humane society.

Lawsuit says migrants endure isolation and intimidation at US' Guantanamo detention center

Civil rights advocates have renewed concerns that immigrants detained at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base on Cuba are being held in extreme isolation, cut off from meaningful access to legal counsel or candid communication with relatives. Attorneys say in a new court filing Saturday that there is a climate of “extreme fear and intimidation” that interferes with constitutional rights to due process and legal counsel. The claims are made in a lawsuit on behalf of two Nicaraguan immigrants. The suit asks a federal judge in Washington to intervene. President Donald Trump has tapped Guantanamo Bay as a way station for immigrants with final removal orders amid efforts to ramp up mass deportations.