Macron’s Comments Trigger Backlash

While returning from an official visit to China, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview that Europe should avoid becoming “America’s followers” and getting caught up in a conflict between the U.S. and China over the sovereignty of Taiwan. Instead, Macron advocated for Europe to become a “third pole” in international affairs, distinct from both Washington, D.C. and Beijing.

Macron’s comments — published just as China conducted military exercises simulating attacks against Taiwan — were criticized by politicians in Taiwan, Europe, and the U.S. for being too accommodating of China. According to Reuters, officials within Macron’s own government have criticized his comments.

In France itself, however, Macron’s comments have been overshadowed by the ongoing mass protests against his pension reform. When Macron visited the Netherlands on April 12, protestors confronted him over both controversies.

Pentagon Intelligence Leaked

Several photos seeming to show top-secret U.S. military documents have been circulating online. It is unclear when the photos were taken or how they first made their way onto the internet. Although they were posted on a Discord server as early as March 1, the leaked intelligence did not receive significant media attention until an April 5 story from The New York Times.

The documents contain information that would constitute highly-classified military intelligence — much of it related to the war in Ukraine — such as the Pentagon’s estimates of Ukrainian and Russian casualties and assessments of how the war is going. The included information indicates that the U.S. has deeply infiltrated the Russian military and has been spying on many U.S. allies, including Israel, South Korea, and Ukraine.

The Pentagon acknowledged that the documents seemed to be genuine but noted that it was still assessing their authenticity, stressing that some details appeared to be doctored.

On April 13, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard named Jack Teixeira was arrested in connection to the leaked documents. He is due to have his initial court hearing on April 14. 100

Estimated Dead After Military Airstrike in Myanmar

On April 11, Myanmar’s military executed an airstrike against Pazigyi, a village in the Sagaing Region in the country’s northwest. Per the Associated Press, the attack is likely one of the deadliest so far in Myanmar’s ongoing civil war.

Myanmar’s military junta, which has been in power since the military coup in 2021, is waging war against the country’s many long-running insurgencies. The junta took responsibility for the airstrike, which was carried out because the village was conducting a ceremony opening an office for a local anti-coup militia.

At the time of the airstrike, the village was thronged with people attending the ceremony, which coincided with New Year celebrations. Witnesses reported that a fighter jet bombed the office and the crowd outside, killing dozens. A helicopter returned soon afterward and opened fire, killing still more. The United Nations strongly condemned the attack.

Zelenskyy Condemns Beheading Video

A video appearing to show Russian forces beheading a Ukrainian soldier with a knife recently surfaced on social media. Its authenticity has not been confirmed, but it sparked outrage in Ukraine, including a condemnation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a video address Zelenskyy gave, April 12, he described the killing as part of a pattern and urged world leaders to act