World

An evening show last week at the Hollywood Improv comedy club included poop jokes, a song about young people being too woke and a raunchy impression of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

There were no quips about President Trump’s international tariffs, even from a comedian who had just posted a lengthy podcast episode about the on-again-off-again executive orders that have led to a global trade war and, many fear, could trigger a recession.

To get your fill of trade-related chuckles these days, there’s a much more reliable, if unexpected, source: the official Facebook page of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The site has been rapidly manufacturing memes and sarcastic captions to capitalize — unrestrained by any tariffs — on a hot international export, namely jokes at the expense of the United States and its tariff-loving president.

One meme shows a red MAGA hat on a store shelf bearing a “Made in China” tag. The $50 price is crossed out, replaced by a tariff-inflated cost of $77.

Another cartoon — labeled “The Art of the Deal,” after Trump’s 1987 book — shows a pair of gambler’s hands. One with the word “tariffs” on its suit sleeve draws from a deck of cards bearing percentages. The Embassy’s caption: “But… the cards are made in #China. #Tariffwar.”

In Canada, the premier of Manitoba, Wab Kinew, signed a decree in an oversized folder and held it up with his signature, à la Trump. “This order,” he said, “it’s a wonderful order. It’s a beautiful order. This order is pulling American booze off the liquor mart shelves.”

Premier of Manitoba Wab Kinew at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington on Feb. 12, 2025. In March, he signed a decree to remove American alcohol from liquor store shelves in response to tariffs imposed by President Trump.

(Ben Curtis / Associated Press)

And on Norfolk Island — a remote rock in the Pacific Ocean with about 2,000 residents and essentially no exports to the U.S. — a children’s book author memed a baffled-looking tropical wrasse fish. The caption: “When you find out Norfolk Island exports are getting hit with a 29% tariff … guess that’s one way to leave a fish floundering.”

There are many ways world leaders, businesses and consumers are grappling with the growing threat of a global trade war, but perhaps the easiest — and, for some, the most therapeutic — is to rely on dark humor.

Joking about Trump’s frenetic rollout of tariffs has become a common response to the altogether serious issue of an economic fight started by the president that has upended markets, led to boycotts of American-made goods and travel to the U.S., and sparked fears of a recession.

Some of the humor has a barbed, geopolitical aim in a war for the world’s hearts and minds — see the Chinese government’s fusillade of memes — but political scientists say that, for many people, humor is a natural response to stressful times.

Patrick Giamario, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and author of the book “Laughter as Politics: Critical Theory in an Age of Hilarity,” said humor is an important part of the modern political process — and, for many, an attempt to make sense of events that feel overwhelming.

“The fact that we’re laughing so much now is a sort of sign of how broken things are,” Giamario said. “We laugh when things stop making sense.”

In addition to global angst, the levies have spawned: References to Trump as a “domestic tariffist.” Videos generated by artificial intelligence that show obese Americans toiling in garment factories. And lots of memes about over-taxed penguins angry about Trump’s tariffs, which targeted a few barren, uninhabited subantarctic islands.

“Poor old penguins, I don’t know what they did to Trump,” Australian trade minister Don Farrell quipped to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “But, look, I think it’s an indication … that this was a rushed process.”

Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell, left, arrives for a meeting with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, right, in Beijing, May 12, 2023.

(Michael Godfrey / Associated Press)

Trump’s tariffs have kept much of the world’s collective heads on a swivel. When he announced them, he said they would bring “jobs and factories … roaring back into our country” — despite skepticism from economists across the political spectrum.

On April 2 — which Trump dubbed “Liberation Day” — he announced a baseline tariff of 10% on imported goods from all foreign countries. He also announced higher rates, which he called “reciprocal tariffs,” for countries he said were unfairly taxing American goods. Financial markets plunged.

A week later, Trump changed course, saying he would pause the so-called reciprocal tariffs for 90 days while leaving the universal 10% tariff in place. He wrote on his Truth Social account: “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well.” Markets surged.

Meanwhile, Trump escalated his standoff with China, hiking levies on Chinese imports — except, he later said, on electronics such as smartphones and laptops — to 145%.

Beijing retaliated by raising its levies on U.S. goods to 125%. The trade war was joined by a meme war.

Many of the Chinese memes portray American workers as unprepared for the kinds of jobs that bring products to their homes at cheaper prices.

During a press briefing last week, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Chinese officials sharing AI-generated videos depicting Trump, Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk working in factories.

“I have seen the videos,” Leavitt said. “I’m not sure who made the videos or if we can verify the authenticity. But whoever made it clearly does not see the potential of the American worker, the American workforce.”

Screenshots of Leavitt herself being trolled by a Chinese diplomat who accused her of wearing a Chinese-made dress in the White House briefing room also have gone viral.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April 15, 2025, in Washington.

(Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

“Accusing China is business. Buying China is life,” Zhang Zhisheng, China’s consul general in Denpasar, Indonesia, posted on X. “The beautiful lace on the dress was recognized by an employee of a Chinese company as its product.”

Ramesh Srinivasan, founder of the University of California Digital Cultures Lab, said it is clearly strategic for the typically staid Chinese government to turn to memes and internet jokes to communicate its stance on the trade war, which is that it “is ridiculous and unnecessary.”

“They’re presenting it in a much more innocuous and funny way, and that’s very, very intelligent,” Srinivasan said. “It’s a sign of the times.”

Donald Trump Jr. takes photos with supporters after a town hall meeting Monday, March 17, 2025, in Oconomowoc, Wis.

(Jeffrey Phelps / Associated Press)

Trump and his acolytes, of course, are veterans of the meme wars (his son and advisor, Donald Trump Jr., lists “Meme Wars General” in his Instagram bio). The president’s meme-filled X, née Twitter, account helped launch his political career, as did his crude-but-catchy nicknames for his opponents: Crooked Hillary Clinton, Sleepy Joe Biden and Little Marco [now Secretary of State] Rubio, among others.

Srinivasan said Trump, the former reality television star, has long been skilled at using dark humor to his advantage, especially online, where he is “this kind of hybrid troll-meme person.”

Traditional Russian wooden dolls called Matryoshka depicting China’s President Xi Jinping, President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are displayed for sale at a souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia.

(Dmitri Lovetsky / Associated Press)

On the internet, the tariff jokes keep coming.

One widely-shared POV — internet lingo for “point of view” — video on TikTok shows a grumpy toddler striding officiously through an empty office. The caption: “POV: Me on my way to HR yet again for nicknaming my co-worker ‘Tariff’ for costing the company more than they’re worth.”

On YouTube, Penguins International, an apolitical conservation nonprofit dedicated to studying and protecting penguins, couldn’t resist getting in on the fun.

After Heard Island and the McDonald Islands — Australian territories where lots of penguins and no humans live — were listed on Trump’s tariffs list, Penguins International announced an online Protest March of the Penguins.

“Waddle we want? No tariffs!” read one digital protest sign.

“Beaks up!” read another.

On Wednesday, the Colorado-based organization posted a YouTube video of the birds’ annual migratory trek across the ice to their breeding grounds. As they squawked and brayed, a narrator said: “This year, they march in protest. They are peaceful. They are flightless. But they are certainly not voiceless.”

“We wanted to take an unusual current event and make light of it and stir up some support for some penguins that are endangered and threatened to go extinct,” David Schutt, executive director of Penguins International, said in an interview. Before the tariff announcement, he added, “most people didn’t know about the islands that these penguins are on.”

James Austin Johnson as President Trump, left, and Andrew Dismukes as Howard Lutnick during the “Saturday Night Live” skit “Trump Tariff Cold Open” on April 5, 2025.

(Will Heath / Getty Images)

During an Easter-themed “Saturday Night Live” skit this month, Trump, played by James Austin Johnson, said: “Many people are even calling me the Messiah, because of the mess I, uh, made out of the economy — all because of my beautiful tariffs. So beautiful. They were working so well that I had to stop them.”

On her “Good for You” podcast on April 13, comedian Whitney Cummings joked about Trump’s stated motive of using tariffs to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., where workers — especially young ones who prefer remote work — don’t want them.

“I have nieces who are Gen Z,” Cummings said. “They’re not going to work in a factory. They won’t even work at the Cheesecake Factory because that would mean they would have a boss.”

Whitney Cummings at Hollywood Improv.

(Troy Conrad)

American manufacturing largely moved overseas, she continued, because “no one in America believes they should be working for some corporation who treats workers badly. They want to be the head of the corporation who treats workers badly.”

Two nights later, Cummings did a stand-up set at the Hollywood Improv, performing on a stage that has hosted comedy legends such as Robin Williams, Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy.

Cummings made some mildly political jokes — including one about growing more conservative after having a child and trading in her electric car for a gas model because gas stations are the only places where it’s socially acceptable to leave a small child alone in a vehicle.

But during her short set, she stayed away from tariffs — which are, perhaps, funnier on the internet.

The winner will face Lei Peifan, who knocked out defending champion Wilson on Saturday, in the last 16.

Zhao, 28, is competing as an amateur at the World Championship but breezed through qualifying and is among the favourites to lift the trophy on 5 May.

Zhao was one of 10 players banned in 2023 following an investigation into match-fixing.

He did not directly throw a match but was initially suspended for two and a half years, reduced to 20 months after his early admissions and guilty plea – he accepted charges of being a party to another player fixing two matches and betting on matches himself.

Zhao completed his suspension earlier this season and his performances on the Q Tour have earned him a spot back among the professional ranks for 2025-26.

Meanwhile, China’s Xiao Guodong beat England’s Matthew Selt 10-4 to secure a second-round meeting with either John Higgins or Joe O’Connor.

Leading 7-2 overnight, the world number 14 lost the opening two frames of the concluding session but then won three in a row to reach the last 16.

From 14:30 BST, Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen begins his bid for a first world title against Fan Zhengyi as he aims to complete a full set of Triple Crown event victories, while Wales’ three-time champion Mark Williams takes a 5-4 lead into the final session of his first-round match against Wu Yize.

April 19 (UPI) — Trials started in İstanbul for 189 people, including students, journalists and lawyers, for their involvement in protests in March against the Turkish government spurred on by the arrest of the city’s mayor.

The Istanbul prosecutor’s office said it plans to put 819 people on trial in 20 criminal investigations after police detained nearly 2,000 people in the protests between March 19 to 26, with the first mass trials starting Friday.

The opposition Republican People’s Party, which organized the events, said than 2.2 million people demonstrated in support of the mayor of Turkey’s largest city, the BBC reported.

Ekrem İmamoglu, İstanbul’s mayor and opposition candidate to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was arrested on March 19 of corruption charges. İmamoglu wants to run for president in 2028 against Erdoğan.

Imamoglu and his party said the charges against him are politically motivated, as the ruling Justice and Development Party has governed Turkey since 2002, with Erdogan as prime minister and then president since 2003.

Of the arrests, 650 were accused of attending peaceful protests on March 27 after the ban ended. Protests have continued this month.

Arrested protesters have been accused of taking part in illegal protests and failing to obey orders to disperse. Video footage verified by Human Rights Watch shows the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to control the demonstrators.

Among the arrests, 107 are charged only with participating in unauthorized demonstrations and failure to disperse. Other offenses include carrying a weapon, covering their faces to hide their identity and incitement to commit a crime. There are also eight journalists on trial.

All but about 50 students remain in detention, according to information provided by Parents Solidarity Network to BBC Turkish.

The government has banned public gatherings and penalties for doing so range from six months to five years in prison, according to Human Rights Watch.

“Given the glaring absence of evidence, it is hard not to conclude that the intended purpose of these rushed trials is to send a warning against exercising the rights to peaceful protest or free expression,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The prosecutor should be calling for these cases to be dropped unless there is direct and substantive evidence that particular individuals committed specific crimes.”

Supporters, including family members, journalists, university lecturers and lawmakers from the opposition party, appeared in two courtrooms in the mass hearings.

“We have no fear, we are not the ones who should be afraid,” a second-year student from Mimar Sinan University in Instanbul told the BBC.

April 19 (UPI) — Vice President JD Vance and Cardinal Pietro Parolin discussed persecution against Christian communities and efforts to restore world peace Saturday morning in Vatican City.

During the cordial talks, satisfaction was expressed for the good existing bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States,” an unattributed Vatican statement said on Saturday.

“The common commitment to protect the right to freedom of religion and conscience was reiterated,” the statement said.

Vance and Parolin exchanged “opinions on the international situation, especially regarding countries affected by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations,” the statement said, “with particular attention to migrants, refugees and prisoners.”

Vance, who is Catholic after being baptized into the religion in 2019, was joined by his family during the visit to the Vatican. The visit comes amid the vice president’s diplomatic visit to Italy.

“I’m grateful every day for this job but particularly today, where my official duties have brought me to Rome on Good Friday,” Vance said Friday in a post on X.

“I had a great visit with [Italian] Prime Minister [Giorgia] Meloni and her team and will head to church soon with my family in this beautiful city,” he said.

Vance and his family participated in Good Friday services at St. Peter’s Basilica and will stay in Vatican City through Easter before traveling to India.

Vance did not meet with Pope Francis, who recently was hospitalized for respiratory problems, including pneumonia, and continues to recover.

As the defending champion, Wilson has the honour of being the top seed.

Trump becomes the second seed, with four-time champions John Higgins and Mark Selby third and fourth respectively.

Higgins beat Selby in the Tour Championship final earlier in April to move above him in the listings.

O’Sullivan, bidding for an eighth title to surpass the record he shares with Stephen Hendry, is seeded fifth.

The 49-year-old is seeded to play 12th seed Zhang Anda in the second round, Selby in the quarter-finals and Wilson in the semi-finals.

Full seedings:

1) Kyren Wilson, 2) Judd Trump, 3) John Higgins, 4) Mark Selby

5) Ronnie O’Sullivan, 6) Mark Williams, 7) Luca Brecel, 8) Mark Allen

9) Neil Robertson, 10) Ding Junhui, 11) Barry Hawkins, 12) Zhang Anda

13) Si Jiahui 14) Xiao Guodong, 15) Shaun Murphy, 16) Jak Jones

April 18 (UPI) — Hamas rejected a Gaza cease-fire proposed by Israel this week and called for what it called a comprehensive deal to end the war instead.

Hamas said it is ready to begin talks on a deal to release all hostages in return for a full Israeli withdrawal and a complete cease-fire.

“We will not accept partial deals that serve Netanyahu’s political agenda. Netanyahu and his government use partial agreements as a cover for their political agenda, which is based on continuing the war of extermination and starvation, even if the price is sacrificing all his prisoners [hostages],” Hamas negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said in a video statement.

The Israeli proposal called for Hamas disarmament and did not guarantee ending the Gaza war. Hamas refuses to disarm and said it won’t agree to a cease-fire that doesn’t include a permanent end ot the war.

The Israeli deal was for a six-week cease-fire.

Far-right Israeli lawmakers responded by urging immediate escalation in pursuit of a “complete victory.”

The Israeli cease-fire offer would release the remaining 59 hostages in stages. More than 1200 Palestinian prisoners and detainees would be freed in exchange.

Just 24 of the remaining hostages are believed to be alive.

Hamas indicated it’s ready to immediately start negotiations but insists on retaining arms and a full Israeli withdrawal.

“The state of Israel shall not surrender to Hamas and won’t end the war without the complete victory and fulfillment of all its objectives, including eliminating Hamas and returning all the hostages,” Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a statement.

April 18 (UPI) — Electrical power was restored Friday to nearly 99% of customers less than 48 hours after an island-wide outage, according to a statement from private energy company LUMA.

“As of 5:00 a.m. on April 18, LUMA had restored power to 1,450,367 customers, representing 98.8%, in less than 48 hours since the island-wide outage,” LUMA Energy said in an X statement. “LUMA remains focused on completing the restoration and will continue work until all customers have service.”

The power failure seems to have occurred for several reasons including a failure of the protection system and vegetation on a transmission line along Puerto Rico’s northern coast.

The blackout happened Wednesday afternoon.

Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon said it appeared to have originated between EcoElectrica and Costa Sur as well as in additional transmission segments.

“The company continues to prioritize restoring critical infrastructure, including hospitals, water plants, airports, and emergency services,” LUMA said.

It said some customers could continue to experience temporary outages due to limited generation.

LUMA said between 98% and 100% of hospitals in most regions have power restored and all of the correctional facilities and airports have power restored.

This week’s blackout is the latest in a series of power outages since 2017 when Hurricane Maria wiped out large sections of the island’s power grid.

Another island-wide blackout occurred last New year’s Eve and lasted for two days.

Montebello resident Rosa Maria Juarez, 96, doesn’t like what’s happening to the country, and in these tumultuous times, she has a strategy for getting through each day.

“I’ve always kept up with the news, but I don’t want to watch it now,” Juarez said. “I don’t want to feel depressed … instead of happy, the way I am when I wake up.”

Avoiding daily news of President Trump’s attacks on the judiciary, the Constitution, the media, political enemies and foreign countries is but one part of Juarez’s game plan for survival. She also stays on the move, driving to the Pico Rivera Senior Center several times weekly for early-morning exercise classes and outdoor walks of up to two miles.

Steve Lopez

Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.

But she’s not Superwoman, so it’s impossible to shield herself completely from the daily barrage of bulletins from the nation’s capital, where Trump said this week that he’d like to detain and deport U.S. citizens and have them locked up in foreign prisons.

“We’re a country that’s going down, like the Titanic,” Juarez said. “I hope not, but what can we do?”

For the most part, I heard that same sense of despair, along with rage and dread, when I reached out to more than a dozen people of a certain age and asked if this is a drama they expected to be witnessing in their golden years.

Not at all, said Bernard Parks Sr., the former LAPD chief and fiscally conservative city councilman. “I never thought in my lifetime I’d see a person with 34 felonies be elected president,” said Parks. “The world is upside down.”

On the other hand, in the eyes of some Trump supporters, the world was upside down until he flipped it around.

Rosa Maria Juarez stands with fellow members of the Pico Rivera Senior Center City Walkers before a hike.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

“I am extremely happy that the country is now headed in the right direction, even with the chaos and some hiccups,” said Norman Eagle, a Palos Verdes Estates resident who recently dropped me a note to argue that I overstated the risk of potential threats to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in a recent column.

Eagle said he thinks Trump’s tariffs — which have roiled world markets, sparked fears of a recession and triggered panic among even some of his own supporters — will work out to the country’s benefit eventually. And he hopes the president’s efforts to get rid of waste, fraud and corruption will serve as a model for future administrations.

“Another important hope I have is that the insane woke ideology and extreme progressive thinking will completely disappear from the American scene and return home to Mars, where it likely originated,” Eagle added.

La Cañada resident Trent Sanders, who frequently dings California’s liberal politicos in emails to me and my colleagues, thinks Trump is generally on the right track three months into his term, but with a few caveats.

“I think most of what he’s doing is the right thing, but far too fast, and far too much,” Sanders said. And with “not enough thought before action.”

Among Trump’s detractors, there is no tolerance, and no end to the list of grievances, which include everything from dwindling retirement funds to Trump’s embrace of Russia and his head-slapping claim that Ukraine started the war that has killed thousands.

“I never thought I’d be living through a constitutional crisis, but that’s what this is,” said Jane Demian.

(Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times)

“I am embarrassed for my country on so many levels,” said Estela Lopez, director of a downtown L.A. business improvement district. She lamented, among other things, the “gobsmacking” cruelty of wholesale job cuts in the federal government and the “gutting of important medical research, vital public health information, and dismantling of protections that safeguard our food, air and water.”

“The runway ahead of me may be shorter than the one behind me,” Lopez said, “but I’d rather face it with every bit of intelligence and information available thanks to the scientific advances we have invested in and now seem to believe aren’t needed.”

“I never thought I’d be living through a constitutional crisis, but that’s what this is,” said Jane Demian of Eagle Rock. She said democratic principles we took for granted — “three co-equal branches of government,” for instance — are “now being challenged by the MAGA mobsters, and the Republicans are hiding.”

Jeffrey Mulqueen of Seal Beach has a name for all of this:

“The world has experienced fascism in the past and we are headed down that road in the USA,” said the retired school superintendent. “Consider the patterns of the Trump regime as they lace society with fear, fuel the fear with false information,” and threaten to expand the kingdom by conquering Canada and Greenland.

Ernest Salomon of Santa Barbara, almost 90, said he and some of his immediate family escaped German death camps while other relatives perished.

“I see a lot of similarities between the Trump regime and what took place before Hitler took power. Fear, turmoil, racism, lies, retribution and more,” said Salomon.

“Democracy,” he added, “is in peril.”

Alice Lynn, a family therapist, says: “I have never felt so hopeless and fearful.”

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

“I am wary and scared. Especially for our grandchildren,” said Jairo Angulo of West L.A., who harbors particular disdain for the coterie of Trump yes-men who won’t admit “the emperor has no clothes,” and for the millions of Democrats who sat out the last election.

“Selfishness, apathy and greed has propelled us to this point in time,” said Nick Patsaouras of Tarzana. “We are witnessing what Plato said over 2,000 years ago: ‘The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.’”

Alice Lynn, of Pacific Palisades, said that while struggling with the limitations and loss that come with aging, she is now a witness to the trampling of ideals at the core of her existence.

“I have never felt so hopeless and fearful,” said Lynn. “It is simply more than I can grasp. … All the issues I have fought for over the years, marched for, organized for — to bring about the good changes in our society — are now being unraveled.”

Meg Fairless, of Simi Valley, fears for generations to come. “Our first grandchild was born in March,” Fairless said, “so I hope we, as a nation, can pull together, relearn the power of courtesy, respect, compromise, acceptance [and] be a country that will be safe and happy for him to grow up in.”

Rosa Maria Juarez told me that as she approaches 100, she doesn’t know if she’ll see changes for the better in her lifetime, but she hopes her children and grandchildren will.

“I can do my part, even if it’s just a smidgeon,” she said, telling me that if she sees anyone who appears isolated or marginalized, at her senior center or elsewhere, she makes a point of connecting with them.

Denny Freidenrich of Laguna Beach has two grandchildren and a third on the way.

“That is why 20 of my friends and I are in the process of forming the Grandpa Brigade,” said Freidenrich, who is particularly worried about attacks on judges, lawyers and courts. “By standing up for the rule of law now, our collective hope is we will be leaving our grandkids the greatest gift of all: freedom.”

Denny Freidenrich says he is particularly worried about attacks on judges, lawyers and courts.

(Courtesy of Denny Freidenrich)

Kudos to Freidenrich and to Juarez for their good deeds. Meanwhile, in demonstrations across the country, crowds are growing. Tens of thousands attended a Los Angeles protest last weekend headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y), who then took their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour to Coachella.

Kudos to them, too, for re-energizing voters while so many forlorn Democratic leaders twiddle their thumbs and nurse the hangover of defeat. But can the left wing of the fractured party build enough support to make a difference in two years, or in four?

A friend of mine who attended the L.A. rally said that while it was a rousing attack on current leadership, he didn’t hear a coherent, winning plan to bring down the ruling party.

So that’s my next question, and I ask it not just of people in my age group, but of those coming up behind us:

What’s the best way forward?

[email protected]

Reigning champion Kyren Wilson holds a 6-3 lead over Lei Peifan in the first match of his world title defence at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.

The world number two twice missed blacks off the spot in the second frame as Crucible debutant Lei, 21, went 2-0 in front.

The 33-year-old Englishman recovered to win the next six frames in succession, making a 136 break in the eighth to add to three earlier half-centuries.

But Chinese qualifier Lei pinched the final frame of the session, after Wilson missed a pink trying to get position on a tricky last red, to give himself hope of a comeback.

Their best-of-19-frames contest will be played to a finish from 19:00 BST.

April 18 (UPI) — Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi said Friday he had discussed possible collaboration on technology and innovation with Elon Musk and his companies.

The business discussion with Musk comes as Modi seeks relief from U.S. tariffs.

“Spoke to Elon Musk and talked about various issues, including the topics we covered during our meeting in Washington, D.C. earlier this year. We discussed the immense potential for collaboration in the areas of technology and innovation,” Modi said on X.

Modi added that India “remains committed to advancing our partnerships with the US in these domains.”

Musk’s business interests are coinciding with negotations between India and the United States on trade and tariff issues.

The Musk Modi talks came ahead of Vice President JD Vance’s trip to India.

In March, Starlink signed deals with Indian big telecom companies for satellite internet service. Indian government approval is pending on that arrangement.

Those contracts are with Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.

Musk’s X is suing India as Musk attempts to establish Tesla and Starlink in the Indian market.

After meeting with Modi in Washington in February Tesla has begun hiring in India even though Musk had concerns about Indian tariffs.

Those were cut last March but on condition that to get those breaks companies would have to start local factories with a minimum investment of $500 million.

India’s telecoms minister maintains Starlink has not yet complied with security requirements.

Musk’s meetings with Modi at a time when Musk is close to President Donald Trump and still active in the administration could give the tech billionaire more sway to smooth the way for his companies to enter India’s vast market.

April 18 (UPI) — Venice is reinstating a tourist entry fee Friday after experimenting last year with charging people to enter the city during busy times to reduce congestion.

The fee will be $5.69. For last-minute day-trippers the Venice fee will double.

The fee can be paid online and the doubling will happen if visitors buy entry within three days of arrival.

Last year’s experiment did not reduce the number of visitors, but it did raise $2.73 million for the city.

People booking a one-night stay or more won’t have to pay the fee. City residents, workers and people studying in Venice are also exempt.

“Our goal is to encourage quality tourism — overnight stays — that respects the city and seeks to engage with it on a deeper level, embracing its unique character and rhythm,” Venice councillor for tourism Simone Venturini said.

Roughly 30 million tourists visit Venice each year and 70% stay for the day.

Tourists staying multiple days won’t be charged for each day.

The fee, designed to deter day-trippers during the busiest days, will only be charged for 29 days in 2025.

The fee is in place for Good Friday and the following 16 days.

After that the fee will be charged for 12 subsequent weekends that include Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From August through the rest of the year the fee will not be charged.

People living in the Veneto region and holders of the European Disability Card won’t be charged.

April 18 (UPI) — Thousands of people recited prayers while carrying large wooden crosses and walking through the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem acknowledging Good Friday.

People marking the Christian holy day follow the Way of the Cross or Via Dolorosa route through the streets of Old Jerusalem along the path Jesus is believed to have taken prior to his crucifixion and includes the 14 Stations of the Cross.

The procession has taken place each Good Friday for 2-thousand years, drawing thousands of people.

The Way of the Cross is one of several rituals that take place in the days surrounding Easter.

Palestinian Christinans on Friday faced restrictions accessing holy sites in Jerusalem while making their way from the West Bank territory.

An estimated 50,000 Christians live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. This year, Israeli officials limited the number allowed to leave the Palestinian enclave and enter Jerusalem to about 6,000.

Israel has around 180,000 Christians among its population of approximately 9.7 million people.

As part of global Easter remembrance, Pope Francis on Thursday visited a prison in Rome where he offered words of encouragement to prisoners. The Pope also marked the Way of the Cross at the Vatican on Friday, ahead of Easter Sunday.

A poignant image of a nine-year-old amputee from Gaza is the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year. Mahmoud Ajjour lost both arms in an Israeli airstrike. His portrait was taken by Palestinian photographer Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times. Ajjour spoke with Al Jazeera about rebuilding his life and his dream of returning home.

Seven-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan says he will overcome “stage fright” to take on Ali Carter in the first round of the World Snooker Championship.

O’Sullivan, 49, who only confirmed his participation on Thursday, has not played competitively since snapping his cue at the Championship League in January.

“Because it is the World Championship and the last tournament [of the season] I thought I need to try and break that cycle,” he told BBC Sport.

“Call it stage fright, I just haven’t had the [will] to go and compete. Call it lost my bottle. You sometimes lose your nerve. Just to come here is an achievement for me.

“The kind of nerves I have [been] feeling off and on for the last two years have not been good nerves. I have just been not wanting to go out there – sometimes struggling to even take my eyes off the floor. The confidence has been draining away, so it has not been a great place to be.”

Next Tuesday’s meeting with Carter, who at 18th in the world is the highest ranked qualifier, is a repeat of the 2008 and 2012 Crucible finals, which were both won by ‘The Rocket’.

The pair also contested a Masters final in 2024, which O’Sullivan triumphed in, but there were genuine fears that he would not go for a record eighth world title in the modern era this year having been an ever-present at the sport’s showpiece event since turning professional in 1992.

He pulled out of the Masters at Alexandra Palace on medical grounds, missed the German Masters in Berlin and apologised to fans after electing not to play at the Welsh Open.

He also withdrew from the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong in March and has not played in anything over a best-of-seven match since his first-round loss to Barry Hawkins at the UK Championship in November.

“Ali is a really good match player and I will have to play better than I have been just to give him a game,” added O’Sullivan.

“I really have nothing to lose. I have done well to just get here to be honest. If it was any other tournament I probably wouldn’t have come.

“I don’t know how excited I am because the reason I stopped was because my game was suffering and I wasn’t getting anything from it. Not much has changed but I thought at some point I have to try and play.

“I am always mentally ready, that has not been a problem. I always find a way to get through any situation but with my game technically I am at a loss with it and I have never been in this situation before in my life. I have never experienced this and it is hard especially at this stage in my career, you sometimes think ‘is it worth trying to rebuild?'”

World record holder Ruth Chepngetich has pulled out of the London Marathon along with defending champion Peres Jepchirchir.

Kenya’s Chepngetich, 30, became the first woman to clock a sub-two hour 10 minute time at the 2024 Chicago marathon, but said she was not ready for next weekend’s race.

Chepngetich said she was “very sad to miss the race” but she hoped “to be back” for the London Marathon in 2026.

“I’m not in the right place mentally or physically to race my best in London and I am therefore withdrawing,” she added.

Fellow Kenyan Jepchirchir, who won last year’s London Marathon in a record time of two hours 16 minutes 16 seconds, will miss the race with an ankle injury.

“Winning last year’s London Marathon was one of the highlights of my career and I was very much looking forward to returning this year to defend my title,” 31-year-old Jepchirchir said.

“Unfortunately, my injury has made this impossible but I am focused on getting healthy again and hope to return to London again in the future when I’m fully fit.”

In the absence of Chepngetich and Jepchirchir organisers have announced that their compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot will take a spot in the elite field.

Cheruiyot, 41, has run the London Marathon three times and won it in 2018.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, April 18 (UPI) — Leadership changes in Syria and Lebanon, driven by the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the weakening of Hezbollah‘s influence, have created a rare opportunity for the two neighboring countries to repair their relations and move beyond decades of political domination and military interference.

The stunning collapse last December of the Syrian Baath regime at the hands of Islamist rebels, led by Ahmad Sharaa — now Syria’s new ruler — has created a new reality in the country and across the region.

Just a month later, Lebanon began to show signs of its own transformation with the election of Joseph Aoun as president and the appointment of Nawaf Salam to lead the new government.

The once-powerful Hezbollah, long accustomed to dictating national policy and hand-picking key officials, was forced to compromise and endorse these new leadership choices.

Leaders in both countries were quick to offer assurances to one another, expressing a willingness to move beyond their troubled, tense and often hostile past, and to open a new chapter in relations based on mutual respect.

The road to recovery will be far from easy, burdened by long-standing and complex disputes, deeply rooted historical grievances and a rapidly shifting Middle East landscape ravaged by years of destructive conflicts.

However, the visit by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to Damascus earlier this week, where he met with Syria’s ruler, Ahmad Sharaa, laid the groundwork for dialogue aimed at resolving key points of contention between the two countries.

The visit marks “a watershed moment” in Lebanon-Syria relations, according to Imad Salamey, a senior Middle East policy adviser and associate professor of political science and international affairs at the Lebanese American University in Beirut.

Salamey explained that for the first time, both states are engaging on equal sovereign footing, signaling a departure from decades of Syrian tutelage over Lebanon.

“This diplomatic shift recognizes Lebanon’s independence and Syria’s need to recalibrate its regional posture post-Assad’s ouster,” he told UPI.

The Sharaa-Salam talks, Salamey added, suggest that both parties are now willing to talk as peers, with mutual interests in securing sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The emerging approach emphasizes non-interference in each other’s affairs, with Syria committing to refrain from aggression against Lebanon and Lebanon ensuring it will not serve as a base for launching attacks against Syria.

“This process would pave the way for consolidating stability between the two countries,” a well-informed Lebanese source told UPI.

Lebanon has suffered from decades-long Syrian military presence, political domination and manipulation that greatly impacted its governance, political life, economy and stability.

The Syrian Army first entered Lebanon in 1976 to stop the then-raging civil war and remained until it was forced to pull out after the assassination of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a powerful explosion that targeted his convoy in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005.

Syria, which imposed itself as the main power broker after having been granted guardianship over Lebanon when the civil war ended in 1990, was accused of being behind Hariri’s assassination and numerous other such killings during the civil war and in peace.

But its influence on Lebanon began to wane rapidly starting in 2011, when anti-Assad peaceful protests broke out and soon turned into a bloody civil war.

Syrians, on their part, hold grudges against Hezbollah — and its patron, Iran — for siding with the Assad regime and joining the bloody battles against the opposition fighters in 2012. The Hezbollah-Iran involvement in Syria ended with Assad’s fall.

Last month, three soldiers in Syria’s new army and seven Lebanese were killed when clashes erupted near the border town of Al-Qasr in northeastern Lebanon — one of several key smuggling and supply routes long used by Hezbollah. The fighting ended after two days, with the Lebanese Army deploying in the area.

“No attacks or smuggling will be allowed from the Lebanese side,” the source said. “The army now has control of the border to prevent any drug and weapons smuggling, as well as any cross-border interaction or interference.”

Smuggling has been a main problem since the establishment of the border between Syria and Lebanon, which extends for approximately 230 miles from the east to the north, with no clear demarcation in many areas.

Land and sea border demarcation, security coordination, preventing smuggling, closing illegal crossings, and adopting security and military measures to prevent the recurrence of the cross-border clashes were at the top of the Salam-Sharaa discussions, according to the Lebanese source.

He said the discussions also covered gas and oil exploration, boosting trade and potential joint projects that would bring mutual benefits in the fields of economy, agriculture and investment.

Both countries, he added, agreed to form a joint committee that included the ministers of justice and defense to address lingering issues, such as uncovering the fate of Lebanese detainees and missing persons in Syria, as well as Syrians held in Lebanese prisons.

“The committee will also work to shed light on the dozens of political assassinations that took place in Lebanon during the Assad regime’s rule,” the source said.

While historical grievances are “deeply embedded,” Lebanon and Syria have a shared interest in securing and demarcating the borders, especially in compliance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1680, Salamey said.

“This provides an achievable starting point,” he said. Controlling illegal crossings, which has cost Lebanon some $5 billion annually due to smuggling, per the World Bank’s estimates, and halting currency outflows from Syria “are pragmatic, mutually beneficial goals.”

Salamey said border control could encourage greater economic cooperation and mutual stabilization, but emphasized the need for international guarantees, technical support and “political insulation from spoilers — particularly Hezbollah and other non-state actors who benefit from open borders.”

Encouraged by the recent political shifts, Saudi Arabia stepped in to bring Syria and Lebanon closer, playing a key mediating role in helping the two countries address their long-standing disputes.

The Lebanese source revealed that land and maritime border demarcation talks will proceed with the support of Saudi Arabia, which believes that there is “a serious opportunity” for both countries to emerge from their successive crises and embark on a new process aimed at consolidating stability.

Besides the disputed territories, securing the return of 1.5 million Syrian refugees from Lebanon represents a major challenge. While crisis-ridden Lebanon can no longer host them, war-ravaged Syria is not yet ready to take them back because of its limited resources.

Salamey also noted that their divergent political systems — Lebanon’s consociational democracy versus Syria’s Islamist autocratic trajectory — also pose “enduring risks.”

He said that without broader regional reconciliation and internal reforms, progress may be limited to “transactional arrangements” rather than leading to “transformational peace.”

“The road to healing is long and fraught, but the current moment offers a window for engagement that didn’t exist in recent decades,” he said.

April 18 (UPI) — South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced earlier this month that the country’s first-quarter food exports surged 9.6% year-on-year to reach $2.48 billion.

With this pace, annual exports are highly likely to surpass $10 billion for the first time, beating the previous record of $9.98 billion last year.

“This year’s food exports hit a record high for the first quarter. The growth is expected to continue throughout 2025,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Kang Hyoung-seok told UPI. “To deal with some external risks, the Korean government will work as one team with our exporters.”

Supporting the success of Korean foods are such unique brands as Fire Noodle of Samyang Food, Bibigo of CJ Group, and Choco Pie of Orion.

Fire Noodle, also known as Buldak, single-handedly carried Samyang Food over the past few years as it has become a food phenomenon.

Launched in 2012, Fire Noodle was originally regarded as a niche Korean product. But its bold, intensely spicy flavor is now a global sensation.

Boosting its popularity has been the Fire Noodle Challenge, a viral trend where participants eat the ultra-spicy noodles as fast as they can, often without drinking water.

Originating on YouTube in the middle of the 2010s, the challenge exploded across the world, thanks to its intense heat, humorous facial expressions, and dramatic coughing fits.

Last year, the brand faced a crisis as the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration issued a recall of three Fire Noodle products, citing potential health risks posed by their high capsaicin content. Capsaicin is the chemical compound in chili peppers that creates a burning sensation.

However, the measure was a blessing in disguise for Samyang Food, which was established in 1961 to roll out Korea’s first instant noodle products.

“The recall piqued the curiosity of people about Fire Noodle products. It actually helped drive sales,” a Samyang Food spokesperson said in a phone interview. “In addition, members of K-pop groups also contributed to its rising profile.”

BTS member Jimin and Blackpink’s Rose are known to be big fans of Fire Noodle products.

The brand’s success underpinned Samyang Food’s performance in 2024 when its global sales soared 65% over the previous year. As a result, exports accounted for 77% of total revenue and the proportion is projected to hit 85% this year.

The corporation is also performing well in the stock market as its share price jumped more than 26% on the Seoul bourse in 2025. Its market capitalization approaches $5 billion.

“Exports are predicted to sustain the company’s growth, with first-quarter outbound shipments estimated to have increased over 40%,” Yuanta Securities analyst Son Hyun-jeong said.

Other notable Korean food names are Bibigo and Choco Pie.

Based on the brisk sales of its Bibigo line, including steamed dumplings, white rice, and kimchi, CJ Cheiljedang’s international sales neared $4 billion last year.

Orion sold 4 billion units of its signature product Choco Pie, its marshmallow-filled snack, in 2024. Riding on that momentum, the company disclosed a $585 million investment Tuesday to expand its overseas business.

However, there are downside risks such as rising trade tensions and uncertainty as the Trump administration threatens to levy high tariffs on imports to the United States.

“Most Korean food exporters manufacture here and one of their biggest markets is the U.S.,” Seoul-based business tracker Leaders Index CEO Park Ju-gun said in a phone interview.

“If higher tariffs are imposed, it would weigh on their sales in the American market. They have to prepare for these uncertainties,” he said.

April 18 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is “not our war” and that if it’s not possible to reach a peace deal within days “we’re done.”

Rubio said the United States needs to determine very quickly — in a matter of days — whether or not ending the war “is doable” over the next few weeks.

“If it’s not possible — if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen,” Rubio said, ” Then I think the president’s probably at a point where he’s going to say, well, we’re done.”

“I think it’s important to remind everybody that the Ukraine war is a terrible thing, but it’s not our war. We didn’t start it. The United States has been helping Ukraine for over the last three years, and we want it to end. But it’s not our war.”

Rubio did not spell out whether his comments mean the United States will also be done with supporting Ukraine as it defends against the Russian invasion and occupation.

“We’ve spent three years, billions of dollars supporting the Ukrainian side, and — but now we’ve reached the point where we have other things we have to focus on,” Rubio said. “We’re prepared to be engaged in this as long as it takes, but not indefinitely, not without progress. If this is not possible, we’re going to need to move on.”

U.S. and Ukrainian officials, including Rubio, met Thursday in Paris for talks on the war as Russia continued to attack Ukraine.

Rubio told reporters Friday that “we had positive meetings yesterday.”

He said he thought the French, the British and Germans were “very constructive, very helpful.”

He said there will hopefully be another meeting next week “where we’ll have some more definitive answers about how close we are to actually making progress.”

Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenkor said on X Thursday that progress was made toward a minerals deal with the United States.

“We are happy to announce the signing, with our American partners, of a Memorandum of Intent, which paves the way for an Economic Partnership Agreement and the establishment of the Investment Fund for the Reconstruction of Ukraine,” she said.

She said there has been significant progress on details of the deal indicating the final deal “will be very beneficial to both countries.”

The two countries intend to finalize the deal as soon as April 26.

The Chair of Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada parliament said on X that Trump administration special envoy Steve Witkoff “may be inadvertently trying to push pro-Russian narratives” during the peace talks.

The Trump administration has made overtures to Russia while criticizing Ukraine in the peace talk process.

Responding to reporter questions, Rubio said if progress toward peace is being made the United States is prepared to engage as long as it takes but won’t be involved indefinitely without progress.

He said he spoke with Russian foreign minister Lavrov and told him that the United States proposed an outline for peace to Ukraine but didn’t specify to Lavrov what the outline details were.