US Rubio to have ‘frank conversation’ with Pope Leo after public clash with Trump on Iran war
US secretary of state Marco Rubio expects a “frank” meeting with Pope Leo during a visit to the Vatican this week, the US ambassador said, after president Donald Trump took a fresh pot-shot at the pope for criticising the US war in Iran.
“Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways that you work through those is … through fraternity and authentic dialogue,” said Brian Burch, the US ambassador to the Holy See, in comments reported by Reuters.
“I think the secretary is coming here in that spirit,” Burch told journalists. “To have a frank conversation about US policy, to engage in dialogue.”
Reuters noted that Trump has repeatedly disparaged the first U.S.-born pope in recent weeks, drawing a backlash from Christian leaders across the political spectrum.
Rubio is a Catholic, as is Vice President JD Vance. The two met Leo a year ago after attending his inaugural mass, the Trump administration’s only previous known cabinet-level meetings with the pope, the agency said.
Key events
No obvious path for new government in Romania leaves country at risk of weeks of political limbo – snap analysis
Jakub Krupa
In his speech before the vote, Bolojan warned lawmakers against passing the “cynical and artificial” motion, which he said “seems to be written by people who were not in government every day and did not participate in all the decisions,” AP reported.
Well, he clearly didn’t convince them.
But the question of what’s next is not an easy one as there is no obvious way to form a different majority or government. The unlikely allies in bringing down the Bolojan government – the socialist PSD and the far-right – are reportedly not particularly keen on forming a new administration together.
One scenario reportedly floated by the rebel Socialists was to reshuffle the current coalition with a new prime minister, but it’s not clear if other parties would be prepared to endorse this suggestion.
Bolojan is expected to stay on as interim prime minister with limited powers, as the country’s president Nicușor Dan will convene talks to figure out what next.
But the talks are likely to take weeks to get anywhere.
Romanian government loses confidence of parliament
And here it is: 281 votes in favour of the motion, meaning Ilie Bolojan’s pro-EU coalition government lost the confidence of the parliament.
The result was welcomed with loud applause from those present.
The Romanian media are reporting that the defeated PM Bolojan has already left the parliament’s building.
Result of no confidence in Romania’s PM expected imminently
Over in Romania, we are expecting a result of the no confidence vote in Ilie Bolojan’s government any moment now.
Bolojan has led a minority government since late April when the leftist Social Democrats – parliament’s largest party – called for his resignation and then walked out of the coalition of four pro-European parties and teamed up with the far-right opposition to file a no-confidence vote, Reuters noted.
The no-confidence motion was signed by 254 MPs, and 233 votes are required, so the government is expected to lose the vote, triggering a scramble to find a new majority and a new prime minister.
I will bring you the result as soon as we have it.
US Rubio to have ‘frank conversation’ with Pope Leo after public clash with Trump on Iran war
US secretary of state Marco Rubio expects a “frank” meeting with Pope Leo during a visit to the Vatican this week, the US ambassador said, after president Donald Trump took a fresh pot-shot at the pope for criticising the US war in Iran.
“Nations have disagreements, and I think one of the ways that you work through those is … through fraternity and authentic dialogue,” said Brian Burch, the US ambassador to the Holy See, in comments reported by Reuters.
“I think the secretary is coming here in that spirit,” Burch told journalists. “To have a frank conversation about US policy, to engage in dialogue.”
Reuters noted that Trump has repeatedly disparaged the first U.S.-born pope in recent weeks, drawing a backlash from Christian leaders across the political spectrum.
Rubio is a Catholic, as is Vice President JD Vance. The two met Leo a year ago after attending his inaugural mass, the Trump administration’s only previous known cabinet-level meetings with the pope, the agency said.
Russia limits mobile internet amid fears of Ukraine strikes on Victory Parade
Meanwhile, over in Russia, mobile internet services have been cut off to many customers in Moscow as part of the preparations for 9 May Victory Parade given concerns about a potential attack from Ukraine.
The Kremlin said the limits had been introduced to ensure security amid a heightened risk of Ukrainian drone attacks, but for many Russians they have complicated payments, navigation and communication, Reuters reported.
Russian mobile phone operators said there could be problems with mobile internet due to the need to ensure security over coming days. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest bank, also cautioned that there could be issues with mobile internet and messaging, the agency added.
The restriction is the latest sign of Moscow’s concerns about a potential attack from Ukraine, after last week’s decision to host the parade without military hardware for the first time in almost two decades.
UK’s Starmer lauds benefit of joining EU’s €90bn loan for Ukraine as ‘some’ alliances ‘are not in place we would want them’
Another big topic of the Yerevan summits – which continue today after an earlier meeting of the European Political Community over the bank holiday weekend – is the UK’s willingness to join the EU’s €90bn loan for Ukraine.
Prime minister Keir Starmer has said the benefit of joining the European Union’s scheme for Ukraine “outweighs the cost” as he argued the continent must move at pace to bolster its own defence.
The prime minister, who said the UK’s involvement in the recovery loan plan would also help create jobs at home, acknowledged that tensions were high between Donald Trump and Europe, particularly over military issues.
As the Nato military alliance comes under intense pressure from Trump’s threats amid a difference in stances on the war in Iran, Starmer said: “We cannot deny that some of the alliances that we have come to rely on are not in the place we would want them to be.”
He continued:
“There is more tension in the alliances than there should be and it’s very important that we therefore face up to this as a group of countries together.”
EU ‘prepared for every scenario’ after Trump’s car tariff threats
Meanwhile, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, responded to US president Donald Trump’s latest threats on car tariffs.
Blindsiding Brussels late on Friday, a public holiday in much of Europe, Trump announced that he would be increasing tariffs on cars and lorries imported into the US from the EU from 15% to 25% from next week.
Speaking from Yerevan, where the EU-Armenia summit is taking place, von der Leyen said:
“A deal is a deal, and we have a deal, and the essence of this deal is prosperity, common rules and reliability. Now we are both implementing this deal while respecting the different democratic procedures we have on both sides.
On the European Union side, we are now in the final stages of implementing the remaining tariff commitments. At the same time, the US has the commitment, for example, where alignment with the agreed ceiling is still outstanding.
So we want from this work mutual gain, cooperation and reliability, and we are prepared for every scenario.”
Morning opening: Zelenskyy condemns ‘utter cynicism’ of Russian attacks amid truce talks
Jakub Krupa
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised Russia’s “utter cynicism” of launching more attacks on Ukraine while also calling for a short ceasefire enabling it to stage its 9 May Victory Parade in Moscow.
In a post on X condemning the latest series of attacks, he said:
“It is utter cynicism to ask for a ceasefire in order to hold propaganda celebrations while carrying out such missile and drone strikes every single day leading up to it. Russia could cease fire at any moment, and this would stop the war and our responses. Peace is needed, and real steps are needed to achieve it. Ukraine will act in kind.”
The overnight attacks were primarily aimed at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, but killed four people and injured more, Zelenskyy said.
Earlier, Zelensky said that holding a ceasefire between 8 and 9 May so Moscow could hold the Victory Parade despite fears of a Ukrainian attack was “not serious”, and suggested an earlier truce starting already midnight (9pm GMT) on Tuesday.
“It is time for Russian leaders to take real steps to end their war, especially since Russia’s defence ministry believes it cannot hold a parade in Moscow without Ukraine’s goodwill.”
There is nothing to suggest that Russia will abide by the proposed ceasefire.
Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on the EU leaders’ meeting in Yerevan, Armenia after the latest round of Donald Trump’s threats against European partners, and on a vote of no confidence in Romania’s prime minister Ilie Bolojan, which could see his government collapse this afternoon.
It’s Tuesday, 5 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/may/05/zelenskyy-putin-ukraine-russia-trump-troops-merz-latest-news-updates
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