Lawyers for President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service told a federal court in mid-April they are engaged in talks to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit the president, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization filed against the IRS and the Treasury Department over the unauthorized disclosure of Trump’s tax records in 2019–2020. In a filing in Miami federal court the parties asked a judge to pause proceedings for 90 days while they “engage in discussions designed to resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation.” The suit stems from a breach by a former IRS contractor who later pleaded guilty and was sentenced for stealing and leaking tax files to news outlets. Plaintiffs seek damages for alleged reputational and financial harm. Ethics watchdogs and Democratic lawmakers have raised alarms about the conflict of interest posed by a sitting president negotiating a settlement with agencies he oversees and have proposed legislation to bar presidents and their families receiving such federal settlement payments. Trump has said any proceeds would go to charity; any payout would likely be taxpayer-funded and require court approval.

Pope Leo XIV, on an 11-day tour of Africa, sought to de-escalate a week-long public spat with U.S. President Donald Trump while reiterating calls for peace. Speaking aboard the papal plane en route from Cameroon to Angola on April 18, the American-born pontiff said reporting of his Africa remarks had been misread and that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate the president. In Bamenda, Cameroon, on April 16 he had denounced leaders who spend billions on war and said the world was being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants”; the speech was later described by Leo as prepared weeks earlier. Trump attacked the pope on Truth Social, calling him “WEAK on Crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy” and briefly posting an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure. Leo has been an outspoken critic of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and used his Africa tour to press for reconciliation, condemn exploitation of natural resources and urge an end to violence in places such as Cameroon.

On April 18, 2026 President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to fast-track research, review and potential access to certain psychedelic drugs, spotlighting ibogaine as a priority. The order instructs the Food and Drug Administration to expedite reviews and issue national priority review vouchers for three psychedelics, opens a pathway under the Right to Try law for desperate patients, and directs coordination among HHS, the FDA and the Department of Veterans Affairs to boost clinical trials and data sharing. The administration said it will allocate $50 million for federal support of ibogaine research, matching prior state-level commitments such as Texas’s $50 million. Trump signed the order in the Oval Office flanked by veterans, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and podcaster Joe Rogan. Advocates hailed the move as a breakthrough for treating PTSD, traumatic brain injury and addiction, while scientists and public-health officials warned that most psychedelics remain Schedule I substances and that ibogaine carries documented cardiac risks and limited large-scale trial evidence. Officials said regulatory decisions could come rapidly, potentially as soon as this summer.

British counter-terror officers are investigating an attempted arson on a business in Hendon, north-west London, on the night of April 17-18, 2026. Police say a man was seen placing a plastic bag containing three bottles of fluid outside a row of shops and lighting them; the bottles failed to fully ignite, causing only minor damage and no injuries. Counter Terrorism Policing London is leading the probe with support from the Met’s north-west command area, although authorities say the incident is not currently being treated as a terrorist offence. Investigators are examining whether the attack is linked to a recent string of similar incidents in north London, including a synagogue arson in Finchley (in which two people were arrested), four Jewish community ambulances torched in Golders Green in late March, and an attempted arson at a Persian-language media outlet. A small Islamist group has claimed responsibility on social media for some of the incidents, but police have not verified those claims. Officers have increased patrols in the area, including armed units and Project Servator deployments, and have urged the public to share any footage or information.

A man opened fire in Kyiv's southern Holosiivskyi district on April 18, killing at least five people and wounding multiple others before being shot dead by police, Ukrainian officials said. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said special police units stormed a supermarket where the attacker had barricaded himself after opening fire in the street and taking hostages. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko and the prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko, said four people were killed in the street and one inside the store; 10 people were reported hospitalised and other sources put the injured higher. Four hostages were freed. Authorities identified the suspect as a 58-year-old man from Moscow, saying he used an automatic weapon and that a fire had broken out in the apartment where he was registered; reports of an explosive device remain unconfirmed. Officials said negotiators tried to contact the gunman for about 40 minutes before the assault. Investigations into motive, how the firearm was obtained and the circumstances of the apartment fire are underway.

A French soldier serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was killed and three other peacekeepers wounded on 18 April 2026 after their patrol came under small-arms fire while clearing explosive ordnance on a road near the southern village of Ghandouriyeh. France identified the dead service member as Staff Sergeant Florian Montorio of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment and said two of the wounded were seriously injured. French President Emmanuel Macron blamed Lebanon’s Hezbollah for the ambush and demanded that Lebanese authorities arrest those responsible; Hezbollah denied involvement. UNIFIL described the incident as a deliberate attack by non-state actors and said it was investigating. Lebanon’s president and prime minister condemned the shooting and ordered inquiries; the Lebanese army said it exchanged fire with armed individuals. The shooting occurred two days into a U.S.-brokered 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and follows recent deaths of other UN peacekeepers in the area. UNIFIL warned attacks on its personnel are grave violations of international humanitarian law.