Pope Francis was known for his vision that the Catholic Church should be representative of and support the poor and the weak. He once denounced "a new colonialism" rooted in inequality and profit-chasing, calling the unfettered pursuit of money "the dung of the devil" that hurt the poor and harmed the environment. FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer takes a look back at the late pontiff's vision for a Church that represented, and worked for, the underprivileged. 

US Vice President JD Vance landed in New Delhi this Monday for a four-day cross-country visit, with talks on a bilateral US-India trade deal high on the agenda. Also in this edition: the IMF and World Bank kick off their spring meetings under the cloud of a global trade war, and luxury giant LVMH's Bernard Arnault urges Brussels to negotiate with the Trump administration on tariffs. 

US President Donald Trump has called for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to be fired, a day after the central bank chief delivered a stark warning about the effects of tariffs. Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping is ending his Asian tour with a visit to Cambodia, portraying China as a stable trading partner. Plus, the Hermès Birkin handbag is about to get a lot more expensive, at least in the US. 

Emboldened by the latest economic data that showed China's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter at 5.4 percent, Beijing continues to play hardball in its trade war with the United States. But it has also quietly appointed a new trade negotiator, who has experience at the WTO. Meanwhile, Trump said he'd take part in trade talks with Japan as its delegation headed for Washington. Plus, turmoil returned to Wall Street as the Federal Reserve chairman warned about the inflationary impacts of tariffs. 

After Vietnam, China's President Xi Jinping has arrived in Malaysia. Unlike Vietnam, which trades more with the United States than with China, Malaysia has kept China as its top trading partner for 16 years. During the visit, Xi is also expected to discuss a free trade agreement between China and ASEAN, as Malaysia is currently chair of the regional bloc. Meanwhile, as the trade war with the US escalates, Beijing has reportedly ordered its largest airlines to halt further deliveries of Boeing jets.

Meta's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took the stand on Monday as a historic antitrust trial against the social media giant began in Washington. Over the next few weeks, the District Court will hear arguments over whether Meta broke the law in its acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. Plus, amid an escalating tariff war with the US, China has been curbing its export of rare earth minerals, which are critical for the US defence and tech industries. 

China has restricted the export of rare earth minerals critical to the production of electric motors and high-tech components, a response to US President Donald Trump's 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods. Meanwhile, an exemption for consumer electronics from those tariffs appears short-lived. Also on the show: Meta faces a US antitrust lawsuit over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

US stocks fell on Thursday after a historic rally on Wednesday following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day pause on most tariffs. Bonds yields, meanwhile, cooled after the announcement. Wednesday's boost has left some Democrats asking who benefited from the market jump. They are calling for a probe into possible insider trading.

Stocks in Asia and Europe rebounded on Thursday, following in Wall Street's footsteps, after US President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on the reciprocal tariffs he'd slapped on countries around the world. China, however, is the one country that isn't getting a reprieve from Trump's protectionism. In this edition, FRANCE 24 correspondent Yena Lee looks at Beijing's response and business editor Charles Pellegrin explains how the country has sought to stimulate domestic consumption.

Less than 24 hours after his new, high tariffs on dozens of US trading partners took effect, Donald Trump has announced a 90-day pause for all of them except for China. After Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs of 84% on US goods, Washington has hiked its levy to 125%. Meanwhile, the 10% baseline global tariff that went into effect on Saturday will remain in place. Wall Street stocks skyrocketed on the announcement, with the Nasdaq posting its best day since 2001, up 12%.