SRI LANKA: Suicide bombers struck an evangelical church and two Catholic churches, three hotels, and other sites on Easter Sunday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack that has left an estimated 290 dead and wounded more than 500 others. St. Sebastian Church posted on Facebook photos of the aftermath in its building, where perhaps 100 worshippers were killed.

FRANCE: The country paid tribute Thursday to the 600 firefighters who helped save Notre Dame from collapse. Firefighters and experts on the scene made a decision that likely saved the structure: As fire spread on the roof, they gave up fighting it there to focus on saving the cathedral’s two iconic bell towers.

The pundits billed the televised speech French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to give at 8 p.m. on April 15 as the most important of his political career. After months of civil unrest and record protests, Macron had called for a “great national debate,” and in the Monday night address voters expected him to announce the way forward, and in so doing either unite or further divide a fractured country.

FRANCE: The debate over ways to dismantle the religious character of Notre Dame Cathedral is well underway.

Nowhere do I hear more confusion—amid what David Brooks calls “a rapid, dirty river of information coursing through us all day”—than when Christians have conversations about immigration, perhaps the central issue of the Trump presidency. 

Is there a crisis at the border? Do we need the military to settle it? How many minors have been separated from parents? Are they part of “a big fat con job,” as President Donald Trump says? 

IRAN: Lawmakers dressed in paramilitary uniforms chanted “Death to America” as they convened Tuesday following the U.S. announcement Monday it will designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization—the first time an official armed forces has been so named.

UNITED STATES: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned during a meeting with President Donald Trump Sunday—leaving top Cabinet positions covering national security vacant. Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned in December and the post remains unfilled, while the Department of Interior also is without a secretary.