AnewZ Morning Brief - April 23rd, 2025

Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for April 23rd, covering the latest developments you need to know.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held expanded meeting with President of China Xi Jinping

On April 23, Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, held an expanded meeting with Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, in Beijing.

Attack on tourists in India's Kashmir kills 26, injures 17, police say

Suspected militants gunned down tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, on Tuesday, leaving 26 dead—including a Nepali national—and 17 injured, police said. A group calling itself “Kashmir Resistance” claimed responsibility, citing anger over the settlement of some 85,000 “outsiders” since India revoked the region’s special status in 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cut short a visit to Saudi Arabia to return to New Delhi, while Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman halted overseas travel “to stand with the nation.” Local organisations called for a shutdown, schools closed, and airlines added flights as tourists fled Srinagar.

The gun attack is India’s worst on civilians since the 2008 Mumbai siege and a rare strike on holiday-makers in Kashmir, where violence had ebbed in recent years.

Russian drone attack on Ukraine's Marhanets kills 7 people, governor says

A Russian drone strike on Marhanets in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region has left seven dead and six wounded, the regional governor announced Wednesday on social media.

Brazil urging tougher emissions goals ahead of climate summit, sources say

Brazil, host of November’s COP30 summit in Belém, is pushing Europe, China and other major economies to tighten their climate pledges so global warming stays “well below” 2 °C, sources told Reuters.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres will hold a closed virtual meeting on Wednesday with leaders of the 35 largest economies to press for stronger Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Andre Correa do Lago, Brazil’s ambassador and COP30 president, discussed the issue in Beijing last week, urging Chinese officials—and all nations—to align their targets with the Paris Agreement. “We’re not where Paris recommended,” he said. “We hope the numbers come closer.”
Current pledges put the planet on course for roughly 2.6 °C of warming—far above the Paris ceiling and a level scientists warn could trigger irreversible ecological damage. Brazilian diplomats, working with the UN, want revised NDCs filed by September so that COP30 can be recorded as the summit that finally brought commitments under 2 °C, and ideally toward 1.5 °C.

Securing deeper cuts will be challenging: the United States withdrew from the Paris Accord under President Donald Trump, and China—the world’s top emitter—has shown no sign it will raise its own target amid economic strains and ongoing trade tensions with Washington. Lula plans at least two meetings with President Xi Jinping before September, including the June BRICS summit in Brazil, to press the case.

Musk, facing criticism and falling Tesla sales, to cut back DOGE work

Musk told analysts he has “done the heavy lifting” at DOGE and will now devote more time to his companies, though about 40 % of his schedule will still go to the federal initiative.

Tesla shares rose 5.5 % after-hours on the news; they remain roughly 50 % below December highs.

Quarterly results beat profit forecasts and confirmed plans for a cheaper EV, but Tesla may trim its growth outlook next quarter amid trade and political uncertainty.

Tariff cross-fire with China has led Tesla to halt some Chinese parts imports and suspend new Model S/X orders there.Musk warned that economic jitters are delaying big-ticket purchases: “Tesla isn’t immune to macro demand swings.”

Pope Francis’ funeral to be held on April 26, many world leaders expected

The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis’ funeral will take place on the morning of April 26 in St Peter’s Square, drawing global leaders and faithful for what is expected to be a solemn and historic farewell.

Pope Francis, aged 88, passed away unexpectedly on April 21 following a stroke and cardiac arrest, according to the Vatican. His death marks the end of a papacy defined by both reform and resistance, as he often challenged Church traditionalists while advocating for the poor and marginalized.

The pontiff’s death certificate cited a stroke leading to a coma and irreversible heart failure. On April 23, his body will be brought to St Peter’s Basilica in a procession led by cardinals, where mourners will have the opportunity to pay their final respects to the first pope from Latin America.
The funeral will begin at 10 a.m. on April 26 in St Peter’s Square, in front of the basilica he helped shape during his time as spiritual leader.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who had notable disagreements with Pope Francis on issues such as immigration, confirmed that he and his wife would attend the funeral in Rome.

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