Globe Trot: Is South Sudan rebel leader arming for another fight?

SOUTH SUDAN: One week ago, rebel leader Riek Machar was expected in Juba, the South Sudan capital, in a final step toward the end of fighting and a government of national unity. But the longtime warlord never showed, amid reports he tried to bring an arsenal of weapons with him, threatening a peace deal crafted in part by the United States.

Emma’s War includes the story of the elusive Machar, who at one point married a British aid worker.

ECUADOR: Samaritan’s Purse this morning shipped a 42-bed field hospital to the quake zone, where four area hospitals were either damaged or destroyed. Faith-based aid groups are ramping up work in the disaster zone, where the death toll has topped 500 and is expected to climb as rescuers make their way to remote areas.

AFGHANISTAN: Launching its spring offensive, the Taliban claimed responsibility for yesterday’s bomb attack that killed about 64 and wounded hundreds.

GREECE: The headlines on the shipwreck that may have killed more than 500 migrants raise more questions than answers. Why in a sea filled with coast guard ships are we learning of the accident days after it happened, after survivors were brought ashore, questioned apparently only by UNHCR aid workers, and with no apparent rescue effort undertaken?

PHILIPPINES: Presidential contender Rodrigo Duterte “makes Donald Trump look like Mr. Rogers.” Of kidnapped Australian missionary Jacqueline Hamill, held hostage and killed while he was mayor of Manila, he said: “I was angry because she was raped, that’s one thing. But she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste.” Elections are scheduled for May 9.

PAKISTAN: A court has granted bail to the lead suspect in the brutal 2014 killing of a Christian couple thrown into a brick kiln.

SWEDEN: The Eurasian beaver is back, with about 10 lodges in evidence around Stockholm.