Tankers defy US blockade on day one

Plus, Trump's voting restrictions bill may fail, but parts live on.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. The US and Iran may resume war talks despite port blockade, Trump's voting restrictions bill may fail but parts live on, and China's export engine stutters as Iran war chills global demand.  Plus, in India, $1 housekeepers spark a frenzy. Today's Top News   Fishermen sail their boat as smoke from an Israeli airstrike rises in Abbassiye area in Tyre, Lebanon, April 14, 2026. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki War in the Middle East The US military began a blockade of Iran's ports, angering Tehran and adding uncertainty around the crucial waterway, although hopes for dialogue to end the war provided some relief to oil markets where benchmark prices fell below $100. A third Iran-linked tanker was entering the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz on the first full day of ‌the US blockade on vessels calling at Iranian ports, shipping data showed. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was deeply concerned by attacks on medical workers in Lebanon after a deadly strike on a Red Cross center in the country and the death of a volunteer a day ‌earlier. In other news Listen to the Reuters World News podcast as Joseph Ax explains why US President Donald Trump’s latest move - sharing an AI-generated image of himself as a Jesus-like figure - has led some of his most loyal supporters to say he's crossed a line. The SAVE America Act looks set to die in Congress, but 23 mostly Republican-led US states have recently changed their voting procedures to mirror key aspects of Trump’s sweeping package of voting restrictions in time for November’s midterm elections, a Reuters analysis shows. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney secured a parliamentary majority for his Liberal government, a win that he has said will help him deal more effectively with the trade war started ‌by Trump. A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona begins, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in ‌a mistrial. Business & Markets   China's export engine slowed sharply in March as war in the Middle East triggered shocks to energy and transportation costs, hurting global demand and exposing the risks in Beijing's strategy of leaning on manufacturing to sustain growth. The International Energy Agency sharply cut its forecasts for global ‌oil supply and demand growth, saying both are now expected to fall from 2025 levels as war in the Middle East disrupts oil flows and weighs on the global economy. The more than 3 million US truckers who move goods for everything from grocery stores to factories to construction sites are grappling with the highest diesel prices in years, compounding pressure on the industry as Iran war-related oil price spikes also threaten to weaken freight demand. Brazil's secretary of labor inspection was fired for adding Chinese automaker BYD to a registry ‌of employers accused of subjecting workers to conditions described by the government as similar to slavery, two people close to the matter told Reuters. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby pitched the potential for merging with American Airlines in a meeting with Trump in late February, two sources said, raising the prospect of an industry-reshaping deal likely to ‌face significant regulatory hurdles. By strangling the Strait of Hormuz, Iran retaliated against the US and eased some financial sanctions. In this episode of The Big View podcast Edward Fishman, senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, tells Peter Thal Larsen how American economic weapons have been turned against it. Under pressure: Tracking the pain in G7 government debt   The world's major economies have seen their debt levels surge in recent years, while ever-increasing spending demands - from ageing populations to climate change and defense - are adding to the pressure. Enter the Iran war, which has rekindled inflation risks that will strain governments hit by a multitude of shocks this decade alone. This live dashboard tracks key measures of government debt in the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies. Read our interactive data story In Pictures Karol G performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California, April 12, 2026. REUTERS/Daniel Cole Scroll through our highlights from the Coachella Music Festival in the California desert. View gallery   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036

US to blockade Iranian ports

Plus, Hungary's Orban ousted after 16 years.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Claire Beers Hello. The US military says it will begin a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports, Hungary's conservative icon Viktor Orbán is defeated by the center-right opposition, and oil jumps 7% to above $100. Plus, Rory McIlroy defends his Masters title, adding to his growing legacy.  Today's Top News   A vessel at the Strait of Hormuz, off the coast of Oman’s Musandam province, April 12, 2026. REUTERS War in the Middle East President Donald Trump said the US Navy would start blockading the Strait of Hormuz, raising the stakes after marathon talks with Iran failed to reach a deal to end the war, jeopardizing a fragile two-week ceasefire. Follow live. National security reporter Phil Stewart tells the Reuters World News podcast that this is fraught with challenges. Listen now.  Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that ‌any military vessels attempting to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered a ⁠violation of the two-week US ceasefire and be dealt with harshly and decisively. Israel escalated its air and ground campaign ‌in Lebanon, where its operations have killed more than 2,000 people, including an infant girl during her father's funeral. In other news Pope Leo told Reuters that he plans to continue speaking out against war after Trump's direct ‌attack on the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church. Prime Minister Viktor Orban lost power after 16 years as Hungarians voted in record numbers for a pro-EU course spearheaded by center-right rival Peter Magyar. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of breaching the 32-hour ceasefire in their four-year war, reporting ‌more than a thousand drone and shelling attacks just hours after the truce began to mark Orthodox Easter. Polling station delays and early uncertainty over the runoff contenders marked Peru’s general election on Sunday, as voters chose a new president and Congress ‌from a fragmented field of more than 30 candidates. Business & Markets   A view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk Oil prices jumped above $100 a barrel as the US Navy prepared a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that could ‌restrict Iranian oil shipments. Trump said that the price of oil and gasoline may remain high through November's midterm elections, a rare acknowledgement of the potential political fallout from his decision to attack Iran. Sales at Europe's biggest luxury brands have shrunk in Dubai and Abu Dhabi as the Iran conflict hit the sector's fastest-growing market in the latest setback for the $400 billion industry whose value has contracted over the last three years. BP agreed to buy an operating interest in three ‌offshore exploration blocks in Namibia from Canada-based Eco Atlantic Oil & Gas as it ramps up its upstream portfolio. Confidence across Britain's biggest companies has slumped to its lowest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as the Iran war spurred worries over surging energy prices and higher interest rates. Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana ‌named former Gucci CEO Stefano Cantino as its Co-CEO, working alongside Chair and Chief Executive Officer Alfonso Dolce. For aging US Supreme Court justices, the politics of retirement looms large   US Supreme Court justices pose for their group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, US. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein When Donald Trump was asked about the prospect of conservative Justices Samuel Alito or Clarence Thomas retiring, the Republican president voiced his support for the US Supreme Court's two oldest members to remain on the bench. Alito, 76, and Thomas, 77, have given no public indication that they are planning to leave their lifetime posts on the top US judicial body.  But discussion among experts about a possible vacancy has increased as the two men draw closer to the average ‌age of retirement for Supreme Court justices since 2000, about 80 years old, and with the November US congressional elections looming. Any vacancy would allow Trump to make a fourth appointment to the court. Trump made three appointments during his first term in office, giving the court a 6-3 conservative majority that has moved American law dramatically rightward since 2020. Read more And Finally... Rory McIlroy shakes hands with Cameron Young on the 18th hole. REUTERS/Mike Blake Defending champion Rory McIlroy won the Masters by one ‌shot over Scottie Scheffler to collect his sixth major and become the fourth repeat winner at Augusta National and first since Tiger Woods in ⁠2002. Read more   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions   © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036