Inside Trump’s nuclear gamble with Iran

Plus, some retailers give up on the US as tariff exemption ends.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. In US news, we are covering the Mike Waltz ousting, and we have a special report on the intimidation campaign directed at federal judges who stand in Trump's way. Elsewhere, an activist aid ship is hit by drones on its way to Gaza, a look at Trump's high stakes nuclear gamble with Iran, and Germany's spy agency classifies the far-right Alternative for Germany as an extremist entity. Reuters would like to understand how our listeners listen to the Reuters World News podcast. Please take our five-minute survey to help us ensure that we provide our listeners with the best experience.    Today's Top News   Mike Waltz checks his mobile phone while attending a cabinet meeting at the White House, April 30, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo United States In the first major shakeup in Trump's inner circle, Mike Waltz is out and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been named the interim national security adviser. Steve Holland shares what's next for Waltz, on today's Reuters World News podcast.  Lawyers, teachers and politicians marched among thousands of demonstrators to join May Day protests of Trump's policies on immigration, the targeting of lawyers and judges, and the power of wealthy decision-makers. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reprised various misleading claims about vaccines this week, including that the measles vaccine contains cells from aborted fetuses and the mumps vaccination does not work. Europe Germany's domestic intelligence agency classified the far-right Alternative for Germany as an extremist entity that threatens democracy, a move enabling it to better monitor the party that came second in February's federal election. Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK won a fifth parliamentary seat, its first post as mayor and many positions on local councils in early election results which underscored the threat it poses to Britain's main two political parties. In other news Trump blindsided Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his decision to immediately open negotiations with Iran last month. Now, the talks hinge on winning key concessions that would prevent the Islamic Republic ever developing a nuclear bomb, eight sources said. A ship carrying humanitarian aid and activists for Gaza was bombed by drones in international waters off Malta, its organisers said, alleging that Israel was to blame. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese campaigned in his conservative opponent Peter Dutton's constituency on the final day before Saturday's election, with polls favouring the incumbent in a campaign overshadowed by Donald Trump's volatile diplomacy. Business & Markets   As the US ends a tariff exemption for small parcels, some retailers have stopped selling to US customers while others are seeking temporary workarounds in the hope the tariff rate may be reduced. What is De Minimis and why did Trump end it as part of China tariffs? TikTok was fined $600 million by its lead EU privacy regulator over concerns on how it protects user information and was ordered to suspend data transfers to China if its processing is not brought into compliance within six months. A Reuters review of almost 100 Chinese and Hong Kong companies added to the US entity list in 2023 and 2024 found more than a quarter, or 26 entries, contained erroneous details. The entity list is a trade blacklist that bars specific companies and addresses from receiving restricted US goods. London department store Harrods said hackers had attempted to break into its systems, the third high-profile cyber attack on a UK retailer in two weeks, following incidents at Marks & Spencer and the Co-op Group. Kohl's said it had fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after an investigation found he had pushed for deals with a vendor with whom he had a personal relationship, after little more than 100 days in the CEO job. The Week Ahead Voters in Australia, Romania and Singapore head to the polls. The conclave that will elect a successor to Pope Francis begins on May 7. The Federal Reserve will lead a pack of central banks meeting to set interest rates after weak US GDP data and President Donald Trump's outspoken criticism of Fed leadership rattled markets. China trade data and Asian inflation numbers are expected to show the first evidence of the impact of Trump-led tariffs.  Here's a look at next week in the markets. These judges ruled against Trump. Then their families came under attack   Readers of Gateway Pundit, a far-right news site, have posted threatening and harassing comments about the relatives of federal judges. Federal judges who have stood in the way of Trump's moves to dramatically expand presidential authority and slash the federal bureaucracy are facing an intimidation campaign. As Trump and his allies call for judges to be impeached or attack them as "radical left" political foes, the families of judges are being singled out for harassment. Read our special report And Finally... Amateur sumo wrestlers hold babies during 'Nakizumo' or a baby-crying sumo contes, Senso-ji temple in Tokyo, Japan, April 26, 2025. REUTERS/Manami Yamada Odd and unusual images from around the world this week. 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 © 2025 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036

Ukraine and US sign minerals deal

Plus, secret papers show why Iran's imperial plans in Syria failed.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. Ukraine and the US sign a minerals deal, Trump struggles to explain weak economic data, and our special report on Iran's thwarted plan for Syria. Plus, our top photography from around the world in April 2025. Today's Top News   Scott Bessent and Yulia Svyrydenko, Washington, April 30, 2025, in this picture obtained from social media. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY/via REUTERS Ukraine and the US signed a deal heavily promoted by President Donald Trump that will give the United States preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction. Here's everything you need to know about the critical minerals the deal. Trump counseled patience, cast blame and claimed victory in the face of a first-quarter US economic contraction and tariffs that have taken a bite out of his popularity, saying a resurgence was around the corner. Kamala Harris called for Americans to stand up together against Trump and what she called "the greatest man-made economic crisis in modern presidential history". Republicans in the US Congress are weighing steep cuts to the Medicaid health program as part of a wide-ranging budget package that also would cut taxes and raise spending on defense and border security. Nigel Farage's populist Reform party looks to make big gains and top the polls in UK local elections. Listen to Andrew MacAskill on today's Reuters World News podcast as he digs into this potentially massive shock on the British political landscape.  India's foreign minister said he has told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that perpetrators of the deadly attack in Kashmir last week should be brought to justice, as the US sought to calm tensions between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. Australia's richest person, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, is calling for Australia to follow the US lead by embarking on Donald Trump-style leadership to cut government largesse while boosting defence spending and energy security, as the country heads to the polls this weekend. Schools were closed and flights cancelled as New Zealand's capital Wellington was hit by its strongest winds in over a decade while a state of emergency was declared in parts of the South Island after 24 hours of heavy rain. Business & Markets   The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady and sharply cut its growth forecasts, suggesting uncertainty surrounding US tariffs and the hit to exports could keep policy in a holding pattern for some time. The fortunes of Big Tech are diverging in a rapidly changing business landscape, as demand for artificial intelligence fuels growth in cloud and digital ads while consumer electronics take a battering from Trump's global trade war. Watch our daily rundown for more on markets. A much-delayed nuclear fusion project involving more than 30 countries is ready to assemble the world's most powerful magnet - a key part of efforts to generate clean energy by smashing atoms together at super-high temperatures. A senior US lawmaker has warned Ryanair against purchasing Chinese-made aircraft due to security concerns, following comments by the CEO of the low-cost Irish airline that he would consider buying Chinese jets at the right price, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Most Rio Tinto shareholders have voted against an activist fund proposal that the mining company review its dual listing in Sydney and London, agreeing with its board. Microsoft forecast stronger-than-expected quarterly growth for its cloud-computing business Azure after blowout results in the latest quarter, calming investor worries in an uncertain economy and lifting its shares 7% after hours. CK Hutchison is facing political hurdles as it tries to offload its docks business to BlackRock for $23 billion. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain why China objects, and why it might create bigger problems for inward investment. Iran had imperial ambitions in Syria. Secret embassy papers show why it failed   A torn poster of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen in Syria's Sayyida Zaynab district. REUTERS/Amr Alfiky Iran dreamed up a US-style Marshall Plan to rebuild Syria after the civil war. It invested billions to build influence there. Documents from its looted embassy in Damascus reviewed by Reuters show how that plan went spectacularly wrong with the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. Read our special report And Finally... A guard takes a nap in front of Arabic writing that translates to, 'This is from the grace of my Lord', Karachi, Pakistan April 22. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro From the Pope's funeral to explosions in the Gaza strip, Reuters photographers captured some striking images in April. Scroll through a selection of our best photos from around the world last month.  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 © 2025 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036