Plus, India and Pakistan hostilities rise.

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Daily Briefing

Daily Briefing

By Kate Turton

Hello. In today's news, India and Pakistan accuse each other of launching new military attacks, the new Pope vows to bring light to the world's "dark nights", and we look inside China's decision to come to the table on Trump tariffs.

Plus, amid Trump's muddled trade agenda, one thing is clear: tariffs will be higher.

 

Today's Top News

 

A residential house damaged by cross-border shelling in Gingal village in Indian Kashmir's Baramulla district, May 9, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

  • India and Pakistan accused each other of launching new military attacks, using drones and artillery for the third day in the worst fighting between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours in nearly three decades. Read how global militaries will study the India-Pakistan fighter jet battle.
  • From his first moments on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Leo XIV gave three important clues about what kind of leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church he will be. Celebrating his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel he prayed that his historic papacy can help the Catholic Church be a beacon illuminating "the dark nights of this world".
  • Russia marked the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two with a major military parade that went off without any reports of Ukrainian attacks despite three years of devastating war.
  • US President Donald Trump appointed Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to serve as Washington, D.C.'s interim US attorney, after Ed Martin, Trump's first pick to hold the job on a permanent basis, failed to garner enough support to advance in the US Senate.
  • The US State Department said a solution to be able to deliver food aid to Gaza was "steps away" and an announcement was coming shortly, as the aid community expressed skepticism that the plan would bring relief to the enclave's conflict-ravaged population.
  • Fighting along the Nile River in South Sudan has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching more than 60,000 malnourished children in the northeast of the country for almost a month, two United Nations agencies said.
  • Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte spends his days in a small, spartan room in detention at the Hague, awaiting trial for a bloody war on drugs that killed thousands during his time in office. But halfway around the world, in his hometown of Davao City, Duterte is on the ticket for mayor in midterm elections that he is widely expected to win.
  • Bill Gates is planning to give away $200 billion to offset US cuts to international aid. Global Health Editor Michele Gershberg explains why he plans to accelerate his charitable spending on this episode of the Reuters World News podcast.  
 

Business & Markets

 
  • To hear Donald Trump and some of his advisers tell it, trade tariffs will accomplish many things: stimulate the US economy, bring home manufacturing jobs, raise tax revenues and provide America leverage to renegotiate security deals with its allies. Many economists believe those aims are too sweeping, or downright contradictory.
  • India has offered to slash its tariff gap with the US to less than 4% from nearly 13% now, in exchange for an exemption from Trump's "current and potential" tariff hikes, two sources said, as both nations move fast to clinch a deal.
  • Investors are betting on long-depressed UK markets as a US trade deal, rate cuts and hopes for renewed links with Europe spur optimism for a revival as they search for alternatives to a volatile Wall Street and flailing dollar. For more on the markets, watch our daily rundown here.
  • Nvidia plans to release a downgraded version of its H20 artificial intelligence chip for China in the next two months, following US export restrictions on the original model, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
  • Citigroup must face a revived lawsuit claiming it caused more than $1 billion of losses by orchestrating and concealing a vast fraud at the now-bankrupt Mexican oil and gas services company Oceanografia, a US appeals court ruled.
  • Trump plans to hit India, the world's sixth largest textile and apparel exporter, with a 26% tariff from July, below the 37% imposed on Bangladesh, 46% on Vietnam and 145% on China - all of which are bigger American suppliers. Those tariffs will make apparel from India much more competitive with both Bangladesh and China.
 

The Week Ahead

  • On Monday, millions of Filipinos troop to polling precincts to cast votes for senators, congressmen and local officials in the Philippines' midterm elections.
  • Trump's first major diplomatic trip kicks off next week with a three-country Middle East tour starting in Saudi Arabia.
  • Tuesday's April consumer price index will give a fresh read on inflation trends, while April retail sales numbers on Thursday offer the latest view on consumer spending. 
  • On Thursday, the next UK GDP numbers are scheduled to be released.
  • Here's your heads-up on the week ahead in financial markets.
 

Inside China's decision to come to the table on Trump tariffs

 

Chinese and US flags flutter outside the building of an American company in Beijing, China April 8, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

Since Trump imposed steep tariffs on China last month, Beijing has responded in kind. On state and social media, it posted images of Mao Zedong, lambasted "imperialists," and sent a message: capitulation to bullies is dangerous, and it wouldn't back down.

But behind closed doors, Chinese officials have grown increasingly alarmed about tariffs' impact on the economy and the risk of isolation as China's trading partners have started negotiating deals with Washington, according to three officials familiar with Beijing's thinking.

Read more
 

Pictures of the Week

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV appears on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, May 8. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

A selection of our top photography from around the world this week.