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Daily Briefing

The US arrests a 21-year-old national guardsman over the leaks of classified documents, North Korea warns of 'extreme horror' after testing a new solid-fuel missile, and Ukraine reports unrelenting attacks in Bakhmut.

Plus, novice swimmers in their golden years splash their way to health in a South African pool.

By Kate Turton

Today's Top News

FBI agents arrest Jack Teixeira, outside a residence in this still image taken from video in, Massachusetts, US, April 13, 2023. WCVB-TV via ABC via REUTERS

The FBI arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the US Air National Guard, over the leaks online of classified documents that embarrassed Washington with allies around the world. The Reuters World News podcast discusses what could have motivated Teixeira.
Ukrainian troops have been forced to withdraw from some territory in the battlefield city of Bakhmut as Russia mounts a renewed assault there with intense artillery fire, Britain said in an intelligence update. Follow the latest news from the war, and see our top images of fighting in the trenches.
France's Constitutional Council will give its hotly-anticipated verdict on whether the government's plans to increase the retirement age, which have triggered massive protests, are in line with constitutional rules.
White House Republican hopefuls including Donald Trump will descend on Indianapolis for the annual NRA conference, highlighting the gun lobby's continued political potency even as the US reels from the latest spate of mass shootings.
The US Supreme Court refused to halt a legal settlement that would erase more than $6 billion in debt owed by former students of colleges - many of them for-profit institutions - who have said they were misled by schools about academics and job prospects.

North Korean missile launch

North Korea said it had tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, to "radically promote" its nuclear counterattack capability, state media said. Leader Kim Jong Un warned it would make enemies "experience a clearer security crisis, and constantly strike extreme uneasiness and horror into them".
Explainer: What is solid-fuel technology, and why is North Korea eager to develop it?

Business & Markets

Trucks are seen near a palm oil plantation at a village in Sepaku, East Kalimantan province, Indonesia, March 8 2023. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan

Across Indonesia and Malaysia, which produce 85% of the world's palm oil, growers are ramping up replanting after a decade of letting estates grow older, an ageing trend that threatens to tighten supply of the commodity that accounts for nearly 60% of global vegetable oil.
A Chinese company bought at least $7.4 million worth of copper alloy ingots from a plant in a Russian-annexed region of Ukraine that is subject to Western sanctions, according to Russian customs data reviewed by Reuters. China has not imposed any restrictions on trade with Russia, but the US has threatened to blacklist companies around the world for violating its sanctions.
Amazon's cloud computing division released a suite of technologies aimed at helping other companies develop their own chatbots and image-generation services backed by artificial intelligence. Microsoft and Alphabet are also eying selling the underlying technology to other companies via their cloud operations.
The ECB should speed up the reduction of its balance sheet and could stop reinvesting cash from debt maturing in its largest bond buying scheme to complement further interest rate hikes, Belgian policymaker Pierre Wunsch said. Fighting stubborn inflation, the ECB has raised rates at its fastest pace on record and has been shrinking its bloated balance sheet.
Representatives of over 3,000 brands including Burberry and Estee Lauder descended on China's tropical duty free paradise Hainan this week to show off their latest wares. They are hoping to cash in on a post-COVID consumer rebound that has kicked off on the island.

The Week Ahead

The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries will meet from April 16 in Japan, with the Middle East expected to feature on the agenda.
US earnings season is underway, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, and other big names reporting next week, including Johnson & Johnson and Netflix on April 18 and Tesla on April 19.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will head to Washington on April 18 as he nears a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
Reuters Editors Briefing: Banking Crisis. Join some of our top editors on Wednesday, April 19 at 3 pm BST (10:00am EDT) as they discuss the latest developments and debate what comes next.

Our top photos of the week

Shi'ite worshippers place copies of the Koran on their heads during the holy month of Ramadan, at Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, April 9. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

US President Joe Biden in Ireland, the frontline of Bakhmut in Ukraine, the Thai New Year in Bangkok, and more top photos of the week from around the world

And Finally...

Thandi Mnisi, a retired school teacher and one of 40 novice swimmers, arrives at a public pool for her lessons in Soweto, South Africa, February 7, 2023. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

At a public pool in South Africa's township of Soweto, novice swimmers in their golden years take deep breaths as they move forward, encouraging each other as they go.

More than 40 older women, who have never previously had a chance to learn how to swim, go to the pool every week during the summer to face their fear of drowning and improve their health.

Read more here: South African older women splash their way to health in Soweto pool

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