The unraveling of US diplomacy

Plus, Iran is consolidating control of Hormuz.

Go beyond the headlines with Reuters on the stories shaping the day. Subscribe for $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. Iran is consolidating control of Hormuz, January 6 rioters and Trump allies eye the $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund, and Russia flexes its nuclear muscles as tensions rise with NATO. Plus, read our investigation on the unraveling of US diplomacy under Trump. Today's Top News   REUTERS/Illustration/John Emerson. Photos by Francois Lenoir and Yves Herman Diplomacy US President Donald Trump’s threats, personal envoys and hollowed‑out US embassies are reshaping Washington’s presence in the world. Our special report goes inside the unraveling of US diplomacy. Upon learning through the US embassy that Trump was looking for African nations to take in deported third-country migrants, Eswatini was one of the first to volunteer despite questions over the legality of the program. Pakistan stepped up diplomatic efforts to hasten US and Iran peace talks, as Tehran said it was reviewing Washington's latest responses and Trump suggested he could wait a few days for "the right answers" from Tehran but was also willing to resume attacks on the country. In other news The US announced murder charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro, a major escalation in Washington's pressure campaign against the island's communist government. Jack Queen tells the Reuters World News podcast it echoes the Trump administration's Venezuela playbook. Confronted with threats to gender-affirming care for young transgender people, American families are weighing moves out of their states to gain access to needed healthcare, according to doctors, patients, policy experts and advocacy groups. Israeli police forced activists who were aboard a Gaza-bound aid flotilla to kneel on the ground in rows with their hands tied behind their backs while a minister looked on, drawing criticism from foreign leaders and even from inside Israel's ‌own government. Russia delivered nuclear munitions to field facilities in Belarus and showcased elements of its strategic nuclear ‌forces, as tensions with European NATO members rose over the Ukraine war and drone activity in the Baltic. A record number of 274 climbers scaled Mount Everest, a hiking official ‌said, the highest number ever to reach the world's tallest peak on the same day from the Nepali side. Business & Markets   SpaceX took the wraps off its IPO filing, laying bare for investors just how much Elon Musk is losing on artificial intelligence while betting the company's future on transforming the rocket maker into an AI powerhouse. xAI’s Grok chatbot has been a flop with one of the world’s largest customers – the US government, according to seven federal employees, three contracting experts and a Reuters review of government AI inventory documents. Lower prices for weight-loss pills from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are prompting patients to switch from compounded medications to branded Wegovy and Foundayo, according to Reuters interviews with nine US doctors. After a year of smaller bars, extra wafers and chocolate alternatives, at least one major chocolate maker is putting the cocoa back in — and others may follow suit — as a slump in bean prices since 2024 makes the traditional treat more profitable. Bumper returns promised by the $3.5 trillion non-bank lending industry are giving way to rising defaults and falling income. On this week's Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how old-guard financiers juiced the trade with extra leverage. Iran is consolidating control of Hormuz   The Agios Fanourios I crossed the Strait of Hormuz on May 10 under a deal with Iran. REUTERS/Mohammed Aty Iran is enforcing a multi-tiered system for clearing vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as nations try to replenish dwindling energy supplies throttled by the war. The US has warned against complying with Iran’s controls. Some shippers and governments are taking the risk. To reveal how Iran has been consolidating control over this strategic chokepoint in recent weeks, Reuters interviewed 20 people with knowledge of the evolving mechanism, including Asian and European shipping sources and Iranian and Iraqi officials, reviewed Iranian documents related to the vetting process, and analyzed movements of ships. Taken together, they offer rare insight into how the Iranian scheme functions, with the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps playing a central role. Read our special report And Finally... Every FIFA World Cup tournament has been represented by an official poster From the first tournament in 1930 to the latest, we take a look at every FIFA World Cup poster design ever made. View pictures   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

Russia and China warn of 'law of the jungle'

Plus, a Reuters documentary on Sudanese paramilitary forces killing civilians.

Go beyond the headlines with Reuters on the stories shaping the day. Subscribe for $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. Iran threatens war 'beyond the region' if the US attacks, Russia and China warn of the 'law of the jungle' in world affairs, and young people are booing AI bots. Plus, Sudanese paramilitary forces recorded themselves killing civilians while conquering the city of al-Fashir. A Reuters documentary reconstructs the violence.* *Warning: graphic content. Today's Top News   Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, April 29, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer Iran threatened to spread war beyond the Middle East if the United States attacks again, after President Donald Trump said he had come within an hour of restarting the military campaign. Meanwhile, tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz with 6 million barrels of crude oil. China and Russia's leaders lauded progress in their strategic ties at a summit in Beijing, but despite the warm exchanges the talks did not appear to signal a breakthrough in a gas deal that ‌has been under negotiation for more than a decade. Follow our live updates. The US is planning to tell NATO allies this week that it will shrink the pool of military capabilities that the US would have available ‌to assist the alliance's European nations in a major crisis, three sources familiar with the matter said. Cracks are forming in US President Donald Trump's base. The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Republican support softening - particularly on the cost of living. Jason Lange breaks it down on this episode of the Reuters World News podcast.  Trump scored another victory in his campaign to punish disloyal Republicans as Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky lost his primary race, underscoring the risks for lawmakers who defy Trump. The US Justice Department has "forever barred" the Internal Revenue Service ⁠from pursuing any audits into past tax claims for Trump, his relatives and his companies, according to a one-page document. A rare strain of Ebola has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a public health emergency of international concern. Our graphics team takes a closer look. Business & Markets   The AI revolution is here, and the boos are getting louder. As artificial intelligence reshapes industries and markets around the world, a sense of dread is deepening among young "digital natives" now entering the workforce. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said that his ‌government will centralize exports of key commodities as part of efforts to boost state revenues and tighten the country's grip over its abundant natural resources. Soaring costs of fuel and commercial fertilizer in ‌the wake of the Iran war are making hard times worse for farmers across the US Plains states of Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Nebraska. Some 48,000 Samsung Electronics workers are set to walk off the job after talks on bonus payments broke off without a deal - a strike which threatens the health of South Korea's economy and could hit global chip supply. The depth of the differences among Federal Reserve policymakers' views on the direction of interest rates and severity of inflation will be on view with the release of a readout of the most divided meeting in a generation, one that also marked the end of Chair Jerome Powell's leadership tenure. Two children's advocacy groups asked the US Federal Trade Commission to investigate gaming platform Roblox, according to a letter shared with Reuters, saying its design features and marketing techniques are "unfair and deceptive." Death in Darfur: 3 days of horror caught on camera   Sudanese paramilitary forces recorded themselves killing civilians while conquering the city of al-Fashir – as their commanders stood by. Using fighters’ videos and survivor accounts, this Reuters documentary reconstructs the violence. Warning: The documentary contains scenes of graphic violence that may disturb some viewers. Watch the documentary And Finally... Arsenal fans celebrate outside the Emirates stadium as Arsenal win the Premier League Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers  Arsenal ended their 22-year wait to win the Premier League title when they were confirmed as champions following second-placed Manchester City's 1-1 draw at Bournemouth. Arsenal had been dubbed the nearly men under coach Mikel Arteta after finishing runners-up in the previous three seasons. But they have finally got over the line, delivering the club's 14th English title, behind only Manchester United and Liverpool who share the record with 20. 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