Smoke rises from Gaza after an Israeli airstrike over the weekend. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet voted to scale up the offensive against Hamas in Gaza to the point of seizing the entire enclave and holding its territories. Separately, Yemen's Houthi rebels said they would impose a "comprehensive" aerial blockade on Israel by repeatedly targeting its airports.
India and Pakistan have significantly upgraded their military capabilities since the nuclear-armed neighbors clashed in 2019, posing increased risks of escalation even in a limited conflict, former military officers and experts say.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that a ceasefire with Russia in its more than three-year-old war was possible at any moment and called on Kyiv's allies to apply greater pressure on Moscow to put the measure in place.
Hard-right eurosceptic George Simion won the first round of Romania's presidential election re-run, after a ballot seen as a test of the rise of Trump-style nationalism in the European Union.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had a "warm conversation" with US President Donald Trump on tariffs and the AUKUS defense pact after his center-left Labor party decisively beat the conservatives in a weekend election. Australian financial markets largely welcomed his historic win.
On today's Reuters World News podcast, we look at the Trump factor in global elections with our managing editor Mark Bendeich.
United States
A year and a half after Sean "Diddy" Combs' former longtime girlfriend accused him of sex trafficking in a bombshell civil suit, the hip-hop mogul is heading to court for jury selection in a criminal trial that offers him the chance to challenge allegations against him but could see him sent to prison for life.
Trump said he was directing the Federal Bureau of Prisons to reopen the infamous Alcatraz prison in the San Francisco Bay to "house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders."
The US president also said that Stephen Miller, his deputy chief of staff, was a frontrunner to be potentially named as national security adviser following the departure of Mike Waltz.
Business & Markets
Trump's tariffs are increasingly clogging up the wheels of a world economy which for decades were greased by predictable and relatively free trade. Big-name multinationals right down to niche players reviewed their business plans, while major economies revised down growth prospects. The sheer uncertainty of where this ends has become a major drag factor in itself.
Trump announced a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the country, saying the American movie industry was dying a "very fast death" due to the incentives offered by other countries.
The US president said he will not remove Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve Board chairman before his term ends in May 2026 while describing the central banker as "a total stiff" and repeating calls for the Fed to lower interest rates.
OPEC+ will accelerate oil output hikes and could bring back to the market as much as 2.2 million barrels per day by November, five OPEC+ sources said as the group's leader Saudi Arabia seeks to punish some fellow members for producing above quotas.
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders mourning the departure of legendary investor Warren Buffett anticipate the conglomerate he built over 60 years will retain its long-term focus and culture but worry about the loss of Buffett's vision and star power.
Earlier today, the surging Taiwan dollar was the big mover in a holiday-thinned Asia session, kicking off a busy week of central bank decisions, key economic data and investors coming to grips with Buffett's departure from Berkshire Hathaway.
The Wider Image
Pope Francis sheltered the homeless. Who will follow? REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The gleaming colonnade of St. Peter's Square provides a majestic backdrop as four men wait for a free dinner on a terrace in the heart of the Vatican. The prestigious location is the envy of Rome's finest hotels. But the 19th-century Palazzo Migliori is a homeless shelter, housed in a building the late Pope Francis dedicated to their care.
Kicking off the moviegoing summer with $162 million worldwide. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe
"Thunderbolts*," the story of a ragtag group of heroes who unite to fight a supervillain, brought in $162 million at theaters around the world over the weekend, providing a solid start to the summer movie season that is key to Hollywood's year at the box office.
