The heat that Donald Trump can’t ignore

Reuters Weekend Briefing <dailybriefing@thomsonreuters.com>
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2026-04-18 13:01

Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. Our On Assignment podcast features Beirut bureau chief Maya Gebeily, who talks about covering the complexities of Lebanon from war to daily life. Learn how 32-year-old Alyssa Poplaski earns thousands of ‘influencer’ dollars with fewer than 8,000 followers on TikTok. And City Memo takes us to Cairo.

Iran exposes Donald Trump’s pressure point

REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani

The economy, of course: The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran have failed to topple its government and to force its leaders to agree to U.S. demands on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The energy crisis that came after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz revealed the limits of Trump’s willingness to tolerate domestic economic pain. A convoy of oil tankers crossed the strait on Saturday after Iran reopened the strait, only to reimpose restrictions on it again, citing U.S. acts of “piracy” under the guise of a blockade. It is unclear if the sides will meet for talks.
Iran perseveres: People are striving to maintain a semblance of normal life after airstrikes and Internet cuts. They fear a new government crackdown and are living with an economy in tatters. But one woman told us something instructive for the White House: "I do not want to say that it is normal but as an Iranian with such a history, it is not very bad. We can live with it."

Why is Keir Starmer facing calls to quit?

‘Incompetence over deceit’: That’s what one Labour Party lawmaker said of the choice facing the prime minister’s government after it emerged that Peter Mandelson failed the security vetting conducted before he was named the UK’s ambassador to the U.S. Starmer said nobody told him. Mandelson of course had ties to Jeffrey Epstein and leaked government documents to the late sex offender.
And in the U.S.: A second woman accused Eric Swalwell of rape as the former contender for the California governorship resigned his seat in Congress. Swalwell, who is married and has three children, denied allegations of sexual misconduct and assault.

Food crisis worsens as Sudan war drags on

Hunger: Millions of people are surviving on one meal a day, NGOs say. An international conference in Berlin raised nearly $1.8 billion in humanitarian aid for the region. Neither Sudan nor the RSF paramilitary group sent representatives.
A potent pontiff: Pope Leo debuted a more forceful speaking style during his Africa tour this week, issuing sharp denunciations of war and inequality that earned him Trump’s scorn. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth compared “Trump-hating” reporters to the enemies of Jesus.

Hungary might get its oil next week, Magyar says

Druzhba pipeline: Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who stood at odds with his EU allies as he learned toward Russia and against Ukraine, railed at Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s claims that repairs to the pipeline would take a while after it was damaged in a Russian attack. His successor, Péter Magyar, says supplies could resume as soon as next week.
Crystal ball: More Russians are turning to witchcraft for health and love problems, including soldiers at the front in the Ukraine war who worry about their partners staying faithful. Sales of protective amulets and crystal balls have risen, as have sales of aspen stakes, said to defend their owners from evil spirits.

The descent of a Chinese billionaire

Evergrande: Indebted property companies don’t usually constitute the stuff of drama, but the fall of China Evergrande Group and its billionaire boss most certainly provides an exception.
Signa: Austrian prosecutors are investigating former Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer on suspicion of breach of trust during his time at the now-collapsed Signa Property Group.

Amazon uses AI to aid early-stage drug discovery

Lab partner: The Amazon Bio Discovery application would generate and evaluate potential drug molecules and include an AI agent to help users select models, set parameters and interpret results.
Health updates: Using Tylenol during pregnancy is not linked to autism, a Danish study found. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. avoided talking about his vaccine policies and autism during two congressional hearings. And mail order dominates abortion-pill dispensing in the U.S. despite a 2023 FDA decision allowing retail pharmacies to sell the drug.

Before I forget…

Cuba warded off the Americans once, and the old folks say they would do it again. That fervor is less apparent among the nation’s downtrodden youth.
U.S. importers are getting ready to claim their tariff refunds when the system goes live on Monday. They fear that much still could go wrong.
South Korea’s president compared Israel’s “wartime killings” to the Holocaust shortly before Yom HaShoah, the day when Israelis remember the 6 million Jews murdered by the Nazis.
Britain is considering entry fees for tourists visiting England’s most renowned museums. Some claimants to items in those museums seized during colonial times object.
We know that the Colorado River has an approximately 6-million-year gap in its resume. Scientists are studying grains of zircon in the sandstone of the Grand Canyon to find out what it was up to at the time.
When are they going to stop teasing us about UFOs and extraterrestrial life already?

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