Reuters - Daily Briefing By Claire Beers - May 25, 2026 - Iran and the US play down hopes for an imminent breakthrough in the war, Russia hits Ukraine with an Oreshnik missile in one of the war's biggest attacks on Kyiv, and Huawei reveals a chip design breakthrough.

 

Reuters - Daily Briefing

By Claire Beers

Hello. Iran and the US play down hopes for an imminent breakthrough in the war, Russia hits Ukraine with an Oreshnik missile in one of the war's biggest attacks on Kyiv, and Huawei reveals a chip design breakthrough. Plus, Ferrari's Luce leads bold leap into uncertain electric era.

Today's Top News   Majid Asgaripour/WANA/REUTERS War in Iran Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said that conclusions ‌have been reached on many topics discussed in a potential memorandum of understanding ⁠with the US, but this does not mean Tehran is close to signing an agreement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US will either have a good agreement with Iran or deal with the country "another way." Two liquefied natural gas tankers are exiting the Strait of Hormuz, heading to ‌Pakistan and China. A supertanker with Iraqi crude for China also left the Gulf on May 23 after being stranded for nearly three months. Donald Trump may have won just about every battle against Iran, but three months after attacking the Islamic Republic he faces a bigger question: Is he losing the war? In other news Russia pounded Kyiv and surrounding areas with hundreds of drones and missiles in one of the heaviest bombardments of the city since the start of the war, firing an Oreshnik hypersonic missile near the capital. Pope Leo urged governments to slow down the development of AI systems in his first major document, warning that they spread misinformation, prioritize conflict and risk leading the world down a path of unending war. Experts trying to prevent a tank holding a toxic and flammable chemical from exploding in Southern California found a "potential ‌crack" in the container that might be reducing the pressure. President Trump appealed for patience from Americans struggling with soaring gas prices as he defended the cost of his White House ballroom, a project critics call a vanity effort.

Business & Markets   cnsphoto/REUTERS Chinese coking coal prices soared to their highest in nearly two weeks, as safety checks at coal mines following a ‌deadly accident in a key production hub triggered expectations of tightening supply. Huawei Technologies said its high-end chips will have transistor density equivalent to 1.4-nanometer processes in five years, underscoring Beijing's efforts ‌to neutralize US sanctions that have made it hard for China to build advanced chips. Oil prices fell more than $5 to two-week lows as optimism grew that the US and Iran were moving closer to a ‌peace deal. African leaders and financiers gathered for the African Development Bank's annual meeting as the continent faces shrinking ‌aid flows, with this week's event in the Congo Republic overshadowed by an Ebola outbreak across the border. As its sports-car rivals tap the brakes on a shift to EVs, Ferrari will launch of its first fully electric car, betting ‌it can connect with drivers even without a throaty engine roar. Toshifumi Suzuki, the founder of Seven-Eleven Japan and widely regarded as the father of Japan's convenience-store ‌industry, died of heart failure on May 18 at the age of 93.

What is the Oreshnik missile?   REUTERS/Russian Defense Ministry The Oreshnik, whose name means Hazel Tree, is an intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile that Russia has fired only once before against Ukraine. Experts say it can carry multiple warheads capable of simultaneously striking different targets.  It also is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, although there was no suggestion of any nuclear component to this weekend's attack on Kyiv. Vladimir Putin has said that the Oreshnik is impossible to intercept and that it has destructive power comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, even when fitted with a conventional warhead. Read more

And Finally... Shuetsu Sato, a security guard whose handmade duct-tape signs have gained widespread recognition, poses with duct-tape signs he made. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon One of Japan's most in-demand graphic designers is neither hip nor an artist by training: he’s a septuagenarian security ‌guard who works the graveyard shift at a train station in Tokyo. Shuetsu Sato found his hidden passion when he was asked in 2004 to help travellers navigate the crowded, labyrinthine Shinjuku station. His solution was to make signage out of duct tape. He loved the work, the result was effective, and the station ⁠master kept asking for more. Read more

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