Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, said that Russia’s three-day unilateral ceasefire was “another attempt at manipulation”, and called for an immediate truce. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, announced a ceasefire in Ukraine from May 8th to coincide with the anniversary of the end of the second world war in Europe. During the period Mr Putin is expected to host foreign leaders—including China’s president, Xi Jinping—for commemoration events.
Millions of people in Spain and Portugal were without electricity after a huge power cut. Power is now being restored to several regions. Portugal’s electricity operator said extreme variations in temperature in Spain contributed to the outage, while the European Commission ruled out a cyber attack as the cause. Airports, metro systems and some online-banking services were shut down by the power cut.
Voting began in Canada’s election. Donald Trump urged Canadians to choose him as their leader and get rid of the “artificially drawn line” between the two countries. The American president’s threats have inspired a surge in patriotism in Canada: our forecast model suggests the leader of the Liberals, Mark Carney, who wants to stand up to Mr Trump, is overwhelmingly likely to win.
Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic-security service, said he would step down in June. Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has been trying to fire Mr Bar since March, citing “ongoing distrust” in their relationship. The Supreme Court blocked the government’s attempt after Mr Bar said that he was pressured to spy on Israeli citizens, an allegation Mr Netanyahu denies.
The Houthis said that an American air strike killed at least 68 African migrants at a detention centre in north-west Yemen. The Iran-backed militia also reported that another 47 migrants were injured. Earlier America’s armed forces, which have not commented on the claims, said they had bombed more than 800 targets since Donald Trump ordered more strikes on the Houthis in March.
IBM announced plans to invest $150bn in America over the next five years, including more than $30bn for research into developing quantum computers. The computing firm’s announcement—which follows similar pledges by Apple and Nvidia, two tech giants—is probably aimed at currying favour with Donald Trump. On April 23rd IBM said it had lost 15 government contracts amid Mr Trump’s efficiency drive.
Nepal said it would only allow experienced climbers up Mount Everest to reduce overcrowding on the world’s tallest summit. It plans to restrict permits to those who have climbed at least one mountain taller than 7,000 metres in the country. Nepal has been accused of admitting too many novice climbers, leading to queues on Everest and causing several deaths in recent years.
Figure of the day: $30bn, the value of toy sales in America each year. Read the full story.
We update The world in brief on our app and website as news happens. Check back throughout the day for our latest analysis.
Donald Trump’s first 100 days back in the White House have brought exceptional changes to American politics—with consequences for the rest of the world, too. Read The US in brief, a daily update of the domestic political stories that matter.
Trump’s first 100 days
Tuesday is Donald Trump’s 100th day back in office. The start of his second term has arguably been the most consequential of any modern president. Most new occupants of the White House are desperate to secure some signature legislative achievement. But Mr Trump has shown little interest in the Republican-controlled Congress. Instead, he is wielding the presidency’s imperial powers to do what he likes: impose some of the highest tariff increases ever seen; shred the federal bureaucracy; and cudgel his adversaries.
In the process Mr Trump has done lasting harm to America’s institutions. He has centralised power at the expense of Congress and has been inching worryingly close to defying some court orders. And he is also eroding the checks and balances within the executive branch. The defence of the republic will fall in large measure to the chief justice of the Supreme Court and his colleagues, armed with the power of the pen and faith in the separation of powers.
Spain’s economy powers on
The widespread power outage in Spain and Portugal plunged the countries into chaos on Monday. Planes and trains ground to a halt; supermarkets shut their electricity-operated doors. Tennis matches at the Madrid Open were postponed.
As Spaniards return to the grid on Tuesday, they can expect at least a crumb of comfort. Spain’s first-quarter economic data is expected to confirm a healthy outlook for its economy. Among the larger developed economies, the country was the only one to escape a downgrade in the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook, with growth forecast at 2.5% this year and 1.8% in 2026.
But with growth set to fall from last year’s 3.2%, the IMF also warned Spain to move faster to cut its fiscal deficit and public debt. That is unlikely: the government has just approved an overdue increase in defence spending. Figures released on Monday showed that unemployment rose to 11.4% in the first quarter. And then there is the clean-up after Monday’s power paralysis.
How will HSBC fare in the trade war?
HSBC is often described as Europe’s biggest bank. But investors might forget that the “H” and the “S” in the London-based lender’s name stand for “Hong Kong” and “Shanghai”. Most of the bank’s profits come from Hong Kong and mainland China. That makes a trade war between America and China very bad news for HSBC. A flurry of tariffs—and probably much less trade—threaten to damage its trade-finance unit, which helped it go global more than a century ago.
A first-quarter update from the bank on Tuesday might give a sense of what is to come. Georges Elhedery, HSBC’s boss since September, is approaching the trade mess from a position of strength. The bank’s earnings for 2024 were solid. Its share price is up by more than 25% over the past year despite the tariffs. Investors will be looking for signs it is ready to weather further trade and political rumbles.
Sudan’s elusive peace
A month ago Sudan’s national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces, marched triumphantly back into Khartoum, the capital. The Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group which had been in control of most of the city since the start of Sudan’s devastating civil war two years earlier, fled west towards its home region of Darfur. The SAF planned to mop up any remaining resistance, and begin restoring normality to Sudan’s wrecked capital.
However, this is proving slower than hoped. The RSF still occupies pockets of the district around Omdurman on the west bank of the Nile. The group shelled the army’s central headquarters on April 25th; in Omdurman two days later its forces reportedly killed at least 31 people, some of them children. Meanwhile in North Darfur, the UN says at least 480 civilians have been killed in attacks in April. The depressing conclusion is that the RSF is down, but still very far from out.
America’s poster-in-chief
In his first term Donald Trump ignored the norms of presidential communication, often ditching scripted bureaucratic missives in favour of rambling social-media posts. In his second term he has gone farther, churning out roughly six times more words than in the same period since his inauguration. His output of 4,149 words a week dwarfs that of his predecessors and their running-mates: Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Joe Biden all averaged just 400-600 words.
Mr Trump’s feeds have also changed in content. His posts are now less emotional, probably because the lawsuits and investigations that once stoked his online ire have largely faded. And compared with the first 100 days of his first term, Mr Trump avoids discussing jobs and the economy. Those, thanks to his tariffs, are among his worst-polling issues. In their place, in his second term he is devoting more than twice as many posts as in his first to talking about himself.
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