Daily Briefing

By Kate Turton

Hello. A complex tug-of-war inside the White House is driving Trump's shifting public statements on the course of the Iran war. Elsewhere, back-to-back outbursts of violence added to rising concerns about the possibility ‌of attacks on US soil.

Plus, British street artist Banksy’s identity has been debated and closely guarded for decades. Until now.

Today's Top News

Aftermath of a strike on a police station, Tehran. Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS

War in the Middle East

A complex tug-of-war inside the White House is driving US President Donald Trump's shifting public statements on the course of the Iran war, as aides debate when and how to declare victory even as the conflict spreads across the Middle East. Read our exclusive.
Trump derided Iran's leaders as "deranged scumbags" and said it was his great honor to kill them as the war in the Middle East approached the two-week mark with heavy exchanges of drone and missile strikes across the region. Follow our live updates.
The Shajareh Tayyebeh School was adjacent to an Iranian military compound and was among at least seven buildings struck on February 28. Iranian officials have said students made up most of the 175 people killed that day in Minab. Read our visual investigation.

In other news

A convicted Islamic State supporter opened fire in a Virginia university classroom, killing one person and injuring two others before he was killed, while in Michigan a Lebanon-born US citizen crashed his truck into a synagogue and its preschool and was shot dead.
Investors in World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture co-founded by Trump and his sons, have secured what the company described on its website as "guaranteed direct access" to certain members of its team for those who lock up $5 million worth of their tokens for a six-month period in exchange for voting rights.
A three-year-old party won Nepal's general elections by a landslide, authorities said, positioning its candidate Balendra Shah to become the next prime minister, with a mandate for the rapper-turned-politician to restore political stability.
Ukraine is opening access to its battlefield data for its allies to train drone AI software, the defense minister said, as Kyiv seeks to harness the experience it has ‌garnered fending off Russia's four-year, full-scale invasion.

Business & Markets

A view shows oil pump jacks outside Almetyevsk in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia June 4, 2023. REUTERS/Alexander Manzyuk

The US issued a 30-day waiver for countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilize ‌global energy markets roiled by the Iran war.
Some governments are taking steps to protect their own energy security. Tony Munroe tells the Reuters World News podcast some Asian countries are pushing austerity measures like closing universities and fuel rationing.
US grain prices have surged since the Iran war began, triggering a flurry of corn and soybean sales by farmers who squirreled away last year's harvests due to weak prices.
Britain's economy stagnated unexpectedly in ‌January and expanded only weakly in preceding months, underlining investor concerns about its vulnerability to the economic fallout from the war in Iran, official data showed.
Oil prices headed for weekly gains, despite the US trying to ease supply concerns by issuing a 30-day license for countries ‌to buy Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea.

The Week Ahead

France will hold municipal elections on Sunday and March 22, votes seen as a key test ahead of next year's presidential election.
Top names in Hollywood will gather on Sunday to hand out the annual Academy Awards at a red-carpet ceremony brimming with an unusual amount of drama in the major races.
The US Federal Reserve concludes its two-day meeting on Wednesday.
Trump's Homeland Security pick Senator Markwayne Mullin is scheduled to face a confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
It's a big day for Europe on Thursday, with euro area, Swiss and UK central banks meeting.
Everything you need to know about the coming week in financial markets.

In search of Banksy

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich, Simon Gardner, David Moir, Peter Macdiarmid, Luke MacGregor

The identity of British street artist Banksy has been debated, and closely guarded, for decades.

A quest to solve the riddle took Reuters from a bombed-out Ukrainian village to London and downtown Manhattan, and uncovered much more than a name.

Read our Special Report

And Finally...

Figures from the "KPop Demon Hunters" toy series are on display at Mattel's booth at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany. REUTERS/ Angelika Warmuth/File Photo

Netflix confirmed that a sequel to "KPop Demon Hunters," the streaming platform's most watched film of all time, is officially in development.

Read more