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Daily Briefing

By Linda Noakes

Hello. Today we have an exclusive report on how the US sold sniper rifles to a Brazil police unit tied to a raid that killed 121 people.

Elon Musk bounded to the stage of the company's AGM accompanied by dancing robots after shareholders approved his pay package.

And China's exports suffered their worst downturn since February as tariffs hammer US demand.

Today's Top News

Mourners react after a deadly police operation against drug trafficking in Rio de Janeiro. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File Photo

United States

The US government approved a sale of sniper rifles to a deadly police unit in Brazil last year, overriding concerns that the arms could be used in extrajudicial killings, according to three current and former US officials and documents seen by Reuters.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is expected to unveil sweeping changes to how the Pentagon purchases weapons, allowing the military to more rapidly acquire technology amid growing global threats.
A judge is set to decide whether President Donald Trump violated federal law when he sent National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, following a closely watched trial over the president's power to deploy the military on US soil.

Around the world

At least five people died in Vietnam after Typhoon Kalmaegi pummeled coastal regions with destructive winds and heavy rain, following the storm's deadly passage through the Philippines where it killed at least 188 people.
An explosion at a mosque in Indonesia's capital Jakarta during Friday prayers that injured dozens of people could have been an attack, officials indicated, with a 17-year-old identified as the "suspected perpetrator".
Hamas fighters holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza would surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of the enclave under a proposal to resolve an issue seen as a risk to the month-old truce, according to sources familiar with the talks.
Russia has capacity for a limited attack against NATO territory at any time but a decision to act would depend on the Western allies' posture, a top German military official warned.
Police said they had arrested 13 people accused of belonging to the first cell of Venezuela's 'Tren de Aragua' crime gang detected in Spain, following raids in five cities.

Business & Markets

A graphic showing Tesla's stock performance.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk won shareholder approval for the largest corporate pay package in history as investors endorsed his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut.
Trump has cut a deal with two big pharma companies to slash their weight loss drug prices. Pharmaceutical Industry Reporter Patrick Wingrove joins today's episode of the Reuters World News podcast to talk about what this means for consumers - and profits.
Tech-heavy stock markets were heading for their biggest weekly falls in seven months, as investors turned uneasy about how far the rally in artificial intelligence stocks has run, while safer assets such as bonds and the yen were firm.
Chinese exports unexpectedly fell in October after months of frontloading US orders to beat Trump's tariffs, in a stark reminder of the manufacturing juggernaut's reliance on American consumers even as it woos buyers elsewhere.
China has begun designing a new rare earth licensing regime that could speed up shipments, but it is unlikely to amount to a complete rollback of restrictions as hoped by Washington, industry insiders said.
Swiss commodity trader Gunvor said it has withdrawn its proposal to buy foreign assets of Russian energy company Lukoil after the US Treasury called it Russia's "puppet" and signaled Washington opposed the deal.

The Week Ahead

From a focus on how quickly tech-driven, frothy equity markets unwind, to the impact of the US shutdown, there's plenty to mull over next week.
And don't forget China data, UK budget speculation and a U.N. climate change summit. Here's all you need to know about the coming week in financial markets.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is due to meet Trump at the White House on Monday, after the United Nations Security Council removed sanctions on him.
A wave of young Iraqis will challenge an entrenched elite in parliamentary elections next week. The same powerful groups have controlled the state and its oil wealth since Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003.

Grassroots leagues revive China's soccer dream

Taizhou celebrate after they won the 2025 Jiangsu Football City League. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang

An amateur soccer league organised by farmers, students and factory workers in rural China has unexpectedly drawn millions of fans and inspired big cities to form their own, raising hopes China can grow talent from the ground up and finally become a global force.

The nation of 1.4 billion people has around 200 million soccer fans, more than any other country, but it has failed to build world-class teams, partly due to a top-down approach where clubs pick players from a very small pool of pre-screened candidates.