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Good morning. The US Senate has approved a $95bn bill delivering security aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region after it drew overwhelming bipartisan support in a boost to Joe Biden’s top foreign policy priorities.
The final passage of the legislation in Congress yesterday ends a political logjam that had lasted for months and cast doubt on America’s ability to project power around the world.
The approval from Capitol Hill paves the way for Washington to quickly dispatch new weapons to Ukraine as it battles Russia’s full-scale invasion. US officials said some aid for Kyiv would be forthcoming within days.
It will also bolster US military assistance for Israel after it exchanged drone attacks and missile strikes with Iran over the past 10 days — and comes despite mounting tensions between the White House and Israeli leaders over their conduct of the war in Gaza against Hamas and the heavy Palestinian civilian casualties. James Politi has more from Washington.
Here’s what else I’m keeping tabs on today:
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Economic data: Germany has the Ifo Business Climate index, while Italy releases its consumer and business confidence survey.
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Companies: Abrdn, Boeing, CME Group, Eni, Ford Motor, General Dynamics, Heathrow, Heineken, Lloyds Banking Group, Meta and Reckitt Benckiser report. See the Week Ahead newsletter for the full list.
Five more top stories
1. Senior UN officials have called for an investigation into reports that hundreds of bodies had been unearthed from mass graves at two hospitals in Gaza amid the war between Israel and Hamas. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said he was horrified by the destruction at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis and al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, and called for an independent probe into the deaths of the people found there. Read the full report.
2. The US Federal Trade Commission has voted to ban non-compete agreements, taking aim at contracts that limit employees’ freedom to quit for a new job at a different employer. The regulator’s commissioners voted 3-2 yesterday to implement the far-reaching measure first proposed in January 2023 in a bid to avoid wage suppression and protect innovation. The move has sparked immediate legal pushback.
3. Two of Britain’s biggest water companies have failed to map large parts of their sewage networks, underscoring the challenge facing privatised utilities as they try to fix their poor environmental record and reduce spills. Thames Water and Southern Water only mapped the pipes as they worked on them, leaving a large proportion of the network unchecked, the two companies revealed in responses to freedom of information requests. Read more about the potential financial implications.
4. Cyber attackers are experimenting with their latest ransomware on businesses in Africa, Asia and South America before targeting richer countries that have more sophisticated security methods. Hackers have adopted a “strategy” of infiltrating systems in the developing world before moving to higher-value targets such as in North America and Europe, according to a report published today by cyber security group Performanta. Find out more about the recent targets.
5. Tesla has pledged to bring forward the launch of “more affordable” models of its electric vehicles, helping its stock recover some of its recent losses despite reporting a 9 per cent decline in first-quarter revenue. In a filing yesterday, the electric-car maker said it had “updated our future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025”. Read more on the carmaker’s plans and market reaction.
The Big Read
To most of the world, Nelson Mandela remains a moral giant. But some young South Africans born after the end of apartheid want answers over what went wrong in a country where every second youth is unemployed, crime is rife and inequality along racial lines remains blatant. The fact that some people are questioning Mandela’s legacy underscores the deep disillusion many citizens feel about the state of their country.
We’re also reading . . .
Chart of the day
Two decades ago the US produced about 7mn barrels a day of petroleum and consumed 21mn. Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were among the US’s most important foreign suppliers. Now the US produces almost 20mn b/d of petroleum, roughly on par with consumption. Imports from the Gulf have plummeted, and the US became a net oil exporter for the first time in 2019. The strategic advantages are profound, analysts say.
Take a break from the news
Nicolai Tangen, Norway’s “trillion-dollar man”, has opened an epic art space in the country’s most southern reaches. But will Kunstsilo draw the crowds to Kristiansand?
Additional contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Nora Redmond
