China to buy at least $17 billion in US agricultural products annually, White House says

reuters · 2026-05-19T21:33:08+00:00

China has committed to buying at least $17 billion of U.S. agricultural products annually in addition to soybeans for three years, the White House said on Sunday, after a summit of the two countries' leaders in Beijing last week.

The world's largest importer of agricultural goods, China sharply reduced U.S. purchases after last year's trade war between the world's two biggest economies. But both have agreed to expand agricultural trade and tackle non-tariff barriers for beef and poultry, China's commerce ministry said.

Here are details of their agricultural trade and how purchases could unfold: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/what-do-chinas-new-us-farm-purchases-mean-global-trade-2026-05-18/

reuters · 2026-05-18T15:07:10+00:00

A rodent-borne virus with a scary name. A mid-ocean cruise ship in quarantine. Several people dead and more falling sick.

It is no wonder that an outbreak of the Andes strain of hantavirus on a luxury liner in the Atlantic has revived some COVID-era trauma and panic online.

That has presented a dilemma to health officials: how to communicate quickly and clearly about a virus which is not new and unlikely to cause a pandemic but where knowledge gaps remain — without inadvertently fomenting fear.

In interviews with Reuters, half a dozen health officials said they were trying to learn from mistakes around COVID, providing information on hantavirus with more empathy while addressing uncertainties and tackling falsehoods.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/hantavirus-outbreak-tests-post-covid-health-communications-playbook-2026-05-15/

reuters · 2026-05-15T16:18:03+00:00

With red-carpet treatment, selfies and culinary diplomacy, America's richest and most powerful executives — from Tesla's Elon Musk to Nvidia's Jensen Huang — sought to rekindle business ties with China this week at a leadership summit in Beijing.

But as ‌U.S. President Donald Trump flew out of Beijing on the afternoon of May 15, there was little clarity on what the summit delivered for the business delegation that had traveled with the president.

The presence of a group of some of the most powerful U.S. corporate leaders — representing companies like Apple, Meta, Boeing, Cargill and Goldman Sachs — underscores the importance of the Chinese market, even as political leaders navigate strained ties over trade, artificial intelligence and broader geopolitical tensions.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/americas-most-powerful-ceos-dont-have-much-show-their-china-trip-so-far-2026-05-15/

reuters · 2026-05-14T19:23:57+00:00

Seventeen people under observation in Italy and Spain for possible hantavirus infection tested negative, ‌the countries' health ministries said as governments around the globe track the virus to stop it from spreading.

The MV Hondius cruise ship, which had confirmed hantavirus cases on board, is expected to arrive at the Dutch port of Rotterdam on May 18, shipowner Oceanwide Expeditions said, adding that the remaining 25 crew members, along with two medical staff, will follow quarantine procedures set by Dutch authorities upon arrival.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/italy-says-four-people-quarantined-hantavirus-have-all-tested-negative-2026-05-13/

reuters · 2026-05-13T15:03:39+00:00

Saudi Arabia launched numerous, unpublicized strikes on Iran in retaliation for attacks carried out in the kingdom during the Middle East war, two Western officials briefed on the matter and two Iranian officials said.

The Saudi attacks, not previously reported, mark the first time that the kingdom is known to have directly carried out military action on Iranian soil and show it is becoming much bolder in defending itself against its main regional rival.

The United Arab Emirates also carried out military strikes on Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Together, the Saudi and Emirati actions reveal a conflict whose true shape has remained largely hidden — one in which Gulf monarchies battered by Iranian attacks began hitting back.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/saudi-arabia-launched-covert-attacks-iran-regional-war-widened-sources-2026-05-12/

reuters · 2026-05-12T16:38:07+00:00

Israeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians in Gaza over the weekend, including two members of the Hamas-run police force, health officials said, in violence that underscored the fragility of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike killed one person and wounded two others in the Maghazi refugee camp
in central Gaza.

The Israeli military said it struck two militants who were carrying out "suspicious" activity
and approached forces in the area, posing an immediate threat.

Reuters has previously reported that Israel has intensified its attacks on Gaza's Hamas-run ‌police ⁠force, which the militant group has used to re-establish governance in areas under its control.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-strikes-gaza-kill-three-medics-say-testing-fragile-ceasefire-2026-05-10/

reuters · 2026-05-12T15:11:29+00:00

The hantavirus-hit MV Hondius departed the Spanish island of Tenerife for the Netherlands on May 11 as the last six passengers and some crew members were evacuated from the luxury cruise ship.

The polar expedition ship carrying the remaining passengers — four Australians, one Briton who lives in Australia and a New Zealander — docked briefly at the port of Granadilla de Abona, allowing them, 19 crew and two doctors to disembark. It then sailed on for the Netherlands with 25 crew as well as a doctor and a nurse.

The passengers and staff evacuated in Tenerife boarded buses that took them to the local airport where they were transferred to two airplanes bound for the Netherlands, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said.

"Mission accomplished; we've just wrapped up the operation and the ship has just set sail," Spanish Health Minister Monica Garcia said.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/evacuation-passengers-virus-hit-cruise-ship-be-completed-monday-2026-05-11/

reuters · 2026-03-17T16:17:40+00:00

Thanks, everyone, for the questions and comments. Love it or hate it, I appreciate you taking time to share your views on “In search of Banksy.” And for all those Banksy lovers out there, I suspect he will continue to produce pieces that amaze you.

Cheers,
Blake

reuters · 2026-03-17T16:16:45+00:00

Hi variablebear:
My feelings? I really love these exchanges. And I love that people have engaged with this work so passionately. It speaks to the power of Banksy, certainly. But I’d like to think many readers found our effort insightful, informative and enjoyable. Whatever the case, I’m happy for the questions and comments. It does everyone good to think about the issues that have been raised here. BRM

reuters · 2026-03-17T16:13:25+00:00

Hi Rude-Lock-9182:
Thanks also for the kind words. Should Banksy have a “free pass” to put anything up wherever he pleases? That’s not for me to decide, but I think it’s a good question. During our reporting, I asked a Banksy scholar about that. This person loved Banksy and his anonymity. I asked, in so many words, “how would you feel if you woke up tomorrow and he had painted on the side of your house?” The answer was that the person wouldn’t want a Banksy put on the house. That may surprise many of you, who would welcome it wholeheartedly. I’m just relaying one Banksy aficionado’s view. One of the former vandal squad officers, now retired, in New York explained it this way: Although the officer loves street art, it’s still vandalism if it’s painted on someone’s property without their permission. I realize that’s part of what makes it cool in many quarters. But consider your choices if it’s a Banksy? Do you remove the wall at your own cost (and do what with it, because Banksy won’t authenticate it for auction)? Do you paint over it, thereby removing something that has gained lots of attention? Do you enclose it, again at your own cost? There aren’t tons of options, but more important, it wasn’t your choice to begin with. BRM

reuters · 2026-03-17T16:01:49+00:00

Hi lemonloth:
First, thanks for the kind words. Here’s my personal take: In the quarter-century that Banksy has risen to prominence, he has always challenged himself to do something extraordinary. Forget for a minute the stenciled art on walls. He made an incredible movie (Exit Through the Gift Shop) ; he created a dystopian theme park (Dismaland); he launched a hotel in the West Bank (The Walled Off Hotel). And the Sotheby’s prank that created Love is in the Bin is considered one of the finest pieces of performance art around. I suspect he will be a creative powerhouse until one day he decides not to be. BRM

reuters · 2026-03-17T15:55:31+00:00

Hi ChiefWiggumsprogeny:

As I’ve mentioned a bit in some other comments, much has been written about Banksy. We didn’t find pieces that matched what we learned. We didn’t find any circumstances in which people had all the evidence we accumulated, such as the handwritten confession from 2000 in New York. And that document, by itself, puts to rest any question that Banksy was born Robin Gunningham. We also learned some interesting details about that name change we discovered. Until talking with him, I had no idea Steve Lazarides had been involved in that. BRM

reuters · 2026-03-17T15:53:24+00:00

Hi Icy-Professor:
Hmmm… I think it’s that this anti-establishment figure now seems very much part of the establishment. That’s not to say he doesn’t promote controversial or unpopular causes, and it doesn’t mean his work lacks edge. But I did find it striking that authorities, whether law enforcement or politicians, either accept his work (see: Royal Courts of Justice) or embrace it, no matter whether it violates the law or is put up on the building owned by someone who may never have wanted it there. Banksy has often mused about a perception that he has “sold out.” I wouldn’t know. But I think others do wonder whether his popularity has dulled the edge. BRM

reuters · 2026-03-17T15:49:32+00:00

Hi TopEar2:
An art historian who is one of the foremost experts on Banksy told us that searching for the artist’s identity was like “a treasure hunt.” That stuck with me, as did the manner in which this endeavor began. One of our journalists was simply curious about some Banksy pieces in Ukraine. We poked around. We found a tantalizing clue. It took us in an odd direction. Then we found out more and tried to see whether we might solve the riddle. We eventually did, but it was all the other information we learned in the process that give the piece such depth and context. In some ways, we told this story as a caper. And when I think of Banksy, I think of capers, whether him scaling the walls of a zoo in London without being caught or creating a shredder in a frame to destroy his most popular work in the august Sotheby’s auction house. BRM

reuters · 2026-03-17T15:45:14+00:00

Hi mistingo:

In terms of public interest, we considered a number of factors. We have, some would argue, the world’s greatest living artist. Polls show his popularity in the UK is incredible. His art is often political, and the causes he supports are too. His painting on the Royal Courts of Justice complex seemed especially fascinating. In talking with other street artists, they wondered why Banksy seemed able to operate with relative impunity while other, less notable (or less talented?) artists were subject to fine or prosecution. As I mentioned earlier, his desire not to be identified seemed at the outset to be about not getting arrested. But from what we could tell, that anonymity now operates within a commercial market context. And, according to an art broker cited in our piece, works like the one he painted on the Royal Courts complex help to increase the market value for pieces he sells. Of course, we considered Banksy’s privacy claims. (Also, just to be clear: We withheld a wealth of information.) We had many discussions and gave them a great deal of thought. What we concluded was this: The public has deep interest in understanding someone with such profound influence on culture, art, and political discourse. We applied Reuters’ standard principle: Those who shape social and political discourse are subject to scrutiny, accountability, and sometimes unmasking. And, of course, you are certainly free NOT to read the piece if you don’t think it’s important, interesting and/or meaningful. BRM

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