Happy Wednesday and welcome to your morning wrap of the key business and political headlines from around the world.
First up, the BBC reports that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a ceasefire in the Black Sea. It follows ongoing peace talks in Saudi Arabia that are being brokered by the United States.
A few hours ago, the White House released a statement saying that the two warring nations have agreed to safe passage for commercial shipping and to stop military strikes in the Black Sea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the deal was a step in the right direction, while the Kremlin has released a statement saying the agreement will only come into force if sanctions on Russian banks are lifted.
Volodymyr Zelensky.
To the United States, where a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing has just wrapped up discussing how a journalist got added to a group chat that discussed highly sensitive plans to launch a strike on Yemen.
On March 24, The Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg published a story revealing National Security Adviser Michael Waltz added him to the group chat with other top security officials in the Trump administration. He was later texted the US's war plans, which, according to CNN, has caused shock and horror among US officials.
At today’s senate hearing, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe denied that any classified information was in the chat, although Gabbard refused to say whether she was involved in the messaging group.
Ratcliffe confirmed he was part of the chat, but said his part of the conversation was “entirely permissible and lawful and did not include classified information”. US President Donald Trump is standing by Waltz, saying he “has learned a lesson and he’s a good man”. Meanwhile, Democrats have called for a bipartisan investigation.
Donald Trump.
To the Middle East, where Oscar-winning Palestinian director Hamdan Ballal has been released from detention after being violently arrested in the West Bank.
Associated Press reports the director of the documentary No Other Land, which won an Oscar earlier this month, was released on Tuesday night (local time) with bruises on his face and blood on his clothes. Ballal said he was held at the army base and forced to sleep blindfolded under a freezing air conditioner where he could hear the soldiers laughing at him.
Ballal, along with two others, were arrested on Monday after about two dozen settlers attacked the West Bank village of Susya, as residents broke their Ramadan fast. The three men were accused of throwing stones throwing stones at an Israeli civilian, allegations they deny.
Lamia Ballal, the director’s wife, said she heard her husband being beaten outside their home. When she looked, she saw three men beating Ballal with the butts of their rifles while another man filmed, she said. “Of course, after the Oscar, they have come to attack us more,” Lamia said. “I felt afraid.”
To Sudan, where a war monitor has accused the military of killing hundreds of people in an air strike in the western Darfur region, according to the BBC. The Emergency Lawyers Group, which documents abuses by both sides in Sudan’s civil war, said the bombing of the Tur’rah market was a “horrific massacre”.
Videos on social media showed the smoking ruins of market stalls and charred bodies. A spokesperson from the Sudanese military denied targeting civilians, saying it only attacked legitimate hostiles. The BBC has not been able to confirm the death toll or the exact date of the attack on the market, which is located about 35km north of the army-held city of el-Fasher.
Some 12 million Sudanese people have fled their homes since the war between the military and RSF forces broke out in April 2023.
In business news, software giant SAP has become Europe’s most valuable firm. The German company, which sells a range of corporate software products, has seen its shares ride a wave of artificial intelligence enthusiasm and German stock market gains to reach a market capitalisation of US$342.4 billion.
It took the top spot from Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, which is best known for the weight loss drug Ozempic.
German markets are on a bull run this year, with the DAX index up nearly 16% in the year to date, far outpacing its European peers. Sentiment has been buoyed by a large fiscal package approved by German lawmakers this month to enable billions in government spending on infrastructure, climate projects and defence.
Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD has outpaced Tesla in annual sales, recording US$107b in revenue for 2024.
BYD’s sales have increased 29% on the previous year, which has been bolstered by demand for its hybrid vehicles. By comparison, Tesla recorded US$97.6 billion in annual revenue in 2024. BYD chair and president Wang Chuanfu has hailed the company’s “rapid development”.
“BYD has become an industry leader in every sector from batteries, electronics to new energy vehicles, breaking the dominance of foreign brands and reshaping the new landscape of the global market,” Wang said in a statement that was reported by CNBC.
The sales update comes after the company announced a new battery technology which it claims can charge most EVs as quickly as it takes to refill a petrol-powered car.
