cover of episode Canada attack and election, Trump-Zelenskiy and India-Pakistan water

Canada attack and election, Trump-Zelenskiy and India-Pakistan water

2025/4/28
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Today, prosecutors charge a Vancouver man with murder after he rammed an SUV into a Filipino festival. While Canada reels from the attack, they also head out to vote. How a Vatican meeting between Trump and Zelensky might affect peace negotiations. And panic in Pakistan as India vows to cut off the water supply.

It's Monday, April 28th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the frontlines in 10 minutes, every weekday. I'm Christopher Waljasper in Chicago. And I'm Tara Oakes in Liverpool. First to Vancouver, Canada, where prosecutors have charged 30-year-old resident Kaiji Adam Lowe with murder after he rammed an SUV through a crowd at a Filipino community festival.

At least 11 people have been killed and dozens injured. Vancouver's interim police chief, Steve Rye, says there's no evidence of terrorism, though the suspect's motive is still unclear. The person we have in custody does have a significant history of interactions with police and healthcare professionals related to mental health.

The attack, just days before Canadians head to the polls today to select their new prime minister, caused leading party candidates to briefly pause campaigning on Sunday. It's a race that's been dominated by another North American head of state, U.S. President Donald Trump, his tariffs, and attacks on Canada's sovereignty. The focus has boosted Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, but polls show the advantage shrinking in recent days.

Caroline Stauffer is our Canada Bureau Chief. The main issue in this election is cost of living. And that was, in fact, the only issue until January when Donald Trump became such a factor. The other thing at play had just been fatigue with former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had been in power for decades.

almost 10 years, so just fatigue with the liberals until Mark Carney started. And liberal strategists have told us that they are trying to present him as an adult in the room.

as a crisis manager, as someone who knows about financial markets and the economy. And that does seem to appeal to a number of Canadians at this particular time. So what are some of the wild cards as we head into today's vote? Another factor we've been watching is that young Canadians really seem to favor the Conservative Party. They see them as a party of change.

Canada, young voters are not as likely to go to the polls, but if they do decide to go out and vote, particularly in the most populous provinces of Quebec and Ontario, that could be a factor. And what about Carney's main opponent? Pierre Palliev is 45 years old. He is a career politician.

He has continued to focus his campaign on cost of living. You don't hear Polyev speaking as much about Trump. When asked about him, he of course says Canada first and that Canada should stand up to Trump's tariffs. The Liberals have tried to portray Polyev as a Canadian version of Trump, pointing to similar style and style.

Until a couple of months ago, that was quite appealing to Canadians. He was leading polls by 20 points until January. 68 bodies have been recovered after a U.S. strike on a detention center in Yemen. That's according to Houthi Run TV. Yemen's Interior Ministry says the site in Saada was housing African migrants.

Red Crescent emergency crews survey a crater in Iran's port city of Bandar Abbas after a powerful blast that's killed dozens and injured more than 1,200. It's suspected that chemicals fueled the explosion, though the exact cause of the blast is still unclear.

A group of men go on trial in Paris today, accused of robbing Kim Kardashian at gunpoint in 2016 and stealing jewellery worth millions of euros. Most of the accused were born in the 1950s, leading the French media to dub them the "grandpa robbers." North Korea has confirmed that it sent troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

It's the first official confirmation that its military has been operating in the Kursk region, with leader Kim Jong-un calling them heroes.

Historic image over the weekend. President Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Eyes locked in discussion just before the funeral of Pope Francis. Though only a few minutes long, Zelensky says the meeting could prove historic if it delivers the kind of peace he's hoping for.

Our White House reporter Steve Holland was at the Vatican. President Trump and President Zelensky, it was their first meeting since the Irksome meeting that ended badly in which Zelensky was basically escorted out of the White House. This one seems to have gotten along a lot better. Trump is now putting more pressure on Vladimir Putin to stop the missile attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine that are increasingly deadly.

Now, meanwhile, Trump's negotiators have been asking a number of concessions from Ukraine, including officially declaring Crimea a part of Russia.

Has Zelensky budged on his opposition to some of these demands from Washington? Well, the fact that the U.S. side is talking about recognition of Russian control of Crimea is basically a nonstarter for Ukraine, but it's something that doesn't seem to be shifting. There's also this idea of

joint control of the Zaporozhye nuclear plant in Ukraine, in which the United States would operate the nuclear plant and the proceeds would go to Ukraine. That would put Americans on the ground in that area, and it would be a possible deterrent to further fighting. So what's next in the negotiations?

They have talked about the idea of Trump meeting Putin in Saudi Arabia in mid-May when the president goes over there. Whether the Russians will be in a position to make an agreement by then is unclear, but that is something that Trump would like to pull off if he can.

It's going to be a packed week for markets, with four of the so-called magnificent seven mega cap stocks due to report earnings. Carmen Crimmins has more. So Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta are all reporting, and there's going to be intense interest in how tariffs are affecting their supply chains and sales outlook.

The last time these companies reported, Trump had just started his term and stocks were soaring on hopes of a pro-growth government agenda. So the picture has changed radically. These companies have seen their stock prices slide over escalating trade tensions and there could be further to fall if they disappoint on earnings.

Farms in Pakistan are nervously eyeing a threat from India to cut off the water following last week's deadly attack in Kashmir. Pakistani farmer Hamla Thakur is worried India will follow through and cut off the water supply his vegetables depend on.

Krishna Das in New Delhi is here with more. The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan. It was mediated by the World Bank. What it does is it splits waters from the

India's river and its tributaries between India and Pakistan. For the first time since 1960, India has unilaterally suspended the treaty. And what the suspension means is that India will not be sharing a lot of hydrological information about floods and so on. If there's an indication of stress building up,

that also Pakistan will not know. Long term, what will happen is, and India has vowed to stop water from going completely into Pakistan. That'll be easier said than done because India doesn't have dams or anything of massive storage to be able to do that. So what could the longer term effects be?

If 80% of the farms are not irrigated, you are in big trouble. And it is not just the farms. We are also talking about drinking water. We are talking about hydropower. And then experts have told us at the moment, Pakistan doesn't have an alternative. There's no substitute to the Indus Water Treaty. So without that, there will be massive issues. And in Pakistan, farmers have already told us they fear hunger. They fear that some places will turn into desert. So there are lots of risks involved.

Our recommended read today is all about wild celebrations right here in Liverpool. After the soccer team, or football team as some might call them, secured the Premier League title. A 5-1 win over Tottenham meant a momentous day at a sun-drenched Anfield, with Liverpool securing a record-equalling 20th English title.

There's links for story and some of the photos in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.