US-China tariff deal, Ukraine-Russia, AI weapons and Trump in Saudi
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Today, the US and China reach a deal to slash tariffs. Zelenskyy tells Putin he's willing to have direct peace talks in Turkey. Trump heads to Saudi Arabia and the impact of AI on the battlefield. It's Monday, May 12th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Tara Oakes in Liverpool.

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First, to some breaking news and a U.S.-China breakthrough at the Geneva trade talks.

Both countries have agreed to slash their tariffs by 115% and put them on ice for 90 days. The deal comes after hours of weekend negotiations that mark a major de-escalation in the trade war between the two economic powers. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant. Neither side wants a decoupling.

Stocks in the dollar surged on the news. For the latest, you can follow along with our live coverage on Reuters.com or the Reuters app. US President Donald Trump's administration intends to accept a Boeing 747-8 as a gift from the Qatari royal family. It will be outfitted to serve as Air Force One.

With a price tag of $400 million, it'd be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the U.S. government. Democrats say it's unethical and unconstitutional, with Chuck Schumer posting on X, it's not just bribery, it's premium foreign influence with extra legroom.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has decided to disband. A news agency close to the group says it will end its 40-year-long armed struggle with Turkey. The India-Pakistan ceasefire is holding and has returned calm along the border of the two nuclear neighbours. Military operations chiefs from both countries are discussing next steps today.

Hamas says it will release Israeli-American hostage Idan Alexander. He's believed to be the last surviving American hostage. A source familiar with the matter says the release is likely to happen on Tuesday. And an appeal from Pope Leo in his first Sunday message to the 100,000 people who gathered in St. Peter's Square. An end to war.

The new pope called for a real and lasting peace in Ukraine and for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all Israeli hostages. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he's ready to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin in Turkey this week.

His suggestion of a meeting on Thursday follows a dramatic 48 hours, with European leaders demanding a 30-day ceasefire from today, only for Putin to make a counter-proposal for direct talks. President Trump told Zelensky to immediately accept the offer. Andrew Osborne is our Russia chief political correspondent.

As usual with this story, there are a number of big ifs. And the big if today is whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will indeed...

agree to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal and turn up in person. We don't know at the moment, but if Putin doesn't turn up at those talks, I think there is a question mark at the moment over whether Zelensky himself will be willing to meet with somebody, let's say more junior, i.e. a minister or a presidential aide.

Are we at a significant point, though? It's one of those moments that could later turn out to be significant, but could, you know, in the immediate future, not amount to very much. The truth is, we just don't know. But I think what is important here is that they are talking about talking, which doesn't sound like very much, does it? But on the other hand, given the lack of

talking between the two sides over the last three years. I think it is important and it's something that obviously US President Donald Trump has made happen. But at the same time, are there still big differences between Russia and Ukraine about what a potential settlement would look like? Yes, there are. And there's a fundamental disagreement between them too about the sequencing of what happens next. Ukrainians say that

We want a 30-day ceasefire. That is the kind of precondition, or at least that was their position. It has been their position all along. And Putin has been saying, well, no, let's get talking first. Let's have some talks. And then during those talks, we can talk about a ceasefire.

While Ukraine and Russia mull direct talks, the way war is being waged in the 21st century is coming under greater scrutiny. Our correspondent based in Geneva, Olivia Lepoidevin, has been looking into how the United Nations is trying to get a handle on the use of artificial intelligence on the battlefield.

It's not even a question of the future. Artificial intelligence is already being used in the military domain for a range of purposes. Essentially, AI can go through massive sets of data that's been collected by militaries over the years and help identify what kind of targets would be appropriate to hit.

And then also AI is being used in the actual weaponry that we're now seeing in modern conflicts. What we're seeing at the moment is weapons which are semi-autonomous. But what experts are warning is that we are on the path towards autonomy.

fully autonomous weapons whereby these machines would be sent up into the air and would decide for themselves what is a target, what isn't. And the reason why that's getting human rights groups concerned is because they believe that there should at all times be meaningful human control so that there can be a very clear accountability chain. But also there is

concern about how accurate these machines can be. We don't know what unintended consequences that there may be of using them. But of course,

Militaries will say and are saying that they are hopeful that using artificial intelligence in the military domain could actually increase accuracy and reduce civilian harm. So is there any consensus at the moment among world leaders around setting rules for AI in war?

Essentially where we've got to now is a majority of states have agreed in principle on a kind of two-tier system. So the banning of some fully autonomous weapons where there is no meaningful human control and then regulation and control on other weapons. However,

The United States, Israel, India and China say that currently they think there are sufficient regulations in international law, that there doesn't need to be any further guidelines. So as it stands, there is no clear consensus. When President Trump lands in Riyadh on his first formal state visit, he'll be greeted with opulent ceremonies and the prospect of a trillion dollars in investment.

In his first term, Saudi recognition of Israel was central to bilateral talks. But this time, sources tell Reuters that it's off the table. Instead, the focus will be on major arms deals, mega projects and artificial intelligence. Reporter Graham Slattery will be traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and is here to tell us what to expect. Well, I think it's important to

Just keep in mind that Trump is a very transactional guy. So for Trump, this is a matter of dollars and cents. We're expecting a fairly expensive weapons deal between the U.S. and Saudi to be announced. In addition to that, this visit's expected to have just an extreme amount of pomp and circumstance.

And the president loves that as well. It's also worth noting that Washington is very concerned about Beijing's influence in the Middle East and many other geographies. We've seen a competition for influence in the United Arab Emirates in general, particularly on some security matters. So what can we expect from the trip? There's going to be a high potential for Trump to go off script. He enjoys going off script. We're in the midst of sensitive negotiations with

Iran, a very fraught period in Gaza, a very fraught period in Russia and Ukraine, which is, of course, relevant to all this as well. So there's going to be opportunities for Trump to break some news that we weren't expecting. Those are the things that we'll be watching for. She's made up her mind, she's pretty smart.

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And for today's recommended read, a discovery in Argentina. The Supreme Court has found dozens of boxes of Nazi materials in its basement. The materials were confiscated by Argentinian authorities during World War II. We'll drop a link to the story 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. And we'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.