London's Heathrow closed by huge fire

Plus, Sudanese army says it has control of presidential palace in Khartoum.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas Britain's Heathrow Airport was shut after a huge fire at a nearby electrical substation wiped out its power, disrupting flights around the world (including the one your writer should've taken this morning). Follow our live updates here. Elsewhere, we are covering staffing cuts at the FBI, a symbolic victory for the Sudanese army, and Russian drone strikes on Ukraine's Odesa. Today's Top News   Fire rises at the North Hyde Electricity Substation in Hayes, Britain. Courtesy of London Fire Brigade/Handout via REUTERS  Britain's Heathrow Airport said it would be closed all of Friday. A fire at a sub-station near the airport was described as "catastrophic" by Britain's energy minister, who said that a back-up generator had also been affected by the blaze. Here are some key facts about one of the world's busiest airports. The Sudanese army seized full control of the Presidential Palace in downtown Khartoum, it said in a statement, in one of the most symbolic gains in a two-year-old conflict with a rival armed group that has threatened to partition the country. We have a story looking at the country's history of coups, wars and instability. Russia pounded Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odesa with one of its biggest drone attacks. Separately, a Russian gas pumping and measuring station in Russia's Kursk region near the border with Ukraine was on fire today after being rocked by a major explosion. The Israeli cabinet voted to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service effective April 10, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said, after three days of protests against the move. In Israel, there seems to be little appetite for more war in Gaza amid weary reservists and demonstrations. Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report released today. The dramatic ice loss is expected to accelerate as climate change. United States President Donald Trump has taken the first step in dismantling the Department of Education. Listen to Race and Justice Editor Kat Stafford on the Reuters World News podcast break down how this executive order could impact children living in the poorest parts of the country, college loans and civil rights access in schools. A federal judge said the Social Security Administration likely violated privacy laws by giving tech billionaire Elon Musk's aides "unbridled access" to the data of millions of Americans, and ordered a halt to further record sharing. The FBI has cut staffing in an office focused on domestic terrorism and has scrapped a tool used to track such investigations, in a shift that could undermine law enforcement's ability to counter white supremacists and anti-government extremists, according to sources familiar with the matter. Business & Markets   Japan's core inflation hit 3.0% in February and an index stripping away the effect of fuel rose at the fastest pace in nearly a year, a sign of broadening price pressure that reinforces market expectations of further interest rate hikes. Germany's spending splurge is expected to pass its last political hurdle today with a vote in the upper house of parliament. Hear what this fiscal bonanza means for Europe's largest economy on the Reuters Econ World podcast. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has decided to let lapse a $23 billion program to incentivize domestic manufacturing, just four years after it launched the effort to woo firms away from China, according to four government officials. Chinese artificial intelligence startup Manus registered its China-facing AI assistant and was featured for the first time in a state media broadcast, highlighting Beijing's strategy of boosting domestic AI firms that have received overseas recognition. Trump's comments about Greenland, coupled with the opening of a new international airport in the capital Nuuk, are boosting arrivals to the Arctic island – and more tourists are expected. The Week Ahead   Russian and US experts will discuss ways to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea at talks on a possible Ukrainian peace settlement in Riyadh on Monday. South Korea's Constitutional Court will deliver a decision on Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's impeachment on Monday after he was suspended as acting president last year. Brazil's Supreme Court will gather on Tuesday to decide whether they will accept or deny charges against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for an alleged coup attempt. Spending cuts are widely expected when British finance minister Rachel Reeves delivers her spring statement on Tuesday. Investors wary of signs of slowing growth and tariff uncertainty get a raft of fresh US data on Thursday. And here's a look at what else is coming for markets next week. The Wider Image   Midwives care for women stranded by drought in the Amazon. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares Years of droughts in the Amazon have made river journeys to and from remote riverine communities perilous and added to the challenge of providing healthcare in those places. Enter traditional midwives, who deliver babies in faraway villages of the world's largest rainforest. View photo essay And Finally... Students and anti-government demonstrators in Belgrade, Serbia. REUTERS/Igor Pavicevic From huge protests in Serbia to St Patrick's Day celebrations, we bring you some of our top pictures from around the world this week. See photo gallery Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement © 2025 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036