Trump meets Syrian president

Plus, rogue communication devices found in Chinese inverters.

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas Hello. We're covering Trump's swing through the Gulf region where he announced the lifting of sanctions on Syria, met with the country's president, and lavished praise on Saudi's de facto ruler. Elsewhere, Zelenskiy insists on face-to-face talks with Putin, South Africa's HIV testing falls after US aid cuts, and the most intense fighting for years traps residents in the Libyan capital. Today's Top News   Donald Trump meets with Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS Middle East US President Donald Trump met with Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia and urged him to normalize ties with longtime foe Israel, after a surprise US announcement it would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government. We have a podcast episode focused on Syria after the fall of the Assad regime. The US president also lavished praise on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling him "an incredible man" and a "great guy," and made no mention of human rights concerns in the country. His next stop in the Middle East: the Qatari capital Doha. In other news from the region, days before a US ceasefire agreement with Houthis, US intelligence started picking up indications the Yemeni fighters were looking for an exit after seven weeks of relentless bombings, four officials said. Ukraine-Russia President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he would attend peace talks this week only if Vladimir Putin was also there, and goaded him by saying the Russian leader was scared to meet him face-to-face. French President Emmanuel Macron said he was in favor of new sanctions on Russia if Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire, mentioning financial services and oil and gas as possible targets. The Russian economy is in an increasingly precarious state, a report prepared for EU finance ministers said. Africa The most intense clashes for years rocked Tripoli for a second night and continued into this morning, witnesses in the Libyan capital said, after Monday's killing of a major militia leader set off fighting between rival factions. Testing and monitoring of HIV patients in South Africa have fallen since the US cut aid that funded workers and clinics, with pregnant women, infants and youth the most affected. Correspondent Nellie Peyton weighs in on the risks for the country with the world's highest HIV rate on the Reuters World News podcast. Business & Markets   Ghost in the machine? Rogue communication devices found in Chinese inverters. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo  US energy officials are reassessing the risk posed by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some of them, two sources said. Trump's tariff blitz is yielding some initial deals, including a 90-day pause in sky-high US and Chinese duties and a limited trade pact with Britain, but the US president is far from rebalancing global commerce flows, trade experts and analysts said. Watch our daily rundown on financial markets here. Tesla plans to start shipping components from China to the United States for the production of Cybercab and Semi trucks from the end of this month, after the US and China reached a truce over tariffs, a person with direct knowledge said. In the coming weeks, investors in nine public companies worth at least $1 billion each will vote on proposals to ditch Delaware as their place of incorporation, potentially denting the state's longtime reputation as Corporate America's capital, Reuters has found. European governments are examining whether Trump can force them to pay more for prescription medicines, after he issued an executive order to lower US drug prices, roiling the industry. British luxury brand Burberry said it planned to cut 1,700 jobs, around a fifth of its global workforce, to trim costs as part of efforts to revive its performance, sending shares higher. How India and Pakistan pulled back from the brink with US-brokered ceasefire   Residents inspect the damage to a house in Shahkot Village, Pakistani Kashmir. REUTERS/Stringer  Nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire over the weekend. Now we look at how it unfolded, describing the rapid escalation of hostilities as well as behind-the-scenes diplomacy involving the United States, India and Pakistan. Read full report And Finally... Juliette Binoche and jury members before the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe Almost as prestigious as winning the Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's top prize, is being on the jury that picks the winner. Artists from around the world are picked to sit on the jury, with one member designated as president. 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