Trump's exit puts dampener on G7 summit

Plus, Iran leader sees his inner circle hollowed out by Israel.

Global news you can trust. Download the Reuters App. Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Kate Turton Hello. The G7 expresses support for Israel as Iran's leader sees his inner circle hollowed out, and Israeli tank shelling kills 51 people awaiting aid trucks in Gaza.  Plus, the Trump administration disbands the group focused on pressuring Russia. Today's Top News   A mourner at a funeral of Palestinians killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled Middle East Israeli tank shellfire killed at least 51 Palestinians as they awaited aid trucks in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, the territory's health ministry said, adding that dozens of others were wounded. President Donald Trump said he wanted a "real end" to the nuclear problem with Iran and indicated he may send senior American officials to meet with the Islamic Republic as the Israel-Iran air war raged for a fifth straight day. Follow our live updates. Foreign Policy Editor Don Durfee tells the Reuters World News podcast that Trump may be hoping that Israel's pressure on Tehran could yield results when the Iranians are next at the nuclear program negotiating table. The Group of Seven nations expressed support for Israel in a statement, and labeled its rival Iran as a source of instability in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Zelenskiy is seek G7ing support as Trump's early exit puts dampener on summit. United States The Trump administration shelved in recent weeks an inter-agency working group it had set up to formulate strategies for pressuring Russia into speeding up peace talks with Ukraine, according to three US officials. Trump's public approval rating held steady over the last month, but Americans are becoming less supportive of his approach to immigration as his administration cracks down, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. In other news Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Ukraine, hitting civilian targets in Kyiv, killing at least 15 people and wounding scores, Ukrainian officials said. India's aviation safety watchdog has asked Air India for the training records of the pilots and dispatcher for the plane that crashed last week as part of its investigation into the incident that killed at least 271 people. Some Chinese civil servants have been ordered not to dine out in groups of more than three after deaths linked to excessive alcohol consumption at banquets, according to interviews and social media posts, as Beijing's austerity push ramps up. Business & Markets   The Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady and decided to decelerate the pace of its balance sheet drawdown next year, signaling its preference to move cautiously in removing remnants of its massive, decade-long stimulus. Federal Reserve policymakers will begin a two-day meeting with escalating tensions in the Middle East risking a new commodity price shock and fresh US data is expected to show a drop in retail sales and sluggish factory output in May. Thames Water, which supplies water and sewage services to 16 million customers in southern England, is loaded with debt and struggling to survive. For the latest news on ESG trends affecting companies and governments, sign up for the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter.  Prominent podcasters like Joe Rogan are playing a bigger role in news dissemination in the US, as are AI chatbots, contributing to the further erosion of traditional media, according to the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism's annual Digital News Report. ChatGPT maker OpenAI was awarded a $200 million contract to provide the US Defense Department with artificial intelligence tools, the Pentagon said. Trump signed an agreement formally lowering some tariffs on imports from Britain as the countries continue working toward a formal trade deal. Stocks fell, while oil and gold rose, as fighting between Israel and Iran entered a fifth day, raising investor concerns over the risk of a broader regional conflict in a week packed with key central bank decisions. For more, watch our daily rundown on financial markets. US lawmakers endorsed digital tokens backed by dollars like Tether and USDC, collectively worth $250 billion. In this episode of The Big View podcast, banks analyst and author Dan Davies explains the risks of mingling supposedly solid crypto assets with the regulated banking system. Iran leader Khamenei sees his inner circle hollowed out by Israel   Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran, June 4, 2025. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS/File photo Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei cuts an increasingly lonely figure. Khamenei has seen his main military and security advisers killed by Israeli air strikes, leaving major holes in his inner circle and raising the risk of strategic errors, according to five people familiar with his decision-making process. Read more In Pictures People attend the annual LGBTQ+ Pride parade in Rome, Italy, June 14. REUTERS/Yara Nardi  Our photographers capture Pride celebrations around the world. View gallery Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. 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. 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