Chief-Exec.com

Donald Trump says US will not ‘rush into a deal’ with Iran as talks continue
Donald Trump has told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal” with Iran that would lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, saying “both sides must take their time and get it right”. The US president’s remarks, in a post to his Truth Social platform, came a day after he suggested that an agreement was close, claiming it had “largely been negotiated”. On Saturday afternoon, Trump said “final aspects and details” of a deal that would open the Strait of Hormuz were “currently being discussed” and would “be announced shortly”. Oil prices dropped on Monday during Asian trading. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, fell 5.2 per cent to $98.15 a barrel. US oil prices dropped 5.5 per cent to $91.28 a barrel. Asian stock markets rose and US and European stock futures also advanced. Trump tempered that optimism by posting on Sunday that the deal “isn’t even fully negotiated yet”. On Monday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that Washington is “going to give diplomacy every chance to succeed before we explore the alternatives”. “We’re either going to have a good agreement or we’re going to have to deal with it another way,” he added. Financial Times, May 25

Pope Leo XIV set to release manifesto on AI's ethical risks and global impact
Pope Leo XIV will release on Monday his long-awaited manifesto on artificial intelligence, a bid to address ethical and social challenges as the technology rapidly develops worldwide. The US pope will attend the presentation of the "Magnifica Humanitas" (Magnificent Humanity) encyclical at the Vatican in person - a first for the Catholic Church. He will be joined not only by officials from the Holy See but experts including the co-founder of the American startup Anthropic, a key player in the booming AI landscape. Anthropic is in a legal battle with the US military after refusing to change its internal policy prohibiting the use of its Claude model for lethal autonomous warfare or mass surveillance. France 24, May 25

First Hong Kong astronaut launches into space onboard Chinese mission
A Hong Kong astronaut has been launched into space for the first time, aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. Li Jiaying, a 43-year-old police officer and mother of three, serves as the payload scientist in the three-member crew who made their way to China's Tiangong space station on Sunday night. At least one member of the crew will spend a full year in orbit as part of a key experiment. Authorities will determine who that will be at a later date. The mission is the latest in China's ambitious space program to send humans to the moon by 2030. It comes amid an accelerating race with the US, which is looking to achieve a crewed lunar landing by 2028. The Shenzhou-23 is tasked with studying the effects of microgravity on the human body, among many experiments. Apart from Li, the two other astronauts on the mission are Zhu Yangzhu, a 39-year-old space engineer and Zhang Zhiyuan, a 39-year-old former air force pilot. BBC news, May 25

UK universities cut jobs, research and teaching amid squeeze in overseas students
Rising numbers of UK universities are laying off staff and cutting research and teaching, according to a survey that points to the impact of falling international student numbers on the sector. Universities are warning that Britain’s future economic innovation is at risk as institutions increasingly cut back on academics’ research time and PhD funding to help balance the books. The Office for Students, which regulates the sector, found this month that 43 per cent of universities were likely to have ended 2025-26 in deficit after “over-optimistic” attempts to boost student recruitment. Lucrative overseas students, who have helped universities subsidise UK students, fell by 10 per cent in 2025-26. This was the second successive annual decline as ministers tighten visa rules and economic turmoil in countries such as Nigeria reduces demand. Financial Times, May 25

Parents on benefits could be paid to let teenagers be apprentices
Families on benefits could be paid hundreds of pounds a month to stop them discouraging their teenage children from taking apprenticeships. Ministers are considering grants in cases where those aged 16 and 17 can cause their parents to lose money by leaving education. Alan Milburn, the government’s work tsar, is expected to warn this week that the benefits system is creating perverse incentives that hold teenagers back from finding jobs. “For every £25 that we spend keeping young people on benefits, we spend only £1 helping them get into work through employment support,” he said on Sunday. Almost one million young people are not in education, employment or training, and Milburn said a “system reset” on welfare was “absolutely essential and needs to be done well”. The Times, May 24

Rubio meets Nato allies as Trump voices disappointment over Europe’s Iran war stance
Nato's European members will look to sound out US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on troop cuts by Washington on Friday, as they seek to smooth over President Donald Trump's ire ahead of a July summit. The meeting of alliance foreign ministers in the Swedish city of Helsingborg comes after the US leader lashed out at Europe over its response to his war on Iran - and threatened he could consider quitting Nato. The 77-year-old alliance was rattled this month when Washington abruptly announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany after a spat between Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz. While the Trump administration had long warned it would pull out forces from Europe to focus on other threats, a lack of coordination has heightened concern over Washington's reliability in the face of a menacing Russia. France 24, May 22

Countries need clarity on war before tapping oil reserves, France says
Governments cannot decide whether to release more oil reserves to calm the crisis caused by the Iran war until they know how long the conflict is likely to last, said France’s finance minister. Asked whether talks over a second release of strategic oil reserves had begun, Roland Lescure told the FT that the issue was not on the table when he hosted finance ministers from G7 nations, including US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, in Paris earlier this week. “We cannot release stocks - which are by nature finite - without having visibility on the duration and intensity of the conflict at this stage,” Lescure said in an interview. Even once the Strait of Hormuz does open, it will take several weeks for oil supplies to reach Europe, Asia and other regions, so visibility on the timing of when those flows will restart will be key, he added. “That would be the kind of moment in which it would make sense to consider the release of reserves to ensure the transition [from] the current phase to the next. The circumstances have not yet come together,” Lescure said. Financial Times, May 22

US navy chief says $14bn arms sale to Taiwan paused due to Iran war
The US is pausing a $14bn (£10.4bn) arms sale to Taiwan to ensure it has enough weapons for the Iran war, acting Navy secretary Hung Cao has said. Cao confirmed this at a Senate hearing, days after President Donald Trump appeared non-committal about the sale following his meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. A spokesperson for Taiwan's presidential office told reporters on Friday that they had not received any information about "US adjustments to the arms sale". The sale of US arms to Taiwan has long irked Beijing, which claims the self-governed island as its territory and has not ruled out taking it by force. "Right now we're doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury - which we have plenty," Cao said at the hearing on Thursday, using the code name for the US-Israel joint military operation in Iran. "We're just making sure we have everything, but then the foreign military sales will continue when the administration deems necessary." When asked what he had heard from the Taiwanese about a pause in the weapons sale, Cao said he had "not spoken to the Taiwanese". BBC news, May 22

UK borrowing hits £24.3bn in April as debt service costs jump
The UK’s public sector borrowing bill rose more than expected last month as the government paid more to service its debts. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the borrowing bill was up to £24.3 billion in April, above the £20.9 billion forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility, the government’s fiscal watchdog. The figure represents the level of state borrowing needed to cover the difference between spending and tax revenues. The ONS said the debt interest bill rose to £10.3 billion last month – the highest on record for April which marks the start of the new financial year. The government is paying more than £100 billion a year to service its debts as a result of high interest rates and market borrowing costs. The Times, May 22

UK officials discuss fresh aid cuts to help fund higher defence spending
UK officials are discussing fresh cuts to the falling aid budget to help finance defence investment, sparking anxiety among MPs and charities about the government’s commitment to international development funding. The proposals to further reduce the aid budget, under discussion in Whitehall according to people familiar with the matter, come after Sir Keir Starmer last year said he would slash development spending to fund a defence spending uplift in order to counter the threat from Russia. The prime minister said the aid budget would fall from 0.5 per cent of gross national income to 0.3 per cent by 2027 in order to fund a commensurate rise in defence spending, following pressure from Donald Trump on European allies. Starmer has since vowed to “go further and faster” in raising military funding and has promised to set out details within weeks. MPs and charities have warned the prime minister not to cut the aid budget to fund it. Financial Times, May 22