Trump hosts Brazil’s Lula at White House today
Brazil’s pugnacious left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will sit down with US President Donald Trump today at the White House, and ties between the two leaders have been fraught, to say the least. Last year, Trump imposed sanctions and tariffs on Brazil over its content moderation policies and the legal prosecution of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump pal, for trying to overturn the 2022 election. But Lula refused to back down (a popular move among Brazilians), and Trump eventually walked back some tariffs. The two have also clashed over US action in Venezuela and Iran. What’s on the agenda today? Lula, currently polling neck-and-neck with Bolsonaro’s son ahead of this fall’s presidential election, wants to avoid a US trade probe that could result in more tariffs and to keep Trump from designating Brazilian criminal groups as terrorists, which could open the way for US military intervention. Trump, meanwhile, wants preferential US access to Brazil’s vast reserves of critical minerals. Both men are populists with a strong nationalist streak, but they also have had moments of unexpected “chemistry” — what will today’s encounter deliver?
Britons go to the polls
Voters across the United Kingdom go to the polls today in what is being billed as a referendum on the Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Roughly 5,000 seats across 136 local councils and mayoralties are up for grabs, while in Scotland and Wales, all members of their respective national legislatures are up for re-election. Labour is defending over half the contested seats, and polls show the party could lose more than three-quarters of them. But the beneficiaries likely won’t be the opposition Conservatives: their candidates are also predicted to do poorly after losing multiple local races in the past two years. Instead, we’re watching the rise of the right-wing Reform Party, led by anti-immigration firebrand Nigel Farage, and the left-wing Greens, led by self-styled “eco-populist” Zack Polanski. The results could not only reshape British politics but also decide whether the embattled Starmer faces a leadership review before the general election, likely slated for 2029.
Morocco’s young prince steps into the spotlight
Morocco’s Prince El Hassan was given a big promotion by his father over the weekend. The 22-year-old (whose birthday is tomorrow) is taking on the role of chief coordinator for one of the continent’s strongest armies. The appointment is a milestone for the prince, who will eventually succeed his father, King Mohammed VI, in the centuries-old dynasty. The young prince’s step into the spotlight is notable on a continent that is home to the world’s youngest populations, yet some of the oldest leaders. Though his father is relatively young – a spry 62-year-old – his post has no term limits, so he could stay in office for at least another decade. But Hassan’s emergence highlights a new generation that may be coming to the fore. In Uganda, too, the firebrand son of 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni is favored to succeed his father, who recently began his seventh term in office.
