Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for May 1st, covering the latest developments you need to know.
1. Azerbaijan, Kuwait sign joint declaration following 3rd meeting of Joint Commission for Cooperation
Azerbaijan and Kuwait held their 3rd Joint Commission for Cooperation in Kuwait City on 30 April 2025, co-chaired by Foreign Ministers Jeyhun Bayramov and Abdullah Ali Al-Yahya. Officials from both governments approved:
Two-year roadmap (2025-27) and meeting protocol to guide cooperation.
Trade & investment: plans to boost bilateral trade, support joint industrial/tech projects, and improve logistics.
Energy: deeper oil-and-gas ties plus joint clean-energy initiatives.
Sectoral accords: new agricultural pact and programmes for sports, culture, and tourism.
Both sides committed to expanding collaboration in infrastructure, high tech, transport, food security, education, health, media and sports, reaffirmed mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, and praised coordination in multilateral forums. Kuwait lauded Azerbaijan’s COP29 hosting; Azerbaijan commended Kuwait’s current GCC chairmanship, with both pledging to implement the GCC–Azerbaijan work plan (2024-28). The next Joint Commission meeting will be in Baku in 2027.
2. Trump says he has "potential deals" with India, South Korea, Japan
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is pursuing possible trade agreements with India, South Korea and Japan, hoping to translate his tariff strategy into formal deals. During a NewsNation town-hall event, Trump was asked when announcements might come and replied, “We have potential deals” with all three nations.
3. Pentagon chief warns Iran of consequences for supporting Houthis
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned Wednesday that Iran will “pay the consequence” for arming Yemen’s Houthis, even as Washington and Tehran prepare for a fourth round of indirect nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday—mediated by Oman after three earlier sessions aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program and easing U.S. sanctions.
Hegseth’s message on X, later echoed in a repost from President Donald Trump, followed more than 1,000 U.S. strikes on Houthi targets since March. Tehran insists the group, which targets Red Sea shipping in support of Palestinians, acts independently.
To reinforce the region, the Pentagon has positioned six B-2 bombers on Diego Garcia, two U.S. aircraft carriers in Middle Eastern waters, and redeployed air-defense assets from Asia. Despite the renewed diplomacy, major gaps remain; Trump recently told Time he still hopes for a deal but will not rule out military action.
4. Russian drones hit Odesa, Kharkiv
“There is considerable damage,” said Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper on Telegram. “Fires have broken out in a number of places.” Photos posted online showed shattered building facades and smoke rising across the city.
In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, a drone hit a petrol station in the city centre, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. A fire broke out, but no further details were immediately released.
There were no reports of casualties as of early Thursday morning.
The strikes come amid renewed Russian attacks on Ukraine’s cities as the war approaches its fourth year.
5. North Korea, Russia begin bridge project
Work began Wednesday on the road bridge spanning the Tumen River, a long-discussed project finalised during President Vladimir Putin’s 2024 visit to Pyongyang. The bridge is expected to facilitate trade, tourism, and the movement of goods and people.
KCNA said the project marks a “substantial guarantee” for strengthening infrastructure and deepening economic cooperation.
The announcement comes amid growing signs of a strategic partnership. South Korean lawmakers, citing intelligence reports, say Pyongyang is receiving Russian assistance across 14 industrial sectors—including aviation, energy, and metals—in return for supplying arms to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The bridge adds a new layer to what analysts see as a widening alignment between two heavily sanctioned states.
On Tuesday, the U.S. dollar strengthened against major peers, while the euro fell following slower-than-expected inflation in Europe. Market movements...
U.S. President Donald Trump and his team are actively exploring options to acquire Greenland, with discussions including the potential use of the U.S....
Leaders from the U.S. and European countries moved closer to finalising legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine following a “Coalition of th...
Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday, boosted by optimism over artificial intelligence (AI) and a strong rally in Moderna shares, with the Dow Jones I...
At least four people were killed and several others injured on Tuesday during fighting in Aleppo, northern Syria, state media reported. The government...
On Tuesday, the U.S. dollar strengthened against major peers, while the euro fell following slower-than-expected inflation in Europe. Market movements were relatively subdued as investors focused on upcoming U.S. economic data.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his team are actively exploring options to acquire Greenland, with discussions including the potential use of the U.S. military, which is "always an option," according to a statement from the White House on Tuesday.
Leaders from the U.S. and European countries moved closer to finalising legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine following a “Coalition of the Willing” meeting in Paris on Sunday.
Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday, boosted by optimism over artificial intelligence (AI) and a strong rally in Moderna shares, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average approaching a record high.
Germany’s foreign intelligence service secretly monitored the telephone communications of former U.S. President Barack Obama for several years, including calls made aboard Air Force One, according to an investigation by the German newspaper Die Zeit.
Israeli media report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chaired a lengthy security meeting that reportedly focused on the country’s regional threats, including Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday (4 January) that the United States could carry out further military action in Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he said Washington now effectively controls the country.
At the end of last year, U.S. President Donald Trump was reported to have raised the Azerbaijan–Armenia peace agenda during a conversation with Israel’s prime minister, warning that if peace were not achieved, Washington could raise tariffs on both countries by 100 percent.
President Ilham Aliyev said 2025 has politically closed the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, as a Trump-era reset in U.S. ties, new transport corridors and a push into AI, renewables and defence production reshape Azerbaijan’s priorities.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his team are actively exploring options to acquire Greenland, with discussions including the potential use of the U.S. military, which is "always an option," according to a statement from the White House on Tuesday.
Leaders from the U.S. and European countries moved closer to finalising legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine following a “Coalition of the Willing” meeting in Paris on Sunday.
At least four people were killed and several others injured on Tuesday during fighting in Aleppo, northern Syria, state media reported. The government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are trading blame for the violence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a declaration of intent on Tuesday outlining the future deployment of multinational forces in Ukraine.
The United States has presented Israel and Syria with a proposal for a security agreement that would establish a joint economic zone along the border, Axios reported on Tuesday.
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