Reuters World News - Japan deal, Epstein, USAID contraceptives and Ozzy

Episode Date: July 24, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump has struck a tariff deal with Japan. The U.S. House goes into summer recess as pressure mounts for the release of all government documents on Epstein. The Trump administration is destroying 10 million dollars' worth of U.S-funded contraceptives meant for overseas. And tributes to Ozzy Osbourne as the "godfather of heavy metal" dies aged 76. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Find the Recommended Read here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Trump announces a trade deal with Japan. Lawmakers avoid a public fight about the Epstein files for now. Millions of dollars worth of US-funded contraceptives meant for overseas are destroyed. And Ozzy Osbourne dies, aged 76. It's Wednesday, July 23rd. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Kim Vennel. in Wanganui, New Zealand.

US President Donald Trump has announced a trade deal has been reached with Japan. He says it'll mean $550 billion worth of investment into the US, with reciprocal tariffs of 15%. Tim Kelly is in Tokyo. Tim, how significant is this? For Japan, it's very significant because the US is its biggest export market, and for autos in particular, because the quarter of what Japan exports to the US is autos, and there was a 25% tariff in place.

So a reduction to 15% is a big deal for Japan's automakers such as Toyota and Honda and Mazda. Another significant point of this deal is that Japan will not reduce its barriers for agricultural products, including rice. There may be some increase in the imports of US rice within the existing system, but it doesn't seem to be any significant movement there. This agreement covers around 1,000 products. So, you know, there are individual agreements on individual products, so we'll have to wait and see more details as to what products are included or not included. So, you know, as with these things, the devil is always in the detail. As Tim mentioned, the deal is great for Japan's auto industry,

but in the US, the Detroit three are raising concerns about the trade deal. That's because Japanese cars would face a 15% tariff, while imports from Canada and Mexico remain at 25%. And even though General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, are based in Detroit and their cars contain a lot of US parts, they still face levees on the parts and manufacturing that happens across the US border. To markets and Japanese stocks are surging to a one year high on the back of the trade deal announcement. Shares in Toyota jumping almost 14% and Mazda rallying 17%. The deal is also reviving hope for a European Union trade deal, with Trump announcing negotiators are arriving today,

boosting stock futures across the region. Meanwhile, Asian markets are responding positively to news that US and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm next week to discuss extending their trade deal deadline. Former President Barack Obama's team is calling Trump's latest accusations a weak attempt at distraction. It's in response to Trump accusing Obama of trade. prison for tying him to Russia during the 2016 campaign.

Trump's referring to a report from U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, that accuses Obama of a years-long coup against President Trump, findings that the Democrats have branded false. Obama's office says nothing in the report changes the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 election. A public political fight to release files on disgraced financier and sex effects. defender Jeffrey Epstein has been avoided for now. The U.S. House of Representatives was due to vote to release the Epstein documents, but Republican Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the session a day

early. The Department of Justice, meanwhile, says it's now asking for a meeting with Epstein's imprisoned confidant, Galane Maxwell. To understand why we called up our Justice Department correspondent Sarah Lynch in D.C. The Justice Department has said, perhaps by speaking with Maxwell. They could shed light on what other people might have been caught up in this alleged sex trafficking ring that Jeffrey Epstein was accused of running. She did not take the stand at her own defense. So it would be interesting to hear what she knows about whether there were these high-profile businessmen or actors or celebrities or politicians who may have had dealings with Epstein and may have had inappropriate relationships with some of these victims.

What's the White House saying about these potential talks? President Trump said he was not aware of these talks about speaking with Maxwell, but that it was appropriate for the Justice Department to do that. He was acting a bit annoyed when reporters would bring up questions about Epstein. But as his supporters have continued this drumbeat calling for additional information, he sort of softened his tone a little bit, and now he sort of put it into the Justice Department's court. With the sound of drones outside,

Doctors unwrap the body of six-week-old Yusef al-Safari at Al-Sheva Hospital in Gaza. The tiny baby boy died of starvation. His uncle, Adham, says the family couldn't find formula to feed him. And the baby's mother wasn't making breast milk as she is starving too. On the ward, skeletal children lie still in bed. the hospital's director, Dr. Mohamed Abu Salima, says Gaza is at an inflection point. He says dozens of people have died of starvation in the past day and a half,

and he says without more aid, that number will swell into the thousands and quickly. Local health officials say malnutrition is now killing Palestinians faster than at any point in the war. More than 100 aid and rights groups are calling on governments to take action. Israel controls all aid supplies into the war-ravaged enclave. It denies accusations at stopping aid from reaching Gaza and accuses Hamas of stealing food, an allegation Hamas denies. The Trump administration is destroying $10 million worth of US-funded contraceptives meant for overseas.

The supplies are being sent to France to be in size. That's despite offers from aid organisations to ship the contraceptives to poorer nations for free, according to sources. The supplies have been stuck in a warehouse in Belgium for months following President Trump's decision to freeze US foreign aid in January. Our East Africa Bureau Chief Amu Kanapili is in Nairobi. Destroying supplies is not cheap. What you're factoring in is the cost of transporting it from the warehouse and across the

national border, going to France. There will be charges paid to the company that will be handling the incineration to cover those costs, but also the volume of these supplies is massive. We are talking about over 25 truckloads, according to the sources we spoke to. Most incineration facilities will not have the capacity to handle that. So why not just let the aid groups take these contraceptives? The Belgian Foreign Ministry has actually come on record to see, that they worked very hard to negotiate a way out of this and to save these supplies. And even went so far as to say that, you know, sexual and reproductive rights should not be ideological. But ultimately, it looks like the negotiations just fell through.

The State Department hasn't responded to Reuters' request for comment on this. We have a source who has told us there's no way that the U.S. government would be able to guarantee that the supplies wouldn't be passed on to other organisations which provide abortion services. Critics of the administrations say that this is not about saving money because the US government will be spending money to destroy these supplies and that it is an assault on women's rights. Black Sabbath founding member Tony Iommi has described the death of Ozzy Osbourne as like losing a brother. The man known as the godfather of heavy metal, died on Tuesday, aged 76.

Just weeks before his death, Osborne and his original band delighted fans with a farewell gig in Birmingham. Osborne performed from a black throne on stage as he was unable to walk due to Parkinson's disease. And for today's recommended read, we're in Chile, where the left has made a bold choice to contest a resurgent right in November's election, choosing a member of the Communist Party.

Read all about Jeanette Jara and her plans and why the left is going this route. We'll put a link to that story in today's podcast description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.