Reuters World News - Trump postpones Iran energy strikes, LaGuardia and France elections

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, from London, I'm Ethan Plotkin. It's Monday, March 23rd. Today, Trump postpones military strikes on Iranian power plants, saying the U.S. and Iran have held good and productive conversations. LaGuardia is closed after a pilot and co-pilot were killed in a collision on the runway. And France's far right misses key cities in local elections, reshaping the 27 presidential race. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the France. front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. First, to some breaking news, U.S. President Donald Trump says he will hold off on strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days. In a post on truth social, he says Washington and Tehran have held productive

Starting point is 00:00:56 talks over the weekend. Trump says those talks could result in a, quote, complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East. World markets have rallied on the announcement with oil falling and stocks surging at the time of recording. Iran's Fars News Agency, though citing a source, has said there are no direct or indirect communications with the United States disputing Trump's statement. Fars says Trump backed down on targeting Iranian power plants after Iran made its reciprocal threats. Iran's Tasneem news agency says that the Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war conditions and energy markets will remain unsettled.

Starting point is 00:01:38 This is a developing story, though, so please head to Reuters.com and the Reuters app for the latest news. Two people have died at New York's LaGuardia Airport after an Air Canada plane collided with a ground vehicle on landing. That's according to authorities and U.S. media. The pilot and co-pilot were killed when the regional jet coming from Montreal hit a fire truck at about 24 miles per hour. footage from the scene shows heavy damage to the nose of the plane. All planes at the airport are grounded and LaGuardia is closed. The FAA says it could remain shut until early afternoon. You can follow any updates on this story at roiders.com or the Reuters app. At airports around the country, TSA agents are missing work in record numbers. The partial government shutdown that began

Starting point is 00:02:29 more than a month ago has left them working without pay. And in major hubs like Atlanta, Houston, and New York, more than a third of security staff called off work this weekend. Starting today, hundreds of immigration and customs enforcement agents are being sent to airports to fill in for them and support airport security operations, according to government officials. Ice agents will help the TSA with crowd control in domestic terminals, according to airport officials, who say the officers will not be conducting immigration enforcement. But in a social media post, President Donald Trump said ICE would also, quote, arrest all illegal immigrants who have come into our country.

Starting point is 00:03:11 Another step forward for U.S. President Donald Trump's Homeland Security nominee, Oklahoma Senator Mark Wayne Mullen. He'll head towards final confirmation after the Senate voted to limit debate on his appointment. That vote could happen as soon as today. A new arrival at the White House, a statue of Christopher Columbus, which has been installed on the grounds. It's the Trump administration's latest effort to reshape how U.S. history is told. The president is taking aim at what he calls anti-American ideas. That's led some exhibitions on slavery to be taken down and statues honoring Confederate leaders to go back up. Civil rights advocates say those moves could undo decades of social progress.

Starting point is 00:03:54 As for Columbus, critics say he was responsible for enslaving and harming indigenous people in the Americas. Several cities have removed depictions of Columbus in recent years. Fire crews arrive at a taped off street in North London, where four ambulances were set on fire overnight. Police are treating the arson attack as an anti-Semitic hate crime. The ambulances belong to a Jewish community organization that responds to medical emergencies, attacks, attacks against Jews and Jewish targets have risen since the October 23 Hamas attacks that triggered the war in Gaza. In France, the far-right national rally, or RN, has failed to win key cities in local elections over the weekend, while mainstream parties on the left and center hold on to major cities like Paris and Marseilles,

Starting point is 00:05:00 stalling the momentum of the far right. The municipal elections are seen as a bellwether ahead of next year's presidential election, When President Emmanuel Macron will leave office, Michel Rose is in Paris for us. This is a disappointing night for the national rally. They wanted to win big cities like Marseille, Toulon, and in the end, although they made gains in some very small towns, they seem to have hit a glass ceiling in major urban centres. And this is something that is going to be a worry for their quest to power.

Starting point is 00:05:37 It doesn't mean that they are no longer the frontrunner, but it means that their march to power is not unstoppable. And Michel says that the results give hope to embattled mainstream parties who had been struggling in the polls. Clear that mainstream parties have showed that they can still win if they're organized and they've got the best candidates. Eduardo Philippe, who's the main centrist candidate and the one that could best take on the R&N, according to opinion polls, had a very good night. He was re-elected in Le Havre, and that means

Starting point is 00:06:12 he may be able to unite other centrist candidates behind him. That gives him momentum going into 2027. To Cuba now, where power has been restored to nearly half of Havana, less than 24 hours after the national grid collapsed. It was the second collapse in a week amid a punishing U.S. oil blockade. Power had been knocked out to the country's approximately 10 million people. The years between 2015 and 2025 have been the hottest since records began. That's according to the latest data from the UN's Weather Agency. The World Meteorological Organization report says it was the hottest 11 years since records began in 1850. The organization says the planet is gaining much more heat energy than it can release, driven by emissions of warming gases, such as carbon

Starting point is 00:07:08 dioxide. For more on the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.

Reuters World News - Trump postpones Iran energy strikes, LaGuardia and France elections

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