Reuters World News - Trump’s ‘reverse migration’, Hong Kong and Black Friday

Episode Date: November 28, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump calls for a sweeping crackdown on immigration from developing nations after a deadly attack near the White House. Rescue efforts are called off in Hong Kong after a massive fire leaves more than 120 people dead and around 200 still missing. Record Black Friday crowds are expected in store but not at the checkout. Plus, why Finns are so happy. Recommended Read: Genome study reveals milestone in history of cat domestication Listen to Morning Bid podcast here.  Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here.  Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast 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

Hi, I'm Carmel Crimmons in Dublin. It's Friday, November 28th. Today, Trump says he's freezing migration from third world countries. The search for survivors in the Hong Kong fire ends with around 200 people still missing. Flooding kills scores in Southeast Asia. And Black Friday bargains beckon, but for browsers, not buyers. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. President Donald Trump says the US will permanently pause migration from all, quote, third world countries. In a post on truth social, he also says he would end all federal benefits for non-citizens and deport any foreign national deemed a security risk or non-compatible with Western civilization. Trump's post follows the death of a National Guard member in an attack near the White House by an Afghan national. I must unfortunately tell you that just seconds before I went on, right now, Now I heard that Sarah Bextram of West Virginia,

one of the guardsmen that we're talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023. Outstanding in every way, she's just passed away. Her fellow guardsman, Andrew Wolfe, was fighting for his life, Trump said. Trump blames the shooting on immigration vetting failures during the Biden era. The alleged gunman entered the US in 2021 under a resettlement program and was granted asylum this year. Trump didn't explain what he meant by third world countries or any specifics of how he would freeze migration.

Authorities in Hong Kong are calling off the search for survivors after the city's worst fire in decades. Over 120 people are dead and around 200 are still missing after a blaze destroyed the Wang Fook Court housing complex. The estate had been undergoing renovations and was wrapped in bamboo scaffolding in green mesh when the fire started and quickly spread. Residents from a housing estate next to the blaze have been sheltering in a shopping mall. 48-year-old Zhang says people she knows

who lived in the burnt block only have the clothes they're wearing. It's Black Friday and retailers are bracing for record crowds, but not record splurges. I asked Helen. read are European retail correspondent why some people are browsing, not buying. This year, consumer confidence in the US is really quite low and unemployment is near a four-year high.

So shoppers in general have really become a lot more cautious and selective about what they're buying. And the projections show that average spending is expected to fall this year compared to last year. And in general, I think people are really going to be looking for specific items and maybe opting out of things that they don't need as much. Helen says retailers are trying to coax shoppers to buy. So retail analysts say that brands are really trying to lure people in this season with kind of smaller items. So for example, wallets instead of suitcases and customizable, handbags and decorations like the Crocs, gibbets charms. And it's really about those smaller items rather than the big ticket items that people traditionally went out to buy on Black Friday.

Investors will be watching closely to see how Black Friday goes for retailers. Here's Nell McKenzie from our new Finance and Markets podcast MorningBid to tell us what they're looking out for. Hey, Nell. Hi, Carmel. Well, we've been digging in into some of the economic data behind today's retail sales and talking about why this Black Friday really matters. We're also looking at the CME outage on Globex, which of course is where futures, gold futures, crude oil futures and currencies and stock futures are traded. As well, we're looking at the Ukraine and Russia peace deal and what this means for global oil prices. If you want to hear anything more on these topics, please tune in for Reuters Morning Bid podcast.

Thanks, Nell. Make sure to follow Reuters' morning bids so you never miss an episode, or ask your smart speaker to play it right after this. Ai wades through floodwaters in Hattie, Thailand to reach her stranded brother. He's been cut off for days after flooding hit vast swathes of Southeast Asia. Over 120 people are dead across the region after a week's worth of cyclone-fueled torrential rain. When I was finally able to enter the community, streets and homes are coated in thick mud. She holds back tears as she describes how some people were stuck on rooftops without food. NASA is cutting back the number of manned flights with aerospace giant Boeing.

The company struggled with its starliner program for years. And as NASA plans out its final trips to the International Space Station, Boeing's got work to do in order to be included on those crude missions. Joey Roulette covers the business of space. Boeing has had a lot of problems on the Starliner program for many years, particularly since 2019, and it really kind of culminated in in 2024 last summer when they had their first flight carrying astronauts. This was Butch Wilmore and Sonny Williams. And what was supposed to be an eight-day mission extended into a nine-month mission because Boeing and NASA were trying to work

together to investigate these unexpected issues. SpaceX has really kind of positioned itself as NASA's main ride to the International Space Station through 2030, which is when the ISS is supposed to retire. The next mission for Boeing is supposed to be in April, 26. That's when they're targeting. That's going to be uncrewd. And then the expectation is that the following three will be crude. But that only depends on how they do on this next test.

If Boeing fumbles again, then you can assume that maybe these other missions are just going to be without humans on board. or they might take another broader look at the contract and reassess Boeing's role in the program. It really comes down to how Boeing executes on this next uncrewed cargo mission. NASA still wants Boeing to remain in the program because they want a second provider as backup and as redundancy. But the case for that involving Boeing is getting weaker and weaker because Boeing can't seem to dig itself out of this development rut that it's been in for a very good. long time. NASA still has Boeing in the rotation for some crude missions if it can work out the kinks.

Long dark nights, little winter sun, rising unemployment, and the top of the world happiness report for the eighth year in a row. Welcome to Finland. The sauna and swimming culture helped for sure, but Helsinki bureau chief Anna Karanen says there's a certain Finnish peace of mind that keeps moods afloat, despite economic worries. That is a combination of the generous Nordic welfare state that we have that sort of shields people from hardship during bad times. There's also a certain resilience among the Finnish population towards difficulties. We in Finland call that Sisu, which means perseverance or just the fact that usually Finns like to take.

things in their stride. Most recently, Finland has been heavily hit by the war in Ukraine. Finland is a neighbor to Russia, which used to be a big trading partner. So Finland has sort of become this dead end on the edge of Europe now. The Finnish economy is heavily dependent on exports. So all of this global economic turmoil and these trade wars, and tariffs, they are really having a big impact on the Finnish economy. And for today's recommended read, why cats came inside. A new study has revealed a milestone in the history of cat domestication, dating the furry trailblazers arrival into European homes in Roman times off the back of maritime trade.

The study is inconclusive, though, on why they're pawing at the door to get out again when you just let them in. There's more on the link in the pod 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. 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.