WeekDay AM: 10 Things you need to know this morning
A new pope, a US-UK trade deal, and the secret lives of Russian saboteurs

 
today's international story

Prevost becomes first American pope

What happened
In his first address as Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost – the first US cleric to lead the Roman Catholic Church – told an adoring crowd of 100,000 at St Peter's Basilica that "evil will not prevail". Born in Chicago in 1955 to parents of Spanish and Franco-Italian descent, Prevost, 69, will be the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter.

Who said what
The new pope's first words to the raucous crowd celebrating in the square below were "peace be with you all". "I would like peace to reach your families, all peoples, all the earth," he said, switching from Italian to Spanish, but without saying a word in English.

Prevost will be seen as a continuity figure who is "believed to share (former pope) Francis's views on migrants, the poor and the environment", said the BBC. His papal name choice "shows a pope who is going to be strong during a time of crisis, historically", Catholic priest and blogger Ed Tomlinson told The Independent. Like Francis, the new pope "intends to champion the needy", said AN Wilson in The Times. "His election feels, in so many ways, like a breath of fresh air."

What next?
Despite being from America, Pope Leo "could prove a powerful new critic for (Donald) Trump", said The Telegraph. Certainly he appears to have previously reposted social media comments critical of the Trump administration that were "in line with his predecessor" and could "cause friction with the White House", said CNN. While his appointment is "likely to be welcomed by progressive factions within the church", it was "probably not the news that some of his more conservative, Trump-aligned US brother cardinals had been hoping for", said The Guardian.

 
 
today's trade story

US and UK confirm 'breakthrough' deal

What happened
Donald Trump and Keir Starmer have agreed a trade deal, with the US lifting the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium and cutting the car export tariff from 27.5% to 10% for the first 100,000 UK vehicles annually. In exchange, the UK will remove tariffs on US ethanol and allow reciprocal market access for beef.

Who said what
Starmer called it a "fantastic, historic" day as he joined an Oval Office news conference via phone from a Jaguar Land Rover manufacturing plant in the West Midlands. Though nothing has been signed yet, the announcement of a US-UK tariff agreement "marks a much-needed win for Donald Trump" as well as a "political boost for Keir Starmer", said Sakshi Venkatraman on the BBC.

What next?
Britain may be the first country to secure a trade deal with the US since the start of the Trump administration's trade war, but the agreement "leaves unanswered questions about cars and farming", said The Times in its lead article. This is a "curate's egg", added the paper's editorial board. "There is more to do."

 
 
Today's health story

'Mini pill' linked to asthma attacks in younger women

What happened
The progesterone-only daily contraceptive pill taken by millions of British women could be associated with a higher risk of serious asthma attacks, new research suggests. Experts from Imperial College London looked at data from more than 260,000 women with asthma taking oral contraceptives and found that those using the so-called "mini pill" had a 39% greater chance of suffering an attack.

Who said what
The research has added "another piece to the puzzle of why women may be more likely to have severe asthma than men", said Chloe Bloom, a clinical senior lecturer at the National Heart and Lung Institute and lead author of the study.

What next?
While the mini pill appears to be tied to an increased asthma risk in younger women, particularly those under 35 and with certain asthma types, there was no link to women who took the combined pill. Erika Kennington from Asthma and Lung UK called it an "important first step", but cautioned that more research was needed before proscribing guidelines could be changed.

 
 

It's not all bad

Bill Gates has pledged to give away 99% of his $108 billion fortune within 20 years, accelerating his charitable gifting through the Gates Foundation, which will close by 2045. Inspired by Andrew Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth", Gates says he refuses to "die rich" and is aiming to help eliminate poverty, preventable diseases and deadly infections. His foundation has already handed out $100 billion and plans to donate another $200 billion, focusing on urgent global health and development challenges.

 
 
under the radar

The secret lives of Russian saboteurs

Moscow is using Telegram to recruit cheap and "disposable" agents to perform sabotage attacks in Europe, according to a European security official. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the Kremlin has launched a campaign of "sabotage, arson and disinformation", sometimes focused on "specific targets" linked to support for Kyiv, but often "simply aimed at causing chaos and unease" among Russia's enemies in the West, said The Observer.

Although Russian "subversion, sabotage and assassination" projects "long predate" the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the past three years have seen a surge in such attacks, said The Telegraph.

A "shadowy" new unit is based in a "sprawling glass-and-steel complex" on Moscow's outskirts nicknamed the "aquarium", said The Wall Street Journal. Euphemistically known as the Department of Special Tasks, it's overseen by Major General Andrey Vladimirovich Averyanov, a veteran of Russia's Chechen wars, and his deputy, Lieutenant General Ivan Sergeevich Kasianenko, who is believed to have co-ordinated the UK operation to poison Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

Anonymous recruiters use Telegram and similar platforms to invite people in European countries to join the fight against Ukraine's Western allies. "On the ground", said The Observer, some of them "know exactly what they are doing and why", but many don't realise they're "ultimately working for Moscow".

People with a criminal background are particularly attractive recruits, the head of MI6, Richard Moore, told a Financial Times panel. This is, at least in part, because they can be used and then discarded. As the European security official told The Observer: "These people are disposable and Moscow doesn't care about them."

 
 
on this day

9 May 1386

The Treaty of Windsor between Portugal and England was signed by King Richard II of England and King John I of Portugal. The alliance aimed to guarantee the security of both nations and strengthen commercial ties. Still in place today, it is "the longest continuing alliance in global history", according to gov.uk.

 
 
Today's newspapers

The "US trade deal" was "made by Brexit", says the Daily Mail, as several of the morning papers lead on news of the transatlantic agreement. The UK failed to reverse a flat 10% levy on most goods, says the FT, while The Times notes that Donald Trump got "better terms for beef and ethanol". "Holy smoke. That was quick!" says Metro, leading on the appointment of a new Pope. "God bless American", says The Sun, of the "surprise pick" of Pope Leo XIV.
Meanwhile, The Mirror leads on yesterday's commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day, reflecting on the King's "moving" message that "we must protect" the "precious legacy" of the wartime generation.

See the newspaper front pages

 
 
tall tale

Say yes to excess

Most British weddings have three to five bridesmaids – but Kathryn and Jack McGowan chose 95 to help them walk down the aisle. The couple said they were initially considering seven or eight, but then "I thought in my head, what's the biggest number of bridesmaids I could have?", Kathryn told the BBC. Of the 250 wedding guests in total, 38% of them were in the bridal party.

 
 

Morning Report was written and edited by Arion McNicoll, Sorcha Bradley, Ross Couzens and Chas Newkey-Burden, with illustrations by Marian Femenias-Moratinos.

Image credits, from top: Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto / Getty Images; Darren Staples / Bloomberg / Getty Images; Sergey Mironov / Getty Images; Illustration by Marian Femenias-Moratinos / Getty Images.