Oil prices rise; Trump unveils new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, and more
The World in Brief from The Economist
The Economist
4.1 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 3 April 2026
⏱️ 5 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, you're listening to the free edition of the world in brief from The Economist. |
| 0:11.2 | As a reminder, if you subscribe to The Economist, you'll get access to a deeper look at the day ahead, updated three times a day. |
| 0:20.1 | If you're already an Economist subscriber, |
| 0:22.6 | visit Economist.com slash espresso or visit our espresso app to start listening. Here's today's |
| 0:29.5 | free edition. This is the world in brief from The Economist. |
| 0:41.7 | Our top stories. |
| 0:44.5 | America's main oil benchmark rose to its highest level since mid-2020, on Thursday, after Donald Trump warned in a televised address that he would hit Iran, quote, extremely hard. |
| 0:59.3 | Iran responded defiantly to Mr. Trump's claim that America was close to meeting its military objectives. |
| 1:07.2 | A senior Iranian generals said, quote, no one should survive if America launched a ground |
| 1:13.7 | offensive and vowed that Iran would, quote, not rest until we achieve our goals. |
| 1:21.2 | Mr. Trump unveiled tariffs of up to 100% on some branded drugs, targeting pharmaceutical companies that have not lowered |
| 1:30.2 | prices or increased manufacturing in America. Generic medicines will be exempt. At the same time, |
| 1:38.2 | his administration eased tariffs on products that contain small amounts of steel, aluminum or copper, and simplified how those duties are calculated. |
| 1:50.6 | Mr. Trump sacked Pam Bondi, America's Attorney General. Over the past 14 months, Ms. Bondi has overseen the Department of Justice's failed attempts to prosecute the |
| 2:03.2 | president's enemies. Mr. Trump was also reportedly displeased with her handling of the Epstein |
| 2:10.0 | files. Calling her a, quote, loyal friend, Mr. Trump said that Todd Blanche, her deputy, |
| 2:16.9 | would serve as acting attorney general. |
| 2:21.1 | The Philippines, said Iran had granted, quote, safe, unhindered and expeditious passage for its |
| 2:28.3 | vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. The Southeast Asian country, which gets the majority of its energy supplies from the Middle East, |
| 2:37.2 | said the move would allow steady delivery of oil and fertilizer. |
| 2:42.2 | Separately, Britain is convening around 30 countries for talks on Thursday |
| 2:47.1 | to coordinate diplomatic efforts to reopen the straight. |
... |
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