Reuters Daily Briefing

"Blinken warns of last chance to end Gaza war" and "Democratic National Convention in Chicago."

Views expressed in this U.S., World, and Geopolitical News update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 19 August 2024, 1334 UTC.

Content and Source:  https://www.reuters.com/newsletters/daily-briefing.

Please check link or scroll down to read your selections.  Thanks for joining us today.

Russ Roberts (https://trendsingeopolitics.blogspot.com.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters

Daily Briefing

By Kate Turton

Blinken warns Israel and Hamas of last chance to end Gaza war, Indian medics refuse to end protests, and the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago. Plus, a stunning photo essay captures the fight for a way of life in Tahiti.

Today's Top News

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike on a residential building in Nuseirat, in this screen grab taken from a video, August 18, 2024. Reuters TV via REUTERS US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the latest diplomatic push by Washington to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza "probably the best, maybe the last opportunity" and urged all parties to get the agreement over the finish line. Meanwhile, Israeli police say a deadly bomb blast in Tel Aviv was a terrorist attack.  Thousands of Indian junior doctors refused to end protests over the rape and murder of a fellow medic, disrupting hospital services nearly a week after they launched a nationwide action demanding a safer workplace and swift criminal probe. The Philippines has detected a new case of the mpox virus in the country, the first since December last year, its health department said, adding it was awaiting test results before being able to determine the strain. A Russian investigator said on that Ukraine had struck and damaged a third bridge over the Seym river in Russia's Kursk region a day earlier, where Moscow's troops have been battling Kyiv's forces for nearly two weeks. Follow the latest from the war. Two German warships await orders from Berlin, their commander said, to determine whether next month they will be the first German naval vessels in decades to pass through the Taiwan Strait, drawing a rebuke from Beijing. One person died and six people were missing after a British-registered luxury yacht was struck by a whirlwind and sank off the coast of the Sicilian capital Palermo, Italian media reported.

DNC

Today the Democratic National Convention kicks off. Attendees will celebrate Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign for the White House against Republican Donald Trump and honor President Joe Biden. The event is expected also to draw protesters, many of them opposed to the Biden administration's support for Israel's Gaza offensive. Every day this week you can hear Christopher Walljasper on the ground in Chicago for what's set to be a vibe-heavy, policy-light DNC - listen now.

Business & Markets

High interest rates may be on the way out, with the US central bank expected to deliver a first cut in September and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell potentially providing more information about the approach to the policy easing at the Kansas City Fed's annual conference in Jackson Hole. Sun seekers are turning to package holidays in Europe as soaring hotel and flight prices revive demand for the all-inclusive deals that had fallen from favor, bolstering the balance sheets of some travel companies. In Kenya, a bruising price war between ride-hailing companies Uber, Estonia's Bolt and local start-ups Little and Faras has driven fares down to a level that many drivers say is unsustainable, forcing them to set their own higher rates. Japan's national and Tokyo governments are seeking a $4.7 billion valuation for Tokyo Metro as they prepare to list the subway operator as early as October-end, three sources said, in what would be the nation's biggest IPO in roughly six years. Canada's freight rail network could come to a grinding halt this week, inflicting a huge economic toll after the country's two largest railroad operators issued lockout notices to the Teamsters union that represents nearly 10,000 workers. Japan's Seven & i said it had received a preliminary takeover offer from Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard, making the 7-Eleven owner the largest-ever Japanese target of a foreign buyout.

For Black Britons, UK riots leave lasting scars

Ngozi Fulani, CEO and founder of Sistah Space, poses for a portrait holding a Survivor Doll at their shop in London, Britain, August 15, 2024. REUTERS/Hollie Adams "Please do not go out until this blows over," Sarah Akinterinwa, messaged a friend on August 7. "I'm going into town tomorrow. Should be okay," came the response. The messages are typical of the concern that spread among Black Britons as racist riots erupted in towns and cities across the country at the start of August. Energy and ESG Editor Sharon Kimathi tells Reuters World News podcast how racist violence during the recent UK riots has reopened old wounds in the Black community. Read more

And Finally...

Fish swim at a coral reef inside a rahui in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, August 4, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Barria On the remote south coast of Tahiti, its Jurassic peaks and azure lagoon accessible only by boat, centuries-old Polynesian conservation traditions are being revived to protect this unique environment. View our photo essay

Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Reuters Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement

© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036