Reuters Weekend Briefing

"31 dead in Beirut strike."

Views expressed in this U.S., World, and Geopolitical News update are those of the reporters and correspondents.  Accessed on 21 September 2024, 1446 UTC.

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

 

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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing   By Kate Turton, Newsletter Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing, I'm in for Robert this week.  Read about China's $5 billion a year micro drama industry, which is gaining popularity amongst viewers and scrutiny from the Communist Party with narratives revolving around revenge or Cinderella-like rags-to-riches journeys. Plus, this weekend's episode of the Reuters World News podcast, UN Bureau Chief Michelle Nichols, US Foreign Policy Editor Don Durfee and Deputy US Foreign Policy Editor Humeyra Pamuk lay out the major crises facing the UN.

Israel says actions are part of new war phase   Israeli fighter jet takes off at an unidentified location, in this handout photo released September 19, 2024. Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS The latest: Operations commander Ibrahim Aqil, who served on Hezbollah's top military body, was killed Friday alongside members of the group's elite Radwan Unit. The strike sharply escalates the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Earlier in the week, the group suffered an unprecedented attack in which pagers and walkie talkies used by its members exploded, killing 37 people and wounding thousands. Devices tested: Lebanon's Hezbollah was still handing its members new Gold Apollo branded pagers hours before those devices blew up, two security sources said, indicating the group was confident they were safe despite an ongoing sweep of electronic equipment to identify threats. Reuters photographers captured chaotic scenes from Lebanon in the aftermath of the explosions.

In-person voting begins in some US states Starry, starry night:  A star-studded virtual event hosted by Oprah Winfrey to build enthusiasm for Kamala Harris' campaign was marked by teary moments and celebrity endorsements, drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers across social media. Count on me: Georgia's Republican-controlled state election board voted to require a labor-intensive hand count of potentially millions of ballots in November's election, a move voting rights advocates say could cause delays, introduce errors and lay the groundwork for spurious election challenges.

Fed to cut rates by 25bps in Nov and Dec Cashing out: Investment advisers are urging clients to dump hefty cash allocations now that the Federal Reserve has begun its much-anticipated interest-rate easing, a process they expect to limit the appeal of money-market funds in the coming months. Market response: As the Federal Reserve kicks off its long-awaited rate cutting cycle, some investors are wary that richly valued US stocks may have already priced in the benefits of easier monetary policy, making it harder for markets to rise much further.

Tech giants push to dilute Europe's AI Act No phone: The world's biggest technology companies have embarked on a final push to persuade the European Union to take a light-touch approach to regulating artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Ukraine has banned use of the Telegram messaging app on official devices used by state officials, military personnel and critical workers because it believes its enemy Russia can spy on both messages and users, a top security body said on Friday. High demand: Pre-order demand in Russia for the new iPhone is 15% higher than for its predecessor, one reseller told Reuters, even though it is at least 50% more expensive than in the West. Russia legalized so-called "grey" or "parallel" imports to allow goods to enter the country without the brands' permission after Western companies imposed export bans in 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine.

Before I forget… Exclusive: Iran did not include mobile launchers with the close-range ballistic missiles that Washington last week accused Tehran of delivering to Russia for use against Ukraine, according to three sources with knowledge of the matter. Scarred by a decades-long civil war and struggling to survive in Sri Lanka's crippled economy, ethnic minority Tamils in the island nation say they have little hope that the presidential election will improve their lot by much. Qualcomm has in recent days approached Intel to explore a potential acquisition of the troubled chipmaker, a source familiar with the situation said on Friday. The deal could transform the sector but faces many hurdles. Drug gatekeepers: The US Federal Trade Commission sued the country's three largest pharmacy benefit managers on Friday, accusing them of steering diabetic patients towards higher priced insulin in order to reap millions of dollars in rebates from pharmaceutical companies. Overwork in finance is in the news after the death of a 26-year-old associate worker in India was blamed on stress by her mother who demanded accountability. India is investigating the work environment at Big Four accounting firm EY, the labor minister said.  Look what you made them do:  Russian fans of Taylor Swift are using creative methods to get around travel challenges caused by geopolitical tensions to access Western music services. Rare harvest supermoon partial lunar eclipse may sound like the results of a game of Scattegories, but the photos of this week's celestial event are worth spending some time on. The (Tupperware) party is over? It seems everyone I know has at least one Tupperware lady in their extended orbit. But future generations may not, as this week the brand filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware.

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