Bhinneka News Online: Friday Briefing: Democrats delay vote on infrastructure plan, bowing to progressives

Friday, 1 October 2021

Friday Briefing: Democrats delay vote on infrastructure plan, bowing to progressives

Friday, October 1, 2021

by Linda Noakes

Hello

Here's what you need to know.

Afghans are leaving U.S. military bases before resettlement, Australia moves to open up to the world, and a broadband firm sues Netflix over a 'Squid Game' traffic surge

Today's biggest stories

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks while signing the continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

U.S.

Democratic leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives delayed a planned vote on a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, bowing to party progressives who have demanded action on a larger social policy bill first. With his signature spending plan under threat, President Joe Biden is preparing to scale back his lofty goals.

Biden's administration is set to urge a judge to block a near-total ban on abortion imposed by Texas - the strictest such law in the nation - in a key battle in the ferocious legal war over abortion access in the United States.

We look at a Supreme Court caught in the political crosshairs as it weighs abortion and guns. Here's what's on the court's agenda.

Merck & Co's experimental oral drug for COVID-19, molnupiravir, reduced by around 50% the chance of hospitalization or death for patients at risk of severe disease, according to interim clinical trial results. Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics plan to seek U.S. emergency use authorization for the pill as soon as possible.

Something unexpected is happening at U.S. military bases hosting Afghan evacuees: Many hundreds of them are simply leaving before receiving U.S. resettlement services. The phenomenon is raising alarm among immigration advocates concerned about the risks to Afghans who give up on what is now an open-ended, complex and completely voluntary resettlement process.

Lava flows following the eruption of a volcano on the Canary Island of La Palma, as seen from Tazacorte port, Spain, October 1, 2021. REUTERS/Juan Medina

WORLD

Residents of Spain's La Palma are struggling to come to terms with the devastation wrought by the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which has been ejecting a destructive cocktail of ash, smoke and lava for more than 10 days.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced an 18-month ban on Australians traveling abroad will be lifted from next month, easing one of the toughest COVID-19 restrictions imposed globally. Meanwhile, the premier of Australia's New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, resigned after a corruption watchdog said it was investigating whether she was involved in conduct that "constituted or involved a breach of public trust".

Bahrain hosted the Israeli foreign minister for the highest-level visit since the countries established ties last year and which included a tour of a U.S. naval headquarters to signal common cause against Iran, which said the visit left a stain on the Gulf Arab state's rulers that "will not be erased".

Newly retired boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was the first to file his candidacy to be the next president of the Philippines at the start of registration for thousands of political posts in what is expected to be a hotly contested election in May next year. Here are the contenders for the presidency.

Klara Dobrev's first political campaign two years ago earned her Hungarian leftist party a better-than-expected four seats in the European Parliament. Now she is one step closer to her next goal: ousting nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

BUSINESS

Many British gas stations were still dry after a chaotic week that saw panic buying, fights at the pumps and drivers hoarding fuel in water bottles after an acute shortage of truck drivers strained supply chains to breaking point.

As New York, San Francisco and a few other U.S. cities and counties require restaurants to check proof of COVID-19 vaccination to dine indoors, some fast-food chains are simply shutting their seating areas altogether - a move that may dent their sales.

Four large pharmacy chains are set to face their first trial over the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, creating new pressure to reach settlements with state and local governments who accuse them of contributing to the public health crisis.

South Korean Internet service provider SK Broadband has sued Netflix to pay for costs from increased network traffic and maintenance work because of a surge of viewers to the U.S. firm's content. The popularity of the hit series 'Squid Game' and other offerings have underscored Netflix's status as the country's second-largest data traffic generator after Google's YouTube, but the two are the only ones to not pay network usage fees.

As Australian beef exports to China wither amid diplomatic tensions, demand there for U.S. grain-fed beef has soared, fueled by the appetites of a growing Chinese middle class.

BREAKINGVIEWS

Agenda-setting insight from the international commentary brand of Reuters

Read Richard Beales on how the U.S. debt ceiling impasse warrants nuclear options, Peter Thal Larsen on the European chip champion that can weather the tech cold war, and Robyn Mak on how China's power woes herald green transition strains.

Quote of the day

"We have learned a ton through the pandemic, and working virtually, as we think about the evolution of flexibility, is a natural next step"

Yolanda Seals-Coffield

PwC's deputy people leader

PwC offers U.S. employees full-time remote work

Video of the day

Immersive NFT installation goes under the hammer

Media artist Refik Anadol's artificial intelligence art collection is the first work of its kind to be converted into a non-fungible token. (This video contains flashing images)

And finally…

Old Irish Goats deployed to protect Dublin hills from wildfires

Conservationists also hope the deployment will contribute to the survival of the small stocky breed of goat, which arrived in Ireland about 5,000 years ago.