| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Monday, August 1, 2022 by Robert MacMillan | Hello Here's what you need to know. New Mexico wildfire victims get burned a second time, Ukraine grain sails again and Stephen King will weigh in on the horrors of M&A. | | | | | Today's biggest stories  The Razoni leaves Odesa amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, August 1, 2022. REUTERS/Serhii Smolientsev WORLD A ship carrying grain left the Ukrainian port of Odesa for Lebanon under a safe passage agreement, the first departure since the Russian invasion blocked shipping through the Black Sea five months ago. The departure came after a Russian missile strike on the port city of Mykolaiv killed a Ukrainian grain tycoon and his wife, and as the war grinds on the east and south.
Nancy Pelosi started her Asia tour in Singapore as China warned that its military would never "sit idly by" if she were to visit Taiwan. Premier Su Tseng-chang did not directly respond when asked whether Pelosi will visit on Thursday, as local media have speculated.
Part of the grain silos at Beirut Port collapsed just days before the second anniversary of the massive explosion that damaged them, reviving traumatic memories of the blast that killed more than 215 people.
The Kosovo government postponed obliging Serbs in the north of the country to apply for car license plates issued by Pristina institutions over tensions between police and local communities that set roadblocks.
Scientists are warning governments and people to brace for more waves of COVID-19 as the third winter of the coronavirus pandemic looms in the northern hemisphere. Inside this lab in Spiez, Switzerland, scientists are working in a super-secure space to stop the next pandemic. |  Daniel Encinias stands in the remains of the home he built in Tierra Monte, New Mexico, July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Nathan Burton U.S. The U.S. is asking wildfire victims in New Mexico to share recovery costs on private land after it started the biggest fire in New Mexico's recorded history earlier this year. This comes despite President Biden's promise that the federal government would cover "100% of the cost."
Floods unleashed by torrential rains in Kentucky killed at least 28 people, including four children, and the death toll is expected to rise. Authorities worked to provide food and shelter for thousands as weather forecasters predicted more rain.
President Joe Biden is feeling well and continuing his isolation measures after again testing positive for COVID-19, the White House said.
A U.S. judge rejected key aspects of the Boy Scouts of America's reorganization plan and its underlying sex abuse settlement, which would establish a $2.7 billion trust to compensate more than 80,000 men who say they were sexually abused as children by troop leaders.
A single winning ticket for a Mega Millions lottery jackpot of $1.337 billion, the second-largest in U.S. history, was sold in Illinois. |  Stephen King holds up a pink Amazon Kindle 2 electronic reader at a news conference in New York, Feb. 9, 2009. REUTERS/Mike Segar BUSINESS The Justice Department will ask a federal judge to block a $2.2 billion merger of two of the Big Five book publishers, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster, in a trial that is expected to feature testimony from horror writer Stephen King.
As high inflation forces Americans to spend more on gas and bills, young and low-income consumers are starting to feel financial pressure.
HSBC pushed back on a proposal by top shareholder Ping An Insurance Group to split the lender, a move Europe's biggest bank said would be costly, while posting profit that beat expectations and promising bigger dividends.
Lufthansa pilots voted by a wide margin in favor of industrial action, while easyJet pilots based in Spain will strike for nine days in August, threatening further disruption during the busy summer travel season. And a union representing nearly 2,500 employees at three Boeing locations in the U.S. canceled a strike that was to begin today.
Australian home prices are sliding as Sydney suffered its worst decline in almost 40 years amid rising borrowing costs and a cost-of-living crisis. One expert said the decline was comparable to those of the 2008 financial crisis and the sharp downsizing of the early 1980s. | | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Thousands forced to flee California wildfire The largest blaze in California this year, the McKinney Fire in Siskiyou County has scorched over 51,000 acres. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
