Friday, November 25, 2022

The Reuters Daily Briefing Friday, November 25, 2022

 


The Reuters Daily Briefing

Friday, November 25, 2022

by Linda Noakes

Hello

Here's what you need to know.

China sentences Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years for rape, Ghana plans to buy oil with gold, and a Vatican court hears a cardinal's secretly taped phone call with the pope

WORLD CUP
 - Iran's players resume singing the national anthem, the Welsh 'Rainbow Wall' get to keep their hats, and Ecuador supporters are urged to clean up their act

Today's biggest stories

A local resident carries a kitten found in her flat in a residential building destroyed by a Russian missile attack in the town of Vyshhorod, near Kyiv, November 24, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

WORLD

Much of Ukraine remained without heat or power after the most devastating Russian air strikes on its energy grid so far, and in Kyiv residents were warned to brace for further attacks and stock up on water, food and warm clothing. Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now.

A Beijing court sentenced Canadian singer Kris Wu to 13 years in jail after finding him guilty of crimes including rape, just over a year after his arrest in China, where he was born and built a lucrative career.

Malaysia's newly appointed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said his primary focus would be on the cost of living as he takes office with a slowing economy and a country deeply split after a close election. Gains for Malaysia's hardline Islamist party will be a challenge for Anwar.

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative Likud party signed its first coalition deal with Itamar Ben-Gvir's far-right Jewish Power party. The agreement, which does not account for a full and final new government in Israel, gives Ben-Gvir the police ministry and a seat in the security cabinet.

A court at a Vatican corruption trial heard a secretly recorded telephone call between the main defendant, embattled Cardinal Angelo Becciu, and Pope Francis. Reporters were asked to leave the room while the tape was played but lawyers who heard it said Becciu asked the pope to confirm that the pontiff had authorized a payment to help release a nun who had been kidnapped in Africa.


Spongebob squarepants and Gary balloon flies during the 96th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, November 24, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

U.S.

The United States marked the Thanksgiving holiday with traditional feasts, parades and American football, taking a moment to celebrate in a week shadowed by gun violence. While visiting a firehouse in Massachusetts to thank first responders, President Joe Biden told reporters he would attempt to pass some form of gun control before a new Congress is seated in January.

Biden said his administration was involved in negotiations to avert a looming U.S. railroad strike that could shut down supply chains across the country. A rail traffic stoppage could freeze almost 30% of U.S. cargo shipments by weight.

Donald Trump was sued for defamation a second time by a writer who accused the former U.S. president of lying by denying that he raped her 27 years ago. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, the former Elle magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll also accused Trump of battery in an alleged encounter at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan.

Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the country's deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed. The deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds represent the worst U.S. animal-health disaster to date.

Shoppers look for early Black Friday sales at a Gap Store in Times Square in New York City, November 24, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid 

BUSINESS

Investors are closely watching U.S. retail stocks as a barometer of consumer confidence, as the most important shopping season of the year begins. Europe's retailers are hoping Black Friday discount day will get shoppers spending, though it takes place against a backdrop of a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

Twitter will roll out verified gold and grey check marks as it relaunches the coveted blue check service next Friday, Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said in a tweet, after holding off the rollout earlier this week.

Foxconn's flagship iPhone plant in China is set to see its November shipments further reduced by the latest bout of worker unrest this week, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said, as thousands of employees left the site.

Adidas said it has launched an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behavior by Kanye West, after the German sporting goods maker last month ended its partnership with the rapper and fashion designer.

Turkey and Qatar are in the final stages of talks for Doha to provide up to $10 billion in funding for Ankara, including up to $3 billion by the end of this year. The foreign funding could help shore up forex reserves to backstop President Tayyip Erdogan's unorthodox policy of pursuing interest rate cuts and other stimulus measures despite soaring inflation and a slumping lira currency.

Ghana's government is working on a new policy to buy oil products with gold rather than U.S. dollar reserves, Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said on Facebook. The move is meant to tackle dwindling foreign currency reserves coupled with demand for dollars by oil importers, which is weakening the local cedi and increasing living costs.

WORLD CUP 2022

Amidst the circus, Ronaldo proves ringmaster yet again

FULL COVERAGE

Quote of the day

"At the moment it's just climate change activists, who are mainly middle class liberals and are not really intending to damage the work. What we worry about is if it spreads to other protest groups."

Activists aggravate art insurers' climate headache

Video of the day

Canadian police chase loose ostrich

Police chased the escaped bird through the streets of Taber in Alberta.

And finally…

Camilla donates Paddingtons left as tribute to Queen Elizabeth

Mourners placed more than 1,000 Paddingtons and other teddy bears among the mass of floral tributes and messages which were left outside palaces and royal parks in London and Windsor in the days following the Queen's death.

More from Reuters

World Cup 2022 Sustainable Business Disrupted Legal News Breakingviews

Thanks for spending part of your day with us.

No comments:

Post a Comment