Reuters Daily Briefing - 30 July 2024 - Anti-Maduro protests spread in Venezuela, the US leads a diplomatic dash to deter Israel from striking Beirut, and the reality of Kamala Harris' record on migration.

 

Daily Briefing

By Kate Turton

Anti-Maduro protests spread in Venezuela, the US leads a diplomatic dash to deter Israel from striking Beirut, and the reality of Kamala Harris' record on migration. Plus, Singapore approves edible insects amid food security push.

Today's Top News   Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and opposition rival Edmundo Gonzalez claimed victory in the presidential election. Puerto La Cruz, July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Samir Aponte Protests spread around Venezuela and police fired tear gas in the capital as the opposition said it had voting-tally proof it won a weekend election awarded to long-ruling socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Julia Symms Cobb joins the Reuters World News podcast from Caracas to explain the challenges facing the opposition.  The US is leading a diplomatic dash to deter Israel from striking Lebanon's capital Beirut or major civil infrastructure in response to a deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights, five people with knowledge of the drive said. US Vice President Kamala Harris makes her first trip to Georgia as a presidential candidate, where she is expected to rally with rapper Megan Thee Stallion. The list of candidates to run with her narrowed, with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer both out.  The US Senate is expected to pass major online child safety reforms, although the legislation, which has drawn mixed reactions from the tech industry, faces an uncertain fate in the House of Representatives. Landslides swept through tea estates in southern India's Kerala state, killing over 50 people, authorities said, as hillsides collapsed after heavy rain and sent rivers of mud, water and boulders on homes of workers and villagers. Russia's navy began planned exercises involving most of its fleet in the Arctic and Pacific oceans as well and the Baltic and Caspian seas, the defense ministry said.

Paris Olympics 2024 This tally tracks the top five countries as medals are awarded. Updates every 30 minutes. Reuters Graphics Olympics news: Simone Biles eyes a fifth Olympic gold in team final, no world records broken but swimmers say pool not to blame, men's triathlon race postponed due to Seine pollution levels, and the best photos from day three. Follow the action on our Olympics live blog. Find today's schedule here.  More Olympics news

Business & Markets Switzerland's financial supervisor has been scrutinizing how UBS vets risky wealthy clients that it wants to transfer from Credit Suisse, sources said, as the regulator takes a hands-on approach to the bank's integration of its fallen rival. Tesla is recalling over 1.8 million vehicles in the US due to risk of software failure to detect unlatched hood, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. Apple relied on chips designed by Google rather than industry leader Nvidia to build two key components of its artificial intelligence software infrastructure for its forthcoming suite of AI tools and features, an Apple research paper showed. Meta said it will roll out a new tool called AI Studio that will allow users to create, share and design personalized AI chatbots. Novo Nordisk's decision to stop selling its long-acting insulin Levemir in the US has left some diabetes patients struggling to switch treatments, patients and doctors in a dozen US states told Reuters. China's securities regulator is likely to promote its head of law enforcement to the role of vice chairman, four sources said, a move that underscores Beijing's determination to tighten oversight of the $5.1 trillion stock market.

Republicans call Harris a failed border czar. The truth is more complicated.   Kamala Harris visits the El Paso central processing center Texas, June 25, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Kamala Harris, tasked to deal with the root causes of migration from Central America as illegal border crossings were rising in 2021, immediately ran into the enormity of the mission. The region is riddled with corrupt government officials, the drivers of migration are deeply rooted in economic inequality and social factors - and she didn't control the border. But at campaign rallies and in social media posts, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has intensified his attacks on Harris as a failed "border czar." Read more

And Finally... Francis Ng shows the different types of worm and cricket ingredients that he will use for insect-based dishes, July 16, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo At Singapore's House of Seafood restaurant, the fish-head curry comes with a side of crunchy crickets, the tofu has bugs crawling out of it and the patrons can't get enough. The seaside restaurant is the first eatery to put insects on the menu after the city state's stringent food authority this month approved for human consumption 16 species ranging from crickets to grasshoppers, grubs and mealworms after two years of deliberation. Read more