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Daily Briefing

Kim Jong Un showed off North Korea's banned ballistic missiles, Tesla created a secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints, and Niger's toppled president issued a defiant vow to protect democratic gains.

Plus, the Iranian chess player who removed her hijab gets Spanish citizenship.

By Kate Turton

Today's Top News

Kim Jong Un and Sergei Shoigu in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on July 27, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS

Russia's defense minister accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to a defense exhibition that featured the North's banned ballistic missiles, state media reported. The North has said deployment of US aircraft carriers, bombers or missile submarines in South Korea could meet criteria for its use of nuclear weapons.
Ukraine's counteroffensive is "not a stalemate" even if it is not progressing fast enough, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. He added Washington would "make sure that they have the kinds of tools and capabilities they need to stay on the move." More than $43 billion in US military aid has been provided since Russia's invasion began.
Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum took to social media with a defiant vow to protect "hard-won" democratic gains a day after he was toppled in a military coup. The country's foreign minister Hassoumi Massoudou also issued a rallying cry. Recent coups in West and Central Africa.
Southern Taiwan shut businesses and schools while airlines canceled hundreds of flights as Typhoon Doksuri churned past the island en route to China. The World Meteorological Organization said extreme weather events and other effects of climate change are on the rise in Asia.
US President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden's proposed deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to tax charges and avoid a gun charge hit a snag when the judge in the case said she needed more time to review their agreement.

DIPLOMACY

Biden hosts Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House, with the Ukraine war and Italy's relations with China expected to be among the top items on the agenda. Italy's first woman prime minister came to power last October and is seeking an assertive role abroad.
Vladimir Putin told African leaders he would gift them tens of thousands of tons of grain within months despite Western sanctions which he said made it harder for Moscow to export its grain and fertilizers. Russia lead writer Mark Trevelyan tells the Reuters World News podcast about what to expect at the summit in St Petersburg.

Business & Markets

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy still needed to slow and the labor market to weaken for inflation to "credibly" return to the US central bank's 2% target.
Meta shares surged nearly 8% as a rosy revenue forecast showed that artificial intelligence was helping the social media giant boost engagement and ad sales even in an uncertain economy. The Facebook owner was set to add about $60 billion to its market value.
The number of little-known trading firms relied on by Moscow to export large volumes of crude exports to Asia has mushroomed in recent months, since sanctions over the Ukraine war led major oil firms and commodity houses to withdraw from business with producers in Russia.
The factory that fills the self-injection pens for booming weight-loss drug Wegovy has repeatedly breached US sterile-safety rules in recent years and staff have failed to perform required quality checks, a Reuters review of regulatory documents shows.
Shell missed forecasts with a 56% fall in second-quarter profit to $5 billion as oil and gas prices fell, prompting the energy giant to slow its share repurchase program.
PJM Interconnection, the biggest US electric grid operator, issued an emergency alert as people crank up air conditioners to stave off the heat wave. The operator issued an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1 for July 27.

Tesla created secret team to suppress thousands of driving range complaints

So-called range anxiety - the fear of getting stranded in an electric car before reaching a charger - has been a major obstacle to increasing electric vehicle sales. REUTERS/Albert Gea

About a decade ago, Tesla rigged the dashboard readouts in its electric cars to provide "rosy" projections of how far owners can drive before needing to recharge, a source told Reuters.

The automaker last year became so inundated with driving-range complaints that it created a special team to cancel owners' service appointments.

Pulitzer Prize-winning global investigative reporter Steve Stecklow talks about his reporting on the daily Reuters World News podcast.

Special Report: Tesla employees had been instructed to thwart any customers complaining about poor driving range

And Finally...

FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championships, December 28, 2022. Sara Khadem of Iran plays against Olga Girya of Russia. REUTERS/Pavel Mikheyev/File Photo

An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said.

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, took part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships held in Kazakhstan in late December without the headscarf that is mandatory under Iran's strict Islamic dress codes.

Read more: Iranian chess player who removed hijab gets Spanish citizenship

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