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Daily Briefing

If you are one of the world leaders attending the NATO summit today, addressing divisions over Ukraine's membership bid will be high on your priority list. Meanwhile, Sweden seemingly secured a breakthrough.

Plus, Wagner fighters reached a Russian nuclear base during their mutiny.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 11, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

NATO SUMMIT

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine would get a "positive and strong message" on its path to membership, as leaders of the military alliance meet to discuss the fallout from Russia's invasion. Divisions among the members mean there will not be a straightforward invitation for Ukraine to join.
While Ukraine was set to be kept waiting, another country seemingly secured a breakthrough on its way to NATO membership. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan late on Monday agreed to forward Sweden's bid to join to his parliament for ratification, appearing to end months of opposition.

MORE DIPLOMACY

China's foreign minister Qin Gang will not attend a gathering in Indonesia for health reasons, a spokesman said. Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China are scheduled to meet on Thursday, before Friday's East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum.
ASEAN chair Indonesia stressed the importance of the regional bloc's unity in remaining credible, as its foreign ministers started talks expected to touch on the thorny issue of engaging Myanmar's ostracized ruling generals. The meeting in Jakarta comes as doubts grow over ASEAN's effectiveness.

ELSEWHERE

Israeli protesters blocked major highways after a bill that would curb some of the Supreme Court's power won initial approval by parliament. Police, who said 24 people have been arrested, used a water cannon to disperse some protesters and dragged others away by force.
Torrential downpours unleashed flash floods on the US Northeast that washed out roadways, overwhelmed rivers, prompted 50 swift boat rescues and killed a woman. More than 13 million Americans were under flood watches and warnings from Eastern New York state to Boston and Western Maine to the northeast.
A volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwest Iceland, near the capital Reykjavik, following intense earthquake activity in the area. Police have restricted access to the volcano that has been spewing out "life-threatening toxic gas pollution" since it began erupting.

Business & Markets

A key measure of British wages matched its highest growth rate on record but there were also some signs that the inflationary heat in the labor market is subsiding. The 7.3% increase in basic earnings in the three months to May matched the reading in the three months to April and the second quarter of 2021.
China's looming gallium export controls leave automakers with a dilemma over whether they can continue to rely on a metal which had been seen as a game changer for electric vehicles. Little known to most people, gallium is used in a wide variety of applications, from LEDs to smaller mobile phone adaptors.
Only about one-third of patients prescribed a popular weight-loss drug like Novo Nordisk's Wegovy were still taking it a year later, while total healthcare costs for the group rose sharply, according to an analysis of US pharmacy claims shared with Reuters.
Amazon.com hopes to tempt US shoppers to open inflation-thinned wallets by offering deeper discounts during this year's "Prime Day", including its first-ever travel discounts. A year of inflation has lifted mortgage rates, rents and food prices for consumers ahead of the 48-hour shopping event.
Meta Platforms' Twitter rival Threads crossed 100 million sign-ups within five days of launch, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, dethroning ChatGPT as the fastest-growing online platform to hit the milestone. For more news on social media companies, sign up to the Technology Roundup newsletter.

Wagner fighters neared Russian nuclear base during revolt

Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Military Intelligence of Ukraine, speaks during an interview with Reuters, July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

As rebellious Wagner forces drove north toward Moscow on June 24, a contingent of military vehicles diverted east on a highway in the direction of a fortified Russian army base that holds nuclear weapons, according to videos posted online and interviews with local residents.

Once the fighters reach more rural regions, the surveillance trail goes cold – about 100 km from the nuclear base, Voronezh-45. In an exclusive interview, Ukraine's head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that fighters reached the nuclear base and that their intention was to acquire small Soviet-era nuclear devices to "raise the stakes" in their mutiny.

Read our full report here. Mari Saito, part of the team tracking Wagner's movements, also unpacks the story for the daily Reuters World News podcast.

And Finally...

Giant Panda Ai Bao holds her baby panda after giving birth to twin at Everland amusement park in Yongin, July 11, 2023. Samsung C&T/Yonhap via REUTERS

A South Korean zoo welcomed the first giant panda twins to be born in the country. Both female, they were born at the Everland theme park near the capital Seoul.. "This feels like a great opportunity to call for better protection and preservation of pandas, which have become a symbol for endangered species," Donghee Chung, the head of the zoo, said.

Read more here: South Korean zoo welcomes giant panda twins

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