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Daily Briefing

It's been 100 days since the Hollywood writers' strike began - and it doesn't look like talks are making progress. Elsewhere, China's consumer prices fell into deflation, and Poland will send 2,000 troops to its frontier with Belarus.

Plus, Ethiopia just ended one war. Is another one beginning?

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

Workers and supporters of the Writers Guild of America protest outside Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, May 3, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

US NEWS

The Hollywood writers' strike marks 100 days with contract talks stalled and people on the picket lines protesting what they describe as a disregard for their demands. The strike began after negotiations between the workers and the studios reached an impasse over compensation, minimum staffing of writers' rooms and residual payments in the streaming era, among other issues.
A federal judge presiding over former President Donald Trump's trial on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election has ordered his attorneys and federal prosecutors to appear in court on Friday for a hearing to help determine how evidence can be used and shared in the case.

AROUND THE WORLD

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hopes to forge a united front among rainforest nations when they engage in international climate negotiations. A day earlier, Amazon nations agreed to environmental policies and measures to bolster cooperation, but failed to agree on a common goal for ending deforestation.
Poland will send 2,000 troops to its frontier with Belarus, the deputy interior minister told state-run news agency PAP, twice the number requested by the Border Guard. Poland has worried increasingly about the border area since hundreds of battle-hardened Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus last month.
Forty-one migrants have been killed in a shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa island, the ANSA news agency reported, citing accounts from survivors. It said four people who survived the shipwreck told rescuers that they were on a boat that had set off from Sfax in Tunisia and sank on its way to Italy's shores.
A former rebel leader and politician in Niger has launched a movement opposing the junta that took power in a coup, a first sign of internal resistance to army rule. Rhissa Ag Boula said in a statement that his new Council of Resistance for the Republic aimed to reinstate ousted President Mohamed Bazoum

Business & Markets

China's consumer sector fell into deflation and factory-gate prices extended declines in July. Anxiety is rising that China is entering an era of much slower economic growth akin to the period of Japan's "lost decades". Marius Zaharia explains the numbers on today's Reuters World News podcast.
Italian banking stocks rose in early trade, regaining some of the ground lost after the government announced a cap on a windfall tax for the country's lenders. Italy's economy ministry clarified that its 40% windfall tax would not amount to more than 0.1% of banks' total assets.
Amazon is in talks about joining other technology companies as a cornerstone investor in SoftBank's Arm ahead of its initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said. Amazon's potential involvement in the IPO underscores Arm's significance in cloud computing.
The post-pandemic travel boom and the high ticket prices that come with it show no signs of slowing well into next year, despite economic uncertainty and dwindling household savings. Airlines, hotels and analysts say travel has remained a top priority instead of the "nice to have" purchase as in years past.

Is another war beginning in Ethiopia?

A partial view of the Lalibela town in the Amhara Region, Ethiopia, January 25, 2022. Picture taken January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

When Ethiopia's government and rebellious forces from the Tigray region agreed in November to end their conflict, diplomats hailed the peace deal as a new dawn for Africa's second most populous nation.

For many in the Amhara region, which neighbors Tigray and fought in support of federal forces during the war, the deal was something very different - a stab in the back whose failure to account for Amhara concerns portended another war.

Nine months later, our report shows that forecast looks to be coming true.

And Finally...

A general view of a biometric imaging device, August 1, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

Eager early adopters recently descended upon a Mexico City cafe where their eyes were scanned by a futuristic sphere, part of an ambitious project that ultimately seeks to create a unique digital identification for everyone on the planet. The project's goal is to distinguish people from bots online, while doling out a cryptocurrency bonus as a incentive to participate.

Read more here: Early adopters in Mexico lend their eyes to global biometric project

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