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Daily Briefing

Amid criticism of the emergency response in Maui, wildfires are now threatening Canadian towns and Spain's Tenerife. We also look at a meeting of West African army chiefs to discuss the coup in Niger.

Plus, US imports of auto parts face scrutiny under a law on Chinese forced labor.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

Search operations of areas damaged by Maui wildfires in Lahaina, August 15, 2023. US Army National Guard/Staff Sgt. Matthew A. Foster/Handout via REUTERS

WILDFIRES

Maui's emergency management chief defended his agency's decision not to sound sirens during last week's wildfire. He said sirens in Hawaii are used to alert people to tsunamis, and that using them during the fire might have led people to evacuate toward the danger. Meanwhile, tourism is sparking anger.
Canadian officials ordered the evacuation of the Northwest Territories' capital of Yellowknife and several smaller communities as a massive wildfire threatened the town of Hay River. Across the Atlantic, firefighters struggled to contain a wildfire that broke out in a national park on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

HIGH-PROFILE MEETINGS

West African army chiefs began a two-day meeting in Ghana's capital Accra to discuss a possible military intervention in Niger if diplomacy fails to reverse a military coup. Members of Niger's presidential guard seized power last month, drawing condemnation from global powers and West African countries.
US President Joe Biden hopes to cement ties between South Korea and Japan with a summit at Camp David this Friday, while BRICS leaders meet in South Africa next week to discuss how to turn a loose club of nations into a geopolitical force that can challenge the West's dominance in world affairs.

ELSEWHERE

The Ukrainian military claimed more success in its counter-offensive against Russian forces on the southeastern front. The military said Ukraine had made progress to the south of Urozhaine, a village in Donetsk region that Kyiv said a day earlier it had retaken.
More than 60 people are feared dead after a boat carrying mostly Senegalese migrants capsized off the coast of Cape Verde in the Atlantic Ocean. The boat left Senegal on July 10 with 101 passengers on board, and 38 people were rescued, Senegal's foreign ministry said.

*Yesterday's newsletter incorrectly referred to three men being charged in Georgia over efforts to overturn the election. It should have said three people instead.

Business & Markets

Japan's exports fell in July for the first time in nearly 2.5 years, underlining concerns about a global recession as key markets like China weakened. Exports fell 0.3% year-on-year, compared with a 0.8% decrease expected by economists in a Reuters poll. It followed a 1.5% rise in the previous month.
Federal Reserve officials were divided over the need for more interest rate hikes at the US central bank's July 25-26 meeting, according to minutes of the session. On today's Reuters World News podcast, Federal Reserve Correspondent Howard Schneider unpicks the minutes of the session.
Buy the state, sell the capitalist - that's how global investors are trying to play China's latest anti-graft crackdowns as they see private enterprise increasingly sidelined in Beijing's quest for "common prosperity". The country's recent sweep of the medical sector came as a shock to many investors.
Economic growth in the Netherlands will be much slower than earlier expected this year, as a recession in the first half of 2023 ended a strong post-COVID boom, government policy adviser CPB said. Growth is set to drop to 0.7% in 2023 and 1.4% in 2024, after hitting almost 5% per year in 2021 and 2022.

US imports of auto parts face scrutiny under law on Chinese forced labor

US and Chinese flags set up before a meeting between Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, July 8, 2023. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Electric-vehicle batteries and other car parts are the latest products under scrutiny as part of Washington's effort to stamp out US links to forced labor in Chinese supply chains, according to a document seen by Reuters, agency statistics and sources.

Read our exclusive report.

And Finally...

Esma Gljiva from Sarajevo shows dolls that she dresses in traditional Bosnian costumes, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Amel Emric

A Bosnian girl is making traditional Balkan costumes with headdresses and decorative aprons for Barbie dolls, hoping to create interest in her folklore Barbie. Eleven-year-old Esma Gljiva started her project more than a month ago after seeing poor quality figures in a souvenir shop. "I tried to do it in a better way, and I think that I succeeded."

Read more here: Bosnian girl creates 'folklore Barbie' as film wins doll new fans

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