Monday Briefing: U.S. warplanes strike Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria

Monday, June 28, 2021

by Linda Noakes

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Here's what you need to know.

A slimmed-down Kim has people talking in North Korea, France's far-right falls short in elections, and how Beijing humbled Britain's mighty HSBC

Today's biggest stories

A view of the partially collapsed residential building in Surfside, near Miami Beach, Florida, June 27, 2021

U.S.

The official death toll from the partial collapse of a high-rise condominium complex near Miami rose to nine, with more than 150 people still missing, as rescue teams picked through the rubble for a fourth day without detecting further signs of life.

A town inspector had assured residents that their building was sound a month after an engineering report warned of major structural damage that required prompt repair in 2018, U.S. media reported.

Republican Senate negotiators on an infrastructure deal are optimistic about a $1.2 trillion bipartisan bill after President Joe Biden withdrew his threat to veto the measure unless a separate Democratic spending plan also passes Congress.

Temperatures soared to an all-time high of 112 degrees Fahrenheit in Oregon's largest city as a record heat wave blistered the Pacific Northwest, sparking a run on ice and air-conditioners, while forcing many restaurants and bars to close.

Like many moms, Maria has found parenthood even harder since the pandemic pushed classes online. But unlike most other mothers, Maria is raising Michelle, 11, and Nicole, 6, from thousands of miles away. She is in Honduras and they are in California.

Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend the Ministerial meeting of the global coalition on Syria and Islamic state, in Rome, June 28, 2021

WORLD

The United States has carried out another round of air strikes against Iran-backed militia in Iraq and Syria, this time in response to drone attacks by the militia against U.S. personnel and facilities in Iraq.

Reconstruction of Gaza after last month's fighting between Israel and Hamas is being held up by a dispute over the fate of Israelis long held by the Islamist group and a lack of clarity over how to prevent it from accessing aid funds.

Everyone in North Korea is heartbroken over leader Kim Jong Un's apparent weight loss, said an unidentified resident of Pyongyang quoted on the country's tightly controlled state media, after watching recent video footage of Kim. But could North Korea see "propaganda value" in a slimmer Kim?

The French far right again failed to win a single region in elections, depriving its leader Marine Le Pen of a chance to show her party is fit for power ahead of next year's presidential vote.

BUSINESS

When China Baowu Steel Group gathered its finance department for a training session last November, it presented a sensitive slide - a ‘black list’ of 60 lenders that the state-owned giant had declared off-limits. At the very end of the list was HSBC. Read our special report on how China clamped down on one of the world's biggest banks.

Britain's financial regulator has said Binance, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, cannot conduct any regulated activity and issued a warning to consumers about the platform, which is coming under growing scrutiny globally.

In the shadow of Canada's mega oil sands projects, smaller, technologically outdated facilities are churning out up to three times more emissions per barrel than the sector's already high average. We look at why Canada's highest-carbon oil sites keep pumping.

Telecoms bosses toasted the return of Barcelona's Mobile World Congress with an agenda to put the industry at the centre of digital development and inclusion in a global reboot following the coronavirus pandemic.

Quote of the day

"It's like having an enormous birthday party and not wanting your embarrassing neighbours to spoil it"

Graeme Smith

Fellow in the Department of Pacific Affairs, Australian National University

Beijing leaves nothing to chance ahead of Party centenary

Video of the day

K-pop revs up Bangkok's 'tuk tuk' industry

Hundreds of drivers have found a lifeline from Thailand's K-pop fans, who are paying them to carry banners of their favorite South Korean stars on the distinctive motorcycle rickshaws.

And finally…

Ice baths for the mind and body break heat of UAE desert

Cold water immersion and breathing techniques have been made popular by Wim Hof, a Dutch cold water enthusiast who holds several world records for cold exposure.

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