| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, June 2, 2021 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Disaster feared as a chemical cargo ship sinks, a midnight deadline in Israel, and Reddit bulls drown out a hedge fund share dump | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks on his mobile phone in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, June 2, 2021
Israel's opposition leader moved closer to unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after agreeing terms with several parties including one led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz. Yair Lapid, a centrist tasked with forming the next governing coalition, has until midnight to present a final slate.
A cargo ship carrying tonnes of chemicals is sinking off Sri Lanka's west coast, in one of the country's worst-ever marine disasters.
Brazil's JBS told the U.S. government that a ransomware attack on the company that disrupted meat production in North America and Australia originated from a criminal organization likely based in Russia, the White House says.
Florida has became the latest and largest U.S. state to ban transgender girls and women from participating in female sports at school, part of a campaign in statehouses nationwide this year assailed as discriminatory by equal rights activists.
Amazon.com says it supports proposed U.S. legislation to legalize cannabis at the federal level, and will drop weed-testing requirements for some recruitments.
|  Members of Australia's softball squad, the first national team to land in Japan for pre-Olympic training camp, arrive at Narita international airport, June 1, 2021
OLYMPIC WOES
Japan's most senior medical adviser says that hosting the Olympics during the nation's current state of coronavirus infections is "not normal" in one of the strongest warnings yet about risks from the troubled Games. Around 10,000 of the 80,000 volunteers who signed up to help have quit, broadcaster NHK reports.
With less than two months to go, Japan’s Asahi Breweries still doesn’t know whether fans will be allowed into stadiums to buy its beer. We look at how sponsors are struggling to adapt.
Is it time to end the Olympics once and for all? Breakingviews columnist Pete Sweeney thinks so.
Meanwhile, a row about disputed islands on Japan's Olympics map has sparked outrage and protests in South Korea.
COVID VACCINE PUSH
The World Health Organization has approved a COVID-19 vaccine made by Sinovac Biotech for emergency use listing, paving the way for a second Chinese shot to be used in poor countries.
Moderna is gearing up to halve the dose of its vaccine, so that it can also be used to combat variants and inoculate children. We look at the countries weighing 'mix and match' vaccines.
Britain is in talks with Oxford and AstraZeneca for additional doses of their vaccine that has been modified to better target the 'beta' variant first identified in South Africa, and it will fund trials of the shots.
Israel’s Health Ministry says it has found the small number of heart inflammation cases observed mainly in young men who received Pfizer’s vaccine in Israel were likely linked to their vaccination.
As companies and governments roll out a growing list of creative perks to spur sluggish immunization rates, Breakingviews columnist Jeffrey Goldfarb warns that someday soon rewards for the uninoculated will need to give way to harsher measures.
| MARKETS Stock markets hovered near record highs as investors cheered the latest evidence of a sustained rebound in global economies and stronger oil prices lifted energy stocks.
Shares of AMC Entertainment surged another 38% in early deals and were set to open at a record high as individual traders on social media forums were unfazed by a hedge fund flipping its stake, calling it overvalued.
A global tax crackdown on multinationals has the backing of some of the world's biggest investors who say that using low-tax jurisdictions falls foul of the tenets they have committed to.
Investors have long paid a premium to get hold of scarce green bonds, but record issuance might be about to change that. We look at where the 'greenium' has gone.
| | | | | | | Video of the day  Facing drought, farmers plan for "economic disaster" Joe Del Bosque is leaving a third of his 2,000-acre farm near Firebaugh, California, unseeded this year due to extreme drought. "We're taking a big risk in planting crops and hoping the water gets here in time." | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
