| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Tuesday, July 13, 2021 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Violence escalates in South Africa, Texas Democratic lawmakers flee the state, and Boeing has a new 787 problem | | | | | Today's biggest stories  A member of the military patrols in Soweto, South Africa, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko WORLD Protesters clashed with police in several areas of South Africa and looters ransacked shopping malls in the country's worst unrest in years. The violence was triggered by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma as his supporters took to the streets last week, but the situation has evolved into an outpouring of anger over persistent poverty and inequality 27 years after the end of apartheid.
The death toll in a fire that spread through a coronavirus hospital in southern Iraq rose to 66, as an angry crowd blaming local authorities for negligence gathered near the city's morgue. More than 100 others were injured in the fire, which an initial investigation showed began when sparks from faulty wiring spread to an oxygen tank that then exploded.
Cuba blamed historic protests that took place over the weekend on U.S. "economic asphyxiation" and detained some of the highest profile activists, while the Biden administration said it supported the Cuban people's right to demonstrate.
Growing military tension around Taiwan as well as economic and technological rivalry between China and the United States raises the prospect of crisis in the region as the power balance shifts in China's favour, Japan said.
|  Representative Chris Turner speaks to the press after Democratic members of the Texas House of Representatives arrive at Dulles airport in Sterling, Virginia, July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein U.S. U.S. President Joe Biden, under pressure from civil rights leaders, travels to Philadelphia today to issue a strong appeal for sweeping voting rights legislation that is stalled in Congress due largely to Republican opposition.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers left Texas as part of an orchestrated move to derail their Republican colleagues' efforts to pass new voting restrictions and other conservative measures during a special legislative session. The exodus is intended to deny the legislature the quorum needed to approve any of the measures on Governor Greg Abbott's special-session agenda.
Philadelphia could face $40 million in costs to replace voting machines if forced to comply with a "forensic investigation" into the 2020 election launched by a Republican state lawmaker and ally of former President Donald Trump, a city commissioner told Reuters.
A U.S. judge appears likely to reprimand Sidney Powell, a former campaign lawyer for Trump, and other attorneys over a lawsuit they filed in Michigan seeking to overturn Biden's election victory.
| | | | | | | | | Quote of the day "While cash still remains king in the criminal word, as digital platforms develop we’re increasingly seeing organised criminals using cryptocurrency to launder their dirty money" Graham McNulty Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner British police seize record $408 million haul of cryptocurrency | | | | Video of the day  Divers in Dubai can reach new depths in world's deepest pool The world's deepest swimming pool for underwater diving has opened in Dubai, where people can descend 60 meters to a sunken city-themed landscape and play arcade games. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
