| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Friday, August 13, 2021 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. New U.S. census data shows the white population shrank for the first time, a rare mass shooting shocks England, and a $500,000 'bug bounty' for the Poly Network hacker | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Pakistani soldiers stand guard in front of people waiting to cross at the Friendship Gate in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, August 12, 2021. REUTERS/Abdul Khaliq Achakzai WORLD Taliban insurgents tightened their grip on Afghanistan, wresting control of its second and third biggest cities while Western embassies prepared to send in troops to help evacuate staff from the capital, Kabul. As the Taliban sweeps across the country, there are signs the militant group is going back on a promise allowing women to work.
Emergency workers battled to relieve flood-hit areas of Turkey's Black Sea region, as the death toll rose to 27 in the second natural disaster to strike the country this month.
Hundreds more defence personnel will deploy next week to Sydney to help enforce the city's lockdown after authorities reported the biggest daily rise in COVID-19 cases from the outbreak which is spreading beyond Australia's largest city.
Pro-Beijing candidates are running uncontested for most seats in a Hong Kong election committee tasked with choosing the city's leader, with the pro-democracy camp almost absent, government announcements show.
Six people, including a child, have been killed in a mass shooting in the city of Plymouth in southwest England, in an incident described by the British Home Secretary as "shocking". The UK has one of the lowest gun homicide rates in the world, and this was the first mass shooting in the country for 11 years.
|  A man rests on a cot inside a cooling shelter during a heatwave in Portland, Oregon, August 11, 2021. REUTERS/Mathieu Lewis-Rolland U.S.
The U.S. Pacific Northwest wilted under the latest sweltering heat wave to punish the region this summer, as near-record temperatures strained power grids. In Portland, which tied a daily temperature record at 102 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday, city officials opened cooling centers in libraries and schools.
New U.S. census data show the white population declined for the first time in history last decade, with significant increases among people who identify as multi-racial, Hispanic and Asian driving much of the population growth between 2010 and 2020. The release from the Census Bureau also marks the start of what will be a fierce partisan battle over redistricting.
Texas Democratic lawmakers, scattered around the country, say they are more determined than ever to block voting restrictions in their state, after the state supreme court ruled they could be arrested for fleeing Austin in July to deny Republicans the quorum needed to pass the bill.
As the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for people with compromised immune systems, we look at how the two drugmakers are expected to reap billions from the vaccine booster market.
Jamie Spears has agreed to step down from his 13-year role as conservator of his daughter Britney's estate, in what the pop star's attorney on Thursday called a major victory.
| BUSINESS European stocks have hit new highs and are on course for a record-breaking run, capping another strong week as investors seize on a dip in U.S. inflation and more forecast-beating corporate earnings.
The Federal Reserve will announce a plan to taper its asset purchases in September, according to a solid majority of economists polled by Reuters who also said the U.S. jobless rate would remain above its pre-pandemic level for at least a year.
Poly Network, the cryptocurrency platform which lost $610 million in a hack earlier this week, has offered the hacker or hackers a $500,000 'bug bounty'. In a statement it thanked the 'white hat', sector jargon for an ethical hacker who generally aims to expose cyber vulnerabilities, who has returned the bulk of the funds for "helping us improve Poly Network’s security".
Walt Disney's earnings topped Wall Street forecasts for the most recent quarter as its streaming services picked up more customers than expected and pandemic-hit U.S. theme parks returned to profitability.
Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee, convicted of bribery and embezzlement, walked out of prison on parole, with South Korea's president calling on the public for understanding over his controversial release.
| | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Germany marks 60 years since the Berlin Wall was built Thierry Noir, who says he was the first artist to paint murals on the Berlin Wall, recalls the gloom of living in its shadow. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
