| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, August 25, 2021 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. New research shows COVID vaccine protection wanes within six months, the U.S. and China accuse each other of bullying, and read the stories of those fleeing the Taliban - a singer, a bitcoin dreamer, and an all-girl robotics team. | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Afghan citizens board a Spanish military plane as part of their evacuation, at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, August 24, 2021 AFGHANISTAN President Joe Biden says U.S. troops in Afghanistan face mounting danger as they push to complete evacuations by an August 31 deadline, with aid agencies warning of a looming humanitarian crisis for the population left behind. We explain what happens after Biden's evacuation force leaves.
The Taliban victory has raised concern in Turkey, a staging post for many migrants trying to reach Europe and already home to nearly 4 million Syrians, of a new influx of refugees. We spoke to one young Afghan, who was sheltering in a drainage tunnel in Turkey, about his daunting journey west.
An Afghan singer who has used her international fame to amplify calls for women's rights told us how she wore an all-enveloping veil to escape her homeland as the Taliban took Kabul.
Five members of an all-girl Afghan robotics team have arrived in Mexico. The team, made up of girls and women as young as 14, has been heralded for winning international awards for its robots and started work in March on an open-source, low-cost ventilator.
A fresh disaster can be averted in Afghanistan, but the international community needs to act fast, says Breakingviews. Read Una Galani on why financially isolating the country is pointless.
|  New York Governor Kathy Hochul takes part in a swearing-in ceremony with her husband Bill Hochul and New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore at the state capitol in Albany, August 24, 2021
U.S.
New York's first female governor, Kathy Hochul, was sworn into office, promising to change the state's political culture and work to ensure that New Yorkers "believe in their government again."
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Biden's bid to rescind an immigration policy implemented by his predecessor, Donald Trump, that forced thousands of asylum seekers to stay in Mexico awaiting U.S. hearings.
The House of Representatives voted to advance key parts of Biden's agenda, after moderates and progressives reached a compromise allowing them to move forward on the multitrillion-dollar plans.
Authorities said they have accounted for dozens of people who were previously listed as missing after the weekend's deadly flooding in Tennessee, where the full scope of damage is coming into view.
The National Rifle Association said it has canceled its upcoming annual convention, which was set to open late next week in Houston, citing public health concerns posed by the recent surge in COVID-19 cases.
WORLD
Protection against COVID-19 offered by two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines begins to fade within six months, underscoring the need for booster shots, according to researchers in Britain.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris again charged China with bullying its Southeast Asian neighbors, the second time in two days she has attacked Beijing during a regional visit aimed at countering China's growing influence. Meanwhile, China says it will incorporate "Xi Jinping Thought" into its national curriculum to help "establish Marxist belief" in the country's youth.
Iraq has invited Iran and Tehran's Gulf Arab foes to a summit in Baghdad with the aim of calming tensions which have brought them close to open conflict in recent years.
Algeria cut diplomatic relations with Morocco, citing what it called hostile actions by its most populous neighbor with which it has had strained relations for decades.
| BUSINESS Global corporate profits in the third quarter are likely to fall for the first time in 18 months after record earnings in April-June, Reuters calculations showed, as the spreading COVID-19 Delta variant squeezes supply chains and raises labor costs.
U.S. officials have approved license applications worth hundreds of millions of dollars for China's blacklisted Huawei to buy chips for its growing auto component business. Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, has been hobbled by trade restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on the sale of chips and other components.
Non-fungible token sales surged in August, according to the largest platform for the burgeoning digital asset class, as speculators bet growing interest across the art, sport and media worlds will keep prices rising.
Tags for identifying bitcoin, ethereum and other crypto assets will be launched in September in the latest sign of how the fast growing, unregulated market is adopting the hallmarks of mainstream investing.
Credit Suisse has asked all non-vaccinated staff in the United States to work from home beginning September 7, as it pushes back its return-to-office plans over concerns about the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant.
| | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Dry winds stoke Caldor Fire in northern California Stoked by dry, heavy winds, the Caldor Fire has grown further out of control and authorities now fear it could threaten the popular Lake Tahoe area. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
