| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, August 31, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. The West mourns Mikhail Gorbachev as a peace champion, Russia deepens Europe's energy squeeze, and California braces for another run of extreme heat | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev attends a parade marking the World War II anniversary in Moscow, May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin WORLD Mikhail Gorbachev was mourned in the West as a towering statesman who helped to end the Cold War, but his death received a cool response in Russia. Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, died at the age of 91 in a Moscow hospital after two years of serious illness. A former Reuters reporter recalls the Gorbachev years, and the hopes that were dashed.
U.N. nuclear inspectors set off for Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after weeks of shelling nearby sparked fears of a Fukushima-style radiation disaster, with tensions rising between Kyiv and Moscow over the visit. Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now.
Taiwan said it would exercise its right to self-defense and "counter-attack" if Chinese armed forces entered its territory, as Beijing increased military activities near the democratic island. China said that a condition for the resumption of bilateral climate talks with the United States was Washington dispelling the "negative influence" left by House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan earlier this month.
International aid agencies struggling to help hundreds of thousands of people displaced by deadly floods in Pakistan have asked for the loosening of restrictions on imports of food from Pakistan's old rival India. Unusually heavy monsoon rains have triggered floods that have submerged a third of Pakistan and killed more than 1,100 people, including 380 children.
Powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his followers to end their protests in central Baghdad, easing a confrontation which led to the deadliest violence in the Iraqi capital in years. Apologizing to Iraqis after 22 people were killed in clashes between an armed group loyal to him and rival Shi'ite Muslim factions backed by Iran, Sadr condemned the fighting.
|  President Joe Biden delivers remarks on gun crime and his 'Safer America Plan' during an event in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque U.S. The U.S. Justice Department said it had evidence that classified documents were deliberately concealed from the FBI when it tried to retrieve them in June from former President Donald Trump's Florida estate, prompting its unprecedented search of his home. In a 54-page filing, prosecutors laid out their evidence of obstruction of justice.
President Joe Biden condemned violent threats against FBI agents who searched Trump's home as "sickening," as he called for more police funding and an assault weapons ban in Pennsylvania. Biden's public approval rating fell modestly this week, a poor sign for the Democratic Party's hopes in the November 8 midterm elections, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll.
A record-breaking heat wave is expected to hit California today, bringing temperatures of up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit in the state's inland valleys and 100 degrees along the coast over the Labor Day weekend.
Hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents were without electricity after powerful storms toppled trees and downed thousands of power lines in the state.
Biden's administration approved an emergency declaration over a water crisis in the State of Mississippi and ordered Federal assistance to supplement the state's response. Mississippi activated its National Guard to help distribute water to tens of thousands of Jackson residents after a long-troubled treatment plant broke down.
|  A view of the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline in the industrial area of Lubmin, Germany, August 30, 2022. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner BUSINESS & MARKETS Russia halted gas supplies via Europe's key supply route, intensifying an economic battle between Moscow and Brussels and raising the prospects of recession and energy rationing in some of the region's richest countries. The European Union is on track to beat targets for filling gas storage, but analysts warn the bigger factor for energy security this winter will be whether countries can slash consumption enough to ensure stored fuel lasts through the coldest months.
Global oil companies are pumping billions of dollars into offshore drilling, reversing a long decline in spending on the decades-long projects including some in the remote iceberg waters far off Canada's Atlantic coast. Surging oil prices are encouraging the investments, along with Europe's mounting energy demand.
The surge in British house prices will come to an end next year as the cost of living crisis and rising borrowing costs put the brakes on what has been a buoyant market for years, a Reuters poll found. Shops and supermarkets in Britain increased prices by 5.1% in the 12 months to August, the largest rise in records dating back to 2005, reflecting a jump in food costs.
China's factory activity extended declines in August as new COVID infections, the worst heatwaves in decades and an embattled property sector weighed on production, suggesting the economy will struggle to sustain momentum.
Investors in the $23 trillion U.S. Treasury market are slicing up orders and switching to more easily traded issues, adapting to navigate periodic illiquidity that looks to get worse as the Federal Reserve reduces the size of its bond portfolio. We look at how an aggressive Fed is spurring worries over stock valuations.
U.S. regulators have selected e-commerce majors Alibaba and JD.com among other U.S.-listed Chinese companies for audit inspection starting next month, people with knowledge of the matter said.
| | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Close encounters? You may be swimming with sharks without knowing it Beachgoers in urban areas are probably swimming near sharks without even realizing it, according to a new study by experts at the University of Miami, who tracked the ocean predators' movements off the southern Florida city's coast. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
