Pelosi is full of praise and support for Taiwan during visit that infuriated China

The Reuters Daily Briefing Wednesday, August 3, 2022 by Hani Richter Hello Here's what you need to know. Pelosi is full of praise and support for Taiwan during visit that infuriated China, Pro-Trump activists swamp election officials with sprawling records requests, and what happened at the U.S primaries. Today's biggest stories U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi attends a meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen at the presidential office in Taipei, Taiwan August 3, 2022. Taiwan Presidential Office/Handout via REUTERS U.S. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan after pledging solidarity and hailing its democracy, leaving a trail of Chinese anger over her brief visit to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. Kansas voters rejected an effort to remove abortion protections from the state's constitution, a resounding win for the abortion rights movement in the first statewide electoral test since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Pro-Trump operatives are flooding local officials with public-records requests to seek evidence for the former president’s false stolen-election claims and to gather intelligence on voting machines and voters, adding to the chaos rocking the U.S. election system. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs won the Democratic nomination for governor, Edison Research projected, defeating Marco Lopez, a former Nogales mayor who served as a border official in the Obama administration. Republican voters chose a raft of candidates supporting Donald Trump's 2020 election falsehoods in multiple party primaries for the November general election - a stark display of the former president's grip on his party. Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after visiting Canada, July 29, 2022. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool WORLD Pope Francis said he felt the pain of survivors of Canada's residential school system "like slaps" and that the Catholic Church has to face up to its responsibility for institutions that abused children and tried to erase indigenous cultures. Former British finance minister Rishi Sunak said it was still "early days" in the contest to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a day after an opinion poll showed his rival Liz Truss had extended her lead in the race to be Britain's next leader. The German government will have to amend its energy security law again in September as its gas levy cannot yet be imposed on all consumers, including those with fixed prices contracts, government and parliamentary sources told Reuters. A Hong Kong activist dubbed "Captain America 2.0" for wielding the superhero's shield during pro-democracy protests in 2019 had his jail sentence reduced to five years after winning an appeal. Separatist insurgents in Pakistan's resource-rich Balochistan province said they shot down a military helicopter that went down during a flood relief operation, killing all six on board including a top army commander. U.S. President Joe Biden and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo hold a virtual meeting with business leaders and state governors to discuss supply chain problems, particularly addressing semiconductor chips, on the White House campus in Washington, U.S., March 9, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst BUSINESS & MARKETS Export restrictions being considered by Washington to halt China's advances in semiconductor manufacturing could come at a substantial cost, experts say, potentially disrupting fragile global chip supply chains - and hurting U.S. businesses. China is suspending imports of citrus fruits, chilled white striped hairtail and frozen horse mackerel from Taiwan starting Aug. 3, China's customs said. Uber sold its 7.8% stake in Indian food delivery firm Zomato for $392 million via a block trade on local exchanges, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. BMW lowered its output forecast and warned of a highly volatile second half, pinpointing supplies of energy in Europe and chips worldwide as the two crucial factors to the carmaker hitting full-year earnings targets. CVS raised its annual profit forecast after strength in its insurance business and sales of COVID over-the-counter test kits helped boost quarterly earnings. Quote of the day “I know you believe me, yet you’re going to leave this courtroom and say it again on your show ... Do you have the capacity to put yourself in my shoes? Do you have empathy?” Scarlett Lewis Parent of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre Alex Jones says he never meant to hurt Sandy Hook parents with hoax claims Video of the day Red Putin statue pops up in Central Park A red statue depicting Russian leader Vladimir Putin riding a tank has been installed in a New York City playground. And finally… Giant sequoias survived a California wildfire. Next time, they may not be so lucky For millennia, giant sequoias – the largest trees on Earth – have resisted and relied on fire. But today's wildfires are far more frequent and intense due to climate-fueled droughts. More from Reuters Sustainable Business The Great Reboot Disrupted Legal News Breakingviews Thanks for spending part of your day with us. You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036