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Daily Briefing

Lukashenko says Prigozhin is back in Russia, Yellen kicks off her China visit, and Meta takes aim at Twitter with its Threads app.

Plus, Biden's new asylum policy strands thousands of migrants at the Mexico border.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko walks before a press conference in Minsk, Belarus July 6, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who last month brokered a deal to end an armed mutiny in Russia, said that Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus. He told reporters earlier today the Wagner chief was now in St Petersburg.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to start a four-day visit to Beijing that is expected to focus on recalibrating ties between the world's two largest economies locked in confrontation. Both sides have low expectations for the trip, however.
Tel Aviv's police commander said he was quitting the force, citing political intervention by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right cabinet. He said the PM wanted excessive force used against anti-government protesters.
Britain's Orthodox Haredi Jews community, along with some Muslim and Christian groups, says it is deeply troubled by a government-backed proposal to register all home-schooled children. Senior Correspondent Jonathan Saul talks about the proposed new legislation on today's Reuters World News podcast.
Vietnam launched an inspection into K-pop group Blackpink's tour organizer's over criticism that it shows a map of the South China Sea with disputed boundaries. It follows a decision to ban the "Barbie" film over a scene featuring a map showing China's unilaterally claimed territory in the South China Sea.

Business & Markets

Meta's Threads app and Twitter logos are seen in this illustration taken July 4, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Meta launched a direct challenge to Twitter with Threads, garnering millions of users in hours. Those quick to join the new platform included celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez as well as prominent politicians such as Democratic U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
SubCom, a New Jersey company born out of a Cold War spy project, is a key player in the US-China tech war. It's laying internet cables on the ocean floor to boost Washington's economic and military might, including a clandestine mission to a remote island naval base, Reuters can reveal. Read our special report.
Google has accused India's antitrust body of ordering changes to its business model "only to protect" rival Amazon, which complained about its struggles to develop a modified version of the Android system due to Google's restrictions. For more tech news, sign up to the Technology Roundup newsletter.
Supermarket group Tesco, Britain's largest private-sector employer, is to offer its staff virtual appointments with a private doctor, amid pressures engulfing the country's National Health Service. Britain's labor market remains tight, forcing companies to raise wages and give other benefits to attract and retain staff.
South Korea is suffering from a shortage of pediatricians, partly a result of the world's lowest birth rate, leaving hospitals unable to fill posts and raising risks for children's health, doctors say. The number of pediatric clinics and hospitals in the capital has fallen by 12.5% over the five years to 2022, to just 456. Sign up to the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter for more news on the industry.

The Wider Image

Alejandra Pena, 34, bathes her son Natanael, 1, in a plastic bucket next to their tents, at a makeshift camp in Matamoros, Mexico June 20, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

US President Joe Biden promised to replace the hardline policies of Donald Trump, including the COVID-era public health order Title 42, with a more humane immigration system. A new rule requires migrants to make an appointment on a government-run smartphone app before approaching the border.

Officials said the regulation and other Biden immigration policies are reducing illegal border crossings that have hit record highs in recent years. But in the first month of the new policy, Reuters found tens of thousands of people waiting in dangerous Mexican border towns to snag a spot on the app, and humanitarian groups warn of deteriorating sanitary conditions at migrant camps.

Our report shows how Biden's new asylum policy strands some migrants at the Mexico border as conditions worsen.

And Finally...

Greta Donnay, 56, who is hospitalized at Sint-Trudo hospital, plays with her dog Rambo, July 5, 2023. REUTERS/Bart Biesemans

A Belgian hospital has built a pavilion to allow pets to visit patients who are in palliative care or with illnesses that require long-term care in a bid to boost patients' wellbeing. Most hospitals do not allow pet visits, and for years patients at the Sint-Trudo hospital who wanted to see their pets had to do that in the hospital courtyard.

But in conversations between cancer patients and hospital psychologists, the idea grew for a dedicated indoor space - separate from but connected to the hospital - and the result is a pet visit pavilion that opened last month.

Read more here: Belgian hospital pioneers pet visits to patients

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