The latest victim of the Ukraine war

Reuters Daily Briefing <dailybriefing@thomsonreuters.com>
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2026-08-13 13:02

Daily Briefing

By Yasmeen Serhan

Hello. Ukraine and Russia trade strikes on each others' grain harvests, Iran says no progress has been made on reviving its interim peace deal with the United States and an exclusive inside look at one Google executive's moves to close the gap with its AI rivals.

Plus, White House correspondent Gram Slattery's dispatch from that presidential flight out of Turkey — and the explanations that didn't add up.

Today's Top News

Ukrainian farmer Serhiy Rybalko shows wheat grains inside a storage facility on August 7, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Grain has become the latest victim of the war in Ukraine as Russia and Ukraine strike each other's grain shipments as a way of gaining advantage off the battlefield, raising fears of disruption to global supply and costs. Ukraine bureau chief Dan Flynn tells the Reuters World News podcast why the attacks are making such an impact.
Iran and the US remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source, who ‌said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a time frame to implement it.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave her role at the end of the month, US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, ‌leaving the president without one of his most trusted advisers ahead of November's midterm elections.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin urged key AI staff to go all in on the company's Gemini model as parent Alphabet seeks to close the gap with rivals, two people familiar with his remarks told Reuters. A sweeping overhaul of Google DeepMind last week marks a further erosion of DeepMind's autonomy amid an ongoing push for its AI to power more of its software and make more money.
Six heads of Arab national football associations backed FIFA President Gianni Infantino as the embattled head of soccer's world governing body continues to face calls for his resignation following a failed bid to bring private investment into FIFA competitions..
Voters in the English seaside resort of Clacton will cast their ballots in a local English election, pitting Nigel Farage against his main challenger — a ‌comedian dressed as a trash can — in a test of opposition to the Reform UK leader's brand of populist politics.

Business & Markets

A Facebook message is displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken December 3, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Illustration/File Photo

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said it had taken down more than 750,000 accounts it suspected ‌were held by Australians aged under 16 since a world-first ban on teen accounts, and promised more action in the face of possible regulatory intervention.
Anthropic is in talks to buy Nvidia-backed startup Decart AI, according to a source familiar with the matter, as the Claude maker explores acquisitions that ‌could help it handle growing demand ahead of its public listing.
Venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger are set to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers, with the deal valued at a record $12.5 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Ford Motor plans to move production of some Lincoln models from China to the US beginning in 2030, Ford's CEO told Reuters, saying the move was difficult but necessary to strengthen the US auto manufacturing base. Read our exclusive.
Global demand for electric vehicles rose for a fifth consecutive month in July, driven by robust growth in Europe while ‌sales weakened in China and North America, data from consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence showed.
Ice cream companies may be enjoying a summer sales boost from soaring temperatures, but behind the scenes they are preparing for a future where consumers want fewer reasons to feel guilty about treating themselves — including reducing portion sizes, increasing protein content and cleaning up ingredients lists.

'If I go, you go, right?': Traveling on the presidential plane—without Trump

Trump arrives aboard the new Qatari-gifted Air Force One, as he returns from a NATO leaders' summit in Turkey, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

From the beginning, something didn't add up.

During the closing hours of the NATO Leaders' Summit in Ankara in July, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he would not be flying home aboard the new presidential plane that had brought him to the Turkish capital after Qatar gifted it to the administration last year.

Instead, Trump said, he had sent the aircraft ahead to Mildenhall Air Force Base in England so servicemembers could tour it. He wrote, without making clear how he would ultimately get home to ‌Washington, that he would fly to Mildenhall aboard an older Air Force One.

As part of the press pool traveling with Trump, White House correspondent Gram Slattery was along for the ride. Read his play-by-play of what happened.

Read more

And Finally...

The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse as seen from the Galactica Centre, near Teruel, Spain. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

Did you miss yesterday's solar eclipse? Don't worry: Here are some of the best photos from the "event of the century.."

The next one won't be far off: Totality will return to North America in 2044, when the Moon’s shadow will cross western Canada and the western United States, followed by a coast-to-coast eclipse across Canada and the United States in 2045. Europe won't see totality again until 2081. Plenty of time to get some eclipse glasses!

Read more

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