Pager blasts fuel escalation fears

Operation trail runs from Taiwan to Budapest.

Sign up for Reuters newsletters  Daily Briefing Daily Briefing By Edson Caldas At least 12 people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon. Today, we look at the operation's trail, Hezbollah's response, and what else we know so far. Plus, we cover deadly floods in central Europe and the Federal Reserve's imminent rate cut.  Today's Top News   A man's bag explodes in this screen grab from a video obtained on social media. Middle East Israel's Mossad spy agency planted explosives inside 5,000 pagers imported by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before yesterday's detonations, a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters. The militant group promised to retaliate against Israel. Those pagers were made by Budapest-based BAC Consulting, Taiwanese pager firm Gold Apollo said, adding it had only licensed out its brand to the company. On today's Reuters World News podcast, Maya Gebeily sheds light on why Hezbollah made the switch from phones to pagers months ago. Follow our live updates. Climate The worst floods to hit central Europe in at least two decades have left a trail of destruction. Emergency personnel worked through the night to fortify the Polish city of Wroclaw against approaching flood waters, while Hungary opened a dam as the prime minister warned a "crucial period" was approaching. Water levels of the rivers in the Amazon basin have reached to historic lows, in some cases drying up riverbeds that were navigable waterways. The drought is the most intense and widespread Brazil has experienced since records began in 1950. United States The Republican-controlled House of Representatives will vote today on legislation that pairs a must-pass spending bill with tighter voting rules, setting up a clash with the Democratic-majority Senate that risks a partial government shutdown. The Teamsters executive board is meeting in Washington as the 1.3 million-member union decides who to endorse in the 2024 presidential election. Its endorsement could be a factor in a handful of battleground states. Follow our election coverage here. Sean "Diddy" Combs used his fame as one of hip-hop's biggest names to coerce women into demeaning sexual acts as part of a long-running scheme of sex trafficking and racketeering, prosecutors said in bringing three criminal charges against him. Business & Markets   The Federal Reserve will almost certainly lower interest rates for the first time in more than four years later today, as the US central bank starts to reverse the restrictive conditions it imposed to beat back inflation. But whether policymakers opt for a half-percentage-point cut or smaller move remains up in the air. British inflation held steady in August but sped up in the services sector, closely watched by the Bank of England, adding to bets that the central bank will keep interest rates on hold tomorrow. Google won its challenge against a $1.66 billion antitrust fine imposed five years ago for hindering rivals in online search advertising, a week after it lost a much bigger case. Amazon.com named Samir Kumar as its new India head, handing the reins to a 25-year company veteran as the e-commerce giant faces intense competition and regulatory pressures in the country. Boeing and its largest union will resume contract talks today in the presence of federal mediators, after failing to agree on key issues of wages and pensions, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said. How migrant workers suffered to craft the 'Made in Italy' luxury label   A demonstration in favor of fair working conditions in the Made in Italy supply chain. REUTERS/Denis Balibous "Made in Italy: shame in Italy," a handful of migrant laborers who had travelled from Italy's famed leatherware region Tuscany chanted last week in Geneva outside the flagship store of luxury accessory maker Montblanc, holding placards with the slogan. The workers accused the pen and watches maker of dropping its supplier Z Production because of rising costs. The Chinese-owned contractor, based in Tuscany, had improved its working conditions in October 2022 after years of irregular contracts and long shifts, workers and union officials told Reuters. Read more And Finally... 'Agatha All Along' crafts a witch coven community run by women. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Actor Kathryn Hahn met with a person she describes as a real-life witch every week to help her further embrace her role as the witch Agatha Harkness in the show "Agatha All Along." The Marvel miniseries serves as a spin-off of the Emmy-winning "WandaVision," also created by director Jac Schaeffer. Read more Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement © 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036