Reuters World News - Hamas, India-US trade and Taiwan semiconductors

Episode Date: August 5, 2025

Hamas says it’s prepared to coordinate to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza after a videos showing captives drew sharp criticism. A top Trump aide accuses India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine – what went wrong with trade negotiations? Plus, Taiwan cultivates young overseas talent to meet a shortage in the semiconductor industry.  Find today's Recommended Read here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement⁠⁠⁠ for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit ⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠⁠⁠ to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Hamas says it's prepared to coordinate with the Red Cross to deliver aid to hostages it holds in Gaza, as Israel's Prime Minister says he's not backing down after videos of captives are released. India prepares to woo the US back to the table after a surprise trade talk fail and Taiwan's talent shortage in the semiconductor industry. It's Monday, August 4th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to be. to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every single day. I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. President Donald Trump says he'll announce a replacement to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the coming days after firing the previous commissioner accusing her of faking job numbers.

Trump accused Commissioner Erica McIntypha without evidence after her agency found fewer jobs were created in May and June than it had previously reported. And President Trump says he will announce a candidate to fill an open position on the board of the Federal Reserve in the next couple of days. The board has a lot of power in the central bank. The move could shake up an already fractious succession process amid Trump's fierce criticism of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Whitkoff may travel to Russia later this week. President Trump made the announcement while warning that he will impose secondary sanctions on Moscow if it doesn't agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine before Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is filled with even stronger determination to free hostages and eliminate Hamas in Gaza. It's in response to videos released over the weekend showing two hostages emaciated and pleading for help. In one, 22-year-old Rom Braslavsky says he's suffering with pain and is given barely anything to eat or drink. Hamas says it will allow aid for hostages if Israel halts airstrikes and opens permanent humanitarian corridors for Palestinians in the enclave.

Right now, getting to aid is dangerous. Israeli fire killed at least 80 people on Sunday, some of whom were trying to reach aid hubs. Israel blames Hamas for the suffering in Gaza, but in response to a rising international uproar has announced steps to let more aid reach the population. The UN Security Council will hold a special session tomorrow to discuss the hostage situation after France, Germany, the UK and the US, among others, expressed outrage over the videos. Democrat lawmakers in Texas say they're leaving the state to deny Republicans the numbers they need to redraw the state's congressional districts.

The redistricting could create five more House Republicans, adding to their narrow majority in the House of Representatives. The Texas House has 150 members, and at least 100 must be present for the Chamber to conduct business. A top aide to President Trump has accused India of, effectively financing Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing oil from Moscow. That's after the US leader escalated pressure on New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil. From Friday, India will face a 25% tariff on goods that imports to the US. It's a surprise for New Delhi, which after four rounds of

negotiations thought a deal was done and was just waiting for President Trump to announce it. Sanjiv McGlany is here. Sanjeeve, what went wrong? The negotiators had reached some sort of a broad agreement, but then it needed a political sign-off. Apparently, the president of the US wanted much more, something more headline-catching, big investment figures. At that point, there was pressure right at the top. Go back and get me a better deal. Our reporting so far is showing that at that point things just stopped because there was a sense that if the political leaders had opened a line, perhaps a communication at the top between Modi and Mr. Trump. Perhaps this could have been avoided. Is there an off-ramp or are the two nations headed for an all-out trade war?

Good question. So the other thing that has happened and that has also moved to the top of the agenda, along with the tariffs, the US has said that they will impose an undisclosed penalty on India for buying Russian oil. So they're now working through two sets of pressure points. It is possible that there could be a trade-off. India backs down on this Russian purchase of oil in return from some sort of concessions on the trade front. There is a US trade delegation coming into India at the third week of August. They're kind of preparing for it, but I mean it's a difficult task. It looks like quite a tall mountain. OPEC Plus has agreed to raise oil production by 547,000 barrels per day for September. It's the latest in a series of accelerated output hikes to regain market.

share, as concerns mount over potential supply disruptions linked to Russia. The U.S. Marshals Service is offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to the capture of the man accused of shooting four people dead in a Montana bar on Friday. Police are still looking for the suspect, named as 45-year-old Michael Brown. They say he walked into the owl bar on Friday morning, opened fire with a rifle and fled. Some 3,000 Boeing workers who assemble fighter jets in St. Louis will strike today after rejecting the plane maker's latest contract offer. As well as fighter jets, the workers also assemble the MQ25, an aerial refueling drone being developed for the US Navy. Boeing says their offer featured a 40% average wage growth.

In Taiwan, 16-year-old Nicholas Chu gushed. over his love of semiconductors. He's a thing to me because I myself really enjoy playing video games. So I'm really just always using these semiconductor products. And so to me, most of these companies are really interesting. He's at a semiconductor summer camp, organized by a chip company with the goal of attracting more youth to the industry. Wen Yi Li is the reporter on the story.

Wen Yi, how desperate are Taiwan's chip makers right now? So they've actually been desperate for quite some time. Take TSM, Taiwan's largest chip maker, for example. Its global workforce grew 63% of their past five years, reaching more than 83,000 by the end of 2024. So that kind of rapid expansion creates a massive demand for talent. But here is the problem. Taiwan's population is ranking.

The number of new warms dropped from over 210,000. in 2014 to just around 135,000 in 2024, that is a serious mismatch. And it's not just a shortage of top engineers. Companies are also struggling to hire operators and production line workers. And because the chip industry offers competitive salaries and benefits, it's also pulling talents away from other industries, putting even more pressure on Taiwan's overall labor market. There is already pressure from geopolitics and rising global competition.

If Taiwan doesn't address this talent shortage, it could slowly lose this competitive advantage, not overnight but steadily over time. More than 50 people are dead after a boat sank off Yemen's coast in bad weather, according to local health officials. Around 150 people were on board. Dozens are still missing. South Korean soldiers dismantle large loudspeakers along their border, used for blaring anti-North Korea propaganda into their northern neighbor. A defense spokesperson says the move is to try and ease tensions with the North. President Li J. Mung ordered the broadcasts be switched off shortly after he took office in June.

And for today's recommended read, how aging farmers and old trees are creating a dilemma for the world's top palm oil exporters. Palm oil is used for everything from cooking to cosmetics and cleaning products. And with more than half the world's supply coming from Malaysia and Indonesia, the market is now at a tipping point. You can find out more by clicking on the link in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, visit Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player. And if you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week.

We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.