Reuters World News - Spain bolsters border, FIFA retreat, Kalshi crackdown and Reflecting Pool

Episode Date: August 1, 2026

Spain installs a floating barrier after thousands of migrants crossed over from North Africa - most of whom have now left. FIFA abandons its controversial plan to create a commercial entity, surrendering to intense opposition from fans. New York state authorities have sued the predictions-market company Kalshi for allegedly running an illegal, unlicensed gambling operation in the state. And the Justice Department rules damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by "flawed installation" - not vandalism. Watch the latest episode of On Assignment ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Listen to the Morning Bid podcast ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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

Hi, I'm Peter Devon in London. It's Saturday, August 1st. Today, Spain reverses the influx of migrants entering the enclave of Theota, with most heading back. FIFA scraps its World Cup sell-off plan, bound to intense opposition. President Trump hails his breakthrough Gaza deal, but will both sides accept? And the state of New York takes on Kelshi, just as the betting industry flexes its political power. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. In Toronto, every arrival is a statement, and nothing says it better than this. Cadillac Optic was the number one selling luxury EV in Canada for 2025.

Find your rhythm across a seamless 33-inch display and an immersive 19-speaker AKG surround audio system. This city demands agility, and Optic delivers with precision to make every drive extraordinary. Let's take the Cadillac. Find out more at Cadillac Canada.ca. Luxury sales claim based on S&P Global Mobility, Canadian New Vehicle Total Registrations for Calendar Year 2025 for the Cadillac definition of luxury. Spain says it's reversed a huge rush of migrants into the enclave Thautea, as police begin installing a 500-meter floating barrier of its border with Morocco.

Most of the more than 50,000 people who had crossed the border already heading back voluntarily. And what's succeeded in the day of year, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez there, saying what happens in Thayota deserves our strongest reproach and firmest condemnation. Spanish authorities say dozens died while making the crossing, and despite the large numbers returning, others like Isam Al-Harak who travelled from Tangier say they have no interest in going back.

Our reporter Michael Gore has been on the ground since first reports of the surge and arrivals. People that come are more or less 90% of them, I would say, below 20 years old. So they're young, healthy. What the situation is that they get to Spain, they have money, but they can't buy anything. Keep in mind this, everything is closed in the Spanish side of the border.

So many decide to go back and keep living their lives over there. It's 1-0 to soccer fans. As FIFA is forced to back down, the World Governing Body has abandoned a controversial plan to bring outside investors into the World Cup. The plan was to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling about a 20% stake in a new unit that would run FIFA events, including the World Cup.

But it sparked a fierce backlash, particularly in Europe. Critics accused FIFA of putting profits ahead of the game. FIFA President Gianni Infantino says the organisation's purpose has always been and will always be to unite and improve. Now to Reuters Exclusive on OpenAI, revealing more instances in which autonomous agents escaped containment. The companies expanded its investigation of the hacking incident at TechFirm Hugging Face that drew global attention this month.

And sources say that's revealed new breakouts of other runaway AI agents. An OpenAI spokesperson referred to a statement issued by the company, saying it was reviewing broader activity from our models in addition to the hugging face intrusion. And another Reuters investigation has uncovered that Chinese military researchers are using outputs from leading US artificial intelligence models, including those from OpenAI and Anthropic, to train domestic AI systems for defence purposes, leveraging cutting-edge US AI models as a shortcut to developing specialised system of their own. President Donald Trump has convened a cabinet meeting at his Camp David retreat, as he grapples with how to resolve his war against Iran, and bring down gasoline

that are threatening Republicans in November midterm elections. The meeting comes as he heals what he calls a great breakthrough to bring peace to Gaza, but both Hamas and Israel are signaling the deal may be dead on arrival. Israel is very happy about it. Israel helped us. Trump says Israel is very happy, but Prime Minister Benjamin Nessoniahu hasn't publicly endorsed the plan, and a far-right minister in his coalition is calling it unacceptable. Meanwhile, Hamas and Israeli officials are locked in the state. same stalemate that's torpedoed previous deals. Hamas says it will only put weapons in

storage after Israel stops attacks and withdraws forces, while Israel says there'll be no withdrawal from the current yellow line until Hamas disarms. But what is that yellow line? In Gaza itself, it's the demarcation line established under a US-brokered ceasefire reached in October, with concrete blocks marking the edge of Israel's military zone, nearly two-thirds of the enclave. The Israeli military says the line is clearly marked to reduce the risk of contact between troops and civilians. But the line has kept moving, pushing roughly 2 million Palestinians into a narrow coastal area. And for Palestinian families living near the yellow line, when it moves, they move. Asim Dala was loading mattresses and bags into a truck in Gaza's city's Zaytun district when Reuters found him.

He says it's the seventh or eight time, if not more, that his family has been forced to leave. If you want a $3,000 a month payday for life, what would you feel free to do? Maybe take a long weekend, every weekend, or try a bunch of new hobbies. Would you feel free to upgrade and listen ad free? Don't worry, we get it. Every $20 ticket could win you $3,000 a month for life and supports life-saving cancer research at the Princess Margaret. Feel free to buy your payday for life ticket today. Raffle number 155-214.

Play responsibly. A new twist now in the Todd Blanche saga, with President Trump saying on truth social, if the Senate does not confirm his Attorney General nomination, he will stay on in his current acting role, with the president adding that he would also push Congress to codify a proposed anti-weaponization fund that could help his allies. Blanche told senators that the so-called anti-weaponization fund is dead,

but Trump on Friday defended it and suggested it was very much alive. only to backtrack hours later. Not just put that in writing. But I wish it weren't, to be honest. Republican senators John Cornyn and Tom Tillis are holding up Blanche's confirmation until they get formal written assurances the fund won't happen.

Dan Rosenzwegg Ziff covers the Justice Department. Tillis and Cornyn are in a unique position among Senate Republicans and that they are not seeking re-election and as a result are more outspoken in their criticism. of the president. They have also said that they are not the only ones who have concerns about Blanche's nomination and the weaponization fund and the tax agreement that gives Trump and his associates

broad tax immunity from past tax returns. Blanche's Trump's former personal attorney and Democrats and other critics have questioned whether he is still acting as Trump's personal attorney or is acting as an Attorney General. The U.S. Justice Department has weighed in on President Trump's renovation project of the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying a flawed installation, not vandalism caused the liner to peel, dropping its case against former U.S. Olympian David Hearn. The champion Canoas had faced up to 10 years in prison after being arrested on vandalism

charges. The state of New York is suing prediction market Kelshi, claiming that his platform violates state laws against illegal gambling. Attorney General Letitia James says Kalshi failed to obtain a state license to operate its platform, where people trade based on the predicted outcomes of sports, elections and other events. At least four states, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, and Washington have won court orders restricting Kalshi's activities. Meanwhile, Kalshi is one of the several betting companies getting more involved in politics. Ahead of the US midterm elections, the industry is pouring tens of

millions of dollars into campaigns, making it the third largest corporate donor behind crypto and tech. Reporter Don Koupeki explains why sports spending companies, like Draft Kings and Fanjul, are spending big bucks. The reason you see Draft Kings and Fanjoules getting into political spending is the entrance of some new companies Kalshi and Polymarket have come into this in a very big way. And so that has created new competitors. It's also created some new opportunities.

And so you see an increase of attention and focus and scrutiny on the entire industry with these new entrants coming in. And so that's creating a lot of political risk for the traditional online sports betting companies. The companies have poured money into a super political action committee or SuperPack, Win for America, that has funded candidates on both sides of the aisle. Win for America donated an estimated $12 million alone just to Georgia state elections. They gave through both the conservative fund for Republicans

and the Democrat-focused American Future Fund. There, the Atlanta Constitution Journal did an analysis and they found that that money went into 34 legislative races ahead of the primary, all but two of the candidates that Win for America supported won their primary. And in Europe, months of heat waves and drought have left the river Danube at critically low levels. Revealing the rusted hulks of a World War II-era Nazi fleet scuttled in 1944. The rescinding waters have also compounded power shortages,

forcing costly electricity imports and disrupted river transport. For more of any of the stories from today, check out roiders.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player if you're listening on a smart speaker just to ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.