Reuters World News - British doctors strike and the IMF's gloomy outlook

Episode Date: April 12, 2023

We visit a picket line in Britain where doctors are staging a four-day walkout. Rising interest rates and persistent inflation are adding to the struggle of debt-laden countries. Plus, Elon Musk opens up about Twitter and how California is using water tests to help fight the drug war. 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, Elon Musk breaks his silence about what it's really been like owning Twitter and how the books are balancing. The International Monetary Fund issues a dire warning for the global economy as policymakers sit down in Washington, D.C. And Britain's hospital doctors are holding an unprecedented four-day strike. What are their demands? And how hard is it hitting an already struggling national healthcare system? It's Wednesday, April 12th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. I'm Kim Vinal in London.

And I'm Christopher Walgesper in Chicago. We begin with an impromptu interview from Elon Musk. He surprised a BBC journalist by agreeing to a last-minute chat at Twitter HQ, which was broadcast on the platform. Musk said aggressive cost-cutting and a return of advertisers has helped Twitter to roughly break even. Twitter suffered a huge drop in advertising after Musk's takeover, but he called ad spending cyclical and said some of the decisions to cut were political. He said owning the platform has been painful and not some kind of party. Joe Biden's begun his trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland

to mark 25 years since a peace deal ended decades of violence. He said it was essential that peace continue, despite concerns over a recent trade deal with Europe. An $8 million security operation is in place for the visit. Just hours before Biden arrived in Belfast, four suspected pipe bombs were found 70 miles away in Londonderry. To Ukraine, where Russia is continuing to pound cities along the front line. This is the fighting around the city of Mahmoud. Russia says it now controls around three quarters of the largely ruined city

in what's become the bloodiest battle in the 13 months of fighting. The offensive in the Eastern Dornetsk region comes as the US ramps up efforts to find the source of leaked, classified U.S. documents, which include Ukrainian counter-offensive plans. And now for some news making headlines in the U.S. The district attorney overseeing the Hushmoney case again, Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against a top Trump ally in Congress. The suit against Republican Jim Jordan aims to block a House subpoena of a former prosecutor

who had led the investigation. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg accused congressional Republicans of running a political circus to interfere in a state case. As for the upcoming presidential race, we now know where the next Democratic National Convention will be held right here in Chicago. Our city won out over New York and Atlanta. Chicago's Midwest location was part of its appeal. Proponents say it's a part of the country Democrats need to win if they want to keep the White House. That includes competitive states like Michigan and Wisconsin.

Could the US be almost done with interest rate hikes? There's some key data coming out today to keep an eye on. Here's market's editor, Dara Rangasinger. U.S. inflation numbers are expected to be up 0.4 in the month and 5.6% on the year, that's still well above the 2% target. Minneapolis Fed President Neil Kashkari said yesterday that rate hikes could cause a recession. But not taming inflation would be worse for the jobs market. March Fed minutes are also out later.

They'll be scrutinized for any hints on how close the Fed might be to the top of the tightening cycle. An earning season starts again. Luxury giant LVMH reports after the close. Investors are watching for signs of a rebound in China after COVID restrictions were lifted. I'm Dara Anaseng, editor for financial markets in Europe. The International Monetary Fund is scaling back its outlook for the global economy this year. As monetary policymakers from around the world gather in Washington, D.C. this week, the global lender is on the alert for signs the recent banking collapses could push the world's economy closer to recession.

Our White House correspondent, Andrea Shalal, is here to explain. Hey, Andrea. Hi, Chris. So what's driving the IMF's concerns about global growth? A lot of it has to do with inflation, which is super persistent. It's really just not responding to the interest rate increases that we've seen in Europe and in the United States. Now, there are a lot of emerging economies that are carrying a lot of debt. nations like Sri Lanka, El Salvador, several African nations, what are they hoping to get out of

these meetings? Well, the numbers are pretty staggering, Chris. About 60% of low-income countries are either in debt distress, meaning they can't pay their bills or near debt distress. Those countries, they're looking for some resolution, and they're looking for haircuts, debt reduction, some kind of debt relief, and it's been slow, slow going. Russia's war against Ukraine jacked up the price of stuff that they import, fuel, green. And now advanced economies are raising their interest rates, which makes it less attractive for investors to invest in developing countries and they're moving their money into advanced economies and also increases the cost. of borrowing money. So it's just a complicated situation.

How does China factor in? The biggest sovereign creditor in the world now is China. There's also Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and India that have become bigger lenders to developing countries. And all of them are a little uncomfortable with this whole notion of, you know, debt reductions. So the process has been very slow and halting and very frustrating. Well, I appreciate you breaking it down for us. Thank you so much, Andrea. Thank you, Chris. In Europe, a wave of strikes over pay and pensions continues.

The latest is in Britain, where doctors have walked out for four days. Hospital care has already been hit by strikes from nurses and ambulance workers. Our reporter, Tara Oaks, has been to one of the picket lines. I'm here outside the Royal London Hospital, where a picket line has been set up as junior doctors. here in the UK begin what could be the most disruptive strike in National Health Service history. The strike is due to last for 96 hours, that's four days until Saturday, and the doctors are asking for a 35% pay rise. Now, junior doctors is a bit of a misnomer here in Britain. It is any qualified doctor up to consultant level, so some of the doctors here have 10, 12 years experience after qualifying.

have said that they're endangering lives by the strikes going to such an extent. But the doctors themselves say that patients' lives are already in danger because of low staff retention and they're consistently below inflation pay rises. Morning. I spoke to one midwife at the hospital, Fatima, who told me that she definitely supported the strikers and wanted them to get a pay rise. I work with the doctors and I see how hard they work and how much they committed. their timing, sometimes nobody they deserve it. Please, they do.

You can hear the ambulances going past outside the picket line, outside what is one of the larger London hospitals in the shadow of the financial district, the city of London. The strikers here behind me are wearing orange with hats, flags, stickers that they're handing out to members of the public and other hospital workers who are passing by to head into work. There does seem to be a reasonable level of support for the junior doctor striking today. I've seen people taking the stickers, giving them thumbs up as they head past the picket line. I'm Tara Oaks in London. To California, where officials have gone from testing wastewater for coronavirus to testing it for drugs.

As the pandemic wanes, another health battle is in full swing, the opioid epidemic. In Marin County, the same wastewater monitoring program for tracking the virus is now used to target drug use. Dr. Matt Willis is a public health officer there. The problem of overdose is a public health crisis. We're losing one resident every five days in Marin County. The risk of dying from an overdose in Marin County was 10 times higher than from dying from COVID-19 for anyone under age 60 last year. He hopes the results from the tests could help prevent some of those deaths. traces of fentanyl, methamphetamines, cocaine and nicotine are looked for.

The data can then be used for targeting drug assistance programs where usage is high. That's it for today on Reuters World News. We'll be back tomorrow. And remember, you can follow us on your favorite podcast platform or download the Reuters app.