Reuters World News - Could the 'end of oil' bring peace to Yemen?

Episode Date: April 24, 2023

As a post-oil era approaches, pragmatism is helping to reshape relations in the Middle East. Could Yemen be a benefactor? Join us in the Arizona clinic on the frontlines of the Fentanyl epidemic where the patients are newborn babies. Plus all the news from Sudan, undiplomatic comments in Paris and a starvation cult in Kenya. 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, a glimmer of hope in one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. It's been almost a year of relative calm in Yemen. That's the longest stretch since the war began in 2015. We look at the chance for permanent peace in Yemen. And we speak to the people dealing with the US drug epidemic from the cradle. The fentanyl crisis just keeps going. It's Monday, April 24th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes.

I'm Kim Vennel in London. First to Sudan, where Western countries are racing to get their staff out of the country. The United States, Britain and other European nations have evacuated diplomats from the capital, Khatoum by plane. Locals and other foreigners left behind are stranded in a city wracked by urban warfare. More than 400 people have been killed in nine days of fighting between rival military factions. Millions of Sudanese have been cut off from food and water. Elsewhere, here are the headlines making news around the world. European countries are demanding answers from Beijing,

after its top diplomat in Paris questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet countries, including Ukraine. The comments from Chinese ambassador Luchet are a fresh headache for French president Emmanuel Macron, who wants China's help in brokering peace in Ukraine. Australia has unveiled its biggest defense overhaul since World War II. The country is prioritizing long-range missiles and, domestic production of weapons to counter the growing threat from China. Kenyan police have exhumed the bodies of 47 people as part of an investigation into a starvation cult. Members of the Good News International Church, a Christian sect, said they were told

they would go to heaven if they starved themselves to death. The leader of the church has been arrested. Florida governor and expected Republican presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis is heading to Israel. The trip, it's part of a four-nation trip that's seen as an effort to boost DeSantis's foreign policy credentials. Around 3,000 migrants are walking towards Mexico City to demand the closure of detention centers for asylum seekers. Last month, dozens of people seeking U.S. asylum died in a fire in a migrant detention

center in northern Mexico. What can we expect on markets this week? Let's speak to our own Carmel Crimmons. So, what's happening in the markets? There's quite a lot on this week. We've got earnings from some of the major tech players. So Microsoft, meta, Amazon and the Google Parent Alphabet, they're all reporting this week. And those stocks have been on a tear so far this year, mainly because of optimism that the Fed is going to stop its rate hiking cycle.

From the tech sector over the next couple of weeks, we're expecting to see announcements perhaps of more layoffs because investors want to reassurance that profit margins are going to be protected if we're heading into a recession. We're also expecting updates on the AI war, you know, how people are tooling up there. All right. What else is going on? We've got the vote this week in the House on the Republicans plan to raise the debt ceiling. Even if it passes there, it's not going to go anywhere in the Senate. And investors are already worried about the debt ceiling. We're seeing that in treasury markets. Corporate treasurers are kind of reluctant to hold a really short one-month treasury bills. They don't want to get caught up in the drama. So that's going on. Plus, we've got a fair bit of data coming out. We've got US GDP figures and a key inflation gauge. So that's going to sort of set

expectations for the Fed meeting next week. Carmel, thanks so much. Talks to end a brutal eight-year war in Yemen are expected to resume this week. A surprise rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose rivalry fueled the bitter conflict, has raised hopes of a breakthrough. Hadda Hantos, our Gulf Bureau Chief, tells us about the maneuverings for peace. This is the most serious, intense push we've seen in years. Saudi Arabia, which heads a coalition that has been battling the Houthi movement in Iran, has been holding direct talks with the group, and it is aiming for a permanent ceasefire, which would end the military component of the war and pave the way for political negotiations

on the future of Yemen. Why have Saudi and Iran been so keen to try and put an end to this now? For Saudi Arabia, it's taking security of the region and more into its own hands. There's a perception in Saudi Arabia and in other Gulf states that they cannot rely as much for the United States for the regional security. For Iran, it's trying to end its political and economic isolation. It's been looking east, pursuing a neighborhood policy. So this is about countries in the region trying to manage and control their differences

in a way where they can serve their own agendas. Yeah, let's talk about that because, I mean, how difficult will it be for these two nations to chart a new course, to create a new relationship? Because both want to be dominating forces in the region. Can they be? They will still have differences. What they want to avoid is that spilling over into tensions in the region and violence in the region. Iran is also looking to counter the relationships that have emerged between Israel and countries like the UAE in Bahrain in its neighborhood.

So it's going to be a very delicate balancing act on how they move forward with this. You mentioned some of the examples there, but it seems like there is a major shift. shift happening in the Middle East, various players renegotiating their relationships. What is happening? So we're looking now at a region that is relying less on their main Western ally that is looking to diversify their strategic partners. And this is mostly economically driven. They all are preparing for a post-oil era.

This will involve attracting foreign investments, further diversification, and they need a stable region to be able to do that. Now to an Arizona clinic with an immensely difficult task, treating babies born with drug addiction. The official diagnosis is neonatal abstinence syndrome. Our reporter, Lilliana Salgado, took us into a dark nursery room where nurses attempt to soothe newborns experiencing withdrawal. When you walk in, some babies were crying and you can see nurses standing next to them, taking their vital signs.

Basically, these babies are born with withdrawal symptoms. They are trembling. They're going through all the effects. They're still dependent on these drugs. The founder, Tara Sundem, she used to work at a hospital. When you see a baby withdraw, never. ever, ever forget it. And with someone that has opiate use disorder, their withdrawal is going to look just like that. She tells us the story one time where a mother came into the NICU and was about

to hold her baby. And one of her colleagues shouted at her, don't touch your baby. And so she wanted to create a judgment-free zone, soothing, dark rooms, rocking chairs. And, It will do a womb noise, kind of a shushing noise, to be like mommy's heartbeat. A skin-to-skin contact. We have a bed where mom and dad, we really want them to stay. And that's basically what the CDC recommends for these babies. Being in an environment that's dark, that's soothing, and slowly gets them through this process of leaving this drug dependency. Clarissa Collins, who actually went through the program with her daughter.

what to look for, how to care for my baby, I had no knowledge. There was no history in her family of use. None of us thought that it was a red flag when I'm asking for another one every time. She is now actually a peer support specialist at the clinic, and she's not only able to share her experience of what she went through with her child, but also the experience of a recovering addict. If I didn't meet Hushabai, I would have had no clue. There is clearly a need for these places to exist.

The fentanyl crisis, the opioid crisis, keeps impacting American families. According to data by the CDC, for example, the number of babies that were born with NAS increased by 82%. The fentanyl crisis just keeps going. And I don't know. It's kind of one of those. It's like, are we, are we ever going to get a little bit better? That's it for today. We'll be back on Tuesday. Before you go, we'd love for you to tell us what you think about the show. There's a survey in the pod's description on the Royter's website or your preferred podcast platform.