Reuters World News - Debt deal heads to Congress and Erdogan's victory song

Episode Date: May 29, 2023

 A deal in principle and now comes the really hard part. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy need to cobble together a coalition of Republicans and Democrats to get their debt deal through Congress. In Turkey, President Tayyip Erdogan extends his rule into a third decade with every sign that he will continue the economic and foreign policies that have put him at odds with Western allies. What the return of street hawkers in China says about the health of the world’s second-largest economy. Plus, are you hungry enough to eat a giant isopod? Come with us to Taipei to find out.  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 debt deal heads to Congress where both President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy will confront their party's extremes. Turkey's Taip Erdogan prevails in a test of his 20-year rule. What's next for his authoritarian policies and Turkey's role as a military power? And a 14-legged giant isopod on the menu at a Taipei Raman joint has customers lining up for a bowl and a selfie. It's Monday, May 29th. 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. The agreement also represents a compromise, which means no one got everything they want, but that's the responsibility of governing.

They've got a deal, now they have to get it through Congress. Under the agreement, the 314 trillion-dollar debt ceiling will be suspended until, January 1st, 2025. The deal is already drawing fire from hardline Republicans and progressive Democrats. But Biden and McCarthy say they're confident they can get it through. Political editor, Scott Malone, is following all the action on the hill. Scott, so where do we go from here? There's several important steps that have to happen to get this passed. First, they have to pass it through the House of Representatives where some hardline Republicans are already voicing opposition to the compromise deal, as well as some people.

progressive Democrats. It's going to take leadership by Biden and McCarthy of their parties to pull enough people together to pass this with the margin they need. From there, it needs to go to the Senate, which is also closely divided, Democratic majority there, and they're also going to have some challenges there. When will we see this get done? So this could take about a week. First of all, in terms of procedures, House rules give lawmakers three days to read legislation. That means we'd be looking at midweek at a vote at the earliest. There could be some procedural maneuvers intended to slow it down. They're likely will be procedural maneuvers to slow it down. And we know in the Senate that there are hardline Republicans who are also planned to try to slow the bill down.

You can follow all the latest reactions to the debt ceiling deal by downloading the Reuters app. Newly re-elected Turkish president, Taip Erdogan, serenade supporters from the top of a bus in Istanbul, and tells them Turkey is the winner after he secures another five years in office. Jonathan Spicer is Reuters Turkey Bureau Chief. Jonathan, where does Erdogan take it from here? Erdogan probably takes it where he's been taking it for the last couple of years, which is an increasingly authoritarian path where he makes so many decisions across the government. For the economy, that means he'll probably care.

carry on with his unorthodox view that low rates will equal low inflation and a heavily managed market. For domestic policy, it probably means, as his critics fear, continued crackdown on political dissent and even free speech across the country. What does his victory mean for Turkey's relations with the world? Well, Erdogan has established Turkey as a regional power. He's flexed its military might around the region, not just in neighboring countries, but farther afield. Erdogan is someone to be reckoned with, you know, whether you're Joe Biden or Vladimir Putin, and he will continue to do that.

We're tracking plenty of news breaking around the world on this holiday Monday in Europe and the US. Russia unleashed waves of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the anniversary of the city's founding, sending people racing for shelter. But the Ukrainian military said it had downed what it called a record assault of the Iranian. made Kamakazi drones. President Vladimir Zelensky said all 36 drones had been destroyed. Japan's ballistic missile defenses are on alert after North Korea said it would launch a military spy satellite. Tokyo says it will shoot down any projectile that threatens its territory. Ugandan President Yoerima Seveni has signed one of the world's harshest anti-al-Gybite

LGBTQ bills into law. The new legislation imposes the death penalty in some cases, and 20 years in prison for promoting homosexuality. In Spain, the ruling socialists suffered heavy losses to the opposition in local elections. The gains for the Conservative People's Party signalled they could unseat the ruling left-wing coalition in December's national election. Bola Tinibu will be sworn in as Nigeria's president today under the cloud of a disputed election. Two of Tinibu's opponents are challenging his victory in the February poll.

The veteran politician is under pressure to improve economic and security conditions in Africa's biggest economy. It's time for the markets with Carmel. Camel, a lot for the markets to digest this morning. There's a lot going on. They like the death ceiling deal. where stocks are up across the board in Asia and Europe and US stock futures are signing that they'll open up higher. But it's not all rosy. Chinese blue chips and the Hangseng are actually down, but that's on weak profit data from Chinese industrial firms. What about the re-election

of Turkish president type Erdogan? Yeah, investors aren't so hot on that. The Turkish lira is actually down near record lows. So investors aren't thrilled about the return of Erdogan. They're assuming that he will persist with his sort of unorthodox economic policies. China's weak job market is encouraging a revival in street hawkers. Authorities who used to have a zero-tolerance policy are taking a more hands-off approach. But that doesn't mean it's easy to make a buck. Nikoko Chan visited the Bund in Shanghai,

an area bustling with street vendors and patrons. One of the people we spoke to is a 28-year-old flower seller named Wang Shuehue. And what she told us is that even though there's this perception that China and Shanghai are more welcoming towards the street vendor economy, from her experience, that really wasn't the case because the restrictions for having a fixed place, a fixed time, a fee to sell your goods, that is not suitable for. for what they do. And she told us that vendors have to pay several hundred R&B a day, and it's way too high. And essentially, it boils down to if they are going through this process,

then you're earning money for other people, and that is not suitable for them. So, you know, selling on the street is really difficult, and for them it's often unpredictable. Not only because the flow of people is unpredictable, you also have bad weather. And then you have, of course, the fact that it's not technically legal.

So if they get chased off, then they won't be able to make money on that day. So the range that they gave us was that on a good day, they might make 1,000 R&B, which is less than 200 USD. But on a bad day, they might make only 100 or 200 R&B, which is maybe $15 to $30.30. Now to Taipei, where the Raman Boys' new noodle soup has a waiting list. The Star attraction is a 14. 18-legged giant isopod. Giant isopods are the largest known crustacean. It looks kind of like

something out of the movie Alien. It has a purple lobster-like shell and a soft underbelly from where its centipede-like legs just keep coming. They're found up to 2,000 meters deep in the ocean, feeding on carcasses of larger fish. The restaurant steams the creature for 10 minutes before adding it to the top of a bowl of ramen with thick chicken and fish broth. Each bowl costs the equivalent of about $48 US. The restaurant owner, Mr. Hu, says it's so attractive because of its appearance, it looks very cute. A customer told Reuters it tastes like a cross between crab and lobster with a dense texture and some chewiness. That's it for this edition of Reuters World News.

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