Reuters World News - Gaza aid, Trump in Scotland, THC drinks and celebrity football

Episode Date: July 27, 2025

Israel opens new aid routes in Gaza amid alarming reports of starvation. President Trump visits Scotland to talk trade and open a new golf course. The impact of tariffs on one legendary music company. Why alcohol companies are looking to get into THC, and the celebrities scooping up big European football leagues. Today's recommended read is on how Elon Musk halted Starlink in Ukraine during a crucial 2022 counteroffensive. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠here⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠here⁠. Find the Recommended Read ⁠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, Israel opens up new aid routes as starvation grips Gaza. Trumps in Scotland to do a trade deal and play some golf. Why tariffs are such a headache for one legendary music manufacturer, plus big alcohol considers a pivot as so-called Chardonnaymoms shift to THC. It's Sunday, July 27th. This is Rogers World News, bringing you everything you need to, to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every day. I'm Jonah Green in New York.

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in Bait La Jia in the Gaza Strip on Sunday to receive aid, after Israel said it would allow new aid corridors in the enclave, where images of hungry Palestinians have alarmed the world. Israel said it would halt military operations for 10 hours each day in parts of Gaza and resume aid airdrops as well.

The move comes, amid mounting international pressure to ease the humanitarian crisis there, with relief agencies warning of mass starvation. Israel says it has let enough food into Gaza and accuses the United Nations of failing to distribute it. The UN says it's operating as effectively as possible under Israeli restrictions. Cambodia and Thailand each said the other had launched artillery attacks across contested border areas early on Sunday.

That comes hours after President Donald Trump said the leaders of both countries had agreed to work on a ceasefire. Four days after the worst fighting in more than a decade, the death toll stood above 30, mainly civilians. In the Thai border town of Sissiquet, farmer Hutt Pong Tong said that while he's scared, he's staying put to protect his home.

U.S. President Donald Trump's arrival in Scotland was met with hundreds of protesters and their bagpipes. Many came to protest outside the U.S. consulate in Edinburgh, where some held up signs with images of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Louise McSorily said she was protesting Trump, not Americans. I'm very much against everything that Trump stands for and what he's doing in America. So I want people to know, the Americans know that we are very much pro-the-law.

them, their democracy. While he's there, he will open up a golf course near Aberdeen. He's also meeting with European officials as the U.S. and EU are engaged in a bitter trade dispute. Reporter Andrea Shalal is there. The European Union and the United States are each other's largest treating partners, by far. And so the impact has been pretty significant in Europe already.

What we know so far is that 10% took effect in April. And as of a couple of weeks ago, Europe is facing a tariff rate of 30%, which would be quite devastating for many European exporters, particularly countries that are very dependent on exports like Germany and Italy. On top of that there are sectoral tariffs that have to do with cars. There'll be more tariffs coming on pharmaceuticals. There's already tariffs in place on steel and aluminum, quite high, 50%. And what appears to be happening is that they've moved toward a deal that would include a broad 15% rate. What the Americans are trying to get is to extract as much value as possible. It's a message that the president frequently will give to his close associates.

From tariffs to guitar riffs. Sorry. But tariffs have been front of mind for Didario and Company, the other maker of strings and drumsticks for the world's top musicians. What did we do in the onset of the tariff war? Lots of things. That's CEO John DeDario III. He says that back in April, Trump was generating so much turmoil on trade

that his team, which he described as a tariff task force, met daily. They've since scaled back to Weekly. We estimate that we've incurred anywhere between half a million to three quarters of a million dollars an additional cost that we didn't plan for already this year. Reporter Tim Appel visited the Didario facilities. So Tim, what are the challenges that they're facing here? Well, some of the biggest challenges they're facing is with their export markets because they're concerned. They produce mostly in the U.S., but they sell all around the world,

and they really rely on for almost half their sales. on these foreign markets. And when the U.S. puts tariffs up, what is going to happen down the road is that those other countries are going to respond. And that seems to be one of their biggest concerns looking forward is that there'll be retaliation, and that will hurt their business. But in a more basic way, they are a totally integrated company in the global economy. They get materials. They get Japanese oak, special Japanese oak for drumsticks. They get copper. they get parts and materials from China, the cane that they grow for making woodwind instrument reeds. They have their own plantations, one in France and one in Argentina. And when that cane comes here,

right now it's being tariffed at 10 percent, and they're concerned that it will go up much further after August 1st. Some drinkers looking for a buzz are swapping booze for THC drinks. And now retailers are reporting that sales of these mood-altering cannabis drinks are pushing beer off the shelves. And alcohol makers are taking note. Reporter Jessica Donopoli is covering the story. What we were told by sources for the story is that moms who used to be maybe the Chardonnay mom are now the THC beverage mom. So that's like women 35 and older. We spoke to a dad on Long Island who quit drinking a couple of.

years ago, he's 39, replaced his drinks with with these drinks and is able to hang out with the same people, but without feeling like really hung over the next day. So how are alcohol companies responding? So big alcohol companies who have dabbled in the space before are sniffing around. They're taking exploratory steps. They're seeing, should we invest in this company, should we develop our own drink? So these drinks are available. now. There's kind of a smattering of small brands, but we could see if a really big player gets in, the sort of marketing campaign, the distribution that a top alcohol maker has, something rolled out nationwide. Some states have already been very friendly towards these drinks. Minnesota, Illinois,

Tennessee, Georgia are just some that come to mind. California, even though marijuana, recreational use is legal, they're concerned about products like the drinks getting into the hands of children. Because right now, you're not really carded when you buy these drinks, depending on where you are. So there's this gray area that catching the eye of regulators. Speaking of marijuana, Snoop Dog has become the latest in a long line of American investors into English and European football clubs with the announcement this week that he's become a co-owner of the Welsh champion soccer team, Swansea City. More than half of European and English football teams are now owned by American private equity firms,

financiers, and, of course, celebrities. Kurt Badenhausen covers sports business on the site, Sportico.com. This is the natural move for Snoop Dog. Celebrities are buying up and buying into European soccer clubs like crazy. And Snoop Dogg has been everywhere in recent years. He's one of Corona's biggest stars in their ad campaign. He was all over the Olympics covering him for NBC. Snoop Dog has become arguably one of the biggest celebrities in the United States right now.

So it would seem to be the natural move. What's the attraction? I think English football is cool right now. It's cool. It's sexy. And now if you think about next year in the championship, you're going to have Tom Brady, Ryan Reynolds, Snoop Dog, all owning stakes and teams. Those are three of the biggest American celebrities that you could name.

So it should be a lot of fun. And they're all embracing, they're embracing the competition. They're bringing the cameras along. Evil and Gorey has just bought into Wrexham. And so it's going to be a lot of action on and off the field. And for today's recommended read, a Reuter special report found that Elon Musk, halted Starlink during a pivotal 2022 counteroffensive by Ukraine's military,

and how that has hurt Keeves' trust in the billionaire's space-based internet service. We'll put a link in today's show. For more on any of the stories from today, check out roiders.com or the Reuters app. Make sure to follow us on your favorite podcast player, and we'll be back tomorrow with our daily headlines show.