Reuters World News - Gaza ground incursion, Maine shooting, SBF to testify and US-China talks

Episode Date: October 26, 2023

Israel’s ground forces make a big incursion into Gaza – and then withdraw. In southern Lebanon, residents live in fear of a larger war, while in Washington D.C. the conflict will be a priority in high-level, US-China talks. Plus, the risks for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried as he prepares to testify in his own defense. 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 says ground forces raid a Hamas site in Gaza and then withdraw. Residents of Maine shelter and place as police hunt a gunman who shot up a bowling alley and bar. China's top diplomat holds high-stakes meetings in Washington, D.C. Can the two superpowers put aside differences to rein in the Middle East? And Crypto's so-called cartoon villain, Sam Bankman-Fried, is set to take the stand in his own defense. It's Thursday, October 26th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. I'm Kim Vinal in Cyprus.

And I'm Christopher Wal Jasper in Chicago. Residents in small towns in southern Maine were told to shelter in their homes as hundreds of police fanned out to search for a deadly gunman. The man walked into a bowling alley in Lewiston, Maine on Wednesday evening, and started shooting, according to the local sheriff. He then moved on to a nearby bar and continued his rampage. The total number of people killed and wounded was not clear. Police say the death toll is still rising.

They've identified Robert R. Card as a person of interest and posted a photo on Facebook of a bearded man and a brown hoodie in jeans holding a semi-automatic rifle. Here's Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Salschuk. The card is considered armed and dangerous. People see them. They should not approach guard or make contact with them in any way. You can follow the latest updates on Reuters.com or on the Reuters app. They're describing it as the biggest land incursion of the current war.

The Israeli army says its ground forces raided the northern Gaza Strip overnight, attacking multiple Hamas targets before withdrawing. Video issued by the military shows tanks firing shells and a bulldozer leveling part of a raised bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is preparing for a ground invasion. And that they were already raining hellfire on Hamas. World leaders worry that a large-scale invasion risks escalating the conflict elsewhere in the region.

Southern Lebanon is the heartland of Iranian-backed Hezbollah. In residents there say they fear conflict escalating to their door is near. nearly inevitable. The border town of Kana has been hit hard in past conflicts with Israel, and memories are still fresh. Riham Al-Kusa spoke to residents there. What is the Hezbollah presence like there? It's very strong presence. So from the moment you start driving through the south, you start seeing the flags of Hezbollah. It's everywhere. It's on the streets, in shops, everywhere. You spoke to one woman about how her experiences have shaped her expectations for a future conflict. What did she say? We spoke with Rabab Youssef, a mother who lost her six-year-old daughter in

the 2006 shilling and managed to rescue her four-year-old boy, who's now a young man, 23-year-old. And what happened had really confirmed this woman's idea that the only way forward is the resistance. It definitely strengthened the support for Hezbollah there. And they said what's going on in Gaza, that is very comprehensible for them because they understand what does it mean to lose a child. She broke in tears when she was talking about Gaza. She said, we've been through all of this. We know how it feels. How do people in the region see this conflict ending?

Whenever we ask people, they say, we don't know. We don't know. It will depend on what happens in Gaza. If there is a ceasefire in Gaza, things will be quiet here. If it escalates into a regional war, we're here for it. We can't do anything about that. We'll fight in that everyone agree on the fact that whatever happens in Gaza, it will affect them directly next door.

There's diplomatic pressure from all-classes. corners of the world right now to find a solution to the violence in Israel and Gaza. Today, two rival global superpowers are holding top-level meetings in Washington, D.C. China's foreign minister Wang Yi is sitting down with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as well as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Humera Pommack covers the State Department. Humera, what is the top priority of these meetings? Chris, the top priority of meeting between U.S. and China is to try to stabilize this relationship.

Because China and U.S. disagree on a host of issues. They disagree on everything from trade to U.S. export controls. They disagree on Taiwan. They disagree on a lot of things. But the most important thing is to make sure that their intense competition, on all of these different areas and their disagreements do not veer into conflict. Although I think in today's meetings, the conflict in the Middle East is probably going to take a front seat among the priorities that they're going to talk about. So what is China's role in the talks in the Middle East? This trip was planned before the conflict in the Middle East broke out. However, Washington is hoping that China can actually play a positive role in helping Washington

preventing that conflict from spreading further. Secretary Blinken basically asked China to try to use its influence with Iran to make sure that the conflict in the Middle East does not broaden and turn into a regional war. Sam Bankman-Fried is planning to testify today in his own criminal fraud trial. It's a risky strategy for the FTX founder accused of stealing billions of dollars from his customers. He's facing up to 110 years in prison. Reporter Luke Cohen has been in Manhattan at the federal court throughout the trial. So, Luke, what does the man known to the world by his three initials hope to gain from taking the stand?

So SBF really needs to counter the testimony that jurors have heard from several of his former colleagues who were very close with him, other executives from his FTX cryptocurrency exchange, who have testified that he was aware of billions of dollars worth of a shortfall in customer funds before the exchange collapsed in November 2020, and that he directed them to commit crimes, to steal money. from FTCS customers to prop up Alameda, his hedge fund, as well as to use the money to make venture investments, to donate to U.S. political candidates. So testifying maybe San Bakman Fried's best shot to give what he thinks is his side of the story. Now, his own lawyers have said the trial has painted him as this cartoon villain. What does he risk? No, like you say, testifying for any criminal defendant. is a risky proposition because prosecutors will be able to cross-examine him and use the testimony

and documents and screenshots they have of signal text messages against him and make him answer for that. And it's risky because he has to tell the truth if he lies, he could face additional crimes that charges of perjury. But faced with that level of probing cross-examination, and it's easy to see how a defendant could fault or could waver to say things that don't sound credible. Let the enemies of freedom around the world hear us loud and clear. The people's house is back in business. Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson has been elected Speaker of the House. Johnson's first act was to call up legislation signaling support for Israel.

The United Auto Workers Union has reached a tentative deal with Ford to end strikes at its factories. The proposed deal gives workers a 25% wage hike over a four and a half year contract. North Carolina Republicans have approved a new congressional map that's likely to flip three Democratic seats to the GOP in 2024. The state's Democratic governor can't veto the new map, which liberal lawmakers are calling a partisan power grab. Communications with the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco have been cut. after it took a direct hit from a rare Category 5 hurricane. Footage on social media showed hotels smashed

and cars submerged by floodwaters. It's time now for markets with Carmel Crimmons and Carmel rebounding US home sales as stressing out investors. Yes, there's been a surge of new home sales and mortgage rates have hit 23-year highs. That's ultimately stoking fears that US interest rates are going to have to stay higher for longer. Treasury yields have spiked again, so they're heading towards 5%, and that's bad news for stocks.

Adding to the gloom, Facebook parent meta fell in after-hours trading, after it suggested the conflict in Israel could hurt its fourth quarter sales. Also, its spending forecast for this year came in higher than expected. That's it for today's episode. We'll be back on Friday with our daily news show. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, listen in for 10 minutes every weekday. And don't forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast player, or download the Reuters app.