Reuters World News - Gaza outcry, Fed firing, Intel and Tesla

Episode Date: August 26, 2025

International outcry grows after an Israeli airstrike kills 20, including five journalists in an attack on a Gaza hospital. U.S. President Donald Trump is firing a Federal Reserve Governor. And the business community worries over plans to acquire equity in more U.S. companies following a deal with Intel.  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, international outcry grows after Israel killed a group of journalists while attacking a hospital in Gaza. Trump says he's firing a Federal Reserve governor, sparking fears of government control of the central bank. And the business community worries, too, over separate plans to get equity in more US companies following a government deal with Intel. It's Tuesday, August 26th.

This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week. I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. Funerals are held for the five journalists and 15 others, killed in Israeli strikes on a hospital in Gaza on Monday. Their bodies are wrapped in shrouds with only their heads visible. On top, lay their blue and white press vests. One man, the brother of Moaz Abu Taha, a freelancer who contributed to Reuters and who is among the dead,

pleads for someone to take a photo of him, saying in all the time he worked with his brother, they never had a picture together. Reuters contractor, cameraman Husam al-Mazri, was also killed. Video shows emergency crews removing the bodies of journalists after a first strike, and then captures the moment a second strike hit, killing more people, including those who'd come to help. President Trump learning of the news during an unrelated press conference in the Oval Office. When did this happen?

This happened overnight today. I didn't know that. Any reaction to this? I'm going to talk to about it. I don't want to see it. At the same time, we have to end that all nightmare. The deaths have sparked outcry from the United Nations and some world leaders,

as well as journalist bodies, including reporters without borders, Tubaan, Breton. A suicide drone hit the third floor of the hospital, and this third floor was reputedly known for being a space where journalists work. So there is already a first indication that it might have been a targeted strike. Spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Force, Eferfant, though, says the IDF regrets harm to any uninvolved individuals, and says there will be an inquiry. The IDF makes every effort to mitigate harm to civilians

while ensuring the safety of our troops. Reuters is urgently seeking more information and has asked authorities in Gaza and Israel to help get medical assistance for photographer Hattin Khaled, another Reuters contractor who was wounded. President Trump has fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook citing alleged mortgage fraud. It's the first time in U.S. history a sitting Fed official has been dismissed like this.

Cook responded in a statement saying of Trump that no causes exists under the law and he has no authority to remove her from her job. She's previously denied wrongdoing. Critics say her firing is part of Trump's broader push to reshape the Fed and tighten control of a monetary policy. Howard Schneider is our Fed correspondent. This was an allegation raised only less than a week ago now that she had in taking out mortgages in 2021, before she was a governor, but still that she had claimed properties in both Georgia and Michigan as primary residences and promised to live in both.

She has not offered a detailed explanation or any kind of rationalization of this. We don't know what the bank knew or didn't know or what may be coming from her side under the Federal Reserve Act. You can't be removed just because the president doesn't like interest rate decisions, right? But it does say you can be removed for cause. What does that mean? Well, I don't know. Tell me, it's never been tested. Nobody's ever tried this before.

Markets reacted swiftly to the news of Lisa Cook's removal. The dollar slid against the yen and euro in Asian trading. And U.S. treasuries dipped as investors question their confidence in U.S. assets. European shares also dropping, led by loss. in France as political uncertainty there deepens, with the country's minority government looking increasingly likely to be ousted next month. Kilma Abrego Garcia, a migrant wrongly deported to El Salvador, under Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, is now facing removal to Uganda, a country he has no ties to.

Garcia was detained again in Baltimore just days after being released on bond. He's been in detention since being brought back to the US in June. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the deportation, citing a lack of due process. The Trump administration is making a push for more government investments in more US companies after taking an almost 10% stake in chipmaker Intel. He did that by converting $11 billion in government grants into an equity share. It's a dramatic shift in how Washington interacts with corporate America. and is worrying some in the business community.

Here's editor, David Gaffin. What critics are saying this kind of move could do is that it interrupts the way in which business has been running in the United States for a very, very long time. It brings in a much heavier hand from the government. It raises questions about what Intel's competitors will do, whether they are competing for business with Intel or are they competing with the government. It raises questions about what Intel's customers and potential customers. are going to do? Are they going to give business to someone else who is making a chip that they

deem best for their operations? Or are they going to give that business to Intel, knowing that that will satisfy the White House? Australia has accused Iran of carrying out two anti-Semitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, and has given Tehran's ambassador seven days to leave the country. President Trump says he'd like to meet with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un this year. I have a great relationship with Kim Jong-un. I hope it stays that way. I think it will. Trump was speaking after meeting with South Korea's president, Li J. Mung, in the Oval Office on Monday. Despite clinching a trade deal in July that spared South Korean exports harsher U.S. tariffs,

the two sides continue to wrangle over nuclear energy, military spending, and Seoul's investments in the US. To coincide with the visit, Korean Air announced a record-breaking $50 billion deal for Boeing aircraft and GE aerospace engines. The order includes 103 planes, mostly 737 max tens, and marks the largest in the airline's history. And another major meeting is on the agenda for next week. Chinese President Xi Jinping will gather more than 20 world leaders at a security forum for a power show of Global South Solidarity, on the guest list, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

It's been revealed Tesla rejected a settlement in a lawsuit over a fatal crash of one of its autopilot cars, only to be forced to pay three times the amount when it lost the case this month. Elon Musk's EV company could have paid $60 million to settle the suit, But instead, a jury handed down a $243 million verdict of which Tesla was liable to pay the lion's share. And in other Elon Musk news, the billionaire's artificial intelligence startup, XAI, is suing Apple and chat GPT maker OpenAI in federal court, accusing them of conspiring to thwart competition for artificial intelligence.

OpenAI has called the move consistent with Musk's ongoing pattern of harassment. President Trump says the U.S. military might deploy to Chicago and is ready to go anywhere to crack down on crime. The president is also rejecting calls that by sending the National Guard to Washington, D.C., and taking control of its police force, that he's acting like a dictator. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has chosen a vaccine skeptic, to lead its COVID-19 immunisation work group. Seth Levi has critiqued MRNA vaccines saying they can cause serious harm and death.

Levi did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. And Grammy winner Lil Nas X was found walking in his underwear on a Los Angeles street before allegedly assaulting police officers who tried to detain him. He's pleaded not guilty to four felony charges and faces up to five years in prison. A judge set bail at $75,000 and ordered him into outpatient drug rehab. His lawyer says there's no evidence of drug use.

And for today's recommended read, how McDonald's in India capitalizes on high protein deficiency to fuel a boom in protein-loaded burgers. It taps into a craze in a nation with the world's highest number of vegetarians and low meat consumption. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player.

If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.