Reuters World News - Iran’s schoolgirl poisonings and the challenge for the clerics

Episode Date: March 6, 2023

More poisonings, more protests in Iran. The toxic legacy of war on Ukraine’s farms. China’s cautious economic outlook and rising military spend. Coronation conundrum for Prince Harry and Meghan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parents protesting in Tehran, over a wave of suspected poison attacks on schoolgirls, chant anti-government slogans. We look at what's at stake for Iran's clerical rulers as more girls fall sick. I don't think they can afford for this to blow up and have more protests in the streets of Iran. And come with us to Ukraine, where mines in the fields and poison in the soil are making it impossible to restock Europe's breadbasket. It's Monday, March 6th. 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. But first, the headlines. A developing story in Pakistan. A suicide bomber has rammed a motorcycle into a police truck in the southwest of the country, killing nine officers. A further seven are wounded in the attack, the latest in a series targeting police in Pakistan. No group has claimed responsibility. For more on that story, please check out. about roitius.com.

Thousands of delegates enthusiastically clap China's President Xi Jinping as he enters Beijing's great hall for the opening session of Parliament. Less exuberance, though, during the actual speeches. Outgoing Premier Lee Kuchyang announcing a modest growth target of around 5% for this year. President Xi Jinping is avoiding any big stimulus package to juice growth after three years, of COVID controls. But he is going to boost defense spending at a faster clip and push China to become more self-reliant in tech.

The US imposed sanctions on China's chip sector last year. Clashes break out between police and protesters in central Athens over last week's deadly train crash. Demonstrators hurl petrol bombs and other objects and police respond with volle volleys of tear gas. Many in Greece blame cost-cutting for the head-on-key. collision, which killed at least 57 people. A railway employee has been jailed and faces multiple charges of disrupting transport and putting lives at risk. A huge fire at a camp for Rohingya

refugees in Bangladesh destroys homes and sends thick black plumes of smoke through the air. There are no reports of casualties and the blaze is now under control. The fire erupted at Camp 11 in Cox's Bazaar. Where more than a million Rohingya refugees live after fleeing a military-led crackdown in Myanmar. There's no estimate yet for how many homes were gutted. Ladies and gentlemen, the ship has reached the shore. Relief and a standing ovation as negotiators from more than 100 countries finally agree the first international treaty to protect the high seas.

It took a marathon final day of talks, and in total, 15 years, discussion. The legally binding pact is seen as a crucial step in bringing 30% of the world's land and sea under protection by the end of the decade. All hail the king, except perhaps Prince Harry and Meghan? The royal duo have received an invitation to the coronation of Harry's father, King Charles. But they're not saying yet whether they'll go. Things have been a bit awkward since the couple's damning revelations about the royal family, and then there's the issue of where to stay. King Charles has asked Harry to vacate Frogmore Cottage, the home he and Megan use when they're visiting the UK. What's in store for us this week on markets? Over to our

resident Fed watcher, Howard Schneider, for the lowdown. Well, Kim, this is going to be one of those hold on your wallets weeks. Fed chair Jerome Palace on the hill for one of his twice annual visits, and his testimony will likely be his last public comments before the next Fed meeting. Recent inflation data hasn't been good. But the next Fed meeting is only two weeks away, so if Powell does show a lien one way or the other, towards either more patience with rates or towards higher interest rates, it'll be significant and markets will react. On Wednesday, we'll get a new job openings report. The Fed wants to see those drop and see fewer workers quitting. More important, on Friday will be the jobs report for February, which also includes an update on wages. The Fed wants to see both job creation and wage growth

slow, but just as significant, February is going to put January's massively hot jobs report in a little bit of context and indicate whether that was likely an aberration or a sign that the job market might remain too tight. An ambulance pulls up outside a girls' school in Fadis, Iran. Hundreds of schoolgirls have been hospitalized across the country since November, in a wave of mysterious poisonings. This girl tells an Iranian television station she feels numb and can't walk. Others complain of nausea, headaches and heart palpitations.

The motive for the attacks is unclear. President Abraham Raisi blames foreign enemies. But at a weekend demonstration in Tehran, parents chanted that the enemy is inside Iran. So what is going on in Iran? And how could this play out for the country's clerical rulers? Reuters Michael Georgi is here to explain. So Michael, we're hearing of more and more reported poisonings. Are we any closer to knowing who's behind it? No, we're not. Basically, some officials have thrown around theories such as it's an Islamist

or Islamists who are very conservative and don't want girls to go to school. The other theory is because girls and women played a key spearheading role in the recent protests in Iran, someone might want to get back at them. But at this point, it's just speculation. So what's the government reaction being? The officials have said they don't know what it is. Some have said, we suspect that maybe people who want girls' schools to close, they promise to investigate.

But it's quite tricky for the government because they had those months of protests after young Kurdish women died of police custody because she wasn't wearing her veil. So it's very sensitive. On social media, you have parents complaining, people telling the government to do their job and arrest the culprits. What's the fallout, both socially and politically? Well, politically, I don't think the government's under any threat. The big fallout would be if there's more protests against the government, they don't do anything about it. The only sign of progress was a gas truck that appeared near a school that also appeared in other cities.

where this phenomenon happened, and the truck was seized and the driver was arrested. It's the first time the government official was actually announced an arrest. What about consequences? Is this going to put girls off from going to school? No, I don't think so. I think maybe a few parents will keep girls. I think they've been completely emboldened by their role in the protests. Michael Georgie, thank you so much. Thank you. To the grain fields of Ukraine and the destructive legacy of war.

Unexploded mines and toxins from munitions that have leaked into the soil are preventing farmers from planting crops. And that's a big problem for world food supplies. Ukraine is a major exporter of grain, and it's an issue that could take decades to fix. Reuters Rod Nickel spoke to one farmer in Gerson, about six miles from the war's front lines, about the damage to his land.

At Andre Povat's farm, the Russians occupied his farm for months last year, and when they pulled out, when they retreated, they had ruined all his buildings, they were all destroyed in the battle. His equipment has been stolen, his grain has been stolen. But the biggest problem for Andre is the fact that his fields are heavily mined and studded with rockets and mortars. In our fields, we have a lot of unexploded ordnance and mines. So it is dangerous for our workers to start doing something because it is very dangerous. Also, a lot of trenches that left after Russian soldiers and we must do something with this tranchees. He's likely not able to plant crops this spring because of the huge task of clearing those fields and the authorities right now are prioritizing roads in civilian areas before they can get to farmland.

From Ukrainian government, the biggest problem now it is war. They will not help us because they must win in this war. Once that land does get cleared of all those mines, he's got a longer-term problem. All those munitions have lead in them. They have other heavy metals and chemicals. They tend to leach into the soil during times of war, and all of that can affect the quality of the crops that that land can produce in the future. and how abundant those crops are.

From Billuzehka, Ukraine, I'm Rod Nickel for Reuters. That's it for this edition of Reuters World News. We'll be back on Tuesday. In the meantime, you can find more trusted news at Reuters.com.