Reuters World News - Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, Gaza fears, fentanyl vs. tariffs and obesity drugs

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

As a ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon takes effect, Palestinians in Gaza feel increasingly abandoned without a similar deal for a truce with Hamas. We look at how President-elect Donald Trump might use tariffs on its three top trading partners as an economic weapon in the fight against the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. And President Joe Biden has proposed expanding coverage of anti-obesity drugs - but how might that work under Trump’s choice for health secretary? 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, a ceasefire deal in Lebanon, but Garzan's fear abandonment. Donald Trump's threatening tough tariffs in an effort to curb fentanyl. President Biden's push to approve GLP1 weight loss drugs for Medicaid and Medicare. And the U.S. prepares for a supersized portion of economic data ahead of Thanksgiving. It's Wednesday, October 27th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the friend of lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Tara Oaksin Liverpool. And I'm Christopher Walsesper in Chicago. I'm pleased to announce that their governments have accepted the United

States' proposals and the devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. President Joe Biden announcing the ceasefire brokered by the U.S. and France, which came into effect this morning of 4 a.m. local time in Lebanon and Israel. He says the deal is designed to be a permanent cessation of hostilities. The news has been met with celebrations in the southern Lebanese city of Taya, as a group stood by a road cheering and throwing rice at cars driving past, while in Saigon, displaced people started packing their belongings in preparation to return to their villages in the south.

Under the terms of a truce, Israel will gradually withdraw its forces over the next 60 days, as Lebanon's army takes control of a territory near the border to ensure Hezbollah does not regroup there. But as this ceasefire takes hold, what of the Palestinians in Gaza? Without a similar deal with Hamas, Gazans are feeling abandoned and fearful that Israel will focus squarely on its onslaught in the enclave. Nidale al-Magrabi is our senior correspondent reporting on Gaza. Many among the Palestinians, especially in Gaza,

feel the world has not put enough pressure and effort in order to reach a similar ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Gaza, some remains hopeful that the United States, Arab mediators will now focus their efforts to reach a deal in Gaza that will end the war with Israel and end their suffering. But the voice of pessimism actually is higher. So what could this ceasefire mean for Hamas and the war in Gaza? Hamas blames the lack of an agreement of ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on the Israeli side. And we also know that the Israeli side and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly accused Hamas of failing the efforts to reach a ceasefire. So this continued dispute

between Hamas and Israel is what is holding an agreement in the Gaza Strip. China's defense minister is under investigation for corruption, according to a Financial Times report. He's the third consecutive serving all former defence minister to be investigated for alleged corruption in a probe which is royal to the top ranks of the People's Liberation Army. The Chinese Foreign Ministry says the FT is chasing shadows. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Corps says he is seeking an arrest warrant for Myanmar's military leader. The warrant would be for crimes against humanity over the alleged persecution of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party has suspended street protests demanding his release from jail,

according to local media. That's after a sweeping midnight raid by security forces in the capital Islamabad, in which hundreds of people were arrested. President-elect Donald Trump has chosen trade lawyer Jameson Greer as his new US trade representative. He's a key veteran of Trump's first-term trade war against China and points to a bruising four years for trade negotiations the world over. Greer served as chief of staff to Trump's former US trade representative Robert Leitizer, the architect of Trump's original tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports,

and the renegotiation of a North American free trade deal with Canada and Mexico. Curbing the flow of fentanyl is one of the reasons Trump's given for new proposed tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada. Many of the ingredients used to manufacture the drug come from China and are then used to produce the drug in Mexico before it finds its way over the U.S. border, where more than 400,000 Americans have died from overdoses in the last decade. Our U.S.-China relations reporter Michael Martina

has been looking into how Trump might use this economic weapon to address a drug epidemic. Usually tariffs traditionally have been employed as a means to sort of of address trade imbalances. That's certainly what Trump tried to do in his first term. Here, it seems to be a little bit different in that Trump is essentially resorting to his weapon of choice, which is tariffs to create leverage in a sort of diplomatic relationship with China. So how else is Trump looking to tackle the fentanyl crisis? Well, obviously China is one aspect of the fentanyl crisis. Trump has been much more direct in saying how he'll go after the sort of

the Mexico leg of this. He wants to name the cartels terrorist organizations and he's even invoked using the U.S. military to crack down lemon. And how that plays out with Mexico, that's going to be one of the most interesting things to watch here early in the Trump administration. How has China responded to these allegations that it's involved in the flow of fentanyl? Well, China's been adamant all along that this idea that it's sort of intentionally fueling this crisis. They say it's ridiculous. In response to Trump's statements, they've always said that a trade war will serve no one. And frankly, it seems that with the Chinese economy in sort of tough shape at the moment, a trade war is not something they really want to fight. And I think

perhaps the incoming Trump administration assesses some of that and wants to make a press there. Now, Mexico's president, Claudia Scheinbaum, warned on Tuesday that Trump's terrorist would bring dire economic consequences for both countries and suggested possible retaliation. President Joe Biden is proposing an expansion of Medicare and Medicaid coverage to include anti-obesity drugs like Ozympic, Wagovi, and Vangaro. The move could make these expensive GLP-1 drugs far more affordable for millions of Americans. But it's not a done deal. Our White House reporter, Andrea Shalal, has been looking into how this proposed change might play out.

So until now, Medicare has not covered the use of these drugs simply for the diagnosis of obesity. You had to have another underlying condition. So this move will make it possible for people who previously wouldn't have been able to afford these medications. And the bottom line, really, is that this is about long-term health outcomes. So it will cost the government to pay for these drugs for people. But the savings will be huge down the road if you have fewer people with diabetes and with heart disease. But in the end, this rule really depends on the Trump administration, right? Yeah, it's a very good point.

These things wouldn't take effect until 2026. and they would require approval by the Trump administration. And one key member of Trump's cabinet could be Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who opposes these drugs and says, American should lose weight by eating healthier. But he's also said that he wants to choose Mehmet Oz, the television personality and surgeon, to be the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is the agency that would be administering this rule. and he is in favor.

It's a data dump for investors today ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. We've got US jobless claims, GDP figures, and most crucial of all, inflation figures out later. Carmel Crimmons has more. Investors are going to be homing in on that inflation data for clues about a potential Fed interest rate cut next month. Right now, investors are betting on a 25 basis point cut in December, but officials were divided on further rate reductions at their meeting earlier

this month, so that inflation data is going to be key. And you know what, Tara? What's that common? It ties in nicely with this week's Econ World podcast, which is out later today. It's all about inflation. I'm talking to Rick Reeder. He's the guy in charge of Black Rock's bond business, and I'm talking to him all about inflation and the outlook for it as we head into a Trump presidency. You can catch that on the Reuters app, Reuters.com, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. That's it for today's show. We're off on Thursday. those of you who are celebrating, happy Thanksgiving. For today's recommended read, check out our story on the shared air smog problem in India and Pakistan. But the city

of Lahore has its worst air pollution in five years. There's a link in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. To never miss an episode, follow on your favorite podcast player. We'll be back on Friday with our daily headline show.