Reuters World News - Israel’s Phase IV, Golden Globes, a new Danish queen and a darts king

Episode Date: January 5, 2024

Israel announced a more targeted approach in hunting down Hamas fighters in Gaza and set out plans for what happens after the war. Denmark's Queen Margrethe II begins process of handing over the throne to her son Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian wife Mary. Hollywood prepares for Sunday's Golden Globes, the first big party in Tinseltown since the contentious labor disputes. Plus, the teenage sensation that has taken the world of darts by storm.  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 outlines plans for when its military offensive in Gaza is over. Hollywood shakes off a gloomy 2023 with the first big party of award season. A Danish monarch departs her throne, making way for an Australian commoner as queen. And a disappointing end to a fairy tale run in darts. But a 16-year-old superstar is born. It's Friday, January 5th. This is Reuters World News. bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday.

I'm David Spencer in London. And I'm Jonah Green in New York. As expected, the former Olympian and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been released on parole in South Africa, 11 years after he shot at his girlfriend, Reva Steencamp. As part of his release conditions, he cannot speak to the media, so little is known about his whereabouts and intentions, with the country's prisons department just saying he was at home. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for dual explosions in Iran

that killed nearly 100 people at the grave of top commander, Qasem Soleimani. The militant Sunni Muslim group said two members detonated explosive belts in the crowd that had gathered in the cemetery in the Iranian city of Khrman. Tehran has vowed revenge for the attack, the bloodiest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. That attack in Iran had sparked fresh concerns about the war in Gaza spreading across the region. It'll be three months since the war started this weekend. And on Thursday, Israel's defence minister outlined plans for the next stage of the war.

Dan Williams is in Jerusalem. Now, Reuters already reported in the beginning of the week that Israel was shifting to the third phase of the war. What this phase three entails militarily for Gaza itself is, is a downshifting away from widespread above ground sweeps to something more focus, presumably involving specialized troops, presumably literally drilling down to the underground bunker and tunnel system where many Hamas fighters are believed to have hold up, from which they are believed to have been carrying out ambushes on Israeli forces, and where they're believed to be holding many, if not all, of the some 133 hostages they still have from their October 7th attack on Israel.

The document talks about the fourth phase, the day after the war, Dan, when the military aims are completed. What does it say about that next phase? First of all, what it does not entail, and this is significant for domestic as well as international reasons. It does not entail what the document refers to as an Israeli-Saheastern. civilian presence in the Gaza Strip. This appears to be code for Jewish settlements, Israeli settlements. What I think is happening here is the Israeli defense minister published this both to mollify Western allies who are worried about the prospects for a utter reversal of what happened in 2005, and to assure them that, though the Israeli coalition includes members who would want to see a

rebuilding of those settlements, that will not happen. There are also references here. to a task force, a multinational task force, led by the United States in partnership with European and regional partners, that this would take responsibility for the rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip. There's also a separate reference here to Egypt, saying that Egypt would be a major actor in what happens in Gaza, and that Israel is maintaining an ongoing dialogue with Egyptian partners about interim and long-term solutions. Denmark's Queen Margaret, taking her final ride as monarch in a gold-covered carriage through the streets of Copenhagen. She shocked the country by announcing on New Year's Eve that she was going

to abdicate. Her son, Frederick, and his Australian-born wife, Mary, are next in line. Jacob Grunholt Pedersen is in Copenhagen. Jakob, the Queen, has been immensely popular. So what do people think of Frederick? Now, he's also a very popular, popular figure. He's been very popular as a crown prince. And he's sort of grown into the role when he's, when he's, he's also a very popular. He was younger, he was not very comfortable being a crown prince. In his youth, in the 90s, he was known as the party prince, and there was various scandals around him and tabloids chasing him. He's a bit more, or much more actually, down to earth than his mother is. He married an Australian lady Mary Donaldson, which she was an ordinary person, but they seem to be living this harmonious and modern life.

Are they taking their kids to school on a bicycle, which is very common in Denmark and stuff like that? Yeah, there's a lot of buzz about his wife, soon to be Queen Mary. Jacob, can you tell us a bit about her? Well, they met in Australia during the Olympics in 2000 at a bar, and the way she tells the story is that she did not know he was the prince when they met at this bar and they exchanged phone numbers. And then four years later, she and they married in Copenhagen. She's arguably even more popular than her husband, and she's very admired for her so distinctive style in clothes, for example, and also her commitment to equality and rights of women and children and fight for climate change and those type of things. And sometimes it even feels like the royal house has had to downplay her a bit in order not to overshadow her husband. After a rough year of picket lines in Hollywood, the stars are set to hit the red carpet this weekend at the 81st Golden Globes.

The awards have had their fair share of controversy, and this year there will be some changes. Lisa Rich Wine is in Hollywood. Lisa, what should we expect? What are the Globes organizers trying to address? Well, the voting group behind the Golden Globes came under a lot of criticism. It was a group of about 80 people. They didn't have any black members as of a few years ago. and there were a lot of ethical accusations about them taking gifts from studios,

and the whole group was disbanded. They made some reforms, and now there are new owners of the globes, and they've expanded the group. It's about 300 members now. They say the diversity is about 60%. And since there are more members, we might get some new outcomes. Your hometown was nearly crippled by these strikes. So are we expecting a kind of post-examination?

lockdown vibe, but the awards this year? Yeah, I think this is really the first big party since Hollywood was shut down last year for about six months because of the strikes. Stars were not allowed to go out and promote their films. There were not many recurper, so, you know, people in Hollywood weren't seeing each other. So this is their first really public event and the biggest party in Hollywood, you know, in months. And who's going to win?

Well, you remember Barbenheimer over the summer. Barbie and Oppenheimer faced off. I vaguely remember. that, yes. Barbie and Oppenheimer faced off at the box office. They came out the same weekend. Well, at the Golden Globes, they both are positioned to win because unlike

the Oscars, the Globes have two categories. Barbie will be in the category for best comedy or musical film, and Oppenheimer will be in best drama. So both Barbie and Oppenheimer can have a big night. Now to the world of professional darts, where a 16-year-old

prodigy has captured the imagination of the British public. Teen sensation, Luke Littler, did not prevail in the PDC World Darts Championship this week, but as the youngest ever to reach the finals, he has cemented his place as a Darts superstar for years to come. Alan Baldwin has been following this much closer than I have. So why has Littler's run caused such a sensation in the UK? Darts is this time of year, it's very popular at the Alexander Palace, and there's usually a debate going on as to whether it's actually a sport.

at all or just a pastime, but it's taken quite seriously. And it packs them in at this time, the year, Christmas, New Year, early New Year. And I suppose the buzz this time is that he's 16 years old, but he doesn't look 16. The acts and behaves like someone much more mature and much older. And there's been this sort of amazing run to the final. And Darts is one of those sports pastimes where, you know, you play it in the pub, but it's also got a big follow. and much bigger than many people imagine. I mean, the viewing figures for the final drew a record peak audience of 3.71 million, which was Sky at Pay Services, is pretty huge.

It's surprisingly compelling for a television sport. So what happened in the end? It was a close final, actually. I mean, it looked at one point like Littler was going to win it, but in the end, the world number one, Luke Humphreys, came through. but in fact, Luke Littler, the 16-year-old, was the crowd hero. You know, I mean, there have been 16-year-old, 17-year-olds, in other branches of sport, particularly in tennis and the likes that, you know, have stood out.

But it's just this world of darts to have a 16-year-old coming through. It's quite an intimidating atmosphere, particularly for a 16-year-old to just bat that aside and be so consistent and so focused and just be putting in the dots again and again and again with such accuracy. quite phenomenal. That's it for today's episode of Reuters World News. We'll be back on Monday with our daily headline show.

Look out this weekend for our preview of the key election in Taiwan. 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 favorite podcast player or download the Reuters app.