Reuters World News - Nashville school shooting, Europe’s crippling strikes and Russian surveillance

Episode Date: March 28, 2023

Nashville is left shattered after an ex-student shoots dead six at a Christian school. A Reuters investigation into Russia’s facial recognition system. Netanyahu’s balancing act. Europe’s wave of strikes test governments. Plus, U.S. regulators come for Binance and Prince Harry’s surprise court appearance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, three nine-year-olds among the victims in Nashville as authorities search for answers in the latest American school killing. Benjamin Netanyahu suspends his overhaul of the judiciary in Israel, what's next for the embattled leader? And Reuters reveals the facial recognition system the Russian government is using to suppress protests before they happen. Plus, Europe's crippling strikes and Prince Harry's surprise court appearance in London. It's Tuesday, March 28th.

This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. I'm Kim Vidal in London. A heartbroken Nashville, Tennessee, the day after a shooting at a Christian school. Three children and three adult staff members were fatally shot. The assailant killed by police is a former student. We've identified the shooter as Audrey Hale, 28-year-old female, that lived in the Nashville area. Police Chief John Drake there referring to the assailant as female,

although he later said the suspect identified as transgender. Hale used male pronouns on a LinkedIn page. Video footage from inside the school shows Hale blasting through glass doors and roaming the halls pointing a semi-automatic rifle, dressed in camouflage pants and a back-to-front red baseball cap. Drake said police were looking into a possible motive for the attack. We have a manifesto, we have some writings that we're going over that pertain to this date, the actual incident. We have a map drawn out of how this was all going to take place.

Drake later told NBC News, investigators believed the shooting stemmed from some resentment, Hale Harbert, for having to attend the school. The school serves around 200 students, preschool through sixth grade. Reacting in Washington, Joe Biden urged Congress to pass tougher government. un-reform legislation. It's just, it's sick, and we have to do more to stop gun violence. It's ripping our communities apart, ripping a soul of this nation, ripping it's a very soul of the nation. A group of students from Naples plays ping pong while stranded in an empty terminal

at Munich Airport. Strikes now a reality that must be dealt with in major capitals throughout Europe. Germany brought to a standstill on Monday, but that's not. nothing compared to what's expected in France. Reuters European editor, Rachel Armstrong, had this to say. The strikes were seeing in Europe and nothing like we've seen in March of Western Europe for a good 20 years. In Germany on Monday, we saw the biggest strikes since 1992.

Now, that's pretty unusual. Germany is an economy where collective wage bargaining is part of the fabric of how economic activity works there. We've had all of Germany's transport system going to a halt on Monday. The employers have offered 5%. The workers want around 12.5%. It's not clear what kind of room there is to find a deal, given the parties are so far apart. What we've seen in Germany, though, is nothing compared what we're going to see in France on Tuesday, when there is going to be another mass strike by all the unions, which is likely to be coupled again by strings of wildfire protests by

much younger people. You aren't necessarily affiliated with these unions. And whereas in Germany, it's probably a test of the fiscal credentials of the government. What we're now seeing in France is really a test for the entire government and for the future of President Manuel Macron. Some headlines from the business and financial world this morning. First, the founders of Lyft are stepping down as its stock price is battered. Board member David Risher will take over as CEO as the ride-hailing firm struggles to keep up with bigger rival Uber. Walt Disney begins 7,000 layoffs as it seeks to control costs and create a more streamlined business. And the top crypto exchange Binance is sued by US regulators for willful evasion of US law.

Here's our European cryptocurrency reporter Tom Wilson on the case made by the CFTC. It alleged that Binance has been operating what it calls an illegal exchange and that it's been running what it calls a sham compliance program. Compliance checks are really important. They're what any financial institution around the world does to prevent illegal money, money laundering and so on its platform. And the CFTC said that Binance's compliance has essentially been ineffective. It also says that the founder and chief executive of Binance, Chang Peng Zhao,

has overseen this very weak compliance, this sham compliance, and essentially that Zao and other top executives at Binance willfully avoided US laws. And as Binance buckles up for that lawsuit, crypto traders around the world are buckling up too. Bitcoin's liquidity is at its lowest level in 10 months, triggering warnings that wild price swings could be on the cards. Under extreme pressure from mass protests, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed his judicial overhaul.

The decision comes as fears that Israel's worst national crisis in years could fracture his coalition or escalate into wider violence. Netanyahu described it as a chance to avoid a civil war and said he'd try to reach a broader consensus. But is the delay just a sticking plaster? Here's Mayan Lubel. But now, for the short term, he's stabilized its government, and he's created cracks in the opposition

by saying that he's stopping the legislation and he's going to hold talks with the opposition about the reform. Some of the protesters have said that they're going to continue protesting because they don't believe a word Netanyahu says. some of they were going to give a chance for talks to try and reach an agreed change to the justice system. To London and a dramatic day at the law courts.

Journalists asking Prince Harry for comment after his surprise attendance at the start of a hearing at the High Court. He flew in from California to attend alongside Elton John. Both are suing the publisher of the Daily Mail in a privacy case. The lawsuit alleges that the Daily Mail's publisher, Associated Newspapers, hired private investigators to bug celebrities, record private phone calls, and paid police for information. Associated newspapers denies any unlawful behavior. A judge will decide if the case proceeds. A Reuters investigation revealed how facial recognition has helped Russian President

Vladimir Putin curb descent at home. Now, it's no sense. secret that the Russian government uses facial recognition to keep an eye on its citizens. Now, after reviewing more than 2,000 court cases, our reporters can show how these cameras are used to suppress protests before they even happen. Here's investigative reporter Lena Masri on the story. Sergei Pinchuk went into the Moscow metro a day in May last year, and after he entered the metro station, a police officer approached him within seconds. He said, And police had a handheld electronic device with about 10 photos of him and all of these photos were seemingly taken by Metro security cameras on different dates.

That detention, it was special, it was unusual because I was detained for nothing. Then they took me to the police station, but the thing is during the detention, I noticed in his hands his working tablet with tons of photos of me. All of these people were stopped either on national holidays when authorities were expecting protests or at other times when anti-war sentiments were running high. Most of them were told that facial recognition was used to detain them. And several of them were also told that they were being held preventively so that they wouldn't protest. And many had to sign a document acknowledging they had been warned against protesting or saying that they wouldn't protest before they were released.

And most of the people I spoke to who were detained in this way had already previously been charged and punished for protesting. But now facial recognition was being used to stop them just while they're going about their daily lives. In a way, it means that there's a risk of being detained over and over again if you have been. detained for protesting in the past. In Russia, we used to live with this. I know like a big brother, you know, it's from USSR. And now in Russia, we have a big brother who's watching for you every time. No one was charged with any offense.

And the Kremlin referred Reuters to the Moscow mayor's office, which didn't comment. That's it for Reuters World News. We'll be back tomorrow. In the meantime, you can find more trusted news at Reuters.com.