Reuters World News - Rafah hostages, Trump’s NATO threat and Super Bowl surprises

Episode Date: February 12, 2024

Israel has freed two hostages from Rafah under the cover of airstrikes which local health officials said killed more than 60 Palestinians. The White House and European allies have slammed Donald Trump for his outburst against NATO. Pakistan is in political limbo after a shock election result. Plus, a nail-biting Super Bowl featuring halftime cameos, Taylor Swift on the pitch and Beyonce announcing a country album. 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 frees two hostages in Gaza under cover of air strikes. Trump's NATO outburst is an existential threat for the military alliance. Pakistan is in political limbo after an election upset. And why a strong U.S. jobs market is a double-edged sword for investors. It's Monday, February 12th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. Every weekday. I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. Israel has rescued two hostages from Gaza under the cover of airstrikes which have killed over

60 Palestinians, according to health officials there. The Israeli military says the two men, one of them 60 years old, the other 70, were being held on the second floor of a building. They say operatives used explosives to enter and heavy gunfire with surrounding buildings ensued. Idan Bejarano, a relative of the freedmen, described their reunion. A lot of tears, hugs, not many words, just being together. The strikes caused widespread panic in Rafah, where about a million Palestinians are sheltering. One Palestinian girl with bloodstains on her. her face, explaining she'd been in the bathroom when the strikes began and the walls caved in

on her. James McKenzie is in Jerusalem. James, does this operation to free the hostages now pave the way for a ground offensive into Rafa? It certainly supports Netanyahu's argument. I think from his point of view that the way to free the hostages is to maintain military pressure. And he's come out this morning and said that they're after total victory and they're not going to stop. So it does suggest that the ground offensive is going to be going forward. President Joe Biden spoke to Netanyahu on Sunday and warned him that a ground offensive shouldn't go ahead without a plan to protect the very many Palestinians who are sheltering there. Will Biden's intervention influence how Netanyahu proceeds?

So far the Israelis have said they will have a plan to evacuate these people, but we haven't seen the details of it. And I think you saw during the operation overnight, the casualty numbers, I think, shows that they're quite prepared to inflict serious casualties on the Palestinians in pursuit of their goal of defeating Hamas and bringing the hostages as hostages. European allies and even fellow Republicans have blasted former President Donald Trump's threat to abandon NATO allies. The White House has described Trump's comments at a South Carolina rally as appalling and unhinged.

Well, sir, if we don't pay and we're attacked by Russia, will you protect us? I said, you didn't pay, you're delinquent? He said, yes, let's say that happened. No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills. Sabina Seibold is in Brussels.

Sabina, was this much of a surprise for NATO? No, no. This doesn't come as any surprise to NATO. Donald Trump has threatened to exit NATO at the NATO summit in 2018 here in Brussels and caused quite a shock at the time. But it comes at a especially sensitive time. We didn't have war going on in Europe in 2018, whereas at the moment we have military and political leaders in Europe ramping up warnings saying the Western military must be ready to fight a war in five to eight years' time. and they are saying that publicly. In the past, you would get these kinds of assessments only, very much off the record and in secret.

So now apparently there's a real sense of urgency. And in this atmosphere, obviously Trump's remarks carry a different kind of weight. Also, as everybody's seeing, how well he is faring in the pre-election campaigns. So how will NATO handle Donald Trump as potentially the next president? Trust remarks are an existential threat to NATO. NATO's concept of defense is based on the facts that European allies will defend Europe until major reinforcements from the US arrive on the continent. They couldn't do it on their own.

NATO's deterrence and defense policy also has a psychological dimension. Any potential adversary of NATO must also believe that the alliance will actually use its military power to defend all allies. And that's where Trump, where his remarks raise major doubt. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has been admitted to a critical care unit in Washington for treatment of a possible bladder issue. His duties have been transferred to Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks. The announcement by the Pentagon appears designed to avoid a repeat of last month's political uproar when both Republican and Democratic lawmakers criticized Austin for failing to disclose a cancer

diagnosis and subsequent hospitalizations. A crowd sets fire to a Waymo self-driving car with a firework in San Francisco's Chinatown. An eyewitness told Reuters that some clapped in approval as people jumped on the hood of the car on Saturday evening. It's the most destructive attack so far on driverless vehicles in the US. I was just walking up the stairs and when I got on the top, like it started. Witness Levi-Andrade after off-duty law enforcement officers took down a woman who opened fire at Lakewood Church in Houston. Lakewood is one of the largest evangelical churches in the U.S., led by televangelist Joel Osteen.

World Marathon record holder Calvin Kipdom has died in a car crash in Kenya. The 24-year-old, who clocked three of the seven fastest marathon times in history, was due to to make his Olympic debut in Paris in July. Pakistan's in limbo after a shock election, which saw candidates backed by jailed opposition leader Imran Khan win the most votes. But Khan's supporters had to run as independence, which complicates their path to power, and no party won an outright majority. Charlotte Greenfield is in Islamabad. It's a pretty uncertain state of play in Pakistan at the moment. So Imran Khan-backed candidates don't have enough seats to form a government. And of course, their leader is still in jail. And they are formally not actually running as a party. They had to

run as independence. So now the focus is really shifting to PMLN, which is Nohaz Sharif's party, and PPP, the Pakistan People's Party, which is led by Bilal-Wu-Butha-Zadari. So these are both long-term dynasties in Pakistani politics. They are having some talks over whether they can get together and perhaps form a government. However, it's still pretty inconclusive at this stage. They've released some statements saying they would like to work together for the future of Pakistan, but there's definitely no formal coalition agreements. U.S. inflation data is out this week, with investors hoping it will pave the way for rate cuts sooner, rather than, than later. Howard Schneider will be watching those numbers for us.

Well, the estimates from the economists we poll at Reuters show it coming down a bit. Headline could hit 3% annualized, you know, year on year when the January numbers are released this Tuesday. That's pretty low, you know, if you take the common adjustment to the Fed's preferred measure, which is a different index, that puts that down 2.5, something like that, which is getting close to that 2% target. So yeah, this looks like the disinflation we saw take root last year continued through January. Strong job gains mean investors are no longer betting on a March rate cut. Can you explain why that is? When it comes to the Federal Reserve, the discourse is as long as that job growth remains strong, there is a faction of the Fed that argues, we don't say

any reason to cut. We see inflation coming down. That could continue, but with no weakness in the job market, sign of moderation there. It's really a sign that we're not really wrecking things so steady as she goes. No reason to cut. The moment Chiefs fans in Kansas City confirmed their Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers. The blockbuster overtime finish confirms the chief status as an NFL dynasty. Usher delivered a high-energy halftime performance with help from Will I Am and Alicia Keys. And after the game, Chief's tight end, Travis Kelsey, gave a rousing rendition of Viva Las Vegas. He was chaired on by girlfriend Taylor Swift, who hot-footed it from her tour in Japan to watch his victory. But she wasn't the only celebrity in the spotlight.

Beyonce used her appearance in a Verizon Super Bowl lad to announce she's going country for her next album. That's it for today's episode of Reuters World News. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, listen in for 10 minutes every weekday. Don't forget to subscribe on your favourite podcast player or download the Reuters app.