Reuters World News - Red Sea tensions, US pressure on Israel and Venezuela’s vote

Episode Date: December 4, 2023

A U.S. Navy destroyer shoots down three drones during an attack on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The United States issues increasingly stark warnings to Israel as it expands its offensive in Gaza. Venezuelans vote in favour of President Nicolas Maduro’s claim over a large part of neighbouring Guyana. An impending ban on dog meat is triggering farmer protests in South Korea. Plus, the latest on deadly, weekend attacks in Paris and the Philippines. 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 US Navy destroyer shoots down drones in the Red Sea. The US issues stark warnings as Israel expands its offensive in Gaza. Venezuelan voters back Maduro's claim on territory in neighbouring Guyana. And a ban on dog meat has South Korean farmers up in arms. It's Monday, December 4th. 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 London. Israel says that soldiers are confronting Hamas fighters across the Gaza Strip, signaling its ground offensive in the South has begun. It comes as attacks on ships in the Red Sea raise fears of the conflict spreading. A US Navy destroyer shot down three drones during a sustained assault on Sunday. The interception happened as Yemen,

Iran-backed Houthi movement, attacked several commercial ships nearby. In Gaza, Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments are concentrated on Khan Yunus and Rafa. Two cities in the south where more than 700,000 people have fled seeking safety. The growing civilian death toll has U.S. officials issuing increasingly stark warnings to Israel. Here's Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. You see, in this kind of a fight, the center of gravity is the civilian population. And if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.

So I have repeatedly made clear to Israel's leaders that protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative. Jeff Mason is in Washington, D.C. Jeff, why are we seeing this increasingly vocal stance from U.S. officials? I think the reason for that is multifaceted. One, there's a genuine concern about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the enormous amount of deaths among the Palestinian people. Two, there's a backlash politically at home. And that political backlash right ahead of an election,

year is important and not inconsequential for the president and his party because it's going to be a close election. So it's a tight balance that they have to, or a tight rope, I guess would be another way of saying that that he and his administration have to walk. Is this impacting the U.S. Israel relationship as a whole? I don't think the president or his administration is signaling that they are withdrawing support. any way from Israel. Could it increase tension a little bit if these conversations become harder? Maybe. But I don't think we've seen evidence so far from the two sides that they aren't listening to each other or that talks are not continuing or that one side is not taking the other's calls.

Over to markets now and those tensions in the Red Sea are a big risk factor for investors. Here's Carmel Crimmons with more. The market is very sensitive to any expansion of the conflict between Hamas and Israel. And the attacks on those vessels in the Red Sea will have them worried. It certainly complicates the outlook for the US stock rally. The S&P rose nearly 9% in November and it's up almost 20% on the year. The risk that the conflict could escalate may encourage some investors to take profits. We've already seen a spike in gold, which is a traditional safe haven asset,

and S&P futures are down this morning. A US airstrike has killed five Iraqi militants, the northern city of Kirkuk. The attack came as the militants were preparing to launch explosive projectiles at US forces in the country. France's sports minister says there is no plan B for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, after a fatal attack near the Eiffel Tower over the weekend. A man armed with a knife and a hammer killed a German tourist and wounded two others, raising concerns about security arrangements for next summer's games.

The suspect had pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Police in the Philippines are hunting for at least two suspects they believe were behind a bomb attack on a Catholic mass that killed four people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast. Blizzards are blanketing Moscow in record snowfall and disrupting flights. The severe winter weather is sweeping across the country, sending temperatures and parts of Siberia, plummeting to minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit. Eleven climbers have been found dead in Indonesia after the eruption of the Marapi volcano in West Sumatra.

Video footage showed a huge cloud of volcanic ash spread widely across the sky and cars and roads covered with ash. Venezuelans have voted to support their country's claim to a large chunk of neighbouring Guyana. The consultative referendum is the latest escalation of a long-running border dispute. Julia Sims-Cobb is in Bogota, in neighbouring Colombia.

The area at issue is a big tract of land around the Esakiba River. The area is generally considered to be part of Guyana, but it is the subject of a very long-running territorial dispute between Guyana and its neighbor Venezuela. There have been some major offshore discoveries in Guyana's maritime area, and the theory is that there could also be oil there, Venezuela. is also very oil-rich, so this territory is potentially a very lucrative piece of land. So the voter that, yes, it should be part of Venezuela. What does that mean? Is it binding?

This referendum is consultative, so they're not able to do anything legally right now to take possession of that territory, but it has caused some worries in Guyana about potential encroachment. What is this really about? What analysts have told us and through our reporting what we've teased out, is that Maduro, the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, might be using this referendum as a way to gauge the level of support that his government has. He's going to be facing an opposition candidate in 2024 in presidential elections. And a lot of what we're hearing from analysts inside Venezuela is that they think this is his effort to measure how many voters he and his government

can get out on a polling day and sort of see what the enthusiasm is for his government. What impact has this had on the region? It has definitely caused tension between Venezuela and Guyana, but it's also had a regional echo in Brazil. The Brazilian military said that it had moved some more troops and was carrying out what it called defensive actions in its territory around the borders with Guyana and Venezuela is sort of a precautionary measure. So it has raised fears that there might be some sort of action by Maludo, but what we've heard from analysts is that that's probably unlikely for now.

South Korean farmer Li Kiyong-Sig has been breeding dogs for restaurants for over a decade. But government plans to ban dog meat consumption by the end of the year have him worried. Last week, farmers scuffled with police at a rally

near the presidential office in the capital, demanding the government scrap the ban. The century's old practice has drawn criticism from overseas for its cruelty. But there's also been increasing opposition at home, particularly from the younger generation. Juman Park is in Seoul. So how common is eating dog meat in South Korea?

It's not that common anymore. So for example, in 2016, there were about 17,000 dog farms, but that now was down to 1,100 farms. And some local governments over the last decade, they've shut down major dog meat markets as well. Who is eating it? You can see some polls show that 8% of people have eaten dog meat over the last year. So there are still some people eating dog meat, I would say, among more older generations.

But you have to see the Korean tradition dog soup has been known as one way to beat the heat. So people seeking to protect the body from, like, overheating, they eat like dog soup, so-called like boshintang. Literally, like, that means a body preservation stew. They think this, like, dog meat soup in a mix of, like, hot and strong spices and vegetables is good for health. That's it for today's episode of Reuters World News. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.

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