Reuters World News - Russian plane, Trump’s VP, butter chicken and transatlantic tea spat

Episode Date: January 25, 2024

Russia has accused Ukraine of shooting down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange. Ukraine has not directly confirmed it shot down the plane, nor that Ukrainian prisoners were on board. The names being discussed for Donald Trump’s VP pick. Plus, who invented butter chicken? 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, Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 65 of its own soldiers. The race for Donald Trump's running mate heats up. The AI rally lifts Microsoft into the $3 trillion club. And butter chicken cooks up a legal storm in India. It's Thursday, January 25th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool. Moscow has accused Keeve of deliberately shooting down a Russian military transport plane

carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine has not commented directly on Moscow's accusations. Mike Collett White is in London. Mike, question marks hang all over this. What do we know about the plane and the circumstances of the crash? Well, the simple answer is we don't know very much still. We know that a plane went down. We have UGC footage, which Reuters and others have verified, of a plane crashing to the ground

near a village called Yablanova in Belgrade region in southwest Russia, which borders Ukraine. And apart from that, we then move into what the Russians say happened and what the Ukrainians say happened. So what exactly has Ukraine said? Well, Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that it shot the plane down. it has said that in previous cases where prisoners were swapped between Russia and Ukraine, which happens occasionally, the Russians directed the Ukrainians not to threaten aircraft in the air in the area at that time. The Ukrainians say that this time there was no such warning. Now, that to us suggests that what may have happened, and we don't know, but what may have happened, is the Ukrainians shot down a Russian military plane over Belgarud, thinking that it was carrying weapons and not prisoners of war.

I hasten to add that we still have not yet established exactly what or who was on board, and that's what the Ukrainians say they desperately are trying to do now. And how are people in Ukraine reacting? It comes at a particularly tough period in the war, right? It does. They are reacting with, I think, sort of quiet dismay. But on social media, what we're noticing mainly in Ukraine is that people want clarity about what happened and they want the authorities once they know to be honest with them so that they actually, you know, can establish what did happen. Israel has denied that it attacked a huge UN compound in Gaza.

The United Nations has said Israeli tanks struck the centre causing mass casualties. The attack drew rare public condemnation from the United States. His State Department spokesman Vedant Patel. We deplore today's attack on the UN's Kahn Yunus Training Center. You've heard me say it before. You've heard the Secretary say it before, but civilians must be protected. And the protected nature of UN facilities must be respected. The Federal Aviation Administration has blocked Boeing from expanding production of its most popular plane.

The unprecedented move was sparked by, quality concerns after a door panel blew out of a 737 Max 9 plane this month. Joe Biden bet on the American worker while Donald Trump blamed the American worker. Sean Fane, the head of a United Auto Workers Union endorsing President Joe Biden's re-election bid. The UAW's endorsement has huge political implications because of its influence in Michigan, a key battleground state in the 2024 race. John Stewart is returning to the Daily Show. The comedian will host a show every Monday night,

starting next month and running through the 2024 presidential campaign. Saudi Arabia is going to allow the public sale of alcohol, but only to non-Muslim diplomats. The Kingdom is preparing to open its first liquor store in the capital Riyadh, and customers will have to respect monthly quotas. Microsoft has joined the $3 trillion club on stock markets. Kamal Crimmons has more. Yes, Microsoft's bet on chatGBT maker OpenAI is really paying off.

Its investment there means it's seen as a frontrunner in the race for market dominance in generative AI, putting it ahead of rivals like Google and Amazon. With all that AI buzz around, its stock market value crossed a $3 trillion milestone for the first time on Wednesday. But it's not the world's most valuable company. Apple still holds that title. Will it be Carrie Lake? Or what about Marjorie Taylor Green? Intrigue over who Donald Trump might pick as his vice presidential running mate is mounting as he solidifies his lead to become the Republican nominee. Tim Reid has been talking to Trump allies on where he currently stands. Well, most of the advice Trump is getting from inside and outside the campaign is that he needs this time around either a woman or a black person, probably a black man,

to help him attract more swing voters in the six swing states that will probably decide the general election in November. Trump really needs to attract more independent and more moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats if he wants to win in November against Joe Biden. What are some of the top names being bandied about? Some of the top names include Christine Noam, who is the governor of South Dakota. She won re-election as governor there last year in a landslide. Another name is Elise Stefarnic, who is a congresswoman from New York, and she is a rising star in the Republican Party, and Trump likes her. And then another name in the mix is Tim Scott. He's a U.S. Senator from South Carolina. He's a black man and was a presidential contender, a rival of Trump,

the Republican primary. He dropped out of the race last year, and then just recently in New Hampshire, he endorsed Trump. And Nikki Haley, is she out? So most of the advice Trump is getting from outside of the campaign and certainly within the campaign is not to pick Nikki Haley. That's looking less and less likely, just in the last 24 to 48 hours, as her attacks on Trump have very much intensified, she's now calling into question his age and mental acuity. Haley, however, would help Trump probably with more moderate voters. So I would not rule out entirely Trump picking Haley, but it's looking less and less likely at this point. Butter chicken. Many people find it delicious, but it's also contentious. Two Indian restaurant chains are doing battle over who invented the dish.

Adichia Kalra is in New Delhi. Aditya, tell us about this case. On one hand, you have an Indian restaurant chain named Mothi Mehal, which is basically claiming that its founder family back in the 1930s in Peshawar, which is now in Pakistan, invented the dish and they later moved on to New Delhi to set up a restaurant. And they have gone to court and sued this new chain called Darya Ganj, which set up very recently actually in 2019 and has been using the tag of that they invented butter chicken. So we spoke to both sides and the Darya gun chain basically said they invented butter chicken around 1947 and they had an association with this other restaurant chain which allows them to use the tagline of the invention. So the two sides

are basically locked in a legal tussle with thousands of pages being filed in court documents which includes your pictures from Peshawar to agreements dating back to 1920, 1949. And I'm How is this being viewed in India? So it's taken India by storm partly because of the media reporting, but also because a lot of action on social media, because it's just a dish that resonates among celebrities, be it Elon Musk loves Indian food, Brad Pitt loves Indian food. You have the US presidents and prime ministers who've talked about it.

And how is DeCourt going to decide this? I guess most importantly, is there going to be a taste test? That's an interesting one. We've not heard about a taste test, but what we've heard is that it's not going to be an easy case at all. The court will probably have to review oral testimonies of people who consume this dish years ago, who can associate with the brand, maybe in the 1947s or 1950s, like somebody who could say

and link the brand back to the dish. A taste check is not something that we've heard, but we can't rule it out. Anything can happen in Indian courts. If, like me, you're based in the UK, tea drinking is basically a national obsession. which is why advice from an American on how to brew the perfect cupper has gone down like a tea chest straight to the bottom of Boston Harbour. Michelle Frankel, a professor of chemistry at Brinmore College, has caused transatlantic controversy by suggesting a pinch of salt is needed for the perfect brew. The US Embassy was quick to respond on X, saying the outrageous proposal was not official policy and threatened the very foundations of the special relationship. but then suggested that microwaving was best.

The UK Cabinet Office has weighed in with the sage advice that tea can only be made using a kettle. Few. Full disclosure, I'm actually personally a coffee drinker. 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.

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