Reuters World News - Switzerland, National Guard, Iran and 2026 jobs outlook

Episode Date: January 1, 2026

Dozens are feared dead after an explosion at a Swiss ski resort bar. U.S. President Donald Trump says his administration is removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland for now. Zohran Mamdani is sworn in as New York mayor. Protests in Iran over the cost of living enter their fourth day. And we look at the prospects for jobseekers in 2026.  Listen to Morning Bid podcast ⁠here⁠. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast ⁠⁠here⁠⁠. Find the Recommended Read⁠⁠ here.⁠ 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

Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Thursday, January 1st. Today, the National Guard is sent home from a number of US cities. Zoran Mamdani is sworn in as New York's mayor. Unusual protests in Iran stretch into a fourth day and how weight loss drug subscriptions might become as easy as a streaming service. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know. from the front lines in 10 minutes, seven days a week.

First to Switzerland, where several people have been killed and others injured after an explosion and fire at a ski resort bar. Police say there were around 100 people in the bar in Kans, Montana when the fire broke out. The area has been completely closed off and a no-fly zone has been imposed. This is a developing story, so for the latest, check out Royce's or the Reuters app. The National Guard is being removed from Chicago, L.A., and Portland. President Donald Trump made the announcement in a social media post, saying it's because crime in the cities has greatly reduced,

but he also says troops will be sent back if crime goes up again. It comes a week after the Supreme Court blocked Trump's attempt to deploy troops to Illinois, a ruling that undercuts his legal rationale for sending soldiers, to any states. US intelligence has found Ukraine did not try to attack Russian president Vladimir Putin's residents. That's according to the Wall Street Journal, citing national security officials, who also said the conclusion was supported by a CIA assessment.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Ukrainian and European officials have, however, also rejected Moscow's claims about the attack. Trump had initially expressed. sympathy for Russia's accusations, telling reporters he was, quote, very angry about the alleged attack. By Wednesday, he appeared more skeptical. Reuters National Security reporter Graham Sattery has more. This occurs in the context of Trump and his administration really trying for some time to negotiate with Ukraine and put Ukraine into a box and get Ukraine to make concessions. And so it brings us back to a familiar place. It seems that the CIA has assessed that Russia

Russia was either being untruthful or deliberately planting a false flag in order to slow down these negotiations. So it again raises questions about whether President Trump's attention on getting concessions from Ukraine rather than Russia is properly focused. It shows how Russia is actually the party who's perhaps being the most recalcitrant when it comes to these negotiations. In a video released for the end of the year, President Vladimir Zelenskyy says Ukraine wants peace, but not at any cost.

To Iran now, where eyewitness video shows protesters throwing rocks before tearing down the gate of a government building. Demonstrations have gone on for four days now, with people angry over soaring inflation and a slump in the value of the local currency. In an unusual move, government spokesperson, Fatima Mohajirani, says the country's rulers are willing. willing to listen.

Reporter Angus McDowell has more. Over the past year, inflation, even by official estimates, hasn't dropped below 36% in any month of the past year. And that's hitting pretty much everybody except the richest in society. And of course, with Iran also facing a great deal of intensified international pressure, including from the war in June, where. when Israel and in the United States launched this barrage of airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and a whole bunch of military facilities, I think that the economic issues are really

adding to that pressure. The current round of protests are certainly among the biggest since the huge round of unrest three years ago after the killing of Iranian Kurdish woman, Massa Amin, in custody. Now, during the summer, when the Israelis and Americans launched those strikes, quite a lot of people had wondered whether there might be an internal uprising against the authorities. But that didn't take place. And it may be that people are more ready to stand up against what they see as government policies that are really hurting them. And it's New Year, New Mayor, in New York. With Zohran Mamdani taking the oath of office at midnight.

So help me God. Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. The private swearing-in ceremony was led by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Mamdani placed his hand on a Quran, marking an historic moment as the first Muslim leader of the U.S.'s biggest city. You may be, like Mamdani, hopeful for a new job in the new year. You know, a new you. But how easy will it be to find a job in 2026? Our US economics editor, Dan Burns, has been looking into the numbers.

On balance, a lot of the economists that we speak with are looking for a year of fairly subdued job growth. Somewhere on the order on average over the 12 months of 2026 of between 40 and maybe 60,000 new jobs a month, which runs right around where most people estimate is kind of the break-even pace of job creation. Uncertainty is not going away in its entirety. It's going to continue to hang over this economy for some time, for a few reasons. Some of them policy-related, some of them related to technological advances, what actually does transpire with AI and its potential for productivity gains and worker replacement. all of that is very unclear.

We've got a major court case coming sometime in 2026 around Donald Trump's tariffs, which have added to the uncertainty that kept the lid on the hiring environment for much of the year. And he's going to continue to press on his immigration policies, which have really restricted the flow of people into the workforce for much of the year. But Dan says there is some good news for some. But there's also some fiscal tailwinds heading the economy's way in 2026 that may help the hiring environment. The one big, beautiful bill, a lot of its tax provisions take effect at the beginning of next year. And that's going to put, in some cases, more money in the pockets of consumers through lower withholding, a bigger return come March and April.

And also, businesses are going to enjoy substantial changes in how, you're going to. they account for their big capital investments. And when you see a KAPX boom, oftentimes you see a bit of a tailwind for employment in its wake. Apart from new jobs, some people begin the new year considering a change in lifestyle, and increasingly that may include weight loss drugs. The next generation of drugs, pills, set to hit shelves later this month.

The industry wants to make access so easy that consumers might consider even microdosing ahead of, say, swimsuit season. Pharmaceuticals correspondent Pavni Satija explains. There have been a certain section of investors that have spoken about a seasonal demand where people are taking the drugs just ahead of the holidays with the availability of an oral drug where you don't have to worry about poking yourself or with telehealth, not actually going to your doctor for prescription. you could take it and be ready for having like your summer body.

That's what the telehealth companies are selling. They're selling a lifestyle where, you know, they tell you, this is going to make your life better. This is going to make you feel better. Some experts have expressed concern about the lack of medical supervision in direct-to-consumer channels. But Bhavni doesn't think weight loss drugs will be available to everyone everywhere anytime soon. I think a lot of that barrier is cost, obviously.

There have been steps in that direction with the DTC channels, but I don't think that it's yet to a point where it'll be mass available. It's a medicine at the end of the day. It's not a product. We still need medical intervention and advice when it comes to using these drugs. However, you rang in the new year. From all of us here at Reuters World News, we're wishing you a wonderful 2026.

If you want to check out the photos from those celebrations and more from around the world, that is our recommended read for today. The link is in the description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker,

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