Reuters World News - The women vying to run NATO and the revival of a sacred Māori tattoo

Episode Date: February 27, 2023

NATO’s other mission: Find a new boss. The ancient Māori practice of moko kauae goes viral. Dozens killed in migrant boat shipwreck off Italy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we get the lowdown in Brussels on the race to lead NATO, who are the women vying to replace Ian Stoltenberg at the top of the global military alliance in the middle of a war. And come with me on a very special journey to Rotorua in Al-Thera, New Zealand. We'll find out why an indigenous face tattoo called Mokokokouai is enjoying a modern-day revival. It's Monday February 27th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes.

I'm Kim Vinal in London. First, the latest news from around the world. In Italy, a heartbreaking scene. Dozens of bodies washing up along the southern shore after a migrant boat shipwrecked. The latest disaster is likely to reopen debate on migration policies in Europe and especially in Italy. Reuters correspondent Crispian Balmer in Rome with the latest. The wooden boat set sail from the Turkish coastal city of Isma three or four days ago. It hit a bad storm as it neared the toe of Italy and was torn apart on rocks just short of the coast.

It was dark and everybody aboard was thrown into the water. 81 people made it ashore, but many others, including at least 12 children, died. The majority of the survivors came from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, and they are now being treated and taken care. In Italy, every time there is a disaster, politicians demand greater efforts to end this tragedy. But nothing they have tried has worked, and migrant numbers are rising sharply again this year. I'm Christy Embalmers in Rome. A rare meeting of Israeli and Palestinian officials in Jordan has netted an apparent diplomatic win with a pledge to curb violence. Israel says it will halt discussions about new settlements in the occupations.

West Bank for four months. Palestinian officials promised to de-escalate. The two sides met for the first time in years as violence surges once again. In the latest incident, a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli brothers as they were driving in the occupied West Bank, sparking deadly attacks by Israeli settlers

on houses and cars. In Mexico City, the downtown Zucalo Square filled with protesters. President André Emmanuel López Obrador is attempting to overhaul the National Electoral Institute. And while the name of that bureaucratic institution hardly sounds like a rallying cry, it has drawn plenty of Mexicans out to demonstrate. Dave Graham sent us this report from the streets on why people want to defend the electoral authority. The president who himself has built a career on leading massive marches in Mexico in protest against election.

fraud in particular, Argyzine is too expensive and is beholden to the interest of a ruling elite that he says is hostile to his political project. The thousands of demonstrators who moved through the center of town march peacefully to the Sokolos as helicopters buzzed overhead, many of them regard the plan pushed forward by the president as inimical to democracy in Mexico and worry that if it is not withdrawn. Mexico is heading back into the past. Demonstrators taking part are concerned that if the measures are allowed to stand,

the President of the Party could seek to perpetuate itself in power. Many of them also ask why these measures are being taken at a time that opinion polls show that his ruling Morina Party is likely to win the election in 2024. I'm Dave Graham reporting for voters here in central Mexico City. at the heart of where the protest is taking place near the Sokolos Square. Markets are back on inflation watch this week. Strong economic data in the US is reinforcing the view

that interest rates will stay higher for longer. On the equities front, we have earnings from Target, with investors keen to hear its outlook for the past year after Walmart's profit warning. And Goldman Sachs, Chief Executive, David Solomon, faces a reality check on Tuesday when he meets investors following the high-profile flop of the bank's consumer business.

He's supposed to step down in the middle of a war that has Europe and North America doubling down on its military alliance. Yen Stoltenberg's tenure at the top of NATO is due to expire later this year. I spoke to Reuters Brussels correspondent, Andrew Gray, about what comes next. So Andrew, Yen Stoltenberg, whose his replacement going to be? Stoltenberg has in a sense kind of fired the starting goal. for the race for his succession by declaring he's not seeking another extension to his term. So the race really kind of begins in earnest now. So basically, we don't know yet. No one has,

you know, put their head above the parapet to say they want the job. So I think it will play out in the weeks and months ahead. There's never been a female head of NATO. So should it be a woman? Well, some people definitely think it's time for a woman. So that's one possible consideration. and given NATO's current focus on Central and Eastern Europe, due to the war in Ukraine, there's obviously some people who think it's time for someone from Central and Eastern Europe to be the next Secretary General. Then there's other considerations like should the person come from a country that meets NATO's 2% of GDP defence spending target, should it be ahead of state or ahead of government.

So there are a lot of different possible criteria in the mix. Andrew, let's talk about the female contenders. Who are the sort of front runners? Well, it's very early days, so no one has officially declared they're a candidate. Some of the names that get mentioned when you're talking to officials or diplomats or people who follow NATO closely. The Estonian Prime Minister, Kayakalas, is one of them. The Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Krista Friedland has been mentioned in some reports,

but I suspect that more might emerge now that the race is getting going. Is there any candidate in particular that sort of seen that they would be particularly upsetting or aggravating to Russia? Well, I think that will actually be a consideration, maybe not quite in those terms, but certainly, you know, the issue with some leaders from Central and Eastern Europe from the Baltic states is that on the NATO spectrum, if you like, they are seen as more hawkish. Now, some of them would think, and that's exactly the right place to be. But I think among, you know, more Western European members of the alliance, there would be a

wariness about having a Secretary General who was seen as too hawkish on Russia. So I suspect we might end up with a compromise candidate and somebody who's not regarded as someone who is going to be too hardline on Russia. And we shouldn't rule out that his successor might be Stoltenberg again because he's already been extended several times. And even though he says he's not seeking an extension, that doesn't necessarily mean he wouldn't accept one. It's a bit like if you said, if I said, I'm not seeking a bar of chocolate, I might still accept one if you offered it to me and insisted that I'd take it. All right, Andrew Gray, thank you so much. Now for something a little different, a journey with me to my home, New Zealand, Al-Teroa and Māori.

There's a revival taking place of an ancient indigenous practice called Mokokokokowai. I've come to Rothera to meet Courtney Martin. I want to find out more about this resurgence of Mokokokokokokouai. It's also personal for me because I'm also Māori. I want to find out what is driving this resurgence and also what role social media is playing. Courtney is 22. She's just received her Mokokokoi in a ceremony on it with a haka.

A Mokokokoi is a marking a woman receives on the chin, lips and sometimes forehead. It's a tattoo, but it's also much more than that. It can signify ancestry, achievements, ambitions, one's place in the world. How do you feel now when you look in the mirror? Almost like, why didn't I get it done earlier? Like, that's always what I think to myself. Like, what was stopping me from getting it? Courtney put the whole thing on TikTok.

And within a day, she had millions of views. This ancient practice had gone modern day viral. Welcome back to my channel. This vlog is a big blog. Now, when it comes to exact numbers of people getting their Mokokowai, well, we don't have them. Statistics New Zealand doesn't keep any records. But the women themselves, experts and artists have all told me it's on the rise.

Like the revered artist, Poti Pukitapu. If you came to Gisbon or anywhere along the East Coast, you'd see there's so many people with Mokokokanuhi. This is a huge shift for a people who were dispossessed by the British for generations. Andrea Moon and her husband, Taitufa King, are academics and experts in the field of Ta-Moko. When the Tohunga Suppression Act came in, that ended our culture as we knew it, therefore our spirituality. It ended many things, but on top of that, it also ended our language, or started the onslaught of the end of our language, and it also ended Mokko.

That was in 1907. Even with the Mokokokomacation happening now, there remains a generational gap. At this Mokokowai ceremony, this time at a marai, the traditional meeting ground, an older woman is being marked. Paula Kamo is sung to by her family as the artist carves her chin. What was it like getting it done? What were you thinking, feeling? I didn't feel any fear or any at all.

I felt really, really comfortable. I felt the yafia, I felt the love lying there. Paula's parents' generation, those who went to school in the 40s and 50s, were literally beaten for speaking their native tongue in class. Now Indigenous Pride is everywhere. Social media has such a big influence on like our generation today to open up these really awkward and uncomfortable conversations. I don't want to carry that fear that my mum carries now

and my nan carried before her because why? What's the point of that? Our culture's not going to thrive. That's it for this edition of Reuters World News. We'll be back on Tuesday. In the meantime, you can find more trusted news at Reuters.com.