Reuters World News - Trump’s mugshot, Wagner’s money and DeSantis tests the orchestra pit theory

Episode Date: August 25, 2023

Donald Trump surrenders in Georgia and posts his mugshot on X. Yevgeny Prigozhin’s lucrative legacy in Africa is up for grabs. The Christians living in fear after mob attacks in Pakistan. Plus, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships and what the orchestra pit theory means for Ron DeSantis. 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. Donald Trump surrenders again, but this time he walks away with his very own mugshot. Russian President Vladimir Putin breaks his silence on Yvgeny Progosion. We look at the mercenary boss's lucrative legacy in Africa. Christians in eastern Pakistan living in fear after mob violence. And the spotlight is on Cocoa Goff ahead of this year's US Open. It's Friday, August 25th. This is Reuters World News, with every... you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes.

Every weekday. I'm Kim Vennel. And I'm Tara Oaks in London. Former President Donald Trump has been booked at an Atlanta jail on more than a dozen felony charges. An unsmiling Trump was captured in a mugshot. He posted the image on X, formerly known as Twitter, marking his return to the platform after a two-year break.

Trump surrendered as part of a wide-ranging criminal case, stemming from his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia. Now for the other headlines making news around the world. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent his condolences to the family of Yevgeny Progosin, after the mercenary leaders plane crashed with no survivors. Putin said Progosian, quote, made serious mistakes in life, but was a talented person, a talented businessman. We'll take a deeper look at the world.

those business interests later in the episode. Spain's soccer chief Luis Rubiales is expected to resign for kissing player Jenny Hermoso during victory celebrations at the World Cup. The unsolicited kiss on the lips triggered a hail of criticism and fevered disciplinary proceedings. Warner Brothers is delaying the planned November release of the June sequel until March because its stars can't promote the movie during the Hollywood Actors' Strike. The decision deals a blow to cinema chains, which are still trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It's time now for markets with Carmel Krimmins.

Camel, what's got investors' attention? Well, everyone is braced for what Fed Chair Jerome Powell is going to say at Jackson Hole. That's the annual meetup of global central bank governors. And we're actually going to have a deep dive on what went down at that meeting at our weekend episode. So do tune in for that one if you want some clues on the state of the world economy and even where your mortgage rate is headed. But beyond that, we're getting some. worrying signs from Main Street. So gap missed revenue expectations and that echoes what we've already seen from Macy's and Footlocker. On top of that, Macy's and Nordstrom are flagging delays

in store credit card repayments, which signals growing pressure on some consumers. Yevkenny Progossian leaves behind a vast, lucrative and influential empire of mercenaries operating in Africa. So what will happen now to all these Wagner contracts? Edward McAllister is in the Senegalese capital, Dakar. Edward, first just remind us of what kind of business they have in Africa. Well, there's a sprawling network of shell companies that are linked to Bargner Group. These are anything from gold mines to money that they're being paid to help prop up beleaguered governments, to uranium production.

Can you give us a few examples of the work they're contracted to do? They have a contract in Mali where troops are stationed to help the Mali and army fight Islamist insurgents. They are paid by US estimates about $10 million a month to do that. They have gold mining concessions in Central African Republic, which brings in anything from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. In Sudan, they process gold, which brings money back to Kremlin coffers. What happens now to these lucrative contracts? It's the big question. And generally people aren't actually expecting to see too much change.

I spoke to a number of analysts who say that it's not in Russian interests to change that at this stage. There's rumours online that other private contractors could come in and take their place, but none have the heft and the firepower and the personnel that Vargan does. In eastern Pakistan, Christian families are living in shelters, a week after being forced from their burning homes by a mob of hundreds. Angered by claims a copy of the Quran had been desecrated, the mob set fire to churches and scores of homes in Geranwala. The Christian community fled.

Charlotte Greenfield has met some of those families who are now living in fear. I'm Charlotte. I was meeting a very young mother, Kanwal, who was holding her tiny, tiny baby, who's only 12 days old the whole time. She's living in a school that's been turned into this makeshift shelter. There's about seven or eight people and others coming in and out in what is actually still a classroom.

There's alphabet charts on the wall and counting charts. Kamau told me they're now really scared of their neighbors and they want to be shifted somewhere else. She actually told us we don't want them to destroy whatever we have left. Her mom is sitting nearby and keeping an eye on them. She says that her other young kids, Kanweil's siblings, are really scared to go to school now and she's kept them out of school for fear

that they might face more of violence or bullying. The Prime Minister has actually gone to the area as well as several other leaders in Pakistan and have called this an atrocity, they've promised minorities that they will assure protection there is also a lot of security in the area. I spoke to some of the security officials and local officials, and they say they're determined to calm things down.

However, when you speak to members of the Christian community and civil society organizations, human rights advocates, they are saying that the situation is still quite tense and they are worried about the future for minorities in these areas. Now, it goes without saying that Trump still dominates the GOP, whether it's from an Atlanta jail or a Florida golf course. But his no-show at the primary debate this week ceded the spotlight, at least temporarily,

to some of the other presidential hopefuls. James Oloffant watched it. James, Florida Governor Ronda Santos, who is a far second to Trump, had a pretty quiet night. Is his star finally fading? Well, since the star was fading, of course, before the debate, and there was a lot of talk that he needed a game-changing

performance, so to speak, to turn things around. And one of the things that happened with DeSantis is that Vivek Ramoswamy suddenly became the focus, both through his own actions and by antagonizing other people on the stage. And it was clear from before the debate that DeSantis and hit advisors had decided to stay above it. Now, you can say that Mike Pence and Nikki Haley both had a good night by taking on Ramoswamy. where DeSantis stood back and watched. But at the end of the day, people tend to remember debates more for how a candidate screws up. It's called the orchestra pit theory invented by Roger Ailes, the old head of Fox News,

where you can be the smartest person on the stage, but if somebody else falls into the orchestra pit, everybody remembers the orchestra pit, and nobody remembers what you said. So in that context, Ron DeSanis was looking to not to fall into the orchestra pit. And by that token, he succeeded. Now, did that hurt him? I think that's debatable. If anything, it was a bit of a missed opportunity. To New York, where the U.S. Open begins on Monday with the return of Novak Djokovic after he missed last year.

The focus, too, will be on 19-year-old Cocoa Gough after her big win in Cincinnati. Natty last weekend. Amy Tennery will be covering the tournament for us. Amy, is there quite a lot of pressure on Cocoa Gough here? Well, there's an extraordinary amount of pressure on Cocoa Gough. And you have to keep in mind, of course, that no American has hoisted the trophy of Fleshing Meadows since 2017. And there hasn't been an American win a grand slam since the Australian Open in 2020 with Sophia Cannon. Is the hopeful organizers and funds that Djokovic and Carlos Salkares meet in the final? Yes, there's a lot of excitement on the men's side as well. Carlos Alciras, of course, got the better of Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon.

And then when they were facing off in Cincinnati, they had this epic three-setter. Novak got the better of them this time. It was the longest reset Masters 100 final in history. And, you know, this is what fans have really been craving. That's it for today's episode of Reuters World News. We'll be back tomorrow with that weekend episode looking at what the world's central bankers got up to in Jackson Hole, as well as Europe's latest crackdown on big tech and the revival of Zambian rock. It's an eclectic mix. To make sure you know what's going on in the world, listen in for 10 minutes

every weekday. And don't forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player or download the Reuters app.