Reuters World News - Trump's Panama Canal threat, German Christmas market suspect, Nissan-Honda and holiday booze

Episode Date: December 23, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging steep prices to use the passage. A man suspected of ploughing a car through crowds at a German Christmas market and killing five people faces multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. Nissan and Honda eye a possible merger. And inflation has left some drinkers looking for ways to rein in their holiday booze spending. 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

Today, Trump threatens to retake the Panama Canal. What we know so far about the suspect in Friday's German Christmas market attack and how American consumers are getting in the holiday spirit without the spirits. It's Monday, December 23rd. 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. Ripped off at the Panama Canal. like we're being ripped off everywhere else.

President-elect Donald Trump threatening to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the Central American passage. Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Arizona, Trump also said he would not let the canal fall into the wrong hands, warning of potential Chinese influence on the passage. During his term in office,

it was solely for Panama to manage not for China or any other country to manage it. In a recorded message, Panama's president, Jose Raul Molino, said that Panama's independence was non-negotiable and that China had no influence on the canal's administration. Molino's statement posted on X, saying every square meter of a Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama.

then responded to Molino, we'll see about that. Trump's comments are an exceedingly rare example of a US leader saying he could push a sovereign country to hand over territory. They also underline an expected shift in US diplomacy under Trump, who has not historically shied away from threatening allies and using bellicose rhetoric when dealing with counterparts. Striking Starbucks workers in California. The coffee chain's employees have expanded their strike

to four more cities, including New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and locations in New Jersey. That's according to Workers United, the union representing over 10,000 baristas. Initially, we intended to use this press conference to ask for the public's help in identifying and locating someone who we believe carried out one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being. And it took the life of an innocent New Yorker. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announcing the arrest of a man suspected of setting a woman on fire with a lighter, while she appeared to be asleep on the F-Train at the Coney Island Stillwell Avenue subway station.

Police say there was no interaction before the attack and they did not believe the two people knew each other. The victim has not yet been identified. Albania will shut down TikTok for a year after the killing of a teenager that has raised fears over the influence of social media on children. The decision comes after a 14-year-old boy was stabbed to death in November by a fellow student. Local media report that the incident followed arguments between the two on social media. Videos also surfaced on TikTok of minors supporting the stabbing. A bridge connecting two states in Brazil's north has collapsed, killing at least one person and spilling sulfuric acid into the Toccanthins River.

Authorities say the central span of the bridge gave way, plunging a tanker truck carrying the acid into the water. Honda and Nissan have agreed to explore a merger and set up a joint holding company, which would create the world's third largest automaker. It signals a massive shift in an industry under tremendous upheaval. The two companies would aim for combined sales of $191 billion to the potential merger, they said in a statement. The consolidation would create the world's third largest auto group by vehicle sales

after Toyota and Volkswagen, as legacy car makers face growing challenges from Tesla and Chinese rivals. Horror at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, after a car ploughed through crowds in an attack that killed five people and injured scores. The suspect faces multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. Rachel Moore in Berlin has the latest we know about him. So the suspect has been identified as a 50-year-old. man from Saudi Arabia, but he moved to Germany in 2006. What's interesting about him is that he doesn't fit the typical mould for an attack like this. He had worked to help Saudi Arabians who had turned their back on Islam to seek asylum in Europe. But what we can see from his social media

activity is that the man's political views were pretty radical. He has criticized Islam as a barbaric religion and he sided with far-right parties such as the alternative for Germany or AFD. He had also voiced his support for Elon Musk on ex-Musk's social media platform and had become increasingly frustrated with the German authorities. And what's been the reaction in Germany so far? Yeah, so what we should say for now is that the motive is still unclear. So there has been a lot of shock and grief in response to the attack. But there's also been a lot of debate online about the man's migrant background, about his political views. And this all comes at a time when German politics is already pretty deeply polarized. We are gearing up for snap elections here

in February. And the far right IFD, which the suspect had expressed support for online is polling in second place and hoping for its strongest result yet. So we've seen these scenes of mourning, but we've also seen the IFD trying to capitalize on some of the uncertainty around migration and security. We've also seen in Magdeburg itself far right protests. There were some scuffles on Saturday night, so they haven't been entirely peace and some of the protesters were calling for remigration, which is a term used on the far right to talk about the mass deportation of migrants and anyone who's not considered ethnically German. Across the United States, financially squeezed Americans are cutting their holiday booze spending.

That doesn't mean they're not getting a buzz, but they are changing their drinking habits. reporter Emma Romney has been looking at the new trends and what they mean for the spirits industry. So spirits wholesalers and bar owners told me that it hasn't changed that people kind of want to celebrate and go out and be together. They just have less cash in their wallets than they did a year or two ago. So difficult economic conditions like high inflation or squeezing people's incomes and they're just having to be a bit more careful about how much booze they buy or the type of booze they buy or where they buy it. And that means some kind of pricier types of liquor have seen consumers trade down into a slightly cheaper version, or bars and restaurants aren't seeing as many big bookings or people buying as many drinks as they did before. The months of October, November and December are some of the most critical for the industry because holiday gifting and celebrations tend to drive a lot more sales than usual. So big spirits producers said, you know, in the past, over the past year, that they have been trying to address these changes in Kashy.

consumer behaviour with, for example, discounts on promotions or promotions on struggling labels or by offering smaller pack sizes to make them more accessible. And then we know from some of the wholesalers that partner with the big spirits producers that they've also been working on better advertising on platforms like DoorDash, which should cater to people that are celebrating at home more. Given the importance of holiday sales, what impact is this having on the wider industry? For some people at least, it leaves a bit of a question mark over the major producer's key strategy, which is to get people paying more for the alcohol that they buy and get them graduating to more expensive types of alcohol or more expensive brands. And the recent US trading has left some people or some investors worrying that that strategy has kind of run out of steam or it can't deliver at the same rate that it used to.

And for today's recommended read, a story about Senegal's local toy makers who are experiencing a pre-Christmas demand boom. Mostly Muslim Senegal has a strong tradition of different religions embracing each other's holidays, and sellers are hoping to win a slice of the market with toys that reflect the country's culture. You can find a link to a story in the pod description. And don't forget to check out our weekend episode which landed on Saturday, all about weight loss drugs. 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 favourite podcast player

and we'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.