Reuters World News - US Houthi escalation, China’s shrinking population and Milei’s shock therapy in Davos

Episode Date: January 17, 2024

The United States is entering a new phase in its attacks against the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen. China’s population has fallen for a second year after it recorded a record low birth rate.  Argentina’s self-styled ‘anarcho-capitalist’ leader Javier Milei addresses the World Economic Forum at Davos. Plus, the Republican race moves to New Hampshire and a "subtle" ambulance approach for Defense Secretary Austin. Listen to our special episode on Davos 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, the US enters a new phase in its fight against the Houthis. Republicans turned their gaze to New Hampshire after Trump's seismic win in Iowa. Argentina's Javier Malay brings his anarcho-capitalism to Davos and why China's population keeps shrinking. It's Wednesday, January 17th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes. Every weekday. I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand. And I'm Tara Oaks in Liverpool.

The US is entering a new, potentially longer-lasting phase in its attacks against the Houthis in Yemen. In the latest strikes, the US hit anti-ship ballistic missiles, while the Houthis struck a Greek-owned vessel in the Red Sea. The Iran-backed militants say they're acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The Biden administration is expected to relist the Houthisdivist. as a specially designated global terror group. Phil Stewart is in Washington, D.C.

Phil, how is the U.S. strategy changing? What we saw on Tuesday was a big shift. The United States moved from having pre-selected targets that they thought would really impact the Houthi military capabilities to going after targets that they spotted at the moment. So striking missiles, in this case, anti-ship ballistic missiles that were preparing for launch into the Red Sea. The United States military saw those and they struck those in real time.

And so what we're seeing now is potentially a big shift that will allow for much more perpetual, dynamic targeting of the Houthis on an almost daily basis. And if that shift persists, we're absolutely going to see much more back and forth between the two sides. So what does that tell us? What I think Tuesday strikes tell us is that the United States is ready to keep striking in any territory as much as necessary in order to deal with the Houthi threat. And if that means doing it five times a week, they'll do it five times a week. If it means doing it twice a day, they'll do it twice a day. Why is the U.S. taking this approach? What happened to the Operation Prosperity Guardian coalition that the U.S. launched a month or so ago?

So I think what you saw back in December was a bunch of efforts by the United States to avoid getting to this point. And launching Operation Prosperity Guardian, which is a defensive alliance, was part of that effort. But what Biden and his administration perhaps didn't anticipate is that maybe the Houthis wanted a war with the United States. Maybe they anticipated that the United States would strike them, and they welcomed that fight. And I think that's the question the United States has right now. Is it fighting a war that the Houthis want? French President Emmanuel McCann, meanwhile, says France did not take part in the U.S.-led strikes on the Houthis to avoid a regional escalation.

He said France's approach in the Red Sea would remain defensive. France has, along with Qatar, broke it a deal with Israel and Hamas to get urgent medication to some 45 Israeli hostages in Gaza. In exchange, Palestinian civilians will get humanitarian aid, although it's not clear how much. Iran has launched airstrikes in Pakistan, targeting the militant group Jaish al-Adl. Pakistan said two children were killed and has warned the incident could have serious consequences. Can I ask that can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? An aide to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin requesting the ambulance picking up the Pentagon Chief on New Year's Day be a little subtle.

That's according to audio of a 911 call. obtained by Reuters. Austin's trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and subsequent hospitalization has kept secret for days, sparking political uproar. Republicans vying to be president now turned to New Hampshire's first in the nation primary. After Trump's sizable victory in Iowa, what might the more moderate state do to the dynamics of the presidential contest? National political correspondent James Oliphant is in Nashua, New Hampshire.

New Hampshire is going to be more of a challenge for Donald Trump than Iowa was, largely because of its demographics. It is a more moderate state, particularly in the southern part of the state, which is now sort of an extension of the Boston suburbs, a lot of affluent moderate Republicans, a lot of independence. And as we've seen in the past, Trump sometimes has struggled with highly educated, higher income voters. If he could break through with those, it would be a clear sign that he really is. on a glide path toward the nomination. That being said, that New Hampshire offers Nikki Haley, who is viewed as more moderate than Trump, a real opportunity,

probably her last real opportunity, to strike a significant blow to Trump and take away some of those voters. And if Trump does well here, it's conceivable that Haley or DeSantis could drop out, and the race could be over. On Tuesday, Trump celebrated his Iowa victory by attending jury selection

in the second defamation trial against him from writer E. Jean Carroll. Carol is accusing Trump of defaming her in 2019, by denying he attacked her in a Bergdorf-Gudman department store dressing room decades before. She's seeking at least $10 million in damages. Another jury last May ordered Trump to pay Carol $5 million for having sexually abused her during the encounter and defaming her in 2022 by denying that it happened. The judge overseeing both cases has ruled Carol's rape claim was substantially true. Argentina's self-styled anarcho capitalist leader Javier Millet will address the World Economic Forum in Davos later today.

Victoria Valdezay is in the media centre at the Swiss resort. Victoria, Millet has criticised Davos for having a socialist agenda, which is not something you hear every day about a gathering of billionaires and world leaders. What sort of reception will he get? His very, very inflammatory language and style shook political leaders while he was on the campaign trail, but he has broadly turned down that language since he took office in December. And markets and financiers, many of whom will be represented here today, have come across as keen to see whether his program of severe cuts might actually work. And he is also getting quite a prime slot here at the World Economic Forum, speaking alongside the founder, Klaus Schab.

So it'll be interesting to see how he presents himself. And he's also going to meet International Monetary Chief, Kristolina. Georgiava today. What is expected to come out of that meeting? So Argentina's in a long-lasting and severe economic crisis and it desperately needs to build up its hard currency reserves. And the government is currently relying on IMF disbursements to pay the fund back for the money that was lent earlier on. So it's quite a complex relationship. They gave Millet's plans a vote of confidence last week when they approved his review of their program and unlocked a new loan dispersment. So it's evident that they do think his plan could restore some stability. But the big question, which I imagine will be on

the agenda in their meeting today is how his reforms will go down with the public. How likely is it that it will be accepted by his people before they take any further steps? Over on markets, China's economy has investors spooked. Kamakrimands has more. Yes, China's economy is showing worrying signs of strain. GDP figures released for the final quarter of last year showed that the Chinese economy did grow over 5%, but it was helped by comparisons with the prior year when COVID had the economy on lockdown. Other days, show that the property crisis in China is deepening and retail sales growth is still slow. The bottom line is, the market thinks Beijing is going to have to do more to get the economy

motoring again. Excessitating the economic outlook is a record low birth rate. China's population has declined for a second year in a row. In Shanghai, even the well-heeled aren't convinced they can afford to get married and have children. Entrepreneur Jack Zhang said at a singles event that he was a single by choice, but by economic necessity. Nikoko Chan is in Beijing. Nikoko, what did the attendees say at this Shanghai singles event?

What was the vibe like? So people are a bit nervous, people are a bit shy. The people who we talk to all expressed their interest in getting married and as soon as possible, but there are a lot of barriers to getting married in China. The biggest is that there is a cultural prerequisite to owning a home before you get married and then subsequently have children. And housing in big Chinese cities is incredibly expensive. So a lot of the people who we talk to, they are ready to start a family. You know, they're ready to get married.

But they feel it's difficult because life in big cities is really expensive. How are attitudes to marriage changing in the wider population? I think there's two different components here. The first are people who are not interested in getting married. And then there's a second group of people who feel they can't afford to get married. I think for the second, it's a bit more straightforward. And this is where the government has more, I think, opportunity to try enact policies that can help these people, right? But I think that the other part of China's declining marriage rate is the disinterest in marriage. And that's a much more difficult problem for the government to address with a couple policies. So this would be the expectation for a woman to quit her job after she gets married and then to be a full-time caretaker for the children and also taking care of both sets of the parents. So I think between these two, it's really difficult for the marriage rate to improve in coming years. That's it for today's episode of Royce's World News.

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