US-South Korea military exercises, Taliban and typhoon simulators

Hi, I'm Kim Vanell, in Wanganui, New Zealand. It's Monday, August 17th. Today. Trump tells South Korea he's scaling back joint military exercises after Seoul refused to act against Iran. The Taliban tells the international community they're here to stay after five years in power. And a typhoon simulator in China batters people with 100 mile an hour winds and flash flooding in an attempt to prepare for the next big disaster. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes, 7 days a week. US President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South Korea, which get underway today. The move raises fresh questions about America's alliance with its longtime ally. In his announcement on social media, Trump cites both the cost of the drills and Seoul's refusal to take part in actions against Iran. He also says the drills send a signal that is, quote, totally inappropriate and hostile to a country that has, for as long as he has been president, been unthreatening and respectful, talking about North Korea. Here's what his Korea bureau chief, Brenda Goe. And that Trump, the relationship has seemed to become a lot more transactional. This is not the first time actually that Trump has said that he wants to reduce these joint military exercises with South Korea. He has talked also about troop reduction in South Korea. And also he has asked South Korea to invest more in the US in exchange for reducing tariffs. So the Iran war is, I guess, one of the newer issues, Trump said in his post that South Korea had declined to join his denuclearization of Iran, which we all have analysts are saying could be, it seems to be the main trigger point for this move. There's a lot of, there's been a lot of like reading a tease on what Trump has, it aims to with this abrupt statement, because Trump has since coming back to power has been seeking another meeting with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, who he met many three times during his first term. Some analysts say that Trump might be doing this in order to gain some leverage against Russia and China, who North Korea has grown very close to, because North Korea has grown more hostile towards South Korea, and he wants to try and balance this a little. South Korea says it hopes it can help restart talks with North Korea, and that Seoul will do whatever it can to help make that happen, while also staying locked in with the US militarily. US envoy for Gaza, Jared Kushner, is due to sit down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. The pair are at odds, with Netanyahu announcing last week that US President Trump's latest roadmap for peace in Gaza is unacceptable, and Kushner in the region to try and get it across the line. On Sunday, Kushner met with Egypt's president, Abdul Fata Al-Sisi, as well as Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari mediators, and some Hamas officials, in an attempt to advance Trump's Gaza plans. That's according to a diplomatic source, who says Israel is particularly concerned about Washington's demand to end targeted assassinations of Hamas militants in Gaza, as the group rebuilds its forces. To mark it now, and the Fed's July meeting minutes are out this week, as investors look for clues on the path of interest rates, plus a wave of major retail earnings, including Walmart and Target. For more on the week here, here's Mike Dolan from our sister podcast Morning Bid. Yeah, we can deepen the weeds of the summer holiday season, but there is something still on the calendar. We have, we come into the week with a pretty week US retail sales report for July that came out on Friday, and so we'll look very closely at Walmart and Home Depot's and Target. In fact, they have earnings results out during the week, just for a reality check on that through the second quarter. And then we have the Fed's minutes of its most recent policy-making meeting, which will be interesting because that was a split meeting, three Fed policy makers voted to raise interest rates of that. And so we'll look through the details just to see if there's any indication about thinking going into the September meeting, which, given the softness of the retail numbers and inflation last week, means that it's less likely now to see a rate rise then. Thanks, Mike. You can catch Morning Bid wherever you get your podcasts. This weekend marked five years since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan. During that time, the Taliban have imposed sweeping restrictions on women and girls, barring millions from education and limiting their freedom of movement. International organizations say the Taliban have struggled to address the natural and humanitarian crises facing the country, in part because Afghan women are under severe restrictions. But analysts say the Taliban have made quiet diplomatic inroads, as some countries weigh the need to engage with the government. Rick Noak is our bureau chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, based in Islamabad. They're still internationally unrecognized. Russia is the only country that has formally recognized them as a government, but a lot of countries are starting to realize that five years into this government being in place, they might not have another option then to try to deal with them. And that's what we're seeing happening, obviously neighboring countries like China, Pakistan, were the first to engage. We've seen Gulf countries engage with them as well about economic issues, and increasingly we're seeing European nations talking to them as well about deportation of Afghans. On the weekend, the government held a parade celebrating what it calls "Victory Day" from Western domination. And Rick says the Taliban wants to spread that message far and wide. What was special this year was really that they were trying to make a point of, you know, we're here to stay and they've been organizing events in other cities as well, outside the country, for example, here in Islamabad, but also in China, in Malaysia, even, to really drive home that point that if you want to, if you want to do anything in Afghanistan these days, you do need to engage with us. Hundreds of migrants in Spain's North African enclave of theater stage a protest on a popular beach, urging authorities to grant them asylum instead of sending them back to Morocco. They're among the thousands left in theater after a mass crossing two weeks ago, which saw some 72,000 people surge across the border. The vast majority of them have since returned voluntarily. Spain's interior minister says those who crossed illegally will not be allowed to stay, travel to the mainland, or obtain legal status, except in rare cases of extreme vulnerability. China is looking for ways to protect itself after Typhoon Dolphin hit the country last week. It's strongest this year. One way people are trying to prepare is by attending a Typhoon Simulator experience, think 100-mile-an-hour winds, torrential rain, and surging water. Royce's video journalist, Nicoco Chan, tried it out in a hung out. That was 900 tons of water, super strong. Dressed in wet suits and hard hats, participants experience gale-force winds and torrential rain. Then, in the flash flooding segment, they wade through 400 tons of water. During our flash flood training, we are standing in a pan, washing the floodwater's rise, waiting for the gates to open in a brace position. And yet, are still going to get knocked down and dragged away. This really teaches you that if you're ever in this type of situation, the best form of protection and preparation is to really be more aware of your surroundings and maybe not even be outside to begin with. These types of trainings really just teach you not to be overconfident when you're approaching after disasters. Sometimes when you're watching from a distance, typhoon-force winds, rising floodwaters, they don't not seem so strong. But when you're actually experiencing them firsthand, you quickly realize how severely you've underestimated them. American actress Hayden Panatier has died at the age of 36. US media outlets have cited a statement from the father of the heroes in Nashville star, calling her an incredible light and a force of nature. No cause of death has been reported. Opening statements begin today in the murder trial of the Wayne Kiffedee Davis, the former gang leader accused of orchestrating the 1996 drive-by-shooting that killed Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas. Davis, who is 63, has pleaded not guilty to a single count of murder. Finally. If you're listening to this, you know the value of staying ahead of the news. So just a quick reminder, with the Reuters app, you can do all of it. Listen and watch Reuters podcasts, get analysis, breaking news, and all the stories shaping our world, all in one place. There's a link in the description to download the Reuters app, and start getting pure news straight from the source. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast player. If you're listening on a smart speaker, just ask for the latest news from Reuters seven days a week. We'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.