‘You didn’t say thank you’

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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Thanks for joining me on the weekend shift and for reading today's edition of the Briefing. We're watching developments after Volodymyr Zelenskiy's fiery meeting with Donald Trump and JD Vance, and monitoring the health of Pope Francis. Our World News podcast prepares us for Oscars night on Sunday. And in today's edition of City Memo, our bureau chief Maha El Dahan takes us to Dubai.

Trump-Zelenskiy shouting match leaves Ukraine exposed in war with Russia

REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Meltdown: Volodymyr Zelenskiy's meeting with Donald Trump ended in disaster after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary shouting match before the world's media at the White House over the war with Russia. Trump and Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskiy of disrespect after urging him toward a diplomatic solution with Russia. They did not sign a deal on developing Ukraine's mineral resources that Kyiv hoped would spur Trump to back Ukraine's war effort. Russians reacted with glee. Ukrainians rallied around their man. Read more about Vance's big flex in his role as Trump's attack dog.
Speak my language: The U.S. has never had an official language at the federal level. Trump plans to make it English. Foreign-aid groups asked the Supreme Court to make the administration pay for work they've done. A second appeals court upheld an injunction against Trump's order to end birthright citizenship. A federal judge blocked the administration from ordering federal agencies to fire thousands of recently hired employees. And Elon Musk is annoying Trump's allies.

Myanmar scam-center victims stuck

Filthy conditions: Hundreds of foreigners were rescued from online scam centers in Myanmar. Now they're stuck in a camp on the Thai border with overflowing toilets and little food or healthcare. They have no way to leave. Thailand sent 40 Uyghurs held for a decade back to China, where U.N. human-rights experts say they face the risk of torture. The Thai deputy premier said Bangkok should be commended.
China's foreign affairs: Four Chinese nationals detained on accusations of espionage in the Philippines donated cash to a Philippine city and vehicles to two police forces. Australia pledged to remain Vanuatu's largest aid donor as China gains influence and makes military maneuvers in the South Pacific. Back home, a Chinese company withdrew its requirement that employees marry or be fired. And television and vacuum-cleaner makers are going nuts over DeepSeek AI.

People aren't buying enough stuff

Not sold on it: U.S. consumer spending fell for the first time in two years in January, while the goods trade deficit widened to a record high as business front-loaded imports to avoid Trump's tariffs. Unilever surprised its CEO by firing him as he tried to improve the consumer group's wan performance. One big problem for Unilever: People don't want to eat plants made to taste like animals. Just ask Beyond Meat.
DEI latest: The FCC is investigating Verizon over its diversity practices. Trump urged Apple to end its DEI policies a day after shareholders voted overwhelmingly to keep them. Goldman Sachs isn't waiting to be asked; it dropped the entire section on diversity and inclusion from its annual filing. And speaking of tariffs, Canada and Mexico sought to show Trump evidence of progress in curbing the flow of fentanyl opioids into the U.S. ahead of a Monday deadline for 25% tariffs on their imports.

Before I forget…

- Jamaica gained independence from Britain in 1962, but retains Charles as its head of state. The government presented a bill to ditch the king, but some critics want even more changes.
- Here's something I never thought I'd see: The jailed Abdullah Ocalan called for his outlawed Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK, to disarm and disband. The Kurdish YPG, the spearhead of the key U.S. ally against Islamic State in Syria, said the call did not apply to them. Turkey sees the YPG as an extension of the PKK.
- New FBI director Kash Patel might bring in trainers from the Ultimate Fighting Championship to improve agents' martial arts and self-defense skills. Some agents called the idea surreal and wacky, two sources said.
- Hungary's annual Budapest Pride parade should be held as an event in a "closed venue" this year, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said. Gergely Gulyas said it was for "child protection."
- A Chilean mother was reunited with her daughter who was taken from her and sent abroad for adoption during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship four decades ago.
- And while I have you, why not subscribe to our daily markets newsletters: Morning Bid U.S. by Mike Dolan and Trading Day by Jamie McGeever. Mike and Jamie offer insights and analysis to help make sense of financial markets and the trends that shape them. And we will have a new markets and finance-commentary "vertical," as the cool kids call them, coming this spring.

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