Russia and Ukraine: Two Hours That Didn’t Shake the World

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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Thanks for joining me for the Weekend Briefing. Moody's cut its credit rating for the U.S. by a notch. It was the last major agency to maintain its triple-A rating on U.S. sovereign debt. Poland, Portugal and Romania hold elections this weekend. Our World News Podcast digs into Elon Musk's celestial ambitions for SpaceX. The latest edition of City Memo takes us to Los Angeles. And we have a story from Uruguay that you'll want to read: Hundreds of people invested in cattle in what they thought would be a safe bet. Now, nobody can find the cows – or their money.

Russia and Ukraine meet low expectations in Istanbul

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

Ultimatums, conditions and non-starters: The first direct peace talks between the warring countries lasted less than two hours and made no progress. A Ukrainian source described Moscow's demands, including ceding territory, as "detached from reality." The head of Russia's delegation said they were satisfied with the talks and are ready to continue. A Russian drone struck a bus in Sumy hours later, killing nine people.
Jail and espionage: A Russian prosecutor requested six years in prison for the co-chair of an independent monitoring group that has criticized the conduct of Russian elections. A London court sentenced the leader of a British-based Russian spy ring to 11 years in prison. Hungary canceled a meeting with Ukraine on minority rights after the countries accused one another of spying. Some 150,000 ethnic Hungarians live in western Ukraine.

Deadly Israeli strikes pound Gaza

New offensive: Israel's air force killed 58 Palestinians overnight into Saturday, bringing the death count to more than 146 in 24 hours. President Trump acknowledged the need for aid. The U.N. said considering the U.S. proposal to deliver that aid was a waste of time. Israel's government maintained a diplomatic silence on Trump's big visit to the Middle East despite his announcements that have shaken Israeli assumption's about its standing with the U.S.
About that trip: Trump held whirlwind meetings with leaders in the Gulf aimed at securing financial commitments from wealthy energy producers that could boost the U.S. economy and create jobs. And what about that 747 from Qatar that Trump wants to use as the new Air Force One? Experts say it will need one huge retrofit to qualify. As for Trump's announcement that he would lift all sanctions on Syria, sources say it caught his administration off guard.

Supreme Court denies U.S. deportations under wartime law

No endorsement: The court in a brief and unsigned opinion faulted the Trump administration for seeking to remove Venezuelan migrants without adequate legal process. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas publicly dissented. The justices have not signaled any endorsement of Trump's order to restrict birthright citizenship. Employees and customers criticized Avelo Airlines for contracting with the Trump administration to operate deportation flights.
8647: Trump accused former FBI Director James Comey of calling for his assassination in a coded social-media post. Comey said he did not know some people associated those numbers with violence. Trump is twinning his birthday celebration with the Army's 250th anniversary, and is bringing as many as 25 Abrams tanks to the streets of Washington to celebrate.

Novo Nordisk drops some major weight

CEO out: The maker of Wegovy ousted Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen over concerns that it's losing its first-mover advantage in the obesity-drug market. Novo cut its sales and profit forecasts for the first time since launching Wegovy. Analysts and investors said Jorgensen should have stayed on. In other big business news, Walmart said tariffs will force it to raise prices. And we set the scene for what other major retailers expect to report next week in their quarterly results.
Tough climate: Republicans in the House of Representatives proposed killing the electric-vehicle tax credit and repealing fuel-efficiency rules. They also want to scrap a 30% federal tax credit for taxpayers who install rooftop solar panels. Democratic lawmakers criticized the chiefs of top finance companies for leaving global coalitions devoted to fighting climate change.

Before I forget…

Mexico's powerful security cabinet is investigating the murder of Valeria Márquez, the 23-year-old beauty influencer who was killed during a video livestream on TikTok. Victim-blaming has begun.
The UN is investigating ICC prosecutor Karim Khan over alleged sexual misconduct. Khan, who denies the allegations, has temporarily stepped down.
How do you like that? Tajikistan decriminalized 'liking' social-media posts deemed extremist. More than 1,500 people have been jailed for this, official figures show.
Creative naming: India rejected China's move to rename places in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing says is within its sovereignty.
Germany arrested four members of a banned radical group that is part of a broader movement that considers the modern state a façade and whose adherents say they are citizens of a monarchy that has been defunct for more than 100 years.

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