Saturday, February 18, 2023

Intro: Thanks for joining us for the weekend shift, where we're featuring developments in Ukraine and Turkey, a farewell to Portugal's golden visa, and more.

A Ukrainian sniper fires on the front line of Bakhmut, February 17, 2023. REUTERS/Yevhen Titov

Ukrainian troops holding Bakhmut line demand weapons

The latest: Ukraine is planning a spring counter-offensive, for which it wants more, heavier and longer-range weapons. The call came as western leaders met in Munich to assess the war.
Prognostications: As the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion nears, President Zelenskiy predicted that Moldova was next on Vladimir Putin's list, as well as "all the other states that at some point in time were part of the Soviet bloc." Visit our website for developments.

Turkey earthquake death toll passes 45,000

Outrage: Survivors were still emerging from flattened homes, defying all odds. Water is in short supply and disease is a threat. Anger is growing over what Turks see as corrupt building practices and deeply flawed urban developments.
Geopolitics in the ruins: Syria's president Bashar al-Assad allowed earthquake aid to enter rebel-held territory where survivors have been left almost entirely to themselves. Analysts are confident that he will want something in return.

India goes to bat for Adani

Supporting the home team: India's government told the Supreme Court that a panel should investigate the "truthfulness or otherwise" of the research report that shot a hole in the Adani Group. Smriti Irani, minister for women and child development, attacked George Soros for saying Modi's and Gautam Adani's fates are intertwined, as did foreign minister S. Jaishankar.
Press the press: Indian tax officials paid an unwelcome visit to the BBC, while the U.S. tries to sell Indian military leaders on fighter jets in a bid to turn Delhi away from Russia, its traditional military supplier.

'We're not looking for a new cold war'

Floating a meeting: Joe Biden said he expects to speak with Xi Jinping about the balloon that the U.S. shot down, as the search for other objects that fighter jets downed was called off. U.S.-China diplomatic communications remain open, military comms do not.
Invasion of the headline snatchers: The White House said there was no indication of aliens or extraterrestrial activity. We had to ask.

The Man Who Drew Too Much

Executive Pay: Compensation for S&P 500 CEOs has soared in recent years even as investors have made their dissatisfaction clear. Still, a new report suggests that shareholder votes can in fact limit high pay.
Diminishing returns: That should make for some interesting conversation as U.S. companies' earnings woes are likely to extend beyond the weak fourth quarter. Another report says activist investors are likely to push companies to focus on short-term profit-margin success over investing in business growth.

Before I forget…

Protests rocked Iran after a slowdown in recent weeks, while demonstrations against austerity measures in Suriname turned violent. North Korea fired a long-range missile as South Korea and the U.S. planned drills. Kosovo and Serbia remain on a medium simmer. New Zealand's death toll from cyclone Gabrielle is expected to rise. A grand jury says witnesses in the Donald Trump election-meddling probe in Georgia might have lied under oath. Nikki Haley will challenge her former boss for the GOP presidential nomination as far-right Republican groups surge in Michigan. Trump's lawyer in the classified-documents probe hired his own lawyer.

Members of the Portuguese Catholic Church sexually abused more than 4,800 children over the past 70 years. Speaking of Portugal, say goodbye to the golden visa. Israel's Christians say they're the target of growing harassment. A Dutch World War Two archive will name suspected Nazi collaborators online. A security guard at the British embassy in Berlin was sentenced to 13 years in prison for sharing sensitive data with a Russian attaché. And it's been a miserable week for German commercial aviation.

We're around all weekend, so check back often at our homepage.

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