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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to this Saturday's edition of the Weekend Briefing. We're monitoring developments in Gaza and the Middle East and keeping tabs on the rest of the world. Thanks for joining us.

Palestinians fleeing north Gaza move southward. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Israel faces pressure to protect Palestinian civilians

The latest: Israel faced mounting international pressure, including from its main ally the United States, to do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza as the death toll rose and fighting intensified near hospitals.
Loyalties: Israel's far-right minister for police has warned that internal Arab unrest could be sparked as it was during a previous Gaza war in 2021. But this has not been borne out. Asked if they feel part of the country, 70% of Arab Israelis polled said "yes," up from 48% in June, an Israel Democracy Institute poll showed. That's the highest result the pollsters have ever seen. Asked if they would leave Israel if offered an alternative Western citizenship, 59% said they would stay.

Germany's chancellor 'ashamed' at antisemitism wave

A poisoning of society: Speaking at a ceremony at a Berlin synagogue to mark "Kristallnacht," the night in 1938 when Nazi mobs rampaged across Germany and Austria against Jews, Olaf Scholz said Berlin would not tolerate anti-Jewish hatred. Activists have seen a rise in antisemitism in Germany since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and Israel's retaliation.
France and abroad: A teenager was arrested and is under investigation for assault after kicking a rabbi in the back in the Paris Metro. French prosecutors are investigating whether two Moldovans who admitted to daubing Stars of David on the walls of Parisian properties did so at the behest of someone abroad, the Paris prosecutor said on Tuesday. And in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned recent violence as unacceptable after shots were fired at two Jewish schools in Montreal.

Portugal PM quits, president calls snap elections

Costa cutting: Portugal will hold a snap parliamentary election on March 10, its second in as many years after Prime Minister António Costa, credited with reviving a moribund economy, resigned over accusations that members of his entourage were implicated in a corruption investigation. Voters and analysts fear prolonged political instability as the economic outlook worsens.
The reign in Spain: Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez likely will get another term in office after securing the backing of two more regional parties, but it comes amid widespread anger over his pledge of amnesty for Catalan separatists.

We're making things hotter

Records: This year is "virtually certain" to be the warmest in 125,000 years, European Union scientists said, after data showed last month was the world's hottest October in that period. The EU separately agreed to pass a fiercely contested law to restore degraded natural ecosystems, salvaging measures some lawmakers had campaigned to kill off.
COP28: Business will be central to the success of the global climate talks, and companies need to back up their environmental and social pledges with action and money, said Badr Jafar, president of Crescent Petroleum and member of the advisory committee for this year's climate talks in Dubai.

Before I forget…

President Joe Biden will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping face-to-face for the first time in a year at the APEC Summit in San Francisco next week.

The executive director of Israeli media-advocacy group HonestReporting said he accepted as "adequate" statements by Reuters, the AP, CNN and The New York Times that they had no previous knowledge of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

Myanmar's junta is facing its biggest test since its coup as it loses ground to a rebel alliance.

Britain's home minister Suella Braverman is taking flak from people living homeless and in tents on the streets after calling it a lifestyle choice. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to fire Braverman for attacking the police's handling of a pro-Palestinian march set for this weekend.

Our Saturday edition of the World News podcast features reporter Marisa Taylor, who documented more than 600 injuries of SpaceX workers since 2014. Employees say they're paying the price for Elon Musk's relentless push to colonize Mars at breakneck speed.

Lloyd's of London will invest nearly $50 million in regions affected by the transatlantic slave trade after a report showed the commercial-insurance market had strong links to it.

Freedom fries for our times: Turkish parliament dumped Coke and Nestlé offerings from its restaurants' menus over alleged Israel support.

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