Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to a busy Saturday. India is in the last phase of voting in its huge general election, South African voters are close to ending three decades of dominance by the party that freed the nation from apartheid, Volodymyr Zelenskiy is rustling up support for Ukraine at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, and our World News podcast focuses on Ukraine's eastern front line, where life is "worse than hell."

New York City, May 31, 2024. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Trump says he will appeal the conviction that made him a felon

Now: The former president will have to wait until his July 11 sentencing date to take that step, though any sentence likely would be suspended until the appeals process plays out. Some Trump supporters reacted to his guilty verdict in the Stormy Daniels hush-money trial by calling for attacks on jurors, the execution of the judge or outright civil war and armed insurrection.
November: The ultimate judgment will of course come on Election Day, and America's voters have mixed feelings about voting for a felon. Breakingviews columnist Gabriel Rubin writes that the rich backers who are standing by him show that collective greed is on trial. As for President Biden, he is bleeding support among voters without college degrees, our analysis of Reuters/IPSOS polling data shows.

Biden details Gaza truce proposal

Details: A six-week ceasefire would see Israel withdraw from "all populated areas" of Gaza, Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian civilians could return and 600 trucks a day would bring in humanitarian aid. Hamas and Israel would negotiate terms of a permanent ceasefire in the second phase, and Gaza reconstruction would begin in the third. Hamas said it was open to talking, while Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israel would not agree to a permanent ceasefire until Hamas' military and governing capabilities were destroyed.
Politics: The party of Benny Gantz proposed a bill to dissolve parliament, and Gantz said he would quit Netanyahu's wartime unity government unless the prime minister came up with a clear strategy for Gaza once the war ends. The latest opinion poll showing strong support for Netanyahu complicates his plans.

Hotter Than July

Deadly weather: High temperatures are killing people in India, while the government said a record-high 52.9 Celsius (127.2 Fahrenheit) reading from Delhi was off by 3 degrees because of a sensor error. (We don't know which direction, but it was likely too high.) It would have been the first time the capital had crossed the 50-degree mark. High temperatures continue to hit southern Pakistan, including Karachi, while further north, forest fires raged near Islamabad. In the western hemisphere, Cuba is preparing for a hot summer and Caribbean islands worry about a busy hurricane season.
Profit > climate: Exxon Mobil's chairman and lead director won investor support for reelection despite opposition from activist shareholders concerned about climate change. As Chairman Darren Woods said, their agenda is "not consistent with growing shareholder value." Saudi energy giant Aramco will offer up to $13.1 billion in shares on the open market, and investors will need to weigh environmental concerns against rich payouts. And OPEC+ could announce a plan this Sunday to extend oil-production cuts into next year.

The clothes make the management strategy

Scenes from a mall: Gap raised its sales forecast in a signal that its turnaround strategy that relies on newer styles is working. Abercrombie & Fitch raised its forecast for the same reason. On the other side of the food court, American Eagle missed its quarterly sales estimates, Benetton is planning a restructuring, Kohl's reported a surprise loss, and Nordstrom did not raise its annual revenue and profit forecasts, which took a bite out of its share price.
Burgers, booze and a bowl of soup: McDonald's top U.S. executive complained about viral reports of runaway prices after a franchise in Darien, Connecticut, sold $18 Big Mac combo meals. Diageo convinced a U.S. appeals court to uphold a ban on W.J. Deutsch's Redemption whiskey bottles, which the liquor giant said were confusingly similar to its Bulleit bourbon bottles. And Campbell Soup is cutting 415 jobs as it closes one factory and reduces the size of another.

Before I forget…

The U.S. allowed Ukraine to use its weapons to strike targets inside Russia that were attacking Kharkiv. Thousands of Ukrainian prisoners applied to join the army in return for parole.

Sudan's people are at imminent risk of famine, U.N. agencies said, while the army rejected a U.S. call to return to peace talks.

'My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not.' U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito rejected two Democratic senators' requests to recuse himself from cases involving Donald Trump's bid for immunity from prosecution and the Jan. 6 Capitol attack because of the contentious flags flown outside his homes.

Greek authorities confiscated more than 240 pounds of cocaine hidden in a container with frozen squid.

Regulations to cut sulfur-dioxide pollution from shipping fuel were supposed to be a good thing. Now it turns out that they might be leading to the reduction of cloud cover, causing record warm ocean-water temperatures.

British supermarket operator Tesco is using lasers to etch product information on some of its avocados in an effort to cut plastic use by eliminating those annoying little stickers.

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