Welcome to another Saturday with me and the weekend crew. Before you dive into the rest of today’s briefing, read our report on the slow pace of U.S. police reform since the death of George Floyd four years ago.
Rafah, Gaza Strip, May 24, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
From the week: A court prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense chief and three Hamas leaders over alleged war crimes. Here’s what that means for Netanyahu and for Hamas.
In a word? “Phony.” That’s according to Ukraine’s foreign minister. In more words? “Putin currently has no desire to end his aggression against Ukraine,” he said. A source told Reuters that no agreement would happen while Volodymyr Zelenskiy remains Ukraine’s head of state, unless Russia strikes a separate deal with Washington. Hours after this story ran, Putin took public potshots at Zelenskiy’s legitimacy.
Dirty business: Ukraine’s top anti-corruption officer suspended his chief deputy while investigators probe a suspected leak inside the agency. Cleaning up graft and proving it can uphold rule of law are two priorities as Ukraine seeks EU membership and investment to help rebuild. And in Russia, an army official and a procurement official at the defense ministry were arrested in a widening bribery scandal. On a separate note, what’s going on between Russia and Estonia?
‘We’re looking at that’: Donald Trump’s comments to KDKA News in Pittsburgh about possible restrictions on the right of people to use contraception – including states’ varying policies on the morning-after pill – generated a great deal of heat. He later wrote an all-caps response on his Truth Social platform: “I HAVE NEVER, AND WILL NEVER ADVOCATE IMPOSING RESTRICTIONS ON BIRTH CONTROL.”
Lobster in the red: A certain restaurant chain with a crustacean in its name is investigating the role its majority owner played in its “endless shrimp” promotion that caused $11 million in losses.
Argentina’s president Javier Milei is getting a lesson in state spending and what happens when you “chainsaw” through it. He’s enrolled many of his fellow citizens in the same class, to their regret.
How far right do you have to go to alienate your fellow right-wingers? Germany’s Maximilian Krah found out after saying that the Nazi SS “were not all criminals.”
Former British Post Office boss Paula Vennells sobbed after telling a public inquiry the wrongful convictions of hundreds of postmasters were caused by errors, not conspiracy.
Here’s the latest list of people not planning to leave the United States if Donald Trump wins the White House: Anthony Fauci, George Soros, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and my mother. We know the first four from the Reuters Fact Check team. The other comes from a reliable source, but as they say, I should check on that.
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