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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Kate Turton

Welcome to the weekend. I'm covering for Robert as he takes a well-deserved break. We look at the week that was and what, potentially, lies ahead.

Supporters of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of Turkey's main opposition alliance, ahead of the May 14 elections, in Bursa, May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

Turkey's momentous election

After 23 years, will Erdogan go quietly?: While his rival is confident of victory, saying gains in Turkish assets on Thursday indicated markets believe his alliance will win on Sunday, questions remain about Erdogan's response if his party loses. The Reuters World News podcast discusses all that's at stake in this election.
Russian election meddling?: As Turkey prepares to vote on Sunday President Tayyip Erdogan's rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, shown to have a narrow lead in the polls, has accused Russia of a deep fake campaign following the circulation of doctored videos.

Ukraine downplays counteroffensive talk

Russia in retreat: Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Ukraine's battlefield city of Bakhmut after a new Ukrainian offensive, in a retreat that the head of Russia's Wagner private army called a rout.
Counteroffensive loading: Moscow sees Bakhmut as a stepping-stone to attacking other Ukrainian cities. Kyiv has said that maintaining the defense of Bakhmut allows Ukraine's military to prepare an expected counteroffensive. Both sides are now reporting the biggest Ukrainian gains in six months.

Covid emergency ends, asylum ban begins

Border uncertainty: The US ended Title 42, the COVID-19 border restrictions that blocked many migrants at the border with Mexico. The restrictions were immediately replaced by a sweeping new asylum regulation that is meant to deter illegal crossings.
End of Title 42 raises more questions: Several last-minute court actions added confusion to how the new border policies will play out. Just before Title 42 was set to expire at midnight on May 11, immigration advocates filed a legal challenge to the new asylum bars. Faced with the tougher US policy, many migrant in Mexico are pinning their hopes on the US asylum app.

Debt ceiling fight rumbles on

Crisis meeting postponed: A debt limit meeting between US President Joe Biden and top lawmakers scheduled for Friday was postponed, and the leaders agreed to meet early next week. US consumer sentiment slumped to a six-month low in May on worries that political haggling over raising the federal government's borrowing cap could trigger a recession.
A risk to global economy: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said there was still uncertainty about exactly when Treasury would run out of cash to pay US government debts. British finance minister Jeremy Hunt said it would be "absolutely devastating" if the US failed to reach agreement to raise its debt ceiling.

Pakistan court orders Khan release

Khan granted bail: A Pakistani court ordered former Prime Minister Imran Khan's release on bail for two weeks, his lawyer said on Friday. Khan departed the court premises, headed towards his hometown Lahore, amidst high security. The one-time cricket star's arrest on Tuesday ignited deadly protests and a tussle with the military.
Who was behind the arrest?: Created by military dictator late General Pervez Musharraf and currently headed by a retired general, Pakistan's powerful anti-graft agency that arrested Khan in a land fraud case has a mandate to end corruption in the country.

Before I forget...

In the US, a former Marine who killed a homeless man on the New York City subway was taken into custody at a police precinct and was expected to be arraigned on a manslaughter charge. A viral video of the incident on the F train, sparked a fierce debate among New Yorkers.

As striking Hollywood writers protest working conditions, some are seeking more than a new labor contract. They are also looking for love on the picket lines. Single members of the Writers Guild of America gathered outside the Universal Studios lot this week for a combination of picketing and a dating mixer that later moved to a taco eatery.

Elsewhere, the US envoy to South Africa said he was confident that a Russian ship had picked up weapons in South Africa last year, in a possible breach of Pretoria's declared neutrality in the Ukraine conflict. South Africa denies approving any arms shipment to Russia.

Thailand goes to the polls on Sunday to elect 500 members for its House of Representatives. A rising force ahead of the election is Thailand's youth party Move Forward, which has adopted many of the positions from the student-led protests that rocked the country three years ago.

A Chinese woman fighting for fertility rights hopes her battle will end the stigma of single motherhood. Under current guidelines, China bars single women from freezing their eggs, with assisted reproductive technologies only available to married women with fertility issues. While back in the US, nine Black pregnant women and new mothers spoke to Reuters for a special report, and discussed feeling unseen and unheard at times.

And finally, one of our top stories this week was a special report on how El Chapo's sons built a fentanyl empire that is now poisoning America.

Robert will be back at the reins next Saturday, thanks for reading.

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