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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

I feel like I haven't seen you all in a month! Actually, I haven't. Happy new year to all of you and welcome back to the Weekend Briefing. We're following the latest events in the Middle East, from Gaza to Iran to the Red Sea, and more besides. Thanks for joining us.

Mourners gather in Beirut during the funeral of deputy head of Hamas Saleh al-Arouri. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Heavy fire from Lebanon targets northern Israel

The latest: The Israeli military said it responded by striking a "terrorist cell" that took part in the attack, as top U.S. and European diplomats sought to stop spillover from the Gaza war. Tensions have been high since Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed by a drone in the suburbs of Beirut, an attack widely attributed to Israel. And as the Gaza conflict nears the three-month milestone, Israelis, Palestinians and Americans are talking more openly about what comes once the war is over.
Detour: Maersk is diverting all container vessels from the Red Sea route connecting Asia to Europe toward the much longer route around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope, while Hapag Lloyd tallied a big increase in the cost of diverting ships. Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen are attacking vessels in the region to show their support for Hamas, a move likely to increase costs and delays in goods for businesses and consumers.

Alaska Airlines grounds Boeing 737 MAX 9 for checks after blowout

Midair: Alaska Airlines will temporarily ground its fleet of 65 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after a cabin-panel blowout forced a jetliner loaded with passengers to make an emergency landing. "This is a very, very serious situation and it could have been a lot worse," air-safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said. "If someone had been sitting in that seat, and they weren't buckled in, it would have been a different situation."
Tokyo: Investigators sought to retrieve the cockpit voice recorder of a Japan Airlines plane to discover what caused its deadly collision with a Coast Guard aircraft supplying relief to victims of an earthquake earlier this week. Have a look at this analysis of how modern carbon-composite airplanes cope with a catastrophic fire. Some people describe the evacuation of 379 passengers and crew from the JAL flight as miraculous. Leaving hand luggage behind, just like they always tell us to do, appears to have been essential.

Iran arrests 11 suspects over bomb blasts

Revenge: Iranian security forces detained two people for providing support to the two suicide bombers in Kerman who killed nearly 100 people at a memorial service for General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in Iraq in 2020 by a U.S. drone. Authorities said nine others were arrested as well.
Removal: Iraq is beginning the process to remove the U.S.-led international military coalition from the country. The announcement comes a day after the U.S. military killed a militia leader in Baghdad whom it blamed for recent attacks on U.S. personnel. Iraq's government condemned the move.

US Supreme Court to hear Trump appeal of Colorado ballot disqualification

Swift: The Colorado case thrusts the Supreme Court into the unprecedented and politically fraught effort by his detractors to invalidate former President Donald Trump's campaign to reclaim the White House. Trump filed his appeal on Wednesday. The justices indicated they would fast-track a decision, scheduling oral arguments for Feb. 8. The Colorado Republican primary is scheduled for March 5.
Fighting words: Biden warned of the former president's threat to democracy nearly three years after Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep the former president in power, and his words represent a pitch for his suitability for a second term in office over bringing Trump back for a second try. Trump hit back. And here's a good chaser of a story on Biden when he goes off script, something that happens fairly often.

Before I forget…

National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre resigned days before a corruption trial involving the group begins. New York Attorney General Letitia James in 2020 sued the NRA, accusing it of diverting millions of dollars to fund luxuries for top officials.

Violent scenes long familiar to Ukrainians from 22 months of war are now playing out in Belgorod, one of Russia's own cities. Russia hit Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea for the first time during its invasion, a senior Kyiv official said. And Vladimir Putin is offering citizenship to foreigners who fight for Russia, even as Nepal stopped issuing permits to its citizens to work in Russia and Ukraine after at least 10 Nepali Gurkhas were killed while serving in the Russian army.

The late financier Jeffrey Epstein invoked his constitutional right against incriminating himself about 600 times in testimony for a lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual abuse.

Azerbaijan appointed its ecology and natural resources minister Mukhtar Babayev as the president of the COP29 meeting to be held in Baku in November. This continues a contentious trend of choosing people with deep ties to the oil and gas industry helming U.N. climate talks.

What else can Wegovy and Ozempic treat beyond diabetes and excess weight? Tests are in progress to see whether GLP-1 drugs are effective for chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, sleep apnea and plenty more.

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