Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. We have the latest on Alexei Navalny's death, updates from the Middle East, and a weekend World News podcast episode on the consequences of Washington's fight over the $95 billion military-aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

People lay flowers at the monument to victims of political repression in Moscow to honor the memory of Alexei Navalny. REUTERS/Stringer

Navalny's death leaves Russian opposition with no figurehead

Analysis: Alexei Navalny was the most formidable leader of Vladimir Putin's opponents, and his death at an Arctic penal colony leaves dissenting groups with no obvious candidate to turn discontent into mass protests.
Reaction: Yulia Navalnaya said she was skeptical about Russia's report that her 47-year-old husband collapsed and died after a walk, President Biden said "Putin and his thugs" caused Navalny's death, and Kamala Harris at the Munich Security Conference vowed NATO support as Russia continues its Ukraine war. At the monument to victims of the Soviet repression in Lubyanka Square in Moscow, hundreds of flowers and candles left in Navalny's memory were taken away in black bags overnight. Read more reaction from around the world.

Trump must pay $354.9 million for overstating his wealth

Setback: Justice Arthur Engoron also banned the former president from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation for three years. Trump and the other defendants showed a "complete lack of contrition and remorse" that "borders on pathological," Engoron wrote.
Next steps: Trump's lawyer Alina Habba said she plans to appeal. Trump also faces a March 25 trial date over hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels, two court cases regarding his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, and another charge over his handling of classified documents after leaving office. The special counsel prosecuting Trump on federal charges of trying to turn the election in his favor wants trial proceedings to begin, even as Trump seeks a delay as he presses his claim of immunity.

Gaza's biggest functioning hospital comes under siege

The latest: Israeli warplanes struck Rafah, the last refuge for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel's military said they detained more than 20 Palestinians involved in the Oct. 7 attacks, and that they found ammunition and weapons in the hospital. Egypt denied a report that said it was setting up a shelter for Palestinians on their side of the border. The report increased Palestinians' fears that they could be forced from their land. Hezbollah said Israel would pay "in blood" for attacks that killed 10 civilians in Lebanon.
World Court: A record 52 states will present arguments beginning Monday about the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories at the International Court of Justice. The court on Friday said it does not see the need for additional emergency measures to protect Palestinians' rights following the Rafah offensive.

Geopolitics in the time of rising waters

Dear America: US-allied Pacific Island nations are imploring Congress to break a budget impasse and send them the money they were promised. Delay could push them into the arms of China, they warn. Tuvalu, one of the three remaining Pacific Island allies of Taiwan, delayed its vote for prime minister by two weeks because bad weather stopped lawmakers from coming to the capital.
Endangered: One in five of the world's migratory species are at risk of extinction, the UN reported. The American horseshoe crab is under threat from commercial harvests for bait, habitat loss and climate change. And the worst flooding in 60 years on the Congo river forced half a million people to flee. Tree-cover loss in the basin is likely to blame.

Before I forget…

Mass killer Anders Breivik failed to convince a Norwegian court that prison isolation violated his human rights.

European leaders from Emmanuel Macron to Giorgia Meloni are worried about falling birth rates, and demographers and economists say they should get used to it. There are lots of people who would be happy to bolster the workforce. They're just not from the right ethnic group, something that is important to Vladimir Putin.

How often does this happen? A Pakistani politician who won a provincial election in Karachi gave up his seat, saying the votes were rigged in his favor.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean rejected a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws.

Music for airports' ears: The Biden administration is giving nearly a billion dollars to airports for upgrades that should make them less susceptible to the mockery of their guests.

Periodic reminder that typos are bad: Lyft stock rose 67% after the company's quarterly results appeared with a key metric that contained an extra zero, then fell after the chief financial officer said it was an error. Shares still ended 17% up for the day.

Chocolate makers have been raising prices as the cost of cocoa increases, but it's not certain Cadbury maker Mondelez and Hershey will be able to pull off another increase.

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