Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. This Saturday, we have a fine tasting menu of stories as India's massive parliamentary elections get going, as well as a Reuters World News podcast on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity and its roots in Hindu nationalism.

An anti-missile system operates after Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Six days that didn't shake the world

Coordinated response: Israel's apparent strike on Iran appeared calibrated to lower the risk of a major war, even if the fact that it happened at all broke a taboo of direct attacks when Tehran fired on Israel days earlier. Multiple sources described six frantic days of efforts to limit Israel's response to Iran's first-ever direct attack, keeping in mind not just a wider regional conflict, but a need to keep international opinion on Israel's side during the war in Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
Across the Atlantic: The University of Southern California canceled its valedictorian speech from a Muslim student who said she was being silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred, Columbia University arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrating against Israel's war on Hamas, and a U.S. congressional committee accused Columbia's president of failing to protect Jewish students on campus.

The emotional experience of a Trump rally

The spectacle and the stagecraft: Donald Trump rallies are a defining feature of his presidential campaigns: All-day spectacles blending evangelical revivalist meeting and carnival. Tim Reid and Nathan Layne examine how the gatherings have evolved as the former president seeks a second term in the White House. Christina Anagnostopoulos, Sofia Paredes and Seana Davis deconstruct one such rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin from early April.
Hush money: Alexandra Ulmer and Jason Lange detail Trump's efforts to use his trial over payments to porn star Stormy Daniels to squeeze small donors and major backers for campaign cash. That historic trial finally has its 12 jurors, clearing the way for prosecutors and defense attorneys to make opening statements. Outside the Manhattan courthouse, a man set himself on fire and later died of his injuries.

Congress might vote on Ukraine aid this weekend

Saturday: The $95 billion package for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific region could come up for a House vote within hours. The bill also includes a provision to transfer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine, sanctions against Hamas and Iran, and a move to force Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban on the platform. If it passes, the next question will be whether House Speaker Mike Johnson keeps his gavel if hardliners in his Republican ranks try to oust him.
Homemade weapons: Hundreds of Ukrainian businesses making weapons and military equipment have sprung up since Russia's full-scale invasion, but some are struggling to fund production. All of them are afraid of becoming targets in intensifying Russian missile strikes. Speaking of hardware, here are the details of the Russian bomber plane that Ukraine says it shot down.

Hindu pride, Narendra Modi and jobs dominate India's elections

Big issues for a big country: The first of India's nearly 1 billion voters cast ballots in a multi-day election as Modi seeks a third term as prime minister. Opinion polls suggest his BJP will easily win a majority, even as voters worry about unemployment, inflation and rural distress. See our photos from the first day of voting. Also read our reports from the violence-addled northeastern state of Manipur and the religiously divided Muzaffarnagar district in western Uttar Pradesh.
The asana of apology: Yoga guru and mega-entrepreneur Baba Ramdev apologized to India's Supreme Court for defying orders to stop misleading advertisements that claim his Patanjali-brand ayurvedic medicines can cure chronic diseases like diabetes. The court refused to accept two earlier formal apologies, and admonished the head of a state drugs regulator for not taking legal action against the company. I recommend reading our 2017 special report on Patanjali, featuring quite the photo of Modi and his yogi in brighter times.

Before I forget…

The U.S. Senate voted to approve the reauthorization of a surveillance program that opponents say violates Americans' constitutional right to privacy.

Shell urged shareholders to vote against a resolution filed by 27 investors that calls on the company to set tighter climate targets.

U.S. employers' obligation to accommodate workers' pregnancies also extends to abortions and the use of contraception, the U.S. agency that enforces workplace discrimination laws said.

Switzerland moved a step closer to banning the swastika emblem. And a leading member of Germany's far-right AfD party appeared in court, charged with using a banned Nazi paramilitary slogan.

The winner of Beijing's half marathon He Jie and three African runners had their results canceled after an investigation found that the Africans slowed down near the finish line, allowing the Chinese athlete to finish first.

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