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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Welcome to this Saturday’s edition of the Weekend Briefing, where a sprained pinky and a broken ankle cannot prevent me from sharing with you the biggest news and the most interesting stories of the week.

An aircraft takes off to join the U.S.-led coalition to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen. US Central Command via X

U.S. carries out new strike in Yemen

War and commerce: The U.S. and British air strikes on Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping are producing results that you might expect. Container shipping costs soared, Tesla and Volvo suspended some car production, oil tankers were diverted from the area and protests broke out across Yemen.
Who, what, why? The Houthis say their attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea are a show of support for the Palestinians and Hamas in its nearly 100-day war with Israel in Gaza. Learn more about the group and its fierce battlefield commander. We also ran a good analysis on why this expansion of the war in the Middle East is unlikely to draw Tehran into the conflict. Two other questions: Did the U.S. get lured into war with the Houthis? And is President Biden allowed to carry out these attacks?

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Republicans prepare for frigid Iowa caucus

That’s cold: Iowans can expect temperatures as low as -20 Fahrenheit (-29 Celsius) when they turn out to pick their Republican presidential nominee. “I’m declaring that it be warmer in Jesus’ name,” evangelist Patricia Lage told Reuters. The supporter of the loquacious Donald Trump said his fans are hardcore and would show up no matter the chill. The storm that brought in the cold weather prompted the cancellation of some caucus events and brought dangerous weather to much of the country. Trump is poised for victory, but size – in this case the size of the margin of his win, matters if he wants to deliver a knockout blow against Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
What is a caucus anyway? Don’t be embarrassed if you can’t remember how a caucus works. We have the refresher that you (and I) need. We also have this interesting story about how Iowa Democrats are dealing with a decade of losses and the demotion of their own caucus.

Ukraine needs more attack aircraft, ground-forces commander says

A reliable machine: Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi suggested U.S. A-10 Thunderbolts as an option to support infantry, as well as planes that could fire long-range cruise missiles. Ukraine also has asked allies to speed up the supply of artillery ammunition, which some units have complained is running short as the war churns onward. Ukraine meanwhile suffered a large Russian missile attack in the early hours of Saturday, while its air defenses were able to down a far lower proportion of them than usual.
On the other side of the line: Authorities in the Russian city of Belgorod, 25 miles from the Ukraine border, are piling sandbags at bus stops and building walls of concrete blocks to protect people against Ukrainian attacks. Two Siberian airlines want to extend the service life of Soviet-era Antonov aircraft because of the departure of foreign manufacturers and sanctions that make it hard to invest and get access to parts.

My betters went to Davos and all I got was this really complicated world

Altitude angst: Various members of the political, economic and business elite will have plenty of knotty topics to jaw about at the 54th edition of the World Economic Forum and ski junket, including the Gaza and Ukraine wars, interest rates and rising debt, and extreme weather and misinformation. My colleagues will be there, and not just for the fondue. Listen to our World News podcast primer on the meeting.
From WEF to WHO: Speaking of groups that issue broad pronouncements, the World Health Organization would like to remind you that COVID-19, flu and respiratory viruses are absolutely overjoyed in their mindless way because “incredibly low” vaccination rates this winter are causing a surge of infections.

Before I forget…

Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate for Taiwan's ruling party, took an initial lead in early vote counting. His Democratic Progressive Party champions Taiwan's separate identity and rejects China's territorial claims.

Ecuador had a serious meltdown this week, including the storming of a TV station live on air.

It’s not every day that a U.S. defense secretary goes AWOL, in this case for a secret prostate-cancer diagnosis, surgery and hospitalization.

Anders Breivik said he was sorry for killing 77 people in Norway, said prison was a nightmare and is suing for easier conditions for his punishment. A Justice Ministry representative said there is no ground for an allegation that Breivik’s human rights are being violated.

The FAA and Boeing are looking for better ways to make sure pieces of airplanes don’t fall off in flight, exposing passengers to serious danger thousands of feet above sea level.

The Maldives and India are kicking sand at one another as China benefits. Papua New Guinea’s capital smoldered. Some truly novel scenes unfolded in Poland as police swooped down on the presidential palace and arrested two ex-ministers. And police seized a Belgian migration minister’s coffee machine and freezer, proving that truly nothing is sacred.

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