Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Breaking: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck in Morocco's High Atlas mountains late on Friday night, killing and injuring hundreds of people. It was the country's deadliest tremor since at least 2004. We will update the story throughout the weekend. Also stay with us for the latest news on the G20 summit in India.

A general view of damage in Marrakech, September 9, 2023. REUTERS/Abdelhak Balhaki

The world is not on target to curb global warming, U.N. says

Bad news: The Global Stocktake report is the latest warning from the U.N. about environmental perils, and will form the basis of the COP28 talks in Dubai at the end of the year. It is the cap on a two-year evaluation of the 2015 Paris climate agreement goals, and distils thousands of submissions from experts, governments and campaigners.
It's so hard to be good: Companies face challenges in meeting sustainability goals, including supplier confusion, tough legislation and costs, executives say. Some firms complain that new climate-disclosure rules are overbearing while others criticize world leaders for too many words and not enough action. Meanwhile, some workers face serious health risks and dying on the job because of extreme heat and the need to carry on regardless. And consumer-goods makers and retailers investing in sustainably-made products after years of shopper outcry are finding that buyers don't want to change their habits after all.

G20 delegates reach compromise on describing the Ukraine war

Divergent words: Delegates from the world's most powerful countries reached a compromise on language to describe the war in Ukraine as the G20 meeting began in New Delhi. We don't know what it says yet, but it's unlikely to represent a unified view.
New New Delhi: Anyone familiar with India's capital could be forgiven for thinking they landed up in a different city this weekend. Stray dogs were removed, poor people's slum homes were torn down, menacing rhesus monkeys are on the run and traffic jams are absent. Even Khan Market, source of many books in my library, is closed.

Meadows fails in bid to move Georgia election case to federal court

Judge says no: Charges against Donald Trump's former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows involving efforts to reverse the 2020 presidential election results will not be tried in federal court, a sign that similar bids by the Republican former president and his co-defendants to move the criminal case to a more favorable venue may fail.
Long list: The jury in the Georgia case recommended criminal charges against six people in December, including Sen. Graham as well as Georgia's two U.S. senators at the time. None were ultimately charged when prosecutors filed a criminal case against Donald Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators.

AI-powered killer robots poised to shape U.S.-China rivalry

Ghost sharks: U.S. allies and China are working to develop uncrewed subs, warships, fighter jets, aerial drones and ground combat vehicles that rely on artificial intelligence to operate autonomously. Upside: Removing the human operator allows for amazing innovation. Downside: The potential for robots to make lethal decisions on their own.
In other AI news: Google will make it mandatory for all election advertisers to add a clear and conspicuous disclosure starting mid-November when their ads contain AI-generated content. And Microsoft will pay legal damages on behalf of customers using AI products if those tools generate content that result in lawsuits for copyright infringement.

Before I forget…

A rainstorm killed at least 10 people in Greece and caused major flooding after a record summer heatwave touched off huge wildfires. The heaviest rains on record drenched Hong Kong and parts of China. Dozens of people died after a cyclone struck southern Brazil. Canadian wildfires likely will last through the winter.

Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a veteran South African politician, Zulu prince and controversial figure during the apartheid liberation struggle, died at the age of 95.

Reuters World News podcast: Thirty years since the first of the Oslo Accords were signed, peace in the Middle East is as elusive as ever. What is the future of the two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians? And learn why a British plan to draw a line under the bloody events of the past is causing fresh pain in Northern Ireland.

Do we need to worry about COVID again? A newer, highly-mutated variant is not as alarming as some experts feared a few weeks ago. And yet, infections and hospitalizations are rising. (This is a perfect moment to urge you to subscribe to the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter.)

Cigarettes, litter and soiled toilets are just some of the problems facing Mt Fuji as tourism picks after the COVID-19 pandemic, defiling the sacred mountain.

French Education Minister Gabriel Attal said he supports trialing school uniforms or a dress code amid a debate over a ban in state-run schools on abayas.

Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the central bank's independence after her comments welcoming the Bank of Canada's decision not to increase its key interest rate raised concerns to the contrary.

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