Welcome to the Weekend Briefing. The Gulf region is boiling and it’s not just the temperature. President Trump arrived in Ireland for a golf outing at one of his resorts and said he would love to see a united Ireland. (“Now the UK will have something to say about it,” he said.) Read our exclusive interview with the Nepali man who survived nine days in a dark tunnel after the Himalayan flood.
The latest: Saudi Arabia shut a vital oil pipeline after a drone attack, possibly from Iraq where Iran-based militias operate. The 745-mile pipeline across the Arabian Peninsula is a crucial bypass to the Strait of Hormuz, which remains a logjam because of the war between the U.S. and Iran.
Denied: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked Trump to help fight Yemen’s Houthis as they stepped up their threat to Red Sea shipping. Trump said no, sources said. BRICS nations are meeting in New Delhi where they hope to bridge divisions between Iran and the UAE over the Gulf conflict.
Payload: Workshops run by Ukraine’s Third Army Corps are sprouting up along the front as their mechanics prepare four-wheeled unmanned vehicles called Hyenas that will crawl toward Russian lines with more than 40 pounds of explosives. The machines are part of Ukraine’s strategy to fight smarter while preserving troops’ lives on a battlefield saturated with drones.
Morale boost: Russia sent bone fragments from the sword hand of a medieval Russian prince to the front. The remains of Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy, who defeated the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, are meant to “strengthen the soldiers’ spirits,” the Kremlin said.
Unease: Trump used the Republican Party’s convention in Dallas to ask voters to treat this November’s midterm elections as a referendum on him. Some party loyalists we spoke to doubted that this would be a good strategy, $5,000 “Trump dividend” or not.
$37,000: The amount paid to each immigrant by the right-wing government in the hope that it will help it secure re-election this Sunday. The election is effectively a referendum on whether a far-right party with roots in the neo-Nazi fringe should become trusted partners in what was once one of Europe’s most liberal states.
Drift: Mexican border shelters are sitting empty as Trump’s crackdown has deterred migrants from heading north. Police drew firearms on people deported from the U.S. to Equatorial Guinea after they complained of inadequate medical care, denial of legal aid and “severe psychological distress.”
FIFA: Gianni Infantino’s opponents will need to shift their strategy if they want to topple world soccer’s big boss. Sources say he can count on enough votes to win re-election.
LIV ’em and leave ’em: The golf league formed in 2022 with $5 billion of Saudi money and the support of some of the sport’s biggest names filed for bankruptcy after the country’s Public Investment Fund said it was through with the venture. Golf pros Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson are the group’s top three unsecured creditors.
Research: A mother’s use of Tylenol during pregnancy may affect female reproductive-organ development, researchers say. The study does not prove the medicine is to blame, nor indicates an impact on future fertility. EBay is investigating after Reuters found gender-prediction kits were available on its site for delivery to India. They are banned under a law meant to curb female feticide.
Mental health: Lawyers in the U.S. suffer from elevated anxiety, stress, depression, burnout and problem drinking despite efforts in the past decade to improve attorney wellness, a survey found.
Before I forget…
The daughter of ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned from the World Health Organization over fraud investigations. She joins a list of people linked to corruption investigations related to Hasina, including her UK politician niece and
