Friday Briefing: Georgia bans giving water to voters in line under sweeping restrictions

Today's top stories

Georgia bans giving water to voters in line, China's backlash against western companies spreads, and how a deadly coronavirus variant raced across the world

Georgia has enacted broad voting restrictions championed by Republicans that activists say aim to curtail the influence of Black voters. The Georgia law will make it a misdemeanor crime to give food or drinks to voters waiting in long lines.

When Mike Lindell appeared on Newsmax and launched into a baseless conspiracy theory about election fraud, an anchor for the cable network told viewers that the My Pillow founder’s claims were unsubstantiated and unverified. We look at the new trend in conservative media - prepared disclaimers.

President Joe Biden vowed to push China to play by international rules, criticized his Republican opponents and defended his policy to provide shelter to children crossing the U.S. border from Mexico at his first solo news conference since taking office.

The U.S. Supreme Court will today discuss taking up a major new gun rights case involving a National Rifle Association-backed challenge to a New York state law that restricts the ability of residents to carry concealed handguns in public.

Reporters practice social distancing as U.S. President Joe Biden holds his first formal news conference in the East Room of the White House, March 25, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis

WORLD

FILE PHOTO: A person walks with a pushchair past a mural in Sheerness, on the Isle of Sheppey, Britain, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

The so-called UK coronavirus variant first took hold on a tiny island off the coast of England. As a local hospital became overwhelmed with patients, genomic scientists scrambled to find out what was causing the deadly surge in cases. Read our special report on the variant that raced across the world.

North Korea claimed that it has launched a new type of tactical short-range ballistic missile - highlighting military advances by the nuclear-armed state and propelling it to the top of Biden’s foreign policy agenda.

Myanmar’s security forces have killed more than 300 people in attempts to crush opposition to a February 1 coup, with nearly 90% of victims shot dead and a quarter of them shot in the head, according to data from an advocacy group and local media.

The Suez Canal has stepped up efforts to free a giant stuck container ship and end a blockage that has disrupted global supply chains for everything from grains to baby clothes. Meanwhile, the blockage has opened up a torrent of memes and gifs lampooning the hapless container carrier.

Business

Governments around the world are subsidizing the construction of semiconductor factories as a chip shortage hobbles the auto and electronics industries and highlights the world’s singular dependence on Taiwan for vital supplies.

WeWork has agreed to go public through a merger with blank-check firm BowX Acquisition Corp, in a deal that values it at $9 billion. It marks a steep drop from the $47 billion that the office-sharing startup was valued at for a listing in 2019.

Burberry has lost a Chinese brand ambassador and its hallmark tartan design was scrubbed from a popular video game, becoming the first luxury brand assailed by the Chinese backlash to Western accusations of abuses in Xinjiang.

As China imposed a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong last year after massive protests, residents of the city moved tens of billions of dollars across the globe to Canada, where thousands are hoping to forge a new future.

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