| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Tuesday, March 22, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Eastern Europe struggles to cope with the refugee influx, Russia halts World War Two peace treaty talks with Japan, and Kremlin critic Navalny is found guilty of fraud | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Demonstrators run from stun grenades and gunfire at a protest against the Russian invasion, in Kherson, Ukraine, March 21, 2022 RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR Ukraine's military warned the public of more indiscriminate Russian shelling from bogged-down Russian troops, and U.S. President Joe Biden issued his strongest warning yet that Russia is considering using chemical weapons.
Amid the devastation caused by Russia's unceasing bombardment of Ukrainian cities, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy highlighted the death of a 96-year-old survivor of Nazi concentration camps, killed in his flat by shelling in Kharkiv.
More than 3.5 million people have fled abroad from the war in Ukraine, United Nations data showed, leaving Eastern Europe scrambling to provide them with care, schools and jobs even as daily numbers crossing borders ease.
Japan reacted angrily after Russia withdrew from peace treaty talks and froze joint economic projects related to the disputed Kuril islands because of sanctions imposed by Tokyo. Russia and Japan have still not formally ended World War Two hostilities because of the standoff over islands just off Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido.
A Russian court found jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny guilty of large-scale fraud and contempt of court, a move likely to see the time that President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic spends in jail extended by years. Navalny's opposition movement has been labeled "extremist" and shut down, although his supporters continue to express their political stance, including their opposition to Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine, on social media.
Here's what you need to know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict right now |  People burn candles and incense sticks during a Buddhist ceremony near the site where a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane crashed, in Wuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, March 22, 2022 WORLD NEWS Rescuers combed heavily forested mountain slopes in southern China, using shovels and torches in their hunt for victims and flight recorders from a China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed with 132 people on board. About 600 soldiers, firefighters and police marched to the crash site, a patch of about 1 sq km in a location hemmed in by mountains on three sides, after excavators cleared a path.
Not a single country managed to meet the World Health Organization's air quality standard in 2021, a survey of pollution data in 6,475 cities showed, and smog even rebounded in some regions after a COVID-related dip.
Neon signs were turned off, lights dimmed and thermostats dialed down in Japan after the government issued an urgent call to save energy, warning of blackouts after an earthquake last week caused a serious power shortage.
Hours-long lines formed at gas stations in Cuba´s capital Havana after local media reported rationing of fuel in at least one province amid a biting economic crisis that has already left food and medicine in short supply across the island.
Sri Lanka ordered its military to post soldiers at hundreds of gas stations, to help distribute fuel after a sudden rise in prices of key commodities and the accompanying shortages forced tens of thousands of people to queue for hours.
| BUSINESS Russia's coupon payment on a sovereign bond maturing in 2029 was processed by correspondent bank JPMorgan Chase & Co, a source said, the second time in recent days the country appears to have averted default.
Authentication services provider Okta is investigating a report of a digital breach, after hackers posted screenshots showing what they claimed was its internal company environment. A hack at Okta could have major consequences because thousands of other companies rely on the San Francisco-based firm to manage access to their own networks and applications.
Tesla will today deliver to customers the first 30 Model Y cars made at its $5.5 billion Gruenheide plant, launching its first European production hub that is the biggest investment in a German car factory in recent history.
Alibaba raised its share buyback programme to $25 billion, the largest ever repurchase plan by the e-commerce giant, to prop up its battered shares as it fights off regulatory scrutiny and concerns about slowing growth.
Bitcoin just isn't anonymous enough for a growing cohort of crypto users who are seeking greater seclusion. A volatile class of crypto known as privacy coins, created with the primary aim of masking the identity of users and details of transactions, has quietly been gaining ground this month.
| | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Senators spar at historic SCOTUS hearing for Jackson Democrats defended Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden's nominee to become the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, while Republicans vowed to refrain from personal attacks but promised tough questions on her judicial record. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
