| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Thursday, April 7, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Why the U.S. is targeting Putin's daughters, China warns against Pelosi visiting Taiwan, and Japan will lift its COVID entry ban for 106 countries | | | | | Today's biggest stories BUSINESS European Union envoys are set to approve a ban on Russian coal that would take full effect from mid-August, a month later than initially planned, two EU sources told Reuters, following pressure from Germany to delay the measure. Here's how EU countries are hunting for global coal stocks.
A month of the war in Ukraine briefly erased a year's worth of gains for European equities but the continent's bourses have quickly recovered as investors have poured money into sectors such as energy and defence which are poised to benefit from one of the deepest policy shifts in the region in decades.
Investors in Russia's international bonds face an increasingly uncertain path to recover their money should Russia ultimately default, while the country itself would face increased financial isolation and hurdles to regain investor confidence.
In western Ukraine, some 1,100 train wagons carrying grain are stuck near the main rail border crossing with Poland, unable to transport their cargo abroad. As Kyiv looks for alternative export routes by land, that effort has been hampered by logistical challenges and red tape.
Shell will write down up to $5 billion following its decision to exit Russia, more than previously disclosed, while soaring oil and gas prices boosted trading activities in the first quarter, the company said.
|  A smuggled sketch shows people inside of Myanmar's Insein prison with a written date July 13, 2021, in this picture obtained by Reuters
WORLD
Sketches smuggled out of Myanmar's Insein Prison and interviews with former prisoners offer a rare glimpse inside the country's most notorious jail, where thousands of political prisoners have been sent since last year's military coup and communication with the outside world is sharply limited.
Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi delegated power to a presidential council and dismissed his deputy in a move aimed at supporting U.N.-led efforts to revive negotiations to end the bitter seven-year war in the country. Here's how factional chaos and missteps brought down Hadi.
A Turkish court decided to halt the trial of Saudi suspects over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and transfer it to Saudi Arabia, a ruling that drew condemnation from rights groups and comes as Ankara mends ties with Riyadh.
China warned it would take strong measures if U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan and said such a visit would severely impact Chinese-U.S. relations, following media reports she would go next week.
Japan plans to ease COVID-related border restrictions by lifting its entry ban for foreign nationals from 106 countries including the United States, Britain and France. Tokyo has been gradually relaxing pandemic-induced curbs but the loosened border regime does not mean a full reopening to tourists.
U.S.
As Washington emerges from its COVID cocoon, with tourists returning to the U.S. Capitol and officials attending a white-tie party that had been scotched for the past two years, the coronavirus is again stalking the halls of power. At least a half-dozen senior officials, including members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet and lawmakers, have tested positive for COVID in recent days, even as caseloads drop across the country.
Republicans are registering formerly Democratic voters at four times the rate that Democrats are making the reverse conversion in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, a warning sign for Democrats as they try to keep control of the U.S. Congress.
A federal judge issued the first acquittal in a criminal trial stemming from the attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying prosecutors failed to prove their case against a New Mexico man facing misdemeanor charges. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives recommended contempt of Congress charges for Peter Navarro and Daniel Scavino, former aides to Donald Trump, for failing to cooperate with a House probe into the attack.
A U.S. judge dealt a setback to Steve Bannon ahead of his upcoming criminal trial, blocking Trump's former adviser from telling jurors that he relied on advice from lawyers when he defied a congressional subpoena.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear vetoed a bill passed by the state's Republican-dominated legislature that would have banned transgender girls from participating in girls' sports from sixth grade through college. The bill is one of several passed in conservative states in recent weeks by lawmakers who say that those born male would have an unfair advantage on the playing field against those born female.
| | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Bucha residents unable to comprehend destruction Residents of Bucha began venturing out from their homes, picking through the rubble and debris to see what is left of their town following its recapture by Ukrainian troops after weeks of Russian occupation. | | | | And finally… Volcano-tectonic tremors recorded on Azores island  Volcano-tectonic tremors, which indicate the movement of magma, have been recorded on the earthquake-hit mid-Atlantic Azores island of Sao Jorge for the first time since a worrying seismic crisis began more than two weeks ago. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
