| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Wednesday, May 4, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. The EU proposes a Russian oil ban, Beijing restricts public transport, and the Fed is set for a big rate hike | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Emergency teams work to extinguish a fire at an oil storage facility on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine, May 4, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR The EU proposed its toughest sanctions yet against Russia, including a phased oil embargo, as Ukraine came under further heavy Russian bombardment and nervously monitored large-scale army drills in neighboring Belarus, a close Moscow ally.
Nearly 10 weeks into a war that has killed thousands, uprooted millions and flattened cities and towns in eastern and southern Ukraine, Russia also stepped up attacks on targets in western Ukraine, partly to disrupt Western arms deliveries.
A convoy of buses left Mariupol in a new attempt by Ukraine, the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross to evacuate civilians from the southern Ukrainian city.
Russia said it had fired two Kalibr cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets from a submarine in the Black Sea and reiterated a warning that it would seek to hit shipments of NATO weapons to Ukraine.
The Kremlin dismissed speculation that President Vladimir Putin planned to declare war against Ukraine and declare a national mobilization on May 9 when Russia commemorates the Soviet Union's victory in World War Two. Putin has so far characterized Russia's actions a "special military operation".
Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now
|  A protester holds a wire hanger while participating in a pro-abortion rights march in Atlanta, Georgia, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer
U.S.
A draft opinion suggesting the U.S. Supreme Court was ready to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision establishing the right to abortion sparked a fresh call among progressive Democrats to scrap the Senate's filibuster rule. We look at how gay marriage and other rights are at risk after the Supreme Court move.
Democratic lawmakers from 16 states pledged to introduce legislation providing legal refuge to transgender youth and their families displaced by restrictive laws in their states.
J.D. Vance, a candidate for the U.S. Senate who is backed by Donald Trump, won the Republican primary vote in Ohio, in an early test of the former president's sway over his party as he eyes a possible White House run in 2024. Here's how Trump is trying to demonstrate his power with more than 150 endorsements of candidates in November's midterm elections.
Trump's family business and his 2017 presidential inaugural committee will pay $750,000 to settle a lawsuit by Washington, D.C.'s attorney general claiming that the committee funneled excessive amounts of charitable funds to the Trump International Hotel.
U.S. officials announced unprecedented measures to boost water levels at Lake Powell, an artificial reservoir on the Colorado River that is so low as to endanger the production of hydroelectric power for seven Western states.
WORLD
The Chinese capital Beijing shut dozens of metro stations and bus routes in its campaign to stop the spread of COVID-19 and avoid the fate of Shanghai where millions of residents have been under strict lockdown for more than a month.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea off its east coast, South Korea and Japan said, about a week after Pyongyang vowed to develop its nuclear forces "at the fastest possible speed".
France's Socialist Party and the hard-left La France Insoumise party reached an agreement in principle to form an alliance for June's parliamentary election. The coalition pact is an attempt to deprive President Emmanuel Macron of a majority in parliament and block his pro-business agenda.
Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the IRA, is on course to become the biggest party in Northern Ireland's government after tomorrow's election, a milestone in its quest for a united Ireland. The one-time political pariah has an 8-point advantage, an opinion poll showed.
Protesters calling for the resignation of Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan blocked major roads in the capital Yerevan and called for citizens to commit acts of civil disobedience.
|  Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, May 3, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid BUSINESS
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates by half of a percentage point today and announce the start of reductions to its $9 trillion balance sheet as U.S. central bankers intensify efforts to bring down high inflation.
HSBC and Ping An executives plan to meet in mid-May to discuss the Chinese insurer's proposal that the bank should explore strategic options such as spinning off its Asian business, a source familiar with the matter said. Ping An, the biggest shareholder in HSBC, called last week on the bank to look at ways to boost returns.
Lyft stock plunged 26% after the ride hail company said it would have to spend more heavily to attract drivers and forecast operating earnings less than a quarter of Wall Street targets, reflecting the added costs.
Starbucks suspended its guidance for the rest of its fiscal year as sales growth missed Wall Street targets due to China's tough COVID-19 curbs. Comparable sales in China declined 23%, overshadowing 12% growth in North America.
Elon Musk said Twitter might charge a "slight" fee for commercial and government users, part of the billionaire entrepreneur's push to grow revenue which has lagged behind larger rivals like Meta Platforms' Facebook.
| | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Brazilian town builds Christ statue taller than Rio's Rio de Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer has competition, after the small town of Encantado in southern Brazil built a taller Christ to attract tourism. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
