Russian garrison half-encircled in Ukraine as Putin poised to proclaim annexation

The Reuters Daily Briefing Friday, September 30, 2022 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. Ukraine's advance challenges Putin’s grip on the Donbas region, Hurricane Ian veers toward the Carolinas, and euro zone inflation hits a record high of 10% Today's biggest stories Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with members of the Security Council via a video link in Moscow, September 29, 2022 RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR Russian forces in Ukraine were on the verge of one of their worst defeats of the war even as President Vladimir Putin was due to proclaim the annexation of territory seized in his invasion. The pro-Russian leader of occupied areas in Ukraine's Donetsk province acknowledged his forces had lost full control of Dobryshev and Yampil villages, leaving Moscow's main garrison in northern Donetsk half-encircled in the city of Lyman. These are the four regions that Russia is poised to annex. Dozens of civilians were killed or wounded in what Kyiv said was a cynical Russian missile strike on a convoy of civilian cars in southern Ukraine, leaving bodies strewn across the ground. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will hold an emergency top-level meeting today where "fundamental decisions" will be taken, an official said. Putin said that "all mistakes" made in a call-up to reinforce Russia's military operation in Ukraine should be corrected, his first public acknowledgment that the "partial mobilization" he announced last week had not gone smoothly. Finland said it would close its border to Russian tourists, shutting off the last remaining direct land route to the European Union for them as thousands of Russians seek to avoid conscription. Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now An aerial view of damaged boats and buildings after Hurricane Ian caused widespread destruction in Fort Myers, Florida, September 29, 2022 U.S. A resurgent Hurricane Ian barreled north toward a second landfall in South Carolina, a day after carving a path of destruction across central Florida that left rescue crews racing to reach trapped residents along the state's Gulf Coast. The hurricane has left over 2 million people without power in Florida. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected today to pass a bill funding the federal government through December 16, avoiding an embarrassing partial shutdown less than six weeks before the midterm elections when control of Congress is at stake. A federal judge ruled that former President Donald Trump does not have to provide the court with a sworn statement attesting to whether he believes the list of items seized by the FBI from his Florida estate is accurate and complete. Parents of three children who survived the Uvalde, Texas school shooting have sued the school district, several former officials, the company that manufactured the gun used in the rampage and others. President Joe Biden's liberal appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson, set to hear arguments for the first time on Monday as a Supreme Court justice, joins the nation's top judicial body at a consequential time when its conservative majority has shown an increasing willingness to exert its power on a range of issues. Here's the raft of new cases the court will tackle. WORLD Heavy gunfire rang out from the main military camp and some residential areas of Burkina Faso's capital and a large blast was heard near the presidential palace, Reuters reporters said. It was not clear yet if this was a coup attempt but it bore the hallmarks of other power grabs that have swept across West and Central Africa over the past two years. Protests continued in several cities across Iran against the death of young woman in police custody, state and social media reported, as a human rights group said at least 83 people had been killed in nearly two weeks of demonstrations. Rights group Open Stadiums has called on FIFA to throw Iran out of the soccer World Cup finals in Qatar in November because of the country's treatment of women. The navies of South Korea, the United States and Japan staged trilateral anti-submarine exercises for the first time in five years, amid tension over North Korea's series of missile tests. Thailand's Constitutional Court ruled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had not exceeded the maximum eight years allowed in office, clearing the way for his return from a five-week suspension. Brazilian leftist Luis Inacio Lula da Silva is within reach of a dramatic comeback in Sunday's election, four years after the popular two-term president watched from a jail cell as his party was trounced in the last presidential campaign. Turnout will be key if he is to clinch the election in the first round. European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson speaks to the media as she attends a European Union energy ministers meeting in Brussels, September 30, 2022 BUSINESS & MARKETS European Union countries agreed to impose emergency levies on energy firms' windfall profits, and began talks on their next move to tackle Europe's energy crunch - possibly a bloc-wide gas price cap. The energy crisis is siring a new European order: a strong Italy and ailing Germany. Euro zone inflation zoomed past forecasts to hit 10.0% in September, a new record high that will reinforce expectations for another jumbo interest rate hike next month from the European Central Bank. Prime Minister Liz Truss and her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng met the head of Britain's independent fiscal watchdog, whose analysis they previously spurned, in a bid to reassure markets after chaos triggered by planned tax cuts. The Bank of England is in murky waters with its qualified 'whatever it takes' intervention, says Reuters columnist Mike Dolan. Japan's government spent up to $19.7 billion intervening in the foreign exchange market last week to prop up the yen, Ministry of Finance data showed, draining nearly 15% of funds it has readily available for intervention. The Reserve Bank of India raised its benchmark repo rate by 50 basis points, the fourth straight increase, as policymakers extended their battle to tame stubbornly high inflation and analysts said further tightening is on the cards. Global M&A shrank for the third consecutive quarter as rising interest rates forced lenders to pull back from financing large deals and the soaring dollar failed to spur U.S. companies into snapping up foreign targets amid persisting geopolitical tensions. SPECIAL REPORT America’s Throwaway Spies How the CIA failed Iranian informants in its secret war with Iran Quote of the day "As we move from the Elizabethan to the Carolean era it represents the biggest change to Britain's coins in decades and the first time that many people will have seen a different effigy" Kevin Clancy Director of The Royal Mint Museum New UK coins featuring image of King Charles revealed Video of the day Citroen has invented a cardboard car The French automaker used a specialized honeycomb cardboard to replace steel and metal in a concept car designed in anticipation of a resourceless world. And finally… To tackle a kimchi crisis, South Korea banks on massive cabbage warehouses A climate change-induced shortage of cabbages has sent prices rocketing for makers of the spicy pickled side dish central to Korean identity. More from Reuters U.S. Midterms Sustainable Business Disrupted Legal News Breakingviews Thanks for spending part of your day with us. You are receiving this email because you signed up for newsletters from Reuters. No longer want to hear from us? Unsubscribe from The Reuters Daily Briefing. Terms, conditions, and privacy statement © 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036