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Daily Briefing

Signs of confidence re-emerge after the bank storm, New York prepares for possible unrest, and Macron survives a no-confidence vote - but only just.

By Linda Noakes

Today's Top Stories

Men set up NYPD barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

TRUMP ON TRIAL?

Workers erected barricades around a Manhattan courthouse as New York City braced for a possible indictment of Donald Trump over an alleged hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.
House of Representatives Republicans went on the offensive, launching an investigation into the New York City prosecutor who is probing the allegations.
Trump's call to supporters to protest what he said was his imminent arrest provoked conspiracy-fueled debate on far-right social media platforms, with some supporters fearing an elaborate government trap to arrest them.

'DEAR' FRIENDS

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are due to hold further talks amid Western criticism that Xi's visit was giving a boost to Moscow as it struggles to make ground in its year-long war on Ukraine.
The two men spoke for more than four hours yesterday and enjoyed a state dinner at the Kremlin, warmly praising each other as a "dear friend".
Here's what you need to know about the Russia-Ukraine war right now.

MACRON SURVIVES

French President Emmanuel Macron will break his silence tomorrow to outline plans after his administration survived a no-confidence motion in parliament over a deeply unpopular pension reform.
More than 200 people were arrested across the country yesterday evening, police said, after spontaneous protests broke out hours after Macron's government narrowly survived the parliamentary vote.

IN OTHER NEWS

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the "climate time bomb is ticking" and urged rich nations to slash emissions sooner after the sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said there was little time to lose in tackling climate change.
Saudi authorities released a U.S. citizen jailed for 19 years for posting criticism of the government on Twitter but he remains banned from traveling, his son said, as the kingdom moves to ease tension with the United States.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will make sensitive stopovers in the United States on her way to and from Central America that China's foreign ministry condemned, but Taipei would not confirm a meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The annual U.S. report on human rights practices listed "significant human rights issues" and abuses in India, including reported targeting of religious minorities, dissidents and journalists, the U.S. State Department said.
London's Metropolitan Police is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic and unable to police itself, an independent review said, mounting pressure on the Met's new chief to reform Britain's biggest police force.

Business & Markets

Investors took some heart from the rescue of troubled lender Credit Suisse by its Swiss rival UBS, though concerns lingered about the risk of shockwaves further damaging credit markets and smaller U.S. banks.
Attention is now on this week's meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve, with traders wondering whether the central bank's relentless rate hikes - blamed by some for sparking the crisis - might be at an end.
Days before a hastily convened press conference late on Sunday that would make the world's front pages, Switzerland's political elite were preparing a move that would jolt the globe. Here's the story of the secretive Credit Suisse rescue.
Bond giant PIMCO lost about $340 million on a category of Credit Suisse bonds that were wiped out by the takeover, with the American investment manager's overall exposure to the Swiss lender running into billions, a source familiar with the situation said.
Lawyers from Switzerland, the United States and UK are talking to a number of Credit Suisse Additional Tier 1 bond holders about possible legal action.
As crisis stalks the traditional world of stocks and bonds, bitcoin is suddenly looking like a safe haven. Read our weekly analysis of the wild world of cryptocurrencies, and sign up for our Crypto Wire newsletter for more.

The Wider Image

Muromtseva performs during a semi-open dress rehearsal at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest, Hungary, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Marton Monus

In Budapest's magnificent Opera House, ballerina Ganna Muromtseva flutters high with undulating arms in the lead role of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

One year ago, the 29-year-old fled Ukraine's capital Kyiv on a packed train with thousands of other refugees, wondering if she would ever be on stage again.

See our photo essay on a dancer uprooted by war.

And Finally...

A view of coloured eco-friendly tiles made from different types of plastic and waste in the 10th of Ramadan City district northwest of Cairo, Egypt March 15, 2023. REUTERS/Hadeer Mahmoud

An Egyptian startup is aiming to turn more than 5 billion plastic bags into tiles tougher than cement as it tackles the twin problems of tonnes of waste entering the Mediterranean Sea and high levels of building sector emissions.

"So far, we have recycled more than 5 million plastic bags, but this is just the beginning," TileGreen co-founder Khaled Raafat told Reuters.

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