Monday Briefing: Ukraine repulses attacks in east as Russia presses to control Mariupol

The Reuters Daily Briefing Monday, April 11, 2022 by Hani Richter Hello Here's what you need to know. Ukraine troops repulse Russian assaults in east, Twitter says Elon Musk is not joining its board, and France's Macron heads to a Le Pen stronghold in search of more votes. Today's biggest stories Emergency workers remove debris of a building destroyed in the course of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 10, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR Ukrainian troops have repulsed several Russian assaults in the country's east, the focus of a new offensive by the invading forces, British intelligence said, while President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week will be crucial to the course of the war. Ukraine's economic output will likely contract by a staggering 45.1% this year as Russia's invasion has shuttered businesses, slashed exports and rendered economic activity impossible in large swaths of the country, the World Bank said. The wheat has been sown for the coming season but nobody in Yakovlivka, a small farming village outside Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, knows if it will be harvested. A week after Russian forces launched their invasion on Feb. 24, the village was bombed. Tens of thousands of people have likely been killed in Russia's assault on the southeastern city of Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as he asked Seoul for any military aid it could provide. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer's visit to meet Vladimir Putin is meant to tell the Russian president the truth about the war in Ukraine, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said. Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now BUSINESS Twitter said that Elon Musk rejected its offer to join the social media firm's board, a dramatic turn in a week when the billionaire became its biggest shareholder, and it warned of more drama with "distractions ahead." The Federal Reserve is expected to deliver two back-to-back half-point interest rate hikes in May and June to tackle runaway inflation, according to economists polled by Reuters who also say the probability of a recession next year is 40%. Senior officials at the European Commission were targeted last year with spy software designed by an Israeli surveillance firm, according to two EU officials and documentation reviewed by Reuters. Days after the March 9 bombing of a maternity and children's hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, comments claiming the attack never happened began flooding the queues of workers moderating Facebook and Instagram content on behalf of the apps' owner, Meta Platforms. We examine how Meta fumbled propaganda moderation during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Apple has started making the iPhone 13 in India, the company said, as the U.S tech giant tries to reduce reliance on its Chinese supply chain. A combination picture shows portraits of the two candidates running for the second round in the 2022 French presidential election, Marine Le Pen, leader of French far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National) party, and French President Emmanuel Macron, candidate for his re-election. Pictures taken February 5, 2022 (L) and April 2, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier WORLD France's centrist leader Emmanuel Macron will take his hunt for extra votes to the industrial heartlands of northern France, a blue-collar stronghold of his far-right rival Marine Le Pen who he will face in an April 24 presidential runoff vote. China's financial center of Shanghai started easing its lockdown in some areas on Monday despite reporting a record of more than 25,000 new COVID-19 infections, as authorities strive to get the city moving again after more than two weeks. A leader from Sri Lanka's ruling coalition said that three members of the alliance had proposed forming an interim government, a week after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa called for a unity administration amid unrest and a severe economic crisis. Indonesian police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of university students protesting high cooking oil prices and a mooted extension of President Joko Widodo's stay in office. North Korea praised Kim Jong Un's leadership in developing nuclear weapons, touted his political achievements, and unveiled new portraits and exhibitions to celebrate his 10 years in charge of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). U.S. President Joe Biden will announce a new rule to rein in ghost guns and ban the manufacturing of such firearms as the administration faces growing pressure to crack down on gun deaths and violent crime in the United States. New York state's attorney general is seeking to compel real estate company Cushman & Wakefield to comply with subpoenas in connection with its civil probe into the Trump Organization, according to court filings. A local prosecutor in Texas will dismiss criminal charges against a 26-year-old woman who was arrested for a self-induced abortion in a case that had drawn national scrutiny and led abortion rights activists to demonstrate on her behalf. Republicans are vowing to spend record amounts in key state supreme court races this fall, seeking to take advantage of a favorable national political environment to elect conservative judges at the state level amid deep political divisions. A jury trial accusing Walgreens of contributing to Florida's opioid addiction epidemic was set to begin after the pharmacy chain opted not to join a multimillion-dollar settlement by other defendants. Quote of the day "It does leave one very tired and exhausted doesn't it, this horrible pandemic?" Britain's Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth says COVID left "one very tired and exhausted" Video of the day Legal Lookahead: Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard Johnny Depp begins his defamation case against his ex-wife and fellow actor Amber Heard. Plus, gun manufacturers challenge a lawsuit the Mexican government filed against them. And finally… Ghana artist is melting its glass waste into wonders Michael Tetteh, Ghana's only professional glassblower, clenched his teeth as he gripped a red-hot ball of molten glass, his burned and blistered hands bare against the steaming stack of wet newspaper he used to protect them. 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