| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Tuesday, April 12, 2022 by Rossalyn Warren | Hello Here's what you need to know. Ukraine pleads for more weapons from the West, and warns of chemical weapons threat from Russia. Britain's jobless rate slipped further below its level immediately before the coronavirus pandemic. And the U.S. unveils a new law against 'ghost guns.' | | | | | Today's biggest stories  A man walks past the Kharkiv Regional Institute of the National Academy of Public Administration building which was destroyed during Russian shelling, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kharkiv, Ukraine April 12, 2022. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pleaded for more weapons from the West to help it end the siege of Mariupol and fend off an expected Russian offensive in the east. He also warned in a televised address late on Monday that Russia could resort to chemical weapons.
A spokesman for Ukraine's defense ministry said Russia has nearly completed its buildup for a renewed assault on Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He added that Ukraine's army was ready to face the renewed assault.
A senior U.N. official told the Security Council on Monday that reports of rape and brutality against Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces have emerged, and Ukraine rights groups also told the U.N. that rape is being used as a weapon of war. Moscow dismisses the rape allegations.
Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer held "very direct, open and tough" talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. Austria, which obtains 80% of its natural gas from Russia, generally maintains close ties to Moscow. However, that has changed recently, and Nehammer has expressed solidarity with Ukraine and denounced apparent Russian war crimes.
Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now
| BUSINESS Sri Lanka will temporarily suspend foreign debt payments to avoid a hard default, the central bank governor said today, with its limited foreign reserves required for imports of essential items such as fuel.
In Britain, the jobless rate slipped further below its level immediately before the coronavirus pandemic, underscoring the risk of inflation pressure in the labor market that has the Bank of England on alert.
Seoul-based Terraform Labs, a crypto platform, has fired up the market after it pledged to amass $10 billion worth of bitcoin to back its own "stablecoin". It's part of a wider movement to crown bitcoin as the reserve currency of a new age.
Daily Journal Corp, the publishing and software company long overseen by Warren Buffett's business partner, Charlie Munger, said it halved its investment in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
Telecoms equipment maker Nokia is pulling out of the Russian market, following hundreds of foreign companies cutting ties with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine and after Western sanctions against Moscow.
|  Residents walk on a street in Fengjing town of Jinshan district, as the city eases the lockdown in some areas amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China April 11, 2022. cnsphoto via REUTERS In China, some residents of Shanghai stepped out of their homes for the first time in more than two weeks today, as the city took tentative steps towards easing a COVID-19 lockdown amid mounting worries over the economic impact of the strict curbs. A quarter of the population is now in some form of lockdown.
In Taiwan, the military released a handbook on civil defense for the first time, giving citizens survival guidance in a war scenario, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine focuses attention on how the island should respond to China's pressure. The handbook details how to find bomb shelters via smartphone apps, as well as tips for preparing emergency first aid kits.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has put jobs at the forefront of his federal election campaign, promising to create 1.3 million more over the next five years. This comes after his main rival, opposition leader Anthony Albanese, was stumped by questions about the jobless rate.
In waters off the Korean peninsula, the USS Abraham Lincoln strike group is operating to reassure allies and partners in the region, according to a U.S. official. The move comes as U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that North Korea could carry out an underground nuclear test in the coming days.
Sri Lanka’s healthcare system has been hit hard by economic crisis, with some patients unable to access key drugs through state hospitals, and medical procedures being suspended due to shortages. The country's universal government health system is relied on by the vast majority of its 22 million people.
U.S.
An off-duty police officer who breached the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack was found guilty of multiple felonies, a notable victory for prosecutors in one of the first trials relating to the attack.
Starting next week, Philadelphia will again require masks in indoor public settings such as restaurants, schools and businesses, responding to what appears to be a fresh wave of coronavirus transmissions.The new rule will make Philadelphia the first major city in the United States to reimpose such a mandate.
President Joe Biden unveiled a new rule to rein in so-called ghost guns and ban the manufacturing of the untraceable firearms, as the administration faces growing pressure to crack down on gun deaths in the United States. Ghost guns are privately made firearms that are not marked with a serial number and are difficult for law enforcement to trace when used to commit a crime.
Mexican truck drivers blockaded two busy bridges at the border with the United States, amid rising tensions on both sides over an order by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that has slowed commercial crossings between Mexico and Texas.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was monitoring what he described as a rise in human rights abuses in India by some officials, in a rare direct rebuke by Washington of the Asian nation's rights record.
| | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Salvadoran 'devils' whip each other for Easter Salvadorans were once again able to celebrate the Easter season on Monday with the traditional ceremony in which men dressed as devils whip people, after COVID-19 forced the event online last year. | | | | And finally… 'Baby One More Time' - Britney Spears expecting third child  Singer Britney Spears announced she is pregnant with her third child by posting a message on Instagram on Monday. Spears, 40, not only revealed her pregnancy but also appeared to announce she has gotten married to her fiance Sam Asghari, 28, calling him her "husband" in the post. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
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