Ukraine takes tentative step toward EU membership as Donbas battles reach 'fearsome climax'

The Reuters Daily Briefing Thursday, June 23, 2022 by Linda Noakes Hello Here's what you need to know. Germany raises its level of alarm over gas supplies, Musk says Tesla's new factories are losing billions, and will the WHO declare a monkeypox 'emergency'? Today's biggest stories Ukrainians living in Belgium rally outside the European Council building in Brussels, June 23, 2022. REUTERS/Johanna Geron RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR Ukraine will be accepted as a candidate to join the European Union today, a move that will boost the country's morale as the battle with Russian troops for two cities in the east reached what one official called a "fierce climax". Although the approval of the Kyiv government's application by EU leaders meeting in Brussels is just the start of what will be a years-long process, it signifies a huge geopolitical shift and will irritate Russia as it struggles to impose its will on Ukraine. Ukraine is expected to hold a preliminary hearing in its first trial of a Russian soldier charged with raping a Ukrainian woman during Russia's invasion, the first of what could be dozens of such cases. Ukrainian photographer Maksim Levin was "executed in cold blood" alongside his friend Oleksiy Chernyshov by Russian forces north of Kyiv on March 13, Reporters Without Borders said in a 16-page report. Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now BUSINESS Germany triggered the 'alarm stage' of its emergency gas plan in response to falling Russian supplies but stopped short of allowing utilities to pass on soaring energy costs to customers in Europe's largest economy. We look at how German industry is grappling with painful choices. India is providing safety certification for dozens of ships managed by a Dubai subsidiary of top Russian shipping group Sovcomflot, official data showed, enabling oil exports to India and elsewhere after Western certifiers withdrew their services due to global sanctions against Moscow. Manufacturing growth is slowing from Asia to Europe as China's COVID-19 curbs and Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupt supply chains, while the growing risk of a recession in the United States poses a new threat to the global economy. Major U.S. oil refiners will meet with U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other Biden officials today in an emergency meeting about how to lower record-high fuel prices that are squeezing American consumers. Gas at $5 is tipping some U.S. rideshare drivers to wrap their cars in advertizing. Norway's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points, its largest single hike since 2002 and did not rule out making further increases of this size as the country seeks to control inflation. Tesla's new car factories in Texas and Berlin are "losing billions of dollars" as they struggle to increase production because of a shortage of batteries and China port issues, Chief Executive Elon Musk said. A Taliban helicopter takes off after bringing aid to the site of an earthquake in Gayan, Afghanistan, June 23, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara WORLD Aid began arriving in a remote part of Afghanistan where an earthquake killed 1,000 people but poor communications and a lack of proper roads are hampering relief efforts in a country already grappling with a humanitarian crisis. Authorities in Bangladesh are bracing for the spread of water-borne diseases and racing to get drinking water to people stranded in their homes by flooding across a quarter of the country. Heatwaves in northern and central China drove up electricity demand to record levels as millions switched on air conditioners to escape the sweltering conditions, while floodwaters in the south submerged villages and trapped city residents. The World Health Organization will decide today whether to declare monkeypox a global health emergency, stirring criticism from leading African scientists who say it has been a crisis in their region for years. Commonwealth leaders gather in Rwanda this week to discuss issues ranging from trade to health to climate change, a summit that will test the organization's mettle at a time when its relevance is being questioned. Here's what you need to know about the summit. U.S. The U.S. Senate is poised for a vote to advance a bipartisan gun control bill that supporters hope will help curb the mass shootings that have rocked the country, in what could be Congress's first new limits on guns in decades. Donald Trump's failed efforts to pressure Justice Department officials to overturn his 2020 election defeat will be the topic of today's congressional hearing investigating his supporters' attack on the Capitol. Vice President Kamala Harris will meet a group of seven Democratic attorneys general today to discuss the defense to a major ruling that could dramatically curtail abortion rights in the country. We spoke to opponents of abortion about the experiences that led them to activism. President Joe Biden's public approval rating fell for a fourth straight week to 36% matching its lowest level last seen in late May, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll. The Texas school district police chief who has come under withering criticism for the police response to the Uvalde school massacre has been placed on administrative leave by the district and could lose his position on the Uvalde City Council. Quote of the day "The golden age of internet companies’ hiring sprees has ended" Jason Wang Beijing-based headhunter Record numbers of Chinese graduates enter worst job market in decades Video of the day Inside the hangar at the center of a $1 billion jet dispute Two high-tech jets sit idle with their windows taped and engines covered in a floodlit hangar in the Gulf, hobbled by an international legal dispute between European industrial giant Airbus and Qatar's national carrier. And finally… Swiss 'zero star hotel' offers sleepless nights to ponder world's crises "I couldn't sleep" and "my room was too noisy" may be complaints hoteliers dread, but for the Riklin brothers that is the entire point of their latest art installation. More from Reuters Sustainable Business The Great Reboot 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? 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