Russians tighten noose on Ukraine's Bakhmut

Plus Sunak tries to sell his deal in Northern Ireland

Hello The situation in Bakhmut is extremely tense, Ron DeSantis ends the 'corporate kingdom' of Walt Disney World, and Rishi Sunak is in Belfast to start selling his deal.   By Kate Turton   World News Service members are seen next to an infantry fighting vehicle near the frontline town of Bakhmut, February 25, 2023. REUTERS/Yan Dobronosov The situation in Bakhmut is "extremely tense", the commander of Ukrainian ground forces said, as Russian troops besieging it stepped up their assault in a bid to encircle it. Russia is trying to cut the Ukrainian defenders' supply lines to the city, and force them to surrender or withdraw.  Suspected Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli-American motorist in the occupied West Bank after Jewish settlers rampaged through a Palestinian village in a burst of violence that defied U.S. efforts to prod the sides to cooperate on security. Here's why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's balancing act just got harder. Rishi Sunak is in Belfast today to start selling the new post-Brexit trading arrangements he agreed with Brussels, seeking to get unionists onside to finally break the political deadlock in the province. The Reuters World News podcast takes a closer look at the Northern Ireland deal and asks what it really means for people there. Provisional results from Nigeria's disputed presidential election over the weekend showed Bola Tinubu from the ruling party in the lead, a Reuters tally of votes in 25 of the country's 36 states showed. Peter Obi of the smaller Labour Party got 20% or about 3.8 million votes.  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged government officials to engineer a "fundamental transformation" in agricultural production, state media reported, amid fears that the country's food shortage is worsening.  U.S. News A Walt Disney World photographer holds a Pride rainbow-colored Mickey Mouse cutout, July 30, 2022. REUTERS/Octavio Jones Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill that takes control of a special tax district surrounding Walt Disney World. State Republicans last year targeted Disney after it publicly clashed with DeSantis over a law that restricts classroom instruction of gender and sexual orientation. The Biden administration announced measures to crack down on child labor amid a steep rise in violations and investigative reports by Reuters and other news outlets on illegal employment of migrant minors in dangerous U.S. industries. Rupert Murdoch testified that Fox News hosts endorsed idea that President Joe Biden stole the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Documents in the case in Delaware state court show Murdoch and other Fox executives believed Biden fairly beat Donald Trump and that the results were not in doubt. The ACLU urged Congress not to ban TikTok, saying it would violate the free speech rights of millions of Americans. A TikTok ban would "limit Americans' political discussion, artistic expression, free exchange of ideas — and even prevent people from posting cute animal videos and memes," the ACLU said in a letter to lawmakers.  The fate of President Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student debt for some 40 million borrowers is placed in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court today in a case that presents another major test of executive branch authority. China must be more honest about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. ambassador to China said, after reports that the U.S. Energy Department concluded the pandemic likely arose from a Chinese laboratory leak. Business & Markets People visit the Volkswagen booth during a media day for the Auto Shanghai show in Shanghai, April 19, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song Volkswagen faced a barrage of criticism from campaigners after the head of its Chinese business said he saw no sign of forced labor during a visit to the carmaker's Xinjiang plant. Activists and an international group of lawmakers said verifying labor standards in the region was impossible. British grocery inflation hit 17.1% in the four weeks to February 19, another record high, dealing the latest blow to consumers struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, industry data showed. Market researcher Kantar said prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, eggs and margarine. Euro zone inflation pressures have begun to ease, including for all-important core prices, but the European Central Bank will not end rate hikes until it is confident price growth is heading back towards 2%, ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane said. The ECB has raised rates by 3 percentage points since July and promised another half a percentage increase in March. Credit Suisse "seriously breached its supervisory obligations" in connection with its business relationship with financier Lex Greensill and his companies, Swiss financial watchdog FINMA concluded. Lockheed Martin's mobile rocket launcher plant is gearing up to boost production of the HIMARS system after its success on the battlefield in Ukraine drove up demand from other nations, executives said. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is now a widely recognized weapon after mobile phone camera footage of the war showed the launchers in action. And finally A couple embraces as revelers celebrate Ash Monday by participating in a colorful "flour war", Greece, February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis Celebrating Ash Monday with a 'flour war' Orchestra turns trash to music and environmental activism in Bolivia At the home of Zara, fast and slow fashion collide We think you may like this: Reuters Sustainable Switch Make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change, diversity, and human rights. Subscribe Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.   Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Follow Reuters on social media Reuters Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement   © 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036

U.S. warns China over Russia arms

And 61 dead in migrant shipwreck near Italy.

Hello The United States warns China over providing arms to Russia, the death toll in a migrant shipwreck near Italy rises to 61, and Rishi Sunak is set to announce a new Northern Ireland deal.   By Kate Turton World News Mariia reacts near the grave of her son Vasyl Kurbet, Ukrainian service member killed in a fight against Russian troops, February 24, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko China has urged peace after a U.S. warning of serious consequences if it provided arms to support Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Washington and its NATO allies are scrambling to dissuade China from providing military aid for Moscow's war.  The death toll in a shipwreck near the southern Italian coast has risen to 61, an Italian official told Reuters, as searches continued for missing people. The wooden sailing boat carrying migrants had sailed from Turkey and crashed early on Sunday against rocks near Steccato di Cutro. Huge crowds gathered in Mexico City to condemn government moves to shrink the electoral authority as a threat to democracy, in what appeared to be the largest protest so far against President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's administration. The Reuters World News Podcast is on the ground in Mexico. Nigeria was to resume announcing presidential election results on Monday amid complaints of irregularities as opposition parties criticized the slow pace at which the results were being uploaded on to the election commission's website. Last Saturday's vote is expected to be close. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a new deal on post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, gambling that the reward of better terms with the European Union is worth the discord it might cause within his own party. Ursula von der Leyen will travel to England for final talks. The Northern Ireland protocol explained. French President Emmanuel Macron will fly to Africa this week in a bid to counter Russian efforts to dislodge France from the continent, after Paris suffered a series of military and political setbacks in its former sphere of influence. Macron will visit three African nations around the Congo basin as well as Angola. U.S. News A Falcon 9 rocket is readied before launch on NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission, Cape Canaveral, Florida, February 26, 2023. REUTERS/Joe Skipper NASA and SpaceX postponed the launch of a capsule containing two U.S. astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and a United Arab Emirates crewmate minutes before scheduled lift-off from Florida on a flight to the International Space Station. The U.S. space agency and SpaceX, the private rocket company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, cited a technical glitch. House Republicans are eyeing $150 billion in spending cuts that reflect a hardline drive to target education, healthcare and housing - particularly efforts to address racial inequities that conservatives deride as "woke" - as they push forward in talks on the federal debt ceiling. How the debt ceiling fight is different this time.  After a rare snowfall dusted Los Angeles on Saturday, Southern California is bracing for a series of weak storms that will bring wind and rain this week to coastal areas while Northern and Central California mountain communities could see more heavy snow.  Republican congressman Scott Perry's court battle to protect his cellphone records has prevented federal investigators from reviewing over 2,200 documents in their investigation of Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election, according to newly unsealed court documents. Billionaire Elon Musk accused the media of being racist against whites and Asians after U.S. newspapers dropped a white comic strip author who posted a racist rant. The Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and USA Today were among newspapers that canceled the cartoon "Dilbert" after its creator Scott Adams said Black Americans were a hate group. Business & Markets A worker sorts through piles of second-hand shoes at a warehouse owned by Yok Impex Pte Ltd, a Singaporean trader of used clothing and footwear. REUTERS/Joseph Campbell Special Report: U.S. petrochemicals giant Dow Inc and the Singapore government said they were transforming old sneakers into playgrounds and running tracks. Reuters put that promise to the test by planting hidden trackers inside 11 pairs of donated shoes. Most got exported instead. British energy regulator Ofgem lowered its price cap on household energy bills from April, but it will offer little relief to consumers as costs continue to rise. Ofgem has lowered the cap to an annual level of 3,280 pounds ($3,925.18) for a typical dual-fuel household from the current 4,279 pounds. The North American aviation industry is wooing workers with daycare centers, cheaper transport and free iPhones to compete as salaries for entry-level, low-skilled jobs often lag those at e-commerce companies like Amazon. Shortages of workers like baggage handlers and customer service agents led to long lines and delayed luggage last year. Medical tourism has taken a knock in places like Hungary and Turkey as a result of inflation and rising energy and food prices. Rising air fares and fewer flights - and the memory of last summer's travel chaos - are also putting off would-be patients, clinic operators and analysts told Reuters. Greta Thunberg and dozens of other activists blocked entrances to Norway's energy ministry, protesting wind turbines built on land traditionally used by indigenous Sami reindeer herders. Thunberg, a vocal advocate for the ending the world's reliance on carbon-based power, said the transition to green energy could not come at the expense of indigenous rights. And finally J-Hope performs in Times Square, December 31, 2022. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon South Korea's BTS member j-hope begins process to join military Nokia changes iconic logo to signal strategy shift The Wider Image: Islamist militants have Pakistan's police in their crosshairs We think you may like this: Reuters Health Rounds   Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs, healthcare trends, pharmaceutical news and more. Sent twice a week. Subscribe Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.   Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. Follow Reuters on social media Reuters Terms & Conditions and Privacy Statement   © 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved. 3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036