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Daily Briefing

Hello, a lot of news coming from the war in Ukraine this morning, with officials acknowledging Russian gains in Bakhmut, and Moscow detaining a WSJ reporter.

Plus, our graphics team shows what the High Seas Treaty is all about.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

A Ukrainian tank unit crew takes cover and waits for shelling to cease in a bunker, near the bombed-out city of Bakhmut, March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Violeta Santos Moura

The war in Ukraine

Russian forces have had some success in the city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials said, adding that their fighters were still holding on. The mining city and surrounding towns in the eastern region of Donetsk have been a focal point of assault for much of Russia's invasion. Here are the latest developments and the scenes from the frontlines.
Russia's FSB security service said that a reporter with The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, had been detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage. The newspaper said that it "vehemently denies" the allegations and seeks the immediate release of their reporter.
The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog visited Ukraine's embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and said he was putting aside plans for a security zone around the facility so he could propose specific protection measures acceptable to both Moscow and Kyiv.

Elsewhere...

Taiwan predicts a less severe reaction from China to an expected meeting between President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, according to a senior Taiwan security official. Tsai arrived in New York on her way to Central America, and will stop off in Los Angeles next week on her way back. The White House urged China not to use a "normal" stopover as a pretext to increase aggressive activity.
Pope Francis spent a peaceful night in a Rome hospital after suffering from a respiratory infection, a Vatican source said. The pope was hospitalized after complaining of breathing difficulties, raising fresh concerns over the health of the 86-year-old pontiff.
The governor of Kentucky said fatalities were expected after two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters crashed during a routine training mission over the state. The status of the crew members was not immediately known, the U.S. Army's Fort Campbell said in a statement to Reuters. This is one of the stories covered on today's edition of the Reuters World News podcast.
At least 29 people have died, including a 6-month old baby, after a fire broke out on an inter-island passenger ferry in the southern Philippines, the coast guard said. Authorities have yet to identify the cause of the fire that started when many of the passengers were asleep on the ferry's lower deck.

Business & Markets

The easy-cash era is over and markets are feeling the pinch from the sharpest jump in interest rates in decades. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank after heavy losses on its bond portfolio as rates climbed was a wake-up call that monetary tightening will likely bring more pain. Here's a look at some potential pressure points.
Alphabet's Google Cloud has accused Microsoft of anti-competitive cloud computing practices and criticized imminent deals with several European vendors, saying these do not solve broader concerns about its licensing terms. Its Vice President Amit Zavery told Reuters the company has raised the issue with antitrust agencies and urged EU antitrust regulators to take a closer look.
Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said the company will look to monetize non-core assets and consider giving up control of some businesses, as the Chinese tech conglomerate reinvents itself after a regulatory crackdown that wiped 70% off its shares. His comments come two days after Alibaba announced the largest restructuring in its history.
Three major jolts in as many years coupled with the once unthinkable possibility of a power grid collapse have spooked reinsurers in South Africa, spelling an end to cheap coverage in the continent's most developed insurance market.

The High Seas Treaty, Explained

A whale shark swims next to volunteer divers after they removed an abandoned fishing net that was covering a coral reef in a protected area of Ko Losin, Thailand. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

After almost 20 years of negotiations, United Nations member countries have agreed upon an international treaty to protect oceans of the world that lie outside national borders. These graphics show what that treaty is all about.

And Finally...

Jewelry made from bullet shells are displayed at Angkor Bullet Jewelry in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, March 29, 2023. REUTERS/Cindy Liu

From war to peace. Cambodian goldsmith Thoeun Chantha turns brass casings of AK-47 and M-16 bullets into jewelry. For more than two decades, the 42-year-old, whose father was killed during Cambodia's years of war, has run a workshop to transform symbols of violence into what he calls wearable pieces of art.

Read more here: Cambodian goldsmith turns bullet casings into jewelry

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