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Daily Briefing

Hello, this week starts with the response from a move by Poland and Hungary to ban grain and other food imports from Ukraine, the harshest sentence in years for a Kremlin critic, and the deadly fighting between rival military factions in Sudan.

Plus, G7 ministers set big new targets for solar and wind capacity.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

A general view of a grain terminal at the port in Odessa, Ukraine, April 10, 2023. Ritzau Scanpix/Bo Amstrup via REUTERS

War in Ukraine

Kyiv will aim to secure the re-opening of food and grain transit via Poland as a "first step" at talks in Warsaw, after Poland and Hungary announced bans on some imports from Ukraine to protect their local agricultural sectors. EU member countries' envoys in Brussels will discuss the move this week. Unilateral action on trade by member states is unacceptable, the bloc's executive said.
Outspoken Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for a quarter of a century by a Moscow court, the harshest sentence of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine. State prosecutors had accused him of treason and of discrediting the Russian military.
Follow developments in the war here.

The latest from Sudan

The United States called for a ceasefire in Sudan as the capital was bombarded for a third day in a bloody power struggle between rival military factions. At least 97 civilians had been killed since the fighting started on Saturday. The Reuters World News podcast spoke to an American eyewitness on the ground.
The fighting erupted between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan's transitional governing Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, who is deputy head of the council. Here is a timeline of the country's political upheavals in recent years.

Elsewhere...

In India, at least 11 people died after suffering from sunstroke at an award function on the outskirts of Mumbai. Hundreds of thousands of people attended the event on Sunday afternoon where federal home minister Amit Shah presented an award to a well-known social activist.
In the US, at least four people were killed and 28 wounded in a shooting that erupted during a late-night "Sweet 16" birthday celebration at a dance studio in the small town of Dadeville, Alabama. Officials said there was no longer any threat to the community but did not say whether a suspect has been killed or arrested.
And in Japan, the Group of Seven rich nations set new collective targets for solar power and offshore wind capacity, agreeing to speed up renewable energy development and move toward a quicker phase-out of fossil fuels. But they stopped short of endorsing a 2030 deadline for phasing out coal and left the door open for continued investment in gas. These are some key extracts from their communique.

Business & Markets

Tourists take photos at sunset of SpaceX's Starship the day before it launches from the Starbase launchpad on an orbital test mission, April 16, 2023. REUTERS/Gene Blevins

Elon Musk's SpaceX made final preparations early today to launch its powerful new Starship rocket system to space for the first time, on a brief but highly anticipated uncrewed test flight from the Gulf Coast of Texas. Meanwhile, Tesla's Shanghai factory workers took to social media to appeal to Musk and the Chinese public after being told about cuts to their performance bonuses.
Renault is reviewing its pricing policies of electric cars worldwide to ensure it stays competitive after a wave of price cuts by Tesla. "We will analyze country by country, market by market, which level of competitiveness we need to have to stay in the game," Fabrice Cambolive, the chief executive of the Renault brand, told reporters.
The start of Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation trial against Fox has been pushed back by a day, to Tuesday, the judge said. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Fox was seeking a possible settlement.
Major central banks may be deep into their drive to raise interest rates in hopes of killing inflation, but the endgame remains far from clear as price increases prove harder to slow than expected, and analysts caution that financial markets could still break along the way.

And Finally...

The "Estrela de Fura" ruby, the largest in the world, during a preview at Sotheby's in Hong Kong, April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Lam Yik

The largest ruby in the world to come to auction will be offered by Sotheby's in New York in June and is estimated to achieve more than $30 million. That would probably make the 55.22-carat gem, known as the Estrela de Fura, the most expensive ruby ever sold at auction, said Uni Kim, a specialist in Sotheby's jewelry department in Hong Kong.

Read more here: Sotheby's to auction world's largest ruby

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