Daily Briefing

Israeli airstrike kills two people in Damascus, police fire tear gas on Indian farmers marching to Delhi, and emergency units in South Korea turn back patients as doctors protest.

Plus, the state of the war in Ukraine on the cusp of its second anniversary.

By Edson Caldas

Today's Top News

Tear gas is fired at farmers marching towards New Delhi. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Indian police fired tear gas to scatter thousands of protesting farmers as they sought to resume a march to Delhi after rejecting a government offer on prices for their produce. The farmers, mostly from the northern state of Punjab, have been demanding higher prices backed by law for their crops.
South Korea's biggest hospitals canceled procedures and turned away patients after thousands of trainee doctors walked off the job in protest at a government plan to boost medical school admissions. The health ministry says 7,813 doctors have left their jobs since protests began. Here is our explainer.

MIDDLE EAST

An Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in Syria's capital Damascus, killing two people and wounding a number of others. Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese group Hezbollah has drawn regular Israeli air strikes meant to curb Tehran's extraterritorial military power. Follow the latest.
The US has again vetoed a UN resolution pushing for an immediate ceasefire. UN Bureau Chief Michelle Nichols discusses why on today's Reuters World News podcast. With Israel preparing for a ground offensive in Rafah, President Joe Biden's rhetoric is shifting to emphasize the need for a "temporary ceasefire."

UNITED STATES

The Biden administration is canceling $1.2 billion worth of student loans for some 153,000 people who are eligible under a program used to make good on promises to increase loan forgiveness. Voters whose support Biden needs to win re-election are vocal in advocating for such actions. Follow the US elections.
The president's brother James Biden is due to testify behind closed doors later today to a Republican-led House of Representatives impeachment inquiry that has sought to show that the Democrat improperly profited from his family's business. He is the first member of the president's family to testify in the probe.

Business & Markets

The rise of fast-fashion retailers such as Shein and Temu is upending the global air cargo industry, as they vie for limited air-cargo space, industry sources said. Their growing popularity is boosting air-freight costs from Asian hubs, making off-peak seasons almost disappear and causing capacity shortages.
Capital One's chances of getting its $35.3 billion deal for Discover Financial past regulators hinge on the bank showing it can disrupt the close-knit US credit card industry, five experts in corporate law interviewed by Reuters said. Investors are assigning only a 50% chance to the deal being completed.
HSBC reported a $3 billion charge on its stake in a Chinese bank amid mounting bad loans, taking the shine off a record annual profit. Shares in the British lender slid as much as 7% in early London trade, heading for their worst single-day drop since the pandemic erupted in March 2020.
A warning from home carrier Singapore Airlines that ticket prices were coming under pressure as costs are also rising sent its shares down nearly 10%, casting a shadow over the Singapore Airshow. It underscored broader aviation industry concerns about supply chain constraints and a more cautious outlook in Asia.
EV drivers unable to install a charger at home are turning instead to stopgaps offered by US and European firms as alternatives to often expensive or inconvenient public charging points. Here are some of the new routes to power up. For more news on the industry, sign up to the Auto File newsletter.

Ukraine outnumbered, outgunned, ground down by relentless Russia

A Ukrainian serviceman practices operating drones in Donetsk. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

As the Ukraine war enters its third year, Reuters spoke to soldiers and commanders in infantry, drone and artillery units on different sections of the 1,000-km frontlines in eastern and southern Ukraine. While still motivated to fight Russian occupation, they spoke of the challenges of holding off a larger and better supplied enemy.

Read the full report here.

And Finally...

A 16-meter replica of the Eiffel Tower built from recycled wood. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe

Two friends in western France have built a 16-meter high replica of the Eiffel Tower, which they hope to display near Olympic sites. Frederic Malmezac, a 38-year-old carpenter, paired up with 46-year-old Sylvain Bouchard to build the model using wood that would otherwise have been thrown away.

Starting their project in September 2023, the pair used about 825 pieces of wood.

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