| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Friday, March 11, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. Putin says Russia will use Middle East volunteer fighters, Facebook allows war posts urging violence against Russian invaders, and Deutsche Bank bucks the trend as it maintains its Russia ties | | | | | Today's biggest stories  A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces trains to throw Molotov cocktails in Kyiv, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Mykola Tymchenko RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR Russian forces bearing down on Kyiv are regrouping northwest of the Ukrainian capital, satellite pictures showed, and Britain said on Friday Moscow could now be planning an assault on the city within days.
Ukraine accused Russian forces of hitting a psychiatric hospital near the eastern Ukrainian town of Izyum, in what the regional governor called "a brutal attack on civilians". Emergency services said no one was hurt as the patients were already sheltering in the basement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the green light to bring in thousands of fighters from the Middle East to fight against Ukraine.
Russia will end the activities of Meta Platforms, operator of social media sites Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, if a Reuters report that the company will allow users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers is true, the Kremlin said.
Eastern Europe's volunteer-driven aid effort to help Ukrainians was showing signs of strains, with some cities running out of accommodation as the number of refugees passed 2.5 million.
The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills" that would spread disease among the population, the agency told Reuters.
Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now
|  Customers queue to enter a Uniqlo store in Moscow, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov BUSINESS Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing and Japan Tobacco said they would suspend some operations in Russia, in a U-turn by the Japanese consumer giants which had indicated they would stay in the market.
Deutsche Bank said it was not withdrawing completely from Russia, drawing anger from investors and contrasting with Wall Street banks which are severing ties with the country.
Confiscating the assets of companies that have fled Russia would shatter investor confidence for decades and take the country back to the calamitous days of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, metals magnate Vladimir Potanin said.
Ukraine's two leading suppliers of neon, which produce about half the world's supply of the key ingredient for making chips, have halted their operations as Moscow has sharpened its attack on the country, threatening to raise prices and aggravate the semiconductor shortage.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens millions of tiny spring-time sprouts that should emerge from stalks of dormant winter wheat in the coming weeks. If the farmers can't feed those crops soon it will jeopardize a national wheat harvest on which millions in the developing world depend.
Britain's economy rebounded much more than expected in January from its coronavirus-related lull in late 2021, raising - along with soaring inflation - the likelihood of an interest rate hike next week. As global central banks stay inflation-focused, we look at Switzerland - the land that inflation left behind.
|  Attendants hold signs as they wait for delegates in Tiananmen Square, after the closing session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, March 10, 2022. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins AROUND THE WORLD Asia passed the grim milestone of 1 million coronavirus-linked deaths, a Reuters tally showed, as a spike in Omicron variant infections spreads across the region after starting in nations such as Japan and South Korea. Mainland China reported over 1,000 new infections in dozens of cities, the highest daily count in about two years.
North Korea recently used what would be its largest ever intercontinental ballistic missile system in two secretive launches, likely paving the way for a resumption of long-range tests, U.S. and South Korean officials said.
Iran and the United States were at loggerheads over reviving the 2015 nuclear deal after Tehran suggested there were new obstacles and Washington said hard issues remained, officials said.
The U.S. Senate approved legislation providing $1.5 trillion to fund the federal government through September 30 and to allocate $13.6 billion to aid Ukraine.
Gabriel Boric, who at 36 years old takes office today as Chile's youngest president, has been building towards this moment since childhood. But the leftist leader faces a raft of challenges.
| | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Russian restaurant in New York City targeted over Ukraine Vlada von Shats is the co-owner of the Russian Samovar, a restaurant in Manhattan's theater district. But she has found that the war an ocean away is now threatening her business. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
