| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Tuesday, March 15, 2022 by Linda Noakes | Hello Here's what you need to know. An extraordinary act of dissent in Moscow, Spain seizes an oligarch's yacht, and why U.S. banks will keep a toe in Russia | | | | | Today's biggest stories  Rescuers work next to a residential building damaged by shelling in Kyiv, March 15, 2022 RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR Three European prime ministers rode a train for Kyiv, the first visit by foreign leaders to the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched its invasion, and a striking symbol of Ukraine's success so far in fending off Russia's assault.
"It is our duty to be where history is forged. Because it's not about us, but about the future of our children who deserve to live in a world free from tyranny," said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who set off across the border with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Janez Jansa of Slovenia.
An anti-war protester interrupted a live news bulletin on Russia's state TV Channel One, holding up a sign behind the studio presenter and shouting slogans denouncing the war in Ukraine. Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee of the channel, was arrested and taken to a Moscow police station.
A jet linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich landed in Moscow, after taking off from Istanbul following a brief stop there. Meanwhile, Spain has temporarily seized a Russian oligarch's $140 million yacht in Barcelona, with sources saying the vessel belongs to the head of Russian state conglomerate Rostec, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When Russian bombs started falling on Kyiv, oncologist Nataliia Verovkina fled with her 10-year-old son. But once he was safe in Munich with his grandparents, she turned around and went back. We spoke to medics and volunteers trying to prop up Ukraine's health system.
Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now
|  A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, March 14, 2022 BUSINESS & MARKETS Investors are more concerned about the outlook for global growth than at any time since the financial crisis in 2008, and they have ramped up their cash holdings to a two-year high, according to a monthly fund manager survey by BofA. Financial indicators are showing increasing signs of stress, as investors see risks spiking and fear a market-wide liquidity crunch.
German investor sentiment suffered a record slide in March due to the war in Ukraine and economic sanctions on Russia, a survey showed, with collapsing expectations making a recession in Europe's largest economy "more and more likely".
The European Union formally approved a new barrage of sanctions against Russia, which include bans on investments in the Russian energy sector, luxury goods exports and imports of steel products from Russia. Britain said it would ban the export of luxury goods to Russia and impose a new 35% tariff on $1.2 billion worth of Russian imports.
UniCredit is urgently reviewing its Russian business and could decide on a costly exit of the country after its invasion of Ukraine, the Italian bank's CEO said, as markets watch for a payment on Russian sovereign debt. A growing list of financial firms are looking to exit Russia, with Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase winding down business there - but here's why U.S. banks will keep a toe in Russia.
A lack of wiring harnesses from Ukraine has overtaken a shortage of semiconductors as Volkswagen's biggest supply chain headache as the Russia-Ukraine war clouds its prospects for this year, the world's No.2 carmaker warned.
|  Workers in protective suits prepare a drone to disinfect a residential compound under lockdown in Changchun, Jilin province, China, March 14, 2022 AROUND THE WORLD China posted a steep jump in daily COVID infections, with new cases more than doubling from a day earlier to hit a two-year high, raising concerns about the rising economic costs of the country's tough containment measures.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier led military exercises in the Yellow Sea, and air defence artillery at Osan air base intensified drills, U.S. forces in Asia said amid signs of an imminent North Korean long-range missile test.
An Indian court upheld a ban on wearing of the hijab in classrooms in the southern state of Karnataka, a ruling that could set a precedent for the rest of the country which has a big Muslim minority. The ban last month by the state had sparked protests by some Muslim students and parents, and counter-protests by Hindu students.
The Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council is considering inviting the Houthi movement and other Yemeni parties for consultations in Riyadh this month as part of an initiative aimed at backing U.N.-led peace efforts, two Gulf officials told Reuters.
Law enforcement authorities arrested a suspect in connection with shootings of homeless people in Washington, D.C., and New York. Authorities had been searching for a lone gunman whom they said was linked by forensic evidence to the shooting of five homeless men in the two cities.
| | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  Odessa residents prepare to defend city On the beaches of Odessa people shovel sand into bags to bolster the city’s defences, as Russian forces creep slowly closer. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
