| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Friday, April 8, 2022 by Hani Richter | Hello Here's what you need to know. Dozens killed in rocket strike on Ukraine rail evacuation hub, Amazon objecting to union's victory in New York and Israeli forces shoot dead Palestinian who killed two people in a Tel Aviv bar. | | | | | Today's biggest stories  A rescuer sits in a rubble of a building that was destroyed by Russian shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Borodyanka, Kyiv region, Ukraine April 7, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AT WAR At least 39 people were killed and 87 wounded when two rockets hit a railway station in eastern Ukraine packed with evacuees, Ukrainian authorities said, as the region braced for a major Russian offensive.
The European Commission chief and the EU's top diplomat arrived in Kyiv to offer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy support and reassurance over his bid for EU membership in a capital gradually reviving after Russia pulled back forces.
Russia gave its most sombre take yet on the six-week long war in Ukraine, describing the "tragedy" of rising troop losses and the economic pain of sanctions, as Ukrainian authorities rushed civilians out of the way of a looming big offensive in the east.
The United Nations General Assembly suspended Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council over reports of "gross and systematic violations and abuses of human rights" in Ukraine, prompting Moscow to announce it was quitting the body.
Britain added Vladimir Putin's daughters to its sanctions list, mirroring moves by the United States, in what it said was an effort to target the lifestyles of those in the Russian president's inner circle.
Ukraine said it aimed to establish up to 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate trapped civilians, but civilians trying to flee besieged Mariupol will have to use private vehicles.
Here's what you need to know about the conflict right now
|  Israeli security personnel work near the scene of a fatal shooting attack near a bar in Tel Aviv, Israel April 7, 2022. REUTERS/Corinna Kern WORLD
Israeli security forces shot dead a Palestinian who killed two people in a Tel Aviv bar after an hours-long manhunt through the city. The bar attack was the latest in a string of deadly street assaults that have killed 13 people and shaken the country.
French President Emmanuel Macron voiced regret for starting campaigning late as opinion polls showed him holding a slender lead over the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who he warned would scare investors away from France. First round of the presidential election takes place on Sunday.
Shanghai announced a record 21,000 new cases and a third consecutive day of COVID testing as a lockdown of its 26 million people showed no sign of easing and other Chinese cities tightened curbs - even in places with no recent infections.
Sri Lanka's finance minister said that the crisis-hit country must urgently restructure its debt and seek external help, while the main opposition threatened a no-confidence motion and business leaders warned that exports could plummet.
Pakistan's Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Imran Khan's move to dissolve parliament was unconstitutional and ordered lawmakers to return, a decision that could spell the end of his premiership.
U.S.
The White House will celebrate the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court in an outdoor event as coronavirus cases among Washington's political elite rise.
Alabama lawmakers passed a bill that would criminalize gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth, with a threat of 10 years in prison for medical providers.
A California law requiring grocery stores and restaurants to donate leftover food has been hard for local food banks and small towns to implement due to climbing fuel costs and uncertainty over who pays for food recovery.
More than a thousand book titles, most addressing racism and LGBTQ issues, have been banned from U.S. classrooms and school libraries in the last nine months, many under pressure from conservative parents and officials, the writers' organization PEN America said.
The city of Denver said it will appeal a federal jury's verdict from March that awarded $14 million to a dozen activists who sued Denver police, claiming excessive force was used against peaceful protesters during racial injustice demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in 2020. | | | | | | | | | | | Video of the day  High-profile U.S. COVID cases amid rise in new variant At least a half-dozen senior officials, including members of President Joe Biden's Cabinet and lawmakers, have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days, as caseloads drop across the country. Even as the new BA.2 Omicron variant accounts for nearly three out of four cases in the U.S., experts are hoping another wave will be avoided. | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
