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Investors adopt the brace position, Putin welcomes Xi to Moscow, and Trump charges loom.

By Linda Noakes

Today's Top Stories

Logos of UBS and Credit Suisse are seen in Zurich, March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

BANKING TURMOIL

Banking stocks and bonds plummeted after UBS Group sealed a state-backed takeover of troubled peer Credit Suisse, a deal that was orchestrated in an attempt to restore confidence in a battered sector. Some of the world's largest central banks came together to stop a banking crisis from spreading.
UBS emerged as Switzerland’s one and only global bank, a risky bet that makes the Swiss economy more dependent on a single lender. Credit Suisse told staff its wealth assets are operationally separate from UBS for now, but once they merged clients might want to consider moving some assets to another bank if concentration was a concern.
The rudest shock in the rushed deal was reserved for the holders of Credit Suisse's riskiest tranche of bonds. UBS is salvaging the most value from the wreckage, says Breakingviews columnist Liam Proud.
Hedge fund managers and other large investors believe it is far too soon to call an all-clear on turmoil in the global financial sector.
Why is the deal not calming markets? We explain in today's Reuters World News podcast.

XI IN MOSCOW

Russian President Vladimir Putin will expect Chinese President Xi Jinping to show solidarity against Western hegemony when he arrives in Moscow today, while Xi will present China as a global peacemaker intent on brokering an end to the Ukraine war. Putin, quoting Confucius, has heaped praise on Xi.
Xi is walking a diplomatic tightrope, seeking to present China as a global peacemaker while strengthening ties with his closest ally.
Justice ministers from around the world will meet in London today to discuss scaling up support for the International Criminal Court after it issued an arrest warrant last week for Putin. Here's what you need to know about the Russia-Ukraine war right now.

TRUMP'S TROUBLES

A lawyer called to testify behind closed-doors in New York today may challenge the claims of a key witness before a grand jury decides whether to charge former President Donald Trump over hush money paid to a porn star, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Trump could be charged in New York as soon as this week, but any trial of the former U.S. president would still be more than a year away, legal experts said.

MACRON UNDER PRESSURE

President Emanuel Macron faces a critical moment today as the French National Assembly is due to vote on no-confidence motions filed after his government bypassed parliament to push through an unpopular rise in the state pension age.
Paris police clashed with demonstrators for a third night on Saturday as thousands of people marched throughout the country.

In Other News

A supporter of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan walks with a riot shield used by the police during a clash outside the federal judicial complex in Islamabad, March 18, 2023. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Police in Pakistan have arrested dozens of supporters and aides of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in raids in two cities as part of a crackdown on those involved in recent clashes with the security forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a softening of his hard-right government's judicial overhaul plan, an apparent bid to calm more than two months of unprecedented nationwide protests and misgivings voiced by Western allies.
Police in Kenya's capital Nairobi fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people protesting against President William Ruto over the high cost of living and claims of cheating in last year's election.
A former U.S. Marine Corps pilot may have been "lured" from China to Australia by security agencies before his arrest, his lawyer said after a court hearing in Sydney. Daniel Duggan is facing extradition to the United States on charges of breaking U.S. law by training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers.
PLUS: Cyclone Freddy teaches deadly lessons on storm warnings; Vaccine makers prep bird flu shot for humans 'just in case'; Scratched EV battery? Your insurer may have to junk the whole car.

The Iraq War, 20 Years On

A U.S. soldier watches as a statue of Iraq's President Saddam Hussein falls in central Baghdad, April 9, 2003. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic

See iconic images taken by Reuters photographers as we mark two decades since the conflict began on March 20, 2003.

The road to war: Ex-Reuters journalist Louis Charbonneau, now UN director at Human Rights Watch, recalls how he covered the chase for WMD in Iraq.

And Finally...

Finding himself lonely and bored during the pandemic, Travis Butterworth turned to Replika, an app that uses artificial-intelligence technology similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT. He designed a female avatar with pink hair and a face tattoo, and she named herself Lily Rose.

Here's the story of an unconventional romance and what happens when your chatbot stops loving you back.

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