The main events by the morning: April 16

• Olaf Scholz arrived in China in order to convince Xi Jinping to reduce support for Russia. During his three-day visit to China, the German Chancellor met with Xi Jinping. In addition to talking about the further development of relations between Germany and China, Scholz's delegation also intends to persuade China to put pressure on the Russian government, in particular, to agree to the terms of Ukraine's peace talks.

• The United States will not provide assistance to Israel in the event of a retaliatory strike against Iran. It is reported that the United States does not plan to participate in military operations against Iran, fearing a possible aggravation of the conflict in the Middle East. And this is despite the fact that Israel has received the most aid from the United States for decades.

• The discussion of the bill on assistance to Ukraine at the expense of Israel is resuming in the United States. The Parliament is considering three separate lend-lease bills, including issues on financing Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine. However, Politico sources claim that Republicans will again block all initiatives related to support for Ukraine.

• Russian banks are actively increasing spending on cybersecurity. In 2023, the cost of information security could grow to 60%. It is predicted that in 2024 they may grow by another 20%. This increase in costs is associated not only with an increase in the number of cyber attacks on Russian infrastructure, including banking, but also with an increase in the cost of software and equipment from leading suppliers.

• In Russia, a minimum salary can be set at the minimum wage level. The bill, promoted by the «A Just Russia – For Truth» faction, involves fixing the minimum wage corresponding to the minimum wage in the Labor Code. Today, in many enterprises of the country, the tariff rates are less than the minimum wage. More than 700 thousand Russians face unfair salary accrual because of this.