WINNIPEG, April 6 (MarketsFarm) – The following is a glance at the news moving markets in Canada and globally.

– Ukraine is calling on NATO to lay out a path for the country to join the military alliance, as Russia amasses troops near Ukraine’s border. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy also called on NATO to strengthen its presence in the Black Sea region as a deterrent to Russia. The European Union and United Kingdom have expressed their support of Ukraine.

– Worldwide deaths due to COVID-19 have topped three million, according to data compiled by Reuters, with the advent of new variants leading to increased infections in a number of countries. Brazil and India were especially worrisome to health officials. The United States still has the highest number of deaths worldwide, at about 555,000, but a rapid vaccination campaign in the country has slowed infection rates with at least a third of the U.S. population having received at least one dose of a vaccine.

– Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been given the task of attempting to form a government in the country’s parliament, despite facing corruption charges. Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, said there was nothing in the law preventing Netanyahu from holding the office and acknowledged that the controversial leader had the best chance of forming a government in the 120-seat Knesset. Of the 13 parties in the government, none have the necessary support to form a majority coalition.