March 22, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 27 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates [more]:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last night that Russian forces had shelled the route being used to evacuate civilians from the southern port city of Mariupol on Monday.
• U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday warned U.S. companies that Russia could be preparing to launch cyberattacks against critical infrastructure as retaliation for western support of Ukraine amidst the Russian invasion.
• U.S. military officials say Russian forces have increased the number of military flights over Ukraine in the past two days, with about 300 such flights taking place in a 24-hour period.
• The Russian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that it would not move forward with peace treaty talks and joint economic projects with Japan due to Japan’s sanctions imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. No formal end to World War II hostilities between Russia and Japan was ever reached due to the disagreements over the northernmost Japanese  island of Hokkaido. [more]
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested yesterday that any potential compromises that might be reached with Russia to end the war would need to be voted on by Ukrainians in a referendum.
• Reports say Russian troops used stun grenades and fired warning shots yesterday  to disperse Ukrainians in the southern Ukraine city of Kherson who were demonstrating against the Russian invasion.

SUPREME COURT | In the first of three scheduled days of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson pledged yesterday to decide cases “without fear or favor.” [full text of Jackson’s opening remarks] [more]

CLIMATE | The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday released a draft rule under which companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges would be required to disclose climate-related risks and greenhouse gas emissions. The draft rule could become final later this year, after a period of public comment. [more]

ECONOMY | U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested yesterday that the Fed could increase interest rates at a faster-than-expected speed this year as part of its efforts to mitigate high inflation growth. [more]

TEXAS WILDFIRES | The Texas A&M Forest Service said yesterday that firefighters in Texas have responded to 178 wildfires that have burned more than 108,000 acres in the state over the past week. [more]

JAPAN | Officials in Japan today requested that citizens and businesses take power conservation measures and warned of potential blackouts due to electricity production issues at several power plants after last week’s earthquake along the country’s northeastern coast. [more]

RUSSIA | A Russian court today found jailed government critic Alexei Navalny guilty on fraud charges. Navalny, who is currently serving a two-and-a-half year jail sentence for parole violations, could face an additional 13 years in prison following the new conviction. [more]

CHINA | Reports say no survivors have been found among the remains of a China Eastern aircraft that crashed yesterday in China's Guangxi region. There were 132 people aboard the Boeing 737-800 aircraft. [more]

POLIO | UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative kicked off a drive this week to administer polio vaccines to more than nine million children in eastern and southern Africa. The vaccine drive follows the first confirmed case of wild polio in Africa in more than five years. [more]

COVID-19 | Chinese officials announced yesterday that the Shanghai Disney Resort and Disneyland would be closed until further notice due to rising local COVID-19 infection rates. [more]

NFL | The Indianapolis Colts acquired quarterback Matt Ryan from the Atlanta Falcons yesterday for a third-round pick in this year's NFL draft. Ryan had played for the Falcons since 2008. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1945, the Arab League, a regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East, was organized in Cairo by Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. [more history]