April 11, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 47 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates [more]:

• General Alexander Dvornikov has reportedly been appointed to command Russian forces in Ukraine. Dvornikov, 60, was previously the commander of Russian forces in Syria. [more]
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warns that Russian forces are massing for a large-scale offensive in the country’s eastern Donbas region. [more]
• S&P Global Ratings has downgraded its assessment of Russia’s ability to repay foreign debt to “selective default,” suggesting that Russia may soon default on some external loans for the first time in more than a century. [more]
• The World Bank predicts that Ukraine’s economy will shrink up to 45% this year and that Russia’s will fall by 11% amidst the ongoing Russian invasion. [more]
• Russian forces have destroyed four S-300 air defense missile systems and severely damaged an airport near the central Ukraine city of Dnipro, according to Russian military officials. [more]

COVID-19 | A recent study by Swedish researchers suggests that the risk of serious blood clots is significantly increased following COVID-19 infection. [more]

MICHIGAN | A federal jury in Michigan reached a mixed verdict Friday in the cases of four men charged in an alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Two defendants were acquitted and a mistrial was declared for the other two. [more]

HIV | A federal judge in Virginia ruled last week that the U.S. military cannot discharge or deny advancement to service members solely because they are infected with HIV. [more]

PUERTO RICO | Reports say power has been restored to about 99% of households in Puerto Rico after a fire at one of the U.S. territory’s largest power plants caused days-long outages for nearly 1.5 million people last week. [more]

FIREARMS | The Biden administration is expected to announce new rules today to regulate the manufacturing and sale of so-called “ghost guns,” which can be made with 3D printers and sold as assembly kits. [more]

PAKISTAN | Opposition lawmaker Shahbaz Sharif is expected to be named Pakistan’s prime minister today following the removal of Imran Khan from office in a no-confidence vote over the weekend. Reports say there are widespread protests today in Pakistan over Khan's ouster. [more]

ISRAEL | Violence continued to grow this weekend in Israel and the occupied West Bank, with several attacks and deaths reported. The unrest coincides with the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which has often been marked by increased Israeli-Palestinian violence. [more]

IRAN | Iranian lawmakers have stated conditions under which a 2015 international nuclear pact could be revived. The conditions include legal guarantees from the U.S. that it will not exit the pact again. [more]

FRANCE | Incumbent Emmanuel Macron and far-right candidate Marine Le Pen received the most votes in the first round of France’s presidential voting yesterday. The two candidates will face each other in a run-off on April 24. [more]

INDIA | Police in the Indian states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have imposed curfews and limits on the size of gatherings following clashes between Hindus and Muslims. [more]

SERBIA | The Chinese military is reported to have delivered HQ-22 surface-to-air missile systems to Serbia over the weekend. [more]

ECONOMY | Global stock markets and U.S. futures are down this morning on concerns over inflation rates, continuing supply chain issues, and rising interest rates. [more]

GOLF | World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler won the Masters Tournament yesterday, finishing with a three-shot lead over second place Rory McIlroy. [more]

NFL | Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins died Saturday at the age of 24 after being struck by a vehicle while crossing an expressway in South Florida. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1970, Apollo 13 was launched from Cape Kennedy (now Cape Canaveral), Florida. Scheduled to be the third lunar landing, the mission was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded en route to the Moon. [more history]