May 9, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 75 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Reports say as many as 60 people were killed Saturday when Russian bombs struck a school being used as a shelter in the village of Bilohorivka in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk province. [more]
• In a Victory Day speech today marking the Soviet defeat of Nazi forces in 1945, Russian President Vladimir Putin said threats to Russia from Ukraine and other western powers made it necessary to invade Ukraine. In the speech, Putin also referred to Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as "Russian territory." [more]
• Members of the G7 economic powers agreed Sunday to ban or phase out imports of Russian oil. [more]
• There were multiple unannounced high-profile visitors to Ukraine over the weekend, including: U.S. first lady Jill Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Bono and The Edge from the band U2. [more]

NATO | Sweden's ruling Social Democratic party announced today that it intends to decide on May 15 whether to apply for NATO membership. A similar decision from Finland is also expected in the near future. [more]

NORTHERN IRELAND | Nationalist party Sinn Fein won the most seats in Northern Ireland's parliamentary elections yesterday, marking the first time a party advocating the reunification of Ireland will have the right to appoint the U.K. territory's chief executive. Sinn Fein must now seek to work with other parties to form a government. [more]

GLOBAL MARKETS | Stock markets around the world are generally down this morning amidst interest rate increases in many major economic countries, a slowing Chinese economy, and the ongoing war in Ukraine. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | The Taliban government of Afghanistan on Saturday issued an edict ordering women in the country to wear all-covering traditional burqas when in public, reinstating the policy last seen in the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule in the country. [more]

SRI LANKA | A nationwide curfew has been imposed in Sri Lanka amidst clashes between police and anti-government demonstrators protesting the government's role in the country's ongoing economic crisis. Also this morning, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa submitted his resignation, though his brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, remains as the country's president. [more]

HONG KONG | Former security minister John Lee was selected as Hong Kong's next chief executive yesterday. Lee was the only candidate under consideration by the territory's Beijing-approved election committee. [more]

PHILIPPINES | Voters in the Philippines are choosing today among 10 candidates for the country's presidency, with polls showing the leading candidates as current Vice President Leni Robredo and Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., the son of former President Ferdinand Marcos. [more]

CONGO | Reports say as many as 60 people were killed Sunday when a rebel group attacked a gold mine in the northeastern Djugu territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo. [more]

FUEL PRICES | Data released by the Lundberg Survey over the weekend shows that the average price of a gallon of regular-grade gasoline in the U.S. rose 15 cents in the past two weeks to $4.38 per gallon. [more]

CUBA | At least 30 people were killed and 64 injured in an explosion Friday at the Hotel Saratoga in Havana, Cuba. Officials say a gas leak appears to have caused the explosion. [more]

NORTH KOREA | U.S. and South Korean officials say North Korea test-fired a short-range, submarine-launched ballistic missile off its eastern coast on Saturday. The launch was North Korea's 15th missile test of 2022. [more]

CLIMATE CHANGE | The U.S.-based World Food Prize Foundation announced NASA scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig as the winner of its 2022 World Food Prize last week for her modeling of the impact of climate change on food production. [more]

WILDFIRES | Fire danger warnings remain in place today in northeast New Mexico, as more than 1,600 firefighters battle wildfires that have burned more than 275 square miles in the region. [more]

INTERNET ACCESS | The Biden administration announced today that 20 major internet service providers have agreed to take part in a program to provide discounted service to low-income U.S. households. [more]

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE | The Disney film "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness" led North American box office returns over the weekend, with an estimated $185 million in ticket sales, followed by "The Bad Guys" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 2." [more]

R.I.P. | Country music star Mickey Gilley died Saturday at the age of 86 in Branson, Missouri. Gilley had 17 No. 1 country singles between the late 1960s and the 1980s. [more]

HORSE RACING | The 148th Kentucky Derby was won Saturday by 80-1 long shot Rich Strike, followed by Epicenter and Zandon. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1502, naval explorer Christopher Columbus set sail from Cádiz, Spain, on his fourth and final voyage aimed at finding a sea passage to Asia. [more history]