May 23, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 89 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Reports say Russian forces in eastern Ukraine appear to be focusing their efforts today on the city of Sievierodonetsk in the country's Donbas region. [more]
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a virtual keynote address today at the World Economic Forum, which opened today in Davos, Switzerland, urging the international community to increase sanctions on Russia. [more]
• Polish President Andrzej Duda addressed the Ukrainian parliament yesterday in Kyiv, emphasizing Poland's ongoing support of Ukraine amidst the continuing Russian invasion. [more]
• A Ukrainian court today sentenced Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin to life in prison for killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian in February to end the first war crimes trial arising from the Russian invasion. [more]
• Russian officials claimed today that Western nations are to blame for a global food crisis caused by the imposition of severe sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. [more]

WORLD ECONOMY | The U.S. and 12 other nations have announced the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework -- a new trade and economic pact centered on countering Chinese economic influence and on supply chain, digital trade, clean energy, worker protection, and anticorruption efforts. Together, the 13 nations in the pact represent about 40% of the global gross domestic product. [more]

TAIWAN | President Joe Biden said today that the U.S. would intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, drawing sharp criticism of the statement from Beijing. [more]

FINLAND | Russia halted gas exports to Finland on Saturday over Helsinki's refusal to accede to Moscow's demand that payments be made in rubles. The move came just days after Finland formally submitted its application to join the NATO alliance. [more]

CHINA | Health officials in Beijing, China, extended stay-at-home orders today for students and workers as cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the Chinese capital. [more]

AUSTRALIA | Anthony Albanese was sworn in as Australia's new prime minister today. Vote counting continues to determine if Albanese's center-left Labor Party will control a majority in Parliament. [more]

PAKISTAN | A new anti-polio drive aimed at vaccinating some 40 million children against the disease was launched by Pakistan today. Officials say three cases of the disease have been detected in the country so far this year. [more]

CANADA | Officials say at least five people were killed and hundreds of thousands were without power when severe thunderstorms hit the Quebec and Ontario regions on Saturday. [more]

IRAN | Iranian state media reports that Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, a senior member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, was shot and killed by two unidentified gunmen outside his home yesterday in Tehran. [more]

BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE | The first of several expected shipments of baby formula from Europe arrived in the U.S. yesterday, as efforts to alleviate a shortage of formula in the U.S. continue while domestic production is restarted and expanded. [more]

ARIZONA | Gov. Doug Ducey signed two COVID-related bills for Arizona into law on Friday: one preventing state health officials from ever adding a COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required school inoculations, and one barring face mask mandates in any buildings operated by state or local governments. [more]

MONKEYPOX | A third U.S. case of monkeypox was confirmed over the weekend in Florida, as international health organizations continue to monitor growing outbreaks of the disease in multiple European and North American countries. [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 $31.6 million in ticket sales, followed by "Downton Abbey: A New Era" and "The Bad Guys." [more]

SOCCER | Manchester City beat Aston Villa, 3-2, yesterday to win their fourth English Premier League title in the past five seasons. [more]

MORE SOCCER | AC Milan beat Sassuolo, 3-0, yesterday to claim their first Italian Serie A title in 11 years. [more]

GOLF | Justin Thomas beat Will Zalatoris in a three-hole playoff yesterday to win the 2022 PGA Championship golf tournament at the Southern Hills course in Oklahoma. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | China formally annexed Tibet as an autonomous region on this date in 1951, giving rise to a Tibetan independence movement—led by the Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize—that continued into the early 21st century.  [more history]