June 20, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 117 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• In an interview published yesterday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the war in Ukraine could last for years and urged Western allies to maintain their military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine. [more]
• Scientific organization CERN has announced that it will terminate all cooperation with Russia and Belarus over their roles in the invasion of Ukraine. The organization's governing council says CERN's agreements with the countries, which expire in 2024, will not be renewed. [more]
• Ukraine's parliament voted yesterday to impose severe restrictions on the publication, import, and performance of Russian books and music in the latest moves to sever cultural ties between the two countries. [more]
• British defense reports say both Russian and Ukrainian forces continue heavy artillery shelling around Sievierodonestk today, with little change being seen in the city's areas under each side's control. [more]

JUNETEENTH | With a federal holiday and commemorative events around the country, the U.S. celebrates Juneteenth today, recognizing the end of slavery in the United States. [more]

CORONAVIRUS | Coronavirus vaccines from both Moderna and Pfizer are now authorized for use in all people in the U.S. aged six months and up after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded emergency use authorizations for the vaccines in the youngest age ranges on Friday. [more]

U.S. ENVIRONMENT | Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced Friday that $103 million in special funding this year will be used for wildfire risk reduction and burned-area rehabilitation throughout the country and to establish an interagency firefighter health and well-being program. The funding is coming from the $1 billion infrastructure bill signed last year. [more]

ETHIOPIA | Reports from Ethiopia's Oromia region say more than 200 people, mostly ethnic Amhara, were killed Saturday in an attack residents blame on the Oromo Liberation Army rebel group, but that the group says were carried out by the country's military and local officials. [more]

BANGLADESH | Reports say more than two dozen people have died in widespread flooding in Bangladesh since last week, and that flood waters are hampering efforts to deliver food and drinking water to residents of affected regions of the country. [more]

GERMANY | German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said yesterday that his country would impose limits on the use of natural gas for electricity production amidst ongoing concerns about shortages caused by reductions in gas delivery from Russia. [more]

U.K. | As many as 40,000 U.K. rail transportation workers are set to strike on three days this week as negotiations over pay and job security between worker unions and train companies continue. The strikes, scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, are expected to shut down rail traffic across the country. [more]

EUROPEAN WILDFIRES | Firefighters in Spain and Germany continued work to contain multiple wildfires over the weekend as Western Europe experienced abnormally high temperatures. Spain's largest fire has burned some 74,000 acres in the northwest province of Zamora and a fire about 30 miles southwest of Berlin forced the evacuation of three villages yesterday. [more]

FRANCE | Parliamentary elections in France yesterday left President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance short of an absolute majority in parliament. The electoral result is seen as an obstacle to Macron's political and social agendas. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | U.N. officials in Afghanistan say "scores" of people were killed today in a bomb attack at a market in the country's eastern Nangarhar province. Taliban government officials have only confirmed injuries to 10 people in the attack. [more]

COLOMBIA | Gustavo Petro was elected the next president of Columbia yesterday, with a narrow victory over Rodolfo Hernández in the country's runoff election. [more]

JAPAN | A district court in Osaka, Japan, ruled today that the country's ban on same-sex marriage is not unconstitutional. The ruling is seen as a setback for LGBTQ rights activists in the only Group of Seven nation that does not allow people of the same gender to marry. [more]

INDIA | Reports say government security measures have been increased across India amidst calls for a nationwide strike to protest recently-announced plans aimed at increasing military recruitment numbers. [more]

BUSINESS | Employees at the Apple store in Towson, Maryland, voted Saturday to unionize and seek membership in the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. [more]

CRYPTOCURRENCY | Bitcoin traded as low as $17,592.78 this weekend as the cryptocurrency's value continues to decline, though early trading today has seen it recover to above $20,000.  Bitcoin has lost almost 60% of its value this year and 37% this month. [more]

SWIMMING | The world swimming governing body, FINA, this weekend effectively banned transgender women from competing in women’s events, adopting a policy that permits only swimmers who transitioned before age 12 to compete in women’s events. [more]

GOLF | Matt Fitzpatrick shot a 2-under-par 68 in his final round to win the 2022 U.S. Open yesterday, beating Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler by one shot. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the imposition of the death penalty in cases involving intellectually disabled defendants violated the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment. [more history]