June 23, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 120 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• A new report from tech giant Microsoft says 42 countries supporting Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion have been the targets of Russian cyberattacks since the invasion began, with 29% of the attacks characterized as having been "successful." Targets of the cyberattacks have included government agencies, humanitarian groups, and telecommunications, energy and defense companies. [full report] [more]
• European Union leaders are expected to formally accept Ukraine as a candidate to join the EU today at a meeting in Brussels. [more]
• Turkish officials are investigating claims that Russia has stolen grain from Ukrainian stockpiles and that Turkey may have purchased some of the grain, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. Russia has denied the allegations of grain theft and Turkey says it would not purchase any such grain. [more]

AFGHANISTAN | The death toll from yesterday's 6.1 magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan has surpassed 1,000, with at least another 1,500 people injured. Reports say more than 3,000 homes were destroyed in the quake. [more]

JANUARY 6 | Today's latest public hearing of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol is expected to focus on testimony surrounding allegations of then-President Donald Trump's pressure on the Justice Department to become involved in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. [more]

GERMANY | Continued reductions in Russian gas flow via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline prompted Germany to trigger the "alarm stage" of its gas emergency plan today, indicating a high risk of long-term supply shortages of gas. [more]

MONKEYPOX | Reports say the World Health Organization is expected to decide today whether to declare the ongoing outbreak of monkeypox a global health emergency. An estimated 3,000 cases of the disease in 40 countries outside Africa have been detected since May, while another 1,500 suspected cases have been tallied in Africa since the start of 2022. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee yesterday, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said that the U.S. economy is well positioned to withstand higher inflation rates and that while a recession is possible, he does not see the risk of one as particularly high. [more]

FUEL PRICES | U.S. President Joe Biden called yesterday for a three-month suspension of both federal and state taxes on gasoline and diesel fuels. Reports suggest such a suspension faces significant opposition in Congress, which would have to approve such a move. [more]

CLIMATE | Scientists from Norway’s CICERO Center for International Climate Research and the Global Carbon Project say that worldwide carbon dioxide emissions from making cement for buildings, roads and other infrastructure has doubled over the past 20 years and accounts for more than 7% of global carbon emissions. [more]

IRAN | A court in Iran today issued a largely symbolic order for the United States to pay $4.3 billion in compensation to the families of Iranian nuclear scientists killed or injured in targeted attacks in recent years, according to the country’s state-run IRNA news agency. [more]

BRICS | A two-day virtual summit of the so-called "BRICS" group of nations, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, begins today. The summit, hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is expected to address the war in Ukraine, as well as global economic and political issues. [more]

SCIENCE | In a paper published in the journal Nature yesterday, Australian scientists reported the successful creation of the world's first-ever quantum computer circuit. The development comes 10 years after the creation of the first-ever quantum transistor. [more]

COVID-19 | South Africa's health ministry has repealed the country's COVID-19-related indoor mask mandates and lifted limits on the size of gatherings, according to Health Minister Joe Phaahla. [more]

COMMONWEALTH | Representatives of the Commonwealth nations begin a two-day meeting tomorrow in the Rwandan capital Kigali. Leaders from the voluntary association of 54 countries are expected to address a variety of topics, including climate change, green energy, food and energy prices, and the war in Ukraine. [more]

LITERATURE | Historian and author George Chauncey has been named the recipient of the U.S. Library of Congress' John W. Kluge Prize -- a $500,000 lifetime achievement award given for achievement in the study of humanity. Chauncey, a professor of American history at Columbia University, is best known for his books on LGBTQ+ community and history. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 2016, the United Kingdom voted in a referendum to withdraw from the European Union, with 51.9 percent supporting Britain's exit and 48.1 percent opposing the move. It marked the first time a country had decided to leave the organization. [more history]