July 11, 2022

UKRAINE | Today is day 138 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• At least 15 people were killed, and dozens remain missing, when multiple Russian rockets hit an apartment block Saturday in the eastern Donetsk region city of Chasiv Yar, according to Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. [more]
• Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk yesterday urged civilians in the Russian-occupied southern region of Kherson to evacuate as heavy fighting continues and Ukrainian forces prepare for a counter-offensive in the area. [more]

WORLD POPULATION | A new report from the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs predicts that the world population will reach 8 billion on November 15 of this year and that India will overtake China as the world's most populous country in 2023. [more]

JANUARY 6 | Additional public hearings of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol are scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday this week. [more]

MORE JANUARY 6 | Steve Bannon, former advisor to then-President Donald Trump, has reportedly offered to publicly testify before the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and to waive his claims of executive privilege which he had cited in refusing to appear before the committee previously. [more]

JAPAN | The governing Liberal Democratic Party increased its majority in Japan's upper house of parliament Sunday, with election results suggesting they and their coalition partners will control 146 of 248 seats. Reports say the party may now have enough support in both parliamentary houses to begin consideration of changes to Japan's U.S.-drafted post-World War II pacifist constitution. [more]

EUROPEAN ENERGY | A 10-day scheduled maintenance period of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany began today, during which gas flow is stopped. European authorities have expressed concern that Russia could extend the scheduled maintenance to tighten European gas supply further amidst continuing sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. [more]

COVID-19 | The European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control today recommended a second COVID-19 booster for all people over age 60, as well as medically vulnerable persons, amidst a new rise in COVID infections and hospitalizations across Europe. [more]

MONKEYPOX | The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is expected to begin releasing 144,000 doses of the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine to states this week. To date, close to 800 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 38 states in the current outbreak, according to the CDC. [more]

SOUTH AFRICA | Police in South Africa say at least 15 people were killed and nine wounded Sunday when a group of men opened fire with rifles and pistols at a tavern in Johannesburg’s Soweto township. Reports indicate that no suspects have yet been arrested. [more]

ABORTION | U.S. President Joe Biden said yesterday that he is considering declaring a public health emergency to free up federal resources to facilitate abortion access even though White House officials have questioned the legality and effectiveness of such a move. [more]

CANADA | Canada's federal industry minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, has called for meetings with executives of Rogers Communications to discuss a 15-hour outage of Rogers' mobile and internet services across Canada over the weekend that affected 911 calls, hospital services, and debit card transactions, in addition to consumer communications. [more]

BRAZIL | According to police, Marcelo Arruda, a local official from Brazil's leftist opposition Workers' Party, was shot dead while celebrating his birthday Saturday when a gunman entered the celebration and shot Arruda after shouting statements of support for right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Reports say California's Washburn Fire, which is threatening the largest grove of giant sequoia trees in Yosemite National Park, has doubled in size over the past 24 hours, and is now estimated to have burned more than 1,500 acres. [more]

BIRTH CONTROL | Paris-based HRA Pharma today filed for U.S. FDA approval to sell its hormone-based birth control pill over the counter. If approved, HRA's Opill would be the first birth control pill available in the U.S. without a prescription. [more]

SRI LANKA | Opposition political parties in Sri Lanka began meeting yesterday to discuss plans for forming a new government a day after the president and prime minister offered to resign amidst protests over the country's ongoing economic crisis. [more]

BOSNIA–HERZEGOVINA | Thousands of people gathered in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica today to mark the 27th anniversary of the July 1995 massacre of some 8,000 local Bosniak males by Serbian troops. [more]

TENNIS | Novak Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios yesterday to win the 2022 men's Wimbledon tournament -- his 21st grand slam title. On Saturday, Elena Rybakina beat Ons Jabeur to win the women's title. [more]

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE | "Thor: Love and Thunder" topped the North America box office over the weekend with $143 million in receipts, followed by "Minions: The Rise of Gru" and "Top Gun: Maverick." [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | Outraged over disparaging remarks that Alexander Hamilton had allegedly made at a dinner party, Aaron Burr challenged his longtime rival to a duel, and on this date in 1804 he fatally shot Hamilton in Weehawken, New Jersey. [more history]