March 7, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 376 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday that his country’s forces will strengthen defenses in the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut and not retreat from the area. [more]
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that Russia “will not recognize” any Western price cap on Russian oil imposed as part of sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine, despite statements from the U.S. and other countries that the price caps are successfully restricting Russia’s ability to profit from oil exports. [more]

U.S. ELECTIONS | Election officials in Florida, Missouri, and West Virginia said yesterday that they are withdrawing from the Electronic Registration Information Center — a voluntary, bipartisan system used to fight election fraud by sharing data on voters who have died or who have moved to a different state, joining Louisiana and Alabama, which announced their withdrawals previously. [more]

U.S. POLITICS | Reports say an investigation by Israeli tech firm Cyabra has discovered that thousands of automated fake accounts on social media platforms have been created over the past year to promote the political candidacy of former President Donald Trump and to criticize Trump opponents. [more]

ATLANTA | Authorities in Georgia say at least 23 demonstrators arrested in connection with clashes with police at the construction site of a police and fire training facility outside of Atlanta, Georgia, this week will be charged with domestic terrorism, a felony punishable by up to 35 years in prison. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before Congress today, where he is expected to say that continuing high inflation will likely require the Fed to raise interest rates above the 5.1% level that had been predicted late last year. [more]

OKLAHOMA | A state-wide ballot is being held in Oklahoma today in which voters will decide whether to legalize the purchase, possession, cultivation, and recreational use of marijuana and related products by adults aged 21 and older. [more]

AIR TRAVEL | A passenger on a Los Angeles to Boston flight was arrested yesterday after he allegedly attempted to open the plane’s emergency exit while it was in the air and stabbed a flight attendant when confronted. Passengers restrained Francisco Severo Torres, 33, until the flight landed at Boston Logan International Airport, where Torres was arrested. [more]

MEXICO | Both U.S. and Mexican officials say four Americans who were kidnapped in the Mexican border city of Matamoros late last week had travelled to Mexico to seek health care. Investigations into the kidnapping are ongoing. [more]

FRANCE | Major travel, school, and service disruptions are taking place in France today as unions participate in nationwide protests against the government’s plan to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. Among other work stoppages, an estimated 60% of primary school teachers are expected to be on strike and both train and air travel will be severely cut. [more]

U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS | In his first news conference since being appointed in December, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang accused the United States today of seeking to “contain and suppress China in all respects and get the two countries locked in a zero-sum game.” [more]

NORTH KOREA | Following a joint U.S-South Korean military exercise involving flights of a nuclear-capable B-52 bomber, Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said yesterday that the North is ready to take “quick, overwhelming action” against the United States and South Korea. [more]

CANADA | Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced yesterday that he will appoint a special investigator to look into reports that China attempted to interfere in the country’s 2021 elections. [more]

BELARUS | Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran against President Alexander Lukashenko in 2020, was sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison by a court in Belarus yesterday after being convicted on charges that included participation in an extremist group, inciting hatred, and endangering national security. [more]

INDONESIA | Authorities in Indonesia’s northern Natuna Regency say at least 10 people have died, and 43 others remain missing today, following two landslides caused by heavy rains. [more]

U.K. | Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government is expected to introduce its “Illegal Migration Bill” in Parliament today, which bars asylum claims by anyone who reaches the U.K. by unauthorized means, and mandates that the government detain and then deport them. Reports say legal challenges to the bill are expected. [more]

JAPAN | Mission officials at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency destroyed the country’s new H3 rocket just minutes into the platform’s debut flight yesterday after the rocket's second-stage engine failed to ignite. [more]

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY | As part of its continuing fight against rising inflation, the Reserve Bank of Australia increased its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point today to 3.6% — the highest level in 11 years. [more]

QATAR | Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was sworn in as Qatar’s new prime minister today, replacing Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdelaziz Al Thani, who had served in the office since January 2020. [more]

CYBERSECURITY | German authorities said today that they worked with Europol, Ukrainian police, and the FBI to disrupt a Russia-linked cybercrime group responsible for at least $42.5 million in ransomware attacks worldwide, mostly targeting large companies and institutions. Eleven members of the group were arrested in simultaneous raids in Germany and Ukraine in late February, according to reports. [more]

NFL | Former Los Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has reportedly agreed to a four-year contract with the New Orleans Saints worth up to $150 million. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1965, state troopers used nightsticks and tear gas to attack American civil rights activists as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, during their attempted march to the state capitol in Montgomery. [more history]