March 9, 2023

UKRAINE | Today is day 378 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Here are your updates:

• Ukrainian officials say Russia fired at least 80 missiles last night in a sustained attack on cities across Ukraine. At least six people are reported to have died in the attacks and power outages have been reported at multiple locations, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, and at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. [more]
• In a statement released today, the Russian defense ministry says its latest large-scale round of missile attacks on Ukraine was a “retaliatory strike” in response to an incursion into Russian territory last week by a pro-Ukraine militant group. [more]

U.S. ECONOMY | Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, in a second day of testimony before Congress, said yesterday that the Fed has not yet decided on how large an interest rate increase to impose at its March 21-22 meeting. Separate comments by Powell earlier this week had led some analysts to predict a larger-than-expected rate increase. [more]

PRIVACY AND CYBERSECURITY | Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate were informed yesterday that their personal information, as well as that of family and staff members, may have been compromised in a computer breach at the DC Health Link health insurance marketplace earlier this week. [more]

U.S. BUDGET | President Joe Biden is expected to announce details of his new proposed budget today. The proposal, according to the White House, will include, among other things, plans to cut the federal deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next 10 years, end some $31 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies, increase the Medicare payroll tax on people earning more than $400,000 per year, and impose new tax regulations on the very wealthy. [more]

IMMIGRATION LAW | A federal judge in Florida ruled yesterday that the Biden administration’s policy of releasing many people who enter the U.S. illegally via the U.S.-Mexico border under immigration officer monitoring instead of detaining them violates U.S. immigration law. [more]

CALIFORNIA | Authorities in California have issued flood advisories for much of the state’s central and northern regions today ahead of an atmospheric river storm expected to bring strong winds and heavy rainfall to the area tonight and tomorrow. [more]

CHINA | In a speech yesterday to China’s largely ceremonial parliament, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said the country needs to strengthen its national strategic capabilities and upgrade its military forces to world-class standards. [more]

SYRIA | The Associated Press cites interpretation of new satellite photos as showing that a suspected Israeli airstrike caused significant damage to runways at Syria’s Aleppo International Airport earlier this week. Israel has targeted the airport previously with the aim of disrupting the transfer of arms from Iran to Syria, but some governments have criticized the latest attack as potentially disruptive to the delivery of earthquake-related aid to Syria. [more]

SUDAN | The U.N. Security Council voted yesterday to renew an international arms embargo and other sanctions against Sudan, which have been in place since 2004. All Council members voted for the renewal except Russia and China, which abstained. [more]

FRANCE | Protests against a government plan to increase the retirement age are continuing today in France, with major action today expected to include student plans to block access to some high schools and universities and a large youth-led demonstration in Paris. [more]

CONGO | CONGO. Reports say at least 36 people were killed in an attack overnight on the village of Mukondi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which authorities have blamed on members of the ISIS-affiliated Allied Democratic Forces militant group. [more]

JAPAN AND SOUTH KOREA | Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will meet next week in Japan at a summit aimed at expanding ties between their countries, according to statements from both countries’ governments. [more]

ISRAEL AND WEST BANK | Reports say at least three Palestinians were killed this morning during an Israeli security forces arrest raid in the West Bank village of Jaba and that those killed were associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. [more]

GEORGIA | Following widespread protests, government ruling party members in Georgia have announced that they are withdrawing from consideration a draft law that would have required media and nongovernmental organizations that receive over 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as “agents of foreign influence.” The bill was criticized as being too similar to a Russian law seen as a tool to suppress dissent. [more]

ISRAEL | Protesters launched a “day of resistance” across Israel today in opposition to a proposed reform of the country’s judicial laws that many say would disrupt Israel’s system of checks and balances, but that proponents say is needed to reign in judicial activism. [more]

COLLEGE BASKETBALL | Syracuse University yesterday announced the appointment of Associate Head Coach Adrian Autry to the school's head basketball coach position, ending the 47-year tenure of coach Jim Boeheim. [more]

R.I.P. | Israeli actor Chaim Topol, best known for his role as Tevye in the 1971 film version of “Fiddler on the Roof,” has died in Tel Aviv at the age of 87, according to Israeli media reports. [more]

TODAY IN HISTORY | On this date in 1831, the French Foreign Legion, whose unofficial motto is “Legio patria nostra” (“The legion is our fatherland”), was founded by King Louis-Philippe as an aid in controlling French colonial possessions in Africa. [more history]