Sunday, March 13th, 2022 

Pokémon Go suspends operations in Russia and Belarus following the invasion. (Gamerant.com) 

Saudi Arabia conducts mass execution of 81 people Saudi Arabia’s state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday that the kingdom had carried out a mass execution of 81 people. Those executed — a group comprising 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis, and one Syrian — had been convicted of terrorism, murder, kidnapping, torture, rape, and weapons smuggling. Some were reportedly associated with al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. It was the largest known mass execution in the country’s modern history. Saudi state media did not specify how the prisoners were executed, but Saudi Arabia typically carries out executions by public beheading. NPR 

An airstrike on the NATO–Ukraine Partnership for Peace Yavoriv military base some 10–20 km (6.2–12.4 mi) from the border with Poland kills 35 people and wounds 134 others. (USA Today) 

Russia strikes base near Polish border, killing 35  Russian warplanes struck a Ukrainian military base less than 25 miles from the Polish border on Sunday, killing 35 people and injuring over 100. Officials said around 30 missiles were fired at the base but that air defense systems intercepted 22 of them before impact. The base was reportedly being used to ferry weapons sent from international partners to the front and to train foreign fighters. Russia began striking targets in western Ukraine on Friday.  REUTERS 

Russian airstrikes inflict significant damage on the Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport in western Ukraine, with no casualties immediately reported. (CNN) 

Convoys carrying weapons into Ukraine are ‘legitimate targets,’ Russian official says Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov appeared on Russian state television Saturday to warn that his country’s military forces could conduct strikes against convoys carrying foreign weapons into Ukraine. “We warned the United States that pumping Ukraine with weapons from a number of countries orchestrated by them is not just a dangerous move, but these are actions that turn the corresponding convoys into legitimate targets,” Ryabkov said. NATO stopped flying weapons into Ukraine when the Russian invasion began. Instead, the weapons are flown into Poland or Romania and shipped by land to Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. CNN

Usage of white phosphorus bombs is reported overnight in the town of Popasna in Luhansk Oblast. (Ukrayinska Pravda) 

Ukrainian authorities say 2,187 civilians have now been killed in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast. Mariupol’s City Council says Russian forces are deliberately targeting residential buildings and densely populated areas in the port city. (Ukrayinska Pravda) 

The Central Bank of Russia announces that stock trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange will remain suspended until at least March 18 due to the fallout from the Russian invasion. (The Wall Street Journal) 

Brent Renaud, a filmmaker and photojournalist with former affiliation with The New York Times, is shot and killed by Russian troops in Irpin, Kyiv Oblast. His colleague, another U.S. citizen, is wounded and evacuated to hospital. (Jerusalem Post) 

Russian occupation forces install Galina Danilchenko as the new mayor of Melitopol following the abduction of Ivan Fedorov. Danilchenko, a former member of the city council, calls on residents to “adapt to the new reality” and stop “committing extremist acts”. However, the city council refuses to recognise her as mayor and call Ukrainian authorities to indict her for treason. (Sky News) 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warns Russia could be preparing to use chemical weapons in Ukraine.(USA Today) 

Russian forces abduct Yevgeny Matveyev, the mayor of Dniprorudne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast after refusing to cooperate with them. (The Jerusalem Post) 

Ukrainian negotiator and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak and Russian delegate Leonid Slutsky says that there are signs of progress in peace talks. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman says that Russia is willing to engage in negotiations aimed at a ceasefire. (Reuters) 

The Transitional Military Council of Chad meets with 44 different armed rebel and opposition groups, including the Front for Change and Concord in Chad, Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad, and the Union of Forces for Democracy and Development in Doha for peace talks. The President of Chad, Mahamat Déby, hopes the talks will be the first step towards agreeing on a new constitution and holding free elections. (ABC News) 

Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claims responsibility for the overnight missile strikes on Erbil in Kurdistan Region, Iraq, saying it was in response to “recent crimes of the fake Zionist regime“. The missiles were launched from Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. (The Jerusalem Post) 

The Ethiopian government says it will take action against the perpetrators in a video showing men wearing Ethiopian military and police uniforms burning civilians alive in the Metekel Zone. (Reuters) 

Shanghai restricts access and urges residents not to leave the city amidst a rise of COVID-19 cases. (Seven News Australia) 

Areas in the Jinshan and Minhang districts of Shanghai are elevated to medium-risk areas of COVID-19. (Shanghai Daily) 

Shenzhen enters a lockdown after 66 cases of COVID-19 were reported in the city. The lockdown will last until March 20. (Bloomberg.com) 

The embassy of India in Ukraine is relocated from Lviv to Poland due to the attacks on Western Ukraine. (Reuters) 

Around 250 anti-war protesters are detained in Russia for opposing Moscow’s “military operation”. (The Moscow Times) 

The closing ceremony is held in Beijing. (CBC) 

China locks down millions of people as COVID cases spike China reported 3,400 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, up from just under 2,000 on Saturday, marking the worst outbreak since the virus first became widespread in early 2020. The majority of the new cases were reported in China’s northeastern Jilin province. Authorities responded by closing schools in Shanghai and suspending bus service to the city, locking down hundreds of neighborhoods in Jilin City (which has a population of 1.5 million), and imposing full lockdowns on several other northeastern cities. Millions of people have been confined to their homes as China continues its strict zero-COVID policy. The mayor of Jilin City and the chief public health official in nearby Changchun were both dismissed from their posts.THE GUARDIAN

Protesters in Russian-controlled Melitopol demand return of abducted mayor Protesters in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Melitopol took to the streets Saturday after occupying Russian forces reportedly kidnapped the city’s mayor on Friday and installed a new mayor in his place. A prosecutor from the Russian-backed separatist Luhansk People’s Republic said Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov was under investigation for terrorism. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the abduction a “crime against democracy,” while Ukrainian diplomat Olexander Scherba suggested that Fedorov’s captors were torturing him “to force [him] to collaborate.” CNN

Trump denounces GOP incumbents at South Carolina rally Former President Donald Trump disparaged South Carolina GOP Reps. Nancy Mace and Tom Rice and endorsed their primary challengers at a rally in Florence, South Carolina, Saturday night. Both Mace and Rice have criticized Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump endorsed Katie Arrington — a former state representative who called Trump “Big Daddy” in her speech Saturday — to replace Mace. Against Rice, he championed state representative Russell Fry, who referred to anti-Trump Republicans as “grandstanding losers.” Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and possible 2024 presidential candidate who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, has endorsed Mace. She did not attend the rally. THE INDEPENDENT

U.S. blames Iran for ballistic missile attack on Iraqi Kurdistan U.S. officials blamed Iran after a dozen ballistic missiles struck Irbil, the capital of semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan, on Sunday. The missiles landed near a United States consulate and damaged a local television news studio at around 1:30 a.m. local time. No one was killed or injured. The U.S. State Department denounced the attack as “outrageous.” Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi called the strike “an attack on the security of our people” and promised that Iraq’s “security forces will investigate and stand firm against any threats.” BBC

Zelensky says 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. This is the first time Ukraine’s government has released an estimate of Ukrainian military casualties since the first day of the war, when Zelensky’s office said at least 30 members of the country’s armed forces had died. On March 2, Russian sources claimed that over 2,800 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed. The U.S. government estimates that Ukraine has suffered between 2,000 and 4,000 military deaths, one official said Wednesday. THE KYIV INDEPENDENT 

Russian stock exchange won’t reopen on Monday Russia’s central bank announced Saturday that the Moscow Exchange will not reopen on Monday, though commodity and foreign currency trading will resume. The Moscow Exchange closed on Friday, Feb. 25, the day after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, and has remained closed ever since. “The moment [the Russian stock exchange] opens, it will be disbanded. Hear me? It will blow up,” President Biden told a group of House Democrats in Philadelphia on Friday. REUTERS

‘Biden’ gets advice from TikTok influencers in new SNL cold open Saturday Night Live‘s most recent cold open featured President Biden (James Austin Johnson) and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki (Kate McKinnon) asking a group of TikTok stars for advice on how to handle the war in Ukraine. The sketch began with Johnson-as-Biden welcoming the influencers to the meeting and thanking “Psaki” for suggesting it. “I suggested it as a joke and then it actually happened,” McKinnon-as-Psaki said. “People are saying this is the first war fought on TikTok,” Johnson-as-Biden continued, “which is tough for me because I’m the landline of presidents.” CNN

Saturday, March 12th, 2022 

Russian soldiers have damaged the Sviatohirsk Lavra, a popular Orthodox pilgrimage site under the jurisdiction of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, at around 22:00 local time. (Kyiv Independent) 

Russia warns that it could fire on any future NATO armaments shipments to Ukraine, saying that the weapons shipments are “legitimate military targets” for its military. (Financial Times) 

Iran launches twelve ballistic missiles at the Iraqi city of Erbil, Kurdistan Region, with explosions reported near the U.S. consulate and Erbil International Airport. The missiles are believed to be Fateh-110s. There are no reports of injuries or deaths. (The Jerusalem Post) (MSN) (Al Arabiya) 

Iraqi security officials confirm that the missiles were launched from Iran and that several missiles hit the U.S. consulate building. (DW) 

At least 61 people are dead and 54 more injured during a train crash in Lualaba, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera) 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine should be held in Jerusalem. He also says that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett could have a positive impact on the negotiations. (Times of Israel) 

Azerbaijani Foreign policy adviser Hikmet Hajiyev says that Azerbaijan is open to holding talks between Ukraine and Russia. (Trend) 

Anti-war protesters gather in Florence, Tuscany, Italy, to listen to a videotaped speech by Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (Reuters) 

Italian police seize sailing yacht A at the Port of Trieste after its owner, Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko, was sanctioned by the European Union. (The Guardian) 

Saudi Arabia executes 81 people, making it the largest execution in Saudi Arabian history, surpassing a January 1980 mass execution of 63 militants who were convicted of attempting to seize the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. (Time) 

A presidential election is held in Turkmenistan, with Serdar Berdimuhamedow expecting to be elected President of Turkmenistan to succeed his father, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. (Al Jazeera) 

Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo surpasses Josef Bican as the sport’s official top goalscorer of all time as recorded by FIFA, after scoring his 806th and 807th goals during a Premier League match with Manchester United against Tottenham Hotspur. (The Indian Express) 

The End Sunday 

Major assault on Kyiv could be imminent Ukrainian military officials expressed concerns Saturday that Russia could be preparing to encircle Kyiv and launch a full-scale attack on the city. So far, Russian forces have only probed the capital’s defenses. Satellite photos taken late Thursday morning showed the 40-mile Russian convoy of vehicles, tanks, and artillery outside of Kyiv had split up and been redeployed. The convoy had been stalled for several days, with Pentagon spokesman John Kirby speculating the delay was caused by “logistics and sustainment challenges” and “resistance from the Ukrainians,” while others blamed cheap Chinese tires. But the Pentagon said Thursday that the column has moved recently, with the lead vehicles now about 9 miles from Kyiv’s center.BBC

Texas Supreme Court rejects challenge to abortion ban The Texas Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the state’s Heartbeat Act, which bans abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, on Friday. Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, said the court’s decision “closes the last back door” against legal challenges to the law. The Heartbeat Act was designed to escape judicial review in federal courts, as pre-viability abortion bans are considered unconstitutional under Roe v. Wade (1973). The Texas law empowers private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” a woman in obtaining an abortion. Therefore, the Texas Supreme Court ruled, government and medical licensing officials cannot be sued over the law because they play no role in enforcing it. THE NEW YORK TIMES

U.S. to scrap Russia’s ‘most favored nation’ trade status President Biden on Friday called for an end to Russia’s “most favored nation” trade status, and said the European Union and G7 nations will be doing the same. Revoking the “most favored nation” status would allow for new tariffs on Russia. Ultimately, the decision will require approval from Congress, though the president is unlikely to encounter resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had also asked Congress over the weekend to move to revoke Russia’s trade status. The U.S. will also ban imports of alcohol, seafood, and diamonds from Russia, Biden said. Earlier in the week Biden banned the import of Russian oil. CNBC

Asian Americans ‘have been discriminated against’ by Virginia school system, federal judge says U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton, who ruled last month that new admissions policies at a prestigious northern Virginia magnet school constituted illegal “racial balancing,” denied on Friday a request to delay the implementation of his ruling. Fairfax County Public Schools argued that they cannot adjust their admissions policies with selection for next year’s class already underway, but Hilton said they have had more than enough time to come up with a back-up plan. In an attempt to increase racial diversity at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, the school board threw out the school’s standardized admission test in 2020 and implemented a new system plaintiffs said discriminated against Asian American students. NPR 

Russia expands air war in Ukraine With Russian ground forces continuing “to make limited progress,” according to Friday morning’s assessment from Britain’s Ministry of Defense, Russia is increasing its air assault on Ukrainian cities. And Friday morning it expanded its targets to include the central-eastern city of Dnipro and Ivano-Frankivsk and Lutsk, both in western Ukraine. Russia said it struck military airfields in Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk in “high-precision, long-range attacks,” and local officials said missiles did strike the airfields or at least near them, killing several people. Three Russian airstrikes were reported early Friday in Dnipro, killing at least one person. Ukrainian officials on Sunday said Russian forces were preparing to encircle Dnipro, an industrial hub on the Dnieper River. BBC

Google and Meta face antitrust investigations by EU, U.K. over ad deal Google and Meta are facing two new antitrust investigations over a secret — and possibly illegal — ad deal. European Union and United Kingdom regulators have opened antitrust investigations into the two companies centered around their 2018 “Jedi Blue” advertising deal. The European Commission alleged that a 2018 deal between Google and Meta “may form part of efforts to exclude ad tech services competing with Google’s Open Bidding program, and therefore restrict or distort competition in markets for online display advertising.” The U.K’s Competition and Markets Authority opened a parallel probe into the companies. The deal is already under investigation in the United States. THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Bill Maher slams both parties for playing partisan politics with the war in Ukraine Real Time host Bill Maher ended his show Friday night by slamming both parties for using Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to score partisan points. “New rule: don’t make World War III all about you,” Maher said. The only conclusion anyone seems to be drawing from the war in Ukraine, he claimed, is that “everything proves what we already believed, and everything goes back to the thing we already hate.” Maher pointed out headlines that showed Republicans blaming President Biden for the war and Democrats blaming former President Donald Trump. He also quoted Biden’s comparison of the invasion to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and Trump’s insistence that the crisis was caused by “a rigged election.” FOX NEWS

The End