Sunday, May 15th, 2022 

Russia launches missile strikes from the Black Sea on “military infrastructure” in Yavoriv Raion, Lviv Oblast, located near Ukraine’s western border with Poland. The target was “completely destroyed”, according to the region’s governor Maksym Kozytskyy. (Reuters) 

Russia has lost a third of its invasion force, U.K. intelligence says United Kingdom military intelligence said Sunday that Russia has lost around one-third of the ground forces it deployed when the invasion began in February and that its offensive in the Donbas had “lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule.” After driving Russian troops back from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, Ukrainian forces launched another counteroffensive on Sunday near Russian-held Izium, around 75 miles southeast of Kharkiv. Russian forces, meanwhile, made some advances in the Donbas but continue to suffer from “low morale and reduced combat effectiveness,” according to U.K. intelligence. REUTERS 

Ukraine ‘appears to have won the Battle of Kharkiv,’ think tank says A Ukrainian counteroffensive seems to have driven Russian forces back from Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. A senior U.S. defense official told reporters Friday that Ukraine had reclaimed towns and villages in the vicinity of Kharkiv. The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said that Ukraine “appears to have won the Battle of Kharkiv” and that Russian high command has “likely decided to withdraw fully” due to Ukrainian counterattacks and the “limited availability of reinforcements.” THE WASHINGTON POST 

Saudi Aramco profits jump more than 80 percent thanks to soaring gas prices The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, known as Saudi Aramco, posted a record quarterly profit of $39.5 billion on Sunday, up 82 percent in the first three months of 2022. This spike is the result of high oil prices, which have risen more than 45 percent since the beginning of the year and have stayed consistently above $100 per barrel. “Against the backdrop of increased volatility in global markets, we remain focused on helping meet the world’s demand for energy that is reliable, affordable and increasingly sustainable,” Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser said Sunday. On Wednesday, Aramco surpassed Apple to become the world’s most valuable company, with a market value of over $2.4 trillion. CNBC 

Finland formally announces intent to join NATO Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Prime Minister Sanna Marin formally announced on Sunday that Finland is seeking to join NATO. Parliament will vote to ratify the membership proposal on Monday and could submit a formal application the following day. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, support for NATO membership in Finland has tripled to around 75 percent. Sweden’s governing Social Democrats are likely to drop their longstanding opposition to joining NATO at a meeting Sunday, with an application to follow soon after. THE GUARDIAN 

RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian energy company Inter RAO, announces it will suspend deliveries of electricity to Finland, saying it has not been paid for prior deliveries. The suspension comes as Russia threatens retaliation if Finland joins NATO. (BBC News) 

Sweden’s governing Social Democratic Party approves the country joining NATO. The official government decision is expected in the coming days. (Politico) 

Romania MEP Cristian Terheș loses his status as a member of the Christian Democratic National Peasants’ Party and the position that he holds in the party. (Stiri din Romania) 

Voters in Switzerland approve three measures in a referendum. These measures will require streaming services to invest 4% of their revenue in Switzerland into domestic filmmaking; allow the government to increase the Swiss contribution in Frontex, the EU border agency; and change the default system of organ donation from explicit to presumed consent. (Swissinfo) 

Lebanese voters head to the polls to elect a new session to Parliament. Preliminary counts show the Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies, who won in the previous election, losing seats while the Saudi-backed Lebanese Forces made gains. (Reuters) 

Dr. Oz condemns ‘Islamophobic’ comments from surging Kathy Barnette Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is running for Pennsylvania’s open Senate seat as a Republican and would be the country’s first Muslim senator if elected, slammed primary opponent Kathy Barnette on Saturday for her history of posting Islamophobic tweets. “We must stop interacting with them as if they r rational human beings. There is nothing rational about Islam,” Barnette tweeted in 2015. She also shared an article with the headline “Pedophilia is a Cornerstone of Islam.” Oz said he considers Barnette’s “Islamophobic” remarks to be “disqualifying.” Despite her huge disadvantage in funding, Barnette is polling neck-and-neck with Oz ahead of Tuesday’s primary. THE NEW YORK POST 

Musk says Twitter accused him of violating a non-disclosure agreement Elon Musk said Saturday that Twitter had accused him of violating a non-disclosure agreement after he revealed the process Twitter uses to calculate the percentage of bot accounts on the platform. “Twitter legal just called to complain that I violated their NDA by revealing the bot check sample size is 100! This actually happened,” Musk tweeted. On Friday, Musk announced that his planned purchase of Twitter was “temporarily on hold pending details supporting” Twitter’s claim that bot accounts represent less than five percent of users on the platform. Musk suggested Sunday that the number could be as high as 90 percent of daily active users. FOX BUSINESS 

Saturday, May 14th, 2022 

Ten people are killed and three others injured after a gunman opens fire in a Tops Friendly Markets supermarket in Buffalo, New York, United States. The shooter, a self-described white supremacist, is taken into custody. (AP) 

Venezuela announces that it will sell 5–10% shares in state-owned companies to private investors in order to help fund state enterprises. (AP) 

India bans wheat exports with immediate effect after the heat wave causes yields to be lower than expected. Exceptions will be made if wheat is requested by governments, or for food security needs. (Bloomberg) 

Outgoing South Ossetian President Anatoly Bibilov announces that a referendum on joining Russia will be held on July 17. (Reuters) 

The Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates appoints Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the country’s new president, who also inherits the Emirate of Abu Dhabi after the death of his half-brother Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. (AP) 

Abortion rights protests kick off planned ‘summer of rage’ Organizers of nationwide abortion rights protests said they expect hundreds of thousands of people to show up on Saturday at events in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other major cities. Abortion rights groups have reportedly organized more than 300 “Bans off Our Bodies” marches to protest the leaked draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade (1973). “For the women of this country, this will be a summer of rage. We will be ungovernable until this government starts working for us, until the attacks on our bodies let up, until the right to an abortion is codified into law,” Women’s March President Rachel Carmona said. REUTERS 

Child abuse investigations into parents of trans kids can resume, Texas court rules The Texas Supreme Court unanimously ruled Friday that child abuse investigations into the parents of transgender children can continue, but that the governor and attorney general cannot directly order such investigations. The ruling came after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) ordered the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate the family of a 16-year-old transgender girl identified as “Mary Doe.” Abbott had called on state officials to consider medically accepted treatments for transgender youth — such as hormones, puberty suppressants, and gender-affirming surgery — as potential abuse in cases involving minors. Mary Doe’s family filed a lawsuit when investigators began requesting medical records related to their daughter’s treatment. THE NEW YORK TIMES 

Elon Musk temporarily suspends his $44 billion takeover deal of Twitter as he seeks to confirm the company’s calculations that spam bots and fake accounts constitute less than 5% of the user base. (Reuters) 

Elon Musk says he’s ‘still committed’ to buying Twitter but deal is now ‘temporarily on hold’ Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter is now on hold, according to the Tesla CEO. On Friday, Musk tweeted that his planned purchase on Twitter is “temporarily on hold pending details supporting” a calculation that spam and fake accounts represent less than five percent of users on the platform. Twitter’s stock quickly took a hit after Musk’s announcement, which he followed up by saying he is “still committed” to the acquisition. Last month, Musk said that spambots were the “single most annoying problem on Twitter.” The social media company in April accepted Musk’s offer to purchase it for about $44 billion, $54.20 per share, but the deal hasn’t officially been completed.REUTERS 

Jen Psaki delivers final press briefing before leaving to join MSNBC White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki shed tears on Friday as she delivered her final press briefing before leaving to join MSNBC. During her farewell, Psaki said she first met President Biden and first lady Jill Biden after the 2020 election. “[W]hat we talked about for the majority of our conversation was the importance of returning integrity, respect, and civility to the White House,” she said. She also warned her successor, Karine Jean-Pierre, that the job of press secretary “can be repetitive” and advised her to “always provide the context and all the details because you never want to be a meme with one line.”AXIOS 

Draft decision leak shattered trust on the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas says  Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said Friday that the leak of a draft decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade (1973) was “tremendously bad” and had damaged the atmosphere of trust on the Supreme Court. “The institution that I’m a part of, if someone said that one line of one opinion would be leaked by anyone, you’d say, ‘Oh, that’s impossible. No one would ever do that,’” Thomas said at a conference in Dallas hosted by the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. Thomas cited the close friendship between ideologically opposed Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsberg as an example of the “family” the court once resembled. “This is not the court of that era,” he added.CNN 

Erdoğan: Turkey does not support Finland, Sweden joining NATO The government of Turkey does not support Finland and Sweden joining NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday. “We are following the developments regarding Sweden and Finland, but we are not of a favorable opinion,” Erdoğan said in Instanbul. “Scandinavian countries are guesthouses for terrorist organizations,” he added. Erdoğan’s comments throw a potentially huge wrench in both Finland and Sweden’s possible membership, considering all 30 NATO allies must approve a candidate country’s application. Sweden has not yet made final its intention to apply, though a decision is expected soon. Finland announced its plans to move forward with accession on Thursday.AXIOS 

Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia extended for another month Brittney Griner’s detention in Russia has been extended once again. The WNBA star’s lawyer said Friday that her pre-trial detention has been extended by one month following a hearing in Moscow. The attorney, Alexander Boykov, said this extension suggested the case may soon go to trial. A court most recently extended Griner’s detention another two months in March. Boykov also said Friday the court denied an appeal to transfer Griner to house arrest. In February, Griner was detained at the airport in Russia after cannabis vape cartridges were allegedly found in her suitcase. The United States recently classified her as being “wrongfully detained.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 

Friday,  May 13th, 2022 

Israeli riot police beat pallbearers and mourners at the funeral of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, which was attended by thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and the deputy speaker for UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the images of the attacks “deeply disturbing”. (AP) 

The Croatian Parliament votes 117–13 to officially replace the kuna with the euro on 1 January. (RTÉ) 

The Sky Bridge 721 opens in Dolni Morava, Czech Republic. Spanning 721 metres (2,365 ft), it is longest simple suspension bridge in the world. (Reuters) 

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says that Turkey will oppose Sweden and Finland’s applications to join NATO, asserting that the countries are “guesthouses for terrorist organisations”. (Reuters) 

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin holds talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in the first meeting between the two since the start of the invasion. (Reuters) 

Anti-government demonstrations occur in multiple cities in Iran that are experiencing Internet shutdowns. (Fox News) 

President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan dies at the age of 73. (Gulf News) 

The End