USA

24 March 2022; MEMO: Thousands of academics who are members of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) have voted to endorse a boycott of Israel. The resolution "endorses the Palestinian call for solidarity in the form of boycotts, divestment and sanctions."

24 March 2022; MEMO: US refiners have begun snapping up fuel oil cargoes from the Middle East this month after US President, Joe Biden, banned Russian oil imports over the country's invasion of Ukraine, shipping data showed, Reuters reports.

The United States, last year, imported about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) of different types of fuel oil and other feed stocks that mostly went to US Gulf Coast refineries to supplement heavy crude oil, according to market research data.

NEW YORK, March 24. /TASS/: The US company Google has confirmed that users are having difficulty accessing the Google News website and application in Russia, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

"We’ve confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end," the agency quoted Google as saying.

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 (Reuters) - The 193-member U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly demanded aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine on Thursday and criticized Russia for creating a "dire" humanitarian situation after Moscow invaded its neighbor one month ago.

The resolution, drafted by Ukraine and allies, received 140 votes in favor and 5 votes against - Russia, Syria, North Korean, Eritrea and Belarus - while 38 countries abstained.

WASHINGTON, March 24 (Reuters) - The White House has set up a team of experts to plan how the United States could respond should Russia use weapons of mass destruction - chemical, biological or nuclear - during its invasion of Ukraine, senior administration officials said on Thursday.

Russia has repeatedly raised the prospect of using nuclear weapons as it struggles to overcome Ukraine's military during the month-old war that the Russian government calls a "special operation." This week, the Kremlin said such weapons would only be used in the case of an "existential threat." 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly votes Thursday on a resolution backed by over 90 countries that blames Russia for the escalating humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and demands an immediate halt to hostilities, especially attacks on civilians and their homes, schools and hospitals.

Russia has denounced the resolution as “anti-Russian” and accuses its supporters of not really being concerned about the humanitarian situation on the ground, saying they want to politicize aid.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Human Rights Watch released a report Thursday demanding the U.S. and other countries stop deporting Haitians to their homeland, calling it “unconscionable” and warning that they are putting people’s lives in danger.

More than 25,700 people have been deported to Haiti from January 2021 to February 2022, with 79% of them alone expelled by the U.S., according to the International Organization for Migration.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Russian stock market resumed limited trading Thursday under heavy restrictions almost one month after prices plunged and the market was shut down following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Trading of a limited number of stocks including energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft took place under curbs that are meant to prevent a repeat of the massive selloff that took place Feb. 24 in anticipation of Western economic sanctions. Foreigners cannot sell and traders are barred from short selling, or betting prices will fall.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Joe Biden meets with key allies in Brussels to coordinate a stronger response to Russia’s monthlong assault on Ukraine, a new poll shows Americans have yet to rally around his leadership.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Legal experts and interest groups will weigh in on Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Senate Judiciary Committee wraps up four days of hearings on her historic nomination to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

Jackson faced down a barrage of Republican questioning over two days about her sentencing of criminal defendants, her bid to join the Supreme Court veering from lofty constitutional questions to attacks on her motivations on the bench.