❗CIA Director Burns warns against underestimating Chinese President Xi, Chinese leadership's determination with regard to Taiwan

❗ Russian Armed Forces destroy almost 2,600 Ukrainian military facilities, MoD says

❗CIA chief: US, Ukraine doing 'intensive' intelligence sharing

😐 Advisor to the head of Zelensky's office has called the publication about the UN in the Irish Times "a Russian provocation"

⚡️⚡️ EU doesn’t intend to ban Russian energy imports - Borrell

⚡ McDonald's temporarily closes 850 restaurants in Russia - media citing the company's CEO

❗ S&P Global: Events in Ukraine will lead to global oil supply disruption, possible biggest in history since Russia is irreplaceable as supplier

⚡ Pentagon: US, Russia have maintained communication through deconfliction channel on Ukraine, completed about a dozen of calls

⚡ US has no direct evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, Defence Intelligence Chief says

❗ Putin signs decree on special economic measures in field of foreign economic activity to ensure Russia's security

Highlights of the new Russian MoD briefing:

▪️ Units of Russian Armed Forces have taken control of two settlements in Ukraine;

▪️ Russia's Air Force has destroyed 32 military facilities in Ukraine, including 23 areas where weapons and equipment were concentrated;

▪️ Russia's Armed Forces have destroyed 2,581 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities;

▪️ DPR forces have advanced almost 1 km in Mariupol;

▪️ Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 123 S-300, Buk M-1 and Osa anti-aircraft missile systems since the beginning of the operation in Ukraine;

▪️ Troops of the LPR, DPR and Russian Armed Forces have established control over seven settlements

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❗UN on preventing Kiev from evacuating people to Russia: Citizens should have the opportunity to evacuate when and where they want

⚡Spotify and Discord users are experiencing network problems - Downdetector

❗LPR's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Almost the entire territory of the republic has been liberated; the people's militia liberated 7 settlements on 8 March

❗OPEC believes oil price now 'unhealthy' for everyone, expects quick crisis resolution

❗️🇺🇸 White House says oil companies have 45 days to deliver on existing contracts before the ban Russian oil imports

❗️Washington believes the impact of the Russian oil import ban will not be long-term, Psaki says

❗️🇷🇺🛢 Biden's decision to ban imports of Russian oil will lead to volatility in global energy markets & negatively impact US companies & citizens, the Russian embassy in Washington said

🚜 Russia and Ukraine account for around 29% of global wheat exports, 19% of global corn supplies, and 80% of the world’s sunflower oil exports.

This reliance has many traders worried that any further escalation could trigger a massive scramble by food importers to replace supplies normally sourced from the Black Sea region.

Wheat futures reached record highs on Tuesday, following a 14-year high at the end of last week. Wheat prices reached a 14-year high on Friday, with Chicago futures for grain closing 41% higher than the previous week at $12.09. That jump marks the biggest gain over six decades. On Monday, the price closed up for the 6th consecutive day.

Russia is also one of the world’s biggest exporters of all three major groups of fertilizers, and officials have said it could suspend exports, leaving farmers to bear the cost of any prolonged shortage.

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❗️🧋Starbucks reportedly suspends all operations in Russia

😷 Covid will 'probably' become a seasonal virus like the flu, Walensky says

CDC officials say it's increasingly likely the coronavirus will never truly go away, but will instead simmer at low levels and rise again in the winter. Even as cases of Covid-19 continue to fall nationwide, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the coronavirus is most likely here to stay — and that it could behave similarly to influenza.

"I do anticipate that this is probably going to be a seasonal virus," said the CDC's director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky. That means it could join the flu and other respiratory viruses that tend to spread during the cold winter months.

While the CDC says 90 percent of people in the U.S. can take off their masks now, Walensky said she can't guarantee that masks will be gone forever. That means they could make a comeback one day.

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