Saturday, October 1st, 2022 

After the defeat in Lyman, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, calls on the Russian government to introduce martial law and use low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine. (Moskovskij Komsomolets) 

Ukrainian troops liberate Lyman after weeks of fighting for the city and one day after the annexation of the Donetsk People’s Republic to Russia. (The Guardian) 

The Ministry of Defence of Russia says that it has withdrawn troops from the town of Lyman due to “a threat of encirclement”. (BBC News) 

A civilian convoy of seven cars attacked by Russian forces is discovered in Kupiansk Raion in Kharkiv Oblast with 24 people being killed, including a pregnant woman and 13 children, according to local governor Oleh Synyehubov. (Ukrainska Pravda) 

Protests enter a fifteenth day as large crowds and strikes are held at Iran’s universities. (Iran International) 

Iranians around the world hold rallies in more than 160 cities in solidarity with protesters. (Euronews) 

Canada formally ends all COVID-19 border measures, including vaccination requirements, pre-arrival testing, and quarantine, allowing all travellers to enter the country unrestricted without needing to submit public health information through the ArriveCAN government mobile app. (Global News) 

Latvians head to the polls to elect members of the Saeima. (The Business Standard) 

Venezuela releases seven Americans from its custody, including five Citgo executives, in exchange for two nephews of Venezuelan First Lady Cilia Flores who had previously been convicted of drug smuggling in the United States. (Politico) 

The End

Friday,  September 30th, 2022 

Russian president Vladimir Putin signs accession treaties to annex the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia. The new subjects are the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, Kherson Oblast and Zaporozhye Oblast. However, the accession treaties must be ratified by both houses of the Russian Duma before becoming effective under Russian law. (Reuters) 

Russian forces launch 16 missiles at areas near the city of Zaporizhzhia, including a gathering point for civilians preparing to cross into Russian-occupied territory, where at least 25 people are killed and 50 others are injured. (NBC News) 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requests fast-track NATO membership following the Russian annexation of Southern and Eastern Ukraine. (BBC News) 

Uzbekistan says that it will not deport Russians fleeing conscription. (Reuters) 

Nineteen people are killed and 32 more injured as separatist fighters attack a police station in Zahedan, Iran. (Al Jazeera) 

Twenty-six people are killed and 56 others are injured by a suicide bomber at a school in Dashte Barchi, Kabul, Afghanistan. (CNN) 

Junta leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is removed from office in a coup d’état after gunfire occurs in the Burkinabé capital of Ouagadougou. Coup leader Ibrahim Traore imposes a curfew, suspends all political civil society activities as well as the Constitution, and closes all land and air borders.  (France24) 

Inflation in the Netherlands increases to 17% amid a substantial increase in energy and fuel prices. (Reuters) 

Hurricane Ian makes its fourth landfall in South Carolina, after devastating portions of Florida and Cuba. (National Hurricane Center) 

Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirms that the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense was hacked and that leaked data included information about the president’s health issues and other national security issues. (Proceso) 

Thursday, September 29th, 2022 

Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree recognizing the “independence” of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, which were proclaimed yesterday. (The Guardian)

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the Nord Stream gas leaks “an unprecedented act of international terrorism”. (RBK) 

Swedish authorities report a fourth gas leak from the Nord Stream pipelines. (Sky News) 

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces that he will convene an urgent meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on September 30. (Ukrainska Pravda) 

Russian forces strike a residential neighborhood in Dnipro with a cruise missile, killing a family of four, including two children, and injuring 18 other civilians, according to local authorities. (Ukrinform)

Three people are killed and 12 others are injured by a Russian cluster munition attack on a bus stop in Mykolaiv, according to mayor Oleksandr Sienkievych. (Ukrainska Pravda) 

Finland announces that it will deny entry to Russian tourists beginning on Thursday night, thereby cutting off the last direct link between Russia and the European Union. (Reuters) 

Taiwan announces that it will end the mandatory quarantine of visitors on October 13 and will also restore temporarily suspended visa-free travel for countries that had a relevant agreement with the island. (The Straits Times) 

Indonesia grants approval for the first Chinese mRNA vaccine against COVID-19, the Walvax COVID-19 vaccine. (Reuters) 

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launches ballistic missiles at Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, killing nine civilians and injuring 32 others. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry says that it will summon the Iranian ambassador in response to the attacks. (RFE/RL) 

Bettina Muscheidt, the European Union ambassador to Nicaragua, is declared persona non grata, presumably due to her criticism of undemocratic policies of President Daniel Ortega. (Euractiv) 

Montenegro expels six Russian diplomats, whom the country accuses of spying. In response, the Russian embassy in Montenegro announces that its consular section will suspend its services beginning on Friday and “until further notice”. (Reuters)

The Supreme Court of India strikes down a portion of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act that forbade unmarried women from having an abortion, thus legalising the procedure for all women until the 24th week of pregnancy. The ruling also notes that forcing a woman to carry the child could constitute marital rape, which is not, however, recognised as an offence in India. (Al Jazeera) 

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda begins the trial of Félicien Kabuga, one of the richest Rwandan businessmen in the 1990s who is implicated in the Rwandan genocide. Kabuga pleads not guilty and does not appear on the first day of the proceedings. (BBC News) 

The European Commission sues Malta in the European Court of Justice, seeking to end the country’s “golden passport” scheme, which is the only such scheme still active in the EU. This scheme allows large investors to be granted Maltese citizenship, and by extension, citizenship of the European Union. (Bloomberg) 

Aung San Suu Kyi, the ousted leader of Myanmar, is sentenced to a further three years’ imprisonment for “violating the state’s secrets act”. She is already serving 20 years on other charges. (AP) 

A section of the Sanibel Causeway in Florida, United States, collapses following damage from Ian, blocking access to the islands of Sanibel and Captiva. (Tampa Bay Times)

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces that the state has launched efforts to rescue people stranded from their homes by flooding from Ian. Additionally, President Joe Biden declares Ian a major disaster. (Politico) 

The End