Sunday, December 18th, 2022 

Argentina defeats the reigning champions France 4–2 on penalties after a 3–3 draw to win their third World Cup title, and first since 1986. (CNN) 

German authorities recover 31 royal jewellery items that were stolen from the Green Vault museum at Dresden Castle in Dresden, Saxony, Germany, in 2019. (AFP via South China Morning Post) 

Nine police officers are killed and two others are injured when a convoy hits a roadside bomb in Kirkuk, Iraq. (Al Jazeera) 

Three people are killed and 17 others are injured by a freak wave at a beach in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. (VOA) 

At least 19 people are killed and 37 others are injured when a tank truck overturns, explodes and catches fire in the Salang Tunnel in Afghanistan. (BBC News) 

Five people are killed and one other person is injured in a mass shooting at a condominium tower in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. The gunman is killed by police. (Global News) 

Israel deports French-Palestinian lawyer and activist Salah Hamouri saying that Hamouri continues to be active with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by both Israel and the European Union. (Arab News) 

Saturday, December 17th, 2022 

The Minnesota Vikings complete the largest comeback in NFL history against the Indianapolis Colts, winning 39–36 after a 0–33 deficit. The previous largest comeback occurred in January 1993 when the Buffalo Bills won 41–38 against the Houston Oilers after a 35–3 deficit. (CBS Sports) 

Uzbekistan announces a nearly $1 billion loan from the two main World Bank lending institutions, aimed at supporting the country’s transition to a private sector-led economy. (Xinhua) 

Tunisians head to the polls to elect the members of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People. Opposition parties have called for a boycott of the election. (AFP via The East African) 

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Friday,  December 16th, 2022 

The Biden administration orders the release of thousands of documents on the assassination of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy for the first time. With 13,173 files now published online, more than 97% of records are now publicly available, according to the White House. (BBC News) 

Twitter suspends the accounts of several journalists who reported on negative news relating to Elon Musk and Twitter. Musk accuses these journalists of posting links to real-time location data. The suspensions come following an incident in Los Angeles involving the safety of Elon Musk’s son. (The Guardian) (Al Jazeera),(Yahoo) 

Russian forces launch a barrage of at least 76 missiles across Ukraine, damaging at least nine power stations and killing at least three civilians, with many more civilians being injured. (BBC News) 

The International Criminal Court concludes its investigation in the Situation in Georgia, delivering arrest warrants for three de facto South Ossetian officials believed to bear responsibility for war crimes against Georgian civilians during the 2008 war. The fourth suspect, Russian general Vyacheslav Borisov, is not indicted as he died in 2021. (ICC) 

Protests and riots over high fuel prices occur across Jordan, with a policeman being shot dead by protestors in Ma’an. (Al Jazeera) 

The death toll in the earthquake that struck near Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia, in November increases to 602. (AFP via Philippine Daily Inquirer) 

The AquaDom aquarium in Berlin, Germany, home to 1,500 tropical fish of more than 100 different species, bursts, flooding local streets. The majority of the fish die during the incident, and two people are injured. (BBC News) 

One person is killed and five people are injured in a stampede at Nigerian singer Asake‘s concert at the Brixton Academy in London, United Kingdom. (AP) (BBC News) 

Burkina Faso summons Ghanaian ambassador Naa Bolinaa Saaka over Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo‘s remarks alleging that the Burkinabè government had amalgamated with Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group in their civil war against Islamist rebels. (AFP via Barron’s) 

Fijian police detain opposition leader and former prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka for interrogation over his claims of electoral fraud in the recent election. (AFP via UrduPoint) 

Thursday, December 15th, 2022 

In a 233–191 bipartisan vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passes a bill that would allow Puerto Rico to have its first ever binding referendum to decide whether the unincorporated territory should become a state, an independent nation or an independent nation with free association. (The New York Times) 

The United States Senate passes a defense bill that rescinds the vaccine mandate for the U.S. military. (Los Angeles Times) 

The School District of Philadelphia will require students to wear face masks for 10 days after the winter break amidst a spike in COVID-19 cases. (Reuters) 

Shelling by Russian forces kills two people and leaves the entire city of Kherson without power. (BBC News) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić announces that the Serbian government will send a request to KFOR for the return of a certain number, “from hundreds to a thousand”, of police and army personnel to Kosovo, in accordance with UN Resolution 1244. (RFE/RL) 

A massacre is perpetrated by the Peruvian Army in the city of Ayacucho following a crackdown in recent protests. The massacre killed 7 and wounded 52. (RPP) 

The Royal College of Nursing begins the largest strike action in the history of the National Health Service amid a dispute with the government over a pay increase for nurses. (BBC News) 

The European Council formally grants candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Sarajevo Times) 

Police in Zambia arrest a truck driver alleged to have transported 27 Ethiopian migrants who were found dead at a farm on the outskirts of Lusaka on Sunday. (Xinhua) 

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Wednesday, December 14th, 2022 

Members of parliament belonging to the Armenian governing coalition accuse Russia of wanting to drag Armenia into a new war with neighboring Azerbaijan, and criticize the conduct of Russian peacekeepers amid a renewed crisis in the region following the Lachin blockade and worsening relations between Armenia and Russia. (RFE/RL) 

The government declares a nationwide state of emergency for 30 days following mass protests in support of Pedro Castillo, which have killed seven people. (SwissInfo) 

Three security forces are killed when a bomb explodes during a military operation in Al-Tarmia District, Baghdad Governorate, Iraq. (AP) 

An ongoing tornado outbreak across the United States kills three people, injures dozens of others, and leaves hundreds of people homeless. (The Weather Channel) 

Multiple tornadoes strike the New Orleans metropolitan area, damaging up to 5,000 structures and following nearly the same path as a high-end EF3 tornado on March 22. (CNN) (Raw Alerts via Twitter) 

The Chinese foreign ministry recalls Manchester consul general Zheng Xiyuan and five other diplomats in the United Kingdom following their alleged involvement in the October clash. (AFP via Barron’s) 

Kosovo formally signs a request to become a member of the European Union. Serbia condemns the request and says that it will ask the five members of the bloc which do not recognize Kosovo to reject the request. (AP) 

Iran is expelled from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women over the death of Mahsa Amini and the violent crackdown against protests for women’s rights in Iran. (MSN) (Reuters) 

Mayor of Istanbul and popular opposition figure Ekrem İmamoğlu goes on trial where he faces a political ban and between 15 months and four years in jail on charges of “insulting” public officials. (AFP via France24) 

One Irish U.N. peacekeeper is killed and three others are wounded after an armed confrontation with a crowd in Al-Aqbieh, Lebanon. (Reuters) 

Fijians head to the polls to elect the 55 members of the parliament. (Al Jazeera)  

Tuesday,  December 13th, 2022 

The United States Department of Energy announces the achievement of fusion ignition by the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (Reuters) 

The Lachin corridor, the only link between Armenia and the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh, is blocked by a group of Azerbaijani citizens described as environmental activists by state media. The protesters say that they are calling attention to what Azerbaijan says is illegal mining in Nagorno-Karabakh as well as the use of the road to transport the minerals to Armenia. The protesters’ action leaves hundreds of Karabakh cars stranded on other sections of the highway. (RFE/RL) 

Republic of Artsakh officials report that Azerbaijan has blocked the flow of gas to Artsakh through Armenia. (Eurasianet) 

Ghana and the International Monetary Fund agree on a three-year loan agreement worth US$3 billion. (AFP via WION) 

Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador says that his government will continue to recognize detained former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo as president of Peru and says that relations between both countries are now “paused”. (europapress via La Nación) 

The European affairs ministers of the European Union agree to upgrade Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application status on December 15, formally recognising the country’s candidacy to join the union. (AFP via Khaleej Times) 

Monday,  December 12th, 2022 

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is arrested in the Bahamas on request of the U.S. government on undisclosed charges. (Reuters) 

Several soldiers are injured when hundreds of Indian and Chinese troops clash in the disputed Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. (MSN) 

Protests and riots occur in front of the Montenegrin Parliament building in Podgorica after the adoption of amendments to the presidential bill. (Vijesti) 

All members of Belgium’s Political Bureau of the Walloon Parliament resign after a scandal concerning excessive public spending by parliamentary clerk Frédéric Janssens. Bureau President Jean-Claude Marcourt, who had been criticized for taking part in a luxury 3-day trip to Dubai for €20,000 using public funds, had previously refused to be the only person to resign if all other members of the Bureau did not resign. (RTBF) 

The End