Friday,  December 9th, 2022 

A court in Moscow sentences prominent opposition figure Ilya Yashin to eight and a half years in prison on charges related to his criticism of the ongoing war in Ukraine. (ABC News) 

Ukraine’s Energoatom says that Russian soldiers have abducted two senior staff members from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Energoatom says that the two workers were “beaten” before being driven off in an “unknown direction”. (Reuters) 

At least one person is killed after a large explosion occurs during a massive fire at a shopping center in Moscow, Russia. (Al Jazeera) 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses Russia of “destroying” the front line city of Bakhmut after weeks of relentless shelling by Russian forces. (Newsweek) 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić says that Serbia is close to deploying its troops to North Kosovo after claiming that the lives of the Serb minority there are “being threatened”, and that the NATO-led Kosovo Force was “failing to protect them”. (ABC News) 

The United States Office of Foreign Assets Control imposes sanctions on former Chinese Communist Party Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region Wu Yingjie and People’s Police chief for the Himalayas Zhang Hongbo over “serious” human rights abuses in Tibet. (AFP via NDTV) 

The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control imposes sanctions on former Guinean president Alpha Condé for engaging in political violence during his presidency. (AFP via VOA) 

The Belgian Federal Police arrest Greek MEP and European Parliament vice-president Eva Kaili following an investigation into corruption tied to lobbying efforts in support of Qatar. Kaili’s political parties, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, have both suspended her membership. (CNN) 

A Japanese research team from Yamagata University announces the discovery of 168 new big figures near the Nazca Lines in Peru. (EFE via El Mundo) 

The Ironman Triathlon cancels the 2023 and 2024 triathlons to be held in Juneau, Alaska, United States, citing economic concerns. (Juneau Empire) 

Thursday, December 8th, 2022 

Egypt joins the BRICS-led New Development Bank after the Egyptian government ratifies its accession into the multilateral development bank. (Egypt Independent) 

French President Emmanuel Macron announces that condoms will be free at pharmacies for all adults between the ages of 18 and 24 years beginning on January 1, as part of an effort to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases in the country. (Reuters) 

Russian forces shell the front line in the Donetsk region, killing one civilian and damaging buildings in Toretsk. (Reuters) 

The Kosovo special forces block the city of Kosovska Mitrovica after the Kosovo Police announced that they will increase their presence in North Kosovo. (Srbija Danas) 

At this year’s Game Awards, Elden Ring wins Game of the Year while God of War Ragnarök wins the most awards with six. (Washington Post) 

Iran announces the first known execution of a prisoner arrested in connection with the protests. The man was found guilty of “waging war against God” after being accused of blocking a street and attacking a security forces member with a machete. (Time) 

The United States Federal Trade Commission announces that they will sue in an attempt to block Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, citing concerns that the deal would give Microsoft too much control over certain parts of the gaming industry. (The Verge) 

The trial of three executives of the now insolvent German financial services provider Wirecard, including its former chief executive officer Markus Braun, opens in Munich. Braun and two others have been charged with accounting fraud, breach of trust, commercial gang fraud, and market manipulation. (AFP via France 24) 

Basketball player Brittney Griner is released in a prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout. (CBS News) 

The European Union accepts Croatia’s accession to the Schengen Area, effective January 1. (DW) 

Austria announces that it will veto Bulgaria and Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area, citing fears of increased illegal immigration. (AFP via Times of Malta) 

The U.S. House of Representatives passes the Respect for Marriage Act, which enshrines same-sex marriage and interracial marriage into federal law, in a 258–169–1 vote. (CNBC) (Axios) 

Protests break out across Peru, including the capital Lima, in response to ousting and detainment of former President of Peru Pedro Castillo. (Euronews) 

The Alberta Sovereignty Within a United Canada Act, which grants the cabinet of the Canadian province of Alberta the ability to nullify national laws, passes the Albertan legislature by a party line vote of 27–7, following significant opposition by the Alberta New Democratic Party and Indigenous chiefs. (CBC News) 

Russian forces shell Kurakhove, Donetsk Oblast, killing ten civilians and injuring five others. (The Kyiv Independent)

Turkey gives the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces an ultimatum to withdraw its fighters from Manbij, Tell Rifaat, and Kobanî within two weeks or face military action. A Turkish official says that Russia and the United States have been informed of the deadline. (Al Jazeera) 

Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales suspends American national Anne Sacoolas’ eight-month prison sentence for a 12-month period, during which she is under probation unless she commits another offence, over the death of British man Harry Dunn in a 2019 traffic collision. (AFP via Bangkok Post) 

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities approves the first new coal mine in the United Kingdom in 30 years at the Woodhouse Colliery in Cumbria, England. The mine is expected to remain operational for up to 50 years. It will create 500 direct and 1,500 indirect jobs in the region, and will take two years to build at a cost estimated at around £165 million ($201 million). (Reuters)

The Central Bank of Nigeria says it will limit individual cash withdrawals to 100,000 Nigerian naira (225 USD) per week to reduce counterfeiting and to discourage ransom payments to kidnappers. (Al Jazeera) 

Sheffield City Council have declared a major incident as the natural gas network outage affecting thousands of properties in Sheffield, England enters its sixth day. Many residents still have no heating in their homes and temperatures are forecast to drop below 0°C in the coming days. (BBC News) 

In Farah Province, the Taliban carries out its first public execution since taking power last year. The executed man was convicted of fatally stabbing another man in 2017, and was executed by the victim’s father, according to government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. (Reuters via The Guardian) 

Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness declares a nationwide state of emergency due to an increase in crime rates in the country. (CNN) 

President Pedro Castillo announces the dissolution of Congress, the imposition of a curfew, the creation of an “emergency” government, and early parliamentary elections hours before facing his third impeachment vote. The impeachment is successful and Castillo is later arrested after leaving the Government Palace in Lima. First Vice President Dina Boluarte is sworn in as President of the Republic after Castillo’s arrest. (Reuters)  

Former President of Guatemala Otto Pérez Molina and his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, are sentenced to 16-year prison terms for their involvement. (Reuters) 

The End