Situation Reports

A federal appeals court sided with the U.S. Justice Department and ruled to uphold a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States if China-based owner ByteDance does not sell the app by Jan. 19, 2025, Politico reported on Dec. 6.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed an interstate treaty that obliges the two countries to preserve the inviolability of the external border of the Union State, of which only Russia and Belarus are members, with the use of all available forces and means, including Russian tactical nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus, AP reported Dec. 6.

Pakistan's jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, urged his supporters to rally on Dec. 13 in Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, which is ruled by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Reuters reported Dec. 6.

Malian authorities issued an arrest warrant against the CEO of Canadian mining company Barrick Gold Corp., Mark Bristow, on money laundering charges, Reuters reported on Dec. 5.

OpenAI is discussing cutting a provisional clause from its agreement with Microsoft that blocks Microsoft's access to any artificial general intelligence model OpenAI develops, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 6.

The Orange Democratic Movement party, or ODM, is facing fresh internal divisions after party officials issued contradicting statements on whether to support President William Ruto's potential presidential bid in the 2027 general election, Nation reported on Dec. 5.

The European Union and Mercosur (a bloc formed by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) reached an agreement on the terms of a free trade deal, Reuters reported Dec. 6.

The Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, one of Myanmar's belligerent ethnic armed organizations, announced a unilateral ceasefire in its armed conflict with the country's governing junta and will pursue more formal peace talks, The Asahi Shimbun reported on Dec. 5.

Ricardo Bonilla resigned from his post as finance minister at Colombian President Gustavo Petro's request amid an ongoing corruption investigation into the alleged irregular allocation of funds from the National Disaster Risk Management Unit, or UNGRD, and Petro announced finance vice minister Diego Guevara as a replacement, El Colombiano reported Dec. 4.

U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that the United States would provide an additional $600 million in financing to support the development of the Lobito Corridor, which will connect Zambia's Copperbelt to the Atlantic Ocean, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 4.