Situation Reports

The office of Guatemala's Attorney General on Dec. 8 announced that it found ''irregularities'' in its probe on the presidential election and that the results in which Bernardo Arevalo was elected president should be annulled, Bloomberg reported the same day.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced via state television the construction of 120 homes to benefit the "Esequibano-Venezuelan people," Infobae reported on Dec. 7.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the world's first CRISPR treatment, which leverages gene-editing technology, for individuals suffering from sickle cell disease, The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 8.

Apple is working with Chinese company BYD, a major iPad assembler, to move new product introduction, or NPI, resources to Vietnam, marking the first time Apple will shift NPI for one of its main product lines to the country, Nikkei Asia reported on Dec. 8.

At China's December Politburo meeting on the economy, President Xi Jinping urged the government to guard against systemic risks, promote "reasonable growth," "moderately strengthen" fiscal policies, and "ensure that migrant workers' wages are paid in full," Xinhua News Agency reported on Dec. 8.

Zimbabwe's Harare High Court barred most opposition candidates from running in the Dec. 9 by-elections in nine constituencies, Africanews reported the same day.

The Danish parliament passed a law making it illegal to burn copies of the Koran in public places, seeking to deescalate tensions with Muslim countries and the Muslim community in Denmark following a series of Koran burnings in 2023, Reuters reported on Dec. 7.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he will run for re-election in March 2024, the Moscow Times reported Dec. 8.

European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang for the 24th EU-China Summit in Beijing, Reuters reported Dec. 7. 

The European Union is set to give member states powers to ban natural gas imports from Russia and Belarus on national security grounds, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 7, citing a draft proposal from the European Commission.