Situation Reports

Ukrainian Orthodox leaders on Dec. 15 approved the creation of a unified national church independent of the Moscow Patriarchate, AP reported.

Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as Sri Lanka's prime minister on Dec. 15, seven weeks after he was appointed by the president in a move that sparked a political crisis, BBC reported.

At least 11 people have died after two days of riots in the Somali city of Baidoa following the arrest of Mukhtar Robow, a former deputy al Shabaab leader and candidate for regional governor, Reuters reported Dec. 14.

Hundreds of Jordanians have demonstrated against an upcoming income tax law and clashed with security forces, Al Jazeera reported Dec. 14.

Sweden's parliamentary speaker has begun preparing for a new election after caretaker Prime Minister Stefan Lofven's attempt to form a government was voted down by a tally of 200 to 116, Dagens Nyheter reported Dec. 14.

Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed met Saudi King Salman and signed agreements worth $119 million to develop clean drinking water and agricultural projects, Tunis Afrique Presse reported Dec. 13.

EU leaders have authorized the creation of a eurozone budget, and said that its size will be decided by June 2019, Reuters reported Dec. 14. The leaders did not reach an agreement on creating a European deposit insurance scheme.

Member states of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) have agreed to enact structural changes to the trade bloc's charter, Buenos Aires Economico reported Dec. 14, citing anonymous sources.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG) must leave Manbij or Turkey will enter the city, the Hurriyet Daily News reported Dec. 14.

Kosovo's parliament has approved a set of laws to transform the lightly armed Kosovo Security Force into a national army, Deutsche Welle reported Dec. 14.