Russia-Ukraine war: EU agrees 9th round of sanctions against Russia

 

 
EU leaders gathered in Brussels for their last meeting of 2022 and ended the year much as it started, with a meeting focused on Russia's war in Ukraine.
At a European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, December 15, the EU imposed fresh sanctions (its 9th round of sanctions) on Moscow despite disagreements over easing the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers through European ports.
EU leaders also reached an agreement on a 15% minimum tax on large, multinational businesses.
The agreement will be confirmed in writing today.

Pelé, Brazilian football icon, dies at 82

 

  Brazilian football icon Pele, a three-time World Cup winner who is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, died on Thursday at the age of 82 - triggering a wave of tributes from the sports world and beyond.
His death after a long battle with cancer was caused by "multiple organ failure," the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo said in a statement, confirming the news from the legend's family.
"We love you infinitely. Rest in peace," daughter Kely Nascimento wrote on Instagram.
The football world - from his former teammates to current stars - came together to honor "O Rei" (The King), who transformed the sport during a long professional career that began when he was still a teenager.

Argentina win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after 4-2 penalty shootout

 

 A Lionel Messi inspired Argentina beat a Kylian Mbappe energized France following a dramatic 3-3 draw in full time that climaxed with a penalty win for Argentina.
 Lionel Messi’s 108th-minute strike was not enough to give Argentina the deserved win after Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty in the 118th minute to bring the game level to 3-3  at the extra time in the Qatar 2022 World Cup final on Sunday December 18.
In the 23rd-minute Argentina captain, Lionel Messi scored a penalty putting France on the backdoor and after another impressive spell of good football by Argentina, a 36th-minute strike from Angel Di Maria left the South Americans in a commanding position at the break.

Huge Berlin aquarium bursts, spilling 1,500 fish onto road

 

 A huge aquarium in Berlin burst early on Friday, spilling 1 million litres (264,172 gallons) of water, around 1,500 exotic fish and debris onto a major road in the busy Mitte district, emergency services said.
Around 100 emergency responders rushed to the site, a leisure complex that houses a Radisson hotel and a museum as well as what Sea Life Berlin said was the world's largest freestanding cylindrical aquarium at 14 metres (46ft) in height.
"It felt like an earthquake" said Naz Masraff, who had been staying at the hotel.
Another hotel guest, Sandra Weeser, spoke of chaos.
"The whole aquarium burst and what’s left is total devastation. Lots of dead fish, debris," she told Reuters.

FIFA president Infantino announces that new Men’s Club World Cup will take place in 2025

 

 FIFA president, Gianni Infantino has confirmed that FIFA will launch a 32-team men's Club World Cup in 2025.
 The new Club World Cup concept was initially meant to launch in China in 2021 with 24 teams but was cancelled due to the pandemic - and is now set for a further expansion from June 2025.
 In a press conference ahead of Argentina vs France final on Sunday, the FIFA president dropped several bombshells after claiming that Qatar 2022 was 'the best World Cup ever'.
 Infantino said: "We have approved a 48-team World Cup format with 16 groups of three, of which the top two would then move to a knockout phase of 32, followed by 16, eight, four and then two.

Landslide at Malaysia campground leaves 16 dead and 17 missing

 

 A landslide occurred on Friday, Dec. 16, at a tourist campground in Malaysia, leaving 16 people dead and 17 others were feared buried at the site.
 The site is on an organic farm outside the capital of Kuala Lumpur.
 An estimated 94 Malaysians were believed to have been at the campsite in Batang Kali in central Selangor state, around 31 miles north of Kuala Lumpur, when the incident occurred, said district police chief Suffian Abdullah.
 He said the death toll has risen to 16, including a five-year-old boy.
 Seven people have been hospitalized with injuries and rescuers were searching for the estimated 17 missing people, he said.

Twitter bans accounts of CNN, NYT and Washington Post journalists who tracked Elon Musk’s movements and shared his live location

 

 
Twitter on Thursday evening, December 15 banned the accounts of several high-profile journalists from top news organizations, a significant attempt by new owner Elon Musk to wield his authority over the platform.
 Accounts belonging to CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, The New York Times’ Ryan Mac, The Washington Post’s Drew Harwell and other journalists who have covered Musk aggressively in recent weeks were all abruptly permanently suspended. The account of progressive independent journalist Aaron Rupar was also banned.
 Musk claimed that the journalists had violated his new “doxxing” policy by sharing his live location, amounting to what he described as “assassination coordinates.”

US lawmakers introduce bill to ban TikTok in the country

 

 Some US lawmakers have introduced new legislation that aims to ban TikTok from operating in the United States.
The new bill by Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, and a bipartisan pair of congressmen in the House, reflects the latest move by US policymakers against the Chinese-owned short-form video app.
There have been reports that TikTok lacks ability to safeguard US user data from the Chinese government.
 The proposed legislation on Tuesday December 13, would “block and prohibit all transactions” in the United States by social media companies with at least one million monthly users that are based in, or under the “substantial influence” of, countries that are considered foreign adversaries, including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela.

Qatar 2022: Lionel Messi confirms retirement from International Football after World Cup Final

 

 Football icon, Lionel Messi has confirmed that he will retire from international football after the final of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 on Sunday December 18.
 Messi helped Argentina qualify for the final following a commanding 3-0 win against Croatia in Tuesday’s semi-final after he opened scoring and provided an assist for two-goal hero, Julian Alvarez to earn Argentina a World Cup final appearance since 2014.
 Speaking to Argentine media outlet Diario Deportivo Ole, after the match, Messi said: “I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final.

President Biden signs historic same-sex marriage bill at White House

 

US President, Joe Biden has signed new legislation protecting same-sex and interracial marriage.
 Biden held an event at the White House South Lawn with lawmakers and Cabinet members as the Respect for Marriage Act becomes law.
 "Today is a good day," Biden said as he took the podium after Vice President Kamala Harris. "A day America takes a vital step toward equality, for liberty and justice, not just for some, but for everyone. Toward creating a nation where decency, dignity and love are recognized, honored and protected."
 "We're here today to celebrate their courage and everyone who made the day possible," the president continued. "Courage that led to progress we've seen over the decades, progress that gives us hope that every generation will continue on our journey toward a more perfect union."

2022 FIFA World Cup: Argentina qualifies for final after 3-0 win against Croatia

 

 A masterclass play from Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez Alvarez on Tuesday December 13, has helped Argentina beat Croatia 3-0, to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, taking place in Qatar.
 The Argentine team started the semi-final match slow, but later took control of the game as star player and captain, Messi, put his team ahead with a 34th-minute penalty after Croatia goalkeeper, Dominik Livakovic tripped Alvarez as he chased a long ball.
 Croatia, which came from behind to beat Japan and Brazil on penalties in the last two rounds, tried to hit back in the second half but failed to open any real cracks in a determined Argentine defense.

High school stops 70 students from graduating because they fixed artificial nails

 

 About 70 female students at a Sydney high school were barred from attending their graduation celebrations because they were wearing artificial nails.
 Parents of the Year 10 students from Mackellar Girls Campus in Manly Vale, Australia, were left horrified when their daughters were stopped from participating in their end-of-year graduation ceremony this week.
 This meant the girls were forced to miss the ceremony and instead sat in a separate room during the graduation because their fake nails breached the school's strict dress code.
Speaking to news.com.au, the mother of a barred student said a lot of parents had taken time off to attend the 9:15 a.m. assembly on Monday, Dec. 12.

Drake gets necklace with 42 engagement diamonds for all the times he wanted to propose

 

 Drake has paid for a diamond necklace that showcases 42 diamonds from engagement rings he thought about giving women.
 "New piece titled ‘Previous Engagements’ for all the times he thought about it but never did it," jewelry designer Alex Moss wrote as he shared a video showcasing the necklace.
 The necklace is made up of "42 engagement rings, 351.38 carats in diamonds," Moss explained in the caption.
 Moss added that creating the necklace was "an expedition spanning 14 months, every diamond hand selected, inspected to only suit perfection."

Cambridge University agrees to hand colonial-era African artefacts back to Uganda so the items can 'live again'

 

 Cambridge University has agreed to hand back priceless African artefacts to Uganda.
 According to Mail Online, the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) is in talks with the Uganda Museum about repatriating the objects to the east African nation in 2023.
 Uganda's Commissioner for Monuments and Museums, Rose Mwanja Nkaale, and the Curator, Nelson Abiti, visited the museum last month to discuss which objects should be prioritised for repatriation.
They were joined by Derek Peterson, a professor of History and African Studies at the University of Michigan, who is principal investigator for the Repositioning project.

Outrage as Cambridge dictionary changes the definition of "man" and "woman"

 

 
Cambridge Dictionary is being criticized on social media for changing the definitions of the words "man" and "woman".
 The definition was altered to include people who identify as a gender other than their biological sex.
 The definition of woman, which previously was about the sex a person was born as, now states that a woman is "an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth."
Similarly, a man is now defined as "an adult who lives and identifies as male though they may have been said to have a different sex at birth."

Uber driver stabbed to death by random passenger who 'just wanted to kill someone'

 

 A female Uber driver who also worked with the police was murdered at random by a passenger who "just wanted to kill someone", cops say.
 Brandon Jacobs, 29, is accused of stabbing Yolanda Dillion, 54, to death before posting a video of the bloody aftermath to Facebook.
 The passenger allegedly killed his victim from the backseat of her car in Louisiana, US after she picked him up for his journey on Thursday, Dec. 8.
 He then walked to a hotel where he had pre-booked a room before cops arrested him on suspicion of the crime.

Jadon Sancho is not 'physically or mentally' ready to play for Man United - Erik ten Hag reveals

 

 
Manchester United coach, Erik ten Hag has revealed that their star winger, Jadon Sancho is training away from Manchester United and will not return until he is physically and mentally ready to play for the club again.
 Sancho has been working in Holland with coaches trusted by his manager Erik ten Hag, having not kicked a ball for United since October 22 due to illness. The 22-year-old missed the club's training camp in Spain last week after he was left out of England's squad for the World Cup.

EU parliament to sack vice president Eva Kaili in Qatar bribe claim

 

 The European Parliament has taken the first step by ditching one of its own vice presidents, Greek socialist Eva Kaili amid allegations of corruption linked to World Cup host, Qatar.
 European Parliament Vice-President Eva Kaili and three others were charged and imprisoned last Sunday in Belgium, amid a police probe into alleged corruption linked with Qatar.
 Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili's lawyer has since declared that she was innocent and "has nothing to do with Qatar's bribes".

Indonesia says tourists will not be prosecuted under new laws banning sex outside marriage over fears it would destroy their holiday industry

 

Indonesia has confirmed that tourists will not be prosecuted under new laws banning sex outside of marriage, over fears it would destroy the country's tourism industry.
 Last week, the Southeast Asian country's parliament passed legislation approving jail terms of up to a year for anyone caught having sex outside of wedlock, while cohabitation by unmarried couples can also be punished with six months in prison.
Officials say the law aims to uphold 'Indonesian values' in the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.
 However, businesses have voiced worries over the new law, warning that it will be detrimental to tourism in Indonesia, which received more than 16 million visitors in 2019.

Female police officer loses her job after claiming she was 'unaware' her husband was a drug lord despite enjoying lavish lifestyle with him

 

A former Metropolitan police officer reportedly lost her job after claiming she didn't know her husband was a major drug dealer.
 Officer Rasvinder Agalliu enjoyed a lavish lifestyle involving a £5,000-a-month rental property, a £70,000 Audi, and a lot of designer clothes, ladbible reports.
Meanwhile, she claimed to believe her husband, Julian Agalliu, could afford their expensive lifestyle because he was working as a private chef in footballers' home, where she said he earned between £1,000 and £4,000 a week and was paid in cash.
 Julian was also a major drug dealer who used the criminal app Encrochat to deal cocaine and cannabis.