December 22, 2009 (Tuesday)
- Sudan's parliament approves a law on a possible referendum on Southern Sudan's independence. (Al Jazeera) (AFP)
- Maoist supporters in Nepal set a one month deadline for the formation of a unity government, vowing to launch an indefinite strike if the demand was not met. (AFP) (Asian Tribune)
- A suicide bomb attack in Peshawar, north-western Pakistan, kills three and injures at least seventeen. (BBC)
- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation releases more than 300 pages of previously classified documents belonging to pop icon Michael Jackson who died earlier in the year. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph)
- Eight Russian circus tigers and a lioness are found dead in Yakutsk having succumbed to intense heat while embarking on a 20-hour drive across Siberia. One dog survives. (BBC)
- Eurostar finally resumes services after three days of continent-wide weather-related outages. (Financial Times)
- Serbia formally submits its application to join the European Union. (Tanjug)[permanent dead link] (BBC)
- It is revealed that the fugitive brother of Gerry Adams has been located in County Sligo after the politician appeals for him to make his whereabouts known. (RTÉ) (BBC)
- Two sheriff's deputies are injured and a suspect dies in a shooting in Pierce County, Washington, United States. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- An armed conflict in Dungu (Dongo), Équateur Province of Democratic Republic of the Congo has escalated. By 10 December the conflict has left 100 dead and forced 115 000 people to flee their homes. (Algoa FM)
- A priest in York causes controversy when he says shoplifting from large national chain stores is acceptable in certain circumstances. (The Irish Times)