Peru swears in Dina Boluarte as president after Pedro Castillo's arrest

The rushed transition of power followed former President Pedro Castillo’s attempt to dissolve Congress. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Peru swears in Dina Boluarte as president after Pedro Castillo's arrest [Peru's new President Dina Boluarte waves after making a statement at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Dec. 8, 2022.] Credit: Fernando Vergara/AP Peru Peru swore in its [first female president]( on Wednesday in a rapid succession of events. Vice President Dina Boluarte became the nation’s leader after President Pedro Castillo was impeached — which he had tried to avoid by dissolving Congress and installing an emergency government just hours before, in a move that was described by the nation’s ombudsman as an [“attempted coup d’état.”]( Castillo was arrested following his ousting from office. Boluarte is the country’s sixth president in under five years. US-Russia The US and Russia have agreed to a [one-for-one prisoner swap]( to exchange imprisoned American basketball star Brittney Griner and international Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. President Joe Biden [announced at the White House]( that she is currently on a plane back to the US. Griner was detained at an airport in Moscow on drug charges in February and transferred to a penal colony last month, after being handed a nine–year sentence in August. United Kingdom The UK has approved the opening of its first coal mine in 30 years. The more than $200 million project will produce around 2.8 million tons of coal a year. The project has been [criticized as a reversal of efforts]( to control climate change, but politicians argue that it will create new jobs and that it won’t interfere with British plans to hit net zero emissions by 2050, as it will [close down in 2049](. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promoted the need to invest in renewable energy at the recent COP27 climate conference, but is also pushing to boost economic growth. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World ['We’re all the same': Taiwanese stand in solidarity with Chinese 'white paper protests']( [Protesters in Taipei, Taiwan, showed up at a rally on Sunday to express support for China's A4 movement.]( Credit: Ashish Valentine/The World In China, protests have declined after the loosening of some COVID-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, some Taiwanese continue to support what they call the "A4 revolution," or "[white paper protests,"]( in China. [Renewed calls in Syria to overthrow Assad regime]( [This file photo released on April 7, 2019, by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows a worker filling a pickup at a gas station, in Homs, Syria.]( Credit: SANA via AP Protesters in the southern Syrian city of Suweida stormed a government building and torched pictures of President Bashar al-Assad over the weekend. They called for [overthrowing the president](, who they blame for worsening economic conditions. We still need 413 listeners to donate $100 to unlock our $67,000 challenge match. Can we count on you? We are so grateful to listeners like Gina from Washington, who shared why she supports The World: “I really appreciate the variety and depth of your international stories. You take me to places I have loved and to so many I will likely never be able to visit. Thank you! Or Tania, from Oregon, who said: “Thanks for sharing news and stories that I do not hear about in other media sources. I especially appreciate the reporting on climate change and arts and culture. The episode on the former Yugoslavia war crimes case was riveting. Sarah Birnbaum channeling David Attenborough made me chuckle in the car. Froggy ice crystals!” If you, like Gina and Tania, rely on The World to take you to new places and into stories you won’t hear anywhere else, please support our nonprofit newsroom by making [making your gift today](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot Workers have begun dismantling [Stadium 974]( at the World Cup in Doha, Qatar. Made up of 974 shipping containers — to represent Qatar’s international telephone country code — the stadium was designed to be eventually disassembled and repurposed in an attempt to minimize the carbon footprint of the games. It played host to seven matches, the last of which was Brazil’s 4-1 win over South Korea this week. ⚽ [A partial view of Stadium 974 prior to the start of the World Cup group G soccer match between Serbia and Switzerland, in Doha, Qatar, Dec. 2, 2022.] Credit: Luca Bruno/AP/File photo In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.