Portal:Current events

Topics in the news

Gisèle Pelicot

• In France, Dominique Pelicot and 49 other men are convicted of the mass rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot (portrait shown).
• A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hits Vanuatu's capital, Port Vila, leaving at least 16 people dead.
• Cyclone Chido leaves at least 123 people dead in southern Africa.
• President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached following his declaration of martial law.

Ongoing:

• Israel–Hamas war
• Israeli invasion of Lebanon
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • timeline
• Sudanese civil war
  • timeline

Recent deaths:

• Dick Van Arsdale
• Macoto Takahashi
• Papia Sarwar
• Wolfgang Becker
• Hugh Cornish
• Igor Kirillov

December 21, 2024 (2024-12-21) (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Red Sea crisis
  • Sixteen people are injured following Houthi attacks on the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area in Israel. (CNN)

Politics and elections

• 2025 United States federal budget
  • Government shutdowns in the United States
    • The United States Senate passes a bill to avert a government shutdown and will send it to President Joe Biden for his signature. (CBS News)

December 20, 2024 (2024-12-20) (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Sudanese civil war
  • Darfur campaign
    • Siege of El Fasher
      • The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that the Rapid Support Forces have killed over 782 civilians and wounded over 1,143 others in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, since May, and urges the RSF to halt their incursions into the city. (Al Jazeera)
      • At least 50 people, mostly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, have been killed by the Rapid Support Forces in the past week in El Fasher, North Darfur State, Sudan. (Sudan Tribune)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2024 Kursk offensive
    • A Ukrainian missile strike kills six people and injures 10 others in Rylsk, Kursk Oblast, Russia, according to acting Kursk Oblast governor Alexander Khinshtein. Russia says that it will raise the issue of the missile strike at the United Nations Security Council. (Reuters)
  • Kryvyi Rih strikes, Kyiv strikes
    • At least one person is killed and eight others are injured in Russian missile strikes on civilian infrastructure in Kryvyi Rih and Kyiv, Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent) (Reuters)
• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • Israeli incursions in the West Bank during the Israel–Hamas war, Israeli settler violence
    • Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in Marda, Salfit Governorate in the occupied West Bank and deface the building's facade with anti-Arab statements, including "Death to Arabs". (Al Jazeera) (Barron's via Agence France-Presse)
• Syrian civil war
  • 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
    • Israeli soldiers shoot at and wound a Syrian man protesting against the soldiers' presence in Ma'ariya, Daraa Governorate. (Al Jazeera)
  • Fall of the Assad regime
    • The United States drops the $10 million terrorism bounty offered for capture of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani who ousted Assad. (AP) (Times of Israel)
  • US intervention in the Syrian civil war
    • U.S. forces kill regional ISIS leader Abu Yusif, also known as Mahmud, in an airstrike in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. (US CENTCOM)
• 2024 Magdeburg car attack
  • Two people are killed and 68 others are injured in a vehicle-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. The suspected perpetrator is arrested. (Al Jazeera) (Blick)

Disasters and accidents

• Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
  • Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370
    • Malaysian Minister of Transport Anthony Loke announces a new search effort for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March 2014, to be conducted by American marine robotics company Ocean Infinity. (DW)
• European migrant crisis
  • Eight people are killed and 18 others are rescued when a speedboat carrying migrants capsizes off the coast of Rhodes, Greece. (AP)
• Rohingya genocide
  • The Sri Lanka Navy rescues 102 Rohingya refugees, including 25 children, that were found adrift on a fishing trawler and takes them to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. (Al Jazeera) (The Independent)
• Twenty people are killed in a shipwreck off the coast of Sfax, Tunisia. (AP)

International relations

• Australia–Solomon Islands relations
  • Australia agrees to provide Solomon Islands with financing, training, and infrastructure support worth AU$190 million (US$118 million) over four years to strengthen its police force as part of a renewed security partnership between the two countries. (France 24)
• Hungary–Poland relations
  • Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons Hungary's ambassador to protest the Hungarian government's decision to grant asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted under the European Arrest Warrant for alleged corruption. Poland also recalls its ambassador to Hungary Sebastian Kęciek for consultations. (AP)

Law and crime

• 2024 Zagreb school stabbing
  • A child is killed and seven other people are injured in a mass stabbing at a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia. The 19-year-old perpetrator is arrested. (BBC News)
• The Inter-American Court of Human Rights rules that El Salvador violated the human rights of a woman denied an abortion during a high-risk pregnancy in 2013 and orders the country to implement measures allowing abortions in cases where the woman's life is at risk. (The Guardian)
• Guatemalan authorities rescue 160 minors from the Lev Tahor sect in Oratorio, Santa Rosa, amid allegations of human trafficking, forced marriage, and child abuse. (Reuters)
• The United States withdraws its $10 million reward for the arrest of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Syrian group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. (Al Jazeera)
• The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau files a lawsuit against banks JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo for failing to protect consumers against alleged widespread fraud on the built-in payment system Zelle equating over $870 million. (Al Jazeera) (Detroit Free Press)

Politics and elections

• 2025 United States federal budget
  • Government shutdowns in the United States, National debt of the United States, United States debt ceiling
    • A funding bill ensuring full operation of the U.S. federal government service with an amendment supported by President-elect Donald Trump that would enforce a two-year suspension of the federal debt ceiling is rejected in the Republican-majority House of Representatives, with multiple Republicans and nearly all Democrats opposing the bill. A government shutdown is expected to occur if no bill is passed by midnight. (BBC News)
    • House Speaker Mike Johnson reintroduces a funding bill without Trump's debt ceiling suspension, stating that "we will not have a government shutdown". The bill, which will fund the government until March 2025, passes the House by a vote of 336–34 and will now go to the Senate. (The Washington Post)
• 2025 Belarusian presidential election
  • Estonia says that it will not recognize the results of the upcoming presidential election in Belarus, which it claims has already been rigged to ensure that President Alexander Lukashenko will be re-elected. (ERR)
• In Italy, the Meloni government survives a confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies on the 2025 budget. (Reuters)
• Sam Hou Fai is sworn in as Chief Executive of Macau, succeeding Ho Iat Seng. (RTHK)

December 19, 2024 (2024-12-19) (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Fall of the Assad regime
    • Deir ez-Zor offensive, Eastern Syria insurgency
      • Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein warns that ISIS cells in Syria have begun reorganizing and taking new land following the collapse of the Syrian Armed Forces and subsequent abandonment of weapons depots. (Asharq News)
    • The Baniyas Refinery, Syria’s largest oil refinery, stops operating after ceasing to receive the crude oil from Iran that previously made up the majority of the country’s input. (Financial Times)
  • Operation Dawn of Freedom, Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war
    • 2024 Kobani clashes
      • U.S.-backed SDF forces vow to fight Turkey and pro-Turkish rebel groups in Kobani, Aleppo Governorate. (Reuters)
  • 2024 Syrian opposition offensives
    • Ahmed al-Sharaa, the emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, makes an announcement claiming that the country is exhausted by perpetual warfare and is no longer a threat to its neighbors or the Western world. (BBC News)
    • The Military Operations Command forces take control of several towns in Raqqah Governorate, Syria. (SOHR)
    • Iraq announces the repatriation of members of the Syrian Armed Forces who fled after the fall of the Assad regime through the Al-Qa'im border crossing, back to Syria. (Al Arabiya)
  • Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war
    • Satellite imagery reveals that Russian forces are mobilizing heavy planes at Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia Governorate and are also mobilizing ships at Tartus naval base, indicating a potential withdrawal. (BBC News)
    • Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the Prime Minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity of Libya, denounces the entry of Russian forces from Syria into the eastern part of Libya. (The Libya Observer)
    • Russian president Vladimir Putin says that Russia helped evacuate 4,000 Iranian fighters from Syria. (Anadolu Agency)
  • Prosecution of Syrian civil war criminals
    • The Syrian Interim Government announces that they have begun preparing lists of people from the former regime who were involved in war crimes, torture, and murder. (The Jerusalem Post)
• Red Sea crisis
  • December 2024 Israeli airstrikes in Yemen
    • Israel carries out a series of airstrikes against the Houthis in western Yemen, damaging the Ras Isa oil facility, the port of as-Salif, and several power stations, and killing at least nine people. (Al Jazeera)
  • The United States Department of the Treasury announces sanctions on the governor of the Central Bank of Yemen in Sanaa, Yemen, and several Houthi officials and associated companies and vessels, accusing them of trafficking dual-use weapon components and Iranian petroleum to the Houthis. (Al Jazeera) (JNS)
• Israel–Hamas war
  • Gaza genocide, Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
    • Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of committing "acts of genocide" in Gaza by damaging water supply infrastructure and depriving civilians of clean water. (DW) (Reuters) (Human Rights Watch)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Military aids during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, United Kingdom and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • British defence secretary John Healey announces a proposal to send military advisors to train Ukrainian forces. (BBC News)
• 2024 Parliament of Abkhazia shooting
  • A lawmaker is killed and another is injured in a shooting inside the Parliament in Sukhumi, Abkhazia. The perpetrator, identified as MP and former Sukhumi mayor Adgur Kharazia, flees the scene. (Al Jazeera)
• Mexican drug war
  • Two soldiers are killed after an explosion caused by a improvised landmine at a drug laboratory in Michoacán, Mexico. Three days ago, two other soldiers were killed and three more injured in Michoacán during a similiar incident. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • The death toll from Cyclone Chido in Mozambique increase to 73, including 66 in Cabo Delgado Province. (Al Jazeera)
• Nine people are killed during a fire at a warehouse building of PX Mart under construction in Taichung, Taiwan. (AP)
• Thirty-five children are killed and at least six others are injured during a stampede and subsequent crowd crush at a school fair in Basorun, Oyo State, Nigeria. Several officials, including the school's principal, are detained. (DW) (France24)

International relations

• China–India relations
  • Sino-Indian border dispute
    • Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meet in Beijing, China, and reach a six-point consensus to maintain peace along the border, refine border management rules, resume cross-border exchanges, and work toward resolving border disputes. A follow-up meeting is planned to be held in India next year. (CNN)
• Georgia–United Kingdom relations, Georgia–United States relations, 2024 Georgian post-election protests
  • The United Kingdom and the United States impose sanctions on Georgian officials, including Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, in response to alleged violent crackdowns on pro-European protests. (EFE)
• Hungary–Poland relations
  • Hungary grants political asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who faces allegations of corruption in Poland. (Reuters)
• France's Directorate-General for External Security reports that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso on allegations of being foreign intelligence agents have been released following mediation by Morocco. (ABC News)

Law and crime

• 2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings
  • The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration bans the flying of drones over multiple cities in New Jersey citing "special security reasons". (WPVI-TV)
• Deportation and removal from the United States
  • The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency reports 271,484 deportations in the past fiscal year, the most since 2014 and almost double of the previous fiscal year. (AP) (FOX News)
• Mazan rapes
  • The Judicial Court in Avignon, France, finds Dominique Pelicot guilty of the aggravated rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot, and imposes the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The 50 other defendants in the case are also convicted of crimes ranging from attempted rape to aggravated rape, and receive prison sentences ranging from three to 15 years. (Reuters)
• A Malaysian high court acquits Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, of 17 charges of money laundering and tax evasion due to insufficient evidence. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Aleksandar Šapić, the mayor of Belgrade, Serbia, announces the city will make all public transit free on January 1, 2025. (DW) (Novinite)

December 18, 2024 (2024-12-18) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Syrian opposition
    • Hadi al-Bahra, President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, says that the coalition will dissolve once a national conference is convened and a constituent assembly is elected, and demands that the current transitional government be "credible, inclusive and not founded on sectarian bases". (North Press Agency)
• Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis
  • Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says that arms sent by France to Armenia pose a threat to Azerbaijan. (Trend News Agency)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 San Fernando Airport runway excursion
  • A Bombardier Challenger 300 aircraft, registration LV-GOK from Punta del Este, Uruguay, suffered an excursion and went off the runway while trying to land at the San Fernando International Airport in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, colliding with the front of a home in a neighborhood bordering the airport. (Buenos Aires Herald )
• Ibadan Christmas funfair crowd crush
  • Thirty-five children are killed and six others are injured in a crowd crush during a Christmas funfair in Ibadan, Nigeria. (BBC News)
• Twenty-five people are killed and dozens of others are missing when a boat capsizes on a river in Inongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

• Russian state media agency TASS claims that the nation developed an mRNA cancer vaccine, which is planned to be distributed to patients free of charge beginning next year. However, the Russian Ministry of Health has not provided any evidence to support their claim that the vaccine treats cancer. (The Times of India) (TASS) (Newsweek)
• California, United States, declares a state of emergency over bird flu. (The New York Times)

International relations

• China–United States relations
  • Chinese espionage in the United States
    • Two Americans of Chinese descent plead guilty to running a covert secret police surveillance stations on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security to monitor, threaten and coerce ethnic Chinese in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, NY. At least 100 such stations have been reported worldwide across 53 countries, with human rights monitoring NGOs accusing China of using the outposts to threaten and monitor Chinese nationals abroad. (BBC)
• Indonesia–Philippines relations
  • Mary Jane Veloso, a former inmate on death row in Indonesia, is repatriated to the Philippines following negotiations between the two countries. (Reuters)
• Malaysia–United States relations
  • The U.S. Department of Defense repatriates two al-Qaeda members, Mohammed Farik Bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, from Guantanamo Bay to Malaysia, where they will undergo a rehabilitation process before reintegration into society. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Legal affairs of the Tate brothers
  • The Westminster Magistrates' Court rules that British police may seize £2.2 million (US$2.5 million) from influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan for allegedly failing to pay taxes on profits from their online ventures. (DW)
• The Dutch Data Protection Authority fines Netflix €4.75 million ($4.98 million) for failing to properly inform subscribers about the handling of their personal data between 2018 and 2020. (Al Arabiya)
• Eleven people are killed and two others are injured in an arson attack on a bar in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Georgian presidential election, 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, 2024 Georgian post-election protests
  • In an address to the European Parliament, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili urges the European Union to economically and politically pressure the current Georgian government into holding new elections, claiming that recent elections represented a "new form of invasion" by Russia. (Euronews) (AP)
• 2024 Irish general election
  • Simon Harris tenders his resignation as Taoiseach to President Michael D Higgins. (Irish Independent)

Sports

• 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup
  • In association football, Real Madrid wins the inaugural FIFA Intercontinental Cup after defeating Pachuca 3–0 in the final in Lusail, Qatar. Vinícius Júnior is awarded the Golden Ball. (The Guardian)

December 17, 2024 (2024-12-17) (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • War crimes in the Syrian civil war, Fall of the Assad regime
    • Syrian mass graves
      • Several mass graves are uncovered across Syria following the fall of the Assad regime, with a site in Al-Qutayfah, Rif Dimashq Governorate, estimated to contain the remains of at least 100,000 people. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
  • 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
    • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz visit the summit of Mount Hermon which was captured by the Israel Defense Forces last week. (The New York Times)
    • The IDF continue invading Syria beyond the 1974 buffer zone in Quneitra Governorate and take control of the Al-Wehda Dam on the Yarmouk River. (JFeed)
  • Operation Dawn of Freedom
    • Senior American officials report that Turkey is building up its forces along the Syrian border, raising fears of a possible ground invasion of territories held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    • Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the NBC Protection Troops, and his assistant are assassinated by an IED hidden inside of an e-scooter in Moscow, Russia. A Ukrainian source claims that the Security Service of Ukraine is responsible for the killings, after Kirilov was charged in absentia yesterday for the use of chemical weapons, which made him a "legitimate target". Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, says that the Ukrainian leadership would face an "imminent revenge" for the killings. (BBC News) (Deccan Herald)
  • Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations
    • NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command center in Wiesbaden, Germany, takes over coordination of Western military support to Ukraine from the United States. (Reuters)
• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Two police officers are killed and three others are injured in a mass shooting at a security checkpoint in Shangla district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)
  • Three police officers are killed and two more are wounded by a roadside bomb targeting a vehicle carrying polio workers in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (ABC News)
• Mexican drug war
  • Two municipal policeman were killed and three civilians were wounded in an attack near the Jerécuaro-Apaseo el Alto state highway in Jerécuaro, Guanajuato, finding about 200 bullet casing in the site. In the same day four elements of the State Public Security Forces were killed and two more were wounded after a confrontation with gunmen in the city of Uriangato. Security elements from all levels of government deployed a combined operation to try to found the responsible ot the attacks. (Milenio Noticias)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • The death toll in Mozambique from Cyclone Chido increase to 34, with more than 23,000 homes destroyed. (DW)
• 2024 Port Vila earthquake
  • A 7.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Vanuatu's capital Port Vila, with at least 14 people killed and more than 200 others injured. (RNZ)

Health and environment

• 2024 Kwango province malaria outbreak
  • The Democratic Republic of the Congo's Health Ministry announces that the mystery illness that has left at least 143 people dead in Kwango is actually a severe form of malaria. The World Health Organization says more malaria vaccines are being sent to its health centres in the region. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

• 2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings
  • The U.S. House Intelligence Committee hold a closed-door classified briefing on drone sightings over the Northeastern United States. The briefing is provided by Federal Bureau of Investigation, the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, according to senior U.S. officials. (ABC News) (NBC News)
• Killing of Brian Thompson
  • A U.S. grand jury indicts Luigi Mangione for the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (NBC News)
• Murder of Sara Sharif
  • English High Court judge John Cavanagh sentences Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool to life imprisonment for the murder of Sharif's 10-year-old daughter Sara. (ABS-CBN News)
• Canadian-American anti-whaling activist Paul Watson is released from prison in Greenland after Denmark declines Japan's extradition request. (Al Jazeera)
• Mexican Drug War
  • Three foreigners were arrested and one ton of cocaine was seized by Mexican Navy elements in an operation wich took plece near the coasts of Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán.(El Universal)

Politics and elections

• Second presidential transition of Donald Trump
  • The U.S. Electoral College formally certifies President-elect Donald Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election. (WNYW-TV) (CNN)
• Switzerland's Federal Assembly votes 126–20 with 41 abstentions to outlaw membership or support of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. (The New Arab)

December 16, 2024 (2024-12-16) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
    • The Cabinet of Israel approves a plan proposing to double the occupied Golan Heights' regional Israeli settlers population. (BBC News)
    • Heavy overnight Israeli airstrikes are reported in Tartus Governorate, Syria. (The Times of Israel)
  • Fall of the Assad regime
    • Syrian mass graves
      • A recently created mass grave containing the bodies of 17 executed Syrian Army soldiers is discovered in the Syrian Desert near Deir ez-Zor. (SOHR)
    • In his first public statement since being overthrown, former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says that he "didn't intend to leave Syria", claiming that he went to Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia Governorate to "oversee combat operations" only to find that the Syrian Army had abandoned their positions and surrendered to rebel forces. Amid "an intensified attack by drone strikes" at the air base, Assad says that Russia decided to airlift him to Moscow. (BBC News)
  • Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian civil war
    • The brother of the Imam of the Great Prophet Mosque of Masyaf is assassinated by unidentified gunmen, Hama Governorate, in a potential revenge operation, due to the Imam being associated with Hezbollah and other Iranian- and Shia-associated militias. (SOHR)
  • US intervention in the Syrian civil war
    • The US Air Force conduct strikes targeting ISIS camps and operatives, killing one dozen ISIS fighters according to the Pentagon. (US Department of Defense)
• Israel–Hamas war
  • The Gaza Health Ministry announces that the death toll in the ongoing war has surpassed 45,000. (Al Jazeera)
• Mexican Drug War
  • An improvised device exploded left two soldiers dead and five elements injuried, ocurred near Los Gallineros locality, Cotija de la Paz, Michoacán. The next day, the general of the Secretariat of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla Trejo pointed to Cárteles Unidos to be behind the attack.(Revista Proceso)(Política Expansión)

Health and environment

• 2024 Australia heat wave
  • Walpeup, Victoria, Australia, reports a temperature of 47.1 °C (116.8 °F), the hottest temperature reported in the state since 2019. Extreme heat wave warnings and fire risk warnings are also issued for areas across Australia. (The Guardian) (ABC News Australia)

Law and crime

• 2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings
  • U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calls for state National Guards to be given the authority to shoot down unidentified drones, saying that the federal government is not able to address the issue by themselves. (The Telegraph)
  • U.S. officials say that a drone detection system is being deployed in New York following a formal request by Governor Kathy Hochul. (BBC News)
  • The United States Air Force confirms that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio had to temporarily suspend air operations for four hours on Friday and Saturday after the airbase reported sightings of unidentified "small unmanned aerial systems". (CNN)
  • President-elect Donald Trump cancels a planned visit to Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey amid drone sightings in the state. Trump also calls on outgoing President Joe Biden and the U.S. military to reveal the truth about the drones, saying that "the government knows what's happening" and that they know where the drones are coming from. (The Times of India)
• Abundant Life Christian School shooting
  • Two people are killed and six others are injured in a mass shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. The perpetrator is found dead at the scene. (CNN)
• Bolivian prosecutors issue an arrest warrant for former President Evo Morales in connection to sexual abuse allegations that he fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl, a claim he denies. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2024 German government crisis, 2025 German federal election
  • German Chancellor Olaf Scholz loses a vote of confidence, thereby allowing for early elections to be held on February 23. (BBC News)
• Resignation of Chrystia Freeland
  • Chrystia Freeland resigns as Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance amid disagreements with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on increased government spending and how to handle possible U.S. tariffs imposed by the incoming Trump administration. (Reuters)
• President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov announces that he has dismissed Akylbek Japarov as Prime Minister. (Reuters)
• The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle expels former Indonesian President Joko Widodo, his son Vice President Gibran Rakabuming and his son-in-law, North Sumatra Governor-elect Bobby Nasution, following a rift over Rakabuming's candidacy as Prabowo Subianto's running mate during the 2024 election. (Bloomberg)

December 15, 2024 (2024-12-15) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israel–Hamas war
  • December 2024 Nuseirat refugee camp attack
    • Al Jazeera cameraman Ahmad Al-Louh is killed in an Israeli airstrike on a civil defense point in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. (WAFA) (anews)
• Syrian civil war
  • 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
    • Israeli Air Force fighter jets strike surface-to-air missile and weapon depots in Tartus Governorate, Syria, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights describing the strikes as the heaviest in the region since the start of the civil war. (AFP via Barron's)

Business and economy

• Free trade agreements of the United Kingdom
  • The United Kingdom joins the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, becoming the 12th member and the first European member. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • Thousands of people are believed to have been killed by Cyclone Chido in the French overseas department of Mayotte, with the cyclone also causing damage in the Comoros and Mozambique. (The Independent)
• 2024 Kerch Strait oil spill
  • At least one person is killed when two Russian oil tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-236, are damaged due to bad weather in the Kerch Strait with oil from the tankers actively leaking into the strait. (NOS) (CNN)

International relations

• Australia–Indonesia relations
  • Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces that the remaining five members of the Bali Nine drug-trafficking group, who were serving life sentences in Indonesia, have returned to Australia following an agreement between the two countries to end their imprisonment. (CNN)
• Ireland–Israel relations
  • Israel announces that it will close its embassy in Dublin, Ireland, over Ireland's alleged "extreme anti-Israel policies". (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings
  • White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says that the United States Coast Guard has confirmed that there is no evidence of any "foreign-based involvement" in the unidentified drones that are being sighted over the Northeastern United States. (The Times of India via MSN)
• ABC News settles a defamation lawsuit filed by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump over statements made on air by anchor George Stephanopoulos about the E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump lawsuits, with ABC agreeing to pay $15 million to the Trump presidential library as well as $1 million for legal fees. (AP)

Time: 07:19 UTC|Day: 21 December

December 2024

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1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Ongoing events

Disasters

• Avian flu outbreak
• Haitian crisis
• Kwango province malaria outbreak
• United States opioid epidemic

Economics

• Chinese property sector crisis
• German economic crisis
• United Kingdom cost-of-living crisis
• Video game industry layoffs

Politics

• Mexico–United States border crisis
• South China Sea territorial disputes
• United States drone sightings
• Venezuelan political crisis

Protests and strikes

• Georgian post-election protests
• Israel–Hamas war protests
• South Korean presidential impeachment
• United Kingdom farmers' protests

Elections and referendums

Recent

• December

• 06: Mauritius, President (indirect)
• 06: Aruba, Parliament
• 07: Ghana, President, Parliament
• 14: Georgia, President (indirect)

Upcoming

• 29: Chad, National Assembly
• 29: Croatia, President

Trials

Recently concluded

• France:0Dominique Pélicot

Ongoing

• Kosovo:0Specialist Chambers
• ICC:0Ali Kushayb  •  Mahamat Said Abdel Kani

Sports

• American football

• 2024 NFL season
• 2024 NCAA Division I FBS season

• Association football

• 2024–25 UEFA Champions League
• 2024–25 UEFA Europa League
• 2024–25 UEFA Conference League
• 2024–25 UEFA Women's Champions League
• 2024–25 Premier League
• 2024–25 Serie A
• 2024–25 La Liga
• 2024–25 Bundesliga
• 2024–25 Ligue 1

• Basketball

• 2024–25 NBA season
• 2024–25 EuroLeague

• International cricket

• 2023–25 ICC World Test Championship

• Ice hockey

• 2024–25 NHL season
• 2024–25 PWHL season

• Tennis

• 2024 ATP Tour

More details – current sports events

Recent deaths

December

• 18: Slim Dunlap
• 17: Igor Kirillov
• 17: Marisa Paredes
• 17: Jānis Timma
• 16: Dick Van Arsdale
• 15: Zakir Hussain
• 14: Isak Andic
• 11: David Bonderman
• 11: Khalil Haqqani
• 10: Rocky Colavito
• 10: Michael Cole
• 10: The Amazing Kreskin
• 09: Nikki Giovanni
• 06: Miho Nakayama
• 06: Maggie Tabberer
• 04: Princess Birgitta
• 04: Brian Thompson
• 04: Chiung Yao
• 02: Neale Fraser
• 02: Debbie Mathers
• 02: Israel Vázquez
• 01: Terry Griffiths

November

• 30: Lou Carnesecca
• 29: Marshall Brickman
• 29: Will Cullen Hart
• 29: Wayne Northrop
• 28: Silvia Pinal
• 28: Prince Johnson
• 28: Ananda Krishnan
• 27: Mary McGee
• 26: Jim Abrahams
• 26: Bob Bryar
• 25: Earl Holliman
• 25: Hal Lindsey
• 24: Barbara Taylor Bradford
• 24: Breyten Breytenbach
• 24: Helen Gallagher
• 23: Rico Carty
• 23: Fred R. Harris
• 23: Chuck Woolery
• 21: Alice Brock
• 20: Ursula Haverbeck
• 20: Andy Paley
• 20: John Prescott

Ongoing conflicts

Global

• War against the Islamic State

Africa

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• Insurgency in Cabo Delgado

• Nigeria

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• Mali War

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• Somalia

• Civil war

• Sudan

• Civil war

Americas

• Mexico

• Mexican drug war

Asia−Pacific

• Afghanistan

• Islamic State–Taliban conflict
• Republican insurgency

• India

• Naxalite–Maoist insurgency

• Indonesia

• Papua conflict

• Myanmar

• Civil war

• Pakistan

• Insurgency in Balochistan
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• Philippines

• NPA rebellion

Europe

• Russia and Ukraine

• Russian invasion of Ukraine

Middle East

• Iraq

• Islamic State insurgency

• Israel

• Israel–Hezbollah conflict

• Israel–Hamas war

• Syria

• Israeli invasion

• Turkey

• PKK insurgency

• Yemen

• Red Sea crisis

See also – List of ongoing proxy wars

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Environment and environmental sciences

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Transportation

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Establishments and disestablishments categories

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