Portal:Current events/December 2015

2015 January February March April May June July August September October November December

December 2015 was the twelfth and final month of that common year. The month, which began on a Tuesday, ended on a Thursday after 31 days.

Portal:Current events

This is an archived version of Wikipedia's Current events Portal from December 2015.

Current events of December 1, 2015 (2015-12-01) (Tuesday) Armed conflict and attacks Azerbaijan law enforcement agencies launch a special operation against Islamists in Nardaran, a suburb in the capital Baku. (Tass) Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon The Lebanese Army and the al-Nusra Front conduct a prisoner exchange with Saja Dulaimi, former wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, being one of the prisoners released. The exchange was brokered by Qatar. (Al-Jazeera), (Reuters) Iraqi Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL, American-led intervention in Iraq The Iraqi government, via state TV, requests all civilians leave the ISIL-held city of Ramadi in Anbar province, after several days of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes against ISIL. Observers speculate this request precedes major ground operations to retake Ramadi, which fell to ISIL in May. (Deutsche Welle) U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter said, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, the Obama Administration is preparing to establish a new Special Operations task force of about 200 service members in Iraq to intensify pressure on Islamic State commanders and expand U.S. troops’ direct involvement in battling the militant group. There are now about 3,500 U.S. troops in Iraq, including some Special Operations forces who are advising Iraqi forces in northern and central Iraq. (The Washington Post), (The Hill) Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen A major push by Yemen-based Houthi forces into the kingdom's southern Najran Region kills dozens of Houthi fighters. The Houthi-run Saba News Agency says that Houthi fighters have seized three Saudi military outposts near the city of Najran, destroying several armored vehicles, including two U.S.-made M1 Abrams tanks and three Bradley vehicles. (Reuters) Allied Democratic Forces insurgency U. N. attack helicopters launch strikes against positions of Allied Democratic Forces. This comes a day after a series of clashes between rebels and soldiers in a town in eastern Congo killed at least 30 people. (AFP via Yahoo), (Reuters), (Press TV) A pipe bomb explodes on a Bayrampaşa overpass near the city's central metro station in suburban Istanbul, Turkey leaving five people injured. (The Guardian), (The Atlantic), (BBC) Arts and culture So called "White Student Unions" begin springing up at several Australian universities, including the University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland, University of Technology Sydney, Macquarie University, Western Sydney University, University of New South Wales and the University of Western Australia. The groups say they are defending the interests of white students who they say are becoming marginalized from on-campus life and politics. (News Corp Australia) Business and economics Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg announces the plan to donate 99 percent of the company stock he and his wife Priscilla Chan own over their lifetimes, shares today worth about $45 billion, to "advance human potential and promote equality for all children." (The Washington Post) Disasters and accident Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 Indonesia releases a report into the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 by the National Transportation Safety Committee. The report finds that crew error was responsible for the crash that claimed 162 lives. (Channel News Asia), (Sky News) Health and medicine The World Health Organization urges Ukraine's health ministry to declare a state of emergency due to a polio outbreak, a move meant to prompt more action from the government in Kiev. Half of Ukraine's children have not been vaccinated against polio, according to Dorit Nitzan, head of the WHO's office in Ukraine. (AP via US News & World Report) One of three people who contracted Legionnaires' disease in Hannibal, Missouri, dies, according to health officials. Hannibal is about 20 miles from Quincy, Illinois, where a Legionnaires' outbreak occurred earlier this year, contributing to 12 deaths and sickening dozens more. (AP via ABC News), (ABC 7 via WLS AM) An American E. coli scare results in the recall of hundreds of thousands of products in a dozen states and covering major supermarket chains including Walmart, Safeway and Albertsons. (CNN) The United States Centers for Disease Control announces the number of people newly diagnosed with diabetes declined in 2014 for the fifth consecutive year. Experts do not know whether efforts to prevent diabetes are finally started to work, or if the disease has simply peaked in the population. (NPR), (The New York Times) International relations European migrant crisis The U.S. Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Refugee Resettlement notifies all 50 states that if they deny services to any group of refugees, states may risk losing resettlement funding altogether. More than half of the nation’s governors have said they will not accept Syrian refugees in their states. (The Washington Post) Law and crime Death of Jennifer Laude A Philippine Olongapo City Regional Trial Court convicts U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton of homicide over the death of a transgender Filipina woman. (Rappler), (Buzzfeed), (BBC) Chicago, Illinois Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked for and received the resignation of that city’s police superintendant Garry McCarthy. Emanuel spoke of the loss of the public’s confidence in the city police and announced a task force on police accountability. The change comes in the wake of protests over the release of police footage showing the October 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. (CNN) The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request from Texas and other states for a 30-day extension to file legal briefs in support of the lawsuit to block the immigration plan. Instead, the justices accepted the Justice Department’s request for a shortened eight-day extension, meaning that if the court decides to take the case, a decision would probably come by late June. The court is not expected to decide until January whether to take the case. (The Washington Post) Science and technology A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on gender identity reports brains do not really fit into "male" or "female" categories. Tel Aviv University's Daphna Joel's research team, in analyzing the MRI scans of some 1,400 individuals, found only a very small number of the brains studied had features that were entirely male, female, or intermediate between the two. The vast majority had a mosaic. (The Washington Post), (The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), (Daphna Joel) Current events of December 2, 2015 (2015-12-02) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Russia expands its military presence in Syria with an additional airbase that can accommodate fixed-winged military aircraft. The U.S. Department of Defense also confirms that Russia added S-400 surface-to-air missiles to its Syrian stockpile and armed its military aircraft with air-to-air missiles. According to Military Times, "A Pentagon spokesman expressed concern" these moves indicate Russia's commitment to aiding the embattled Assad regime as opposed to combating ISIL. No Syrian opposition groups including ISIL have combat-ready aircraft that require air-to-air missiles. (Fox News), (Military Times) Yemeni Civil War (2015), Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Al-Qaeda militants seize control of Zinjibar, capital of Yemen's southern Abyan Governorate, as well as the town of Jaʿār, following fierce clashes with pro-Hadi government forces. (CNN) 2015 West African offensive, Islamist insurgency in Nigeria Cameroon’s army, backed by a regional taskforce, has killed at least 100 members of the militant Islamist Boko Haram group and freed 900 people it had held hostage, the west African country’s defence ministry has said. Regional taskforce conducts sweep along border with Nigeria. (The Guardian), (AFP via Yahoo) Military intervention against ISIL The Parliament of the United Kingdom votes 397–223 to authorize Royal Air Force air strikes on ISIL in Syria. (The Journal) 2015 San Bernardino shooting Two people open fire in San Bernardino, California (U.S.) at a center for people with developmental disabilities, killing at least 14 people and injuring 14 others in what the city’s police chief described as an act of domestic terrorism. (Reuters), (The Los Angeles Times), (AFP via The Australian), (CNN), (Fox News), (The Washington Post) A second shooting incident near 1757 Richardson in San Bernardino unfolded around 3:00 p.m. PST, with police requesting a BearCat and medical assistance. Both suspects die on-scene. (The New York Times), (The Los Angeles Times) Arts and culture The Institute of Contemporary History in Munich announces a publication of a two-volume set of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. The new edition, which contains 3,500 scholarly annotations, is intended, The New York Times reports, “To set the work in historical context, to show how Hitler wove truth with half-truth and outright lie, and thus to defang any propagandistic effect while revealing Nazism.” This is the first printing in Germany since the end of World War II. (The New York Times), (The Week) Business and economics Janet L. Yellen, chairperson of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, states that economic conditions improved to the point where a rise in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate is likely when the Federal Open Market Committee meets in mid-December. (The New York Times) Disasters and accidents 2015 South Indian floods Days of heavy rain in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu causes floods with many areas in the city of Chennai under water. The death toll from rain-related incidents has reached 188. (The Hindu) The Indian Navy and Army are conducting rescue operations in low lying areas. (ND TV) India's National Disaster Response Force sends 600 officers to Chennai to assist. (Indian Broadcast News Live) Health and medicine A new study by the NYU Langone Medical Center published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal today finds exposure to emissions from coal-fired power plants over a long period of time is significantly more harmful, five times higher, to the heart than other forms of carbon pollution. (The Washington Post), (New York University Langone Medical Center) International relations Hearings begin in the legal battle between the Japanese government and local officials in Okinawa over plans to move a U.S. military air base on the southern island. This fall, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga revoked his predecessor’s authorization for a US Marine Corps air base. (AP), (Financial Times) Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha orders officials to improve aviation safety standards after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded Thailand's safety ratings. The lower rating is for failure to tackle commercial aviation standards shortcomings found in an audit this year. The European Aviation Safety Agency is due to announce the results of its own audit later in December. (Reuters) Enlargement of NATO NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announces the invitation sent to Montenegro to join the military alliance, 16 years after the country, as part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was bombed by the alliance in the Kosovo War. Montenegro's accession would result in "retaliatory actions", according to a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin. (BBC News), (CNN) Kuril Islands dispute Russia is reportedly constructing hundreds of buildings for military use on the disputed Kunashir and Iturup islands, also claimed by Japan, in the Sea of Okhotsk. The Russian Defence Ministry said the new military buildings would help “raise the combat readiness of troops on the eastern frontiers of Russia". (The Japan Times) Law and crime Authorities arrest four Kosovo jihadists men, three in Italy and one in Kosovo, for making nonspecific threats against Pope Francis and the former U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo. The men are described by police as highly dangerous and as having celebrated the November 2015 Paris attacks. (The Independent via MSN) Politics and elections Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah rejects a cabinet reshuffle ordered by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, another sign of the deepening rift between the two leaders. These problems started in March after the president appointed the minister of health as acting foreign minister without consulting the prime minister. (Reuters) Myanmar general election, 2015 Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi discusses the smooth transfer of power to her National League for Democracy (NLD) party with President Thein Sein, their first public meeting since the November election. The new administration will be sworn in early next year. (Reuters) 2015 protests in Brazil Brazil's lower house of Congress opens impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff over a corruption scandal involving the state-owned oil giant, Petrobras. (BBC) Current events of December 3, 2015 (2015-12-03) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Military intervention against ISIL, Operation Tidal Wave II The United Kingdom's Royal Air Force bombs Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant-controlled oil wells in eastern Syria. At least four Tornado GR4 fighter jets, operating out of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, were involved in raids. The Ministry of Defence said initial analysis "indicates that the strikes were successful". (Sky News) 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown Russian president Vladimir Putin addresses the shootdown of one of their jets in Syria by the Turkish Air Force. He goes on to say that "if anyone thinks Russia's reaction will be limited to trade sanctions, they are deeply mistaken". (BBC via MSN) Iraqi Civil War (2014-present), American-led intervention in Iraq Following the Obama Administration's pledge of additional Special Operations troops to Iraq, several members of Iraq’s ruling alliance state that only the Iraqi Parliament can authorize the action, and political associates of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi report such a troop expansion would be unacceptable. Several members of Iraqi militias have also decried a deployment of more U.S. troops. During the pull out from Iraq, president Obama promised there would be no more "boots on the ground" in Iraq again. (Reuters) Arts and culture Israel’s Holocaust and Remembrance Center posthumously adds U.S. Army Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds to the list of the Righteous Among the Nations for his actions in 1945 at a Nazi prisoner of war camp. (NPR), (Yad Vashem) Harvard Law School officials are reviewing the use of the school’s seal that includes three bushels of wheat, which also appears on Isaac Royall's family coat of arms. Royall, a slaveholder whose father was known to be a cruel owner, left part of his estate to help found the law school. (MSNBC), (The Boston Globe) Business and economy Samsung concedes to surrender $548 million to Apple Inc. over previously court-held ruling in patent dispute over copying the look of the iPhone. (Reuters) International relations European migrant crisis EU ministers discuss suspending the Schengen passport-free travel zone for two years, on the basis that the migrant crisis has exposed “serious deficiencies” at the Greek border that endanger the overall area. (The Financial Times), (BBC) The Swedish government wants to be able to close the Øresund Bridge connecting Sweden to Denmark if the country's record refugee influx continues. (The Local) Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND) says Saudi Arabia is at risk of becoming a major destabilizing influence in the Arab world due to the diplomatic stance of some senior members of the House of Saud. (The Telegraph) Iran–Russia relations Russia begins deliveries of its S-300 air defense systems to Iran. (Reuters) Law and crime Trial of Oscar Pistorius A court convicts South African athlete Oscar Pistorius of the murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on appeal and faces a minimum of 15 years in prison. (NBC News) 2015 FIFA corruption case U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announces criminal corruption charges against 16 FIFA officials in an indictment that expands Justice's May filing that indicted 14 officials associated with FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and related sports marketing companies. At U.S. authorities request, Swiss police arrest two South American FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) officials at the five-star Baur au Lac hotel in Zürich, on suspicion of accepting "millions of dollars" in bribes. In addition, eight of the defendants indicted in May have pleaded guilty. (CNN), (The New York Daily News) Upper Big Branch Mine disaster A court convicts Donald Blankenship, former CEO of Massey Energy Company, of violating safety standards that led to the deaths of 29 Upper Big Branch mine workers in Montcoal, West Virginia in 2010. He is acquitted of making false statements and deceiving regulators. Blankenship, who faces up to one year in prison and a fine of $250,000, is the most prominent American coal executive ever to be convicted of a charge connected to the deaths of miners. (The New Yorker), (NPR) (The Christian Science Monitor), (The New York Times) The Obama Administration through Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces that all combat roles in the U.S. military will be opened to women. (CNN), (The Washington Times) An Illinois circuit court, in an emergency order, rules Chicago authorities must notify journalists and activists before they destroy decades of records related to police misconduct. (The Washington Post), (The Chicago Sun-Times) Politics and elections Danish European Union opt-out referendum, 2015 Danish voters reject adopting EU rules on cross-border policing. (BBC) Current events of December 4, 2015 (2015-12-04) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2015–present) A mortar attack in Afghanistan's central Wardak province kills at least 12 people. (Tolo News) Military intervention against ISIL In an act of solidarity with France following the Paris massacre, Germany's parliament (the Bundestag) approves measures to move past the military's primary defensive role, to send six of its 29 operational, yet aged, Tornado reconnaissance aircraft, and as many as 1,200 soldiers to support the coalition missions against Islamic State militants in Syria. The airplanes will be limited to support activities; they will not fly combat missions. (The Los Angeles Times), (Reuters), (CNN) 2015 San Bernardino shooting Tashfeen Malik, the female suspect in the San Bernardino, California shootings pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant online. (BBC) 2015 Cairo restaurant fire A firebomb is thrown into a restaurant in the Egyptian capital of Cairo killing 17 people. (Reuters) Business and economy A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit hears arguments about whether the net neutrality rules of the Federal Communications Commission are within the FCC's statutory mandate. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents 2015 South Indian floods Many parts of Chennai still remain flooded, including almost all of South Chennai. Food and other basics are in short supply throughout the city. (The Times of India) Law and crime The Obama Administration and the International Rescue Committee ask a federal judge to reject attempts by Texas to block Syrian refugees from resettling in the state. Later, the Texas Attorney General withdraws the state’s December 2, 2015 request for a temporary restraining order. (The New York Daily News), (AP via The Washington Post) The U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear an appeal case concerning Puerto Rico's restructuring of debt. (Reuters) Politics and elections Authorities name Shi Taifeng Acting Governor of Jiangsu province in China, replacing Li Xueyong, who retired due to age. (Sina) Current events of December 5, 2015 (2015-12-05) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) The Government of Iraq calls on Turkey to withdraw its troops from northern Iraq, near the Islamic State-controlled city of Mosul. Iraq's Foreign Ministry said Turkish forces had entered Iraqi territory without the knowledge of the central government in Baghdad. (AFP via Yahoo), (Reuters) Islamist insurgency in Nigeria Three suicide bombers at Lake Chad kill at least 30 people and injure at least 80 others. Three women carried out the attack at a weekly market on an island on the Chadian side of the lake. No group claims responsibility; officials suspect the attacks were carried out by members of the Boko Haram militant group from neighboring Nigeria. (Al Jazeera), (BBC) Terrorism in the United Kingdom Scotland Yard advises that it will be treating three non-fatal stabbings at the Leytonstone tube station in London as a terrorist incident. (BBC) A bombing of people gathered at Kantajew Temple in Bangladesh leaves 10 injured. (India Today) Arts and culture America's largest seven-day newspaper, The New York Times, breaking with the tradition that front pages belong to the news department, publishes Saturday morning's edition with the first front page editorial since 1920. The editorial calls for tighter gun control laws after the shootings in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and San Bernardino, California, over the past eight days. (The New York Times), (The Washington Post), (The Guardian) Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announces the discovery of the Spanish galleon San José which sunk off that country’s coast over 300 years ago. The discovery was a joint venture between Colombia and U.S. firm Sea Search Armada, which filed a lawsuit when Colombia claimed the wreck as a heritage site. The wreck’s cargo is placed somewhere in the $4 to $17 billion range. (NPR) Disasters and accidents 2015 South Indian floods Floods cut off power to the intensive care unit of a Chennai hospital leaving eighteen patients dead. (AP via ABC News) Residents in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu grapple with the aftermath of the worst deluge in decades, a disaster that claimed 280 lives, according to the official death toll. More than half of Chennai's 859 city areas remain under water in the flat, coastal city of six million. The National Disaster Response Force's Rekha Nambiar said, “Rescue work is over. We are focused on relief now." (The Malay Mail), (The Gulf Today) Storm Desmond The fourth named windstorm of the season makes landfall across the United Kingdom and Ireland, bringing high winds and serious flooding. (BBC) A person blown into the path of a bus by high winds in London dies. (BBC) Authorities declare a state of emergency in the Greek town of Tripoli after the garbage has not been collected for three months. (The International New York Times) An offshore oil platform operated by Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR catches fire in the Caspian Sea killing 32 workers. (CBC News), (The Daily Mail) International relations 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference Delegates at the 2015 Climate Change conference in Paris reach a draft agreement. (BBC) Yemeni Crisis (2011–present) The United Nations advises that Yemeni peace talks will start on December 15. (Reuters) Current events of December 6, 2015 (2015-12-06) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks Yemeni Civil War (2015) Jaafar Mohammed Saad, the governor of Yemen's southern Aden Governorate, along with six guards, are killed by a suicide bomber in the port city of Aden. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attack. (Reuters) (BBC) Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL A series of air strikes in Syria's Raqqa province, believed to be carried out by U.S.-led coalition warplanes, leaves at least 32 Islamic State fighters killed and 40 more wounded. The final toll could rise as casualty figures were collected from a single hospital. The jets hit IS headquarters and bases to the north, east, and southeast of provincial capital Raqqa city. (Reuters) (AFP via Dawn) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) Iraq's government gives Turkey 48 hours to withdraw its forces from northern Iraq or face "all available options", including recourse to the UN Security Council. (AFP via Yahoo) Business and economy The Bank for International Settlements, in Basel, cautions that the regulatory push to get all derivatives trading into central clearing systems may be creating a new group of Too Big to Fail financial institutions. This time, however, they will be international. (Reuters) Basic income Finland's government plans to give all its citizens, rich or poor, a monthly payment of €800, with no strings attached. The Finnish government says it wants to launch a “universal basic income experiment” in 2017 to test the feasibility of this program, which would replace the country’s current benefits system. (The Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo) Disasters and accidents 2015 South Indian floods Chennai International Airport is set to reopen as flood waters recede. The death toll currently stands at at least 280 people. (Indian Broadcast News live) (AAP via Special Broadcasting Service) Storm Desmond The strongest windstorm of the season so far continues to bring flooding and high winds to the United Kingdom. (BBC) Flooding and landslides on the West Coast Main Line between Preston and Carlisle result in the suspension of all services between northern England and Scotland via the West Coast. (The Manchester Evening News) A collision between a train and a minibus in Jakarta kills 14 people. (Channel News Asia) Pollution in China Elementary and middle schools in the Chinese capital Beijing suspend outdoor activities due to heavy smog. (Bloomberg vs The Straits Times) Health and medicine Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that his latest medical tests show he is cancer-free. Carter, 91, announced in August that a melanoma for which he had been treated had returned. (The Atlantic Journal-Constitution) (NPR) International relations Turkey–Ukraine relations Turkish and Ukrainian firms talk out a cooperation deal to help modernize their country's militaries in the wake of military actions by Russia. (Defense News) Germany's vice-chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, accuses Saudi Arabia of financing Islamic extremism in the West and warns that it must stop. He tells German media, “We have to make clear to the Saudis that the time of looking away is over, Wahhabi mosques all over the world are financed by Saudi Arabia. Many Islamists who are a threat to public safety come from these communities in Germany". His comments come days after Germany's Federal Intelligence Service released a report saying Saudi Arabia was "destabilizing" the Arab world. (The Telegraph) Law and crime Clashes erupt in Athens between left-wing demonstrators and Greek police with at least eighteen people arrested. (Reuters) Politics and elections 2015 San Bernardino shooting President Barack Obama called the San Bernardino shootings "an act of terrorism designed to kill innocent people". (LA Times) Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2015 Venezuelan opposition leaders say their Democratic Unity Roundtable has won control of the 167-seat legislature from the ruling Socialists for the first time since 1998. There is no confirmation on Sunday's election from the national electoral board. An opposition victory would be a major setback for the socialist revolution started 17 years ago by the late Hugo Chávez. (AP) (Reuters) (AP) Armenian constitutional referendum, 2015 Voters in Armenia go to the polls to vote in a referendum to change from a presidential to a parliamentary form of government. (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) French regional elections, 2015 Voters in France begin voting in the first round of regional elections just three weeks after the deadly Islamic State militant attacks in Paris. Exit polls show strong gains for the far-right National Front which is leading in six regions and reshape the political landscape after decades of domination by the centre-left and the centre-right coalitions. Midday voter participation is 16.27 percent, marginally higher than five years ago. There are 44.6 million eligible voters. (Reuters) (France 24) (France24) Libyan Civil War Rival governments in eastern and western Libya reach the initial phase of an agreement designed to foster elections that would bring about a single ruling entity in the North African country. The deal must be endorsed by the internationally-recognized government in Tobruk and the General National Congress in Tripoli. (UPI) Science and technology Following the previous explosion of Orbital Sciences' Cygnus CRS Orb-3 on October 28, 2014, an unmanned Atlas V 401 rocket carrying Orbital ATK's Cygnus CRS Orb-4 resupply mission to NASA's International Space Station launches from Cape Canaveral in the U.S. state of Florida. The mission includes 7,380 pounds of cargo. (Spaceflight Now) Scientists warn a new strain of the Panama Disease fungus, which in the 1950s nearly wiped out the most popular banana in the world, the Gros Michel, is threatening today's favorite, the Cavendish, according to a new study published in PLOS Pathogens. This untreatable fungal disease, called Tropical Race 4, has been active for decades in Southeast Asia. It recently has spread to other parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia, and is expected to make its way to Latin America, where the vast majority of the world's exported bananas are grown. (Tech Times) (The Sydney Morning Herald) Sports MLS Cup 2015 The Portland Timbers win the championship game of the 2015 Major League Soccer season, winning 2–1 at Columbus Crew SC. (The Daily Mail) Current events of December 7, 2015 (2015-12-07) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War Syria's government says a U.S.-led military coalition airstrike on a Syrian Army camp in the eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, killed three Syrian soldiers and wounded 13 others. A senior U.S. military official denied responsibility for the airstrike and said that the U.S. is certain it was a Russian airstrike. (Reuters) (AP) The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 26 civilians have been killed in suspected U.S.-led coalition airstrikes near the ISIL-controlled town of Al-Hawl in Syria's northeast Al-Hasakah Governorate. A U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said the reports would be investigated. (BBC) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) Turkey refuses to withdraw its forces from northern Iraq despite being given a 48 hour ultimatum by Iraq to leave the country. Turkey says the troops are there as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight against the Islamic State. The Iraqi government says it never invited such a force, and will take its case to the United Nations if they are not pulled out. (Reuters) Business and economics The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) files an administrative complaint challenging office-supplies giant Staples' proposed $6.3 billion acquisition of top rival Office Depot. The FTC said the deal would significantly reduce national competition in the market for office supplies sold to large business customers. The companies plan to contest the FTC decision. (USA Today) (Bloomberg via Chicago Tribune) General Electric announces that it has abandoned its plan to sell its appliances business to Sweden's Electrolux. The U.S. Department of Justice had filed an antitrust suit in summer 2015 to block the $3.3 billion acquisition. (The Wall Street Journal) Disasters and accidents A powerful, magnitude 7.2 earthquake has shaken Tajikistan. It was felt as far away as India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. No damage or casualties have been reported as the epicenter lies within the vast Badakhshan national park. The US Geological Survey describes the area as one of the “most seismically hazardous regions on Earth” because of tectonic activity along shifting fault lines. (AP) (USGS) (The Independent) Pollution in China Beijing's city government issues its first red alert for pollution, ordering schools to close, halting outdoor construction, and restricting car use due to hazardous air quality. (CNN) 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season Storm Desmond Storm Desmond shatters U.K. rainfall records as an incredible 13.44 inches of rain fell in 24 hours at Honister Pass in the Lake District in North West England. The 15.94 inches of rain at Thirlmere — also in the Lake District — set a new record for the 48-hour period. (The Washington Post) Desmond's fury and flooding has resulted in at least two deaths. Cumbria Police say about 5,000 properties were flooded and around 3,000 remain without power. (Sky News) (ITV) Flooding that's devastated parts of northwest England, on Sunday temporarily brought a 260-foot high waterfall in the Yorkshire Dales National Park back to life for the first time in residents' living memory. But by today, it stopped. (Sky News) A blaze, sparked by a quick succession of between 15 and 20 gas cylinder explosions, in the Kandivali suburb of Mumbai, India, kills at least two and injures 11 while destroying around 1,000 hutment homes. (Sky News) (The Hindu) International relations Russia–Turkey relations Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu accuses Russia of provoking military gestures as a sailor aboard a Russian naval vessel wielded a rocket launcher as the ship passed through the Bosphorous Strait in the wake of Russia’s imposing sanctions on Turkey for that country’s downing of a Russian aircraft (Reuters) Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in a televised speech, states that it is possible to find alternatives to Russian energy sources following his return from Qatar where he arranged a deal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the Turkish Prime Minister’s visit to Azerbaijan where energy matters were reportedly discussed. Turkish officials have reportedly discussed energy deals with other countries as well. (Radio Free Europe) Russia's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency says he expects the historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, the P5+1, to be implemented in January. Before the end of the year, Iran will exchange its stockpile of low-enriched uranium for Russia's non-enriched forms of uranium, he said. (Reuters) Law and crime Iran's Cyber Police Chief announces the arrest of some 53 people for allegedly running websites supportive of the Islamic State militant group. (Reuters) The United States Supreme Court declines (Friedman v. Highland Park) to review the ability of cities and states to prohibit semiautomatic, high-capacity assault weapons that have been used in some of the nation’s most deadly recent mass shootings. The nationwide assault weapons ban law expired in 2004. Since the District of Columbia v. Heller decision in 2008 found the Second Amendment provides the right for an individual to keep a weapon in the home, the court has avoided all cases that might clarify if that right is more expansive. (The Washington Post) (Reuters) The United States Department of Justice will investigate the Chicago, Illinois police department. Long concerned with Chicago police department practices, the investigation is precipitated by the recent release of a video of the shooting death of Laquan McDonald. The Chicago police are set to release another video showing the police killing of Ronald Johnson in October of 2014. (New York Times) (CNN) United States Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson says the Obama administration will announce a new terror alert system "in the coming days," that will better inform the public about threats to the United States. This will be the third terror alert system put in place since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. (AP via MLive.com) Whaling in Japan Australia is threatening to take legal action against Japan over its resumption of its controversial whale hunt in the Antarctic Ocean. A whaling fleet set sail last week, ignoring international condemnation, and last year's ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) prohibiting these hunts. (AP via The Seattle Times) (Voice of America) Politics and elections Venezuelan parliamentary election, 2015 Venezuela's National Electoral Council announces the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) has won at least 99 seats in the 167-member National Assembly in Sunday's elections. The previous-ruling United Social Party of Venezuela (PSUV) picked up 46. Results for 22 contests remain to be determined. Voter turnout was a stunning 74.3 percent. "Within seconds," President Nicolás Maduro recognized the opposition's win, saying that despite (his party's) adverse result, Venezuela's democracy has triumphed. (AP) (BBC) (BBC) Armenian constitutional referendum, 2015 Armenian voters approve, by 63.35 percent to 32.42 percent, proposed amendments to the Constitution that change the country's form of government to a parliamentary republic. Sunday's election had a 50.51 percent turnout of its registered voters. The opposition alleged wide-spread fraud which the Armenian Revolutionary Federation said didn't happen. (Asbarez) Science and technology The JAXA probe Akatsuki successfully enters orbit around Venus five years after the first attempt. This mission is Japan's first successful mission to another planet. The orbital injection was achieved using the probe's attitude control thrusters, a feat which has never been done before. (Gizmag) (Spaceflight Now) Current events of December 8, 2015 (2015-12-08) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2015 San Bernardino attack investigation A $28,500 deposit was made to Syed Farook’s bank account two weeks before he and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, carried out the San Bernardino massacre, a source close to the investigation says. Investigators are exploring whether the transaction was a personal loan or something else. (SBS) (Fox News) According to the FBI, the couple that perpetrated the attack had long been radicalized, and had been practicing at a target range days before their murder spree. (New York Times) FBI agents found an empty GoPro package, shooting targets, and tools inside a car belonging to the mother of San Bernardino mass-shooter Syed Farook. (Daily Mail) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) Iraqi officials say the country's forces have managed to retake large parts of the key city of Ramadi from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants. (Press TV) Military intervention against ISIL U.S. television network NBC has calculated that ISIS and its sympathizers killed 525 people in six attacks in six countries outside its alleged caliphate since October 10, 2015. (NBC) War in Afghanistan (2015–present) Several Taliban insurgents storm into Kandahar International Airport and engage Afghan security forces in a firefight. (Al Jazeera) Yemeni Civil War (2015) Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, targeting Houthi rebels battling pro-government fighters, killed and wounded dozens in the port city of Mocha, according to Yemeni security officials. Around 35 fighters on both sides were killed in the battle over a key military base near the city of Taiz. (AP via Miami Herald) Syrian Civil War Russian military intervention For the first time, Russia strikes Islamic State targets in northern Syria with 3M-54 Klub (Kalibr) cruise missiles launched from a Kilo-class submarine in the Mediterranean, according to the Russian Minister of Defence, Sergey Shoygu. (RT) Rebels in Homs and the Syrian government agree to a local ceasefire that is to include the withdrawal of opposition fighters from the al-Waer neighborhood, the only area of the heavily damaged city still under rebel control. The evacuation is expected to start Wednesday. Residents are hoping to return in the next few days. (Daily Mail) (CBS News via Hawaii News Now) Sinai insurgency Four Egyptian security personnel are killed and another four are injured by a roadside bomb near the border town Rafah in the Sinai Peninsula. Islamist militants are suspected to have remotely detonated the device as an armored vehicle drove by the town's center, near the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel, security sources told Ahram Online. (UPI) (Ahram Online) (Anadolu Agency) Business and economy UK-based Anglo American plc (AAUKF) announces plans to slash 85k jobs and shed 60% of assets over the next several years; it will also halt dividend payments for the rest of 2015-16 and cut capital expenditures. The company cited depressed commodity prices for its actions. (CNNMoney) U.S. airplane manufacturer Boeing unveils the first Boeing 737 MAX airplane at its factory in Renton, Washington. (The Seattle Times) (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) Disasters and accidents 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season Storm Desmond The United Kingdom's Met Office issues two new severe weather warnings for wind and rain covering across much of Scotland and Northern England beginning 6 a.m. Wednesday. (The Daily Telegraph) Health and medicine The United States Food and Drug Administration approves marketing of a cooling cap system to reduce hair loss in female breast cancer patients during chemotherapy. The DigniCap scalp cooling system, a product first available in Sweden in the 1990s, produces near-freezing temperatures that make it harder for cancer-fighting drugs to reach and harm hair follicles. (AP via U.S. News and World Report) (FDA) (DigniCap) International relations The United States agrees with Singapore on a first deployment of the U.S. P8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft in Singapore this month, in a fresh response to China over its pursuit of territorial claims in the South China Sea. (UPI) (Reuters) The prime ministers of Britain and France joined condemnation around the globe of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call for a “total and complete ban” on Muslims entering the United States. (The Washington Post) U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power says the United States is investigating reports that Iran launched a medium-range ballistic missile in November, and if confirmed, will bring the issue to the U.N. Security Council and seek appropriate action. (Reuters) Cross Border Xpress, a privately owned and operated airport terminal located in the Otay Mesa suburb of San Diego, California, United States, will open tomorrow with a connecting walkway to Tijuana International Airport in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. This facility, the final step of a project first proposed in the early 1990s, will be just the second cross-border airport in the world. U.S. Customs will operate a checkpoint on the bridge for those entering the country. (AP via USA Today) (AP Q&A via San Francisco Chronicle) (Los Angeles Times) Law and crime South African athlete Oscar Pistorius is granted bail while he appeals his murder conviction. (The Telegraph) Politics and elections The U.S. Supreme Court rules that a lawsuit challenging Maryland's congressional redistricting plan following the 2010 Census on grounds of unconstitutional gerrymandering may proceed. The suit, which alleges that congressional district boundaries were changed to make it easier for Democrats to win in seven of the state’s eight districts, had been rejected by both district and circuit courts due to lack of standing. (The Washington Post) Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump early Tuesday rejected criticism of his call to "shut the door" on Muslims entering the U.S. during a heated round of interviews in which he said he was not worried about being compared to Hitler. (The Hill) Science and technology New research by a team of British archaeologists, published in the current issue of the journal Antiquity, revives an older theory of Herbert Henry Thomas that Stonehenge may have stood in Wales hundreds of years before it was dismantled and transported to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire in South West England. (Discovery) (National Geographic) (The Antiquaries Journal) Current events of December 9, 2015 (2015-12-09) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015) An Israeli couple are injured in a drive-by shooting attack near Avnei Hefetz. (The Times of Israel) A Palestinian man injures an Israeli civilian and a soldier in a stabbing attack before the attacker is shot and killed by security forces in the city of Hebron. (The Jerusalem Post) Israeli soldiers shoot dead a Palestinian teenager during an arrest raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. (The Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera) War in Afghanistan (2015–present) A Taliban attack on Kandahar International Airport results in at least 50 civilian and Afghan National Security Forces personnel dead and 35 injured. (Reuters) (Irish Times) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Amnesty International reports that years of foreign military intervention, poor oversight on weapons sales, and lack of control over the international flow of weaponry have enabled ISIL to accumulate its vast armaments stockpile. Amnesty International calls for weapons embargoes and the ratification of the global Arms Trade Treaty by nations that have not already done so and, at the same time, are sources of weapons in the ISIL stockpile. (Agence France-Presse via AlJazeera America) (Agence France-Presse via Defense News) Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Russian President Vladimir Putin says he hopes nuclear warheads will not be needed to deal with terrorists, after Russia launched cruise missiles at Islamic State positions in Syria from one of its Kilo-class submarines in the Mediterranean. (Independent) Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Azeri tanks on the front line shell military positions in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic for the first time since a Russian-brokered ceasefire ended fighting in 1994. At least one Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army soldier is killed. (AFP via Yahoo) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) Turkey calls on all its citizens to leave all areas of Iraq except Iraqi Kurdistan, due to "increased security risks". (AFP via Daily Mail) Arts and culture Angela Merkel is named as Time's Person of the Year. (CNN International) Disasters and accidents 2015 South Indian floods Heavy rains continue to lash Thanjavur and Thanjavur district, inundating urban areas and hundreds of acres of farmland. Many residential areas in Thanjavur have been marooned by rising water. (The Hindu) Floods in the United States: 2001–present Governor of Washington Jay Inslee declares a state of emergency after severe flooding and high winds across the western part of the state close several major highways, damage homes and property, and impact electricity service. (Governor of Washington) (KIRO-TV) International relations The United States expands sanctions against North Korea over its alleged weapons breaches. (BBC) Cuba–United States relations Government officials from Cuba and the U.S. met in Havana, beginning settlement discussions surrounding $1.9 billion worth of U.S. assets seized by Fidel Castro’s regime in the early 1960s. By law, the United States embargo against Cuba cannot cease until settlements are made. (Washington Post) Law and crime The Australian Federal Police raid the Sydney home of Craig Steven Wright – whom media today claimed was suspected to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin – in relation to possible tax offences. (ABC News Australia) Chinese state television reports Guo Youming, former deputy governor of Hubei province, is found guilty of taking bribes totaling more than 23.8 million yuan ($3.70 million). Guo is the latest to be convicted as a result of President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign that started when Xi took office three years ago. (Reuters) Politics and elections A group of mayors and officials from American cities such as Philadelphia and New York City say that if they had their way Donald Trump would be banned from their cities for his comments on Muslims. (NBC) The Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell distance the party from presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent comments calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. While not entering into a political fray – in view of U.S. partnerships with Muslim nations and Muslim personnel serving in the United States Armed Forces – the Pentagon press secretary calls anti-Muslim rhetoric a national security threat. (CNN) (Politico) Elections in Indonesia Millions of voters in the world's third biggest democracy participated in Indonesia's local elections in 264 regions, just over half of the country's electorates. There is heightened security due to threats by domestic terror groups linked to the Islamic State, as well as increased scrutiny to prevent electoral fraud. Direct elections to choose local leaders were established a decade ago. Official results from the polls will not be available until December 18, 2015. (Straits Times) (Deutsche Welle) Current events of December 10, 2015 (2015-12-10) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Military intervention against ISIL While testifying about the United States military’s current strategy, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Paul J. Selva warns the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) against falling into a ground fight trap with ISIL and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter cautions that increased U.S. ground presence will “Americanize” the conflict. The Daily Beast reports that both Pentagon officials “did little to assuage lawmakers’ concerns that the strategy isn’t working.’’ At the same time, former U.S. defense officials tell SASC the current approach is inadequate. (The Daily Beast) (The Hill) (Defense News) The United States says recent coalition airstrikes killed three ISIL senior leaders, including financial minister, Abu Salah; a senior leader responsible for coordinating the group's extortion activities; and, another leader who acted as an executive officer. (Reuters via NBC News) Yemeni Civil War (2015) Pro-Hadi government forces backed by Arab coalition air and naval forces, seize control of the Hanish Islands off the coast of Yemen, near the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb strait from troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The islands have been subject to heavy shelling by coalition forces for weeks according to local fishermen. (Reuters) Swiss officials say police, based on a CIA tip, are hunting for at least four Islamic State-associated suspects believed to be plotting an attack in Geneva. (AP) A United States Treasury official says ISIL has made over $500 million selling oil to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, and has also sold oil to Turkey. (International Business Times) (Reuters via CNBC) Arts and culture The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announces the 73rd Golden Globe Awards nominees for the best films and television productions of 2015. The winners will be announced on January 10, 2016. (Los Angeles Times) The Pew Research Center announces a new study that shows the American middle class, long seen as the economic backbone of the country, is shrinking and no longer constitutes a majority (49.89%). Also, the "nation's aggregate household income has substantially shifted from middle-income to upper-income households." (Headlines & Global News) (Christian Science Monitor) (Pew Research Center) The Vatican releases a 10,000-word document that, among other things, says Jews don't need to be converted to find salvation, and that Catholics should work with Jews to fight antisemitism. (NPR) (Reuters) (Vatican-full text) Business and economics Volkswagen emissions scandal Volkswagen executives admit the diesel emissions cheating was the result of a collection of failures within the company, rather than just the actions of rogue engineers. In 2005, VW began working on software after they were unable to find an affordable technical solution to U.S. nitrogen oxide emissions standards. (The Guardian) (New York Times via SFGate.com) (The Guardian press conference text) International relations North Korea and weapons of mass destruction Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, announces that the country is now in possession of a hydrogen bomb, according to North Korean state media. Experts from South Korea however are skeptical about this claim. (RT) (BBC) Syrian Civil War Syrian opposition politicians and rebels, attending a two-day meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, agree on a framework that would guide proposed talks to end Syria's nearly five-year conflict: a civil, democratic Syria with a transitional government that would respect human rights and the territorial integrity of the country; and, safeguard state institutions while restructuring security forces. Ahrar ash-Sham, a Saudi-backed ultraconservative group, withdrew from the talks at the end of the meeting. (BBC) (AP) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says that the new International Syrian Support Group are working toward a December 18 meeting in New York. (Reuters) Law and crime In the United States, Suffolk County police ask the FBI for more help in their investigation of a possible serial killer who preyed on prostitutes and left their bodies strewn along a Long Island beach in New York. Ten bodies were found along an isolated stretch of the South Shore's Gilgo Beach between December 2010 and April 2011. (Reuters) (New York Daily News) Current events of December 11, 2015 (2015-12-11) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2015–present) The Taliban claims responsibility for a car bomb attack near the Spanish embassy in Kabul. At least one Spanish security officer is killed. (Reuters) Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015), Three Palestinians are killed by Israeli forces, two in Hebron, one of whom reportedly tried to ram his car into soldiers and the other during a violent demonstration in the West Bank city. A third Palestinian died in clashes with Israeli troops at the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel. (Today) (AP via Stars & Stripes) 2015 Burundian unrest Burundi’s army repels attacks on military barracks in the capital, Bujumbura, in the worst violence since this spring's unrest that developed after President Pierre Nkurunziza decided to seek a third term in office. According to an army spokesman, at least 12 gunmen are killed and 20 captured. Reports that at least five soldiers have been killed are denied by the army, which says the soldiers were wounded. Two southern sites, a police station and an army camp, were also attacked, with no report on casualties. Kenya Airways and RwandAir cancels its flights to Bujumbura. (Al Jazeera) (Bloomberg) Syrian Civil War, Syrian Kurdish–Islamist conflict (2013–present) A triple truck-bomb attack on the Kurdish YPG militia-controlled town of Tell Tamer in Syria's northeast Al-Hasakah Governorate leaves as many as 50 people dead and 80 others wounded. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attacks, saying in an online statement that three of its fighters driving three separate vehicles had detonated the suicide bombs targeting "bases" belonging to Kurdish fighters. (Reuters via NBC News) Libyan Civil War (2014–present) The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's branch in Libya (Libya Province) seizes control of the western Libyan town of Sabratha, after storming it in retaliation after two of their men were arrested in a house nearby; however they then set up checkpoints around the town, with little opposition from the local militias that were supposed to be in control of the area. There are now fears that the militant group could destroy the town's Roman amphitheatre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (The Telegraph) Swiss police in Geneva, following yesterday's CIA tip, arrest two Syrian nationals. Apparently, traces of explosives were found in their car. President Simonetta Sommaruga says, "There is currently no indication that there was a concrete attack planned." (Sky News) Business and economy Chinese tycoon Guo Guangchang, founder and chairman of Fosun, is reported missing amid the Chinese anti-corruption campaign. (The Guardian) Two of the U.S.’s oldest and largest companies, DuPont and Dow Chemical Company, will merge in an all-stock deal valued at $130 billion. The deal, which includes future plans for DowDuPont to split into three independent, public companies, is expected to face intense scrutiny from federal antitrust regulators, who will examine the impact on prices and the availability of vital seeds and herbicides.(Reuters) (The Washington Post) China's Alibaba Group Holding Limited acquires Hong Kong's largest English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, in a deal reported to be worth about $100 million. (UPI) Disasters and accidents 2015 South Indian floods Major UK-based reinsurance broker Aon Benfield estimates India has suffered over US$3 billion (over Rs. 200 billion) worth of losses as a result of the flooding, and rates them as the costliest floods and the eighth-costliest natural disaster of 2015.(Business Standard) International relations 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announces the world climate talks (COP 21) will be extended to at least Saturday. (AP) Syrian Civil War Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he will not negotiate with armed groups, a day after the Syrian opposition's multi-group, two-day meeting in Riyadh agreed on a framework for future negotiations to end the conflict. Assad's statement also appears to put a damper on peace talks Russia and the United States are working to set up. (Reuters) (Syria Online) War in Donbass The United States and Russia exchanged charges concerning U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Šimonović's presentation at the U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine. While violence between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels has lessened since September's agreement, Šimonović warned of the massive civilian toll if major hostilities re-erupt. OCHA's John Ging said locals face unacceptable physical hardships and indignities, and that the suspension of humanitarian programs and expulsion of humanitarian workers in non-government controlled areas must end. (Reuters) (UN) Law and crime Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Libya's late leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was kidnapped by militants, is released in Baalbek, Lebanon. Gaddafi's abductors said they were seeking information on the fate of Shiite cleric Imam Moussa al-Sadr, who disappeared during a trip to Tripoli in 1978. (AP via ABC News) (Epoch Times) (AP via NBC News-update) Politics and elections Libyan Civil War (2014–present) Martin Kobler, United Nations envoy to Libya, announces the country's two rival parliaments agreement to set a target date of Dec. 16 to sign a U.N.-sponsored agreement on forming a national unity government. (AP via ABC News) (Reuters) Science and technology Washington State University researchers report in the Journal of the American Chemical Society that they have invented a new catalyst that promises to enable production of bio-based chemicals and plastics. In the future, products could be made from bio-based ethanol rather than superheated crude oil. Other uses for this new catalyst are being explored. (UPI) (Phys.org) Current events of December 12, 2015 (2015-12-12) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) A suicide bomber attacks an Iraqi Army post in Al Anbar Governorate on the border with Saudi Arabia, killing at least six guards. (Ahram Online) Syrian Civil War Sixteen people are killed and many more injured by a car bomb and a second, delayed explosion near a hospital in Syria's mainly Alawite, government-controlled neighborhood of al-Zahra, east of Homs' old city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports. The attack comes just five days after the government and rebels agreed on a local ceasefire in the western al-Waer suburb. (Reuters) (EuroNews) 2015 Burundian unrest Burundi's army reports 87 people, including eight government defenders, were killed, and 45 attackers captured in Friday's clashes at three military sites in Bujumbura. Police have not identified the gunmen. Witnesses report some of the victims' arms were tied behind their backs while others were killed at close range. This was the worst violence since this spring's attempted coup d'état. One of the generals behind the failed coup says his rebel group still wants to oust the president. (Reuters) (AFP via Global Post) Yemeni Civil War (2015) All sides in the Yemeni civil war announce a seven-day ceasefire will start on Monday. (Al-Arabiyah) Nigerian soldiers kill at least 12 people and injure dozens more in a clash with followers of Shi'a cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky's Islamic movement in the northern town of Zaria. The army says the crowd surged towards General Tukur Buratai's convoy, some firing and attempting to kill Buratai. Afterward, the Nigerian Army and the Islamic Movement accuse each other of instigating the attacks. (EagleOnline) (AP) (Premium Times) War in Afghanistan (2015–present) Battle of Kunduz The United Nations mission in Afghanistan reports 289 civilians were killed (301 with MSF update) and 559 injured during fighting in Kunduz between Taliban militants and Afghan National Security Forces in September and October. The U.N. says these numbers include casualties from the friendly-fire attack on the Doctors Without Borders hospital and noted the totals were likely to rise as more information becomes available. (Reuters) (Radio Free Europe) Kunduz hospital airstrike After two months of investigations, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) announces the death toll from the U.S. airstrikes on its Kunduz Trauma Centre has risen from 30 to 42. MSF says 14 MSF staff were killed, as well as four caretakers and 24 patients. Also, MSF delivered a petition to the White House this week, signed by 547,000 people, calling for an independent investigation into the US airstrike. (The Guardian) (Daily Mail) International relations 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference In Paris, delegates from 195 countries approve an agreement that seeks to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.(BBC) (Washington Post) Japan and India sign an agreement on high-speed rail, defence technology and a memorandum of understanding on civil nuclear cooperation. (AFP via Daily Mail) North Korea's all-female Moranbong Band, which was formed by leader Kim Jong-un, surprisingly cancels tonight's concert at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, and two others and returns to Pyongyang. Rumors for the sudden change abound, but no reason has been given. The sudden cancellation could hurt Chinese-North Korean relations, cooler since between Kim assumed power in 2011. (AP via Huffington Post) (Reuters via Asian Times) Law and crime A Wisconsin gun shop, which a jury found negligently sold the gun an assailant used to injure two Milwaukee police officers to a straw buyer, reaches a $1 million settlement with the officers. (AP via seattlepi.com) (Reuters) Politics and elections President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia declares the country an Islamic republic. (The Guardian) Saudi Arabian municipal elections, 2015 Voters in Saudi Arabia go to the polls for municipal elections, with women voting and standing for election for the first time. Seventeen women are elected to office. (Los Angeles Times), (NBC News) Houston mayoral election, 2015 Residents in the United States' fourth largest city are voting in a runoff election to choose the new mayor of Houston, Texas. The race is between the top two finishers in November's non-partisan election: Sylvester Turner, a veteran lawmaker seeking to expand economic opportunities; and, Bill King, a businessman pledging to fix city finances. (Reuters) (KPRC-TV) Thirty-three people are arrested in Moscow in Constitution Day protests against alleged human rights abuses. (Al Jazeera) Poland protests: Thousands march against the Law and Justice (PiS) party in Warsaw, with an estimated 50,000, and other cities protesting President Andrzej Duda and the country's new conservative government appointing new Constitutional Tribunal judges who are loyal to the PiS. (BBC) (AP via Yahoo) Pro-Russian opposition parties protest against Montenegro's NATO membership, demanding a referendum on the issue. (AFP via Yahoo) Sports 2015 Heisman trophy In American football, running back Derrick Henry of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team wins the Heisman Trophy for best college football player. (CNN) Current events of December 13, 2015 (2015-12-13) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in North-West Pakistan At least 25 people are killed and dozens injured in a bombing at a second-hand clothes market in the city of Parachinar in the Kurram Valley. (Pakistan Tribune) (The News) Syrian Civil War Syrian rebels fire volleys of mortar shells into Damascus, killing three people and wounding at least 30. Government forces respond with airstrikes into rebel-controlled Douma, just northeast of the capital, and surface-to-surface missiles into Eastern Ghouta and Saqba, that kill at least 35 people and injure many more, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (AP via The Washington Post) (Reuters) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Israel says an Arab-Israeli man who served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has joined Islamic State militants in Syria. (Reuters) 2015 Burundian unrest The U.S. State Department issues a travel advisory for Burundi and advises its citizens there to leave as soon as possible due to the increased violence in the capital Bujumbura where 87 people were killed this weekend. Families of U.S. government personnel and non-emergency personnel have been ordered to leave immediately. (UPI) (US State) Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli Air Force planes hit two Hamas targets in Gaza in retaliation for rocket fire from the Palestinian territory. (Ynet News) (The Times of Isarel) Arts and culture Louisa Johnson wins The X Factor after beating Ghanaian duo Reggie N Bollie, becoming the show's youngest ever winner at the age of 17. her cover of Bob Dylan's 1974 track "Forever Young" released after she won.(Daily Mail) Disasters and accidents At least 23 patients are killed and 23 injured in a psychiatric hospital fire in the Voronezh Oblast in western Russia. The remaining 24 patients were safely evacuated. (ABC News America) (AP via The Charlotte Observer) International relations European migration crisis On the eve of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party's convention in Karlsruhe, Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel says, "We want to noticeably reduce the number of people who come to us, but not through unilateral national measures alone." She acknowledges the crisis could overwhelm Germany if it went on much longer. Merkel warded off pressure from immigration skeptics within the CDU to include a quota in the refugee policy motion the convention will vote on. (Jerusalem Post) (Bloomberg) (Reuters via International Business Times) (The Financial Times) Russia–Turkey relations A Russian warship fires warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean Sea to "avoid a collision", according to the Russian Defence Ministry. (BBC) Politics and elections Houston mayoral election, 2015 Veteran Texas lawmaker Sylvester Turner edges out businessman Bill King by just over 4,000 votes in Houston's runoff mayoral election. Turner, a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives since 1989, took 51 percent of the vote. King conceded defeat and encouraged Houston citizens to support the incoming mayor. Turner succeeds Annise Parker who was not eligible to run for re-election. (Reuters) (KHOU) Saudi Arabian municipal elections, 2015 Unofficial results show at least 17 Saudi Arabian women won municipal council seats in the kingdom's third-ever election, and the first to allow female participation. Voters elected representatives for two thirds of the municipal council seats. The government announced that 979 women were candidates. (Reuters) (NPR) (Daily Pakistan) French regional elections, 2015 With most of the votes counted, the opposition conservatives of former president Nicolas Sarkozy's party win in six of the country’s 13 regions and lead in the Paris region. The ruling Socialists of President François Hollande's party capture five regions. The winner in Corsica is not affiliated with a major party. France's far-right National Front (FN) fails to win a single region but did record its best showing in its history. Voter turnout was 58 percent. Definitive results are expected Monday. (The Guardian) (Politico) (The Straits Times) (Sky News) (Reuters) Central African Republic constitutional referendum, 2015 While voters in Central African Republic cast their ballots in a constitutional referendum aimed at ending years of sectarian strife, clashes erupt in the capital Bangui's PK5 Muslim neighborhood, killing at least two and injuring over 20. PK5 residents, visited by Pope Francis two weeks ago, marched to the U.N. headquarters in the country to complain they were unable to cast their ballots. The proposed constitution would limit a president to two terms, add an upper house to go along with the National Assembly, and fight institutional corruption. (France24) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) 2015 protests in Brazil Tens of thousands of Brazilians protest in cities around the country to demand that Congress impeach President Dilma Rousseff. The lower house of Congress opened impeachment proceedings on 2 December 2015. (Reuters) (AP via ABC News) (Reuters-Congress) Current events of December 14, 2015 (2015-12-14) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks Yemeni Civil War (2015), Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen Two senior army commanders from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are killed, including the head of the Saudi Special forces in Yemen, Colonel Abdullah al-Sahyan, along with dozens of Saudi, Emirati, Sudanese and Yemeni coalition troops in a OTR-21 Tochka missile attack by Houthi forces on their base near the city of Taiz in southwestern Yemen. (Reuters) Metrojet Flight 9268 Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry reports their investigation of the 31 October 2015 deadly crash of Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 in the Sinai has not found any evidence of terrorism. Prior to this, the working assumption has been that plane was brought down by a bomb, and a group affiliated with ISIL said it was responsible. (Sky News) (CNN) Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2015) A Palestinian rams his car into a bus stop near the Chords Bridge at the entrance to Jerusalem before being shot dead by police; fourteen people, including a toddler, are injured in the attack. (Ynet News) (The Times of Israel) Syrian Civil War The Syrian Army backed by Hezbollah fighters retakes a key airbase on the eastern outskirts of Damascus. The Marj al-Sultan airbase had been under rebel control since November 2012. (BBC) 2015 PKK rebellion At least seven people are killed in clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish protesters across southeast Turkey, as Turkish authorities declare new curfews across the restive region. According to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, 52 curfews have been imposed since mid-August by Turkish authorities across seven Turkish provinces in the region, placing around 1.3 million people under curfew. (Reuters) Business and economics Oil price reached its lowest since December 2008. Other indicators in broader markets caused investor jitters ahead of the expected interest rate hike by the U.S. central bank on Wednesday. (Reuters) The Seattle City Council unanimously votes to give Uber, Lyft, and other contract drivers the power to unionize. The Washington city becomes the first in the United States to do so. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray opposes the bill which can still become law without his signature. Court challenges are expected. (The Seattle Times) (USA Today) (The Seattle Times - background) Disasters and accidents 2015 Pacific typhoon season Typhoon Melor (Nona) Thousands of residents are evacuated as Typhoon Melor, also known as Nona in the Philippines, slams into tiny Batag Island in the eastern Philippines. The storm, headed to Sorsogon province, has intensified into the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane. Authorities shut schools and suspended fishing and ferry services in the central Philippines. (AP via Columbus Ledger-Enquirer) (Reuters) (AccuWeather) At least 41 people are dead after an Argentine National Gendarmerie bus crashes near the city of Salta in north-west Argentina. (BBC), (AP via ABC News America) Health and medicine The U.S. mayor of Flint, Michigan, declares a state of emergency because of lead levels in children’s blood caused by problems with the city's water system. (CBS News) (The Washington Post) Law and crime Censorship in China Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang goes on trial in Beijing for online social commentary critical of the ruling Communist Party. (AP) Chinese police prevent United States senior diplomat Dan Biers from delivering a statement outside the trial of Pu Zhiqiang. (Twitter) (CNN) An Australian court orders British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser to stop selling several versions of the popular painkiller, Nurofen, that were identical to its standard ibuprofen pills but nearly twice as expensive. (AP) United States Army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl will face a court martial on charges of misbehavior before the enemy and desertion related to his capture by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan in June 2009. (AP via ABC News America) A Palestinian man from eastern Jerusalem, Muhammad Abu Kaf, is indicted by Israeli prosecutors on eight counts of incitement to violence or terror for posting a video on Facebook calling on people to stab Jews. (Ynet News) Science The Geminids meteor shower is visible tonight. (Lifehacker) Current events of December 15, 2015 (2015-12-15) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that increased airstrikes by Russia have forced humanitarian assistance organizations to curtail their relief efforts, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in northern Syria. (The Washington Post) Territorial disputes in the South China Sea United States Pacific Fleet commander Scott H. Swift warns of a possible South China Sea arms race. (Reuters via MSN) Islamist insurgency in Nigeria At least 30 people are killed after Boko Haram militants attack three villages in Nigeria's northeast Borno state. (AFP via Yahoo) Military intervention against ISIL France's Air Force carries out their first cruise-missile strikes targeting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant installations in Iraq, including “a training center and logistical depot,” according to the French defence ministry. (AFP via Defense News) Disasters and accidents 2015 Pacific typhoon season Typhoon Melor (Nona) causes widespread flooding and blackouts in the Philippines. More than 700,000 people had been evacuated ahead of the storm which hit late on Monday night. (New York Times) Health and medicine The United States Food and Drug Administration approves the Merck & Co. drug, Bridion, that reverses the effects of muscle relaxants used during surgery. (Reuters) (FDA) International relations Saudi Arabia announces the formation of a 34-member Islamic Military Alliance against terrorism including Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan with a joint operations centre based in Riyadh. (SBS) (BNO News) Nuclear program of Iran The United Nations finds Iran's firing of a medium-range ballistic missile in October violated a June 2010 resolution banning the Islamic Republic from launches capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The test was not technically a violation of the July nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers. It's not known if the Security Council will take any action. (AP via The Christian Science Monitor) (Reuters) The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Board of Governors decides, by consensus unopposed, to close its investigation into whether Iran once had a secret nuclear weapons program. The IAEA will continue to police Tehran's activities. (The News Telegraph) (Reuters) Law and crime A Baltimore, Maryland deadlocked jury was told by the trial judge to resume deliberations after closing arguments in the first trial of police officer William Porter, charged in the death of Freddie Gray. With demonstrations and unrest following the death, the city has cancelled leave for police officers and the mayor has called for calm when a verdict is announced. (CNN) (The Gazette) Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District close after receiving an unspecified "electronic" threat. Later, authorities conclude the threat was a hoax, and announce schools will reopen Wednesday. New York City schools' initial response to a similar threatening email was to treat it as a hoax. The emails were largely identical and had been routed through a server in Frankfurt, apparently by the same person. (BBC News) (ITV) (LA School Report) (CNN) (The New York Times) American entertainer Bill Cosby, in response to dozens of accusations of sexual assault and misconduct spanning decades, has filed in U.S. federal court in Massachusetts a defamation suit against seven accusers. (The New York Times) United Kingdom police arrest a 21-year-old man in Berkshire in the hacking of Hong Kong-based electronic toy maker VTech. Details of more than six million people from servers used to support VTech's learning products app store were compromised. (BBC) (Digital Trends) Politics and elections New Zealand flag referendums, 2015–16 New Zealand announces the flag design chosen by the public that will challenge the current flag in a March 2016 vote. Voters will choose between the current flag, which features the British Union Jack with a dark blue background, and the challenger, a silver fern and four red stars on a black and blue background. (CTV) (Stuff) Science and technology The Soyuz TMA-19M, consisting of Expedition 46 crew members Yuri Malenchenko (RSA), Timothy Kopra (NASA) and Tim Peake (ESA), launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the International Space Station (ISS) with Peake becoming the first Briton to represent the European Space Agency at the ISS. (Bay News 9) (The Daily Telegraph) Current events of December 16, 2015 (2015-12-16) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2015 San Bernardino attack Neither Syed Rizwan Farook nor his wife Tashfeen Malik made open posts on social media regarding radical Islamic jihad or martyrdom prior to the attack, according to FBI Director James B. Comey. There were, however, direct, private messages to each other that did reflect this commitment. (Los Angeles Times) 2015 Chattanooga shootings FBI Director Comey also announces the five military shooting deaths last July in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are now officially classified as a terrorist attack. The shooter, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, was inspired and motivated by foreign terrorist propaganda. U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announces the Navy will award the Purple Heart to the four Marines and one sailor who were killed, and the one Marine who was injured. (AP via ABC News) (Los Angeles Times) Business and economics In a widely expected move, the United States Federal Reserve Board raised the federal funds interest rate, the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, from the 0-.25% range to the .25-.50% range. U.S. stock markets rallied on the news. (CNNMoney) (Consumer Affairs) Disasters and accidents An Air India aircraft maintenance technician is killed at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in India after being sucked by an Air India Airbus A319's aircraft engine during pushback. (Press Trust of India via Business Standard) (CNN) Health and medicine A study published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association reports children with simple appendicitis who started with antibiotic treatment instead of immediate surgery, often recovered without ever needing surgery. They also had a shorter recovery and a smaller healthcare bill. (Reuters) (WebMD) (JAMA) International relations Cuba–United States relations The United States and Cuba reach an understanding on restoring regularly scheduled commercial flights. Currently, the only option available is charter flights. (AP via The Washington Post) NATO leadership signs an agreement with the Ukrainian government to assist the country's modernization of its defense industry and capabilities. (UPI) Taiwan–United States relations, Territorial disputes in the South China Sea The United States announces a deal to sell $1.83 billion worth of arms to Taiwan, which includes two decommissioned U.S. Navy frigates, Assault Amphibious Vehicles, and surface-to-air missiles. China has also expressed its disapproval over the deal, claiming it would affect their internal affairs. (BBC News) (Financial Times) (RT) Islamic Military Alliance Pakistan says it was surprised to learn of the country's inclusion in Saudi Arabia's so-called "Islamic anti-terrorist alliance", and that Pakistan was not consulted before inclusion in the alliance by the Saudis. Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry says he has asked the country’s ambassador in Riyadh to get a clarification from Saudi Arabia on the matter. Malaysia has also denied any involvement in Saudi Arabia’s military coalition to counter terrorism. (BBC) (DAWN) Latvia–Russia relations Latvia's State Border Guard begins the construction of a border fence that will cover almost a third of the Latvia–Russia border in an effort to keep out migrants who attempt to illegally cross the border from Russia. (Business Insider) As many as 53 members of the World Trade Organization sign an agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, to remove import tariffs on 201 information technology products that account for trade of $1.3 trillion annually. (Reuters) (The Financial Express) Law and crime Japan's Supreme Court upholds a 19th-century law that requires married couples to have the same surname, but struck down another law that barred women from remarrying within six months of a divorce as unconstitutional. (The Guardian) The North Korean (DPRK) supreme court convicts and sentences South Korea-born Canadian pastor Hyeon Soo Lim to hard labor for life for trying to overthrow the DPRK and undermine the country's social system. Lim's relatives said he's traveled to North Korea more than 100 times since 1997, to help people, but not for any particular political purpose. Lim, from the Light Korean Presbyterian Church in Toronto, has been in custody since February. (Reuters) (Xinhua News Agency) (The Guardian) A bank in Minnesota (U.S.) is robbed by the same person a second time while an Iowa television station was doing a live update on the first robbery. The robber was arrested shortly afterwards. (Associated Press) After the jury fails to reach a unanimous decision, a Baltimore, Maryland, judge declares a mistrial in the trial of police officer William Porter, the first officer to be charged in the death of Freddie Gray. (NBC News) (ABC News) About 100 men in more than 50 machine gun-mounted trucks kidnap at least 26 Qataris, including members of the royal family, from a hunting camp in Iraq near the Saudi border. (Sky News) Politics and elections Members of the U.S. Congress reach a spending deal that, once passed by both houses, will prevent a year-end government shutdown and will fund Fiscal Year 2016 federal government operations. President Barack Obama signs a separate bipartisan bill that extends government funding through Tuesday, December 22. (USA Today) (The Washington Post) (The Jerusalem Post) Spanish general election, 2015 Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is punched in the face by a teenager during a People's Party campaign event in the city of Pontevedra. (The Guardian) Current events of December 17, 2015 (2015-12-17) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Libyan Civil War Delegates from Libya's warring factions sign a U.N.-brokered agreement to form a national unity government. Some of Libya's armed brigades are closely allied with political leaders who oppose this agreement. (Reuters) (Al Arabiya) 2015 PKK rebellion Turkish security forces kill 23 suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in operations in the Kurdish-majority cities of Cizre and Silopi. (BBC) The Turkish Army deploys tanks into civilian areas of Silopi and soldiers are reportedly going house-to-house in search of PKK militants. The pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) condemns the Turkish military actions in Silopi. (Today's Zaman) Niger's president Mahamadou Issoufou announces that an attempted coup, involving the use of aerial firepower to overthrow the government has been foiled and those behind it have been arrested. Among those taken into custody were the former military chief of staff, General Souleymane Salou, and Lt. Colonel Dan Haoua, head of the air force base in the capital Niamey. (The Guardian) American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present) American-led airstrikes kill at least 180 Islamic State fighters while local Kurdish forces­ repel an assault by 300 heavily armed militants in northern Iraq. (The Washington Post) Disasters and accidents A 6.4-magnitude earthquake hits the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. The epicenter was 11 kilometers (7 miles) from the town of Tres Picos, not far from the Pacific coast. There are no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. (Reuters) (USGS) As many as 36 miners die in a pair of accidents in Northeast China. (AP via ABC News) Nineteen workers trapped by Wednesday's gas explosion and raging fire in a coal mine in Hegang in Heilongjiang privince are not expected to survive because of carbon monoxide and the high temperatures from the fire, according to the rescue and command office's Zhang Qinxiang. Thirty-three miners escaped. (MINING.com) A fire caused by sparks from welding equipment kills 17 workers in the Xingli coal mine in Huludao city in Liaoning province. The State Administration of Work Safety reports 13 miners died at the site while four died at the hospital. Another ten miners are hospitalized. (Xinhua) (AP via The Washington Post) Health and medicine Researchers at University College London report in The Lancet that an annual blood test could help reduce women's risk of dying from ovarian cancer by about 20 percent. (CBS News) (WebMD) International relations China summons Kaye Lee, the U.S. deputy chief of mission in Beijing, to protest Washington's announcement that it is selling two warships to Taiwan as part of a $1.83 billion arms deal. U.S. state department spokesman John Kirby says the sale is consistent with the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act while Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Zheng Zequang threatens to impose sanctions on U.S. firms because the proposed sale "severely damaged China's sovereignty and security interests." (NBC News) (BBC) The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts a resolution aimed at disrupting revenue the Islamic State gets from oil sales, ransom payments, and other criminal activities. (Reuters) (AFP via Yahoo News) The World Trade Organization approves Afghanistan's membership at its 10th ministerial conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Afghanistan becomes the 164th WTO member and is the 36th least developed country (LDC) in the global trade body. (Xinhua News Agency via Global Post) (Channel News Asia) The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning North Korea's human rights abuses and calls on the Security Council to refer violations to the International Criminal Court. (UPI) (The Japan Times) Law and crime European migrant crisis Riots break out in the western Dutch town of Geldermalsen over plans to establish a centre for asylum seekers in the town. Local police say they made several arrests. Including this year's arrivals, the Dutch government said in November it expected to receive 58,000 asylum seekers by the end of 2016. (BBC) United States federal prosecutors in New York City arrest Martin Shkreli on securities fraud charges for allegedly plundering for personal gain Retrophin, a biopharmaceutical company he ran as CEO from 2012 to 2014. (Chicago Tribune) (ABC) Japanese journalist Tatsuya Kato is acquitted by a South Korean court of defamation charges resulting from questions he raised about South Korean President Geun-hye Park's whereabouts during the Sewol ferry disaster. (The Chosun Ilbo) (Voice of America) War in Afghanistan The New York Times reports the U.S. Navy covered up a Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) report on Afghan detainee abuses. The NCIS investigation found that Navy SEAL Team 2's abuse resulted in the death of a 24-year old married Afghan detainee with a new baby, and that the SEALs failed to restrain the Afghan Local Police's detainee abuses. This drove some previously cooperative Afghans to leave for Taliban-controlled areas, the Times reports. Their commander in Afghanistan recommended these men be forced out of the elite SEAL teams. Two of the SEALs and their lieutenant have since been promoted. Rachel E. VanLandingham, former United States Central Command’s chief legal adviser on detainee and interrogation issues from 2006 to 2010, and other military lawyers, have called for the case to be reopened. (Headline & Global News) (The New York Times via Tampa Bay Times) (Sky Valley Times) (The New York Times - synopsis) Politics and elections Russian President Vladimir Putin calls U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, "a very colorful person. Talented, without any doubt" as well as an "absolute leader" in the race for the presidency. (ABC News) Sports 2015–16 Premier League José Mourinho is sacked as Chelsea F.C.'s manager on his second spell after the club lost nine of their 16 league games, placing the club one point above the relegation zone. (BBC) (France24) Current events of December 18, 2015 (2015-12-18) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks Yemeni Civil War (2015) Two ballistic missiles are fired from Yemen at Saudi Arabia, one of which is intercepted by the kingdom's air defences, while the other missile lands near the city of Najran, according to a coalition statement on Saudi state media. No casualties have been reported. (AFP via AhramOnline) Territorial disputes in the South China Sea A U.S. B-52 long-range bomber on a routine mission over the South China Sea mistakenly flew within two nautical miles of an artificial island built by China near the Cuarteron Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands archipelago, according to a senior U.S. defense official. The Chinese Defense Ministry issues a statement accusing the U.S. of deliberately raising tensions in the disputed region. (The Guardian) International intervention in Iraq An airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition hit Iraqi forces as the army engaged militants in poor weather conditions south of the city of Fallujah. Official reports state one soldier was killed, and nine were injured, but casualties may be significantly higher. A military medic says he's treated at least 20 for injuries. (The Washington Post) 2015 Burundian unrest The African Union's Peace and Security Council approves the plan to send 5,000 peacekeepers to Burundi to protect civilians caught up in the growing crisis; approval by the U.N. Security Council is required. Burundi's Philippe Nzobonariba says the force would not be allowed in without government permission. (AP via Houston Chronicle) (Reuters) Syrian Civil War The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says suspected Russian airstrikes kill 32 civilians, half of them women and children, in three areas in northern Syria. No suspected militants were killed in the attacks. (The Times of Israel) (Sky News) Arts and culture The Vatican announces Mother Teresa's eligibility for canonization after a Vatican spokesman confirmed Pope Francis' recognition of a second miracle attributed to her involving the healing of a Brazilian man with multiple brain tumors. The Vatican has yet to confirm a canonization date for Teresa. (Agence France-Presse via The Guardian) (Reuters via The Hindu) Business and economics In the United States, JPMorgan Chase agrees to pay $307 million to settle federal cases where the bank failed to disclose certain conflicts of interest to some of its wealth management clients. (Reuters) (Huffington Post) Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. announces it will change its name to Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc. on December 22. Its stock exchange ticker symbol will be IONS. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents Pollution in China The Chinese government warns residents in Northern China to prepare for a wave of choking smog arriving over the weekend and lasting through Tuesday, with Beijing affected hardest. The capital city issues its second-ever "red alert" -- the first was announced on December 7, 2015. This alert triggers the odd-even license plate system to halve cars on the road, and recommends schools close. China's National Meteorological Center reports the pollution will stretch from Xi'an, across part of Central China, through Beijing and up into Shenyang and Harbin in China's frigid northeast. (Reuters) (South China Morning Post) International relations Australia–Japan relations In Tokyo, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says his country is “very disappointed” with Japan’s decision to resume whaling, but this dispute should not be allowed to hurt the two countries' special strategic ties. Malcolm Turnbull, who replaced Tony Abbott in September, is on his first visit to Japan which will include talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. (Reuters) (AP via The Washington Post) Romania–NATO relations NATO's Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System becomes partly operational at Romania's Deveselu airbase, as U.S. Navy personnel takes control of the site after years of construction. Aegis Ashore facilities in Romania form part of NATO's European missile defence system, with another site under construction in Poland expected to become operational by 2018. The United States Ambassador to Romania Hans G. Klemm says that they have explained to the Russians on numerous occasions that the missile system is, "not directed at Russia, nor does it have the capability to threaten Russia." The head of Russia's Strategic Missile Troops, Colonel General Sergei Karakayev, has dismissed the purported effectiveness of the missile defense system, saying Moscow develops “brand new and effective means and techniques to penetrate any missile defense system”. (AP via Yahoo News), (RT) Russia–Ukraine relations Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says his country is imposing a moratorium on repayment of a $3 billion debt to Russia following Moscow's refusal to accept repayment terms already offered to other international creditors. This means Ukraine is likely to default on the debt, which is due Sunday. (AP via ABC news) (BBC) The European Union warns Thailand that the country needs to quickly address the human rights and slavery issues in its seafood industry if it wants to avoid an EU import ban. (AP) (AP investigation via New Europe) Syrian Civil War Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War NATO allies agree to send aircraft and ships to strengthen Turkey's Syrian border air defenses and avoid incidents similar to November's downing of a Russian jet. (Reuters) Following Russia and the United States agreement on the text, the U.N. security council unanimously approves an international roadmap for a peace process in Syria. The resolution does not touch on the question of Bashar al-Assad’s fate. (The Guardian) (The Washington Post) Law and crime In the United States, a group of hospitals, 32 in 15 states, agree to pay a total of $28 million to settle charges they submitted false claims to Medicare for a type of spinal fracture treatment. This is the latest settlement stemming from a decade-old whistleblower lawsuit about alleged inappropriate billing for kyphoplasty. More than 130 hospitals have paid about $105 million to settle billing claims from this spinal procedure. (Reuters) (The Arizona Republic) Politics and elections United States presidential election, 2016 The Democratic National Committee suspends Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign's access to its national voter database after a member of his campaign staff took advantage of a software error to review Hillary Clinton’s private campaign data. In response, the campaign files a lawsuit. (The Washington Post) Jeff Weaver, presidential campaign manager for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, says the DNC's suspending access to the Democratic voter file is part of a "pattern" of actions that suggest the DNC is not impartial. The campaign, which had notified the DNC of software problems, threatens to take the DNC to federal court if the party organization doesn't restore the campaign's access. (UPI) (CNN) Michael Briggs of the Sanders campaign says the voter data access issue has been “resolved.” (ABC News) Current events of December 19, 2015 (2015-12-19) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present) Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi updates the death toll from Friday's friendly fire airstrike near Fallujah to 10, one officer and nine soldiers. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter says it appears an American jet conducted the strike. Carter called Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to express condolences. (The Washington Post) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) Turkey’s foreign ministry says it will continue to move some of its troops out of a military base at Bashiqa in Nineveh province in northern Iraq. (Reuters via The Washington Post) Turkey–PKK conflict The Turkish army says 69 Kurdish insurgents and two Turkish soldiers were killed in four days of fighting in Cizre and Silopi, near the Syrian and Iraqi borders, in southeast Turkey. (Reuters) Somali Civil War A car bomb outside a shopping mall in the Somali capital Mogadishu kills at least three and injures at least eight. The al Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab claim responsibility. (Reuters) (CNN) International relations Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Iran nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says nine tons of Iran's enriched uranium will be exported to Russia in the next few days, as the country moves to implement the nuclear deal and secure relief from international sanctions. (Reuters) (Ya Libnan) European migrant crisis Germany's refugee crisis coordinator Peter Altmaier says, in an interview with German magazine Focus, that he and Austrian special minister Josef Ostermayer are working on a proposal for a common European asylum law. He added other countries such as France and The Netherlands would be approached soon. (Reuters) (Sputnik News) Law and crime Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber announces criminal proceedings are underway against an unnamed Islamic Central Council of Switzerland (ICCS) board member for spreading jihadist propaganda. ICCS reports the individual is their head of multimedia, Naim Cherni, who released a videotape of his trip to Syria which included interviews with Islamist leaders. (Reuters) (Deutsche Welle) (Blick) (de) Politics and elections Rwandan constitutional referendum, 2015 Rwandans vote overwhelmingly to lift constitutional restrictions that will allow President Paul Kagame to run for more terms in office. The National Electoral Commission reports more than 98 percent of voters approved the referendum. Final official results will be released Monday. (BBC) (AP via Huffington Post) Current events of December 20, 2015 (2015-12-20) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks Air France Flight 463 en-route to Paris from Mauritius makes an emergency landing in Mombasa, Kenya, after a package, suspected to be a bomb is found in the toilet. Later, Air France CEO Frédéric Gagey says it was a false alarm; the package contained a mixture of cardboard, sheets of paper, and a timer. (AP via News24) (CNN) (Reuters) Territorial disputes in the South China Sea, China–Vietnam relations Vietnam is reported to be preparing for a possible military conflict with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea. (Reuters) Syrian Civil War A missile-strike in Jaramana in southern Syria kills high-ranking Lebanese Hezbollah commander Samir Kuntar and eight National Defence Force (NDF) personnel. The responsibility for the incident taken by the Free Syrian Army, though Hezbollah alleges Israeli involvement. Kuntar was the longest serving Lebanese prisoner in Israel until his release in 2008. On April 22, 1979 Kuntar and his team broke into an apartment building and kidnapped a father, 31-year-old Danny Haran, and his 4-year-old daughter, Einat, taking them to a nearby beach and killing them. (Reuters) Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Airstrikes, apparently from Russian jets, kill scores of people in the center of rebel-held Idlib in northwest Syria. The missiles hit a busy market place, several government buildings, and residential areas. At least 73 bodies, 30 unidentified, have been recovered. (Reuters) A motorist runs over pedestrians at the Las Vegas Strip between Planet Hollywood and Paris Las Vegas, killing one person and injuring at least 26 more. (ABC) Arts and culture Miss Philippines, Pia Wurtzbach, is crowned Miss Universe 2015 in Las Vegas, moments after host Steve Harvey incorrectly announced 1st runner-up Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutiérrez, as the winner. (Reuters) Business and economics Thousands, including families, children, and miners from around the country, march from Knottingley to North Yorkshire to mark the end of deep coal mining in the United Kingdom. The last facility, Kellingley Colliery in Beal, North Yorkshire, closed down, Friday, 18 December 2015. The march was organized by two miners' wives to pay tribute to this industry. (The Independent) (BBC) Disasters and accidents 2015 Shenzhen landslide Thirty-three buildings collapse after a landslide hit an industrial park in Shenzhen, China, leaving at least 91 people missing. (CNN) An avalanche in Svalbard, a Norwegian Arctic archipelago, kills one and injures nine others as the snow smashes into 10 houses in Longyearbyen. The deluge from Sukkertoppen mountain follows Friday's 60 mph storm that ripped off a school roof and temporarily closed the airport. Dozens of homes at the foot of the mountain were evacuated and all of the area's residents have been located, according to Tone Hertzberg, a spokeswoman for Svalbard's governor. Experts from Norges Geotekniske Institutt are examining nearby slopes. (AP via CBS News) (newsinenglish.no) A ferry ran into trouble in rough seas off the coast of Indonesia's island of Sulawesi, with at least three killed, including two children, 39 rescued, and 77 missing. The New Marina, a fiberglass boat, was reported to be carrying 109 passengers with a crew of 10. The National Search and Rescue Agency says the boat sank 22.5 km (24 miles) off the coast of the Wajo Regency in South Sulawesi. Rescue teams expect to resume their search for the missing, Monday. (BenarNews) (Muscat Daily) Two pilots are killed after a South Korean-made KAI T-50 Golden Eagle crashes and bursts into flames at an air show in Yogyakarta on Indonesia's Java island. (The Telegraph) Politics and elections Spanish general election, 2015 Today's parliamentary election is forecast to end Spain's two-party system as the traditional powers, the center-right People's Party (PP) and the center-left Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), are facing real challenges from the anti-austerity Podemos Party and the liberal Ciudadanos party (C's). Analysts expect a high turnout. (Reuters via Huffington Post) (Newsweek) United States presidential election, 2016 Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders presidential campaign fires national data director Josh Uretsky, and suspends two staffers following Friday's announcement the campaign had improperly accessed and downloaded voter data belonging to Hillary Clinton's campaign. NBC News reports at least four individuals affiliated with the campaign were involved in the breach, which occurred Wednesday. (NBC News) (Bloomberg) Elections in Iran Iranian legislative election, 2016 Iran starts registering candidates for the 290-seat parliamentary elections scheduled for 26 February 2016. Potential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council. The elections will, effectively, be a vote on President Hassan Rouhani’s moderate policies that received a boost from the July 14 landmark nuclear deal. (AP via The Washington Post) Iranian Assembly of Experts election, 2016 Elections for the 88-seat Experts Assembly, a clerical body empowered to choose or dismiss Iran’s supreme leader and supervise his activities, are scheduled for Thursday 25 February 2016. Those elected may decide who replaces Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is 76. (Deutsche Welle) Current events of December 21, 2015 (2015-12-21) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in Afghanistan (2015–present) 2015 Bagram suicide bombing A suicide-bomb attack on a joint Afghan-U.S. patrol near Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan's Parwan Province, kills at least six U.S. soldiers and wounds another six. The Taliban's spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claims responsibility for the attack in a message on Twitter. (Reuters) (The Washington Post) Taliban forces overrun the Sangin District in Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province following clashes with Afghan security forces which left dozens dead. Taliban militants have reportedly surrounded the local police compound with around 170 officers trapped inside the compound, according to a local official. (FRANCE 24) At least three rockets hit the capital Kabul, with two landing in the diplomatic zone of the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood near the U.S. embassy building, while the other struck near the presidential palace complex. There were no reports of any casualties. (Reuters) (RT) Terrorism in Kenya, War in Somalia At least two people are killed in an attack, near the north-eastern village of El Wak in Mandera County near the Somali border. A group of Kenyan Muslims traveling on a bus ambushed by suspected Al-Shabaab insurgents, protected Christian passengers by refusing to be split into groups, according to eyewitnesses. (BBC) Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Military intervention against ISIL Around 20 people, including civilians and Islamic State militants, are killed in airstrikes on Mosul in northern Iraq. (Reuters) 2015 PKK rebellion Fighting continues to rage between the Turkish Army and PKK militants across southeastern Turkey, with the Kurdish-majority cities of Cizre and Silopi both becoming war zones as street-to-street fighting takes place. Turkish tanks shelled civilian houses in Silopi, while a Turkish military helicopter was damaged by PKK fire as it attempted to land in Cizre. Also, two Turkish soldiers were killed and six others wounded in a roadside bombing near the town of Bitlis. Many within Turkey are saying a civil war is now underway. (Al Jazeera) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says military operations will continue in southeast Turkey and vowed that Kurdish rebels (PKK) along with their supporters, “will be buried in the trenches they have dug”. The state-run Anadolu Agency reports at least 115 PKK militants have been killed since December 15. (The Guardian) Arts and culture Pope Francis, in his annual pre-Christmas speech, urged the Roman Curia (cardinals and bishops who direct Holy See actions), to follow his "catalogue of virtues," e.g., to show more maturity, honesty, humility, and sobriety in their tasks. He listed "Curial antibiotics" to treat the "15 ailments of the Curia" he outlined last year and which still plague the Vatican. (AP via Berlin Record) (National Catholic Reporter) Health and medicine The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifts the 32-year-old, lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men. Men can donate if they haven't had sex with another man in the previous year. The FDA stance is in line with other countries, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.K., and is consistent with rules on recent blood transfusion or accidental exposure to another individual's blood. (The Guardian) (The Washington Post) (FDA) International relations Armenia–Russia relations Russia reinforces the joint Armenian-Russian run Erebuni Airport, home to the Russian 3624th Air Base, with six attack and transport helicopters. The Russian Defence Ministry said the Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters had been transferred from a military base in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar Krai to the air base in Erebuni, Armenia. (Radio Free Europe) War in Donbass The European Union extends Russian sanctions for interference in Ukraine another six months, until 31 July 2016. The EU says it's extending the sanctions because the Minsk peace accords would not be fully implemented by the end of this year. (Bloomberg) (Voice of America) Politics and elections Slovenian same-sex marriage referendum, 2015 Slovenian voters reject a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the country with only 36% of registered voters supporting it, while over 63% of voters voted against the bill. (CNN) Spanish general election, 2015 In Sunday's elections, Spain's center-right ruling People's Party (PP) wins 123 seats (35.1%), and the center-left Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) takes 90 (25.7%) of the 350 seats in parliament, thereby ending Spain's two-party system since neither major party won an absolute majority. Turnout was 73 percent. Spain's new political forces, Podemos and Ciudadanos (C's), get 69 and 40 seats, respectively. Smaller parties split the remaining 28 seats, 17 to Catalonia parties which favor secession. It appears that a coalition government will be necessary. PSOE has declined to join the PP, which actually doesn't want that either. King Felipe, who ascended the throne in June 2014, is constitutionally empowered to mediate. (Stratfor) (Fortune) (International Business Times) (BBC) United States presidential election, 2016, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016 South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham ends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for President. During his campaign he has failed to poll above single digits nationally or in the early voting states. (USA Today) Israeli Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom (Likud party) resigns because of allegations he sexually harassed several women during his career. Israel's attorney general has started an investigation of Shalom, who also resigned his Interior Minister position and Knesset seat. (Reuters) (UPI) Future Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum President Massoud Barzani of Iraqi Kurdistan instructs senior party officials to work on preparations for holding a referendum to decide whether to secede from Iraq, a long-standing Kurdish aspiration. (Today's Zaman) Sports 2015 FIFA corruption case FIFA's ethics committee issues an eight-year ban on President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini from any football-related activity for a CHF 2,000,000 (£1.3m/US$2.02m) payment to Platini that Blatter approved. Ethics judges decided the pair, who were also fined, broke rules on conflict of interest, breach of loyalty, and offering or receiving gifts. Both men deny wrongdoing and intend to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). (BBC Sport) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera) (FIFA text via Channel NewsAsia) Current events of December 22, 2015 (2015-12-22) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Battle of Ramadi The Iraqi Army advances into the center of Ramadi, the latest development in the effort, which began in November, to regain the city from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. (Reuters) Islamist insurgency in Nigeria More than 1 million children have been forced out of school as a result of Boko Haram terrorism in northeastern Nigeria and its neighboring countries, which leaves the children more susceptible to violence, poverty and child marriage, Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF’s West and Central Africa regional director, said in a statement. (Huffington Post) (Reuters) Mali declares a 10-day state of emergency effective at midnight, following a series of threats from unnamed jihadist groups, and last month's siege at a Bamako hotel, where 20 people were killed. (DW) (TV360Nigeria) (NDTV) Business and economics Turing Pharmaceuticals says that it is looking for a new CEO in the aftermath of the indictment of its old boss, Martin Shkreli, on securities fraud charges. Turing and Shkreli became infamous together in September 2015, when they hiked the price of an AIDS drug by 5000%. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents An Indian Border Security Force plane headed to Ranchi crashes just outside New Delhi, killing all 10 on board. The Super King Air turboprop aircraft hit an airport wall and landed in a small body of water. (Reuters) (AP via Fox News) At least 30 people are injured from an explosion at a gas pipeline near Villahermosa, Mexico. (CNN) European migrant crisis Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency reports 11 migrants, including three children, drowned, and the Turkish coast guard rescued seven Syrians from a capsized boat headed to the Greek island of Samos. (AP via The Washington Post) Health The Philippines becomes the first country in Asia, and second in the world (after Mexico), to approve use of the dengue vaccine. (Rappler) (CNN) According to industry sources, the Indian health ministry is considering Sanofi Pasteur's dengue fever vaccine for large-scale clinical trial exemption which would accelerate approval for marketing. India reported a record number of dengue fever cases this year. (The Economic Times) Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signs a decree fully legalizing medical marijuana. Growers must apply to the National Narcotics Council for a license. Earlier, Colombia decriminalized personal possession of up to 20 grams. (BBC) (VICE News) Politics and elections Philippine presidential election, 2016 The Philippine Commission on Elections disqualifies presidential frontrunner Grace Poe, who is a rival of Mar Roxas, the candidate favored by President Benigno Aquino III. The move is widely believed to be politically motivated. (Inquirer), (GMA News), Petitioners alleged Poe doesn't meet the residency and citizenship requirments. The actual decision is still to be released. (CNN) Central African constitutional referendum, 2015 Central African Republic's National Election Authority announces voters approved (93%) the new constitution in the December 13 referendum. Amid sporatic violence, 39 percent of registered citizens voted in the two-day poll. The first round of the presidential elections and Parliamentary elections now can be held on December 27, 2015. Acting President Catherine Samba-Panza and current members of the legislature cannot participate. (Deutsche Welle) (Toronto Metro News) Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announces, effective February 1, 2016, that Virginia will no longer recognize concealed carry handgun permits from 25 (of the 30) states with reciprocity agreements with the commonwealth whose concealed handgun regulations are weaker than Virginia's. The state agreements with the other five states will not change. Virginia’s concealed carry permits will not be recognized by at least six states because they require mutual recognition of permits. (The Washington Post) (AP via Chicago Tribune) Haitian presidential election, 2015, Haitian parliamentary election, 2015 Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council postpones presidential and legislative runoff elections scheduled for Sunday, December 27, 2015. Authorities are waiting for findings from the not-yet-installed special commission evaluating the widely criticized first round of elections before determining how to proceed. (AP via The Washington Post) (Haitian-Caribbean News Network) Science American actor Nicolas Cage agrees to return to Mongolia a stolen dinosaur skull he bought in 2007 for $276,000. Cage says he was unaware the skull had entered the country illegally. (Reuters) (USA Today) Falcon 9 Flight 20 American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company SpaceX makes history by sending the first orbital rocket into space and landing the first stage back on the ground at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. (NBC News) Current events of December 23, 2015 (2015-12-23) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Amnesty International reports at least 200 civilians have been killed in Russian air strikes in Syria, indicating "serious failures by Russia to respect international humanitarian law". Moscow denies causing civilian deaths. (BBC) Boko Haram insurgency An overnight raid by suspected Boko Haram militants on Niger's southern border town of Abadam, kills two Nigerien Army soldiers and three civilians. And, separately, a suicide-bomb attack on Lake Chad killed three of the attackers but no one else. A military convoy was also ambushed by militants in northern Cameroon, although there were no reported deaths. (Reuters) Israeli-Palestinian conflict (2015) Two Palestinian attackers stab passers-by at the Old City's Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem, Israel, killing two and injuring one; the attackers are shot and killed by two Israeli Border Police officers. (CNN) (The Jerusalem Post) 2015 PKK rebellion Clashes continue between PKK militants and Turkish Army troops in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır in southeastern Turkey. At least one Turkish soldier is killed and several are wounded in a bomb attack. (Reuters) Hacktivist collective Anonymous declares a cyber-war on Turkey, and claims responsibility for the major week-long cyber-attack between 14 and 21 December on Turkey, which it accuses of supporting the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and threatened additional attacks in case the alleged support continues. “We will continue attacking your internet, your root DNS, your banks and take your government sites down,” it said. “After the root DNS, we will start to hit your airports, military assets and private state connections. We will destroy your critical banking infrastructure,” the group added. (Hurriyet Daily News) (Independent) Terrorism in Australia Australian police in Sydney arrest two men who, police say, were planning attacks on locations such as naval bases and police headquarters. New South Wales Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn said Wednesday's activity brings the number of people arrested in connection with last year's Operation Appleby to 13. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (Reuters) Arts and culture The governments of Somalia, Tajikistan and Brunei ban celebrations of Christmas, with punishments ranging up to a five-year jail term. Each country has a majority-Muslim population. (The Guardian) Disasters and accidents Tornadoes of 2015 At least six people die and dozens injured as major storms, packed with tornadoes, move through the American South and Midwest. Three people died when a tornado hit northern Mississippi, one was killed in Arkansas and two more in Tennessee. Officials continue searching into the night for the missing. (CNN) (AP via The Washington Post) (Weather.com) (Reuters) Health South Korean MERS outbreak South Korea announces an end to the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak that has killed 36 people since May 2015. The virus infected 186 people, with nearly 17,000 people confined to their homes and thousands of schools temporarily closing at the peak of the largest MERS outbreak outside Saudi Arabia, where it first appeared in 2012. (AFP via FRANCE 24) Brazilian health officials announce 2,400 babies (up from 147 in 2014) have been born this year with microcephaly, a neurological disorder that can result in incomplete brain development which can be caused by the mosquito-borne Zika virus, and advise would-be parents, especially in the country's northeast where most of the cases occurred, to avoid pregnancy. (CNN) (The Washington Post) (Medical Daily) International relations Yemeni Crisis The United Nations Security Council expressed “deep concern” at the number of violations of Yemen’s ceasefire. U.N. envoys warned that a fledgling peace process was hanging by a thread, and that Yemen faces permanent fragmentation if the conflict is not ended soon. (Reuters) (Time) (Saudi Gazette) (UN) Law and crime The public interest non-profit Cause for Action files a Freedom of Information Act request for United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s personal emails following his disclosure of using that account for official government emails, this in the wake of the former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton email controversy and the Office of Personnel Management data breach. The U.S. Federal Records Act restricts use of personal email for official business. (Federal Times) A Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia report reveals that an agent with the Presidential Protective Service of the United States Secret Service had his weapon, shield, and other professional equipage stolen from his vehicle in broad daylight in downtown Washington, D.C. (CNN) Russia issues an international arrest warrant for former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on charges of organizing the murder of Vladimir Petukhov, mayor of Nefteyugansk in 1998. (The Guardian) Politics and elections Spanish general election, 2015 Pedro Sánchez, leader of Spain's Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) rejects a pact with the ruling People's Party (PP). "We say 'no' to Rajoy and his policies," Sánchez told a news conference after meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. (Reuters) Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili unexpectedly announces his resignation, without giving any specific reason for his decision. (Civil Georgia) Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović selects Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals executive Tihomir Orešković to be the new prime minister following the inconclusive November 8 election. The "technocrat" is the choice of conservatives and reformists, who have 78 parliamentary seats, enough for confirmation. Science and technology The United States National Center for Health Statistics reports the rate of twin births has hit an historic high. Researchers say the increase in twin births may be affected by changes in reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization, and by more women giving birth later in life--a time when the occurrence of twins is higher. (Science World Report) (Daily Mail) Current events of December 24, 2015 (2015-12-24) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks 2015 Zaria Shia Massacre Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports Nigeria’s military has quickly buried the corpses of at least 300 Shia Muslims killed during raids at the house of Ibrahim Zakzaky in Zaria earlier in December. (BBC) (International Business Times) Business and economy Three business services companies are engaged in an auction to purchase Perot Systems from Dell. (Reuters) Disasters and accidents A fire at the Jizan General Hospital in Jizan, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 24 people and injures over 100. The blaze began on the first floor of the hospital which contains the maternity ward and intensive care unit. Government-controlled Al Ekhbariya television reports the cause of the fire seems to be electrical. (Al Jazeera) (The News Tribe) (Reuters) (Pakistan Today) Tornadoes of 2015 Officials report the casualties from yesterday's spring-like storm that triggered more than 20 tornadoes, destroyed homes, delayed and cancelled air flights, and caused power outages in the U.S. Midwest and Southeast have risen to at least 11 people killed with dozens injured. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant declares a state of emergency in areas affected by the storm. (NBC News) (Reuters) Up to 100 people die in an explosion at an LPG gas plant in Nnewi, Anambra, in southern Nigeria. Sources indicate the accident was caused by a truck discharging its contents before the mandatory cooling time had expired. (BBC) (Vanguard) Uruguay's National Emergencies System reports two people have died in flooding from heavy rains in its northern provinces, and almost 5,500 have been evacuated. The Uruguay River has risen close to three meters over safe levels in Paysandú, and almost four meters (13 feet) in Salto. (Fox News Latino) (Latin American Herald Tribune) Health and medicine The same day the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announces it is easing restrictions on medical research involving cannabidiol (CBD), a key component in marijuana, NYU Langone Medical Center researchers report a clinical trial suggests a pill containing CBD may reduce seizures for children and young adults with epilepsy. (CBS News) (Health Day via U.S. News & World Report) (Leafly.com) International relations Australia, the UK, France, and the United States, all issue security alerts for westerners in Sanlitun in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, a popular diplomatic and entertainment district. Chinese officials indicate they have taken appropriate measures in response to this information. (Reuters) (CNN) (Latin American Herald Tribune) Law and crime One person is shot and killed by a policeman at the Northlake Mall in Charlotte, North Carolina. (TWC News) Politics and elections 2016 United States federal budget, Iran hostage crisis The 53 Americans taken hostage in Tehran, Iran, in 1979, or their families, will receive compensation of $4.4 million each from the United States government as a result of a provision in the spending deal signed into law last week. (ABC News) (The Hill) Current events of December 25, 2015 (2015-12-25) (Friday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention Zahran Alloush, founder of Islamist rebel group Jaysh al-Islam (army of Islam), the group's deputy leader, and other officials die in Russian airstrikes on a meeting east of Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Jaysh al-Islam was one of the opposition groups at the December 10th conference that agreed on principles to guide peace talks, which both Bashar al-Assad and Russia rejected. (The News Hub) (BBC) (Irish Independent) Business and economics With the death of an 18-year-old killer whale at its San Antonio, Texas facility and the recent malfunction of the Sky Tower ride at its park in Orlando, Florida, SeaWorld’s problems in the wake of recent earning shortfalls, decline in attendance, and drop the values of its shares. In response, the company plans new pricing and attractions. (CNN) (CNN) (CNNMoney) Disasters and accidents December 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake At least 17 people are injured in Peshawar, Pakistan, and five people are hurt in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. The epicenter is in Afghanistan's quake-prone Ishkashim district, a mountainous area where mainly impoverished farmers live in homes made with mud, according to Peshawar District Officer Muhmand Asim Khan. Other details about damage or casualties are not presently available. (NBC News) (CNN) (USGS) (BNO News) International relations Japan–South Korea relations South Korea announces that Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul Monday to work toward a final settlement concerning sex slavery during World War II. The Nikkei reports that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe plans to create a new government-backed fund, containing over 100 million yen (US$831,200/£556,600) to help former South Korean "comfort women," and is also considering making an apology for the wartime sexual enslavement. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (The Nikkei) (The Korea Times) India–Pakistan relations Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is met by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore for a two-hour meeting. Modi's surprise stopover is the first since Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan in 2004. (CNN) (The Hindu) Current events of December 26, 2015 (2015-12-26) (Saturday) Armed conflicts and attacks At least one person is injured and another is arrested after a machete attack at Intu Bromley shopping centre in the United Kingdom during the busy annual Boxing Day sales. A motive or possible link to terrorism has not yet been established. (The Guardian) Disasters and accidents 2015–16 Australian bushfire season A bushfire in Victoria state has destroyed 116 homes. The 2200-hectare Jamieson Track blaze razed 98 homes in Wye River and 18 at Separation Creek. The fire stopped just 500 meters short of Kennett River. A dousing of rain on Saturday was unlikely to do much in the long term as this blaze could continue into January or February, says emergency management commissioner Craig Lapsley. No injuries are reported. (Sky News) (BBC) (The Guardian) 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season Storm Eva Heavy rain from the fifth officially named storm of the season leads to serious flooding across Lancashire and Yorkshire in northern England. (BBC) Tornadoes of 2015 The death toll in the spring-like, tornado-laden storms that began Wednesday in the American South has risen to 18 with additional tornadoes hitting north-central Alabama Friday and one outside of Dallas, Texas, today. (NBC News) (USA Today) December 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake Officials report at least four people died and more than 100 were injured, most in Pakistan, after Friday night's 6.3 magnitude earthquake in northeast Afghanistan. Casualty numbers may change since rescue teams have not reached all affected areas. (Latin American Herald Tribune) International relations China's Foreign Ministry announces French journalist Ursula Gauthier of news magazine L'Obs would not be issued press credentials for 2016, effectively expelling her at the end of month. Gauthier allegedly made speculative reports on the deadly attack at a coal mine in Xinjiang. (The Washington Post) (ABC Australia) Law and crime In the Louisville community of St. Matthews, Kentucky, US, disruptive behavior by a crowd of up to 2,000 teenagers and young adults, including numerous fights and unconfirmed reports of gunshots fired, causes Mall St. Matthews, one of the largest shopping malls in the state, to close early. Despite the unrest, no arrests were made and only minor injuries were reported. (NBC News) Current events of December 27, 2015 (2015-12-27) (Sunday) Armed conflicts and attacks Iraqi Civil War (2014–present) Battle of Ramadi The Iraqi Army declares victory over Islamic State militants as their forces retake an important government compound in Ramadi. (Reuters) (CNN) Boko Haram insurgency Boko Haram militants attack the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri with rocket-propelled grenades and multiple suicide bombers. At least 30 people are reportedly killed. (AP via The Washington Post) A twin suicide-bomb attack carried out by two female suicide bombers at a market in the town of Madagali, Adamawa state, leaves over 25 people dead. (BBC) Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL Tishrin Dam offensive The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, seize control of the strategic Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates in eastern Aleppo from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant forces. (Rudaw) Disasters and accidents 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season Storm Eva Thousands of people are evacuated from their homes as flood waters continue to rise across large parts of northern England, with York particularly badly affected. (BBC) Tornadoes of 2015, 2015–16 North American winter, 2015–2016 El Niño event At least 11 people are killed as tornadoes strike Dallas, Texas, and five people die in a flash flood in Illinois. A total of 34 people have died in this week's smörgåsbord of storms that started Wednesday. Mark Wiley of the National Weather Service says this rare run of December tornado storms in the South and Midwest, and spring-like temperatures across much of the North and East, in part to a strong El Niño. (USA Today) (AP via The Greeneville Sun) Missouri governor Jay Nixon declares a state of emergency as widespread flash flooding continues to impact the midwestern state. (Fox2Now) Sports Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps will coach the sport at Arizona State University upon his presumed retirement following the 2016 Olympics. (NPR) (The Arizona Republic) Current events of December 28, 2015 (2015-12-28) (Monday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War At least 32 people are killed and 90 injured following a car bomb and suicide-bomb attack in the al-Zahra district of the Syrian city of Homs. (Reuters) Under a United Nations agreement, vehicles are set to ferry scores of insurgents from rebel-held Al-Zabadani to Turkey. Families from two besieged Shi'ite towns in the mainly rebel-held Idlib province are also headed to the border and will eventually fly on to Beirut. (Reuters) (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) War in Afghanistan (2015–present) A car bomb near Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport, that was targeting a NATO convoy passing through the area, kills one civilian and injures 33 others. The Taliban claim responsibility. (AFP via Yahoo News) (Reuters via NBC News) Business and economics Whole Foods agrees to pay $500,000 to resolve a New York City Department of Consumer Affairs investigation that the supermarket chain charged too much for some prepackaged foods at its New York City stores. (NBC News) (CNN) Disasters and accidents Queensland, Australia, authorities revise the estimated amount of sulphuric acid leaked from Sunday's 26-carriage Aurizon freight train derailment near Julia Creek to 31,500 liters. The train was carrying 819,000 liters, not 200,000 liters as originally thought. Flinders Highway remains closed in both directions. (Sky News) (ABC Australia) 2015 Shenzhen landslide A Chinese official who sanctioned a dump of construction debris that led to a deadly landslide in the southern city of Shenzhen that killed at least 7 people and has left over 70 missing, kills himself by jumping from a building in the city’s Nanshan district, according to the South China Morning Post. (TIME) International relations Japan–South Korea relations Japan and South Korea agree to 'irreversibly' resolve a long-running dispute over Korean women the Japanese military used as sex slaves during World War II. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe will issue a formal apology to the so-called "comfort women." Tokyo will set up an aid fund of about 1 billion yen ($8.3 million). (USA Today) (Reuters) European migrant crisis Germany recruits 8,500 teachers to provide special German language lessons for 196,000 Syrian child refugees. (The Independent) (CNN) Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action Eleven tons of enriched uranium are on a ship heading from Iran to Russia, per the July 14th international agreement. Iran delivers 200 tons of Russian yellowcake in return. The International Atomic Energy Agency will decide when Tehran has complied with its obligations which would make dismantling of economic sanctions possible. (AP) (BBC) (Mehr) Law and crime A police officer storms the police headquarters in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, and shoots dead three fellow officers, including a commanding officer. Authorities say Guarionex Candelario, 50, was arrested for the killings shortly afterwards and taken to hospital for minor injuries. (NY Daily News) A U.S. grand jury decides not to bring charges against a Cleveland policeman over the killing of 12 year old Tamir Rice. (BBC) Guatemalan Gustavo Alejos Cambara, once private secretary to former President Álvaro Colom, turns himself in to authorities on charges related to government medicine procurement corruption. (AP) Politics and elections Polish constitutional crisis, 2015 The leader of Poland's Democracy Defence Committee, Mateusz Kijowski, says the government has "broken the country" after Polish President, Andrzej Duda, enacted a measure curbing the powers of the country's highest legislative court, the Constitutional Tribunal, despite protests and warnings from the European Union. Kijowski further called for foreign intervention in the country from "Europe and the United States" to topple the Law and Justice (PiS) government, saying "they must help us, otherwise Poland will leave the community of democracies". After news broke that Duda had signed into law the constitutional tribunal bill, he made a speech on television defending his move. Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza quoted U.S. sources saying Barack Obama had objections and had let it be known he would delay meeting Duda. The newspaper also suggested Poland’s hosting of the next NATO summit, planned for July 2016, was in the balance. (The Guardian) Sports In sailing, Comanche takes line honours to win the 2015 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. (SBS) Current events of December 29, 2015 (2015-12-29) (Tuesday) Armed conflicts and attacks War in North-West Pakistan A suicide-bomb attack outside the regional office of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in the northwestern Pakistani city of Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, leaves at least 26 people dead and 45 wounded. The militant Islamist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan splinter group, claims responsibility for the attack. (AP via New York Times) Syrian Civil War, Military intervention against ISIL The United States military announces that a key Islamic State leader with ties to the Paris attack terrorists was killed in a coalition airstrike on December 24, 2015. Charaffe al Mouadan is the tenth ISIL leader killed by an airstrike since December 7. (The Washington Post) (International Business Times) The French newspaper Le Monde claims that the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks were coordinated from Belgium by a single unidentified suspect. (Lemonde.fr) Business and economics American chemical giant DuPont announces that, in early 2016, it will cut 1,700 jobs in Delaware, about 28 percent of its home state workforce, and thousands more globally in connection as a result of the Dow Chemical Company merger. (The Washington Post) (AP via NBC news) (Delaware Online) Disasters and accidents 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season 2015 Great Britain and Ireland floods The 18th century Tadcaster Bridge, in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, partially collapses into the River Wharfe as a result of flooding. British Army soldiers evacuated people from nearby homes. (The Guardian) 2015 Flood in Missouri Missouri Governor Jay Nixon warns residents that the state faces historic flooding that likely will rival Great Flood of 1993 levels. Swollen rivers are still rising and won't crest for days. The Mississippi River is expected to reach nearly 15 feet above flood stage on Thursday. Nixon pleaded with drivers to stay off inundated roadways. Twelve of the 13 people killed from these recent storms died after their vehicles were swept from flooded roadways. (NBC News) (UPI) Health and medicine For the first time since March 2014, Guinea is declared free from Ebola virus transmissions by the World Health Organization. (New York Times) Law and crime Ethan Couch, the so-called “affluenza” teen who violated probation for killing four people when driving while intoxicated when he disappeared from Tarrant County, Texas, is taken into custody in Mexico. Mexican officials will remand Couch and his mother, with whom he fled, to the U.S. Marshals Service. (Reuters) Lebanese Customs seize five tonnes of Captagon amphetamine pills and Hashish, concealed in primary school desks that were to be shipped to Egypt, at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport. Meanwhile, security forces in northern Lebanon found two workshops producing Captagon and other drugs during a series of raids. The drug is infamous as being used by Islamist militants in the Syrian civil war. (Channel News Asia) Chicago, Illinois police officer, Jason Van Dyke, enters a not guilty plea regarding the charges of the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald. (New York Times) El Salvador's murder rate surges by 70% in 2015, an increase that may lead to the Central American nation edging out Honduras as the world's most murderous nation. (Reuters via Daily Mail) Politics and elections Eloy Inos, the Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands since 2013, dies in office. (Saipan Tribune) Lieutenant Governor Ralph Torres will be sworn in as Governor on December 29th. Victor Hocog will succeed Torres as Lieutenant Governor. (Marianas Variety) United States presidential election, 2016, Republican Party presidential candidates, 2016 Former Governor of New York, George Pataki, ends his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States. (USA Today) North Korea's state media says Kim Yang-gon, a top aide to supreme leader Kim Jong-un and secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), who was also in charge of ties with South Korea, dies in a car crash. (BBC) Current events of December 30, 2015 (2015-12-30) (Wednesday) Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War 2015 al-Qamishli bombings Several suicide-bomb attacks targeting Assyrian Christians celebrating New Year's Eve at restaurants in the Kurdish-controlled Syrian city of Al-Qamishli, Al-Hasakah Governorate, leave at least 16 people dead and 35 wounded. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant are suspected to be behind the bombings. (RT) 2015 Burundian unrest Burundi's President, Pierre Nkurunziza, says Burundians will fight against any African Union peacekeepers sent into the country in response to the ongoing crisis, "everyone has to respect Burundian borders," Nkurunziza said. The African Union said this earlier this month it was ready to send 5,000 peacekeepers to protect civilians caught up in months of violence. (Reuters) Business and economy South China Sea disputes The Philippines says it will join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank despite disputes between it and the bank's founder, China. (Rappler) Governor Alejandro García Padilla indicates Puerto Rico will default on bonds issued by the island’s Infrastructure Financing Authority and Public Finance Corporation. (New York Times) Disasters and Accidents 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season Storm Frank hits the United Kingdom and Ireland, contributing to the 2015 Great Britain and Ireland floods following previous heavy rainfall. (ITV News) International relations Iraqi Civil War (2014–present), Iraq–Turkey relations Iraq's Foreign Minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, renewed demands that Turkey fully withdraw its troops from northern Iraq, asserting that Turkey must respect Iraq's sovereignty or face potential military action. Last month the Turkish army mounted a big offensive invasion into Iraq's Kurdish territory including tanks and artillery without permission or even negotiation with the Iraqi government. (Reuters) War on Terror Belgium cancels New Year's Eve firework celebrations in Brussels amid fears of an Islamic terrorist attack in an unspecified European capital city. (Sky News) Law and crime Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations American entertainer Bill Cosby is charged with aggravated indecent assault in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The county's District Attorney-elect said his office is also examining evidence related to other cases. The current charges relate to one particular 2004 incident. (New York Times) 2015 Brussels lockdown Two Belgian policewomen and eight soldiers reportedly held an orgy at a police station in the Brussels neighbourhood of Ganshoren while colleagues hunted for the Paris terror attacks suspects. The police station was near Molenbeek, where anti-terror raids had been taking place. Police spokesman, Johan Berckmans, said “we have launched an investigation to find out what exactly happened". (The Guardian) Politics and elections Central African general election, 2015–16 Voters in the Central African Republic are heading to the polls for the rescheduled parliamentary elections and the first round of the presidential election, where 30 candidates are running to replace Acting President Catherine Samba-Panza. The presidential runoff election is scheduled for 31 January 2016. The Central African Republic has been rocked by unrest since the March 2013 coup of president François Bozizé by Séléka, a mostly Muslim alliance of anti-government groups. Thousands have died and about one million people have been displaced in the ongoing sectarian violence between Séléka and the Christian anti-balaka militia. The United Nations peacekeeping mission has promised a heavy security presence today. (AP via The Washington Post) (Pulse News Agency) Ballot counting is underway after a peaceful election day in this country plagued by years of sectarian violence. National Elections Authority President Marie-Madeleine Koue says at least 65 percent turnout was expected. (EuroNews) (Bloomberg via The National) Science and technology The freak weather system responsible for heavy rain and tornadoes in the U.S., and high winds and rainfall in the British Isles, also has impacted the Arctic where the average winter temperature is normally around −20 °F (−29 °C). Temperatures around the North Pole have surpassed the 32 °F (0 °C) threshold for a brief moment, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Ocean Prediction Center, which is 50 °F (27.8 °C) higher than usual for December. (The Washington Post) (South China Morning Post) (Sputnik News) Current events of December 31, 2015 (2015-12-31) (Thursday) Armed conflicts and attacks Terrorism in the European Union Belgian house raids result in the arrest of six people concerning a New Year's Eve celebrations' plot in Brussels, the nation's capital. (Reuters) Munich's main train station and the station in the city's western district of Pasing, are evacuated during New Year's Eve celebrations, and train service is stopped, because of potential ISIS suicide threats. A foreign security service, which wasn't identified, passed on information that five to seven suicide attackers are involved in the plot. (NBC News) (CNN) Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Rochester, New York, police arrest 25-year-old Emanuel Lutchman who allegedly planned to attack a local bar with knives and machetes and a pressure cooker bomb to prove he was worthy of joining the Islamic State group. Rochester cancels New Year's Eve fireworks. (AP via WITN) (Waltonian) Disasters and accidents 2015 Missouri flooding Record flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries that has closed major highways, forced evacuations, and overflowed levees, continues to threaten the Midwestern United States where at least 24 have died. The Mississippi is expected to crest in the next few days in Thebes, Illinois, at 47.5 feet, breaking the 1995 record by more than a foot and a half (46 cm). And now periods of below-freezing air will cause some flooded areas to turn icy. (Reuters) (AccuWeather) (Chicago Tribune) Air Canada Flight 88, a scheduled flight from Shanghai to Toronto, diverts to Calgary International Airport after the aircraft, a Boeing 777, encountered violent turbulence. Twenty-one passengers, including three children, were taken to hospital. (CBC) A fire breaks out at The Address Downtown Dubai hotel. Fourteen people are reported as injured, with one indirect casualty. (CNN) Law and crime Russian President Vladimir Putin signs an amendment to Russia's law regarding the regulation of the use of weapons, giving the FSB the authority to use lethal force on crowds in order to "prevent acts of terrorism, rescue hostages, or repel attacks on public buildings." (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) The Indonesian government plans an appeal to a South Sumatra court's rejection of a Rp 7.8 trillion (SGD 780 million) lawsuit against a pulp and paper company accused of contributing to the recurring Southeast Asian hazes, particularly the recent incident of hazes in 2015. (BBC News) (AFP via The Straits Times) Politics and elections The Venezuelan Supreme Court bars four incoming lawmakers (three from the opposition and one from the ruling Socialist party) from taking office, putting the opposition's two-thirds legislative "supermajority" at risk, won via a landslide victory in the December 6 election by just one seat. The court is yet to specify the quorum for the new House, which would determine the number of seats needed for a two-thirds majority. The new National Assembly convenes Tuesday. (AP via Fox News Latino) (Latin American Herald Tribune)

<< December 2015 >> S M T W T F S 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 Political War in Afghanistan Boko Haram insurgency Burundian unrest Iraqi Civil War Military intervention against ISIL American-led Iranian Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015) Lebanese anti-government protests Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Nepal fuel crisis PKK rebellion Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention Second Libyan Civil War Sinai insurgency South China Sea disputes Syrian Civil War American-led intervention Russian military intervention War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Sports 2015-16 UEFA Champions League 2015–16 La Liga season 2015–16 NBA season 2015–16 NHL season 2015–16 Premier League season More details on ongoing conflicts below  Recent deaths December 29: Pavel Srníček 29: Kim Yang-gon 28: Eloy Inos 28: Lemmy 28: Tiffany Leong 28: Ian Murdock 27: Stein Eriksen 27: Ellsworth Kelly 27: Meadowlark Lemon 27: Alfredo Pacheco 27: Haskell Wexler 27: Stevie Wright 25: Zahran Alloush 25: George Clayton Johnson 25: Jim Carlton 25: Robert Spitzer 24: William Guest 23: Don Howe 23: Bülent Ulusu 20: Patricia Elliott 19: Jimmy Hill 19: Greville Janner 19: Kurt Masur 18: Léon Mébiame 16: Gabre Gabric 16: Bob Krause 15: Licio Gelli 15: Kathy Secker 15: Harry Zvi Tabor 14: Scat Daddy 14: Glen Sonmor 14: Lillian Vernon 13: Benedict Anderson 13: John Bannon 12: Abu Ali al-Anbari 12: Jon Gadsby 12: Sharad Anantrao Joshi 12: Evelyn S. Lieberman 12: I. Howard Marshall 11: Harry Butler 11: John "Hot Rod" Williams 10: Ron Bouchard 10: Arnold Peralta 10: Dolph Schayes 9: Juvenal Juvêncio 8: Gus Gil 8: Alan Hodgkinson 8: Douglas Tompkins 8: John Trudell 8: Elsie Tu 7: Ko Chun-hsiung 7: Gerhard Lenski 7: Shirley Stelfox 6: Ken Beatrice 6: Nicholas Smith 6: Holly Woodlawn 5: Zafar Altaf 5: William McIlvanney 5: Hack Meyers 5: Tibor Rubin 5: Chuck Williams 4: Robert Loggia 4: Xu Ming 4: Yossi Sarid 3: Gladstone Anderson 3: Shared Belief 3: Scott Weiland 2: Sandy Berger 2: John Eaton 2: Gabriele Ferzetti 2: A. Sheriff 1: Joseph Engelberger 1: Jim Loscutoff  Ongoing conflicts Africa Algeria, Tunisia and Niger Maghreb insurgency Central African Republic Civil war Democratic Republic of the Congo Kivu conflict ADF insurgency Katanga insurgency Ituri conflict Lord's Resistance Army insurgency Libya Civil war Mali Northern Mali conflict Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger Boko Haram insurgency Somalia Civil war South Sudan South Sudanese Civil War Sudan War in Darfur South Kordofan conflict Americas Colombian conflict Internal conflict in Peru Mexican War on Drugs Asia Afghanistan War China Xinjiang conflict India Naxalite–Maoist insurgency Insurgency in Northeast India India and Pakistan Kashmir conflict Pakistan War in North-West Pakistan Balochistan conflict Philippines CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion Moro conflict Moro conflict in Sabah Southeast Asia Internal conflict in Burma Papua conflict South Thailand insurgency Europe Georgia Abkhaz–Georgian conflict Georgian–Ossetian conflict Chechen–Russian conflict North Caucasus insurgency War in Ingushetia Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nagorno-Karabakh conflict Ukraine War in Donbass Russian military intervention in Ukraine Middle East Arab–Israeli conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Israeli–Lebanese conflict Israeli–Palestinian conflict Egypt Sinai insurgency Iran Iran–PJAK conflict Iraqi civil war American-led intervention in Iraq Iranian intervention in Iraq Syrian Civil War American-led intervention in Syria Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon Turkey Turkey–PKK conflict Turkey–ISIL conflict Yemeni crisis Houthi rebellion Al-Qaeda insurgency South Yemen insurgency  Elections and Referendums Recent December 3: Denmark, EU referendum 3–5: Seychelles, President (1st round) 6: Armenia, Constitutional referendum 6: Venezuela, National Assembly 9: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, House of Assembly 13: Central African Republic, Constitutional referendum 16–18: Seychelles, President (2nd round) 18: Rwanda, Constitutional referendum 20: Slovenia, Same-sex marriage referendum 20: Spain, Cortes Generales 30: Central African Republic, President, National Assembly (1st round) 30: Kiribati, House of Assembly (1st round) Upcoming January 16: Taiwan, President, Legislative Yuan 24: Portugal, President  Trials Recently concluded Australia: Brett Peter Cowan, Craig Thomson, Robert Hughes Brazil: Mensalão scandal Canada: Luka Magnotta China: Ji Jianye, Li Chuncheng, Jiang Jiemin, Liao Shaohua, Ni Fake, Chen Baihuai, Zhou Yongkang, Gu Junshan Croatia: Ivo Sanader Egypt: Hosni Mubarak, Peter Greste, Mohamed Morsi Germany: Bernie Ecclestone, Uli Hoeness, Christian Wulff Iran: Mohammad Reza Rahimi Israel: Hussam Qawasmeh Jordan: Abu Qatada Philippines: Joseph Scott Pemberton Romania: Liviu Dragnea, Dan Diaconescu Russia: Leonid Khabarov, Eston Kohver, Vladimir Kvachkov South Africa: Shrien Dewani, Oscar Pistorius Turkey: Kenan Evren, Tahsin Şahinkaya United Kingdom: Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, Kweku Adoboli, Tony McCluskie, Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, Chris Huhne, Nicola Edgington, Vicky Pryce, Derek Rose, Mick Philpott, Mairead Philpott, Paul Mosley, Stuart Hazell, Mark Bridger, Andrew Lancel, Dale Cregan, Ray Wilkins, Liam Adams, R v Grillo and Grillo, Ian Watkins, William Roache, Dave Lee Travis, Nicholas Jacobs, Nigel Evans, Max Clifford, Stuart Hall, Dappy, Rebekah Brooks, Andy Coulson, Rolf Harris, Tulisa Contostavlos, Chris Denning, Ray Teret, Gary Glitter, Fred Talbot United States: Abu Hamza al-Masri, Michael Grimm, Jesse Jackson Jr., Bob McDonnell, Vilma Bautista, Jared Lee Loughner, Lauryn Hill, Kermit Gosnell, George Zimmerman, Chelsea Manning, Ariel Castro, Whitey Bulger, Robert Bales, Nidal Malik Hasan, Jodi Arias, Anas al-Libi, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, James Eagan Holmes, Sheldon Silver International ECCC: Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan ICC: Germain Katanga ICTY: Momčilo Perišić, Mladen Markač, Ante Gotovina, Zdravko Tolimir Ongoing China: Yao Mugen, Guo Youming, Zhu Zuoli Germany: Beate Zschäpe Iran: Babak Zanjani, Jason Rezaian Philippines: Andal Ampatuan, Jr., Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Janet Lim-Napoles, Jovito Palparan Romania: Darius Vâlcov, Dan Șova, Elena Udrea, Radu Mazăre, Gheorghe Nichita, Marian Vanghelie, Cătălin Voicu, Relu Fenechiu, Gheorghe Ștefan, Gabriel Sandu, Dorin Cocoş, Dumitru Nicolae Russia: Alexei Navalny South Korea: MV Sewol crew members United States: Dean Skelos International ICTY: Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić PCA: China Upcoming China: Wu Changshun, Ling Jihua Estonia: Edgar Savisaar Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Spain: Lionel Messi United States: Paul Anthony Ciancia, Javaris Crittenton, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Dylan Quick, Aaron Hernandez, Graham Spanier, Tim Curley, Gary Schultz, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Rick Perry International ICC: Laurent Gbagbo

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