Portal:Current events
Topics in the news
- President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol is impeached (signing pictured) following his declaration of martial law.
- Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at the Game Awards.
- Gukesh Dommaraju defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship.
- Syrian rebel forces capture Damascus following multiple offensives as overthrown president Bashar al-Assad flees to Russia.
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- Operation Dawn of Freedom, Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war
- 2024 Kobani offensive
- The Turkish Armed Forces and pro-Turkish rebel groups amass troops on the Syria–Turkey border outside of Kobani, Aleppo Governorate, Syria, and along the nearby Qarqozak Bridge, following several breaches in an internationally-brokered temporary ceasefire agreement between them and the Syrian Democratic Forces. (Enab Baladi) (Roj News)
- Iraqi water experts issue warnings regarding cracks that have formed in the Tishrin Dam in Aleppo Governorate following continuous bombardment by Turkish and pro-Turkish forces and the possibility of further damage causing a dam failure. (Waradana)
- 2024 Kobani offensive
- Operation Dawn of Freedom, Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war
- Somali Civil War
- Puntland–Somaliland dispute
- Las Anod conflict
- Two Somaliland troops are killed and eight others are injured in fighting between Somaliland and SSC-Khatumo forces in Erigavo, Sanaag, Somalia. (Idil News)
- Las Anod conflict
- At least eight people were killed and ten others injured in a deadly inter-clan conflict in a rural area under the El Buur district of Galgadud region in south-central Somalia (Hiiraan Online)
- Puntland–Somaliland dispute
Disasters and accidents
- 2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Chido kills two people and causes "catastrophic" damage to the island of Mayotte, with many more feared dead on the island. (France 24) (RFI)
Law and crime
- One police officer is killed and at least two others are injured in an explosion in Dnipro, Ukraine. (Ukrinform)
Politics and elections
- 2024 Georgian presidential election
- President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili states that she will not recognize the scheduled presidential election results as legitimate due to the election not being a direct vote, and repeats her intention to remain as president until new parliamentary elections are held. (Anadolu Agency)
- Georgian Dream candidate Mikheil Kavelashvili is elected as president by the electoral college. Major opposition parties do not participate in the vote, having boycotted Parliament since the parliamentary election in October. (CNN)
- Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol
- South Korea's National Assembly votes to impeach president Yoon Suk Yeol over his recent attempt to impose martial law. (The Guardian)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- Israel and the Syrian civil war
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
- Syrian sources report that Israeli forces met with village dignitaries in the Yarmouk Basin area of Daraa Governorate, instructing them to surrender all weapons in the villages and for villagers to comply with home searches. (Erem News) (Sada El-Balad)
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
- US intervention in the Syrian civil war
- The U.S. military evacuates American citizen Travis Timmerman out of Syria after Timmerman had previously been reported missing in the country. (NBC News)
- Israel and the Syrian civil war
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Moldova and the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The Parliament of Moldova votes in favor of declaring a 60-day national state of emergency beginning on December 16 due to Ukraine not renewing its transit contract with Gazprom to deliver Russian gas to Moldova. (Reuters)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Russia launches one of its largest attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the conflict began, with about 290 missiles fired and drones striking multiple regions. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that the attack was in response to a recent Ukrainian ATACMS attack on Taganrog-Central air base in Rostov Oblast, Russia. (The Kyiv Independent) (UNN)
- Moldova and the Russo-Ukrainian War
- Israel–Hamas war
- December 2024 Nuseirat refugee camp attack
- The number of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp yesterday increases to 33, most of whom are from the same family. 84 others are reported to be either injured or missing. (Al Jazeera)
- December 2024 Nuseirat refugee camp attack
- Sudanese civil war
- Darfur campaign
- Nine people are killed and 20 others are injured in a Rapid Support Forces airstrike on a hospital in Al-Fashir, North Darfur, Sudan. (Reuters)
- Darfur campaign
Disasters and accidents
- 2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Cyclone Chido destroys most of Agaléga, Mauritius. (L'Express) (Le Mauricien)
- Six people are killed and 66 others are injured in a fire at a nursing home in Amman, Jordan. (Reuters)
- Three people are killed and 48 are injured in a bombing during a fair in Umphang District, Tak Province, Thailand. Two suspects are arrested. (Thai PBS)
Health and environment
- Opioid epidemic in the United States
- McKinsey & Company agrees to pay $650 million and enter a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve criminal charges related to its advisory work for Purdue Pharma on increasing OxyContin sales, including conspiracy to misbrand a drug and obstruction of justice. (Al Jazeera)
International relations
- Syria–Ukraine relations
- Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war
- The Ukrainian government says that it is ready to supply food to Syria after Russia suspended wheat supplies to Syria amid uncertainty about the new government and payment delays. (Reuters)
- Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war
Law and crime
- Israel–Hamas war
- A court in The Hague, Netherlands, rejects a request by 10 pro-Palestinian NGOs for the Netherlands to stop arms exports to Israel. (Reuters)
- Former Chinese footballer and coach Li Tie is sentenced to 20 years in prison for bribery and match-fixing. (CNN)
Politics and elections
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- Operation Dawn of Freedom
- 2024 Manbij offensive
- Large-scale protests occur in Manbij, Aleppo Governorate, Syria, against pro-Turkish Dawn of Freedom Operations Room revenge killings and crimes against civilians. (SOHR)
- Pro-Turkish factions are filmed executing dozens of surrendered prisoners of the pro-Kurdish Manbij Military Council and Syrian Democratic Forces. (SOHR)
- 2024 Kobani offensive
- Turkish military forces and the pro-Turkish Dawn of Freedom Operations Room launch an attack with tanks and drones against the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates river, which the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights warns could trigger a dam failure and a severe humanitarian crisis. (SOHR)
- 2024 Manbij offensive
- Israel and the Syrian civil war
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
- Syrian residents of the villages of Hader, Hamidiya, and Umm Batna in Quneitra Governorate are displaced from their homes after Israeli military forces enter the villages with military vehicles. (SOHR)
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
- Fall of the Assad regime
- At least six civilians are reported to have been killed by gunfire in celebration of the fall of the Assad regime. (SOHR)
- Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war
- Satellite images and MarineTraffic data confirm that the Russian Navy has abandoned its naval base in the port city of Tartus. (The Telegraph)
- Syrian peace process
- The Syrian transitional government announces that the constitution and parliament will be suspended during the three-month transitional period. (Al Arabiya)
- Operation Dawn of Freedom
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Four police officers are injured in a drone attack on the barracks of a police regiment building in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. (Kyiv Independent)
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Islamic State–Taliban conflict
- The Islamic State – Khorasan Province claims responsibility for yesterday's suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, which killed acting Minister of Refugee and Repatriation Khalil Haqqani and several other people. (AP)
Arts and culture
- United States president-elect Donald Trump is named Person of the Year by Time magazine. (BBC News)
- Astro Bot wins Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2024. (Polygon)
Disasters and accidents
- Seven people including a child are killed and thirty-five others are injured in a fire at a private hospital in Dindigul, Tamil Nadu, India. (The Times of India)
- 2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
- Tropical Cyclone Chido makes landfall over Agaléga, Mauritius. (Crisis24)
International relations
Law and crime
- Federal pardons in the United States
- U.S. President Joe Biden announces pardons for 39 people convicted of non-violent offenses, and commutes the sentences of 1,500 others who had been released from prison to house arrest during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is considered the "largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history". (AP)
- A Danish court sentences British hedge fund trader Sanjay Shah to 12 years in prison for tax fraud. (The National)
Science and technology
- Edith Heard, biologist specialist of epigenetics and director-general of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, is awarded the CNRS Gold Medal, France's highest research award. (CNRS - Le Journal)
Sports
- World Chess Championship 2024
- Gukesh Dommaraju defeats Ding Liren to win the World Chess Championship 7½-6½, becoming the youngest ever chess champion at the age of 18 years. (Sportstar)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Somali Civil War
- Constitutional crisis in Somalia
- 2024 Jubaland presidential election
- Battle of Ras Kamboni
- Somali forces launch a failed attack on Jubaland regional forces, with Jubaland capturing hundreds of Somali soldiers and claiming to have fully taken over Ras Kamboni, Lower Juba, Somalia. (Reuters) (Idil News) (Garowe Online)
- Battle of Ras Kamboni
- 2024 Jubaland presidential election
- Constitutional crisis in Somalia
- Israel–Hamas war
- Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
- Siege of North Gaza
- At least 29 people are killed in Israeli airstrikes on civilian areas in Beit Lahia, North Gaza Governorate, Gaza. (Al Jazeera)
- Siege of North Gaza
- An Israeli boy is killed and three others are injured by a Palestinian gunman attack on a bus in Al-Khader, West Bank. (The Times of Israel)
- Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
- Russo-Ukrainian War
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The United States Department of State approves a $266.4 million sale of F-16 maintenance equipment to Ukraine. (Ukrainska Pravda) (DSCA) (Newsweek)
- The Parliament of Canada approves the allocation of CA$764 million (US$587 million) in military aid to Ukraine. (Ukrainska Pravda)
- United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- Syrian civil war
- Fall of the Assad regime
- Armed men raid and set fire to the tomb of former president Hafez al-Assad and also conduct attacks on other tombs and graves in Qardaha District, Latakia Governorate, Syria. (SOHR)
- Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian civil war
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights urges Syria's military leadership to prevent ongoing sectarian riots, looting, and assaults on civilians from armed groups. (SOHR)
- The Federal Foreign Office of Germany announces an additional €8 million (US$8.4 million) in humanitarian aid to Syria following the fall of the Assad regime. (APA)
- Fall of the Assad regime
- Haitian crisis
- Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, reopens after it was closed in November when a Spirit Airlines aircraft was struck by gunfire. (DW)
- Islamic State–Taliban conflict
- Afghanistan's acting Minister of Refugee and Repatriation Khalil Haqqani and five other people are killed in a suicide bombing at the Ministry's headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Reuters)
- Israel–Hezbollah conflict
- Five civilians are killed in Israeli airstrikes in Ainata, Bint Jbeil, and Beit Lif, Lebanon, despite the agreed ceasefire with Hezbollah. (Al Jazeera)
- Sudanese civil war
- Amnesty International reports that Sudan is currently facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with over 30 million people at risk or in need of humanitarian aid. (DW)
Business and economy
- Proposed acquisition of Albertsons by Kroger
- American grocery store company Albertsons of Boise, Idaho backs out of a $24.6 billion merger deal between Cincinnati-based grocer Kroger and files a lawsuit against them that includes a $600 million termination fee. (ABC News)
Disasters and accidents
- One person is killed in a fire and explosion at a residential high-rise apartment building in Shenzhen, China. (Reuters)
- Fourty-four people are presumed dead from drowning when a boat carrying refugees from Sierra Leone capsizes on its way from Sfax, Tunisia, to Europe. (DW)
Law and crime
- Two United States foreign nationals from California are killed in a shooting by unidentified gunmen in Michoacán, Mexico. (ABC News)
Health and environment
- Environmental issues in Iran
- Iran announces that all government offices, universities, and schools in Tehran province will be closed for two days due to severe air pollution. (AP)
Politics and elections
- 2024 South Korean martial law
- A special investigations team conducts a raid on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's office, the National Police Agency headquarters, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency headquarters, and the office of the National Assembly's security service, as part of an investigation into Yoon's failed attempt at imposing martial law last week. (DW)
- Jailed former national defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, who allegedly helped President Yoon Suk Yeol impose martial law, attempts suicide while in custody. (BBC News)
- 2024 United Kingdom farmers' protests
- Hundreds of tractors block Whitehall in protest of Labour government changes to agricultural inheritance tax. (The Independent)
Sports
- 2034 FIFA World Cup
- FIFA announces that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. (Khaleej Times)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- 2024 Syrian opposition offensives
- Operation Dawn of Freedom
- 2024 Manbij offensive
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports that pro-Turkish factions have begun sectarian reprisal attacks killing at least three Kurdish civilians in Manbij, Aleppo Governorate, Syria, as well as burning and looting civilian homes. (SOHR)
- Pro-Turkish factions impose a siege on several neighborhoods in Manbij, prompting humanitarian concerns of potential massacres and kidnappings. (SOHR)
- The SOHR reports that the Free Syrian Army-affiliated Dawn of Freedom Brigades performed a field execution of dozens of injured pro-Kurdish Manbij Military Council soldiers who had been receiving hospital treatment. (SOHR)
- Deir ez-Zor offensive
- The Military Operations Command says that its forces have taken full control of Deir ez-Zor following days of clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces. (Trend News Agency)
- 2024 Manbij offensive
- Israel and the Syrian civil war
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
- Regional security sources report that Israeli troops have reached the city of Qatana in Rif Dimashq Governorate, 10 km into Syrian territory and 25 km southwest of Damascus. (Reuters)
- The Israeli Navy attacks and destroys most of the Syrian Navy's fleet at anchor in the Port of Latakia, including Osa-class missile boats and minesweepers. (MSN) (Naval News)
- Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Saudi Arabia condemn Israel's actions in Syria and the United Nations special envoy for Syria calls on Israel to stop its military movements and bombardments inside Syria. (The Times of Israel)
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
- Operation Dawn of Freedom
- Eastern Syria insurgency
- The Islamic State summarily executes 54 Syrian Army soldiers captured near Al-Sukhnah, Homs Governorate. (SOHR)
- 2024 Syrian opposition offensives
- Israel–Hamas war
- Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
- The United Nations reports that humanitarian aid has been blocked from entering the Gaza Strip for at least 66 days, leaving at least 65,000 Palestinians without food, water, electricity, and healthcare. (AP)
- Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
- Sudanese civil war
- Battle of Khartoum
- At least 65 people are killed and hundreds of others are injured in Rapid Support Forces artillery shelling on a market in Karary District, Khartoum State, Sudan. (Anadolu Agency) (Sudan Tribune)
- Darfur campaign
- At least 100 people are killed and 37 others are injured in a Sudanese Air Force airstrike on Kabkabiya District, North Darfur, Sudan. (Business Recorder) (Sudan War Monitor) (BBC News)
- Battle of Khartoum
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Southern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian missile strike on a private clinic in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, kills four civilians and injures 20 others. (Interfax Ukraine) (Al Arabiya)
- Southern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Insurgency in Balochistan
- One Pakistani soldier and 15 separatist militants are killed in an operation in Zhob District, Balochistan, Pakistan (Arab News)
Arts and culture
- Filipino singer Sofronio Vasquez wins the 26th season of The Voice, becoming the first Filipino and Asian contestant to win a season of the show. (MSN)
Business and economy
- Proposed acquisition of Albertsons by Kroger
- U.S. federal judge Adrienne Nelson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon blocks a $24.6 billion bid by Kroger to acquire stores from Albertsons. (Bloomberg Law)
Disasters and accidents
- 2024 California wildfires
- In Malibu, California, United States, the Franklin Fire spreads to more than 2,800 acres, prompting over 20,000 people to evacuate. (KABC-TV)
International relations
- Switzerland–Syria relations
- Refugees of the Syrian civil war
- Switzerland suspends all new and pending asylum requests and announces that they will review their asylum policy following the fall of the Assad regime. (The Economic Times)
- Refugees of the Syrian civil war
- Belarus–Russia relations, Nuclear risk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirms the presence of nuclear weapons in his country, including Russia's Oreshnik missile system. (AP)
Law and crime
- The Russian Federal Security Service arrests a German-Russian man for allegedly planning to sabotage a rail line in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, on behalf of the Security Service of Ukraine. (DW)
Politics and elections
- Kenya Police fire tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators in Nairobi, Kenya, protesting against gender-based violence and femicide. Protests also took place in Mombasa and Lodwar, with at least three people arrested. (Al Jazeera) (Africanews)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian civil war
- 2024 Syrian opposition offensives
- Operation Dawn of Freedom
- 2024 Al-Mustariha massacre
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that a Turkish drone strike on the village of Al-Mustariha in Raqqa Governorate, Syria, kills eleven family members, including six children. (SOHR)
- 2024 Manbij offensive
- The opposition Syrian National Army takes control of the city of Manbij, with 50 people killed in fighting between the Syrian National Army and the Syrian Democratic Forces. (LiveUA) (The Jerusalem Post) (SOHR)
- 2024 Al-Mustariha massacre
- Fall of Damascus
- Fall of the Assad regime
- Lieutenant General Ali Mahmoud, Maher al-Assad's office manager and leader of several Syrian civil war campaigns, is found dead in his office in a suburb of Damascus. (SOHR) (Naharnet)
- The White Helmets civil defense organization announces they have freed over 20,000 prisoners from Sednaya Prison, with over 10,000 others unaccounted for. They report that there are areas of the prison hidden underground that they do not have access codes to, but can see prisoners on security cameras. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
- Fall of the Assad regime
- Operation Dawn of Freedom
- Israel and the Syrian civil war
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz orders the Israeli Defense Forces to quickly occupy the entire Syrian buffer zone and to establish a new security zone further into southern Syria free of all insurgent infrastructure and heavy weapons. (Israel Hayom)
- The Israeli Air Force launches several airstrikes on the city of Daraa and also carries out a series of airstrikes on Syrian Air Force bases, destroying the Syrian Air Force's entire fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets. (Erem News) (VIN News)
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
- 2024 Syrian opposition offensives
- Israel–Hamas war
- Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Blockade of the Gaza Strip
- At least 50 Palestinians are killed and 84 others are injured in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, including ten at a flour distribution zone in Rafah. (Al Jazeera)
- Israeli–Palestinian peace process
- Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Blockade of the Gaza Strip
- Haitian crisis
- At least 110 elderly people are killed in Cité Soleil, Haiti, following accusations by a gang leader that the people practiced witchcraft against the gang leader's child. (France24)
- Myanmar civil war
- The Arakan Army announces their capture of Maungdaw, Rakhine State, giving them full control over the Bangladesh–Myanmar border. (AP News)
- Sudanese civil war
- Twenty-eight people are killed and 37 others are injured in a bombing on a petrol station in Mayo, Khartoum, Sudan. (The Peninsula) (Ommcom News)
Disasters and accidents
- 2024 Kanlaon eruption
- PHIVOLCS raises the alert level of the Kanlaon Volcano in the Philippines to Level 3 after an explosive eruption occurred at the summit vent. (Rappler)
- 2024 The Hague explosion
- The rescue operation at the scene of an explosion at several apartments in The Hague, Netherlands, two days ago, officially ends, with the final toll being six people killed and five others injured. (Euronews)
- Five people are killed and 26 others are injured after an explosion at an Eni factory in Calenzano, Metropolitan City of Florence, Italy. (Rai News)
- Ten people are killed and two others are missing in floods and landslides in Sukabumi, West Java, Indonesia. (AP)
- A fishing boat collides with a sand barge near Gyeongju, South Korea, killing seven people with another person missing. (AP)
- Two military helicopters collide during a training flight in Isparta, Turkey, killing six soldiers. (Daily Sabah) (AP)
- At least seven people are killed and 42 others are injured when a bus rams into several vehicles and pedestrians in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The bus driver is detained by local police. (DW) (The Indian Express)
International relations
- Austria–Syria relations, Germany–Syria relations
- Refugees of the Syrian civil war
- Austria and Germany announce that they will freeze all new and ongoing asylum applications by Syrians and will review previous asylum claims by Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime. (Euronews)
- Refugees of the Syrian civil war
- Australia–Nauru relations
- Australia and Nauru announce a joint security treaty that will see Australia sending Nauru AU$100 million (US$64 million) in direct support over five years in exchange for Nauru consulting Australia before signing any bilateral agreements with other countries. (DW) (Nikkei Asia)
Law and crime
- Killing of Brian Thompson
- A suspect is arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States, for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (CNN)
- China launches an investigation into American chip manufacturer Nvidia over suspected violations of China's anti-monopoly law. (CNA)
- 2024 Indian bomb hoaxes
- At least 40 schools in New Delhi, India, receive bomb threats and a $30,000 ransom demand via e-mail on the same day. No evidence of explosives are found. (DW) (BBC News)
Politics and elections
- 2024 Azad Kashmir protests
- The local government of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, repeals an executive order that banned protests following four days of shutter-down demonstrations in May. (Al Jazeera) (Daily Express)
- 2024 South Korean martial law
- The South Korean Corruption Investigation Office imposes a blanket travel ban on President Yoon Suk Yeol for his failed attempt at imposing martial law last week. (Al Jazeera) (Kyodo News)
- Syrian peace process
- Syrian opposition leader Mohammed al-Bashir is appointed Prime Minister of the Syrian transitional government. (Al Jazeera)
- Prime Minister of Tonga Siaosi Sovaleni resigns ahead of a vote of no confidence. (Reuters)