Canadian-American anti-whaling activist Paul Watson is released from prison in Greenland after Denmark declines Japan's extradition request. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Two police officers are killed and three others are injured in a mass shooting at a security checkpoint in Shangla district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP) Three police officers are killed and two more are wounded by a roadside bomb targeting a vehicle carrying polio vaccination workers in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (ABC News)
Israeli invasion of Syria (2024–present) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz visit the summit of Mount Hermon in Syria, which was captured by the Israel Defense Forces last week. (The New York Times) The Israeli military continue invading Syria beyond the 1974 buffer zone in Quneitra Governorate and take control of the Al-Wehda Dam on the Yarmouk River. (JFeed)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz visit the summit of Mount Hermon in Syria, which was captured by the Israel Defense Forces last week. (The New York Times)
Killing of Brian Thompson A U.S. grand jury indicts Luigi Mangione for the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. (NBC News)
NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command center in Wiesbaden, Germany, takes over coordination of Western military support to Ukraine from the United States. (Reuters)
Operation Dawn of Freedom Senior American officials report that Turkey is building up its forces along the Syrian border, raising fears of a possible ground invasion on territories held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. (The Wall Street Journal)
Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the NBC Protection Troops, and his assistant are assassinated by an IED hidden inside of an e-scooter in Moscow, Russia. A Ukrainian source claims that the Security Service of Ukraine is responsible for the killings, after Kirillov was charged in absentia yesterday for the use of chemical weapons, which made him a "legitimate target". Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, says that the Ukrainian leadership would face an "imminent revenge" for the killings. (BBC News) (Deccan Herald)
Senior American officials report that Turkey is building up its forces along the Syrian border, raising fears of a possible ground invasion on territories held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. (The Wall Street Journal)
Three police officers are killed and two more are wounded by a roadside bomb targeting a vehicle carrying polio vaccination workers in Dera Ismail Khan District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (ABC News)
Two police officers are killed and three others are injured in a mass shooting at a security checkpoint in Shangla district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)
DHS finalized changes to modernize H-1B requirements, add F-1 program flexibility, and update parts of the nonimmigrant worker process.
2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings In his first direct comments on the issue, president Joe Biden states there is "nothing nefarious, apparently" and "no sense of danger so far" behind the aircraft sightings in the northeastern United States. (NBC News)
Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says that arms sent by France to Armenia pose a threat to Azerbaijan. (Trend News Agency)
In his first direct comments on the issue, president Joe Biden states there is "nothing nefarious, apparently" and "no sense of danger so far" behind the aircraft sightings in the northeastern United States. (NBC News)
China–United States relations Chinese espionage in the United States Two Americans of Chinese descent plead guilty to running a covert secret police surveillance station on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security to monitor, threaten and coerce ethnic Chinese in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. At least 100 such stations have been reported worldwide across 53 countries, with human rights monitoring NGOs accusing China of using the outposts to threaten and monitor Chinese nationals abroad. (BBC)
Chinese espionage in the United States Two Americans of Chinese descent plead guilty to running a covert secret police surveillance station on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security to monitor, threaten and coerce ethnic Chinese in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. At least 100 such stations have been reported worldwide across 53 countries, with human rights monitoring NGOs accusing China of using the outposts to threaten and monitor Chinese nationals abroad. (BBC)
Legal affairs of the Tate brothers The Westminster Magistrates' Court rules that British police may seize £2.2 million (US$2.5 million) from influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan for allegedly failing to pay taxes on profits from their online ventures. (DW)
Malaysia–United States relations The U.S. Department of Defense repatriates two al-Qaeda members, Mohammed Farik Bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, from Guantanamo Bay to Malaysia, where they will undergo a rehabilitation process before reintegration into society. (Reuters)
The state of California, United States, declares a state of emergency over bird flu. (The New York Times)
The Westminster Magistrates' Court rules that British police may seize £2.2 million (US$2.5 million) from influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan for allegedly failing to pay taxes on profits from their online ventures. (DW)
Two Americans of Chinese descent plead guilty to running a covert secret police surveillance station on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security to monitor, threaten and coerce ethnic Chinese in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. At least 100 such stations have been reported worldwide across 53 countries, with human rights monitoring NGOs accusing China of using the outposts to threaten and monitor Chinese nationals abroad. (BBC)
2024 Syrian opposition offensives Ahmed al-Sharaa, the emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, makes an announcement claiming that the country is exhausted by perpetual warfare and is no longer a threat to its neighbors or the Western world. (BBC News) The Military Operations Command forces take control of several towns in Raqqah Governorate, Syria. (SOHR) Iraq announces the repatriation of members of the Syrian Armed Forces who fled after the fall of the Assad regime through the Al-Qa'im border crossing, back to Syria. (Al Arabiya)
China–India relations Sino-Indian border dispute Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meet in Beijing, China, and reach a six-point consensus to maintain peace along the border, refine border management rules, resume cross-border exchanges, and work toward resolving border disputes. A follow-up meeting is planned to be held in India next year. (CNN)
Deportation and removal from the United States The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency reports 271,484 deportations in the past fiscal year, the most since 2014 and almost double of the previous fiscal year. (AP) (FOX News)
Georgia–United Kingdom relations, Georgia–United States relations, 2024 Georgian post-election protests The United Kingdom and the United States impose sanctions on Georgian officials, including Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, in response to alleged violent crackdowns on pro-European protests. (EFE)
Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meet in Beijing, China, and reach a six-point consensus to maintain peace along the border, refine border management rules, resume cross-border exchanges, and work toward resolving border disputes. A follow-up meeting is planned to be held in India next year. (CNN)
Operation Dawn of Freedom, Turkish involvement in the Syrian civil war 2024 Kobani clashes The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces vow to fight Turkey and pro-Turkish rebel groups in Kobani, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (Reuters)
Sino-Indian border dispute Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meet in Beijing, China, and reach a six-point consensus to maintain peace along the border, refine border management rules, resume cross-border exchanges, and work toward resolving border disputes. A follow-up meeting is planned to be held in India next year. (CNN)
2024 Kobani clashes The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces vow to fight Turkey and pro-Turkish rebel groups in Kobani, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (Reuters)
2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration bans the flying of drones over multiple cities in New Jersey citing "special security reasons". (WPVI-TV)
Hungary grants political asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who faces allegations of corruption in Poland. (Reuters)
Hungary–Poland relations Hungary grants political asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who faces allegations of corruption in Poland. (Reuters)
Iraq announces the repatriation of members of the Syrian Armed Forces who fled after the fall of the Assad regime through the Al-Qa'im border crossing, back to Syria. (Al Arabiya)
Red Sea crisis December 2024 Israeli airstrikes in Yemen Israel carries out a series of airstrikes against the Houthis in western Yemen, damaging the Ras Isa oil facility, the port of as-Salif and several power stations in Sanaa, and killing at least nine people. (Al Jazeera) The United States Department of the Treasury announces sanctions on the governor of the Central Bank of Yemen in Sanaa, Yemen, and several Houthi officials and associated companies and vessels, accusing them of trafficking dual-use weapon components and Iranian petroleum to the Houthis. (Al Jazeera) (JNS)
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces vow to fight Turkey and pro-Turkish rebel groups in Kobani, Aleppo Governorate, Syria. (Reuters)
The United Kingdom and the United States impose sanctions on Georgian officials, including Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, in response to alleged violent crackdowns on pro-European protests. (EFE)
The United States Department of the Treasury announces sanctions on the governor of the Central Bank of Yemen in Sanaa, Yemen, and several Houthi officials and associated companies and vessels, accusing them of trafficking dual-use weapon components and Iranian petroleum to the Houthis. (Al Jazeera) (JNS)
A funding bill ensuring full operation of the U.S. federal government service with an amendment supported by President-elect Donald Trump that would enforce a two-year suspension of the federal debt ceiling is rejected in the Republican-majority House of Representatives, with multiple Republicans and nearly all Democrats opposing the bill. A government shutdown is expected to occur if no bill is passed by midnight. (BBC News)
Hungary–Poland relations Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons Hungary's ambassador to protest the Hungarian government's decision to grant asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted under the European Arrest Warrant for alleged corruption. Poland also recalls its ambassador to Hungary Sebastian Kęciek for consultations. (AP)
Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons Hungary's ambassador to protest the Hungarian government's decision to grant asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted under the European Arrest Warrant for alleged corruption. Poland also recalls its ambassador to Hungary Sebastian Kęciek for consultations. (AP)
House Speaker Mike Johnson reintroduces a funding bill without Trump's debt ceiling suspension, stating that "we will not have a government shutdown". The bill, which will fund the government until March 2025, passes the House by a vote of 336–34 and will now go to the Senate. (The Washington Post)
Sudanese civil war Darfur campaign Siege of El Fasher The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that the Rapid Support Forces have killed over 782 civilians and wounded over 1,143 others in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, since May, and urges the RSF to halt their incursions into the city. (Al Jazeera) At least 50 people, mostly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, have been killed by the Rapid Support Forces in the past week in El Fasher, North Darfur State, Sudan. (Sudan Tribune)
Syrian civil war Israeli invasion of Syria (2024–present) Israeli soldiers injure a Syrian man protesting against the soldiers' presence in Ma'ariya, Daraa Governorate. (Al Jazeera) Fall of the Assad regime The United States drops the $10 million terrorism bounty offered for capture of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani who ousted Assad. (AP) (Times of Israel) US intervention in the Syrian civil war U.S. forces kill regional ISIS leader Abu Yusif, also known as Mahmud, in an airstrike in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. (US CENTCOM)
US intervention in the Syrian civil war U.S. forces kill regional ISIS leader Abu Yusif, also known as Mahmud, in an airstrike in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria. (US CENTCOM)
Australia agrees to provide Solomon Islands with financing, training, and infrastructure support worth AU$190 million (US$118 million) over four years to strengthen its police force as part of a renewed security partnership between the two countries. (France 24)
Australia–Solomon Islands relations Australia agrees to provide Solomon Islands with financing, training, and infrastructure support worth AU$190 million (US$118 million) over four years to strengthen its police force as part of a renewed security partnership between the two countries. (France 24)
Darfur campaign Siege of El Fasher The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that the Rapid Support Forces have killed over 782 civilians and wounded over 1,143 others in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, since May, and urges the RSF to halt their incursions into the city. (Al Jazeera) At least 50 people, mostly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, have been killed by the Rapid Support Forces in the past week in El Fasher, North Darfur State, Sudan. (Sudan Tribune)
Fall of the Assad regime The United States drops the $10 million terrorism bounty offered for capture of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani who ousted Assad. (AP) (Times of Israel)
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Malaysian Minister of Transport Anthony Loke announces a new search effort for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March 2014, to be conducted by American marine robotics company Ocean Infinity. (DW)
Malaysian Minister of Transport Anthony Loke announces a new search effort for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March 2014, to be conducted by American marine robotics company Ocean Infinity. (DW)
Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Malaysian Minister of Transport Anthony Loke announces a new search effort for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March 2014, to be conducted by American marine robotics company Ocean Infinity. (DW)
Siege of El Fasher The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that the Rapid Support Forces have killed over 782 civilians and wounded over 1,143 others in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, since May, and urges the RSF to halt their incursions into the city. (Al Jazeera) At least 50 people, mostly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, have been killed by the Rapid Support Forces in the past week in El Fasher, North Darfur State, Sudan. (Sudan Tribune)
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights rules that El Salvador violated the human rights of a woman denied an abortion during a high-risk pregnancy in 2013 and orders the country to implement measures allowing abortions in cases where the woman's life is at risk. (The Guardian)
The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that the Rapid Support Forces have killed over 782 civilians and wounded over 1,143 others in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, since May, and urges the RSF to halt their incursions into the city. (Al Jazeera)
The United States drops the $10 million terrorism bounty offered for capture of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani who ousted Assad. (AP) (Times of Israel)
2025 United States federal budget, Government shutdowns in the United States The United States Senate passes a funding bill, with President Joe Biden subsequently signing the bill into law, thereby averting a government shutdown. (CBS News)
The United States Senate passes a funding bill, with President Joe Biden subsequently signing the bill into law, thereby averting a government shutdown. (CBS News)
Constitutional crisis in Somalia The Puntland region of Somalia announces that it will introduce a new regional currency in 2025. The region had previously shifted to use of the United States dollar in 2021, due to severe inflation of the Somali shilling. (Garowe Online) (Hiiraan Online) (Horseed Media)
The Puntland region of Somalia announces that it will introduce a new regional currency in 2025. The region had previously shifted to use of the United States dollar in 2021, due to severe inflation of the Somali shilling. (Garowe Online) (Hiiraan Online) (Horseed Media)
Red Sea crisis The US military states that the USS Gettysburg guided-missile cruiser accidentally shot down a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet and injured one of its pilots in a friendly fire incident following a series of airstrikes on Yemen. However, the Houthis claim that they shot down the fighter jet. (CNN) (Middle East Monitor)
The US military states that the USS Gettysburg guided-missile cruiser accidentally shot down a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet and injured one of its pilots in a friendly fire incident following a series of airstrikes on Yemen. However, the Houthis claim that they shot down the fighter jet. (CNN) (Middle East Monitor)
2024 Romanian parliamentary election Following the December 1 parliamentary elections, President Klaus Iohannis asks incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to form a new majority coalition cabinet, comprising of the Social Democratic Party, National Liberal Party and Democratic Alliance of Hungarians parties. The government is named and confirmed by the Chamber of Deputies, and takes office the same day. (France 24)
Following the December 1 parliamentary elections, President Klaus Iohannis asks incumbent Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu to form a new majority coalition cabinet, comprising of the Social Democratic Party, National Liberal Party and Democratic Alliance of Hungarians parties. The government is named and confirmed by the Chamber of Deputies, and takes office the same day. (France 24)
Capital punishment by the United States federal government U.S. President Joe Biden commutes the death sentences of 37 out of the 44 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment. The exceptions are Dylann Roof, Robert Gregory Bowers, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who received death sentences for terrorism or hate-motivated mass murder-related crimes, as well as all four prisoners on US Military death row. (CBS News)
Joel Greenberg, a former IRS employee of Florida is sentenced to 11 years in prison on 6 federal charges for underage sex trafficking, wire fraud, stalking, identity theft, producing a fake ID card, and conspiring to defraud the US federal government, receiving a reduced sentence after testifying against eight other men including Gaetz, after initially facing 33 federal charges. (CNN)
Panama–United States relations Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino rebuffs U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's recent threat to reimpose U.S. control over the Panama Canal, saying its shipping tolls aren't inflated and that Panamanian sovereignty over the waterway isn't negotiable. (Bloomberg)
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino rebuffs U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's recent threat to reimpose U.S. control over the Panama Canal, saying its shipping tolls aren't inflated and that Panamanian sovereignty over the waterway isn't negotiable. (Bloomberg)
2024 New York City Subway immolation A man is arrested after fatally burning a woman yesterday on a Subway train in New York City, New York, United States. (Al Jazeera)
A man is arrested after fatally burning a woman yesterday on a Subway train in New York City, New York, United States. (Al Jazeera)
Guatemalan police rescue at least 160 children and 40 women held by the Lev Tahor Jewish sect and accuse the group of child sexual abuse, forced marriage, and human trafficking. Members of Lev Tahor broke into the care center in Oratorio, Santa Rosa Department, where the children were being held on Sunday. (Al Jazeera) (The Times of Israel) (The Independent)
Student loans in the United States, Economic policy of the Joe Biden administration The Biden administration officially withdraws two major legislative plans that would have granted student loan forgiveness to more than 30 million Americans. (Forbes) (CNBC)
The Biden administration officially withdraws two major legislative plans that would have granted student loan forgiveness to more than 30 million Americans. (Forbes) (CNBC)
The Santa Cruz Wharf of Santa Cruz, California, United States, partially collapses from high waves of a Pacific storm. (BBC News)
The United States House Committee on Ethics releases a report on former Florida representative and Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz, revealing that Gaetz paid women for sexual activity, committed statutory rape with a 17-year-old, possessed and used illegal drugs, accepted financial gifts beyond House limits, and assisted a woman in obtaining a passport. (BBC News)
