Portal:Current events/2012 December 18

December 18, 2012 (Tuesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel and his production team are freed after 5 days of captivity in northern Syria. They were captured by what Engel claims were members of the shabiha, a plainclothes militia loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Rebel forces at a checkpoint freed the men after a firefight that killed 2 of the captors. (NBC News)
2012 Central African Republic rebellion:
- A coalition of rebel groups called Séléka take over the Central African Republic mining town of Bria, killing at least 15 government soldiers. The group is spearheaded by UFDR forces and has already taken five towns in its two-week offensive, which it claims is because of a lack of progress after a peace deal ended the 2004–2007 Bush War. Following an appeal for help from President]] François Bozizé, the President of Chad Idriss Déby sends 20 vehicles of heavily armed troops to help quell the rebellion. (ABC News) (AFP) (Reuters)
Taliban insurgency:
- Gunmen kill six health workers engaged in a polio vaccination drive in Pakistan, highlighting resistance to a program opposed by the Taliban. (AFP via SBS)

Arts and culture

Disasters and accidents

Four people are killed and seven injured after an apartment block collapses in the center of Palermo in Italy. (Reuters)^{[permanent dead link‍]}
A large, 33.5-ton aquarium bursts in a busy shopping center on the Nanjing Road pedestrian mall in Shanghai, China, injuring 15 people, including customers and shop staff. (East Day) (The Inquisitr) (RT)

Law and crime

Following the recent death of Savita Halappanavar the Irish government is to introduce legislation to clarify the Republic of Ireland's abortion laws, giving doctors clear guidelines on procedures where the mother's life is at risk. (BBC)
The High Court of England and Wales rules that a seven-year-old boy with a brain tumour should undergo surgery against his mother's wishes. (BBC)
The bodies of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith, the murderers who were the subject of Truman Capote's non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, are exhumed in the US state of Kansas to help solve a cold case in Florida from December 1959. (AP via The Australian)
A police officer's claim that he witnessed a conflict outside Downing Street involving former British Conservative Party Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell is being probed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. CCTV footage of the incident also emerges, casting doubt on whether any witnesses were present at the time. (BBC) (Channel 4 News)
At the High Court of England and Wales, the BBC and ITV apologise to Lord McAlpine for "disastrously" and falsely linking him to allegations of child sex abuse. (The Guardian)
Former Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is acquitted by the International Criminal Court of war crimes and crimes against humanity. (BBC)

Politics and elections

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom attends a Cabinet meeting for the first time to receive a gift in honour of her Diamond Jubilee, including having an area of the British Antarctic Territory named for her. It is believed to be the first time that a British monarch has attended a Cabinet meeting in peace-time since Queen Victoria's reign. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Sky News)
Incumbent President of South Africa Jacob Zuma wins a landslide victory in the African National Congress leadership contest opening the way for likely reelection in 2014. (Sky News Australia)
The President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, has a stroke with his condition reported as stable. (NBC News)
Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont is sworn in as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, making him third in the United States presidential line of succession. (The Hill)

Sport