Portal:Current events/2013 December 4
December 4, 2013 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Northern Mali:
- A mass grave is discovered near Bamako holding the remains of 21 loyalist soldiers said to have gone missing last year during Mali's coup. (Al Jazeera)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021):
- The United States stops shipping supplies to Afghanistan through Pakistan due to protests over drone attacks. (The Telegraph)
- Sectarianism in Pakistan:
- Thirteen people are killed as a result of targetted shootings in Pakistan's biggest city Karachi. (PTI via NDTV)
- Syrian civil war:
- Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- Iraqi security forces storm the Jawahir Mall in Kirkuk after armed gunmen seize hostages. (Al-Jazeera)
- A train derails in the Bangladesh district of Gaibandha as a result of sabotage resulting in at least 3 deaths. Over 60 people have been killed since an opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party announced a campaign against next months election. (Dawn)
- A Hezbollah official Hassan al-Lakkis is assassinated outside his home in Hadath, south of the Lebanese capital Beirut with Hezbollah blaming Israel. (Daily Star)
Business and economy
- The European Commission fines six banks $2.3 billion for forming illegal cartels to rig interest rates. (BBC)
Disasters and accidents
- At least one person is dead, one missing and thousands evacuated as floods hit Malaysia with the states of Johor, Pahang and Terengganu worst affected. (Jakarta Post)
- Sixty are ill with fifteen others requiring treatment for smoke inhalation when a BART train makes an emergency stop in the Berkeley Hills Tunnel near the Rockridge station due to mechanical problems. (KRON)
Politics and elections
- Xavier Bettel becomes the first openly gay prime minister in Luxembourg and the third openly gay prime minister in Europe as the country's first government without participation of the Christian Social People's Party since 1979 takes office; Bettel's deputy, Étienne Schneider, is also openly gay, making Luxembourg the first country in the world with the two highest-ranking leaders of government being openly gay. (Al Jazeera)
- After Estonian Minister of Culture, Rein Lang´s, resignation, new minister - Urve Tiidus - takes office, after President Toomas Hendrik Ilves approval. (Postimees)
Science and technology
- A new island is discovered in the Laptev sea, and is given the name Yaya. (Vesti.Ru)