Portal:Current events/2015 December 17

December 17, 2015 (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 (2014–2021)
- 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)