Portal:Current events/2015 December 9
December 9, 2015 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israeli–Palestinian conflict (2015)
- An Israeli couple are injured in a drive-by shooting attack near Avnei Hefetz. (The Times of Israel)
- A Palestinian man injures an Israeli civilian and a soldier in a stabbing attack before the attacker is shot and killed by security forces in the city of Hebron. (The Jerusalem Post)
- Israeli soldiers shoot dead a Palestinian teenager during an arrest raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. (The Jerusalem Post) (Al Jazeera)
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- A Taliban attack on Kandahar International Airport results in at least 50 civilian and Afghan National Security Forces personnel dead and 35 injured. (Reuters) (Irish Times)
- Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- Amnesty International reports that years of foreign military intervention, poor oversight on weapons sales, and lack of control over the international flow of weaponry have enabled ISIL to accumulate its vast armaments stockpile. Amnesty International calls for weapons embargoes and the ratification of the global Arms Trade Treaty by nations that have not already done so and, at the same time, are sources of weapons in the ISIL stockpile. (Agence France-Presse via AlJazeera America) (Agence France-Presse via Defense News)
- Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
- Russian President Vladimir Putin says he hopes nuclear warheads will not be needed to deal with terrorists, after Russia launched cruise missiles at Islamic State positions in Syria from one of its Kilo-class submarines in the Mediterranean. (Independent)
- Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
- Azeri tanks on the front line shell military positions in the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic for the first time since a Russian-brokered ceasefire ended fighting in 1994. At least one Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army soldier is killed. (AFP via Yahoo)
- Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
- Turkey calls on all its citizens to leave all areas of Iraq except Iraqi Kurdistan, due to "increased security risks". (AFP via Daily Mail)
Arts and culture
- Angela Merkel is named as Time's Person of the Year. (CNN International)
Disasters and accidents
- 2015 South Indian floods
- Heavy rains continue to lash Thanjavur and Thanjavur district, inundating urban areas and hundreds of acres of farmland. Many residential areas in Thanjavur have been marooned by rising water. (The Hindu)
- Floods in the United States: 2001–present
- Governor of Washington Jay Inslee declares a state of emergency after severe flooding and high winds across the western part of the state close several major highways, damage homes and property, and impact electricity service. (Governor of Washington) (KIRO-TV)
International relations
- The United States expands sanctions against North Korea over its alleged weapons breaches. (BBC)
- Cuba–United States relations
- Government officials from Cuba and the U.S. met in Havana, beginning settlement discussions surrounding $1.9 billion worth of U.S. assets seized by Fidel Castro’s regime in the early 1960s. By law, the United States embargo against Cuba cannot cease until settlements are made. (Washington Post)
Law and crime
- The Australian Federal Police raid the Sydney home of Craig Steven Wright – whom media today claimed was suspected to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the founder of Bitcoin – in relation to possible tax offences. (ABC News Australia)
- Chinese state television reports Guo Youming, former deputy governor of Hubei province, is found guilty of taking bribes totaling more than 23.8 million yuan ($3.70 million). Guo is the latest to be convicted as a result of China's paramount leader Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign that started when Xi took Party general secretary office three years ago. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- A group of mayors and officials from American cities such as Philadelphia and New York City say that if they had their way Donald Trump would be banned from their cities for his comments on Muslims. (NBC)
- The Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell distance the party from presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent comments calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. While not entering into a political fray – in view of U.S. partnerships with Muslim nations and Muslim personnel serving in the United States Armed Forces – the Pentagon press secretary calls anti-Muslim rhetoric a national security threat. (CNN) (Politico)
- Elections in Indonesia
- Millions of voters in the world's third biggest democracy participated in Indonesia's local elections in 264 regions, just over half of the country's electorates. There is heightened security due to threats by domestic terror groups linked to the Islamic State, as well as increased scrutiny to prevent electoral fraud. Direct elections to choose local leaders were established a decade ago. Official results from the polls will not be available until December 18, 2015. (Straits Times) (Deutsche Welle)