Portal:Current events/2016 December 4
December 4, 2016 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Insurgency in the North Caucasus
- The Russian Federal Security Service claims to have killed Rustam Asildarov, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's Caucasus Province and four other militants in the Dagestan region. (AFP via Yahoo! News Australia), (RFERL), (CNN)
- Syrian Civil War
- At least 21 people are killed in suspected Russian airstrikes on Idlib, Syria. (RFERL), (The Times of Israel)
Disasters and accidents
- 2016 Oakland warehouse fire
- The confirmed death toll in Friday night's warehouse fire in Oakland, California rises to 33 with several people still missing. (NBC News) (ABC News)
- 2016 Great Smoky Mountains wildfires
- The death toll in the town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee rises to 14. (The Tennessean)
- Pollution in China
- Sixty cities in the People's Republic of China issued smog alerts between December 2 and 4. (CCTV via Twitter)
- At least 12 people, including 10 children, are killed in a bus crash in Siberia, Russia. (RFERL)
- Human remains are found in the sea near where an Indonesian police plane carrying 13 people crashed. The plane was traveling to the island of Batam. (AP via Daily Mail)
- Floods caused by heavy rain over the past week has caused at least 13 deaths in central Vietnam with more heavy rain forecast. (Reuters via Jerusalem Post), (Reuters)
Law and crime
Politics and elections
- Uzbekistani presidential election, 2016
- Voters in Uzbekistan go to the polls for a presidential election, the first since the death of Islam Karimov who governed the country for 25 years. (AP via Daily Press)
- Austrian presidential election, 2016
- Voters in Austria go to the polls to elect a new President in a second round run-off between Green candidate Alexander Van der Bellen and Freedom Party of Austria candidate Norbert Hofer. Projections show that Van der Bellen has won with Hofer conceding defeat. (Reuters) (AFP via Yahoo! News)
- Italian constitutional referendum, 2016
- Italians go to the polls to for a referendum on whether to approve a constitutional law that amends the Constitution of Italy to reform the powers of the Italian Parliament. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who introduced the referendum bill, resigns after exit polls show that the no case is likely to be successful. (Reuters), (Reuters via ABC News Australia), (BBC)
- Rohingya protests
- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak leads a protest rally against the persecution of Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya minority in the predominately Buddhist country, and calls on Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the United Nations to address the Rohingya's plight and end the violence. Myanmar's president's office said the rally is timed for Malaysian political purposes, and that Malaysia should respect the Association of Southeast Asian Nations's principle on sovereignty. (AP) (Asian Correspondent) (The Myanmar Times)
- Death and state funeral of Fidel Castro
- The remains of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro are interred beside independence leader José Martí. (Reuters via Jerusalem Post)
- Dakota Access Pipeline protests
- The United States Army Corps of Engineers denies a permit for Energy Transfer Partners planned Dakota Access Pipeline running through North Dakota and will begin exploring alternative routes for the pipeline following weeks of protests. (Reuters)
- Thousands of Indonesians protest in Jakarta for tolerance after a large protest rally against blasphemy on Friday. (AP via WTOP)
- Philippines Vice President Leni Robredo resigns her Cabinet post as housing secretary due to major differences in principles and values. Robredo says she is staying on in her elected position as vice president. (AP)