Portal:Current events/2019 December 9

December 9, 2019 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- The Russian Ministry of Defence says the Russian Armed Forces have entered Raqqa. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- The Washington Post publishes raw interviews and notes taken for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction's "lessons learned" initiative. The difference with the previously published reports reveals that senior U.S. administration officials misled the public by painting "a rosier picture of the state of the war than they knew to be true". (The Hill)
2019 Venezuelan uprising attempt
- Sixteen Venezuelan National Guardsmen who took part in a failed attempt to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro on 30 April 2019 successfully flee Venezuela in a clandestine "military operation". The guards, accused of treason, were granted asylum in the Panamanian embassy in Caracas following the failed uprising. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

2019 Whakaari/White Island eruption
- New Zealand's Whakaari / White Island stratovolcano erupts with reports of at least five fatalities and a number of people injured or missing. Around 50 people, mostly tourists, were believed to be on the island at the time of eruption, according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. (CNN)

International relations

War in Donbass, Normandy Format, Russia–Ukraine relations
- Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel meet in Paris for Ukraine peace talks. It is the first time Putin and Zelensky meet and the first such four-way leaders' meeting since 2016. (Reuters)
- Following a breakthrough in talks, Russia and Ukraine agree to implement a ceasefire in the Donbass by the end of 2019. (BBC News)

Law and crime

British serial rapist Joseph McCann receives 33 life sentences, having been convicted on Friday at London's Old Bailey of 37 charges of rape, sexual assault, kidnapping and false imprisonment, his victims ranging from 11 to 71 years old. (Sky)
Crossfire Hurricane
- U.S. Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz releases a redacted version of his investigation into the origins of the FBI's investigation of members of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign believed to be linked to Russian operations. (Reuters)

Science and technology

The European Space Agency awards the first contract to clean up space debris, in a plan to remove a single piece of debris from orbit in 2025. (The Guardian)

Sports

The 2019 Lou Marsh Award for best Canadian athlete is granted by unanimous vote to tennis player Bianca Andreescu. (The Star)
Doping in Russia
- The World Anti-Doping Agency bans Russia from competing in all major international sporting events, such as the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2022 Winter Olympics, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and possibly the 2024 Summer Olympics, for the next four years. Russian athletes that want to compete can only do so as part of a "neutral team". Russia has three weeks to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport. (CNN) (United News India)