Portal:Current events/2023 December 20

December 20, 2023 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israel–Hamas war
- The death toll in the Gaza Strip since Israel began airstrikes increases to at least 20,000 people. (Al Jazeera)
Insurgency in Balochistan
- In Pakistan, Sarfraz Bungulzai, leader of the separatist Baloch Nationalist Army, surrenders to authorities alongside 70 other militants in Balochistan. (AP)

Business and economy

Disasters and accidents

Twelve people are killed and 13 others are injured when a mining cart runs off the tracks in Jixi, Heilongjiang, China. (AP)

Health and environment

Canada implements a single-use plastic ban as part of its initiative to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030, despite a court ruling that deemed such restrictions unconstitutional. (AFP via Daily Tribune)

International relations

International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war, Israel–Malaysia relations
- Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim announces that Israel-registered ships, and all foreign vessels heading to Israel, are banned from docking within their ports or receiving cargo. (Al Jazeera)
United States–Venezuela relations
- Venezuela releases ten Americans and extradites fugitive Leonard Glenn Francis, while the United States releases Alex Saab, an ally of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, in a prisoner exchange between the two countries. As part of the deal, Venezuela will also release around 20 political prisoners from jail. (AP)

Law and crime

Politics and elections