Portal:Current events/2019 December 23

• Syrian Civil War
  • A car bomb in Turkish-controlled Suluk, Tell Abyad District, Raqqa Governorate, kills five people and wounds others. Turkey's defense ministry says the attack killed eight civilians and was by the PKK/YPG group. (TRTWorld)
  • The UK-based SOHR says an Israeli missile attack near Damascus killed three foreigners, believed to be Iranians. (Ynetnews)
• War in Afghanistan
  • The Pentagon says a U.S. soldier has been killed in combat. The Taliban claim a roadside bomb in Char Dara District, Kunduz Province was responsible. (CBS News)
• Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present), Operation Barkhane
  • France's defense ministry reports its first armed drone strike. On Saturday, a Reaper drone strike killed seven in central Mali. (AP via The Daily Star)
• 2019 Iranian protests
  • Unknown Iranian officials claimed the death toll is 1,500 in recent crackdowns by security forces. The United States confirmed the report, including the deaths of 400 women and a dozen teenagers. (VOA)

• Crimean Bridge
  • A railway bridge over the Kerch Strait connecting Russia and Crimea, the longest in Europe, is inaugurated. (AP)
• The Democratic Republic of the Congo launches an investigation into allegations of money laundering at the state-owned mining company Gécamines, relating to a €200 million loan by the sanctioned Fleurette Group. (Reuters)
• Aftermath of the Boeing 737 MAX groundings
  • Boeing announces the resignation of its CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, amidst ongoing controversy over the crashes and subsequent groundings of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet. (CNN)
• Economy of China
  • China announces the reduction of tariffs on 850 products and measures to open markets in several industries. (AP)

• Fukushima disaster cleanup
  • Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry proposes gradually releasing or allowing to evaporate massive amounts of radioactive water at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. (TIME)

• North Korea–United States relations, Korean peace process
  • North Korea warns of a "Christmas gift" if the United States does not come up with an agreement by the end of the year. (The Guardian)

• Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi
  • A court in Saudi Arabia sentences five people to death for the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Three other defendants are given prison sentences totalling a combined 24 years, and another three are acquitted. (BBC News)
  • The United Nations rapporteur on summary executions, Agnès Callamard, describes the sentence as a "mockery" of justice, since, according to her, it was an "extrajudicial execution for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible" and its masterminds walk free. (Al Jazeera)

• 2019 Algerian protests
  • The Chief of Staff of the People's National Army of Algeria, Ahmed Gaid Salah, dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. Saïd Chengriha is appointed to the post ad interim. (AP via Arab News)
• 2019 Jharkhand Legislative Assembly election
  • In an election occurring in the midst of massive protests against the central government, the incumbent right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party is projected to lose its majority to the United Progressive Alliance parties in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand. (Al Jazeera)
• 2019 French pension reform strike
  • Around 30 protestors clash with riot police at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. (Reuters)
• Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • The Bosnian parliament approves Prime Minister Zoran Tegeltija's cabinet after a 14-month deadlock, caused by disagreements over proceeding with NATO integration, with Tegeltija stating his main priority is pursuing membership with the European Union. (Reuters)
• Politics of Romania
  • Centrist Florin Cîțu is approved by the Parliament as the new Prime Minister, succeeding acting Nicolae Ciucă. (Yahoo! News)