Portal:Current events/2024 December 16

December 16, 2024 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- Fall of the Assad regime
  - Syrian mass graves
    - A recently created mass grave containing the bodies of 17 executed Syrian Army soldiers is discovered in the Syrian Desert near Deir ez-Zor. (SOHR)
  - In his first public statement since being overthrown, former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says that he "didn't intend to leave Syria", claiming that he went to Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia Governorate to "oversee combat operations" only to find that the Syrian Army had abandoned their positions and surrendered to rebel forces. Amid "an intensified attack by drone strikes" at the air base, Assad says that Russia decided to airlift him to Moscow. (BBC News)
- Israeli invasion of Syria (2024–present)
  - The Cabinet of Israel approves a plan proposing to double the occupied Golan Heights' regional Israeli settlers population. (BBC News)
  - Heavy overnight Israeli airstrikes are reported in Tartus Governorate, Syria. (The Times of Israel)
- Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian civil war
  - The brother of the imam of the Great Prophet Mosque of Masyaf is assassinated by unidentified gunmen in Hama Governorate, in a potential revenge operation due to the imam being associated with Hezbollah and other Iranian- and Shia-associated militias. (SOHR)
- US intervention in the Syrian civil war
  - The United States Air Force conduct strikes targeting ISIS camps and operatives, killing at least twelve fighters, according to the Pentagon. (U.S. Department of Defense)
Gaza war
- The Gaza Health Ministry announces that the death toll in the ongoing war has surpassed 45,000 people. (Al Jazeera)
Mexican Drug War
- An improvised explosive device detonates in Cotija de la Paz, Michoacán, leaving two soldiers dead and five others injured. The Secretary of National Defense, Ricardo Trevilla Trejo, blames the Cárteles Unidos for the attack. (Revista Proceso) (Expansión)

Health and environment

2024 Australia heat wave
- Walpeup, Victoria, Australia, reports a temperature of 47.1 °C (116.8 °F), the hottest temperature reported in the state since 2019. Extreme heat wave and fire risk warnings are also issued for areas across Australia. (The Guardian) (ABC News Australia)

Law and crime

2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings
- U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calls for state National Guards to be given the authority to shoot down unidentified drones, saying that the federal government is not able to address the issue by themselves. (The Telegraph)
- U.S. officials say that a drone detection system is being deployed in New York following a formal request by Governor Kathy Hochul. (BBC News)
- The United States Air Force reports that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio temporarily suspended air operations for four hours on Friday and Saturday after the airbase reported sightings of unidentified "small unmanned aerial systems". (CNN)
- President-elect Donald Trump cancels a planned visit to Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey amid drone sightings in the state. Trump also calls on outgoing President Joe Biden and the U.S. military to reveal the truth about the drones, saying that "the government knows what's happening" and that they know where the drones are coming from. (The Times of India)
Abundant Life Christian School shooting
- Two people are killed and six others are injured in a mass shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. The perpetrator is found dead at the scene. (CNN)
Bolivian prosecutors issue an arrest warrant for former President Evo Morales in connection to sexual abuse allegations that he fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl, a claim he denies. (AP)

Politics and elections

2024 German government crisis, 2025 German federal election
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz loses a vote of confidence, thereby allowing for early elections to be held on February 23. (BBC News)
Resignation of Chrystia Freeland
- Chrystia Freeland resigns as Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance amid disagreements with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on increased government spending and how to handle possible U.S. tariffs imposed by the incoming Trump administration. (Reuters)
President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov announces that he has dismissed Akylbek Japarov as Prime Minister. (Reuters)
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle expels former Indonesian President Joko Widodo, his son Vice President Gibran Rakabuming and his son-in-law, North Sumatra Governor-elect Bobby Nasution, following a rift over Rakabuming's candidacy as Prabowo Subianto's running mate during the 2024 election. (Bloomberg)