Portal:Current events/2024 December 18

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Syrian opposition
    • Hadi al-Bahra, President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, says that the coalition will dissolve once a national conference is convened and a constituent assembly is elected, and demands that the current transitional government be "credible, inclusive and not founded on sectarian bases". (North Press Agency)
• Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis
  • Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says that arms sent by France to Armenia pose a threat to Azerbaijan. (Trend News Agency)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Mumbai boat accident
  • At least fifteen people are killed after an Indian Navy craft collides with a passenger ferry off the coast of Mumbai, India. (The Hindu)
• 2024 San Fernando Airport runway excursion
  • A Bombardier Challenger 300 aircraft flying from Punta del Este, Uruguay, veers off the runway while trying to land at San Fernando International Airport in the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and collides with a house, killing the two pilots onboard. (Buenos Aires Herald)
• Ibadan Christmas funfair crowd crush
  • Thirty-five children are killed and six others are injured in a crowd crush during a Christmas funfair in Ibadan, Nigeria. (BBC News)
• Twenty-five people are killed and dozens of others are missing when a boat capsizes on a river in Inongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)
• Twenty people are killed and five others are rescued in a shipwreck carrying migrants sinking off the coast of Sfax, Tunisia. (AP)

Health and environment

• Russian state media agency TASS claims that the nation developed an mRNA cancer vaccine, which is planned to be distributed to patients free of charge beginning next year. However, the Russian Ministry of Health has not provided any evidence to support their claim that the vaccine treats cancer. (The Times of India) (TASS) (Newsweek)
• The state of California, United States, declares a state of emergency over bird flu. (The New York Times)

International relations

• China–United States relations
  • Chinese espionage in the United States
    • Two Americans of Chinese descent plead guilty to running a covert secret police surveillance station on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security to monitor, threaten and coerce ethnic Chinese in Chinatown, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. At least 100 such stations have been reported worldwide across 53 countries, with human rights monitoring NGOs accusing China of using the outposts to threaten and monitor Chinese nationals abroad. (BBC)
• Indonesia–Philippines relations
  • Mary Jane Veloso, a former inmate on death row in Indonesia, is repatriated to the Philippines following negotiations between the two countries. (Reuters)
• Malaysia–United States relations
  • The U.S. Department of Defense repatriates two al-Qaeda members, Mohammed Farik Bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, from Guantanamo Bay to Malaysia, where they will undergo a rehabilitation process before reintegration into society. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings
  • In his first direct comments on the issue, president Joe Biden states there is "nothing nefarious, apparently" and "no sense of danger so far" behind the aircraft sightings in the northeastern United States. (NBC News)
• Legal affairs of the Tate brothers
  • The Westminster Magistrates' Court rules that British police may seize £2.2 million (US$2.5 million) from influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan for allegedly failing to pay taxes on profits from their online ventures. (DW)
• The Dutch Data Protection Authority fines Netflix €4.75 million ($4.98 million) for failing to properly inform subscribers about the handling of their personal data between 2018 and 2020. (Al Arabiya)
• Eleven people are killed and two others are injured in an arson attack on a bar in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Georgian presidential election, 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, 2024 Georgian post-election protests
  • In an address to the European Parliament, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili urges the European Union to economically and politically pressure the current Georgian government into holding new elections, claiming that recent elections represented a "new form of invasion" by Russia. (Euronews) (AP)
• 2024 Irish general election
  • Simon Harris submits his resignation as Taoiseach of Ireland to President Michael D Higgins. (The Irish Independent)
• The parliament building of Liberia catches on fire amid anti-government protests condemning the attempted removal of House Speaker Jonathan F. Koffa. (AP) (BBC)

Sports

• 2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup
  • In association football, Real Madrid wins the inaugural FIFA Intercontinental Cup after defeating Pachuca 3–0 in the final in Lusail, Qatar. Vinícius Júnior is awarded the Golden Ball. (The Guardian)