Portal:Current events/2024 December 24

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Deir ez-Zor offensive, Eastern Syria insurgency
    • Islamic State militants launch attacks on the town of al-Hawayej in northeastern Syria, against Asayish forces. (SOHR)
  • Protests occur after a Christmas tree was set on fire in Al-Suqaylabiyah, Hama Governorate, Syria. (The Week)
  • Turkey's interior minister announces that more than 25,000 Syrian refugees have returned to Syria since former president Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by rebels. (Al Arabiya)
  • Syrian opposition factions announce that they will dissolve and merge under the authority of the Ministry of Defense. (Reuters)
• Haiti crisis
  • Gang war in Haiti
    • Three people are killed by gunmen in Haiti opening fire at the journalists, police and medical staff at the reopening of the Port-au-Prince General Hospital. (BBC News)
• 2024 Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes
  • At least 46 people are killed in a series of airstrikes by the Pakistan Army against alleged Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• National symbols of the United States
  • U.S. President Joe Biden signs a bill making the bald eagle the official national bird of the United States. (NBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024–25 Australian bushfire season
  • Residents of the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia, evacuate due to bushfires, with more than 41,000 hectares (100,000 acres) already burnt by the bushfires. (BBC News)
• 2024 Lobitos oil spill
  • Residents of Lobitos and Cabo Blanco, Peru, demonstrate against Peruvian state-owned oil company PetroPerú following an oil spill that contaminated six beaches. (La República)
• Twelve people are killed and four others are injured in an explosion at an explosives factory in Kavakli, Balıkesir Province, Turkey. (Al Jazeera)
• The Russian cargo ship MV Ursa Major, allegedly used to evacuate military personnel and equipment from Russian bases in Syria, sinks in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain following an explosion in the ship's engine room. The Russian Foreign Ministry says that 14 of the 16 crew members have been rescued, with the two others missing. (Politico)

International relations

• 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Syrian civil war
  • Palestinian factions turn over their arms to the Lebanese army and vacate their headquarters in Lebanon. (Middle East Monitor)
• Denmark–United States relations
  • The Danish government announces an increase in defense spending for Greenland hours after US president-elect Donald Trump repeated his interest in purchasing Greenland, although they affirm that the two are unrelated. (BBC News)
• Russia–United States relations
  • Gene Spector, an American citizen of Russian descent, is sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Russian court for espionage. (CNN)

Law and crime

• Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia
  • Human rights organization Reprieve reports that Saudi Arabia executed 330 people this year. (First Post)
• 2024 Mozambican protests
  • At least 21 people are killed and 25 others are injured in a series of violent incidents in Mozambique following the previous day's confirmation by the high court of Daniel Chapo as the winning presidential candidate in the recent election. (ABC News)
• Hong Kong offers bounties of HK$1 million (US$128,728) each for six foreign pro-democracy activists accused of violating the national security law, including Tony Chung, and also revokes the passports of seven others, citing actions such as incitement to secession, subversion, and collusion with foreign forces. (Reuters)
• Five people accused of being Al-Qaeda supporters are arrested in four cities in Italy. (Il Gazzettino)
• Four participants in the November 2024 Amsterdam riots are sentenced to prison, with 32-year-old Sefa Ö handed the longest sentence of six months. (BBC News)
• A Belarusian court sentences opposition activist and Green Party leader Dzmitry Kuchuk to six years in prison and fines him approximately US$6,000 for alleged public order violations and calls for actions undermining national security, according to the human rights group Viasna. (AP)

Politics and elections

• Protests against Donald Trump, Panama–United States relations
  • Protesters gather at the U.S. Embassy in Panama City over Trump's threat to take back the Panama Canal. (France24) (DW)
• Maia Sandu is sworn in for her second four-year term as the President of Moldova. (Euronews)
• In his Christmas speech, Grand Duke of Luxembourg Henri announces that he will abdicate on 3 October 2025 and hand over the throne to his son, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume. (The Brussels Times)
• ʻAisake Eke is appointed as the new Prime Minister of Tonga. (RNZ)

Science and technology

• NASA large strategic science missions
  • The Parker Solar Probe attempts its closest-ever approach to the Sun to study the sun's temperatures, radiation, and magnetic field. (BBC News)