Portal:Current events

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israel–Hamas war
  • Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
    • Palestinian genocide accusation
      • Pope Francis calls for the global community to investigate whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. (Al Jazeera) (Al-Arab)
    • Siege of North Gaza
      • At least 72 people are killed, a third of whom are children, in an Israeli strike against a residential building in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza. (Al Jazeera) (AsiaOne)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • 17 November 2024 Russian strikes on Ukraine, Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, Ukrainian energy crisis
    • Russia launches its largest aerial attack on Ukraine in months. According to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, around 120 missiles and 90 drones were launched, damaging energy infrastructure across the country, killing at least seven people, and causing widespread damage. (CNN) (BBC News)
    • Ten people are killed and 52 others are injured in a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in Sumy, Ukraine. (Reuters)
  • United States President Joe Biden lifts restrictions on the Ukrainian use of U.S. weapons for deep attacks inside Russia, with Ukrainian forces planning to use the weapons in long-distance attacks in the coming days. (Reuters)
• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
    • An Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese Ba'ath Party headquarters in Ras el-Nabaa, Beirut, Lebanon, kills Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif. (Barron's)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Atlantic hurricane season
  • Tropical Storm Sara makes landfall in Belize after causing flooding in Honduras. (AP)
• 2024 Pacific typhoon season
  • Typhoon Man-yi makes landfall in the Philippines as a Category 4 super typhoon, three days after Typhoon Usagi struck the country and becoming the sixth consecutive storm to affect Luzon in the past month. (BBC News)
• A Piper PA-32 light aircraft crashes near a racing event in Pomona, California, United States, injuring three people on board, two critically. (AP)

Law and crime

• Two people are killed and nine others are injured in two shootings near a parade route in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Senegalese parliamentary election
  • Citizens of Senegal vote for the 165 seats of the National Assembly after President Bassirou Diomaye Faye dissolved the parliament in September. (DW)
• Hundreds of people march in a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Berlin, Germany, which was called by opposition leaders-in-exile Yulia Navalnaya, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Ilya Yashin. (DW)

Sports

• 2024 MotoGP World Championship
  • In motorcycle racing, Prima Pramac Racing driver Jorge Martín wins the 2024 MotoGP World Championship, becoming the first independent driver to win the title in the MotoGP era. (Al Jazeera)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • Seven paramilitary soldiers are killed and 18 are wounded by a Balochistan Liberation Army attack on a checkpoint in Kalat District, Balochistan, Pakistan. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

• Miss Universe 2024
  • Danish model Victoria Kjær Theilvig is crowned Miss Universe, becoming the first Dane to win the competition. (CNN) (AP)

Health and environment

• 2023–2024 mpox epidemic
  • California confirms its first case of Clade I mpox in a person who travelled to East Africa, becoming the first confirmed case of Clade I mpox in the United States. (Reuters)

International relations

• APEC Peru 2024
  • At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping for their final meeting before Biden leaves office on January 20th. During the meeting, Biden and Xi talk about topics like cyber crime, trade, Taiwan, and Russia. Xi also said that his team will work with the incoming Trump administration. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• 2024 Wuxi stabbing attack
  • Eight people are killed and 17 others are injured in a stabbing spree at the Wuxi Institute of Technology in Yixing, Jiangsu, China. The suspect, a 21-year-old student, is arrested. (CNN) (Reuters)
• A man barricades himself inside his father's restaurant in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, taking restaurant employees as hostages. The hostages are later rescued and the man is arrested. (BFM TV) (The Jerusalem Post)
• Argentina orders the arrest of 61 Brazilian citizens currently living in Argentina who are accused of participating in the 2023 Brazilian Congress attack. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Gabonese constitutional referendum
  • Citizens of Gabon vote on a proposed new constitution, including replacing the current semi-presidential system with a presidential system following the 2023 coup. (DW)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Allied Democratic Forces insurgency, Kivu conflict
  • Thirteen people are killed, others are kidnapped and houses are burned by Allied Democratic Forces gunmen in Mabisu, North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AP)

Business and economy

• The Canadian Union of Postal Workers go on strike after failing to renegotiate their contract with Canada Post. (AP)
• The purchase of conspiracy theory website InfoWars to turn it into a spoof of itself by the satirical news content maker The Onion yesterday was put on hold by a Texas judge after lawyers representing InfoWars founder Alex Jones claimed to find irregularities in the auctioning process. According to Jones' lawyers, the auction was rigged to favor The Onion who will shut down the site and remove it from Jones' control over the only other bidder, First United American Companies, a company that sold products on Jones' Infowars and will allow Jones to keep the website, despite the fact that The Onion offered less money for bidding than First United American Companies. After the court order by the judge, the original website, which was shut down yesterday due to the results of the auction, was restored by Jones. The Onion say they plan to complete their purchase. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

• At least ten people are killed in a fire at a retirement residence in Villafranca de Ebro, Zaragoza, Spain. (The Washington Post)
• Ten infants are killed and 16 others are injured in a fire inside a neonatal intensive care unit at the Jhansi Medical College hospital in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, North India. (AP)

International relations

• Austria–Russia relations
  • Austrian energy company OMV announces, that Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom will stop supplying natural gas to Austria, who receives their natural gas primarily from Russia, starting this weekend. (DW)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine, Germany–Russia relations
  • German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine, their first contact since 2022. Putin tells Scholz that any negotiated settlement to end the war must recognize the territories that Russia has occupied as part of Russia and that Ukraine must abandon its aspiration to join NATO. (AP) (The New York Times)

Law and crime

• 2024 Abkhazian protests
  • Protestors storm the Parliament of Abkhazia in the capital Sukhumi in opposition to a proposed measure that would allow Russians to buy property in Abkhazia. Opposition leader Eshsou Kakalia claims that protestors now control the building. (Al Jazeera)
• Assassination of Malcolm X
  • Three daughters of civil rights activist Malcolm X file a $100 million wrongful death lawsuit against the CIA, the FBI, and the New York Police Department for their alleged roles in the assassination of Malcolm X. (AP)
• Israel–Hamas war protests
  • American ice cream company Ben & Jerry's sues their parent company Unilever in a federal court for allegedly censoring their statements supporting Gaza. (AP) (Business Insider)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
  • Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's National People's Power coalition wins a supermajority in the snap election for the 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka. (Reuters)
• Second presidential transition of Donald Trump
  • President-elect of the United States Donald Trump names Karoline Leavitt as the White House Press Secretary for his second term in office, which will make her the youngest ever person to serve in the role at 27 years old. (AP)
• Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov opens the Zhany-Barak village in the Osh Region of Kyrgyzstan for resettled residents of the Barak exclave in Uzbekistan. (24.kg)
• Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković dismisses health minister Vili Beroš on suspicions of corruption. (DW)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
    • 2024 Beqaa Valley airstrikes
      • Fifteen rescue workers are killed during an Israeli airstrike on the Regional Civil Defense Centre's headquarters in Baalbek, Lebanon. (BBC News)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Eastern Ukraine campaign
    • The Russian Defence Ministry claims that Russian forces have captured the village of Voznesenka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Anadolu Agency)
  • Odesa strikes, Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
    • One person is killed and ten others are injured in Russian airstrikes on an apartment building and energy facilities in Odesa, Ukraine. (Reuters)
• Syrian civil war
  • Israel's role in the Syrian civil war
    • Sixteen people are killed and 15 others are injured in Israeli airstrikes against residential buildings in Damascus, Syria, that Israel claims are associated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The PIJ announces that a number of its militants are among the fatalities of the Damascus' attacks. (Al Mayadeen) (Al Jazeera)
• Insurgency in Balochistan
  • Seven people, including two soldiers, are killed in explosions in Harnai and Ziarat Districts, Balochistan, Pakistan. (TRT World)
• Haitian crisis
  • Doctors Without Borders reports that at least two patients are dead after police officers and vigilantes attacked ambulances in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (Semafor) (CNN)

Arts and culture

• It is announced that the Kingda Ka roller coaster, the world's tallest roller coaster, will be retired at the Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey, United States. (KYW-TV)

Business and economy

• The Onion, an American media company known for its satirical news content, acquires InfoWars, with the intent of rebranding the site into a parody of itself. (The New York Times)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Pacific typhoon season
  • More than 24,000 people are evacuated as Typhoon Usagi makes landfall in Baggao, Cagayan, Philippines. (DW)

Health and environment

• A study published in the medical journal The Lancet reports that the number of adults who have diabetes globally has increased from 200 million people in 1990 to around 800 million people in 2022. The study also reported that around 40% of adults with diabetes are not receiving treatment for the disease. (DW) (The Guardian)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
  • Sri Lankans vote in a snap election for the 225 members of the 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka. (Morning Star) (DW)
• Nauru launches an investment initiative which offers Nauruan citizenship in exchange for investment in climate change mitigation. (RNZ)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
    • Six Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade are killed in a three-hour gun battle with Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. (Le Monde)

Business and economy

• United Kingdom cost-of-living crisis
  • British DIY retailer Homebase collapses into administration, threatening up to 2,000 jobs. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Indo-Pakistani smog
  • New Delhi, India, reports its 15th consecutive day with a "very poor" recorded air quality index due to significant air pollution causing zero meter visibility smog. (The Hindu)
• 2024 Spanish floods
  • Thousands of Spaniards living near river banks are evacuated following the issuing of AEMET's maximum weather alert in the Province of Málaga, Costa del Sol, and the Valencian Community caused by a new cold drop system. (The Independent)

International relations

• Israel–Turkey relations
  • Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces that Turkey has suspended all diplomatic relations with and will not develop any further relations with Israel. However, the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel, will continue to operate. Israel's foreign ministry denies any change in its diplomatic relationship with Turkey. (JNS) (Newsweek) (Middle East Eye)

Law and crime

• 2024 Brasília attack
  • Two explosions occurs near the Supreme Federal Court building and the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília, Brazil. The perpetrator dies by suicide bombing, being the only fatality. The Federal Police announces an investigation into the explosions, while the Attorney General's Office calls the situation "an attack against the Supreme Federal Court and the Chamber of Deputies". (G1) (CNN)
• Bulldozer Justice
  • The Supreme Court of India rules that it is unconstitutional for the government to demolish property belonging to people suspected of crimes without a legal process, a practice common in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. (The Times of India) (DW)
• International Criminal Court investigation in the Philippines, Philippine drug war
  • The Philippines says it is bound help the International Criminal Court if the international court seek custody of former President Rodrigo Duterte through Interpol over alleged crimes against humanity committed during the Philippine drug war. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2024 United States presidential election
  • Second presidential transition of Donald Trump
    • Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the White House and pledges a peaceful transition of power. (Reuters)
• 2024 Somaliland presidential election
  • Citizens of Somaliland vote for the President between incumbent Muse Bihi Abdi of the Kulmiye party, House of Representatives speaker Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi of the Waddani party, and Faysal Ali Warabe of the Justice and Welfare Party. (VOA) (DW)
• Israel–Hamas war protests
  • Crowds of pro-Palestinian protesters gather in Paris, France, against a gala raising funds for the Israel Defense Forces and included guests such as Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich. (France 24)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israel–Hamas war
  • Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
    • At least 40 people are killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, including ten in a double tap strike on a designated humanitarian zone in the Al-Mawasi refugee camp in Rafah Governorate. (Al Jazeera)
• Israel–Hezbollah conflict
  • 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon
    • At least 14 people are killed and at least 15 others are injured in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Ain Yaaqoub, Akkar Governorate, Northern Lebanon. (Al Jazeera)
• Ecuadorian security crisis
  • November 2024 Guayaquil prison riot
    • Seventeen people are killed and 15 more injured after a prison riot at the Litoral Penitentiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador. (AP)
• Haitian crisis
  • The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issues a temporary 30-day ground on all U.S. airlines from flying to Haiti after gangs shot at a Spirit Airlines aircraft that was attempting to land at Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday. The airport is also closed indefinitely in response to the shooting. (Miami Herald) (Scripps News)
• Red Sea crisis
  • The Pentagon reports that several missiles and drones launched at the USS Spruance and the USS Stockdale by the Houthis are shot down. (BBC)
• Somali Civil War
  • Al-Shabaab militants ambush and kill two South West State soldiers who were travelling on motorcycles on the highway between Wanlaweyn and Afgooye in Lower Shabelle, Somalia. (Hiiraan Online)
• Sudanese civil war
  • The United States Department of the Treasury sanctions Rapid Support Forces general Abdel Rahman Jumma, alleging that Jumma is the "primary party" responsible for the violence against civilians and human rights abuses in West Darfur, Sudan. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

• 2024 Booker Prize
  • English novelist Samantha Harvey wins the Booker Prize for her novel Orbital. (BBC News)
• Spanish writer Álvaro Pombo wins the Miguel de Cervantes Prize. (El País)

Disasters and accidents

• 2024 Indo-Pakistani smog
  • The Pakistani Health Department reports that at least 1.8 million people in Punjab, Pakistan have become sick with respiratory and eye irritation ailments caused by chronic, record-breaking air pollution. (AP)
• Louisville factory explosion
  • Two people are killed and 12 others are injured in an explosion at a food coloring factory in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. (KCRG-TV) (AP)
• Twenty-six people are killed when a bus carrying a wedding ceremony participants falls into the Indus River in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. (Anadolu Agency) (NBC News)

Law and crime

• Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse
  • A U.S. jury awards US$42 million to three former detainees of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, thereby holding Virginia-based military contractor CACI liable for their role in the torture and mistreatment of the detainees. (AP)
• Anglican Communion sexual abuse cases
  • Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, resigns over his handling of barrister John Smyth's sex abuse scandal. (NPR) (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2024 Mauritian general election
  • Opposition leader and Labour Party candidate Navin Ramgoolam is elected as Prime Minister of Mauritius, with his coalition Alliance du Changement winning 60 of the 66 National Assembly seats. Former Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth resigns following his party's defeat in the election. (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)