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Donald Trump

In the Netherlands, the supreme court upholds a ruling that the government must meet established emissions reduction milestones, creating the first legal precedent on the impact of climate change on human rights.
United States president Donald Trump (pictured) is impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf is sentenced to death in absentia for treason and subverting the constitution.
In India, at least 23 people are killed and many others are arrested in protests against a law on citizenship for migrants.

December 23, 2019 (Monday)

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Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A car bomb in Turkish-controlled Suluk, Tell Abyad District, kills five people and wounds others. Turkey's defense ministry claims the attack killed eight civilians and was from 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 US soldier is killed in combat. The Taliban claim a roadside bomb in Char Dara District, Kunduz Province, is responsible. (CBS News)
France's defense ministry reports its first armed drone strike. On Saturday, Reaper drones killed seven in central Mali. (AP via The Daily Star)

Business and economy

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)
Boeing fires its CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, amidst ongoing controversy over the crashes and subsequent grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet. (CNN)
China announces the reduction of tariffs on 850 products and measures to open markets in several industries. (AP)

Health and environment

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)

Law and crime

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)

Politics and elections

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)

December 22, 2019 (Sunday)

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Armed conflict and attacks

Crisis in Venezuela
- Attackers raid a military facility in the southern state of Bolívar, killing one soldier and stealing weapons. Authorities say the weapons are recovered and opposition-linked suspects are arrested. (Reuters)

Business and economy

British retailer Tesco suspends operations at a factory in China after the Sunday Times newspaper reports that a six-year-old in London found a message from Shanghai prisoners calling for help and urging whoever finds the message to alert a human rights organisation, with a link to the author of the story, hidden inside a pack of charity Christmas cards. Tesco says that it has a policy against using prison labour. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

2019–20 Australian bushfire season
- Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters gain access to previously cut-off towns and settlements by bushfires in New South Wales, taking advantage of cooler weather. The small town of Balmoral is reported as being destroyed with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying there's "not much left" of the town. (Daily Telegraph) (Reuters)

Law and crime

A riot at a maximum security prison in El Porvenir, Atlántida, Honduras leaves at least 16 inmates dead, according to Honduran authorities. The riot comes just two days after another riot killed 18 inmates at a prison in the town of Tela. (AP)

Politics and elections

2019 Afghan presidential election
- Afghanistan's incumbent President Ashraf Ghani wins a slim majority of the votes in a September 28 election, delayed preliminary results showed after a poll that plunged the country into political crisis and was marred by allegations of fraud. (Reuters)
2019 Croatian presidential election
- Citizens of Croatia cast their votes in the latest presidential election. (DW)
2019 Hong Kong protests
- Over a thousand protestors march in the financial district of Hong Kong to show solidarity with Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. A dozen police officers clash with the crowd to disperse them. (Reuters)

Science and technology

Boeing's unmanned CST-100 Starliner crew capsule successfully reenters the atmosphere and lands at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, United States, after a failed rendezvous with the International Space Station. (The Guardian)

December 21, 2019 (Saturday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Somali Civil War (2009–present)
- A suicide attack by car bomb in Galkayo, Somalia, kills at least seven civilians, though the death toll is expected to rise according to military officials. According to a military spokesman, the suicide bomber tried to enter a hotel compound but failed and hit a military pickup. No group has claimed responsibility yet. (Reuters)
Islamic insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present), Operation Barkhane
- During his visit to West Africa, French President Emmanuel Macron says that French forces killed 33 Islamist militants in central Mali earlier that day. (The Guardian)
Libyan Crisis (2011–present), Libya–Turkey relations
- The Libyan Coast Guard loyal to Field marshal Khalifa Haftar seizes a Grenada-flagged ship with a Turkish crew off the coast of Derna, Libya, according to a spokesman for the Libyan National Army. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Nord Stream 2 says it will finish construction "as soon as possible" after a contractor suspends pipe-laying work due to U.S. sanctions on the Russian gas pipeline to Europe. (Reuters)
Russia–Ukraine relations
- Russia and Ukraine reach a new five-year agreement on gas transit. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

A fire at an apartment building in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, kills six people and injures thirteen others. (Associated Press)
A bus collides with a truck near Gualán, Guatemala, killing at least 21 people including seven children, according to the Guatemalan Public Ministry. (CNN)

Law and crime

Censorship in Pakistan, Blasphemy in Pakistan, Capital punishment in Pakistan
- A court in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan, sentences university professor Junaid Hafeez to death for blasphemy – verbal and on Facebook. (Al Jazeera)
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrest two suspects after they allegedly made online death threats to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau had to wear a bulletproof vest during a visit to Mississauga, Ontario, due to the threats made during his electoral campaign. (Yahoo! News Canada)

December 20, 2019 (Friday)

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Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- Fighting resumes in rebel-held northwestern Syria, as government forces capture four villages by making their first large-scale push against rebel groups since the ceasefire that ended the 2019 northwestern Syria offensive earlier this year. (ABC News)
Citizenship Amendment Act protests
- Further clashes between protesters and police in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh leaves six people dead. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

Japan announces it will raise military spending (1.1%) for an eighth consecutive year to a record high as it invests in ballistic missile and air defence to counter a perceived threat from North Korea and China. (Reuters)

International relations

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Fatou Bensouda announces she will launch a full investigation into allegations of war crimes in the Palestinian territories. (Al Jazeera)
Iran–Japan relations
- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets with Prime Minister Shinzō Abe in Tokyo to discuss renewing the Iranian nuclear deal. Rouhani is the first Iranian president to visit Japan in over 19 years. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

Climate justice, Climate change mitigation
- In Urgenda Foundation v. State of the Netherlands, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upholds a 2015 ruling that "protection from the potentially devastating effects of climate change" is a human right, ordering the Dutch government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% by the end of 2020 compared to 1990 levels. (climatecasechart.com) (AP)

Politics and elections

Brexit
- The House of Commons of the United Kingdom votes 358–234 to pass the government's Brexit withdrawal agreement for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union on 31 January 2020. The bill will now head to the House of Lords for final approval. The bill also rules out extending trade talks with the EU beyond 31 December 2020, known as the "transition period". (BBC)

Science and technology

Boeing Orbital Flight Test
- An Atlas V N22 rocket successfully launches the first space-faring Boeing Starliner spacecraft during the Boe-OFT mission. However, an issue with the spacecraft's mission elapsed time clock immediately after launch causes the premature depletion of the spacecraft's attitude control fuel, precluding the spacecraft's planned rendezvous with the International Space Station. An early reentry and landing of the spacecraft at the White Sands Missile Range is planned for 22 December. (NPR)
Twitter suspensions
- Twitter bans almost 6,000 accounts, alleging that they were "amplifying messages favourable to Saudi authorities" in a Saudi state-backed coordination. (BBC)

December 19, 2019 (Thursday)

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International Relations

Pakistan–United States relations
- The U.S. State Department reinstates Pakistan into International Military Education and Training program. It was suspended in August 2018 as part of the Trump administration's pressure to have it crack down on Islamist militants. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Maguindanao massacre
- A court in the Philippines finds 28 people, including former Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. and his brother, former Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, guilty of murder for their roles in the Maguindanao massacre, and sentences them to life imprisonment (40 years). (Rappler)
- Mayor Sajid Ampatuan, also a brother of Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., and 55 others are acquitted. (Rappler)
2017–18 Spanish constitutional crisis, April 2019 Spanish general election
- President of Catalonia Quim Torra is sentenced by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia to a year and a half of disqualification (inhabilitación) from exercising the powers of elected office, in addition to a fine of 30,000€ for disobeying the Central Electoral Board by not withdrawing partisan symbols in the Palau de la Generalitat and not guaranteeing the institution's neutrality during the April election campaign. Torra can appeal the ruling. (El País)
Trial of Catalonia independence leaders, 2019 European Parliament election
- The European Court of Justice determines that jailed former Vice President of Catalonia Oriol Junqueras had immunity as an elected MEP, despite being unable to take up his seat, as the Spanish Supreme Court had ruled due to his then-provisional prison situation. (The Guardian)
Two people are killed and four injured in a shooting outside Russia's Federal Security Service headquarters on Moscow's Lubyanka Square. The shooter is also killed. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Citizenship Amendment Act protests
- Thousands of demonstrators take to the streets in various parts of India to protest the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. Some are arrested, and internet service is shut down in many parts of the country. (ndtv)
- Three people are killed in violent clashes between protesters and police in Mangalore and Lucknow. (BBC)
The Venezuelan Supreme Court overturns a rule pertaining to the opposition-led National Assembly, which allowed members of the Assembly to vote in absentia due to large numbers of exiled opposition politicians. (Yahoo!)
The Parliament of Lebanon nominates former Education Minister Hassan Diab as Prime Minister. President Michel Aoun tasks him with forming a new government. (Al Jazeera)
2020 Labour Party leadership election
- Shadow Treasury Minister Clive Lewis announces his candidacy to succeed Jeremy Corbyn as Leader of the Labour Party. He is the second person to make this announcement, after Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry. (BBC)

Science and technology

Scientists discover a 386 million-year-old fossil forest at a sandstone quarry in Cairo, New York, making it the oldest known fossil forest in the world. (The Guardian)

December 18, 2019 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflict and attack

Boko Haram insurgency
- Boko Haram militants open fire on civilians, killing 15 and wounding five others in a fishing village in Chad. 13 others were missing after the attack. (Al Jazeera)
Gunmen kill two police officers escorting a polio vaccination team in Lower Dir District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (National Post)

Arts and culture

Ilham Tohti, an Uyghur economist serving a life sentence for his criticisms of China’s policies in Xinjiang, is awarded this year’s Sakharov Prize. (Al Jazeera)

International relations

Pakistan pulls out of an international summit of Muslim nations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, scheduled to start this Thursday. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said it was done after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates expressed concern that the summit was to establish a rival bloc to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

The Cabinet of Germany proposes to ban conversion therapy for both transgender and gay people. The proposal was expanded to include people between the ages of 16 and 18. (Deutsche Welle)
Impeachment of Donald Trump
- The United States House of Representatives votes largely along party lines to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump becomes the third American president to be impeached by the House, after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. His impeachment proceedings continue on to the Senate, which will give them a final verdict and decide whether or not he should be removed from office. (The New York Times)

Science and technology

Cosmic Vision
- Arianespace successfully launches the European Space Agency's CHEOPS space telescope from Guiana Space Centre. The European observatory will search for new exoplanets and will be able to study an exoplanet's composition and internal structure. The launch also included OPS-SAT, an ESA CubeSat. (BBC)