Portal:Current events/2019 December 23

December 23, 2019 (Monday)

Armed conflict and attacks

Syrian Civil War
- A car bomb in Turkish-controlled Suluk, Tell Abyad District, Raqqa Governorate, kills five people and wounds others. Turkey's defense ministry says the attack killed eight civilians and was by 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 U.S. soldier has been killed in combat. The Taliban claim a roadside bomb in Char Dara District, Kunduz Province was responsible. (CBS News)
Insurgency in the Maghreb (2002–present), Operation Barkhane
- France's defense ministry reports its first armed drone strike. On Saturday, a Reaper drone strike killed seven in central Mali. (AP via The Daily Star)
2019 Iranian protests
- Unknown Iranian officials claimed the death toll is 1,500 in recent crackdowns by security forces. The United States confirmed the report, including the deaths of 400 women and a dozen teenagers. (VOA)

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

Health and environment

International relations

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 News)
- The United Nations rapporteur on summary executions, Agnès Callamard, describes the sentence as a "mockery" of justice, since, according to her, it was an "extrajudicial execution for which the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible" and its masterminds walk free. (Al Jazeera)

Politics and elections