Portal:Current events/2023 December 14

December 14, 2023 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israel–Hamas war
- Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
  - Tanzanian Foreign Minister January Makamba confirms that a 21-year-old Tanzanian student was "killed immediately after being captured by Hamas" on 7 October. (AFP via New Vision)
- International reactions to the Israel–Hamas war
  - 2023 Danish terror plot
    - Seven people are arrested in Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands after police discover possible terrorist plans to attack Jewish institutions in Europe. Four of the detained are identified as Hamas members by police, a claim which Hamas has denied. (Reuters)
Sistan and Baluchestan insurgency
- Jaish ul-Adl militants attack a police station in Rask, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran, killing eleven officers and wounding others. Several gunmen are also killed in the ensuing shootout. (Reuters)
Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian strikes against infrastructure
  - Romania says that a Russian drone has crashed in its territory, leaving a crater in Grindu, Tulcea, near the Ukrainian border. Romanian Air Force F-16s and German Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons conducted joint patrols in response to the violation of NATO airspace. (Reuters)
Yemeni Crisis
- Red Sea crisis
  - Maersk calls for "political action" after a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen narrowly misses one of their container ships in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. An unknown vessel claiming to be from the Yemeni Navy also ordered the ship to sail towards the Yemeni coast. (The Drive)

Business and economy

Visa policy of Iran
- Iran lifts travel visa requirements for tourists in 33 countries, including all Gulf states and one EU member state, Croatia. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

2023 Beijing Subway collision
- At least 515 people are injured in a rear-end collision between railroad cars on the Changping line of the Beijing Subway in China near the Xi'erqi station amid snowfall. (AP via 1News)

International relations

2023 Guayana Esequiba crisis
- Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali hold talks in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Both leaders agree to use neither threats nor force against the other. A joint commission is announced to address the existing issues, with a report expected within three months. (Reuters) (AP)
2023 Nigerien crisis
- Togolese Foreign Minister Robert Dussey announces an agreement with the Nigerien military junta for the country's transition to civilian rule, ready for presentation to the ECOWAS with the aim of lifting Niger's suspension from the body. (AFP via The Hindu)
Bulgaria–Russia relations
- Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says that Bulgaria will "fully pay the consequences" of its "shameful decision" to remove the Soviet-era Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia. (The Daily Express)
Finland–United States relations
- Finland announces the creation of a defense cooperation agreement with the United States. The agreement will grant Finland access to American military resources for use in defensive operations, while the US will gain military access to Finland in the event of conflict. (Reuters)
Potential enlargement of the European Union
- Accession of Ukraine to the European Union, Accession of Moldova to the European Union, Accession of Georgia to the European Union
  - The EU announces the opening of accession talks with Moldova and Ukraine and the granting of candidate status to Georgia. (Euronews)

Law and crime

Bloody Sunday
- A former British paratrooper will stand trial in the killing of two civil rights protesters during a massacre, where British soldiers shot 13 protesters during a protest march in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland. (AP)
Disappearance of Alex Batty
- Alex Batty, a British boy who went missing in Spain in 2017 when he was 11, is found alive in France. (BBC News)
A United States Navy officer, Ridge Alkonis, jailed in Japan after being found guilty of the negligent driving deaths of two local civilians, has been transferred into American custody, where he was booked into a federal detention center. (AP)
Ex-FBI agent Charles McGonigal is sentenced to over four years in prison for violating U.S. sanctions on Russia, including laundering money for oligarch Oleg Deripaska. (BBC News)
Hong Kong police announce HK$1 million (US$128,000) bounties for five activists residing overseas, including Simon Cheng, charging them with inciting secession under the national security law. (AFP via CNN-News18)
The New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal acquits Kathleen Folbigg, overturning her 2003 conviction for the deaths of her four children, following new scientific evidence revealing rare genetic mutations as the cause of the deaths. (AFP via NDTV)
Online marketplace company Temu files a lawsuit against online fashion retailer Shein, accusing Shein of "mafia-style intimidation of suppliers". (CNBC)