Syria–United States relations Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act expires due to its "sunset" clause that said the Act will cease to be effective on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment. The Act was signed by President Donald Trump and became law on December 20, 2019. The Syrian transitional government has repeatedly called for the removal of all economic sanctions against Syria so that the country can start reconstruction on its infrastructure after 13 years of civil war left the country in ruins.
2025 United States federal budget The United States Senate passes a bill to avert a government shutdown and will send it to President Joe Biden for his signature.
Red Sea crisis Sixteen people are injured following Houthi attacks on the Tel Aviv-Jaffa area in Israel.
2024 Magdeburg car attack The perpetrator of yesterday's vehicle-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, which killed four people and wounded about 200, is identified as anti-Islam Saudi Arabian doctor and supporter of Israel.
Russian invasion of Ukraine At least seven Ukrainian drones strike the Russian city of Kazan, six of which reportedly hit residential areas including a 32-story apartment building.
Articles The post-truth and the contextMost of the daily information we see on the mainstream media today is the news equivalent of fast-food.
Italy In Italy, the Meloni government survives a confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies on the 2025 budget.
2025 Belarusian presidential election Estonia says that it will not recognize the results of the upcoming presidential election in Belarus, which it claims has already been rigged to ensure that President Alexander Lukashenko will be re-elected.
2025 United States federal budget House Speaker Mike Johnson reintroduces a funding bill without Trump's debt ceiling suspension, stating that "we will not have a government shutdown". The bill, which will fund the government until March 2025, passes the House by a vote of 336–34 and will now go to the Senate.
A funding bill ensuring full operation of the U.S. federal government service with an amendment supported by President-elect Donald Trump that would enforce a two-year suspension of the federal debt ceiling is rejected in the Republican-majority House of Representatives, with multiple Republicans and nearly all Democrats opposing the bill. A government shutdown is expected to occur if no bill is passed by midnight.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau files a lawsuit against banks JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo for failing to protect consumers against alleged widespread fraud on the built-in payment system Zelle equating over $870 million.
United States The United States withdraws its $10 million reward for the arrest of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of the Syrian group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.
Guatemala Guatemalan authorities rescue 160 minors from the Lev Tahor sect in Oratorio, Santa Rosa, amid allegations of human trafficking, forced marriage, and child abuse.
Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights rules that El Salvador violated the human rights of a woman denied an abortion during a high-risk pregnancy in 2013 and orders the country to implement measures allowing abortions in cases where the woman's life is at risk.
2024 Zagreb school stabbing A child is killed and seven other people are injured in a mass stabbing at a primary school in Zagreb, Croatia. The 19-year-old perpetrator is arrested.
Hungary–Poland relations Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons Hungary's ambassador to protest the Hungarian government's decision to grant asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who is wanted under the European Arrest Warrant for alleged corruption. Poland also recalls its ambassador to Hungary Sebastian Kęciek for consultations.
Australia–Solomon Islands relations Australia agrees to provide Solomon Islands with financing, training, and infrastructure support worth AU$190 million (US$118 million) over four years to strengthen its police force as part of a renewed security partnership between the two countries.
Rohingya genocide The Sri Lanka Navy rescues 102 Rohingya refugees, including 25 children, that were found adrift on a fishing trawler and takes them to Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.
European migrant crisis Eight people are killed and 18 others are rescued when a speedboat carrying migrants capsizes off the coast of Rhodes, Greece.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Malaysian Minister of Transport Anthony Loke announces a new search effort for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March 2014, to be conducted by American marine robotics company Ocean Infinity.
Terrorism in Germany Two people are killed and 68 others are injured in a vehicle-ramming attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany. The suspected perpetrator is arrested.
13 years of civil war U.S. forces kill regional ISIS leader Abu Yusif, also known as Mahmud, in an airstrike in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Syria.
The United States drops the $10 million terrorism bounty offered for capture of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani who ousted Assad.
Israeli soldiers shoot at and wound a Syrian man protesting against the soldiers' presence in Ma'ariya, Daraa Governorate.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in Marda, Salfit Governorate in the occupied West Bank and deface the building's facade with anti-Arab statements, including "Death to Arabs".
Russian invasion of Ukraine At least one person is killed and eight others are injured in Russian missile strikes on civilian infrastructure in Kryvyi Rih and Kyiv, Ukraine.
A Ukrainian missile strike kills six people and injures 10 others in Rylsk, Kursk Oblast, Russia, according to acting Kursk Oblast governor Alexander Khinshtein. Russia says that it will raise the issue of the missile strike at the United Nations Security Council.
Sudanese civil war At least 50 people, mostly from the Zaghawa ethnic group, have been killed by the Rapid Support Forces in the past week in El Fasher, North Darfur State, Sudan.
The United Nations Human Rights Office reports that the Rapid Support Forces have killed over 782 civilians and wounded over 1,143 others in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, since May, and urges the RSF to halt their incursions into the city.
Aleksandar Šapić Aleksandar Šapić, the mayor of Belgrade, Serbia, announces the city will make all public transit free on January 1, 2025.
Malaysian high court A Malaysian high court acquits Rosmah Mansor, the wife of former prime minister Najib Razak, of 17 charges of money laundering and tax evasion due to insufficient evidence.
Mazan rapes The Judicial Court in Avignon, France, finds Dominique Pelicot guilty of the aggravated rape of his ex-wife Gisèle Pelicot, and imposes the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The 50 other defendants in the case are also convicted of crimes ranging from attempted rape to aggravated rape, and receive prison sentences ranging from three to 15 years.
Deportation and removal from the United States The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency reports 271,484 deportations in the past fiscal year, the most since 2014 and almost double of the previous fiscal year.
2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration bans the flying of drones over multiple cities in New Jersey citing "special security reasons".
France France's Directorate-General for External Security reports that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso on allegations of being foreign intelligence agents have been released following mediation by Morocco.
Hungary–Poland relations Hungary grants political asylum to former Polish deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who faces allegations of corruption in Poland.
Georgia–United Kingdom relations The United Kingdom and the United States impose sanctions on Georgian officials, including Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri, in response to alleged violent crackdowns on pro-European protests.
China–India relations Indian national security advisor Ajit Doval and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meet in Beijing, China, and reach a six-point consensus to maintain peace along the border, refine border management rules, resume cross-border exchanges, and work toward resolving border disputes. A follow-up meeting is planned to be held in India next year.
Stampede Thirty-five children are killed and at least six others are injured during a stampede and subsequent crowd crush at a school fair in Basorun, Oyo State, Nigeria. Several officials, including the school's principal, are detained.
Warehouse Nine people are killed during a fire at a warehouse building of PX Mart under construction in Taichung, Taiwan.
2024–25 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season The death toll from Cyclone Chido in Mozambique increase to 73, including 66 in Cabo Delgado Province.
Mexican drug war Two soldiers are killed after an explosion caused by a improvised landmine at a drug laboratory in Michoacán, Mexico. Three days ago, two other soldiers were killed and three more injured in Michoacán during a similiar incident.
2024 Parliament of Abkhazia shooting A lawmaker is killed and another is injured in a shooting inside the Parliament in Sukhumi, Abkhazia. The perpetrator, identified as MP and former Sukhumi mayor Adgur Kharazia, flees the scene.
Russian invasion of Ukraine British defence secretary John Healey announces a proposal to send military advisors to train Ukrainian forces.
Israel–Hamas war Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of committing "acts of genocide" in Gaza by damaging water supply infrastructure and depriving civilians of clean water.
Red Sea crisis The United States Department of the Treasury announces sanctions on the governor of the Central Bank of Yemen in Sanaa, Yemen, and several Houthi officials and associated companies and vessels, accusing them of trafficking dual-use weapon components and Iranian petroleum to the Houthis.
Israel carries out a series of airstrikes against the Houthis in western Yemen, damaging the Ras Isa oil facility, the port of as-Salif, and several power stations, and killing at least nine people.
13 years of civil war The Syrian Interim Government announces that they have begun preparing lists of people from the former regime who were involved in war crimes, torture, and murder.
Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the Prime Minister of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity of Libya, denounces the entry of Russian forces from Syria into the eastern part of Libya.
Satellite imagery reveals that Russian forces are mobilizing heavy planes at Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia Governorate and are also mobilizing ships at Tartus naval base, indicating a potential withdrawal.
Iraq announces the repatriation of members of the Syrian Armed Forces who fled after the fall of the Assad regime through the Al-Qa'im border crossing, back to Syria.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, the emir of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, makes an announcement claiming that the country is exhausted by perpetual warfare and is no longer a threat to its neighbors or the Western world.
U.S.-backed SDF forces vow to fight Turkey and pro-Turkish rebel groups in Kobani, Aleppo Governorate.
The Baniyas Refinery, Syria’s largest oil refinery, stops operating after ceasing to receive the crude oil from Iran that previously made up the majority of the country’s input.
Iraqi foreign minister Fuad Hussein warns that ISIS cells in Syria have begun reorganizing and taking new land following the collapse of the Syrian Armed Forces and subsequent abandonment of weapons depots.