Portal:Current events/2012 December 23

Current events of December 23, 2012 (2012-12-23) (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war:
  • Up to 200 civilians are killed by Syrian government warplanes in the town of Helfaya, Hama province. (Reuters) (BBC) (Al Arabiya)
• Piracy in Somalia:
  • Troops in Somalia's region of Puntland free 22 hostages seized by pirates nearly three years ago. (BBC)
• 2012 Northern Mali conflict:
  • Islamists in Mali are reported to have resumed a campaign to destroy mausoleums that they consider idolatrous in the historic city of Timbuktu. (BBC)
• Central African Republic Bush War:
  • The Seleka rebel coalition takes over Bambari, the country's third largest town, after a string of similar successes in recent weeks. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• The governments of Chile and Argentina issue volcanic activity alerts in areas close to the Copahue volcano after it started spewing ash. (BBC) (AFP via Google) (Al Jazeera)
• A plane en route from Winnipeg to Sanikiluaq Nunavut crashes with nine people aboard, killing a six-month-old child. (CBC News) (The Globe and Mail)
• Emergency services are dealing with major flooding in the Aberdeenshire town of Stonehaven in Scotland. (BBC)
• A train derails in the Swiss Alps after ramming into mounds of snow from an avalanche blocking the tracks with no injuries. (The New Age)
• At least 600 shops are destroyed as a fire sweeps through a market and money exchange in Kabul, Afghanistan. (BBC)

International relations

• The South Korean defence ministry says the launch of a satellite into space by North Korea was a disguised test of a 10,000 km range missile. (BBC) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)

Law and crime

• Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says his force will launch "a ruthless search for the truth" in the Andrew Mitchell "plebgate" controversy. (BBC)

Politics and elections

• Egyptian constitutional referendum, 2012:
  • A Draft constitution by the Constitutuent Assembly is approved by a majority of Egyptians in a referendum on 15 and 22 December. (BBC) (Reuters) (Al Jazeera)
  • Egypt's main opposition demands an investigation into the referendum on the Draft constitution, citing "fraud and violations" in the voting. (BBC) (AP)

Sport

• 2014 FIFA World Cup host Brazil will play Italy in a friendly game in Geneva, Switzerland, on 21 March 2013 ahead of their 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup match on 22 June 2013 in Salvador, Bahia. (Goal.com) (ESPN)
• Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is "lucky to be alive", according to his manager Sir Alex Ferguson, after a nasty incident during a Premier League game in Wales today. (GOAL) (BBC) (CNN) (ESPN) (New Straits Times)
• Chelsea miss numerous chances, including a penalty, though still manage to stroll to an 8-0 Premier League victory over Aston Villa, the team's worst defeat in their 138-year history. (The Guardian) (ESPN) (The Daily Telegraph)
• Aykut Kocaman resigns as Fenerbahçe coach after pressure from fans mounted following defeat to Karabükspor in the 2012–13 Süper Lig. (Goal.com)
• Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar announces his retirement from One Day International cricket. (BBC) (The Times of India)