Portal:Current events/2015 December 2

Current events of December 2, 2015 (2015-12-02) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War Russia expands its military presence in Syria with an additional airbase that can accommodate fixed-winged military aircraft. The U.S. Department of Defense also confirms that Russia added S-400 surface-to-air missiles to its Syrian stockpile and armed its military aircraft with air-to-air missiles. According to Military Times, "A Pentagon spokesman expressed concern" these moves indicate Russia's commitment to aiding the embattled Assad regime as opposed to combating ISIL. No Syrian opposition groups including ISIL have combat-ready aircraft that require air-to-air missiles. (Fox News), (Military Times) Yemeni Civil War (2015), Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen Al-Qaeda militants seize control of Zinjibar, capital of Yemen's southern Abyan Governorate, as well as the town of Jaʿār, following fierce clashes with pro-Hadi government forces. (CNN) 2015 West African offensive, Islamist insurgency in Nigeria Cameroon’s army, backed by a regional taskforce, has killed at least 100 members of the militant Islamist Boko Haram group and freed 900 people it had held hostage, the west African country’s defence ministry has said. Regional taskforce conducts sweep along border with Nigeria. (The Guardian), (AFP via Yahoo) Military intervention against ISIL The Parliament of the United Kingdom votes 397–223 to authorize Royal Air Force air strikes on ISIL in Syria. (The Journal) 2015 San Bernardino shooting Two people open fire in San Bernardino, California (U.S.) at a center for people with developmental disabilities, killing at least 14 people and injuring 14 others in what the city’s police chief described as an act of domestic terrorism. (Reuters), (The Los Angeles Times), (AFP via The Australian), (CNN), (Fox News), (The Washington Post) A second shooting incident near 1757 Richardson in San Bernardino unfolded around 3:00 p.m. PST, with police requesting a BearCat and medical assistance. Both suspects die on-scene. (The New York Times), (The Los Angeles Times) Arts and culture The Institute of Contemporary History in Munich announces a publication of a two-volume set of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. The new edition, which contains 3,500 scholarly annotations, is intended, The New York Times reports, “To set the work in historical context, to show how Hitler wove truth with half-truth and outright lie, and thus to defang any propagandistic effect while revealing Nazism.” This is the first printing in Germany since the end of World War II. (The New York Times), (The Week) Business and economics Janet L. Yellen, chairperson of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, states that economic conditions improved to the point where a rise in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate is likely when the Federal Open Market Committee meets in mid-December. (The New York Times) Disasters and accidents 2015 South Indian floods Days of heavy rain in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu causes floods with many areas in the city of Chennai under water. The death toll from rain-related incidents has reached 188. (The Hindu) The Indian Navy and Army are conducting rescue operations in low lying areas. (ND TV) India's National Disaster Response Force sends 600 officers to Chennai to assist. (Indian Broadcast News Live) Health and medicine A new study by the NYU Langone Medical Center published in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal today finds exposure to emissions from coal-fired power plants over a long period of time is significantly more harmful, five times higher, to the heart than other forms of carbon pollution. (The Washington Post), (New York University Langone Medical Center) International relations Hearings begin in the legal battle between the Japanese government and local officials in Okinawa over plans to move a U.S. military air base on the southern island. This fall, Okinawa Governor Takeshi Onaga revoked his predecessor’s authorization for a US Marine Corps air base. (AP), (Financial Times) Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha orders officials to improve aviation safety standards after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) downgraded Thailand's safety ratings. The lower rating is for failure to tackle commercial aviation standards shortcomings found in an audit this year. The European Aviation Safety Agency is due to announce the results of its own audit later in December. (Reuters) Enlargement of NATO NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announces the invitation sent to Montenegro to join the military alliance, 16 years after the country, as part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was bombed by the alliance in the Kosovo War. Montenegro's accession would result in "retaliatory actions", according to a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin. (BBC News), (CNN) Kuril Islands dispute Russia is reportedly constructing hundreds of buildings for military use on the disputed Kunashir and Iturup islands, also claimed by Japan, in the Sea of Okhotsk. The Russian Defence Ministry said the new military buildings would help “raise the combat readiness of troops on the eastern frontiers of Russia". (The Japan Times) Law and crime Authorities arrest four Kosovo jihadists men, three in Italy and one in Kosovo, for making nonspecific threats against Pope Francis and the former U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo. The men are described by police as highly dangerous and as having celebrated the November 2015 Paris attacks. (The Independent via MSN) Politics and elections Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah rejects a cabinet reshuffle ordered by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, another sign of the deepening rift between the two leaders. These problems started in March after the president appointed the minister of health as acting foreign minister without consulting the prime minister. (Reuters) Myanmar general election, 2015 Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi discusses the smooth transfer of power to her National League for Democracy (NLD) party with President Thein Sein, their first public meeting since the November election. The new administration will be sworn in early next year. (Reuters) 2015 protests in Brazil Brazil's lower house of Congress opens impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff over a corruption scandal involving the state-owned oil giant, Petrobras. (BBC)