Portal:Current events/2023 December 13

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Mexican drug war
  • Six people are killed and two others are injured in a shootout between rival drug cartels in Villanueva, Zacatecas. After the encounter, authorities arrest a suspect and decommissions five assault rifles, grenades and ammunition.(AP) (El Universal)
• Myanmar civil war
  • Operation 1027
    • Allied rebel forces say that they have seized the town of Maw Luu in Sagaing Region. (The Irrawaddy)
• Nigerian bandit conflict
  • Four soldiers and two civilian drivers are killed and two South Korean workers are kidnapped in an ambush against a convoy in Rivers State, Nigeria. (Reuters)
• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russian strikes against infrastructure
    • A Russian ballistic missile attack in Kyiv injures over 50 people. (The Guardian)
• Yemeni civil war
  • A commercial tanker, Ardmore Encounter, is attacked off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea with missiles and by gunmen using speedboats. The ship fended off the attack and suffered no damage. Separately, the USS Mason shoots down a drone launched by the Houthis. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

• Bulgarian authorities begin dismantling the 45-meter-high Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia, erected in 1954 to commemorate the Soviet Union's invasion of the country during World War II. (AP)

Business and economy

• Tesla recalls two million cars in the United States due to insufficient safety controls within the vehicles' AutoPilot system. This applies "to almost every Tesla sold in the US since the Autopilot feature was launched in 2015." Tesla will fix the issue with an automatic software update. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

• Sixteen people are killed in a multiple-vehicle collision on a highway near Caracas, Venezuela. (AFP via NST)

Health and environment

• 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference
  • The controversial conference ends with a historic agreement urging nations to transition away from all fossil fuels. (AFP via The Daily Star)

Law and crime

• The UK's Information Commissioner's Office imposes a £350,000 (US$442,755) fine on the Ministry of Defence for a data breach that exposed the email addresses of 265 Afghans seeking refuge from the Taliban. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
• Thai police seize a record haul of methamphetamine tablets in the western province of Kanchanaburi, consisting of an estimated 50 million tablets hidden in sacks in a six-wheeler truck stopped at a joint police-military checkpoint. (AP)
• A Colombian congressional committee orders a preliminary investigation into President Gustavo Petro over allegations of crimes in the financing of his election campaign, following reports of alleged irregular campaign contributions involving his son. (AP)

Politics and elections

• 2023 Pakistani protests
  • Pakistan’s top court allows military courts to resume the trials of more than 100 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of attacking military installations during demonstrations that broke out following Khan’s arrest. (AP)
• 2023 Swiss federal election
  • Viola Amherd is elected as the President of Switzerland by the Federal Assembly. (Reuters via The Star)
• Impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden
  • The United States House of Representatives votes to formally authorize its ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. (Reuters)
• Donald Tusk is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Poland, initiating his third cabinet. (AP)
• 2023–2024 Japanese slush fund scandal
  • Japanese Economic Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, Internal Minister Junji Suzuki, Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno resign following a scandal involving alleged kickbacks within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. (AFP via France 24)
• Mark Drakeford announces his resignation as First Minister of Wales and leader of Welsh Labour. A leadership election will be held by the end of March 2024 to select Drakeford's replacement. (BBC News)
• 2023 Indian Parliament breach
  • Two individuals enter the Lok Sabha chamber and release a smoke canister, causing panic and adjournment of the session. The attack takes place on the 22nd anniversary of 2001 Indian Parliament attack. (BBC News)
  • 15 opposition MPs are suspended by Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar for 'unruly conduct' after they chanted slogans demanding a statement from the home minister Amit Shah. The suspension of one MP, S. R. Parthiban, is revoked after it is revealed that he was not present in parliament for the session. (BBC News)(The Indian Express)

Science and technology

• Voyager program
  • Voyager 1, the farthest spacecraft from Earth, launched 46 years ago, stops sending data to Earth due to a technical glitch. However, the spacecraft can still receive commands. (CNN)

Sports

• 2023–24 NBA season
  • The National Basketball Association suspends Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green indefinitely due to Green's recurring unsportsmanlike conduct. (AFP via SCMP)