Current events: 2023-12-15

Wikipedia Current Events · Dec 15, 2023

Armed conflicts and attacks

2023 Israel–Hamas war
- 2023 Israel–Hamas war hostage crisis
  - The Israel Defense Forces says it has mistakenly killed three hostages in Shuja'iyya, Gaza City, in friendly fire incidents. (The Times of Israel)
Yemeni Crisis
- Houthi involvement in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
  - Two Liberian-flagged vessels in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait are attacked with drones and ballistic missiles launched by Houthi militants in Yemen, causing a fire on one of the ships but no injuries are reported. (Reuters)
  - Shipping firms Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk announce a pause in all container shipments through the Red Sea until further notice amid Houthi attacks on commercial vessels. (AFP via France 24)

Business and economy

Peak coal consumption
- The International Energy Agency forecasts global coal consumption is expected to reach a record high in 2023, as demand in emerging and developing economies remains strong. The demand for coal is predicted to rise 1.4 percent in 2023, surpassing 8.5 billion tonnes for the first time. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

English Channel migrant crossings
- One person is killed and another hospitalized after a boat carrying more than 60 migrants encountered difficulty as it attempted to make the crossing across the English Channel from France to the United Kingdom. (AP)

International relations

Politics and elections

Corruption in Belgium, Chinese intelligence activity abroad
- A joint text message traffic investigation by the Financial Times, Der Spiegel and Le Monde reveals that Belgian Vlaams Belang politician Frank Creyelman accepted bribes from the Chinese ministry of State Security for three years to influence discussions within the European Union. He was subsequently expelled from the party. (Financial Times)

Law and crime

News of the World royal phone hacking scandal
- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex wins a phone hacking lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mirror in the first of several lawsuits against British tabloids to go to trial. The High Court found phone hacking was widespread at the Mirror Group, while private investigators gathered information unlawfully. (AP)
Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 U.S. presidential election
- A United States federal jury orders Rudy Giuliani, former lawyer for former President Donald Trump, to pay $148 million in damages for defaming two Georgian election officials with false electoral fraud claims. (AFP via France 24)
Fourteen workers at Tenerife South Airport in Spain were arrested on suspicion of stealing items from checked-in luggage. Police seized allegedly stolen items worth almost two million euros. (AP)
A councillor throws grenades in a meeting of the village council of {{ill|Keretsky|uk|Керецьки}}, Ukraine, wounding 26 people. The perpetrator is also seriously injured. (AFP via Barron's)
An ECOWAS court orders that former president of Niger Mohamed Bazoum be freed from arrest and reinstated as president following this year's coup. (ABC News)