Current events: 2024-12-16

Wikipedia Current Events · Monday at 7:13 PM

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- Fall of the Assad regime
  - A recently created mass grave containing 17 executed Syrian Army soldiers is discovered in the Syrian Desert near Deir ez-Zor. (SOHR)
  - Speaking publicly for the first time since being overthrown, former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad says he "didn't intend to leave Syria" and claims he went to Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia Governorate to "oversee combat operations" only for the Syrian Army to abandon their positions and surrender to rebel forces. (BBC News)
- Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian civil war
  - Unidentified masked men assassinate the brother of the Imam of the Great Prophet Mosque of Masyaf in a potential revenge operation, due to the latter being associated with Hezbollah and other Iranian- and Shia-associated militias. (SOHR)
- 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria
  - Heavy Israeli airstrikes are reported in Syria's coastal Tartus region overnight. (The Times of Israel)
Israel–Hamas war
- The Gaza Health Ministry announces that the death toll for the ongoing war has surpassed 45,000. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

2024 Australia heat wave
- Victoria reaches above {{Convert|47|C|F}} in temperature for the first time since the 2019 Black Summer season. (The Guardian)
- Extreme heat wave warnings and fire risk warnings are imposed across multiple regions of Australia, with temperatures reaching 12–16°C above average across multiple settlements. (ABC News Australia)

Law and crime

2024 New Jersey drone sightings
- U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calls for state's National Guards to be given the authority to shoot down unidentified drones, saying that the federal government could not tackle the issue alone. (The Telegraph)
- The United States Air Force confirms that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, had to temporarily suspend air operations over the weekend after the airbase was swarmed by unidentified "small unmanned aerial systems". A spokesperson for the airbase said the facility was not damaged during the incident which lasted roughly four hours. (Forbes)
- U.S. officials say a drone detection system is being deployed in New York after a formal request from Governor Kathy Hochul. (BBC News)
- President-elect of the United States Donald Trump cancels an upcoming visit to Bedminster, New Jersey, amid drone sightings over the state. Trump also calls on outgoing President Joe Biden and the U.S. military to reveal the truth about the drones, saying "the government knows what's happening" and know where the drones are coming from. (The Times of India)
Abundant Life Christian School shooting
- Two people are killed and others are injured after a mass shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. The perpetrator is found dead at the scene. (CNN)

Politics and elections