Portal:Current events/2012 December 21: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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;Armed conflicts and attacks

*[[2012 Egyptian protests|]]:
**Clashes have brokenbreak out]] in [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]], on the evening of the second leg of voting in the [[Egyptian constitutional referendum, 2012|constitutional referendum]]. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20814346 (BBC)]

*[[2012 terrorist attacks in Kenya]]:
**At least 39 people are killed in [[2012 terrorist attacks in Kenya|clashes between rival]] communities in [[Kenya]]. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20807736 (BBC)] [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/12/2012122186289644.html (Al Jazeera)]

*[[United Nations Flight 544 shootdown]]:

**A [[Russia]]n [[Mil Mi-8|Mi-8]] [[helicopter]] working for the [[United Nations Mission in South Sudan]] (UNMISS) is shot down and crashes near Likuangole in the [[South Sudan]]ese state of [[Jonglei]] during the [[South Sudan internal conflict (2011–present)|South Sudan internal conflict]]. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20819468 (BBC)] [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/12/20121221173421145463.html (Al Jazeera)] [http://rt.com/news/russian-helicopter-shot-sudan-600/ (RT)]

;Arts and culture

*The [[Mesoamerican Long Count calendar]] reaches the date 13.0.0.0.0, associated with [[2012 phenomenon|various doomsday myths]]. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/dec/21/end-world-live-blog (''The Guardian'')] [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/12/2012122165411542664.html (Al Jazeera)]

*"[[Gangnam Style]]" by [[South Korea]]n singer [[PSY (entertainer)|PSY]] becomes the first video to reach [[thousand million|one billion]] views on [[YouTube]]. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20812870 (BBC)] [httphttps://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2012/12/21/psy-gangnam-style-breaks-youtube-record/1784645/ (''USA Today'')] [httphttps://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/psys-gangnam-style-reaches-1-billion-youtube-views/2012/12/21/07d67ea6-4b87-11e2-a6a6-aabac85e8036_blog.html (''The Washington Post'')]

;Disasters and accidents

*A severe [[cold wave|cold spell]] kills at least 83 people in [[Ukraine]]. Across [[Russia]], the deep freeze killed at least 45 people over the last week. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20809898 (BBC)] [http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/20/16022433-russias-deep-freeze-dozens-die-feels-like-50-below (NBC News)]

*Five people are killed and one injured in [[Zeebrugge]], [[Belgium]], when a bus rolled off into the water. [http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/regio/westvlaanderen/121220_Zeebrugge_haven_ongeluk (Deredactie.be)]

;International relations

*A British court rejects an attempt by the son of a man killed in [[U.S.]] drone strike in [[Pakistan]] to force the [[UK government]] to reveal if it provided intelligence to assist US action. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20807934 (BBC)]

*The [[UK Ministry of Defence]] confirms it has spent $22.7 million settling claims from 205 [[Iraq]]is alleging abuse by [[British troops]] following the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]]. [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/12/20121221144431944878.html (Al Jazeera)]

;Law and crime

*A shooting at a highway in [[Blair County, Pennsylvania|Blair County]], [[Pennsylvania]] kills three people and wounds three others. The gunman was killed in a [[shootout]] with [[police]], and among the casualties were [[Pennsylvania State Police|state trooper]]s. [httphttps://news.yahoo.com/four-dead-three-police-wounded-pennsylvania-shooting-paper-180118893--finance.html (Yahoo! News)]

*[[Steve Jobs]]' £85m [[high-tech]] [[yacht]] ''[[Venus (yacht)|Venus]]'' is impounded at the [[Port of Amsterdam]] after designer [[Philippe Starck]] claims he is still owed money. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20815910 (BBC)]

;Politics and elections

*[[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Barack Obama]] nominates [[John Kerry]] to succeed [[Hillary Clinton]] as [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]]. [http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/21/politics/kerry-nomination/index.html (CNN)] [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20816463 (BBC)]

*Former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]] undergoes [[surgery]] for a growth in her [[bladder]]. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20820887 (BBC)]

*After seven months in office and a decisive victory in the elections, [[Romania|Romanian]] [[Prime Minister of Romania|Prime Minister]] [[Victor Ponta]] and his cabinet receive the [[vote of confidence]] from [[Parliament of Romania|Parliament]] with 402 votes in favor and 120 against. [http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/12/21/romanian-parliament-approves-new-center-left-government/ (FOXFox News)]

*[[Technocrat]] [[Mario Monti]] resigns as [[Prime Minister of Italy]] after the parliamentary passing of [[Italy]]'s latest [[austerity]] [[budget]]. [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20814796 (BBC)] [http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/12/20121221162257992718.html (Al Jazeera)]

*[[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]'s [[Fine Gael]] [[Minister of State for Food, Horticulture and Food Safety|food and farming minister]] [[Shane McEntee (politician)|Shane McEntee]] kills himself 2 days after his 56th birthday, triggering a [[by-election]] in [[Meath East (Dáil Éireann constituency)|Meath East]]. [http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/1221/shane-mcentee-td.html (RTÉ News)]

*In the [[Netherlands]], former [[Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands|Deputy Prime Minister]] [[Els Borst]] and former [[Council of State of the Netherlands|Vice President of the Council of State]] [[Herman Tjeenk Willink]] are granted the rare honorary title of [[Minister of State (Netherlands)|Minister of State]]. [http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/nieuws/2012/12/21/benoeming-ministers-van-staat.html (Rijksoverheid)]

;Science and technology

*After detailed study of the [[Sutter's Mill meteorite]] found in [[California]] on 22 April 2012, scientists reportsreport it contains some of the oldest material in the [[Solar System]]. [http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/347199/description/California_meteorite_a_scientific_gold_mine (Science News)] [http://www.nature.com/news/us-meteorite-was-fastest-on-record-1.12095 (Nature)] [http://www.businessinsider.com/one-of-the-fastest-rarest-meteorites-recovered-in-californias-gold-county-2012-12 (Business Insider)]

*[[Expedition 34]] Flight Engineers [[Tom Marshburn]], [[Roman Romanenko]] and [[Chris Hadfield]] dockeddock their [[Soyuz TMA-07M]] [[spacecraft]] to the [[International Space Station]]’s [[Rassvet (ISS module)|Rassvet module]]. [http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition34/e34_launch.html (NASA)]

*[[MIT]] researchers discover that [[Herbertsmithite]] exhibits a [[quantum spin liquid]] behavior, a new kind of [[magnetism]]. [http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/143782-mit-discovers-a-new-state-of-matter-a-new-kind-of-magnetism (Extreme Tech)] [http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112752884/magnetism-mit-quantum-spin-liquid-herbertsmithite-122112/ (Red Orbit)] [httphttps://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/21/quantum_spin_liquid_mit_research/ (The Register)]

;Sport

*The [[NHL]] announces the cancellation of the [[2012–13 NHL season|2012–13 regular-season]] schedule through 14 January due to the [[2012 NHL lockout]] bringing the total to 625 games, more than 50 percent of the entire schedule. [httphttps://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2012/12/20/nhl-lockout-canceling-games/1782863/ (''USA Today'')] [http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8767262/nhl-cancels-additional-games-jan-14 (ESPN)] [http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=648084 (NHL)]

*[[Ice hockey]] player [[Anže Kopitar]] and [[judo]]ka [[Urška Žolnir]] are named as 2012 [[Slovenian Sportsperson of the Year]]. [http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/20/anze-kopitar-named-slovenian-sportsman-of-the-year/ (NBC Sports)] [http://www.rtvslo.si/sport/ne-spreglejte/kopitar-in-zolnirjeva-najboljsa-sportnika-slovenije/298511 (RTV Slovenija)]

*[[Raul Rusescu]] is named as 2012 [[Romanian Footballer of the Year]] while [[Mircea Lucescu]] becomes the 2012 [[Romania Coach of the Year]]. [httphttps://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/21/uk-soccer-romania-rusescu-idUKBRE8BK0HF20121221 (Reuters)] [http://www.gsp.ro/gsp-special/anchetele-gazetei/surpriza-in-ancheta-gsp-antivedeta-rusescu-a-devenit-jucatorul-anului-alaturindu-se-lui-balaci-dinu-si-hagi-379914.html (''Gazeta Sporturilor'')]

*Professional [[shooting sport|shooter]] [[Sergei Martynov (sport shooter)|Sergei Martynov]] and [[tennis]] star [[Victoria Azarenka]] are named the 2012 [[Belarus]] Sportpersons of the Year. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160305223309/http://sportpanorama.by/content/advanced/16941/ (Sport Panorama)] [https://web.archive.org/web/20150602135844/http://grodnonews.by/ru/0/14042/news (Grodno News)]

*[[UEFA]] announces that [[Málaga CF|Málaga]], [[HNK Hajduk Split|Hajduk Split]], [[NK Osijek|Osijek]], [[FC Rapid București|Rapid București]], [[FC Dinamo București|Dinamo București]] and [[FK Partizan|Partizan]] are banned from competing in the next [[UEFA Champions League]] or [[UEFA Europa League]] competition they qualify for after failing to meet financial obligations. [http://www.uefa.com/uefa/footballfirst/protectingthegame/financialfairplay/news/newsid=1908817.html (UEFA)]

*The [[Italian Olympic Committee]] requests a four-year [[doping in sport|doping]] ban for former [[race walk]] [[Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men%27s 50 kilometres walk|Olympic champion]] [[Alex Schwazer]]. He was excluded from the [[2012 London Olympics]] after testing positive for [[Erythropoietin|EPO]] before the games. [http://espn.go.com/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/8766158/4-year-doping-ban-sought-italian-race-walker (ESPN)]

*[[Michael Phelps]] and [[Gabby Douglas|Gabrielle Douglas]] are named as 2012 [[Associated Press]] [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year|Athletes of the Year]]. [http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/20/sports/la-sp-newswire-20121221 (''Los Angeles Times'')] [http://boxscorenews.com/douglas-named-aps-female-athlete-of-the-year-for-p52578-68.htm (BoxScore)]

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