Portal:Current events/2013 December 16

Current events of December 16, 2013 (2013-12-16) (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Heavy gunfire and explosions are reported in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. The government says it has quelled an attempted coup. (The Washington Post) (AFP via Zia News)
• Syrian Civil War
  • Airstrikes by the adminstration of Bashar al-Assad on the city of Aleppo kill at least 76 people. (Haaretz)
• The Israeli Army exchanges fire with the Lebanese Army after a suspected sniper attack occurs in the border killing an Israeli soldier. (The New York Times)

Business and economy

• Google acquires the robot-making company Boston Dynamics which had previously been contracted by the U.S. military. (CNN Money)

Disasters and accidents

• A bus falls from an elevated highway in the Philippines capital Manila killing at least 21 people with 20 injured. (The Telegraph)

Law and crime

• Four buildings are evacuated in the Harvard University campus after unconfirmed claims that bombs were planted in them. (Fox News)

International relations

• An amnesty deal is being floated by the National Security Agency for the leaker Edward Snowden. (Time magazine)

Politics and elections

• The left wing candidate Michelle Bachelet is elected as president of Chile for the second time. She is the first leader in Chile to be elected to serve two terms since the military rule in 1973 to 1990. (BBC)

Science and technology

• Arctic sea ice rebounds in extent and in volume after years of recession. (BBC News)