Portal:Current events/2012 December 1

December 1, 2012 (Saturday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war:
- Syrian jets bombard rebel positions in Damascus as a country-wide Internet and phone blackout enters a third day. Government officials announce the road to the airport in the capital has been secured, though rebels insist clashes are ongoing. (Reuters)
2012 East D.R. Congo conflict:
- M23 rebels begin their withdrawal from the city of Goma as part of a Uganda-brokered deal struck a week earlier. (Reuters)

Arts and culture

Disasters and accidents

A tour bus hits a bridge at Miami International Airport, United States, killing at least two people and injuring many more. (NBC News) (BBC) (The Miami Herald)
At least 8 people are killed and 36 injured when a passenger bus overturns on the highway between the cities of Sucre and Potosí in southern Bolivia. (RIA Novosti)

International relations

North Korea's state agency KCNA announces the country will launch a satellite sometime between December 10 and December 22. The launch will take place around the time of South Korea's presidential election on December 19 and close to the first anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il. South Korean officials, as well as the US, believe that the isolated state is testing long-range missile technology with the aim of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Reuters)
Foreign ministers of the Arab League meet in Istanbul, Turkey, to show their support for the Syrian opposition groups and Palestinians. (Fox News)

Law and crime

Notorious Macau gangster Broken Tooth Koi is released from prison after serving nearly 15 years. (BBC)
Jovan Belcher, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs American football team kills himself at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, after reportedly killing his girlfriend. (The Telegraph)

Politics and elections

Mexican inauguration:
- Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party is sworn in as the President of Mexico as violent clashes occur outside. (Associated Press)
- Over 23 people are severely wounded outside the Camara de Diputados during the protests in Mexico City. (ElEconomista)
President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi announces that the country's new draft constitution will be put to a constitutional referendum on December 15. (BBC)
Voters in Kuwait go to the polls for a parliamentary election with the Opposition holding a boycott. The lowest voter turnout in the Kuwaiti election history is observed. (BBC) (The Guardian)

Science and technology

The USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is officially inactivated in ceremonies held at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, completing a 51-year career in the United States Navy. In a pre-recorded speech, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announces that the U.S. Navy's third Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, CVN-80, will be named Enterprise. (Associated Press)

Sport