December 3 — Europe: SLOVENIA
Slovenian former Prime Minister Borut Pahor wins presidential election, defeating incumbent Danilo Turk by a wide margin. The low turnout shows the voters’ disenchantment with the political elites accused of rampant corruption and an inability to fix the country’s economy hit hard by the recession. Thousands protest against harsh austerity measures in the country’s two biggest cities, Ljubljana and Maribor.
December 3 — Latina America: COLOMBIA
The Colombian government launches air strikes on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC) camps in Narino province near the border with Ecuador. The country’s president, Juan Manuel Santos, says he will give the rebels less than a year to disarm and join the political process as a political party. The peace talks to end 50 years of fighting between the government and FARC have started in October.
December 3 — Middle East: ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
In response to the United Nations accepting the Palestinian Authority as a permanent observer at the UN, Israel announces it will proceed with expanding its settlement in the area known as E1 between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim. Israel previously promised to freeze any construction in this controversial zone because this would separate the future Palestinian state on the West Bank from Jerusalem, which the Palestinians consider as their future capital. By going ahead with this project, Israel risks good relations with its allies, even the United States, which was ensured of the freeze.
December 5 — East Asia: MYANMAR
The United Nations reports that several thousand of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority live in deplorable conditions in camps for displaced people in Rakhine state. It also calls for the country’s authorities to help reconcile the different minorities. During the communal violence between Rakhine Budhists and Rohingya Muslims last month, many have died and thousands have been displaced.
December 5 — International Organizations: TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL
According to the Transparency International’s 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index Afghanistan, North Korea, and Somalia top the list of the world’s most corrupt countries, while Denmark, Finland, and New Zealand are the least corrupt. Within the 27 members of the European Union, Greece ranks as the most corrupt.
December 9 — Africa: EGYPT
Pressured by popular unrest, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi annuls the November decree that significantly expanded his powers and undermined the country’s judiciary. He refuses, however, to cancel the controversial referendum on a draft constitution, also hugely unpopular among the opposition. (December 15): Egyptian voters approve a new constitution with 63 percent of the vote. However, the turnout was only 33 percent. The opposition claims that the new constitution was rushed through drafting and it favors the Islamists, and at the same time fails to protect the freedoms and human rights fought for during the Arab Spring. The opposition plans more protests.
December 10 — Africa: GHANA
Ghana’s interim president, John Dramani Mahama, narrowly wins presidential election, defeating opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo. Although the international observers declare the election free and fair, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) accuses the governing party of fraud and boycotts the swearing in celebrations. Mahama was a vice president who took over the presidency after a sudden death of President John Atta Mills in July 2012.
December 10 — Europe: EUROPEAN UNION
On behalf of the European Union, European Council President Herman van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, and European Parliament President Martin Schultz collect the Nobel Peace Prize during the celebrations in Oslo, Norway. The $1.2 million prize is said to benefit children in need.
December 11 — Africa: MALI
Mali’s prime minister, Cheick Modibo Diarra, resigns under pressure from the army and is put under house arrest. Diarra supported a plan to send the West African regional group ECOWAS military intervention force into northern Mali held by rebels, which the army opposed. President Diouncounda Traore appoints Django Sissoko new prime minister.
December 11 — Europe: UNITED KINGDOM
The 2011 census conducted in the United Kingdom reveals London as ethnically diverse, where only 48 percent of inhabitants are white, a change from 58 percent in 2001. Thirty-seven percent of Londoners were born outside the UK and 24 percent are non-UK nationals.
December 12 — Middle East/North America: SYRIA/UNITED STATES
The United States officially recognizes Syria’s opposition coalition, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, as the representative of all people of Syria. The coalition is formed mostly by Sunni Muslims who are a majority in Syria. Great Britain, Turkey, France, and the Gulf states have already recognized the coalition.
December 12 — East Asia: NORTH KOREA
In defiance of international sanctions, North Korea successfully launches a rocket and puts a satellite into orbit. The move brings condemnation from the United Nations, including China, as it violates a ban on North Korean ballistic missile tests. The launch is seen as a disguised test on ballistic missile technology.
December 14 — North America: UNITED STATES
A man armed with assault weapons kills 20 children and six adults in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It is said to be one of the worst-ever school shootings. The shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007 killed 32 people. The incident renews the fiery debate on gun control in the U.S. The U.S. had 13 mass shootings in just 2012.