December 1 — Europe/Middle East: TURKEY/IRAQ
The Turkish army launches raids on rebels from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Turkey believes that as many as 3,000 PKK fighters are based in Iraq, from where they periodically attack Turkish troops and civilians in southeastern Turkey.
December 2 — Europe: RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party wins a landslide victory of 64 percent in parliamentary elections. Both the opposition and international observers describe the elections as unfair and undemocratic. The Communist Party comes in second with 11 percent of the vote. The country’s liberal opposition groups fail to gain the 7 percent threshold needed and lose all their seats.
December 3 — Middle East: ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Israel releases 429 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his struggle with Hamas. Most of the freed prisoners are supporters of Fatah, and are being sent to the West Bank. It is estimated that Israel still holds about 10,000 Palestinians in its prisons.
December 3 — Latin America: VENEZUELA
In a referendum vote, Venezuelans narrowly reject President Hugo Chavez’s controversial plan to change the constitution. The plan, which was to speed up Venezuela’s embrace of a socialist system, included ending presidential term limits, increasing the presidential term to seven years, ending the central bank’s autonomy, and cutting the work day from eight to six hours. Chavez accepts the defeat, but vows to pursue his agenda.
December 3 — Middle East/North America: IRAN/UNITED STATES
A new National Intelligence Estimate from the sixteen U.S. intelligence agencies reports that Iran stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003 in response to international pressure. Iran welcomes the report and reiterates that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The report’s findings might make it more difficult for the United States and Europe to justify imposing further sanctions on Iran.
December 10 — Africa: SIERRA LEONE
Sierra Leone’s president, Ernest Bai Koroma, announces a plan to turn a 185,000 acre area of endangered rainforest into a national park. The Gola Forest is home to 50 species of mammals and 274 species of birds, some of them near extinction. The government hopes that the national park will boost tourism and help fight climate change.
December 10 — Europe: RUSSIA
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly endorses First Deputy Prime Minister and his long-time ally Dmitry Medvedev as his successor. Putin’s support gives Medvedev a strong advantage in the 2008 presidential election. According to the Russian constitution, Putin is not allowed to run for a third term as president; he has agreed, however, to serve as prime minister if Medvedev becomes president.
December 11 — East Asia: NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
The first regular cargo rail service opens between North Korea and South Korea as a result of the October 2007 summit talks between the leaders of both countries. The line links South Korea with the city of Bongdong in the North. South Korea hopes that this step will lead to a passenger train service that would eventually extend to the rest of the continent, linking South Korea with China and Russia. So far, however, North Korea has opposed this idea.
December 11 — Africa: ALGERIA
Two car bombs explode in Algeria’s capital, Algiers, hitting a bus full of students near the supreme constitutional court, as well as United Nations buildings in another part of town. More than 40 people are killed. Al Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM), Al Qaeda’s North Africa branch, takes responsibility for the attack. Throughout 2007, Algeria has witnessed an upsurge in terrorist attacks. A triple suicide attack in Algiers in April, also claimed by AQLIM, killed 33 people.
December 12 — Middle East: ISRAEL/PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
Two weeks after the Annapolis agreements, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators begin the first meeting of the formal peace talks, which are supposed to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. The talks are led by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei. The representatives will decide how future negotiations will be conducted. The Palestinian delegation is also expected to bring up Israel’s plan to build 300 new homes on occupied territories in East Jerusalem.
December 12 — Middle East: LEBANON
A car bomb kills the Lebanese army’s chief of operations, General Francois al-Hajj, another high profile victim of political assassinations that have plagued Lebanon in the last two years. Al-Hajj was expected to become the next army chief. The latest wave of terrorism is blamed on a political vacuum caused by the parliament’s failure to appoint a new president after former President Emile Lahoud left office on November 24.
December 15 — South Asia: PAKISTAN
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf lifts the emergency rule he imposed six weeks ago and restores the country’s constitution. He also swears in the new chief justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Abdul Hameed Dogar. Iftikhar Chaudhry, the discharged former chief justice, remains under house arrest.
December 21 — Europe
Nine European countries—the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia—join a European border-free zone called the Schengen Area. The new members have had to standardize their visa policy and adhere to a single set of rules for policing the zone’s external border. The extended Schengen Area allows travel across 24 European countries without border stops.
December 24 — Former Soviet Republics: UZBEKISTAN
Uzbekistan’s president, Islam Karimov, wins a third term in a general election with 88 percent of the vote. Although the Uzbek constitution limits a president to serving two seven-year terms, Karimov does not offer any explanation as to why he is serving a third term. With independent media and political parties banned in Uzbekistan, international observers say the election has failed to meet democratic standards and question the official figure of a 90 percent voter turnout.
December 27 — South Asia: PAKISTAN
Former Pakistani Prime Minister and main opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is assassinated during an election rally in Rawalpindi, where she was campaigning ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for January 2008. While President Pervez Musharraf blames Islamic extremists for her killing, others blame Musharraf and the military. Her assassination sparks violent demonstrations by her supporters.
December 31 — Africa/International Organizations: SUDAN/UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations takes over the peacekeeping operation in Sudan’s troubled region of Darfur, replacing the African Union mission. The operation, called UNAMID, is supposed to be 26,000 troops strong. So far, however, the UNAMID has a little over 6,800 troops. The mission’s chief, Rodolphe Adada, calls for the donor countries to send more troops as soon as possible.