December 2 — North America/South Asia: UNITED STATES/AFGHANISTAN
After months of discussions with top advisers, the United States President Barack Obama orders to deploy 30,000 troops to Afghanistan with an objective to defeat al-Qaeda. After the surge, the U.S. will have more than 100,000 troops supported by 32,000 NATO troops, as well as close to 200,000 Afghan National Army and National Police troops. However, President Obama also adds that the U.S. will start withdrawing its forces by 2011.
December 6 — Europe: BULGARIA
Bulgaria’s well-known journalist who reported on Bulgarian mafia, Boris Tsankov, is gunned down during the day in the middle of the country’s busy capital, Sofia. Another writer, Georgi Stoev, who published several books on connections between Bulgarian organized crime and businessmen, was assassinated in 2008. The European Union pressures Bulgaria to deal with the high-level crime and corruption by threatening it to withdraw some of the EU funding, as it did after the 2008 murder.
December 7 — North America: UNITED STATES
Eight months after the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases could endanger human lives, the U.S. government declares that greenhouse gases threaten human health. This statement allows the EPA to regulate carbon emission levels without the approval of Congress. Presently, the legislation cutting the emissions has been stuck in the Senate, facing firm opposition.
December 7 — Latin America: BOLIVIA
Bolivian President Evo Morales defeats his conservative rivals in the presidential election, winning more than 60 percent of the votes. He has a wide support of the country’s indigenous people, who constitute about 65 percent of the population. Morales is the first president ever in Bolivia to stay for a second term. He says that the wide margin of his victory gives him a mandate to continue his social reforms.
December 8 — South Asia: PAKISTAN
Two bombs explode at a busy market in the Pakistani city of Lahore, killing more than 48 people and injuring more than 100. Another suicide bomb on a rickshaw in the city of Peshawar kills 10 people. Since the Pakistani army started an offensive against the Taliban in the country’s north-western region, hundreds of people have been killed by violent attacks across Pakistan.
December 8 — East Asia: THE PHILIPPINES
The Philippine government resumes peace talks with the separatist group from the south of the country, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been fighting for the regional autonomy for 13 years. The conflict has claimed at least 100,000 lives and displaced more than 2 million people.
December 11 — East Asia/North America: NORTH KOREA/UNITED STATES
North Korea agrees to cooperate on dismantling its nuclear program and to resume the stalled six-party talks. The decision is announced during a three-day visit in Pyongyang by the U.S. special representative to North Korea, Stephen Bosworth.
December 16 — Europe: SWITZERLAND
An Algerian-born Muslim living in Switzerland and a former spokesman for the Geneva Mosque Hafid Ouardiri submits a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against the Swiss ban on building minarets. The claim says that the ban, which was passed last month in a referendum, discriminates and violates the rights of freedom of religion. It might take up to 18 months for the court to approve the case, and then several more years to come up with a ruling.
December 18 — International Organizations: UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly known as the Copenhagen Summit, held in Copenhagen, Denmark from 7 to 18 December, concludes with the Copenhagen Accord reached only between the United States and four other countries: China, South Africa, India, and Brazil. Other delegates “recognize” the motion, with a few countries opposing it. The Copenhagen Accord states a commitment to keep temperature rises below 2°C, pledges $30 billion a year over the next three years, rising to $100 billion a year by 2020 for the developing countries to help them cope with the impacts of climate change, as well as gives them incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation. However, the Copenhagen Accord does not set targets for carbon cuts and is not legally binding.
December 23 — Africa/International Organizations: ERITREA/UNITED NATIONS
The United Nations Security Council imposes sanctions on Eritrea for arming the Somali Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, which is fighting the Somali government for control over the capital, Mogadishu. The sanctions include an arms embargo, travel ban, and asset freezing on businesses and individuals.
December 24 — North America: UNITED STATES
The United States Senate passes a historical healthcare reform bill, which was backed by 58 Democrats and two Independents. All Senate Republicans voted against it. The Senate version removed the public option from the bill and included stricter restriction on federal funding for abortion. It also differs in how to pay for the reformed healthcare. The House and the Senate versions will have to be merged and the process is expected to start in January.
December 25 — East Asia: CHINA
The Chinese authorities sentence a prominent dissident and a former university professor, Liu Xiaobo, to 11 years in prison for writing Charter 08, a document calling for more freedoms and political reforms in China. Human rights organizations, the United States, and the EU condemn China for such harsh sentence. More than 300 writers from around the world have called for Liu’s release.
December 27 — East Asia/Middle East: SOUTH KOREA/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
South Korea wins a $20 billion contract to build nuclear power plants in the Untied Arab Emirates (UAE), defeating such countries as the Untied States and Japan. The UAE says its demand for electricity has doubled and the first nuclear plant is expected to open in 2017.
December 28 — Middle East: IRAN
Iran’s authorities arrest at least 300 protesters and opposition members a day after massive and violent anti-government demonstrations in the country’s capital, Teheran. Those detained include family members and senior advisors to the opposition leader Hossein Mousavi, who ran in the elections against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. These protests have been popping up since the controversial June presidential elections, presenting a big challenge for the Iranian government.
December 28 — East Asia: THAILAND/LAOS
Thailand deports 4,000 ethnic Hmong from its refugee camp back to Laos, saying they are not political refugees but rather illegal economic immigrants. The Hmong, however, claim that they face continued persecution in Laos for helping the United States during the Vietnam War. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says some of the forcibly repatriated Hmong have refugee status and should be protected.