LastWeek.news

December 17-23, 2023

A mass shooting in Prague, Czech Republic, leaves 15 people dead.

The 2023 Prague shooting happened on 21 December 2023, at the main Faculty of Arts building of Charles University, in Jan Palach Square in central Prague, Czech Republic, 15 people were killed in a mass shooting by a postgraduate history student at the school. Another 25 were injured, 3 of them foreigners. The 24-year-old perpetrator killed himself. Before the school attack, his father was found dead at his home in Hostouň.

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah becomes Emir of Kuwait after the death of his half-brother, Nawaf.

Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (Arabic: الشَّيْخ مِشعَل الأَحمَد الْجَابِر الصَّباح, romanized: ash-shaykh Mishʻal al-ʾAḥmad al-Jābir aṣ-Ṣabāḥ; born 27 September 1940) is Emir of Kuwait. Mishal spent most of his career in Kuwait's security and intelligence apparatus. Prior to becoming emir at age 83, he was the oldest crown prince in the world.

In the parliamentary election, the Serbian Progressive Party regains its parliamentary majority in the National Assembly.

Parliamentary elections were held in Serbia on 17 December 2023 to elect members of the National Assembly. While they were initially scheduled to be held by 30 April 2026, Aleksandar Vučić, the president of Serbia, called a snap election in November 2023, after previously announcing that snap elections could be either held in 2023 or 2024. In addition to the parliamentary elections, the Vojvodina provincial and local elections were held in 65 cities and municipalities, including the capital, Belgrade.

An earthquake in Jishishan County, China, leaves more than 140 people dead.

On 18 December 2023 at around 23:59:30 CST, an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9–6.2 struck Jishishan County, in Gansu Province, China. The shallow thrust faulting earthquake struck a densely populated area on the border between the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. At least 148 people were killed, 982 others were injured and another 3 were missing in both provinces. This made it China's deadliest earthquake since the 2014 Ludian earthquake.

Pope Francis approves a declaration that allows Catholic clergy to bless same-sex couples.

Fiducia supplicans ("Supplicating Trust") is a 2023 declaration on Catholic doctrine that allows Catholic priests to bless couples that are not married under canon law, including the blessing of same-sex couples. The document, dated 18 December 2023 and published on the same day, was issued by the Holy See's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) and approved with a signature by Pope Francis. It was the first declaration issued by the DDF since Dominus Iesus in 2000.

After weeks of earthquakes, a volcanic eruption occurs near Grindavík, Iceland.

On the evening of 18 December 2023, a volcanic eruption occurred at the Sundhnúkur crater chain north of the town of Grindavík, Iceland, with lava spewing from fissures in the ground. The intensity of the eruption and accompanying seismic activity decreased early on 19 December, with lava seen spreading laterally from both sides of the newly opened fissures. The eruption was described as the largest in the Reykjanes Peninsula since the beginning of eruptive activity in 2021, and was visible as far away as the capital Reykjavík, 42 kilometers away. The eruption ended on 21 December 2023, after the Icelandic Meteorological Office said no lava was erupting after a flight over the volcano, but clarified that it was "too early to declare the eruption over." Sundhnúkur is a crater row and currently active volcanic fissure that is part of the Reykjanes Peninsula rift zone.

Israel–Hamas war (ongoing)

An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, with clashes also taking place in the West Bank and Israel–Lebanon border. On that day, militant groups launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, marking the start of the most significant military escalation in the region since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. After clearing Hamas militants, the Israeli military retaliated by conducting an extensive aerial bombardment campaign on Gazan targets, followed by a large-scale ground invasion of Gaza. The current hostilities constitute the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict, which is part of the broader Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Around 1.9 million Palestinians, more than 85% of Gaza's population, and around 500,000 Israelis have been internally displaced.

Myanmar civil war (ongoing)

The Myanmar civil war, also called the Myanmar Spring Revolution and the People's Defensive War, is an ongoing civil war following Myanmar's long-running insurgencies which escalated significantly in response to the 2021 military coup d'état and the subsequent violent crackdown on anti-coup protests.

Russian invasion of Ukraine (ongoing)

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. The invasion was the largest attack on a European country since World War II. It is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties. By June 2022, Russian troops occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory. About 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Extensive environmental damage caused by the war, widely described as an ecocide, contributed to food crises worldwide.

War in Sudan (ongoing)

A war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under Hemedti, rival factions of the military government of Sudan, began on 15 April 2023 during Ramadan. Fighting has been concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of October 2023, between 9,000 and 10,000 people had been killed and 6,000 to 12,000 others injured. As of 23 December 2023, over 5 million were internally displaced and more than 1.5 million others had fled the country as refugees, and many civilians in Darfur have been reported dead as part of the 2023 Masalit massacres.