Portal:Current events/2015 December 10

December 10, 2015 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Military intervention against ISIL
- While testifying about the United States military’s current strategy, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Paul J. Selva warns the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) against falling into a ground fight trap with ISIL and U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter cautions that increased U.S. ground presence will “Americanize” the conflict. The Daily Beast reports that both Pentagon officials “did little to assuage lawmakers’ concerns that the strategy isn’t working.’’ At the same time, former U.S. defense officials tell SASC the current approach is inadequate. (The Daily Beast) (The Hill) (Defense News)
- The United States says recent coalition airstrikes killed three ISIL senior leaders, including financial minister, Abu Salah; a senior leader responsible for coordinating the group's extortion activities; and, another leader who acted as an executive officer. (Reuters via NBC News)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Pro-Hadi government forces backed by Arab coalition air and naval forces, seize control of the Hanish Islands off the coast of Yemen, near the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb strait from troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The islands have been subject to heavy shelling by coalition forces for weeks according to local fishermen. (Reuters)
Swiss officials say police, based on a CIA tip, are hunting for at least four Islamic State-associated suspects believed to be plotting an attack in Geneva. (AP)
A United States Treasury official says ISIL has made over $500 million selling oil to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, and has also sold oil to Turkey. (International Business Times) (Reuters via CNBC)

Arts and culture

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association announces the 73rd Golden Globe Awards nominees for the best films and television productions of 2015. The winners will be announced on January 10, 2016. (Los Angeles Times)
The Pew Research Center announces a new study that shows the American middle class, long seen as the economic backbone of the country, is shrinking and no longer constitutes a majority (49.89%). Also, the "nation's aggregate household income has substantially shifted from middle-income to upper-income households." (Headlines & Global News) (Christian Science Monitor) (Pew Research Center)
The Vatican releases a 10,000-word document that, among other things, says Jews don't need to be converted to find salvation, and that Catholics should work with Jews to fight antisemitism. (NPR) (Reuters) (Vatican-full text)

Business and economics

Volkswagen emissions scandal
- Volkswagen executives admit the diesel emissions cheating was the result of a collection of failures within the company, rather than just the actions of rogue engineers. In 2005, VW began working on software after they were unable to find an affordable technical solution to U.S. nitrogen oxide emissions standards. (The Guardian) (New York Times via SFGate.com) (The Guardian press conference text)

International relations

North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
- Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea, announces that the country is now in possession of a hydrogen bomb, according to North Korean state media. Experts from South Korea however are skeptical about this claim. (RT) (BBC)
Syrian Civil War
- Syrian opposition politicians and rebels, attending a two-day meeting hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, agree on a framework that would guide proposed talks to end Syria's nearly five-year conflict: a civil, democratic Syria with a transitional government that would respect human rights and the territorial integrity of the country; and, safeguard state institutions while restructuring security forces. Ahrar ash-Sham, a Saudi-backed ultraconservative group, withdrew from the talks at the end of the meeting. (BBC) (AP)
- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says that the new International Syrian Support Group are working toward a December 18 meeting in New York. (Reuters)

Law and crime

In the United States, Suffolk County police ask the FBI for more help in their investigation of a possible serial killer who preyed on prostitutes and left their bodies strewn along a Long Island beach in New York. Ten bodies were found along an isolated stretch of the South Shore's Gilgo Beach between December 2010 and April 2011. (Reuters) (New York Daily News)