Portal:Current events/2023 December 21

December 21, 2023 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Israel–Hamas war
- 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip
  - Siege of Gaza City
    - The Israel Defense Forces says that it has established full "operational control" of the Shuja'iyya neighborhood in Gaza City, which has been the scene of intense clashes between Israeli troops and Hamas in recent weeks. (The Times of Israel)
Yemeni Crisis
- Red Sea crisis
  - At least 10 more nations, including Australia and Greece, join the United States-led Operation Prosperity Guardian task force to counter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. (Reuters)
Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir
- Four Indian soldiers are killed and three others are injured after gunmen opened fire against two army vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir, India. (AP)

International relations

Law and crime

2023 Prague shooting
- Fifteen people are killed and 24 others are injured in a mass shooting at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. The perpetrator, a student at the university, kills himself after police arrived. The perpetrator had also killed his father prior to the shooting and is also suspected of killing a man and his daughter on December 15. (AP)
An unidentified victim of Gary Ridgway, also known as the Green River Killer, is identified by authorities as Lori Anne Razpotnik after 38 years. (CNN)
In Pakistan, police assault and arrest several protestors during a march from Turbat to Islamabad, where around 200 people planned to rally to draw attention to the killing of a man in police custody in Balochistan in November. (AP)
The National Telecommunications Commission of the Philippines announces a 30-day suspension of the broadcast operations of Sonshine Media Network International following allegations of franchise violations. (Bloomberg) (CNN Philippines)
A trial court in Butuan, Philippines publicizes the conviction of three KAPA personnel, including its founder, of syndicated fraud for being the masterminds in the country's largest illegal investment scheme. (CNN Philippines)

Science and technology

A Stanford Internet Observatory investigation finds more then 3,200 images of suspected child sexual abuse in the AI database LAION, an index used to train AI image-makers such as Stable Diffusion. In response, LAION temporarily removes its datasets. (AP)
The International Trade Commission rejects Apple’s appeal to a order blocking the company from using technology underlying the Blood oxygen measurement feature on its smart watches. In response, Apple suspends sales of the products. (AP)

Sports