A Recap Of World Events, Occurring On Saturday And Sunday, The 5th And 6th Of December, 2013

Disasters

• 2013 Tasmanian Bushfires: Thousands of people are stranded by four major fires burning out of control in the Australian state of Tasmania.(AAP via TV New Zealand)

Law and crime

• The male friend of the Delhi gang-rape victim - the only witness in the case - on Friday spoke for the first time in front of the nation and exclusively told Zee News that his friend was “positive” and wanted to live even after the horrific incident that took place on the night of December 16. (Zee News)
• An armed standoff between a gunman and police leaves three hostages and the perpetrator dead in an Aurora, Colorado home. (CNN)(BBC) (Fox News)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war:
  • The President of Syria Bashar al-Assad delivers a rare television appearance addressing the Syrian crisis and denounces the Syrian rebels as "enemies of God and puppets of the West". It is his first television appearance since June 2012. (BBC)
• A cross-border raid conducted by Indian troops in the disputed Kashmir region results in the death of one Pakistani soldier and another critically wounded, according to Pakistani reports. (AP via The Washington Post)
• A drone attack conducted by the United States kills at least ten people (suspected militants) in South Waziristan, Pakistan. (BBC)
• Kachin conflict:
  • Kachin rebels claim the government has fired shells at the rebel de facto headquarters of Laiza. (Washington Post)
• Suicide bombers kill four in an attack in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. (BBC)
• South Africa announces it will send 400 more soldiers to the Central African Republic in an effort to assist the current regime, which faces a potential attack by the Seleka rebel coalition on the capital. (BBC)

Politics and elections

• Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian National Authority, orders that the words "State of Palestine" be used on official documents.(BBC)
• In the Netherlands, Gerard Helders who served as Minister of Colonial Affairs from the 1957 until 1959, the oldest known former politician in the world dies at the age of 107. (NOS)

Sport

• In ice hockey, the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association reach an agreement that ends the 113-day lockout and averts the cancellation of the 2012-13 season. (Think Progress)

Technology And Electronics

• At Apple, applications developers say they gave Apple plenty of warning about issues with its iOS maps issues. (CNET)