A Recap On World Events Occuring On Sunday, The 16th Of December 2012

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war:
  • A Palestinian refugee camp in the capital of Damascus is reported to be attacked by Syrian war planes. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least eight deaths. (BBC)
  • Islamist rebels claim to have captured a Syrian Army infantry base in Aleppo. (AP via CBS News)
• Taliban insurgency:
  • Taliban militants launch a coordinated raid on Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing at least four civilians and injuring more than 40 others. (BBC)

Disasters and accidents

• Cyclone Evan bears down on Fiji, disrupting international flights after leaving at least 4 people dead in Samoa with 8 others missing. (AAP via SBS News) (AFP via Yahoo News)
• Philippine authorities announce the death toll from Typhoon Bopha has reached 1,020. Another 844 are still missing, most of them fishermenlost on boats out at sea. More than two weeks after the passage of the storm, nearly 27,000 people remain in emergency shelters. (AFP via Yahoo News)
• Heavy snow hits Scandinavia disrupting transport in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. (Sky News)
• Ecuador issues a volcano alert for Tungurahua covering nearby Tungurahua and Chimborazo provinces. (AAP via News Limited)

Law and crime

• Two police officers are fatally shot outside a supermarket in Topeka, Kansas, USA. A 22-year-old man wanted in connection with crime, David Edward Tiscareno, is at large. (Reuters via Yahoo!)

Politics and elections

• Japanese general election, 2012:
  • Japanese voters go to the polls for a general election, with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party led by former Prime Minister Shinzō Abepoised to win a majority. (BBC) (ABC News America)
  • Outgoing Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihiko Noda resigns as the head of the Democratic Party of Japan. (CNN)
  • Shinzō Abe is elected Prime Minister of Japan as the Liberal Democratic Party win an absolute majority in the House of Representatives.(BBC) (Los Angeles Times)
• Counting continues in the first round of the Egyptian constitutional referendum with unofficial results indicating majority support so far. (Ahram Online)
• Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, leads thousands of officials in a memorial service for his father Kim Jong-il, the former leader, who died on 17 December 2011. (AAP via News Limited)
• South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress, starts a 5-day conference where President Jacob Zuma faces a challenge fromDeputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. (BBC)
• Voters in Venezuela go to the polls for gubernatorial elections with Hugo Chávez's Socialist Party winning in at least 19 of 23 states. (The Telegraph)

Science and technology

• Scientists report Chinese deep-space probe Chang'e 2 successfully took a series of images of the asteroid 4179 Toutatis during flyby on 13 December. (The Planetary Society) (NBC News) (Xinhua) (The Guardian Express)

Sport

• Brazil football club Corinthians wins the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup, after a 1–0 win over Chelsea in the final. Paolo Guerrero scored the only goal of the game in Yokohama, Japan. Brazilian player Cássio Ramos is named as MVP of the tournament. (ESPN) (FIFA)
• Bundesliga football club Schalke 04 sacks coach Huub Stevens following their 1–3 loss to Freiburg in the 2012–2013 season game. (FIFA)(ESPN)
• French racing driver Romain Grosjean wins the 2012 Race of Champions with a 2–0 victory over Tom Kristensen in the final in Bangkok,Thailand. (Motorsport) (Autosport)
• In handball, Montenegro beats Norway 34–31 after double overtime in a thriller final of the 2012 European Women's Handball Championship inBelgrade, Serbia. (EHF) (THN)
• In ice hockey, Russia wins the 2012 Channel One Cup, the Moscow stage of Euro Hockey Tour, ahead of Sweden, Finland and Czech Republic. (RT) (RIA Novosti)
• In swimming, American swimmer Ryan Lochte with eight medals (six gold, one silver, one bronze) and two world records becomes the main hero of the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in a short course that ended in Turkey's Istanbul. (Eurosport) (Swimming World)
• British professional racing cyclist Bradley Wiggins wins the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award ahead of track and field athleteJessica Ennis and tennis player Andy Murray. (BBC)