A Recap On The World Events Occurring On Tuesday, The 8th Of December, 2013

Activism

• Bob Brown, former leader of the Australian Greens, becomes the President of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society leading the campaign against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. (ABC News Australia)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Four are killed and a further four are wounded in a U.S. drone strike in North Waziristan, Pakistan. (AFP)
• In a fifth night of protests in Belfast, protestors throw rocks, "missiles", and petrol bombs at police, with law enforcement responding with water cannons and plastic bullets. (BBC)
• The Malian army used artillery on Islamist rebels in Gnimignama in the first skirmish between the two belligerents since April 2012, when Islamist and Tuareg rebels first assumed control of the region. (BBC)
• India claims two of its soldiers have been killed during a gunfight with Pakistani forces in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. This report comes two days after Pakistan made a similar claim of the death of one of its troops due to an Indian cross-border operation in the disputed region. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• AIG, the insurance giant that has recently paid the U.S. treasury back funds it received on "too big to fail" grounds in 2008, says that it may join a lawsuit against the U.S. for the supposedly harsh nature of the bailout terms. (Reuters)

Disasters

• More than 130 wildfires are burning on the east coast of Australia with thousands of people forced to leave their homes. (The Telegraph)

Law and crime

• Death of Amy Winehouse:
  • A new inquest begins into the death of British singer Amy Winehouse after it was discovered that the original coroner was not qualified to conduct the inquiry. (AFP via France 24)
  • A second inquiry into Winehouse's death concludes that the singer died of alcohol poisoning. (CNN)
• An Illinois man is killed by cyanide poisoning after winning the lottery. (CNN)

Politics and government

• The Venezuelan government announces that Hugo Chávez is in stable condition, and is still receiving medical treatment for a respiratory infection. (Huffington Post)
• Roberto Maroni announces that an electoral pact signed between his Lega Nord party and Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom party explicitly rules out Berlusconi assuming the prime minister position again. (BBC)

Science

• The United States records its hottest year on record in 2012. (Associated Press)