December 23, 2016 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- The bodies of over 100 Syrian Army POWs are reportedly found in what was the last rebel held territory of East Aleppo. Syrian Army officers claim they were executed by rebel forces. (Al-Masdar News)
- 2016 Berlin truck attack
- Afriqiyah Airways Flight 209
- An Afriqiyah Airways flight originating from Sabha, Libya, is hijacked and forced to make an emergency landing in Malta. Hijackers threaten to blow up the aircraft with grenades, but the standoff ends peacefully with all hostages released and both hijackers surrendering. (Chicago Tribune)
Arts and culture
- Carrie Fisher, the actress best known for the role of Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, suffers a massive heart attack while on a flight and is rushed to a hospital near Los Angeles International Airport in critical condition. (Mirror)
Business and economy
- As new Libyan production comes on line, the world price of crude oil falls below $55 a barrel. (Reuters)
- Bonanza Creek Energy says it plans to file for bankruptcy on or by January 5, 2017 and hopes to exit the process quickly, within the first quarter. (Reuters)
Health
- Former Philippines president and current mayor of Manila Joseph Estrada is hospitalized for pneumonia. (Rappler)
International relations
- United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334
- The United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power abstains from voting in a 14–0 Security Council decision condemning Israeli settlement of the Palestinian territories. (The Washington Post)
Law and crime
- Terrorism in Australia
- Australian police raid several Melbourne properties and arrest seven Arab Australian men, who were believed to be plotting a terrorist attack on several sites in Melbourne for Christmas Day. (ABC News)