December 26, 2019 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Second Libyan Civil War, Libya–Turkey relations
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces he will send troops to Libya to help the internationally-recognized Tripoli-based Government of National Accord after they requested support. He plans to submit his motion to the Grand National Assembly on January 7 for approval. (Al Jazeera)
- Insurgency in the Maghreb
- Fourteen Nigerien soldiers are killed by heavily armed militant gunmen who ambushed the convoy in the Tillabéri Region of Niger. (France24)
Law and crime
- Capital punishment in Japan
- Japan executes a foreigner for the first time since the disclosure of details of its sentences began in 2007. He was a Chinese man convicted of killing a family of four. (Reuters) (BBC News)
- Censorship in Turkey
- The Constitutional Court of Turkey orders the immediate lifting of the block of Wikipedia in Turkey, ruling it a violation of the freedom of expression. In response to the news, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales says, "Welcome back, Turkey!" (The Guardian)
- 2020 Ivorian general election
- In Ivory Coast, former rebel leader, prime minister and presidential candidate for next year's general election, Guillaume Soro, could face prison for life over an alleged coup plot that involved amassing weapons, says the country's public prosecutor. (Reuters)
- A court in Morocco sentences a man to four years in prison for insulting the king. Authorities also arrest a Twitter user for criticizing the long prison terms given to those who protest. (Reuters)
Politics and elections
- Citizenship Amendment Act protests
- Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath threatens to confiscate property from more than 200 people, mostly Muslims, allegedly to pay for damages caused by protesters. The northern Indian state has seen the most violence from the protests, with 18 out of the 25 killings happening there. (Al Jazeera)
- Freedom of religion in Montenegro
- Hundreds of protesters, mostly consisting of supporters of the pro-Serbia opposition bloc, march in Podgorica, Montenegro, to protest a proposed law that would require religious communities to provide proof of property ownership from before the creation of Yugoslavia in 1918. Protesters claim the law unfairly targets the predominant Serbian Orthodox Church. (Reuters)
- 2020 Israeli legislative election
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu survives a primary challenge from former Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar with 72% of the vote. (The Guardian)
- 2019 Iraqi protests
- Iraqi President Barham Salih rejects the nomination of Basra governor Asaad Al Eidani for Prime Minister of Iraq, stating that protesters will also oppose him due to his connections with Iranian-backed parties. As the constitution doesn't give him the power to officially veto candidates, Salih threatens to resign instead. (Al Jazeera)