By TRG Alerts Admin
KEY STORYLINES
AFRICA: Burundi’s environment minister was assassinated by unknown gunmen.
AMERICAS: In Colombia, the National Liberation Army (ELN) freed a businessman it has held hostage since March
ASIA: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hinted that Pyongyang may ring in the new year with the test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
EUROPE: Police in Cologne, Germany detained hundreds of African immigrants as part of operations to prevent robberies and sexual assaults.
MIDDLE EAST: A pair of suicide bombers detonated their explosives belts at a checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing nine people.
TECHNOLOGY: Hackers took over the Internet page of Brazilian President Michel Temer and defaced it with calls for the death penalty to be applied to Brazilian politicians.
TOP STORY
Turkey: At least 35 killed in attack on Istanbul nightclub
Early 01JAN at least one gunman opened fire on revelers celebrating the new year in a popular nightclub.
The attacker was allegedly wearing a Santa Claus costume.
Officials put the death toll at 39, with at least 70 more people wounded.
Sixteen of the people killed were foreigners.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu called the attack an act of terrorism and said the gunman was still being sought.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting.
AFRICA
Burundi: The country’s environment minister was assassinated by unknown gunmen. (Reuters)
Democratic Republic of Congo: Political parties in Congo signed a deal that calls for President Joseph Kabila to leave power after an election that now will be held by the end of 2017 instead of mid-2018 as his party originally proposed. (AP)
Gambia: In his New Year’s message President Yahya Jammeh called an ECOWAS decision to send troops to ensure a peaceful transition of power following his election loss “a declaration of war,” and reiterated his call for fresh polls. (DPA)
AMERICAS
Colombia: The National Liberation Army (ELN) freed a businessman it has held hostage since March. (AFP)
Peru: President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is evaluating the possibility of suing Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht for damages after the company admitted to using bribes to secure public contracts in the Andean nation. (Reuters)
Venezuela: Authorities granted freedom to Manuel Rosales, the ex-governor of the western state of Zulia, who was jailed since October 2015 for suspected unlawful enrichment. (EFE)
ASIA
Bangladesh: A national legislator from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party was shot at his home by masked men. (AP)
Indonesia: At least 23 people have been killed and 17 are missing after a passenger boat caught fire near Jakarta. (AFP)
Kashmir: Police report that two Indian policemen were killed and another wounded in a militant attack. (Xinhua)
North Korea: Leader Kim Jong Un hinted that Pyongyang may ring in the new year with the test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. (AP)
EUROPE
Germany: Police in Cologne detained hundreds of men “seemingly of African descent” as part of operations to prevent a repeat of the robberies and sexual assaults seen in the city a year ago. (AP)
Italy: Police in Florence say a bomb-squad officer was wounded when a suspicious package he was examining exploded. (AP)
Russia: Two armed men were killed during a special operation by security services in the republic of Daghestan. (RFE/RL)
MIDDLE EAST
Bahrain: Armed men attacked a prison freeing several convicts and killing a policeman. (Reuters)
Iraq: A pair of suicide bombers detonated their explosives belts at a checkpoint south of Baghdad, killing nine people, including four members of the security forces, and wounding 22. (AP)
Syria: The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey to end the nearly six-year conflict and jump-start peace negotiations. (AP)
Syria: Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives, killing at least two security officers in the coastal city of Tartous. (Reuters)
TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS
Technology: Hackers took over the Internet page of Brazilian President Michel Temer and defaced it with calls for the death penalty to be applied to Brazilian politicians. (Xinhua)
WORLD
Cyclones: Nothing to Report
Hurricanes: Nothing to Report
Earthquakes: Nothing to Report
Volcanoes: Nothing to Report
Global Disease Outbreaks:
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)
Chikungunya Virus Disease (CHIK)
Suspected Cases as of 30DEC: 347,647 (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Perú, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin (French), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten (Dutch), Spain, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, UK Virgin Islands, United States of America, US Virgin Islands, Uruguay, and Venezuela)
Confirmed Cases as of 30DEC: 150,380
Deaths as of 30DEC: 172
Deaths (01JAN15-31DEC15): 91 (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico)
Novel Coronavirus (MERS-CoV, SARS-related)
Cases as of 20DEC: 1,864 (Saudi Arabia (KSA), Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the United Kingdom (UK), France, Tunisia, Italy, Oman, Kuwait, Yemen, Malaysia, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Iran, Algeria, Austria, Turkey, The Philippines, Germany, China, South Korea, and the US)
Deaths as of 20DEC: 659 (Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar, United Kingdom, UAE, Oman, South Korea)
Zika Virus
Reported autochthonous Transmission as of 29DEC: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bonaire (Netherlands), Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cabo Verde, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Montserrat, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Netherlands), Sint Maarten, Suriname, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks and Caicos, United States of America, Vietnam, United States Virgin Islands, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).
Outbreak Terminated as of 29DEC: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Gabon, Isla de Pascua (Chile), Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
Locally Acquired Without Vector Borne Transmission as of 29DEC: Argentina, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the United States of America.
TOMORROW’S OUTLOOK (02JAN)
Cuba: New Year public holiday
Equatorial Guinea: Vice President and Presidential son Teodorin Obiang to go on trial for corruption in Paris
South America Region: Anniversary of the British occupation of the Falkland Islands – 1833
END
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