December 25, 2015 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention
- Zahran Alloush, founder of Islamist rebel group Jaysh al-Islam (army of Islam), the group's deputy leader, and other officials die in Russian airstrikes on a meeting east of Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Jaysh al-Islam was one of the opposition groups at the December 10th conference that agreed on principles to guide peace talks, which both Bashar al-Assad and Russia rejected. (The News Hub) (BBC) (Irish Independent)
Business and economics
- With the death of an 18-year-old killer whale at its San Antonio, Texas facility and the recent malfunction of the Sky Tower ride at its park in Orlando, Florida, SeaWorld’s problems in the wake of recent earning shortfalls, decline in attendance, and drop the values of its shares. In response, the company plans new pricing and attractions. (CNN) (CNN) (CNNMoney)
Disasters and accidents
- December 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake
- At least 17 people are injured in Peshawar, Pakistan, and five people are hurt in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. The epicenter is in Afghanistan's quake-prone Ishkashim district, a mountainous area where mainly impoverished farmers live in homes made with mud, according to Peshawar District Officer Muhmand Asim Khan. Other details about damage or casualties are not presently available. (NBC News) (CNN) (USGS) (BNO News)
International relations
- Japan–South Korea relations
- South Korea announces that Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul Monday to work toward a final settlement concerning sex slavery during World War II. The Nikkei reports that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe plans to create a new government-backed fund, containing over 100 million yen (US$831,200/£556,600) to help former South Korean "comfort women," and is also considering making an apology for the wartime sexual enslavement. (Reuters) (Bloomberg) (The Nikkei) (The Korea Times)
- India–Pakistan relations
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is met by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore for a two-hour meeting. Modi's surprise stopover is the first since Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Pakistan in 2004. (CNN) (The Hindu)