December 19, 2013 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal):
- A series of attacks across Iraq kills 22 Shiite pilgrims. (The Daily Star)
- 2013 South Sudanese political crisis:
- At least 500 people have been killed in fighting since 14 December 2013, according to the United Nations. (USA Today)
Arts and culture
- Phil Robertson, featured on the reality show Duck Dynasty, is suspended by A&E in response to controversial statements about homosexuality made during an interview with GQ magazine. (BBC)
- R v Grillo and Grillo:
- British food writer Nigella Lawson's alleged drug use can be included in the lawsuit, the high court says. (E!)
- Phone hacking scandal:
- A prosecutor alleges in a London court that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's phones were hacked by the now-defunct News of the World. (CNN)
Business and economy
- Target Corporation and the United States Secret Service say that more than 40 million credit and debit cards used in Target stores may have been compromised due to a data breach. (CNN)
Disasters and accidents
- Part of the ornate ceiling of the Apollo Theatre in London collapses during a performance, injuring at least 81 people in the audience. (CNN)
- Seats at a football stadium in India collapse, injuring at least 100 people. (Business Insider)
Law and crime
- Same-sex marriage is legalized in the U.S. state of New Mexico. (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will pardon jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky after more than a decade in prison. (Washington Post)
- A recommendation against practices by the National Security Agency is presented to United States President Barack Obama. (The New York Times)
- Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale are convicted of the murder of British Army soldier Lee Rigby. (BBC)
- Pelsender Didier, a 75-year-old Belgium national, who has been internationally wanted by Interpol since 2006 for sexually abusing two of his adopted daughters, is arrested in Vietnam’s Nha Trang beachside city. (Tuoi Tre News)
- Berlin city-state officials says that a police investigation has traced vehicles stolen in recent years in Germany to Tajikistan, some 3,500 miles away. German authorities alleged that relatives and other people close to Tajikistan's president are driving stolen luxury cars from Germany, as a long-running criminal probe escalated into a diplomatic spat between two countries. (The Wall Street Journal)
Media
- Reporters Without Borders releases their annual report regarding press freedom around the world with 71 journalists killed in 2013 so far. The deadliest countries are Syria, India, the Philippines, Pakistan, and Somalia while the worst jailers are China, Turkey, Eritrea, Iran, and Syria. (Deutsche Welle)
Politics and elections
- In an interview with Barbara Walters, Hillary Clinton says she is "unsure" if she is going to run in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. (ABC News)
- Governor of Tokyo Naoki Inose submits his resignation after intense questioning amid a political funds scandal. (CNN)