Armed conflicts and attacks
Syrian Civil War, Russian military intervention in the Syrian Civil War
Russia expands its military presence in Syria with an additional airbase that can accommodate fixed-winged military aircraft. The U.S. Department of Defense also confirms that Russia added S-400 surface-to-air missiles to its Syrian stockpile and armed its military aircraft with air-to-air missiles. According to Military Times, "A Pentagon spokesman expressed concern" these moves indicate Russia's commitment to aiding the embattled Assad regime as opposed to combating ISIL. No Syrian opposition groups including ISIL have combat-ready aircraft that require air-to-air missiles. (Fox News), (Military Times)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
2015 West African offensive, Islamist insurgency in Nigeria
Cameroon’s army, backed by a regional taskforce, has killed at least 100 members of the militant Islamist Boko Haram group and freed 900 people it had held hostage, the west African country’s defence ministry has said. Regional taskforce conducts sweep along border with Nigeria. (The Guardian), (AFP via Yahoo)
Military intervention against ISIL
The Parliament of the United Kingdom votes 397–223 to authorize Royal Air Force air strikes on ISIL in Syria. (The Journal)
2015 San Bernardino shooting
Two people open fire in San Bernardino, California (U.S.) at a center for people with developmental disabilities, killing at least 14 people and injuring 14 others in what the city’s police chief described as an act of domestic terrorism. (Reuters), (The Los Angeles Times), (AFP via The Australian), (CNN), (Fox News), (The Washington Post)
A second shooting incident near 1757 Richardson in San Bernardino unfolded around 3:00 p.m. PST, with police requesting a BearCat and medical assistance. Both suspects die on-scene. (The New York Times), (The Los Angeles Times)
Arts and culture
The Institute of Contemporary History in Munich announces a publication of a two-volume set of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. The new edition, which contains 3,500 scholarly annotations, is intended, The New York Times reports, “To set the work in historical context, to show how Hitler wove truth with half-truth and outright lie, and thus to defang any propagandistic effect while revealing Nazism.” This is the first printing in Germany since the end of World War II. (The New York Times), (The Week)