WORLD AGENDA DECEMBER 2015
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Dec 11, Washington: The issue of Syrian refugees could impede a crucial
spending bill needed to keep the U.S. government from shutting down. President Obama plans to resettle 10,000 refugees in 2016, but many
Republicans are vehemently opposed and have increased calls to strip funding for the administration’s programme

Dec 6/13, France: Historic gains for Marine Le Pen’s Front National in
regional elections look more certain following the Nov 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. Analysts say the events, which left 130 dead, will boost support for the far-right

Dec 20, Madrid: Opinion polls show Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s ruling
conservative Popular Party is set to fall short of a majority in Spain’s general election, forcing the PP and the rival Socialist Party to forge
alliances with new, smaller parties

Dec 6, Caracas: A closely fought election campaign may unseat President
Nicolas Maduro’s Socialist Party, founded by the late Hugo Chavez and in
power for 16 years

Dec 16-18, London: Disciplinary charges are heard against four IAAF officials, including Papa Massata Diack, the son of former president Lamine Diack, as corruption allegations engulf international athletics governing body. They are accused of concealing doping violations

Dec 2, French Guiana: The European Space Agency launches its LISA Pathfinder spacecraft on a mission to detect gravitational waves, the ripples in space-time predicted by Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity

Dec 18, Los Angeles: The seventh Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, is released 10 years after the last installment, Revenge of the Sith. Set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, it features original stars Harrison Ford,
Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher

Dec 31, Germany: The copyright on Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf expires,
allowing anyone to publish and distribute it, amid growing controversy over whether the book should be available for study or buried for all time
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Source: Kate Edgley
Pictures: Associated Press,
Getty Images, ESA, Fairphone, LucasPictures
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