Turmoil in Iran increased after security forces fired on anti-government demonstrators in several cities.
State television said that eight people had died, including a nephew of last June’s thwarted presidential
candidate, Mir Hosein Mousavi. More than a thousand people were reportedly arrested, including a former
foreign minister. Divisions in the ruling clerical establishment deepened. See article
Barack Obama ordered an investigation into why America’s security apparatus failed to stop a man from
boarding a jet in Amsterdam, which he then allegedly tried to blow up as it made its final approach to
Detroit on Christmas Day. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was overpowered by fellow passengers after he
attempted to detonate explosives on the plane, causing a fire. An al-Qaeda-affiliated group in Yemen
claimed responsibility. See article
At least 38 people died in clashes between the police and members of a radical Islamist sect called Kala
Kato in Nigeria’s north-eastern state of Bauchi. The violence started when police tried to enforce a ban
on open-air preaching.
