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'We're snake-bitten': Unconvincing Canada gets past Germany 3-0 at world juniorsSix-year-old JonBenet Ramsey was killed in her home in Boulder, Colorado, US, on December 25, 1996. The girl had suffered a broken skull and her body was also found with a garotte around the neck. Images and footage of JonBenet competing in child beauty pageants helped fan interest in the case, which mushroomed hugely in the US and internationally. A lengthy ransom note and a missing person's call initially convinced police the girl had been kidnapped. The note made a demand for US$118,000 on behalf of a "small foreign faction" and threatened to kill JonBenet. "Speaking to anyone about your situation, such as Police, FBI, etc, will result in your daughter being beheaded. If we catch you talking to a stray dog, she dies," it read. JonBenet's body was found in the basement of her family's home on December 26. It was behind a latched door in a basement that an initial police search had determined to be unimportant - as at the time they were checking for a possible kidnapper's escape route, and the door was latched from the inside. Her father opened it during a subsequent search to find JonBenet's body covered by a white blanket. Despite multiple theories being pursued over the years, the murder remains unsolved. The case is still considered open at the Boulder Police Department. Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the Soviet Union, signs the decree relinquishing control of nuclear weapons to Boris Yeltsin at the Kremlin in Moscow, on Wednesday, December 25, 1991. Gorbachev announced his resignation in a live televised address to the nation that same day, drawing a line under more than 74 years of Soviet history. By the fall of 1991, however, deepening economic woes and secessionist bids by Soviet republics had made the collapse of the USSR all but inevitable. The red flag of the Soviet Union was pulled down over the Kremlin that night as well, and replaced with the tricolour of the Russian Federation. Charlemagne, King of the Franks, was crowned as Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III in Rome on December 25, 800. Although the Eastern Roman Empire had persisted past the "fall of Rome", the papacy wanted to return imperial glory to western Europe as well. Charlemagne united much of western Europe under his rule, and imposed conversions to Christianity on many of his subjects. However, his capital was in Aachen, not Rome. His Carolingian Empire did not last for long, but it is considered to have planted the seed for the German-based Holy Roman Empire that persisted into the early modern age. US revolutionary general George Washington led a surprise attack across the Delaware River on the night of December 25, 1776. Washington was able to defeat German mercenaries hired by Britain in the Battle of Trenton on December 26 in a crucial turning point of the War of Independence. On December 25, 1951, four University of Glasgow students - Ian Hamilton, Gavin Vernon, Kay Matheson, and Alan Stuart - managed to break into Westminster Abbey and retrieve (or steal, depending on your perspective) the Stone of Scone. The Stone was used in the coronation of Scottish monarchs, until King Edward I took it during his invasion of Scotland in 1296. It has since been used in the coronation of English and British monarchs since that day, up until Charles III. The theft of the stone led to the first closing of the Anglo-Scottish border in centuries. The stone was eventually recovered in February 1952, though the students were not prosecuted for fear of sparking bitter political backlash. Typhoon Phanphone devastated the Philippines on December 25, 2019. Winds hit up to 150km/hr ravaged the country, just a week after a similar typhoon had passed through. The typhoon ultimately killed about 50 people, with 55 missing and hundreds more injured. It left a damage bill of more than $100 million.
As 2024 draws to a close, CDT editors are compiling a series of the most notable content ( Chinese ) from across the Chinese internet over the past year. Topics include this year’s most outstanding quotes, reports, podcasts and videos, sensitive words, censored articles and essays, “People of the Year,” and CDT’s “2024 Editors’ Picks.” CDT Chinese publishes a column called CDT Reports , which collects external reports from think tanks, academic journals, NGOs, the media, and other sources on topics related to various human rights issues in China. This year, CDT Chinese published 150 of these report columns, covering freedom of speech, freedom of the press, public opinion polls, transnational repression, Uyghur human rights, Tibetan human rights, religious freedom, digital authoritarianism, labor rights, China’s economy, the rights of women and LGBTQ+ groups, and U.S.-China relations. The list below is a sample of the most notable reports of 2024, as chosen by CDT Chinese editors. 1. V-Dem, “ Democracy Report 2024: Democracy Winning and Losing at the Ballot ” This flagship report by the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden measured the receding ground of democracies around the world. It noted that autocratization is ongoing in 42 countries, home to 35 percent of the world’s population, and that “[a]lmost all components of democracy are getting worse in more countries than they are getting better, compared to ten years ago.” China is ranked 171 out of 179 countries on the report’s Liberal Democracy Index, and it falls similarly close to the bottom in the four related categories. The report also labels the BRICS+, which is largely led by China, a “Club of Autocracies.” ( CDT Reports column ) 2. Human Rights Watch, “ ‘Educate the Masses to Change Their Minds’: China’s Forced Relocation of Rural Tibetans ” This report shows that Chinese media coverage in many cases contradicts official claims that rural Tibetans gave their consent to relocate to urban areas. Drawing on over one thousand official Chinese media articles as well as government publications and academic field studies, the report indicates that participation in “whole-village relocation” programs in Tibet is compulsory and enforced by coercion. Between 2000 and 2025, the Chinese authorities will have relocated over 930,000 rural Tibetans, according to official statistics. ( CDT Reports column ; CDT English coverage .) 3. Amnesty International, “ ‘On my campus, I am afraid’: China’s targeting of overseas students stifles rights ” Using in-depth interviews with 32 Chinese students, including 12 from Hong Kong, studying at universities in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the U.K., and the U.S., the report highlights the climate of fear on university campuses, along with responses from university administrations. Among the various findings, the report details how the Chinese government’s transnational repression has frightened some Chinese students to such an extent that it causes isolation and severe health problems. ( CDT Reports column ; CDT English coverage ) 4. Exovera’s Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, “ Censorship Practices of the People’s Republic of China ” This report outlines the nature and reach of China’s censorship apparatus, the methods and technologies that underpin it, the international activities it conducts, and the implications for the U.S. It states that under Xi Jinping, the Chinese Party-state has streamlined control over online content, improved censors’ technical skills, and made legal reforms to broaden state supervision over media. The outcome is what the Commission calls “the world’s most elaborate and pervasive censorship apparatus.” ( CDT Reports column ; CDT English coverage ) 5. Amnesty International and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, “ ‘I yearn to see you’ – Valentine’s letters to activists detained in mainland China and Hong Kong ” Ahead of Valentine’s Day, the partners of three detained Chinese human rights activists wrote letters to express their love and highlight the severe treatment of their partners. The group included Geng He and her husband Gao Zhisheng, a human rights lawyer who was forcibly disappeared; activist Ye Du under police surveillance in Guangzhou and her partner Chow Hang-tung, a lawyer detained for organizing a vigil for the Tiananmen crackdown; and Luo Shengchun, the wife of human rights lawyer Ding Jiaxi, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for subversion of state power. ( CDT Reports column ) 6. Google Threat Intelligence Group, “ Seeing Through a GLASSBRIDGE: Understanding the Digital Marketing Ecosystem Spreading Pro-PRC Influence Operations ” Google researchers documented an umbrella group of four different private companies operating hundreds of fake websites that posed as news sites and newswire services from dozens of countries. These sites demonstrated an ability to tailor their content to specific regional audiences and to appear as legitimate news. The examples in this report suggest that the companies took instructions from a shared customer that was organizing a coordinated influence campaign aligned with PRC political agendas. ( CDT Reports column ) 7. The China Quarterly, “ Do Chinese Citizens Conceal Opposition to the CCP in Surveys? Evidence from Two Experiments ” Erin Baggott Carter, Brett L. Carter, and Stephen Schick at the University of Southern California published findings from two public opinion surveys that challenged common understandings of how Chinese people feel about the CCP. In addition to asking directly for Chinese citizens’ views of the CCP, which elicits extremely high degrees of support, the researchers also asked in the form of list experiments that provide a greater sense of anonymity. The result of this second method was the CCP receiving support among only 50 to 70 percent of respondents. The Chinese leadership may therefore not be as popular as previously thought. ( CDT Reports column ) Categories : CDT Highlights , China & the World , Hong Kong , Human Rights , Law , Level 2 Article , Politics , Sci-Tech , Society Tags : Amnesty International , BRICS , CCP , censorship , democracy , Ding Jiaxi , external propaganda , Gao Zhisheng , Internet censorship , online censorship , overseas Chinese students , overseas students , public opinion , relocation , Tibet Related Posts CDT 2024 Year-End Roundup: Sensitive Words CDT 2024 Year-End Roundup: Quotes of the Year (Part 2) Quote of the Day, as Blogger’s Prison Sentence is Confirmed: “Before You Can Plant Crops, You Must Improve the Soil” Dam Construction in Tibet Threatens Local Communities and Environment Interview: Gerald Roche on the Erasure of Tibet’s Minority Languages Words of the Week: “Aim the Rifle an Inch Higher” (枪口抬高一厘米, qiāngkǒu táigāo yī límǐ) Two Years After Zero-COVID, A Rare White Paper Remembrance Censors Remove Reflections on Democracy Inspired by Korean Crisis Frank Speeches by Economists Gao Shanwen, Fu Peng Result in Mass Online Censorship, WeChat Bans Chinese Government Leverages Inbound Tourism to Boost External Propaganda Global Public Opinion Polls Show Polarized Views of China Reflections on Family Relationships and Generational Change Under the CCP Can “Journey to the West” Help Explain A Spate of Killings in China?The new, 12-team College Football Playoff brings with it a promise to be bigger, more exciting, more lucrative. Perfect or 100% fair? Well, nobody ever believed that. The first expanded playoff bracket unveiled Sunday left a presumably deserving Alabama team on the sideline in favor of an SMU squad with a better record after playing a schedule that was not as difficult. It ranked undefeated Oregon first but set up a possible rematch against Ohio State, the team that came closest to beating the Ducks this year. It treated underdog Boise State like a favorite and banged-up Georgia like a world beater at No. 2. It gave Ohio State home-field advantage against Tennessee for reasons it would take a supercomputer to figure out. It gave the sport the multiweek tournament it has longed for, but also ensured there will be plenty to grouse about between now and when the trophy is handed out on Jan. 20 after what will easily be the longest college football season in history. All of it, thankfully, will be sorted out on the field starting with first-round games on campuses Dec. 20 and 21, then over three succeeding rounds that will wind their way through traditional bowl sites. Maybe Oregon coach Dan Lanning, whose undefeated Ducks are the favorite to win it all, put it best when he offered: "Winning a national championship is not supposed to be easy.” Neither, it turns out, is figuring out who should play for it. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings passes the ball in the first half of the ACC championship game against Clemson on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. The Big Ten will lead the way with four teams in the tournament, followed by the SEC with three and the ACC with two. The lasting memory from the inaugural bracket will involve the decision that handed the ACC that second bid. Alabama of the SEC didn't play Saturday. SMU of the ACC did. The Mustangs fell behind by three touchdowns to Clemson before coming back to tie. But they ultimately lost 34-31 on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. “We were on pins and needles,” SMU coach Rhett Lashley said. “Until we saw the name ‘SMU’ up there, we were hanging on the edge. We're really, really happy and thankful to the committee for rewarding our guys for their total body of work." The Mustangs only had two losses, compared to three for the Crimson Tide. Even though SMU's schedule wasn't nearly as tough, the committee was impressed by the way the Mustangs came back against Clemson. “We just felt, in this particular case, SMU had the nod above Alabama,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, the chairman of the selection committee. “But it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. We looked at the entire body of work for both teams.” Oregon offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu celebrates after winning the Big Ten championship game against Penn State on Saturday in Indianapolis. Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye. All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on Dec. 31-Jan. 1. Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its crazy win over SMU, the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings, but got in as the fifth-best conference winner. Automatic byes and bids made the bracket strange The conference commissioners' idea to give conference champions preferable treatment in this first iteration of the 12-team playoff could be up for reconsideration after this season. The committee actually ranked Boise State, the Mountain West Champion, at No. 9 and Big 12 champion Arizona State at No. 12, but both get to skip the first round. Another CFP guideline: There’s no reseeding of teams after each round, which means no break for Oregon. The top-seeded Ducks will face the winner of Tennessee-Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 earlier this year in one of the season’s best games. Texas linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. hits Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton during the second half of the SEC championship game on Saturday in Atlanta. No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, Dec. 21: Clemson is riding high after the SMU upset, while Texas is 0-2 against Georgia and 11-0 vs. everyone else this season. The winner faces ... Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. Huh? No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, Dec. 21: The biggest knock against the Mustangs was that they didn't play any big boys with that 60th-ranked strength of schedule. Well, now they get to. The winner faces ... Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Yes, SMU vs. Boise was the quarterfinal we all expected. No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, Dec. 20: Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti thought his team deserved a home game. Well, not quite but close. The winner gets ... Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs got the No. 2 seed despite a throwing-arm injury to QB Carson Beck. But what else was the committee supposed to do? No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State, Dec. 21: The Buckeyes (losses to Oregon, Michigan) got home field over the Volunteers (losses to Arkansas, Georgia) in a matchup of programs with two of the biggest stadiums in football. The winner faces ... Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Feels like that matchup should come in the semifinals or later. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, foreground right, dives toward the end zone to score past San Francisco 49ers defensive end Robert Beal Jr. (51) and linebacker Dee Winters during the second half of an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y., Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus) Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green goes up for a dunk during the second half of an Emirates NBA cup basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) South Carolina guard Maddy McDaniel (1) drives to the basket against UCLA forward Janiah Barker (0) and center Lauren Betts (51) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Mari Fukada of Japan falls as she competes in the women's Snowboard Big Air qualifying round during the FIS Snowboard & Freeski World Cup 2024 at the Shougang Park in Beijing, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) LSU punter Peyton Todd (38) kneels in prayer before an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. LSU won 37-17. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) South Africa's captain Temba Bavuma misses a catch during the fourth day of the first Test cricket match between South Africa and Sri Lanka, at Kingsmead stadium in Durban, South Africa, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, left, is hit by Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, center, as Eagles wide receiver Parris Campbell (80) looks on during a touchdown run by Barkley in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) Los Angeles Kings left wing Warren Foegele, left, trips San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini, center, during the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) Olympiacos' Francisco Ortega, right, challenges for the ball with FCSB's David Miculescu during the Europa League league phase soccer match between FCSB and Olympiacos at the National Arena stadium, in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru) Brazil's Botafogo soccer fans react during the Copa Libertadores title match against Atletico Mineiro in Argentina, during a watch party at Nilton Santos Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado) Seattle Kraken fans react after a goal by center Matty Beniers against the San Jose Sharks was disallowed due to goaltender interference during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Seattle. The Sharks won 4-2. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27), center, fight for the puck with Boston Bruins defensemen Parker Wotherspoon (29), left, and Brandon Carlo (25), right during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Jiyai Shin of Korea watches her shot on the 10th hole during the final round of the Australian Open golf championship at the Kingston Heath Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake) Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland competes in the women's Freeski Big Air qualifying round during the FIS Snowboard & Freeski World Cup 2024 at the Shougang Park in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Lara Gut-Behrami, of Switzerland, competes during a women's World Cup giant slalom skiing race, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024, in Killington, Vt. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin cools off during first period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Brazil's Amanda Gutierres, second right, is congratulated by teammate Yasmin, right, after scoring her team's first goal during a soccer international between Brazil and Australia in Brisbane, Australia, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher) Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) tries to leap over Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Joshua Williams (2) during the first half of an NFL football game in Kansas City, Mo., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga) Luiz Henrique of Brazil's Botafogo, right. is fouled by goalkeeper Everson of Brazil's Atletico Mineiro inside the penalty area during a Copa Libertadores final soccer match at Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) England's Alessia Russo, left, and United States' Naomi Girma challenge for the ball during the International friendly women soccer match between England and United States at Wembley stadium in London, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Gold medalists Team Netherlands competes in the Team Sprint Women race of the ISU World Cup Speed Skating Beijing 2024 held at the National Speed Skating Oval in Beijing, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones (33) reaches for an incomplete pass ahead of Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. (2) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr) Melanie Meillard, center, of Switzerland, competes during the second run in a women's World Cup slalom skiing race, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Killington, Vt. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) Get local news delivered to your inbox!