Portal:Current events/2011 December 27

Current events of December 27, 2011 (2011-12-27) (Tuesday)

Arts and culture Helen Frankenthaler, who developed Color Field painting, dies at age 83. (The New York Times) Business and economy Over $30 billion was spent on holiday online shopping in the United States, a 15% increase from last year, according to comScore. (Reuters) Sears Holdings Corporation announces plans to close over 100 Sears and K-Mart stores in the United States. (Financial Post) A bankruptcy court judge ruled that the trustee liquidating MF Global, James Giddens, and his law firm, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, are sufficiently "disinterested" in the disposition of assets for Giddens to continue his work in that capacity. (Reuters) Disasters The death toll from flash floods in the Philippines caused by Tropical Storm Washi reaches 1,500 per some sources, but the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council currently puts the number lower.(AFP via Sydney Morning Herald)(NDRRMC) Floods caused by Tropical Cyclone Grant cause the derailment of a train near the town of Katherine in Australia's Northern Territory. (BBC) Politics and elections Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare begins a three day fast in protest as legislation creating an anti-corruption watchdog excluding the Central Bureau of Investigation goes before the Parliament of India. (AP via SF Gate) The government of Argentina announces that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has cancer in her thyroid gland, and will have an operation on 4 January and step aside as president for 20 days until 24 January. (BBC)