December 8, 2011 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- An oil pipeline near the Syrian city of Homs is blown up. (The Telegraph)
- Fighting breaks out in the Somali capital Mogadishu between militants and government troops. (UPI)
- An investigation by the Associated Press and German media uncovers a secret prison suspected of having been operated by the Central Intelligence Agency in Bucharest, Romania. (BBC) (AP) (AFP) (Indian Express)
Business and economy
- The European Central Bank reduces interest rates to 1%. (BBC)
- Hundreds of workers continue a strike in southern China for a fifth day amid a labour dispute. (Straits Times)
- Former CEO of MF Global, Jon Corzine, testifies to a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives that he doesn't know what happened to the hundreds of millions of dollars of customers' money, supposedly in segregated accounts, that appears to be missing. (Reuters)
Disasters
- A storm causes damage, flooding and power cuts across the north of the British Isles, particularly Scotland with winds up to 165 mph (264 km/h). (BBC)
International relations
- Philippines officials claim that the People's Republic of China has executed a Filipino man for drug trafficking despite a plea for clemency from the President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino III on humanitarian grounds. (Washington Post)
- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin accuses the United States of sponsoring the opposition in the country, following protests over the outcome of the recent elections. (RIA Novosti)
- Iranian state television shows footage of a United States Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel drone that its forces claim to have shot down. (AP)
- The Government of Japan apologizes to Canada over the treatment of Canadian POWs during World War II. (AP)
Law and crime
- British serial killer Robert Black is sentenced to a minimum of 25 years imprisonment for the 1981 murder of Northern Ireland schoolgirl Jennifer Cardy. (BBC)
- Two people are killed at Virginia Tech, formerly the site of the largest mass shooting in US history. (MSNBC) (Wires via Herald Sun)
Politics and elections
- Security is increased in the Congolese capital Kinshasa prior to the announcement of results from presidential and parliamentary elections. (Al Jazeera)
- Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe calls for elections in 2012 to replace the power-sharing government in place since 2008. (AFP via Google News)