December 8, 2017 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- Russian jets carry out airstrikes in a village in the northwestern Idlib Governorate, where a de-escalation zone exists, killing at least five civilians. (World Bulletin)
- 2017 Semuliki attack
- Suspected Allied Democratic Forces militants in North Kivu, DR Congo, kill at least 15 United Nations peacekeepers, mostly Tanzanian, and five Congolese soldiers, and wound 53 other people. An unknown number of the rebels are killed. Over 90 peacekeepers have been killed since the mission started in 1999. (The Guardian)
Business and economy
- Japan–European Union relations
- The European Union and Japan announce that they concluded negotiations on a trade deal. (Reuters)
Disasters and accidents
- December 2017 Southern California wildfires
- Donald Trump approves California's request for an emergency declaration, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts across five Southern California counties. (Los Angeles Times)
International relations
- United States recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital
- Russia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov says that the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital by the United States "runs counter to common sense." (Reuters)
- Clashes erupt in Bethlehem and Hebron. Dozens of people throw stones at Israel Defense Forces who reply with tear gas and water cannon. More than 200 people are wounded. One person was killed. The Health Minister of the Palestinian National Authority named the man killed on the Gaza Strip border. (BBC) (Reuters)
- Demonstrators across the Arab and Muslim worlds take to the streets on Friday, holy day, expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and outrage at the U.S. move. (Reuters)
- 14 of the 15 United Nations Security Council members denounce the United States' stance on Jerusalem. (The Wall Street Journal)
- Brexit negotiations
- The European Union and the United Kingdom reach agreement on the first stage of Brexit including the status of the border between the U.K. and Ireland. (CNN)
- 2017 North Korean crisis, Japan–North Korea relations
- The Japanese Minister of Defense says that his country is to procure medium-range missiles. This purchase is controversial for a country that renounced the right to wage war. (Reuters)
- Treaty on European Union, Politics of Poland
- Poland's Sejm approves controversial judiciary changes amid accusations of threat to democracy. (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- Crime in Japan
- Three people are killed in a rampage involving swords near the Tomioka Hachiman Shrine in Japan. (The Japan Times) (The Asahi Shimbun)
Politics and elections
- 2017 United States political sexual scandals
- Trent Franks, a United States representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district, announces his immediate resignation, following allegations that he asked a female staffer to be a surrogate mother for him. Franks previously announced that he would resign from Congress in January 2018. (KSAZ-TV)
- 2018 United States federal budget
- Trump signs a continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown for another two weeks. Congress has until December 22 to hash out differences over funding DACA, CHIP, tax reform, and military funding within the limits of the Budget Control Act of 2011. (Fox News) (U.S. News & World Report)
- Presidency of Donald Trump
- The White House announces that Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell will leave the Trump administration early 2018. (The Hill)
- Ukrainian crisis
- Mikheil Saakashvili is arrested again by the National Police of Ukraine. He was on the run since December 5. He has been leading anti-corruption rallies against Petro Poroshenko. (RTL Nieuws) (BBC)