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Christmas market in Strasbourg

A gunman kills at least three people and injures a dozen others at the Christmas market (pictured in 2014) in Strasbourg, France, before fleeing.
Scientists announce that Voyager 2 has left the heliosphere and entered interstellar space, becoming the second man-made object to do so.
In South American association football, the Copa Libertadores concludes with River Plate defeating Boca Juniors in the finals.
The sample-return spacecraft OSIRIS-REx arrives at the asteroid 101955 Bennu.

December 14, 2018 (Friday)

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December 13, 2018 (Thursday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

Northern Mali conflict
- Jihadists on motorcycles kill around 42 people in a series of attacks targeting Tuareg camps in Mali. (CBC News)
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
- Two Israeli soldiers were killed and two others seriously wounded after a shooting at a bus stop in the Jewish settlement of Giv'at Asaf, West Bank. (CNN)
- A knife-wielding Palestinian assailant was shot dead in Jerusalem's Old City, after lightly injuring two police officers by stabbing them. (Al Jazeera)
2018 Strasbourg attack
- Chérif Chekatt, the perpetrator of the terror attack two days ago that killed three and wounded 12, is found and killed by French police forces. (BBC)
Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)
- Battle of Al Hudaydah
  - A UN-brokered ceasefire is agreed upon between the two warring factions in Al Hudaydah, Yemen. Troops from both sides will withdraw from the port city within three weeks to allow humanitarian aid coming into the country, which has been plagued by war and famine. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

Ankara train collision
- A high-speed train crashes at Marşandiz railway station in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least nine people and leaving dozens injured. (BBC)
Environment Canada issues rainfall and wind warnings in Metro Vancouver after severe flash flooding caused minor damage in the area. (Daily Hive)

Law and crime

Operation Car Wash
- A tribunal in Colombia disqualifies the Brazilian multinational corporation Odebrecht from operating in the country for 10 years amid ongoing investigations against the company for inciting corruption. (El Tiempo)
Iranian political activist Vahid Sayadi Nasiri [fa], who was jailed for his messages on social media, dies after spending 60 days on hunger strike. He was accused of insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. (BBC)
Fake bomb threats are sent to businesses around Canada and the U.S., demanding ransoms in bitcoin. (The Independent)

International relations

Chinese state media reports a second Canadian national Michael Spavor has been detained on suspicion of endangering state security while the PRC foreign ministry say two Canadian nationals are detained in the country. The Spavor investigation follows the detention of former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig on Dec. 10 and Canada's Dec. 1 arrest Meng Wanzhou.(reuters), (reuters)

Science and technology

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo successfully completes its fourth powered test flight with VSS Unity and reaches space at an altitude of 82.7 km (51.4 mi) but does not breach the 100 km (62 mi) Karman Line. (BBC)

December 12, 2018 (Wednesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- The Afghan National Army abandons the western Shib Koh District after the government failed to resupply troops stationed there. The district, which borders Iran, is now effectively under Taliban control. (Reuters)
- The Taliban claims responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed 12 people, including 8 civilians in Kabul. (Tolo News)
Two police officers are injured after a man throws a grenade at them at a shopping centre in Nazran, Ingushetia, Russia. The attacker and his accomplice are later shot dead. (Xinhuanet)

Arts and culture

Pope Francis removes Australian prelate George Pell and Chilean prelate Francisco Javier Errázuriz Ossa from the Council of Cardinal Advisers. Both are accused of covering up child sexual abuse scandals. Former Archbishop of Kinshasa Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya also leaves the Council for unrelated reasons. (BBC)

International relations

North Korea–South Korea relations
- Soldiers from North Korea and South Korea peacefully cross the Korean Demilitarized Zone for the first time since it was created in 1953. (CBS News)

Law and crime

Michael Cohen, the former lawyer of U.S. President Donald Trump, is sentenced to three years in prison for making illegal hush money payments to two women with whom Trump allegedly had affairs, and a concurrent sentence of two months for making false statements to Congress about a possible Trump Tower deal in Russia. (South China Morning Post)
Prosecutors in Goiás, Brazil request the preventive detention of medium João de Deus over more than 200 allegations of sexual abuse. João de Deus became internationally famous in 2013, when his controversial psychic healing methods were broadcast on Oprah Winfrey's show Oprah's Next Chapter. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

Politics of the United Kingdom, Future Conservative Party leadership election
- By a vote of 200 to 117, British Prime Minister Theresa May survives a motion of no confidence within the Conservative Party. (BBC)

December 11, 2018 (Tuesday)

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Armed conflicts and attacks

2018 Strasbourg attack
- A gunman kills three people and injures 12 others in a mass shooting in Strasbourg, France, during the annual Christmas market. The shooter flees the scene but is identified by police as a known extremist. The incident is being treated as an act of terrorism. (BBC) (The Daily Telegraph) (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

Five U.S. Marines who were missing after two aircraft collided mid-air off the coast of Japan on December 6 are declared dead. (The Japan Times)

Law and crime

Campinas Cathedral shooting
- A gunman kills four people and injures four others at a Catholic cathedral in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil. The gunman commits suicide after the attack. (BBC) (NBC News)
Cannabis in New Zealand
- New Zealand's government passes an amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 to allow chronic and terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis without facing the possibility of prosecution. (The Guardian)
In the United Kingdom, a man is tasered by police at the gates of the Palace of Westminster. The area is placed on lockdown. (Daily Telegraph)
Bill Cosby sexual assault cases
- The lawyers of Bill Cosby file a list of nearly a dozen alleged trial errors as they appeal his sexual assault conviction and three-to-10-year prison term. (CBS News)
Detention of Meng Wanzhou
- Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Huawei who was arrested in Canada for a extradition request from the United States for alleged US sanction violation against Iran, is granted bail with restrictions by a Canadian judge. (CBC)
- International Crisis Group confirm one of it's worker Michael Kovrig is detained in People's Republic of China. Kovrig is a former Canadian diplomat and his detainment come after the PRC warneed Canada of severe consequences if Meng was not released. (reuters)

Politics and elections

Thousands of students at the University of Tirana in Albania demonstrate against tuition fees. The government appeals for calm. (AP via U.S. News & World Report)

December 10, 2018 (Monday)

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Business and economy

The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Urjit Patel, resigns abruptly. (Reuters)

International relations

Brexit
- The Court of Justice of the European Union rules that an EU member state's invocation of Article 50 TEU is unilaterally revokable. (BBC)
- Prime Minister Theresa May announces the deferral of the meaningful vote on the UK's negotiated withdrawal agreement from the European Union that was scheduled for tomorrow. (BBC)
164 countries adopt the non-binding Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in Marrakech, Morocco. (UPI)

Law and crime

Death of Grace Millane
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern makes a public apology to the family of Grace Millane, who was murdered in Auckland on 1 or 2 December 2018, saying that "your daughter should have been safe here". (The Guardian)
Thirty-three people are hospitalized in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy, after pepper spray was fired inside the gym of a school. This is the second pepper spray-related incident in the country in three days. On 8 December, six people died when someone fired the spray inside a nightclub, causing a stampede. (Il Messaggero)
Russian serial killer and former policeman Mikhail Popkov is convicted of an additional 56 murders between 1992 and 2007. All of his victims were women. (Sky News)
Russell Bishop is convicted of the murder of Karen Hadaway and Nicola Fellows. He had been tried and found not guilty of the crimes in 1987, but the acquittal was quashed as new evidence in the form of DNA was now available. Bishop had been convicted in December 1990 of the abduction, indecent assault and attempted murder of a seven-year-old girl in February of that year. (The Guardian)
Nissan, the company's former chairman Carlos Ghosn, and an aide are indicted on charges that Ghosn underreported about ¥5 billion ($44.5 million) of his income. Ghosn's arrest warrant is renewed. (Kyodo News)
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr asks for a Canadian passport to travel to Saudi Arabia and speak with his sister Zaynab Khadr. (CBC CA) (Calgary Herald)

Politics and elections

Yellow vests movement
- French President Emmanuel Macron addresses the country following the yellow vests protests. While refusing to reinstate a wealth tax or back down on the current reform agenda, he promises an increase to the minimum wage and to remove some taxes on low income earners. (Reuters)
2018 Armenian parliamentary election
- Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's My Step Alliance bloc wins 70.4% of the vote. (Armenpress) (Reuters)

Science and technology

NASA announces that Voyager 2 entered into the interstellar medium after exiting the heliosphere on November 5. (NASA)

December 9, 2018 (Sunday)

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Disasters and accidents

Two people die and 38 others are hospitalized after a fire erupted in a building in Reggio Emilia, Italy. (Gazzetta di Reggio)
A helicopter crash in eastern Sudan kills Al-Qadarif state governor Mirghani Saleh and at least four other officials. (BBC)
Severe winter storms in the southeastern United States kill three people and leave 310,000 others without power. (BBC)

Health and environment

A beaver is seen in Northern Italy on camera, a species that has not been seen in the country since 1471. (CBC)

Law and crime

Death of Grace Millane
- The body of missing tourist Grace Millane is found outside of Auckland, New Zealand. (BBC)

Politics and elections

2018 Armenian parliamentary election
- Armenian citizens vote in the country's first ever snap election and the first one since the Velvet Revolution. (VOA)

Sports

2018 UK Championship
- Ronnie O'Sullivan wins a record seventh UK Championship snooker title after defeating Mark Allen 10–6 in the final at the Barbican Centre, York. (BBC)
2018 NFL season
- In American football, Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals passes Jerry Rice to become the all-time receptions leader with one team. (USA Today)
2018 Copa Libertadores
- In international football, River Plate wins the Copa Libertadores by beating Boca Juniors 3–1 in extra-time (aggregate score 5–3). The final is played at the Bernabéu stadium in Madrid. (BBC)
2019 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting
- In Major League Baseball, the Hall of Fame announces the first members of its 2019 induction class, with Harold Baines and Lee Smith voted in by one of four special committees. They, along with any players elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in January 2019, will be formally inducted at the Hall's facility in Cooperstown, New York on July 21, 2019. (AP via ESPN)

December 8, 2018 (Saturday)

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Disasters and accidents

Corinaldo stampede
- Six people are killed and dozens more injured in a human stampede as frantic concertgoers try to exit a packed Lanterna Azzurra club in Corinaldo in Ancona Province, Marche, Italy, after pepper spray is reportedly fired inside the club. (BBC)
Two buses crash head-on on a highway in Achacachi, Bolivia, leaving at least 17 people dead and 10 injured. (New Zealand Herald)

Politics and elections

Presidency of Donald Trump
- White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly is set to resign by the end of the month according to U.S. President Donald Trump. (CNN)
- President Trump announces his nomination of army general Mark A. Milley to succeed marine general Joseph Dunford as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (Reuters)
Yellow vests movement
- 125,000 people demonstrate across France, according to the Minister of the Interior, with about 89,000 police officers on duty. 1,385 people are detained. Tear gas and pepper spray are used against the protesters and 135 people are injured. (Al Jazeera) (CBC)
Federal Government of Belgium
- Prime Minister Charles Michel says that the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) party quits the coalition. N-VA cites its disagreement over the signing of the United Nations Global Compact for Migration. Michel plans to continue with a minority cabinet until the next scheduled election. (Het Laatste Nieuws) (Channel News Asia)

Science and technology

The ULA launch of a Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the NROL-71 mission is called off 7 seconds before liftoff time. (NBC San Diego) (NASA Spaceflight)

Sports

In its second season, Atlanta United FC wins the MLS Cup, defeating the Portland Timbers 2–0 in front of a record crowd of 73,019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. (The Guardian)

More December 2018 events...

Time: 09:13 UTC|Day: 14 December