ULAS J1342+0928 A study published in "Nature" and the "Astrophysical Journal Letters" describes the discovery of the most distant supermassive black hole ever, around 13.1 billion light years away.
Government Accountability Office The U.S. Government Accountability Office starts a study into the (currently unregulated) length of freight trains.
Ukrainian crisis Police raid the wrong tent of an activist camp in Kiev and fail to arrest the stateless opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili. A police source says police are preparing a special operation and will be unleashed "in the near future".
Lebanese politicians The Lebanese cautiously welcome a political agreement that enables Prime Minister Saad Hariri to officially withdraw his unexpected November 4 resignation.
Crime in France A French court does not order the custody of Suleyman Kerimov but sets a €40 million bail and tighter controls. Kerimov was arrested on November 21 in a money laundering and tax fraud case.
Sanctions against North Korea An Institute for Science and International Security study indicates that (between March 2014 and September 2017) a total of 49 countries violated United Nations sanctions against North Korea to varying degrees.
Suspected sonic attack on the United States Embassy in Havana Investigators discover brain abnormalities in the victims. They are now carefully not using the term "sonic" to describe the attacks and there is growing skepticism it was caused by a sonic device, with the sound heard by victims being a by-product of the brain damage. The white matter of the brains showed changes which doctors believe could not be caused by sound.
Recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital Eight of the 15 current United Nations Security Council members call to hold an urgent meeting on the U.S. decision. The meeting is expected for December 8.
Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres criticizes the announcement, saying that it "would jeopardise the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians".
Pope Francis urges respect for the status quo for Jerusalem and calls for "wisdom and prudence" to avoid further conflict.
The decision draws critical reaction from key U.S. allies that include the EU, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The Arab League calls it "a dangerous measure that would have repercussions" and also questions the future role of the U.S. as a "trusted mediator" in peace talks.
President of the State of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas says the move undermines the U.S. position as a peace mediator while the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas says that the decision would "open the gates of hell on U.S. interests in the region."
U.S. President Donald Trump recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and says the U.S. starts the process of moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The United States Department of State issues an internal travel warning to Israel, Jerusalem and the West Bank until December 20. The U.S. embassy in Amman temporarily suspends routine public services and stops embassy travel around Jordan. Embassies in Berlin and London issue vigilance warnings to U.S. citizens.
UNICEF UNICEF reports that as many as 17 million babies worldwide face potential brain development issues due to their exposure to toxicity levels more than six times higher than considered safe in air.
Weinstein effect The "Silence Breakers", including those involved in the #MeToo movement, are named "Time" magazine's 2017 Time Person of the Year.
Michelin Michelin unveils its first Michelin Guide for Bangkok, Thailand, which is the sixth city in Asia and second in Southeast Asia after Singapore.
New York City The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art is brought to reply to an online petition signed by thousands of people. The museum refuses to stop displaying a Balthus painting, "Thérèse rêvant".
Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says that Russian air strikes kill 21 people in a village on the eastern side of the Euphrates river in Deir al-Zor province.
President Vladimir Putin declares victory over the Islamic State terror group across both banks of the river Euphrates.