Government The Parliament of Egypt approves, with a two-thirds majority in favour, extending the nationwide state of emergency for a further three months, starting January 13.
Polish government New ministers of defence, finance, interior, health, environment and foreign affairs, amongst others, are appointed.
Gerrymandering in the United States A three-judge federal panel rules North Carolina's congressional district map was illegally gerrymandered because legislators relied too heavily on partisan affiliation in drawing constituencies. This is the first time a federal court has struck down a redistricting plan for partisan gerrymandering.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals The United States District Court for the Northern District of California issues a nationwide injunction blocking the rescission of the DACA program, ordering the Trump administration to restart and maintain the program as the legal challenge(s) to the president's decision go forward.
Unrest in early 2018 Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei says that Iran has extinguished the unrest and has foiled attempts to turn legitimate protests into an insurgency to overthrow the Islamic Republic. He went on to identify the United States, Britain, Israel, the People's Mujahedin of Iran and "a wealthy government" in the Persian Gulf among Iran's foreign enemies.
Cuba–United States relations An anonymous senior State Department official says that United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson decided to convene a special-panel Accountability Review Board to further investigate the "attacks" at the U.S. embassy in Havana.
North Korea–South Korea relations In the first inter-Korean talks in two years at the Panmunjeom-Paju "Truce Village" (DMZ), both parties agree on the need to ease tensions and hold military talks. North Korea also agrees to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
2018 Swan Islands earthquake A magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes north of Honduras, resulting in tsunami warnings in the Caribbean.
2018 Southern California landslides At least 15 people are killed by mudslides following heavy overnight rains in areas of Santa Barbara County, California, where last month's wildfires destroyed forests and destabilized the land.
2017–18 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season At least 29 people are dead and 22 are missing in the aftermath of a strong tropical cyclone striking Madagascar.
Steve Bannon Steve Bannon steps down as executive chairman of Breitbart News amid a dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump over comments he made about the Trump family in Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury".