December 20, 2017 (Wednesday)
Business and economy
- The European Court of Justice (ECJ) rules that Uber is officially a transport company and not a digital service, thus requiring it to accept stricter regulation and licensing within the European Union. The case arose after Uber was told to obey local taxi rules in Barcelona. (The Guardian)
International relations
- Foreign policy of the United States
- President Trump suggests that the United States could withhold foreign aid for countries that vote in favor of a United Nations resolution calling on the U.S. to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. (The Hill)
- China–South Korea relations
- South Korea's coast guard says it fired 249 warning shots over a group of Chinese fishing boats "swarming around" one of its patrol ships in South Korean waters. (The Independent)
Law and crime
- Poland in the European Union, Judiciary reforms in Poland
- The European Commission invokes Article 7 of the European Treaty against E.U. member Poland, denouncing recent judiciary reforms putting it under the political control of the ruling majority and citing "serious risk to the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers". (Le Monde) (The Guardian)
- Cannabis in New Zealand
- Terminally ill patients in New Zealand are now able to take medicinal cannabis. (The New Zealand Herald) (Newshub)
- Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
- The United States Senate and House of Representatives pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which sends it to United States President Donald Trump for signing. This comes after a previous and different version of this legislation was passed by the House yesterday. The law removes the individual insurance mandate from Obamacare. (ABC News)
- Israel–Palestine relations
- 16-year-old Palestinian Ahed Tamimi, daughter of Bassem al-Tamimi, is arrested on December 19 in a pre-dawn raid on her home in Nabi Salih by the Israeli army after being suspected of assaulting an Israeli soldier. Later in the day, her mother Nariman is allegedly arrested too when visiting her daughter at a police station. (Al Jazeera)
- Presidency of Donald Trump
- U.S. President Donald Trump commutes the prison sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, who in 2009 was sentenced to 27 years in prison for bank fraud and money laundering. (USA Today)
Science and technology
- The National Institutes of Health lifts a three-year ban on scientists experimenting with lethal viruses in the United States, saying the potential benefits of disease preparedness outweigh the risks. (BBC)
Sports
- Association football
- Belgian First Division A
- Reigning Belgian champion R.S.C. Anderlecht agrees to be sold to the highest bidder, Marc Coucke, just before a January 1 fiscal deadline. (Het Laatste Nieuws)
- Expansion of Major League Soccer
- Major League Soccer announces that Nashville has been selected to host a new MLS franchise. No definite timetable for the team's first season has been set. (ESPN)
- Belgian First Division A