December 14, 2018 (Friday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Syrian Civil War
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces seize control of Hajin, the last major town held by ISIL in Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (The Guardian)
- 2018 Strasbourg attack
- An Italian journalist to the European Parliament who was wounded during a terrorist attack in Strasbourg, France, dies of his injuries, raising the death toll to four. (Reuters)
- Six government officials are killed and 14 others are wounded in an attack in Balochistan, Pakistan. The BLA claims responsibility. (Al Jazeera)
Business and economy
- American conservative weekly opinion magazine The Weekly Standard announces that it will shut down this month after 23 years in print. (CNN)
Law and crime
- On the sixth anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, the school is evacuated due to a bomb threat. It is not believed to be connected with the 2018 Bitcoin bomb threats. (CNN)
Politics and elections
- Military of Kosovo
- The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo votes to create a proper army out of the lightly-armed Kosovo Security Force, with eleven minority Serb deputies boycotting the vote. While the United States lauds the decision, criticism has come from both NATO and the neighbouring country of Serbia. (Reuters)
- Cabinet of Donald Trump
- President Donald Trump appoints incumbent Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney as Acting White House Chief of Staff, to replace John F. Kelly at the end of the year. (NPR)