• Syrian civil war:
  • Syrian jets bombard rebel positions in Damascus as a country-wide Internet and phone blackout enters a third day. Government officials announce the road to the airport in the capital has been secured, though rebels insist clashes are ongoing. (Reuters)
• 2012 East D.R. Congo conflict:
  • M23 rebels begin their withdrawal from the city of Goma as part of a Uganda-brokered deal struck a week earlier. (Reuters)

• Anastasiya Petryk from Ukraine wins the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with her song Nebo (Sky) which got 138 points. (Eurovision)

• A tour bus hits a bridge at Miami International Airport, United States, killing at least two people and injuring many more. (NBC News) (BBC) (The Miami Herald)^{[permanent dead link]}
• At least 8 people are killed and 36 injured when a passenger bus overturns on the highway between the cities of Sucre and Potosí in southern Bolivia. (RIA Novosti)

• North Korea's state agency KCNA announces the country will launch a satellite sometime between December 10 and December 22. The launch will take place around the time of South Korea's presidential election on December 19 and close to the first anniversary of the death of former leader Kim Jong-il. South Korean officials, as well as the US, believe that the isolated state is testing long-range missile technology with the aim of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Reuters)
• Foreign ministers of the Arab League meet in Istanbul, Turkey, to show their support for the Syrian opposition groups and Palestinians. (Fox News)

• Notorious Macau gangster Broken Tooth Koi is released from prison after serving nearly 15 years. (BBC)
• Jovan Belcher, a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs American football team kills himself at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, after reportedly killing his girlfriend. (The Telegraph)

• Mexican inauguration:
  • Enrique Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party is sworn in as the President of Mexico as violent clashes occur outside. (Associated Press)
  • Over 23 people are severely wounded outside the Camara de Diputados during the protests in Mexico City. (ElEconomista)
• President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi announces that the country's new draft constitution will be put to a constitutional referendum on December 15. (BBC)
• Voters in Kuwait go to the polls for a parliamentary election with the Opposition holding a boycott. The lowest voter turnout in the Kuwaiti election history is observed. (BBC) (The Guardian)

• The USS Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is officially inactivated in ceremonies held at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, completing a 51-year career in the United States Navy. In a pre-recorded speech, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announces that the U.S. Navy's third Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, CVN-80, will be named Enterprise. (Associated Press)

• Ukrainian chess player Anna Ushenina wins the Women's World Chess Championship 2012 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, by defeating Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria on rapid tie-breaks. (Chess News)
• The draw for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup is held at the Anhembi Convention Center in São Paulo, Brazil. Title holders Brazil will face Japan, Mexico, Italy in Group A while World Champions Spain will play Uruguay, Tahiti and the 2013 African Champion in Group B. (FIFA)
• Spanish football club Valencia fires Mauricio Pellegrino as coach after the 2–5 home loss to Real Sociedad in the 2012–13 La Liga. (Reuters via Eurosport)
• The Los Angeles Galaxy defeat the Houston Dynamo 3–1 to win the 2012 Major League Soccer Cup. It is David Beckham's final game. (Houston Chronicle) (MLS Soccer)
• In college football, the Alabama Crimson Tide defeat the Georgia Bulldogs 32–28 in the 2012 Southeastern Conference Championship Game, projecting Alabama to play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. (ESPN)