December 31, 2017 (Sunday)
Disasters and accidents
- A large number of fireworks accidentally go off in a barge at a New Year's Day show in Terrigal, NSW, Australia, causing thousands to be evacuated from the beach by police and the two people on the barge to suffer minor injuries. (BBC)
- A truck collision in western Kenya kills at least 36 people and injures 18. (The Standard)
- 2017 Sydney Seaplanes crash
- A DHC-2 Beaver seaplane crashes into the Hawkesbury River near Sydney, killing at least six people. (BBC) (CTV NEWS)
- 2017 Nature Air Cessna 208 Caravan crash
- Twelve people, including all 10 American passengers, are killed when their single-propeller plane crashes in a mountainous area near Punta Islita, in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The pilot was former President Laura Chinchilla's cousin. (CBS News) (AFP and The Tico Times)
- A fire consumes a multi-story parking garage in Liverpool, England, destroying about 1,400 cars parked there, most for an international horse show in the adjacent Liverpool Echo Arena. No injuries are reported, and all horses and pet dogs were moved to safety. (Reuters) (AP and CBS News)
International relations
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issues "a red alert for our world," saying that conflicts have deepened, global anxieties about nuclear weapons have increased, inequalities have grown, and nationalism and xenophobia are on the rise. Guterres calls for global unity to overcome these growing challenges. (CNN)
Law and crime
- Copper Canyon Apartment Homes shooting
- Five Douglas County, Colorado sheriff's deputies are shot, one fatally, and two civilians are injured at a domestic disturbance call. The suspect was also killed. (CBS News)
- Law of China
- China announces that its ivory trade is now illegal. In 2015, Mainland Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-U.S. President Barack Obama announced "near-complete" ivory bans for each country. America's ivory ban went into effect in June 2016. (National Geographic)
Politics and elections
- Politics of India
- Indian film superstar Rajinikanth, who has a huge following in the country and is one of Asia's highest paid actors, has announced he is entering politics. (BBC)
- 2017 Iranian protests
- Iran blocks access to Telegram and Instagram as the largest anti-government protests since 2009 continue. (The Guardian)
- Palestine–United States relations
- Palestine recalls its envoy to the United States for "consultations," following President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says that he will not accept any U.S. peace plan in the wake of Trump's move. (BBC)
Sports
- 2017 NFL season, 2017 Cleveland Browns season
- In American football, the Cleveland Browns becomes the second team in the NFL, along with the Detroit Lions to have a winless season. (The Washington Post)