Historical timeline for December 8

Singapore, under the government's approval, published its now-declassified Albatross file, comprising information relating to the Proclamation of Singapore dating back six decades ago.

Damascus falls to rebels after Syrian troops withdraw and president Bashar al-Assad leaves the country as his government collapses. Israel as a result invaded into the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

First confirmed case of COVID-19 in China.

Riots break out in Singapore, after a fatal accident in Little India.

Metallica performs a show in Antarctica, making them the first musical act to perform on all seven continents.

The Japanese solar-sail spacecraft IKAROS passes the planet Venus at a distance of about 80,800 km (50,200 mi).

With the second launch of the Falcon 9, and the first launch of the Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.

Bombings in Baghdad, Iraq kill 127 people and injure 448 others.

Columbus nightclub shooting: Nathan Gale opens fire at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, killing former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others before being shot dead by a police officer.

The Cusco Declaration is signed in Cusco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations.

A raid conducted by the Internal Security Department (ISD) of Singapore foils a Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) plot to bomb foreign embassies in Singapore.

Eighty-one people are killed by armed groups in Algeria.

The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.

A United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing five people and injuring 50 others.

An Israeli army tank transporter kills four Palestinian refugees and injures seven others during a traffic accident at the Erez Crossing on the Israel–Gaza Strip border, which has been cited as one of the events which sparked the First Intifada.

Cold War: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the White House.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union in South Asia, is established.

John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota in New York City.

A plebiscite results in the abolition of monarchy in Greece.

United Airlines Flight 553, a Boeing 737, crashes after aborting its landing attempt at Chicago Midway International Airport, killing 45. This is the first-ever loss of a Boeing 737.