Burma A Burmese court sentences two officials to death and one to imprisonment for leaking details of secret government visits to North Korea and Russia.
ABB An ABB employee commits suicide after shooting eight people, three fatally, at the ABB Power building in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States.
Special rapporteur United Nations special rapporteur Philip Alston says three independent experts have confirmed that mobile phone video footage showing extra-judicial killings by the Sri Lankan military is authentic.
Nepal Nepal begins discharging child soldiers who fought for the Maoists as part of a process of national reconciliation.
A weekend killing in Australia has prompted the Indian government to issue an advisory for its college students studying in that country.
Whaling The governments of Australia and New Zealand announce an investigation into an incident where a boat belonging to the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was damaged in a confrontation with a Japanese ship in the Southern Ocean.
Eurostar Extreme weather in Europe kills nine people in Germany, traps a Eurostar train in the Channel Tunnel, disrupts flights at international airports in Amsterdam, Dublin, Knock and Paris, shuts hundreds of schools in Ireland and disrupts Norway's bus service in Oslo.
BBC The BBC's "Spotlight" programme reveals that Iris Robinson, former UK MP and wife of the First Minister of Northern Ireland, helped a 19-year-old male who she was having a relationship with receive funding for a business project.
James Cameron James Cameron's film "Avatar" is expected to become the second-highest grossing movie of all time, just passing "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King".
Xinhua The Xinhua News Agency responds to claims by "The Guardian" newspaper that China had tried “hijack” the Copenhagen summit's Accord by claiming that the Chinese premier Wen Jiabao was not invited to secret US-initiated talks on December 17.
Coptic Orthodox At least six Coptic Christians are killed in a drive-by shooting at a church in Nag Hammadi, southern Egypt, with clashes later taking place between police and Copts.
Renewed violence Aid agencies warn of renewed violence in Southern Sudan unless there are attempts to save the 2005 peace agreement, as 140 people are killed in ethnic clashes.
Srinagar At least four militants are dead after a 23-hour gun battle at a hotel in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
Palestinian Palestinians fire mortars and Katyusha rocket from Gaza, causing widespread panic in Ashkelon, Israel, in the first such rocket attack on Israel in a year.