Atlanta Atlanta in the U.S. state of Georgia gets its first white Christmas in 128 years affecting 500 flights.
GSAT-5P The GSAT-5P satellite fails to reach orbit after the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle carrying it explodes shortly after launch.
Mir-Hossein Mousavi A travel ban is announced against opposition candidates, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who featured in the disputed 2009 Iranian presidential election.
Golf course A dead female body is found near a golf course in North Somerset during a police search in Bristol for missing UK woman Joanna Yeates.
Law enforcement Dutch police arrest 12 Somalis on suspicion of plotting an imminent terrorist attack in the Netherlands.
Darfur The director of an aid group working in Darfur is sentenced to one year in prison and fined on embezzlement charges after having been acquitted on the same charges earlier, in what as seen as an effort by the Sudanese government to silence Darfur human rights defenders and activists.
Mossad Mossad announces an intention to apologize to Britain for using fake British passports during the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai in January 2010.
People's Republic of China Three fishermen from the People's Republic of China are released from South Korean custody after their vessel collided with a Coast Guard vessel last week.
Turkey Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu reiterates his request for an apology from Israel for killing 9 Turks during May's Gaza flotilla raid
Filmmakers International filmmakers condemn the sentencing of Iranian director Jafar Panahi and a colleague to six-year sentences in jail and their being barred from writing-directing and producing films for 20-year, for opposition to the government.
Vanuatu A magnitude 7.3 earthquake strikes Vanuatu. A tsunami warning is issued for the region and later cancelled after a minor tsunami was recorded.
Vietnam Vietnam’s credit rating is downgraded by credit rating agencies amid rising inflation, and a shrinking currency and widening trade deficit crisis; state owned shipbuilder Vinashin defaults on a loan to a group of international lenders.
Leading writers criticise the British government for what they describe as its "repugnant, foolish and pointlessly destructive" decision to axe all funding for a free children's book scheme.
Aurela Gaçe Aurela Gaçe wins Albania's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the entry "Kënga ime".
Mohammed Deif Mohammed Deif, the commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip, says that the Palestinians will not give up until Israel “ceases to exist”.
Côte d'Ivoire UN: Approximately 14,000 people have fled Côte d'Ivoire and headed to Liberia due to the recent presidential election dispute.
Christmas At least 6 people are wounded as a bomb detonates in a church during Christmas Mass in the southern Philippines island of Jolo.
Sudanese Army The Sudanese army says it has killed at least 40 rebels and wounded many more in a new offensive in the Darfur region, when army forces attacked joint positions of the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement.