Shinkansen A computer glitch temporarily halts all bullet trains in northern and central Japan, affecting thousands of passengers.
Demonstrations that toppled his regime 2010–2011 Tunisian protests: Anti-government demonstrations continue to take place as a new cabinet is named.
Israeli Labor Party The leader of the Israeli Labor Party Ehud Barak and four other Labor Party MKs announce their resignation from the party and the formation of a new "centrist Zionist and democratic" faction called "Independence".
Cairo A man sets himself on fire outside the parliament building in Cairo, Egypt. Copycat burnings also take place in Algeria and Mauritania.
Communist Party Nearly 1,400 members of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam gathers to vote for new leaders.
Rudolf Elmer Rudolf Elmer, a former Swiss banker of Julius Baer passes files detailing tax evasion attempts by hundreds of politicians, celebrities and business leaders to Wikileaks.
Mauritania A woman is sentenced to six months imprisonment in Mauritania for keeping two children in slave-like conditions.
People's Republic of China Two judges are fired and a court official suspended in China over a life sentence imposed on a man who evaded thousands in motorway toll fees. The ruling is also overturned.
Armenian President The President of Armenia accuses Turkey of "destroying" a bid to normalize relations between the two countries, who are locked in a dispute over the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I.
Vietnam Hundreds of people are hospitalised after an extreme cold spell in northern Vietnam that has also killed thousands of cows and buffaloes.
South Africa 39 people are killed in South Africa and thousands of homes are destroyed in Mozambique following widespread flooding.
Walmart Walmart's bid for South African retail store Massmart is approved by shareholders, with organized labour groups such as the Congress of South African Trade Unions threatening boycotts against the store.
Karachi A partial curfew is imposed in parts of Karachi, Pakistan, aimed at ending a surge in ethnic and political violence that has claimed 29 lives in the past four days.