Pakistani President President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari launches an emergency polio immunisation programme targeting 32 million children under the age of five.
Iranian President President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad designed Ali Akbar Salehi, the current acting Foreign Minister to the Parliament to succeed Manouchehr Mottaki who was dismissed on December.
Central African Republic The Central African Republic votes: voters complain of long delays in the country's presidential and legislative elections.
Portuguese-registered Voters in Portugal take part in a presidential election with current President Anibal Cavaco Silva being reelected.
Green Party Ireland's Green Party meets Taoiseach Brian Cowen to decide whether to quit the coalition and trigger early elections.
Yemen A female Islamic activist is arrested in Yemen after organising a 2,500-strong demonstration at the Sana'a University.
Red shirt Around 27,000 anti-government red shirt protestors march in Bangkok, Thailand, calling for the release of imprisoned leaders.
Brussels Thousands of people of all ages march through Brussels in a rally, "Shame: No government, great country", to protest against nationalism and the lack of a proper government for the past seven months. The protest is initially started by students but soon expands to other parts of society.
Hepatitis B As many as 430,000 people infected with Hepatitis B from reused needles settle their legal action and are to receive payments in Japan's biggest medical dispute.
Tunisia Tunisian police arrest two politicians linked to former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was recently ousted in a popular uprising.
Albania Arrest warrants are issued to six members of the republican guard in Albania over the deaths of three people in unrest.
Israel An Israeli inquiry finds its own army acts "legal pursuant to the rules of international law" during May's fatal Gaza flotilla raid in which 9 Turkish activists were killed; a separate United Nations inquiry said there had been an "unacceptable level of brutality". The inquiry also declares Israel's naval blockade of Gaza to be legal.
Palestine Papers The largest ever release of confidential files in the history of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, are released.
WikiLeaks Speaking in "Der Sonntag", WikiLeaks spokesperson Julian Assange criticises the arrest of a Swiss bank employee who passed on details of tax evasion to the website and suggests that the Swiss authorities ought to instead investigate the tax evasion that has been uncovered. Rudolf Elmer has been detained for the weekend.
Nearly two months after the WikiLeaks website launched the release of U.S. diplomatic cables, the total amount released stands at just over 1 per cent of its trove.
Iceland A "spy" computer is found in an office next to Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir who has been the target in the United States Department of Justice-Twitter case concerning the WikiLeaks website.
BBC The BBC apologises after offending the sensibilities of Japanese viewers by broadcasting jokes targeting Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived both atomic bomb attacks carried out by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Iran Talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany break down without an agreement to end the eight-year-old impasse over Iran's nuclear program, after Iranian officials refused to negotiate unless preconditions including an immediate halt to UN sanctions on Iran were met.
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic officially registers its first cholera death since the launch of the 2010 Haiti cholera outbreak.
The recent floods and landslides in Rio de Janeiro state The death toll in Brazil's worst flood disaster tops 800 people.
Philippe Henri Dacoury-Tabley Philippe Henri Dacoury-Tabley, head of the West African Economic and Monetary Union, announces his resignation.
Zsa Zsa Gabor Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor is permitted to leave hospital and return home, eight days after undergoing the amputation of her right leg.
Somali pirate Somali pirates threaten to kill all hostage South Korean seamen in revenge for the killing of pirates by South Koreans.
Australia Australian SAS Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith is awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry in action in the offensive in the Shah Wali Kot region in Afghanistan in June 2010.
Egypt Egyptian authorities blame the Gaza-based Army of Islam group for an attack on a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria on 1 January.
Pakistan A suspected U.S. drone fires two missiles at a vehicle and a house in a militant stronghold in northwestern Pakistan, killing four alleged insurgents.