NASA The second of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft is in orbit around the moon.
Egypt Egypt's military rulers bring forward elections for the Shura Council, the upper house of the Parliament to expedite progress in developing a new constitution.
Nigeria Nigeria announces an end to its fuel subsidy scheme leading the Nigeria Labour Congress to call for strikes and street protests.
North Korea A joint New Year editorial by North Korean media calls for "human shields" to protect new Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
Rio Tinto Alcan Rio Tinto Alcan locks out hundreds of workers from a smelter in the Canadian town of Alma, Quebec.
Elizabeth II Queen Elizabeth II appoints former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard and British painter David Hockney to the Order of Merit.
Nigerian Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declares a state of emergency in parts of the country hit by violence by Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
Kenya At least two people are killed in attacks on bars in northern Kenya near the border with Somalia, with Islamist al-Shabaab militants possibly responsible.
Arab Spring A funeral of a Bahraini youth killed yesterday in a protest turns into another protest with police forced to use tear gas.
The Arab Inter-parliamentary Union, an advisory body to the Arab League, calls for the removal of its monitors in Syria, saying that they are inadvertently helping the government cover up ongoing violence.