China Scientists report Chinese deep-space probe Chang'e 2 successfully took a series of images of the asteroid 4179 Toutatis during flyby on 13 December.
Venezuela Voters in Venezuela go to the polls for gubernatorial elections with Hugo Chávez's Socialist Party winning in at least 19 of 23 states.
South Africa South Africa's governing party, the African National Congress, starts a 5-day conference where President Jacob Zuma faces a challenge from Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe.
Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, leads thousands of officials in a memorial service for his father Kim Jong-il, the former leader, who died on 17 December 2011.
Constitutional referendum Counting continues in the first round of the Egyptian constitutional referendum with unofficial results indicating majority support so far.
Shinzo Abe Shinzō Abe is elected Prime Minister of Japan as the Liberal Democratic Party win an absolute majority in the House of Representatives.
Elected Outgoing Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihiko Noda resigns as the head of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Japanese Japanese voters go to the polls for a general election, with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party led by former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe poised to win a majority.
South West Delhi A 22-year-old physiotherapy intern is beaten, gang-raped, and tortured in a private bus in South West Delhi, India.
Topeka Two police officers are fatally shot outside a supermarket in Topeka, Kansas, United States. A 22-year-old man wanted in connection with crime, David Edward Tiscareno, is at large.
Ecuador Ecuador issues a volcano alert for Tungurahua covering nearby Tungurahua and Chimborazo provinces.
Typhoon Bopha Philippine authorities announce the death toll from Typhoon Bopha has reached 1,020. Another 844 are still missing, most of them fishermen lost on boats out at sea. More than two weeks after the passage of the storm, nearly 27,000 people remain in emergency shelters.
Taliban Taliban militants launch a coordinated raid on Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing at least four civilians and injuring more than 40 others.
A Palestinian refugee camp in the capital of Damascus is reported to be attacked by Syrian war planes. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least eight deaths.