Bogoslof Island A volcanic eruption continues on Bogoslof Island near Unalaska, in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The eruption has impacted air transportation routes.
State council China's State Council announces details of its intention to ban all ivory trade and processing activities by the end of 2017.
Romania Romanian President Klaus Iohannis designates social-democrat Sorin Grindeanu as the country's new prime minister, after the victory of the centre-left PSD earlier this month.
Kochi Sahaj International opens in Kochi in the South Indian state of Kerala. The country's first school for transgender pupils, it caters for adults who left school early.
Rio de Janeiro A body found in a burnt-out vehicle north of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is confirmed to be that of missing Greek Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis. A military police officer who had an affair with the ambassador's wife confesses to the murder. The wife and a second man are also detained.
Russia–United States relations The U.S. Burlington Electric Department says that a code associated with a broad Russian hacking campaign dubbed "Grizzly Steppe" by the U.S. Government has been detected on a laptop associated with a Vermont electric utility but not connected to the grid.
After 35 Russian diplomats are expelled from the United States, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov recommends expelling 35 American diplomats. Russian President Vladimir Putin rejects Lavrov's recommendation and expresses a desire to restore relations between the two countries.
Cessna 525 A Cessna 525 carrying six passengers goes missing shortly after takeoff from Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport in the United States.
Coal India At least seven people are killed and 30 trapped after a pile of waste collapses in a Coal India mine in Jharkhand.
2016 Berlin truck attack The funeral of Łukasz Urban, the driver killed in the course of last week's attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, takes place in his village of Banie near the German border. President of Poland Andrzej Duda and a German diplomat attend.