Ukraine Martial law in Ukraine ends a month after an attack on three Ukrainian Navy vessels near the Kerch Strait.
Japan Japan announces its intention to resume commercial whaling in July 2019 after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission.
United States After a 53-day trek, American professional endurance athlete Colin O'Brady allegedly becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided; his claim of being unaided has been disputed, and the first person to really cross Antarctica alone and unaided was Børge Ousland in 1996 and 1997.
President U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump make an unannounced post-Christmas visit to troops at the Al Asad Airbase in Iraq, their first visit to a combat zone since taking office.