2019 in spaceflight "New Horizons" makes a flyby of Kuiper belt object 2014 MU, nicknamed Ultima Thule, at 05:33 UTC, becoming the farthest object in the Solar System visited by a spacecraft. It is a contact binary.
U.S. President U.S. President Donald Trump requests a bipartisan meeting with lawmakers to discuss the wall as a partial government shutdown enters its second week.
2018 DR Congo general election U.S. and EU diplomats urge the Congolese government to restore internet connection to the country after it was shut down the previous day amid fears of election fraud.
Jair Bolsonaro Jair Bolsonaro is inaugurated as the 38th president of Brazil, succeeding Michel Temer.
Intersex rights in Germany A law recognising a third gender that can be administered for intersex people takes effect in Germany.
Mali Armed men believed to be traditional hunters have killed at least 37 people in an attack on a village in central Mali.
Bottrop and Essen car attack Five people are injured after a man intentionally drives a car into multiple crowds of people in the cities of Bottrop and Essen, Germany. Police say the incident appears to be a xenophobic, far-right attack.
2019 Tokyo car attack A car plows into New Year's celebrators in Tokyo, Japan, injuring eight. A ninth person was assaulted by the driver after he got out of the vehicle. Police believe the incident to be intentional.
Sukabumi At least nine people are killed and 34 others are missing after a landslide strikes a village in Sukabumi, West Java, in Indonesia.
War in North-West Pakistan Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan gunmen attack a security base in the Loralai area of Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of four security guards and four terrorists, including a suicide bomber. Two guards were also injured in the attack.
War in Afghanistan The Taliban kills 27 members of the Afghan National Security Forces in a series of coordinated attacks in northern Afghanistan after refusing to discuss peace in the region with government officials.