Nobel Peace Prize Bangladeshi economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus and three people that worked at his company Grameen Telecom are sentenced to six months in prison for violating Bangladesh's labor laws.
LGBT rights in Estonia Estonia becomes the 36th country in the world where same-sex couples can marry.
2023 Israeli judicial reform The Supreme Court of Israel votes 8–7 to strike down the "reasonableness" bill passed by the Knesset in July.
Egypt Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates formally join the BRICS group as new members.
Foreign relations of Ethiopia Ethiopia announces an agreement with Somaliland to use 20 km of coastline, including the port of Berbera, in exchange for eventual recognition of the Somaliland Declaration of Independence, which would make it the first country to do so.
Graz One person is killed and 21 others are injured in a fire at a bar in Graz, Austria, that was hosting a New Year's party.
2024 Noto earthquake A magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, killing 55 people. A tsunami warning is issued for multiple prefectures along the Sea of Japan.
Abu Dhabi The Sheikh Zayed Festival at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates breaks four Guinness World Records for a hour-long fireworks display and drone show during the New Year celebration.
Public Domain Day The animated short film "Steamboat Willie", the German-language version of the novel "All Quiet on the Western Front", and other works published in 1928 enter the public domain in the United States.
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Republic of Artsakh officially ceases to exist, in accordance with a decree signed by former president Samvel Shahramanyan.
2023 Israel–Hamas war At least 27 rockets are fired by Hamas shortly after midnight at cities and towns in central and southern Israel.
The IDF withdraws five brigades, consisting of thousands of soldiers, from the Gaza Strip and says the war will enter a "different mode of operations".