• A series of suspected U.S. missile strikes causes at least 15 deaths in North Waziristan, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
• Somali pirates release a German ship with 22 crew, eight months after it was seized near Oman. (Hindustan Times) (AFP)
• The death toll from recent violence between Christians and Muslims in Jos, Nigeria, rises to 80. Islamist group Boko Haram claims responsibility for the deadly Christmas Eve bombings in the city. (Reuters) (Xinhua) (Al Jazeera)

• A late Bronze Age grave of a Celtic princess has been unearthed in Heuneburg, Germany. Grave goods of Celtic jewellery made of gold, bronze, coal and amber have been discovered. (Der Spiegel (de))
• Israeli archaeologists reportedly discover human remains from 400,000 years ago, challenging the theory that humans originated in Africa. (AFP via Google News) (The Hindu) (Press TV)
• Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish become parents after a surrogate mother from California gives birth to a son on Christmas Day. The boy is named Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John. (BBC)

• 2010 Tunisian protests: Protests in Tunisia over unemployment and poor living conditions are criticized by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali during a national television broadcast; he warns of "firm" punishment. (Al Jazeera) (Ahram Online) (AFP via Google News) (The Guardian)
• Turkish construction workers employed in Israel protest in front of the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv over fears they may lose their jobs. (Today's Zaman)

• Thousands of homes and businesses in Northern Ireland are without water as melting snow and ice from the recent freezing weather conditions reveals burst pipes. Northern Ireland Water says it is alternating supplies from reservoirs in order to help alleviate the crisis in which some have been without supplies since before Christmas. (BBC)
• 5 male teenagers from Little Haiti, Miami, in the U.S. state of Florida are killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in a motel room after fumes from a car kept idling overnight vent up a staircase into their room. (BBC) (Associated Press via Google News)
• A Russian Antonov military cargo plane crashes between Tula and Oryol, Russia, killing all 11 on board.(AP via Google)
• A fire in a New Orleans warehouse kills eight people and two dogs, most of them homeless artists and musicians.
• An IC3 train in Israel caught on a fire, injuring 116.

(Reuters) (The Associated Press) (NOLA.com)

• The leaders of Benin, Cape Verde and Sierra Leone arrive in Côte d'Ivoire to urge Laurent Gbagbo to resign as President. (CNN) (euronews)
• Spain and Russia each expel two diplomats on suspicion of spying in a tit-for-tat row. (The Moscow Times) (BBC)

• A Chinese investigative reporter known for reporting on sensitive issues dies after being attacked by six men. (RTHK) (Philippine Inquirer)
• Nepal amends legislation allowing children with disabilities to be adopted abroad. (The Straits Times)
• The UK's Avon and Somerset Police launch a murder investigation after a post mortem into the death of Joanna Yeates concludes that she had been strangled. (BBC)

• Kuwaiti Prime Minister Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah is grilled by MPs over clashes between riot police and protesters at an opposition rally earlier this month. (Al Jazeera)
• The UK Government defends a decision not to include children under the age of five in this year's flu vaccination programme, saying the decision is for medical and not financial reasons. (BBC)
• 33 leading forensic scientists have expressed concerns about the UK Government's plans to close the Forensic Science Service, saying that the justice system will take a "backward step" as a consequence. (BBC)
• The UK Government gives the go-ahead to plans to allow popular online petitions to be debated in Parliament within a year. (BBC)