• International mediators propose the establishment of a regional authority for Darfur, as a compromise between the Sudanese government and rebels’ demands, in a diplomatic effort to respond to Sudanese President Bashir’s order last week to withdraw the Sudanese government delegation from talks in Doha. (Radio Dabanga)
• Egyptian police shoot and kill an African illegal immigrant outside the Israeli border. (Ha'aretz)

• The U.S. Internal Revenue Service announces that, due to the late passage of the extension of the Bush tax cuts and other itemizations, up to 50 million Americans will not be able to file their 2010 tax returns until mid-February. (CNN.com)
• Officials in Afghanistan said that the price of opium has doubled due to a blight. There are fears the higher prices will draw more farmers into that business. (Reuters)

• A 7.1-magnitude earthquake streaks southern Chile, having its epicenter 96 km northwest of Temuco, not far from the location of the 2010 Chile earthquake. (CNN) (CBC) (Radio Australia News)
• River levels in Queensland, Australia continue to rise, affecting about 200,000 people and killing at least one person. (CTV) (Aljazeera)
• Flooding occurs along the San Antonio River in Monterey County, California as flooding from previous weeks subsides. (Contra Costa Times) (North County Times)
• Ten people are crushed to death in a bar packed with New Year's revelers in Ipelegeng, South Africa. (CNN)

• One hundred German political and business leaders publish an appeal to Iran to free two German reporters imprisoned in Iran since October after being arrested while interviewing the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani who has been sentenced to death for murder^[1], manslaughter, and adultery. (Reuters)
• A 2009 Wikileaks document from the US embassy in Tel Aviv says that Israel is preparing for large scale war against Hamas or Hezbollah, and quotes the Israeli chief of staff as saying that the Israel Defense Forces must be prepared to stop the firing of rockets on Tel Aviv. (France 24), (Ynet)
• The Canada Border Services Agency confirms the deportation of a Toronto student to Mexico, who immigrated with his sister, who cited homophobia as the reason for claiming refugee status. Reports state he boarded the plane unwillingly. (Globe and Mail) (The Montreal Gazette)
• Israel extends a six-month ban on the immigration of Palestinian Arabs married to Israelis. (AFP)
• A false-alarm bomb scare temporarily shuts down the Egyptian-Israeli border to over 1,000 Nigerian Christians on pilgrimage to Israel. (Vanguard)

• Strict new anti-smoking legislation comes into effect in Spain. (Deutsche Welle)

• US President Barack Obama signs the 9/11 health bill into law to cover the cost of medical care for rescue workers and others sickened by toxic fumes and dust after the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. (The New York Times) (CNN)
• Former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations Paul Heinbecker urges the Canadian government to determine its agenda as global power shifts, particularly towards emerging economies. (CTV)
• Greece is considering the construction of a fence along its border with Turkey to fend off an ongoing flood of economic migrants from the Middle East and North Africa. (APA), (Hurriyet) via (ANA-MPA)
• 2010–2011 Tunisian protests: Hacktivist group Anonymous announces 'Operation Tunisia' in solidarity with protestors, successfully bringing down a number of Tunisian state-run websites. (Daily Kos)
• 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis:
  • Laurent Gbagbo's "Street General" postpones plans for its youth militia to storm the Golf Hotel, where Alassane Ouattara is currently staying, the area surrounded by the New Forces. Supporters of Ouattara renew calls to depose Gbagbo by military intervention. (The Telegraph)(Herald Sun Australia)
  • Thousands of refugees flee the Ivory Coast to neighbouring countries; at least 18,000 of them to Liberia.(euronews) (The East African) (Sky News Australia)
• Hundreds of Coptic Christians protest in Alexandria and Cairo and shout slogans against Hosni Mubarak's rule following the church bombing, where some people held mass. Egyptian media warns of civil war and increasing sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims, and Pope Benedict XVI publicly condemns the bombing. (Agence Presse-France) (Ahram Online) (Stuff.co.nz) (Miami Herald) (Ahlul Bayt News Agency)