• Iraqi Civil War (2014–2017)
  • Two car bombings kill at least eight people in Fallujah. (Reuters)
• Somali Civil War (2009–present)
  • December 2016 Mogadishu suicide bombing
    • A suicide bomber kills at least 29 people and injures 50 others in an attack on a police station near Mogadishu's port. (AP)
• December 2016 Istanbul bombings
  • The death toll from yesterday's bombings rises to 38 with 155 injured. Thirteen people have been arrested in connection with the bombings. (AP)
  • The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) claim responsibility for the bombings. (Deutsche Welle)

• Botroseya Church bombing
  • A bombing in Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo kills at least 25 people and injures at least 49 others. (AP via Daily Mail), (Reuters via ABC)
• Moro conflict
  • Three Filipino soldiers are killed and 17 others injured in fighting with Abu Sayyaf militants in the province of Sulu, Philippines. (FOX News)
• Syrian Civil War
  • Palmyra offensive (December 2016)
    • ISIL recaptures the Syrian city of Palmyra despite heavy Russian airstrikes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Palmyra Coordination Committee (PCC). (The Independent)
• At least three people are killed in two suicide bombing attacks in Maiduguri, Nigeria. (Reuters)

• Patti Smith performs in place of Bob Dylan in the Nobel Prize for Literature ceremony. (The Guardian)
• Matt Terry wins The X Factor

• Non-Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agree to cut oil output which will help increase the price of petroleum products in the world market. (BBC)
• Iran Air finalises a deal with U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing to purchase 80 jetliners for $16.6 billion. (AP via ABC News America)

• 2016 Naivasha oil tanker explosion
  • An oil tanker explodes on a main highway near Naivasha, Kenya, killing at least 42 people, according to the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre. (BBC) (Reuters)
• Uyo church collapse
  • The death toll from yesterday's church collapse in Uyo, Nigeria, rises to 160 with the death toll expected to rise further. (AP/Reuters via ABC News Australia)

• 2016 United States presidential election
  • Republican campaign manager Kellyanne Conway dismisses allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, calling the claims "laughable and ridiculous". (The Washington Post)

• Cardell Hayes is found guilty of manslaughter by a Louisiana jury in the road rage shooting death of former New Orleans Saints star Will Smith. (CBS)
• In West Virginia police officers executing a bailpiece shot and killed a man who "operated a motor vehicle in an aggressive manner" towards officers at a Walmart parking lot. (ABC News)
• A man is killed and two wounded in a triple shooting in Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans (NOLA)
• A person is sought who left after he accidentally dropped a gun which fired and injured a store employee at a Home Depot restroom in Sunset Hills near St Louis Missouri. (St Louis Post Dispatch)
• In Miami Gardens Florida, one was killed and one wounded when a gunman approached and fired at two people in a parked car. Wounded they drove while still being shot at and crashed into two parked cars. (WSVN)
• In Brooklyn New York, 2 brothers were stabbed, 1 fatally in a dispute after a school soccer match. (New York Daily News)

• Kyrgyzstani constitutional referendum, 2016
  • Kyrgyzstani voters vote for a new constitution. (ABC News Go)
• Macedonian parliamentary election, 2016
  • Macedonian voters elect a new parliament. (Reuters)
• Romanian legislative election, 2016
  • Romanians head to the polls in the country's parliamentary elections. Exit polls show the Social Democratic Party winning by a wide margin. (The Washington Post), (Reuters via Daily Mail)
• Italian constitutional referendum, 2016
  • Paolo Gentiloni becomes the new Prime Minister of Italy. (BBC)
• Gambian presidential election, 2016
  • Defeated dictator Yahya Jammeh vows to contest the election results in The Gambian supreme court. (ITV News)

• Mexico's Coronado Islands become a national reserve. (Los Angeles Times)

• 2020 Summer Olympics
  • Tokyo breaks ground for the National Olympic Stadium on the site of the stadium used for the 1964 Olympic Games. (AP via ABC News America)