Armed conflicts and attacks

• Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
  • Azerbaijan says that 2,783 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. (Al Jazeera)
• Mali Civil War
  • The United Kingdom announces that 300 troops will be deployed to Mali as part of the MINUSMA peacekeeping mission. (The Guardian)

Disasters and accidents

• 2020 California wildfires
  • A wildfire breaks out in Orange County, California, U.S., and spreads to over 2,000 acres, prompting evacuations. (Los Angeles Times)
• Avonmouth explosion
  • Four people are killed and another injured by an explosion at a wastewater treatment works in Avonmouth, Bristol, England, United Kingdom. (BBC News)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in California
        • California Governor Gavin Newsom introduces a regional stay-at-home order that requires the closure of bars, wineries, hair salons, and barbershops for three weeks in regions where ICU capacity falls below 15% and also restricts non-essential travel in those regions. The order divides the state into five regions. (CBS News)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in North Dakota
        • North Dakota lawmakers issue a mask mandate for their upcoming legislative season at the state capitol. The measure will take effect on January 5. (Grand Forks Herald) (U.S. News & World Report)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa
        • Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says that the state is expected to receive up to 172,000 vaccine doses this month. (Des Moines Register)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Vermont
        • The number of new confirmed cases in Vermont increases by a record 178 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 4,642. (Vermont Public Radio)
      • President-elect Joe Biden announces that Dr. Vivek Murthy and Jeffrey Zients will lead his administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to remain in the White House Coronavirus Task Force and become its chief medical advisor. (Politico)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta
        • Alberta reports 1,854 new cases, a single-day record. (CBC)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec
        • Quebec Premier François Legault cancels a plan to allow Christmas gatherings of up to 10 people in the province amid an increase of cases. (The Globe and Mail)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
      • The government extends the nationwide lockdown by one week until December 14 to reduce the spread of COVID-19. (Ekathimerini)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
      • Italy reports a record 993 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 58,038 and surpassing the previous record of 919 new deaths recorded on March 27. (Corriere della Sera)
      • Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signs a decree that bans inter-regional travel between December 21 and January 6 except for work, health, or emergency reasons. In addition, people will not be allowed to leave their towns on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day. (The Guardian) (BBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary
      • Hungary reports a record 182 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 5,324. (Hungary Today)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • The number of new confirmed cases in Russia increases by a record 28,145 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,375,546. (The Moscow Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • The United Kingdom surpasses 60,000 total deaths from COVID-19. (BBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • The number of new confirmed cases in Indonesia increases by a record 8,369 new cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 557,877. Papua reports the most cases of any province with 1,755 new cases. (Okezone)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran surpasses one million total cases of COVID-19. (Bloomberg)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Chile
    • President Sebastián Piñera extends the state of catastrophe for another three months until March 13, 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic. (UrduPoint)
  • COVID-19 vaccine
    • Moderna says that they are expected to have 100–125 million doses of their vaccine shipped globally during the first quarter of 2021. (Reuters)
    • Sinovac delivers one million doses of CoronaVac to Butantan Institute in São Paulo. (Reuters)
• 2020 H5N8 outbreak
  • South Korea reports a new case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N8 in wild birds in Buan, North Jeolla Province according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. (Yonhap News Agency)

International relations

• North Macedonia–United Kingdom relations
  • North Macedonia and the United Kingdom sign a Partnership, Trade and Cooperation Agreement to continue preferential trade terms after the end of the UK's Brexit transition period on December 31. The agreement also strengthens political, economic, security, and cultural ties between both nations. (Gov.uk)
• Nauru–United States relations
  • The United States and Nauru sign a trade deal which is expected to provide access to the full range of investment support offered by the United States to the Pacific Island nation. Nauru High Commissioner Michael Aroi thanked Joseph Cella, the U.S. Ambassador to several Pacific Island nations, for continuing American support to boost relations between both countries. (RNZ)

Law and crime

• 2020–2021 United States racial unrest
  • Kenosha unrest shooting
    • The Kenosha County Circuit Court orders Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old teen accused of shooting three people, two fatally, during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, to stand trial for first degree homicide and reckless endangerment. His lawyers are claiming he did so in self defense. (ABC News)
• Hong Kong national security law, Pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong)
  • Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai is denied bail and remains in custody over alleged fraud related to the lease of a building that houses his Apple Daily, an anti-government newspaper. (Reuters)

Science and technology

• Misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Facebook announces that it will remove misinformation related to COVID-19 vaccines as countries prepare to distribute them. (CNBC)
• Chinese space program
  • The China National Space Administration probe Chang'e 5 lifts off from the surface of the moon as it begins a journey back to Earth after collecting samples of lunar soil. The ascender will rendezvous with the orbiter, transferring over the samples, and the orbiter will then land at a location in Inner Mongolia, China. (BBC News)