Armed conflicts and attacks

• Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • Russian strikes against infrastructure
    • 29 December 2023 Russian strikes on Ukraine
      • Russia launches the largest wave of drones and missiles on Ukrainian cities since the start of the war in a widespread overnight assault across the country, killing at least 39 people and injuring at least 160 others. (AP) (Ukrainian Pravda)
      • One of the Russian cruise missiles enters NATO airspace as it travels over Polish territory, prompting the Polish government to summon the Russian charge d'affaires for an explanation. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
• Mexican drug war
  • 2023 Ciudad Obregón shooting
    • Six people are killed and 26 others are injured in a mass shooting at a party in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico. The shooting's target, a cartel member, is among those killed. (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• 2023 Africa floods
  • At least 20 people are killed by landslides caused by torrential rains in Mwenga, South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (AP)
• Around 120 people are rescued from a breakaway ice floe on Upper Red Lake near Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. (CNN)

International relations

• Foreign relations of Argentina
  • Argentine president Javier Milei sends a letter to BRICS, rejecting the bloc's invitation for Argentina to join it. (La Nación) (BBC News)

Law and crime

• Capital punishment in Iran, Iran–Israel proxy conflict
  • Four people are executed by hanging in West Azerbaijan province, Iran, after being convicted of links to Israel's Mossad spy agency. (Al Jazeera)
• International reactions to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Israel–South Africa relations
  • South Africa files a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• The National People's Congress of China appoints Commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy Dong Jun as Minister of National Defense, succeeding Li Shangfu. (CNA)