• An air strike intended to target an al Qaeda convoy in Al-Bayda province in central Yemen mistakenly attacks a wedding procession, killing 15 civilians. (Reuters)
• Extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines:
  • Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists criticize the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III for his failure to protect journalists after the deaths of at least 12 in 2013. (Time) (CPJ)

• The nominees for the 71st Golden Globe Awards are announced. (NPR)
• Paul Walker's private funeral is to be held on the weekend. (People)

• Four former Icelandic bank bosses are jailed over concealing illegal activities within the bank Kaupthing. (BBC)
• Mexico's Congress passes a bill that will allow foreign investment in its state-run oil company, Pemex. The measure still requires the approval of a majority of the country's federal entities.

• An ammonia cooling pump on the International Space Station malfunctions, requiring suspension of some non-critical systems. (CNN)

• The United States announces that it will enforce sanctions on more than two dozen companies who assisted Iran with its nuclear program. (AP via ABC News America)

• Jang Sung-thaek, the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is executed. (Reuters)
• Australia's High Court rules same-sex marriages held in the country are invalid. (Businessweek)
• The United Nations says that the legalization of marijuana in Uruguay is a violation of international law. (The Huffington Post)
• Bangladesh hangs Abdul Kader Mullah, a leader of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, for committing atrocities in the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. (BBC)
• The United States Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the federal bus safety regulator, shuts down 52 busline companies in a major nationwide crackdown on unsafe outfits. [http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/12/12/feds-shut-down-52-unsafe-bus-companies/?icid=maing-grid7