December 21, 2011 (Wednesday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2011 Syrian uprising: Syria's opposition urge the United Nations and Arab League to hold emergency meetings after an alleged massacre took place in the northwest of the country, before Arab League monitors enter the country. (Straits Times)
- 2011 Yemeni uprising: Thousands of Yemeni protesters march from the city of Taez to the capital Sana'a to demand a trial for outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh for alleged crimes against anti-government protesters. (Khaleej Times)
- Two former Rwandan politicians of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development party–Mathieu Ngirumpatse and Édouard Karemera–are jailed for their role in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. (Al Jazeera)
Business and economy
- The Japanese media reports that prosecutors are raiding the offices of Olympus Corporation over an accounting scandal. (Reuters)
Disasters
- The death toll from flooding in the Philippines caused by Tropical Storm Washi reaches 1,002 and is set to rise further. (AP via ABC News America)
- Health authorities in Hong Kong start slaughtering 17,000 chickens after a carcass infected with bird flu H5N1 is found at a poultry market. (New York Times)
- An Indonesian ferry sinks off the coast of the Maluku Islands with 60 people missing. (AP via Salon)
International relations
- North Korea closes its border with China ahead of the funeral of former leader Kim Jong-il. (UPI)
- Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay agree to close their ports to ships flying the flag of the Falkland Islands at a Mercosur meeting; Argentina and the United Kingdom both claim the islands. (Al Jazeera)
Law and crime
- Russian blogger Alexei Navalny and opposition leader Ilya Yashin are released. (BBC) (RIA Novosti)
- Former Daily Mirror journalist James Hipwell tells the Leveson Inquiry that phone hacking was a "bog standard journalistic tool" at the paper. (BBC)
- John Terry, the captain of the England football team is to face criminal charges over allegations he used racist language towards a black player during a Premier League game. (BBC)
Science
- Soyuz TMA-03M, launched from Baikonur, carries a crew of three men to the International Space Station. (ESA)
Politics
- A rebellion by villagers in Wukan, southern China, ends after authorities say they will release three protesters detained and agree to other demands. (The Telegraph)