December 31, 2023 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Israel–Hamas war
- Red Sea crisis
- Attacks on the MV Maersk Hangzhou
- Ten Houthi militants are killed during an engagement between four Houthi boats and United States Navy helicopters defending the cargo ship Maersk Hangzhou in the Red Sea. (Al Jazeera)
- Attacks on the MV Maersk Hangzhou
- Red Sea crisis
- Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Bombing of Kharkiv
- Russian forces bombard Kharkiv. Ukrainian authorities say that 26 people were injured and many residential buildings in the city center were destroyed. The Ukrainian Air Force reports shooting down 21 of 49 attacking drones. (tagesschau.de) (tagesschau.de 2)
- Bombing of Kharkiv
- Afghan conflict
- Taliban defense minister Mullah Yaqoob says that security forces have killed or arrested several militants from Tajikistan and Pakistan who are accused of multiple attacks in Afghanistan. (AP)
Law and crime
- Cologne Cathedral bomb plot
- In Bochum, NRW, Germany, police arrest a fifth suspect in relation to a car bombing at Cologne Cathedral which Islamic State – Khorasan Province had planned for today. (DW)
Politics and elections
- 2023 Democratic Republic of the Congo general election
- President Félix Tshisekedi is declared the winner of the general election. (BBC News)
- Abdication of Margrethe II
- Eighty-three-year old Margrethe II of Denmark announces her abdication during her televised New Year's Eve address, effective January 14. (BBC News)