· Saina Nehwal and Chetan Anand clinched singles titles in their respective categories after winning the finals of the USD 50,000 Jaypee Cup Syed Modi International Grand Prix Badminton tournament in Lucknow.
· Justice Syed Rafat Alam sworn-in as Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court.
· Sevantilal J Parekh has been elected as the new president of the prestigious Cricket Club of India here. Parekh defeated Badal Mittal, the incumbent in the during the 75th annual general meeting on December 18-19.
· With a view to impart quality education to students, the Punjab government has sanctioned Rs 23.73 crore for setting up 21 model schools in the state.
· Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck arrived in New Delhi on a six day state visit to India.
· Country's top golfer Jeev Milkha Singh has been awarded the honorary life membership of the Professional Golf Tour of India while Bangalore pro Anirban Lahiri was named the Player of the Year.
· UNESCO has awarded the 2009 Avicenna Prize to leading bioethics scientist Professor Renzong Qiu for his contribution to the field of ethics.
· Maharashtra government said that 'Economic Offences Wing' would be set up in each district to tackle the rising menace of fraud and cheating by bogus investment firms.
· India Signs two loan agreements with ADB. The two agreements are:
· Agreement for US$ 700 million Loan for Second India Infrastructure Project Financing Facility.
· Agreement for a loan of US $150 million for Khadi Reform and Development Program.
· Former Australian High Commissioner to India John McCarthy has been appointed as the new Chair of the Australia-India Council (AIC), a body set up to broaden bilateral ties between India and Australia.
· Rani Mukherji and Prakash Raj won the V Shantaram awards for best actress and best actor for "Dil Bole Haddipa" and "Kanchivaram" respectively.
· Qatar has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, with an average of 0.5 murders per 100,000 people, according to figures released by the country's general secretariat of the state cabinet.
· Former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has won the dubious honour of telling the biggest political 'Lie of the Year' -- "death panels".
· Mexico City's legislature has approved gay marriage, an aide to a city lawmaker told AFP, in the first such law passed anywhere in Latin America.
· Professor C N R Rao has become the first ever Indian to be awarded the highest international medal in chemistry instituted by the German Chemical Society.
· Serbia submits EU membership application to join the 27-nation EU, in a move to end years of isolation.
· Howard Schmidt, a former eBay and Microsoft executive appointed as cybersecurity chief by Barack Obama.
· India shall continue to be the world's largest milk producer with an expected output of 110 million tonnes in 2008-09.
· Encouraged by the success of the poverty alleviation project of Andhra Pradesh, the World Bank announced financing of another USD 100 million to the state for improving efficiency and effectiveness of the programme.
