• The Madhya Pradesh Transport Minister, Likhiram Kavre was murdered by unidentified assailants in his house at Sonepuri village of Balaghat district. A Naxalite gang is suspected to be behind the murder of the minister.
• The Centre formally launches the second phase of the National AIDS Control Programme. The 1,400-crore programme is being supported by World Bank, USAID and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).
• Rajya Sabha passes the Trade Marks Bill, 1999 which seeks to make trade mark offences cognisable.

• K.L Sharma, BJP vice-president and former M.P. dies following a massive heart attack.
• The expelled BJP leader Kalyan Singh launches a new political outfit, Rashtriya Kranti Party (RKP), seeking recognition for it by the Election Commission.
• The Rajya Sabha passes a Bill to amend the Copyright Act of 1957 to extend the term of protection of performers’ rights from 25 years to 50 years.

• Two senior Congress (I) leaders Pranab Mukherjee and S. Jaipal Reddy were conferred "Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards" by the Vice-President for the year 1997 and 1998 respectively. The award has been instituted by the Indian Parliamentary Group which is a quasi-official body.

• The United States lifts sanctions on 51 Indian entities form the list of 200 following the Pokhran nuclear tests of May 1998.
• President K.R.Narayanan gives away the 1998 Sangeet Natak Academi Awards to the following artists – Rajan Mishra and Sajan Mishra (vocalist in Hindustani music), Birju Maharaj (Kathak), Vijay Tendulkar (playwright), Lakshmi Vishwanathan (Bharatnatyam), Parveen Sultana Khan (vocalist in Hindustani music), Bhimsen Joshi (Vocalist) and P.Kittapa Pillai (Bharatnatyam guru)

• The Sri Lankan President, Ms Chandrika Kumaratunga narrowly escapes an attempt on her life while 11 people are killed by a suspected suicide bomb attack in Colombo.
• The test-firing of Trishul which is a surface-to-air missile is successfully conducted at Kochi.

• The Andhra Pradesh Governor, Dr. C. Rangarajan lays the foundation-stone of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. The world-class business school will be driven by a clutch of Fortune 500 companies and leaders of the Indian Industry. It will also be affiliated to some of the best management institutions of the world.

• 75 per cent of Sri Lanka’s 1.7 million voters head for the hustings to elect their Executive President.

• Lok Sabha passes Trade Marks Bill 1999 and also a Bill to amend the Copyright Act of 1957, both passed earlier by the Rajya Sabha.

• The Women’s Reservation Bill is introduced amid chaotic scenes in the Lok Sabha on the last day of the winter session of the Parliament.

• An Indian Airlines Airbus – IC-814, carrying 189 people on board is hijacked by five heavily armed men about two hours after it took off from Kathmandu en route to New Delhi.
• Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee announces a package of nearly Rs 12,000 crore for Bihar covering the Koel Karo and power grid projects, besides an action plan for controlling flood in Kosi area.

• Hijackers of the Indian Airlines Airbus suspected to be Islamic militants demand the release of five militants jailed in Kashmir. The hijackers released 27 passengers in Dubai and one in Kandahar.

• Former President Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma passes away. Mr. Sharma was a distinguished parliamentarian and a great scholar.

• Heavily armed militants kill three security men and a militant and 15 others are injured when they stormed the headquarters of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police in Srinagar.

• Hockey wizard Dhyan Chand and sprint queen P.T. Usha have been selected as Indian Sports persons of the century by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

• After eight days of negotiations the Indian Airlines flight hijack crisis ends with the government striking a deal with the hijackers to free three jailed militants in exchange of 155 hostages on board.

• Portugal officially hands over the territory of Macau to China at midnight, ending 442 years of colonial rule.
• The Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema resigns after contending he has enough support in Parliament to put together a new and stronger government.

• The space shuttle Discovery takes off from Cape Canaveral on an eight-day mission to fix the Hubble telescope. It is carrying six gyroscopes to steady the telescope so that it can take pictures of distant stars and probe galaxies.
• Russians have elected a hung Parliament, with Kremlin-backed parties foiling efforts by the Communist and centrist opponents of the Government to gain a majority in the Lower House, the State Duma.
• The President of Tajikistan appoints Akil Akilov the new Prime Minister. Akilov had been Vice-Premier from 1994 to 1996.

• The number of people killed by floods and mudslips in northern Venezuela is estimated to reach 30,000.

• Sri Lankan President Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunga is re-elected for the second time for a six-year term by defeating her nearest rival Ranil Wickramsinghe of United National Party.

• About 540 persons were rescued and over 100 are still missing after a Philippine passenger ship returning home for Christmas sank.

• Senator Ahmed Benbitour is named the Algerian Prime Minister to replace Smail Hamdani who handed in his resignation earlier in the day.

• Guatemala’s President, Alvaro Arzu has declared the Opposition candidate, Alfonso Portillo winner of the country’s presidential elections.

• Russian President Boris Yeltsin resigns six months ahead of his constitutional term and appoints the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President.

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