Reformist Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi‘s wife says the country is in a “state of martial law.” Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vows the government will not give in to mass protests against the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Khamenei says President Obama sent him a letter before the election that called for an improvement in relations.

A US drone kills 45 at what authorities say is a “Taliban training centre” in the South Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan. A second drone strikes a funeral procession for those killed in the first raid. Former Afghan detainees at Bagram military base make new allegations that U.S. soldiers abused them.

North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, may be close to transferring power to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, who he has put in charge of the nation’s secret police. Analysts say he may lack support from the country’s elite, which could cause a power struggle.

Chinese authorities arrest prominent dissident, Liu Xiaobo, for alleged agitation activities aimed at subversion of government. Liu has been under “residential surveillance” since Dec. 8, the day before publication of a document he co-wrote calling for democracy in China.

The U.S. announces it will send an ambassador to Syria for the first time in four years as part of an effort to rehabilitate relations in the Middle East.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi denies paying female escorts for their company and says his accusers fabricated their stories in order to scandalize him.