January 1, 2008 (Tuesday)
- The Taliban threaten to escalate attacks in Afghanistan after a year of record violence. (The Independent)
- Venezuela introduces the new Bolívar fuerte currency (ISO 4217, code: VEF) to combat inflation. (ABC News)
- Fatah–Hamas conflict: At least eight people have died in factional fighting in the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, reports say. (BBC News)
- Cyprus and Malta adopt the euro currency, becoming the 14th and 15th countries to do so. Cypriot pound and Maltese lira notes and coins will remain valid in shops until the end of the month, and exchangeable at the respective central banks for some years. (BBC News)
- A fire in a church in Eldoret, Western Kenya kills fifty people who were sheltering from violence after the disputed presidential election. (AP via Google Red News)[permanent dead link]
- US Diplomat John Granville, working for the United States Agency for International Development in Sudan, is murdered. (AP via Google News)
- Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, a minority Sri Lankan Tamil parliamentarian, is shot dead at a Hindu temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka.(Times of India)