December 29, 2013 (Sunday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- A suicide bomb attack at the Volgograd-1 railway station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd kills at least 16 people and wounds 40 others. (BBC), (CNN), (Reuters)
- Syrian Civil War
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says barrels packed with explosives dropped from Syrian Air Force aircraft have killed 517 people in the northern province of Aleppo since 15 December. (BBC)
- Israeli–Lebanese conflict
- Two rockets are launched at Israel from Lebanon. Israel fires 20 artillery shells into Lebanon in retaliation. (Reuters), (Sky News), (Financial Times)
- Islamist protests in Egypt (July 2013–present)
- A bomb targeting an Egyptian military intelligence building north of Cairo in the village of Anshas wounds four soldiers. (NBC News), (Reuters)
- Iraqi insurgency (post-U.S. withdrawal)
Disasters and accidents
- The passenger ferry MS King Seaways, en route from Newcastle, England, to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, catches fire in the North Sea; a man is arrested on suspicion of arson. (Guardian)
- The Chaparrastique volcano in El Salvador erupts, forcing 5,000 people to leave their homes. (BBC)
International relations
- Saudi Arabia pledges US$3 billion to Lebanon to help strengthen their military. (Houston Chronicle)
Sport
- Seven-time Formula One drivers' champion Michael Schumacher is reported to be in critical condition after brain surgery in Grenoble for a head injury suffered while skiing in the French Alps. (AP via ESPN)