Armed conflicts and attacks

• Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
  • Two senior leaders of the Tehrik-i-Taliban and three other militants are killed during two separate security operations in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail
    • British multinational retailer Debenhams announces that it will permanently close all of its brick and mortar stores in the United Kingdom, with the loss of 12,000 jobs, after being bought by online fashion retailer Boohoo.com. (AFP via RFI)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, COVID-19 recession, Economy of South Korea
    • South Korea records its worst annual economic growth since 1998 following the Asian financial crisis. Its gross domestic product contracted 1.0 percent in 2020 from 2019. (AFP via Business Times)

Disasters and accidents

• 2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season
  • Cyclone Eloise leaves at least thirteen people dead and more than 8,000 people homeless after making landfall in central Mozambique. Major flooding is also reported in Eswatini, South Africa and Zimbabwe. (Reuters)
• Nine of the miners who went missing during a mine collapse in Qixia, Shandong, China, are found dead by rescue workers. Yesterday another miner was found dead, bringing the death toll to 10, while eleven others were rescued alive. Another miner is still missing. (BBC News)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, 501.V2 variant
        • President Joe Biden signs an order banning travel from South Africa due to fears of the 501.V2 variant; the ban is expected to take effect on January 30. Additionally, Biden also extends travel restrictions to Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and other European countries, which were expected to expire tomorrow under an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump. (The Washington Post)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in California
        • California Governor Gavin Newsom lifts the regional stay-at-home order in all areas statewide, including three areas where ICU capacity remains under 15%. (KABC-TV)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota, Lineage B.1.1.248
        • Minnesota reports the first U.S. case of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 found in Brazil. The patient is a Twin Cities resident who traveled to Brazil. (CNBC)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada, Variant of Concern 202012/01
        • Nevada reports their first case of the B.1.1.7 strain of SARS-CoV-2 in a person with no recent travel history. (AP)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Virginia, Variant of Concern 202012/01
        • Virginia reports their first case of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a person from Northern Virginia with no recent travel history. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario
        • Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces that the second state of emergency in the province will be extended to February 8. (CP24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
      • Mexico's richest person and billionaire Carlos Slim tests positive for COVID-19. (Forbes)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • Spain reports a record 93,822 new confirmed cases over the weekend, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,593,582. (elDiario)
      • The Prime Minister's Chief of Staff Iván Redondo tests positive for the COVID-19. (La Vanguardia)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Austria, Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic
      • Austria begins to require people aged 14 or older to wear FFP2 masks in shops, pharmacies and hospitals, as well as on public transport. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Netherlands, 2021 Dutch curfew riots, social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
      • More than 180 people were arrested in 10 Dutch cities as protesters against the curfew and lockdown clashed with riot law enforcement overnight for a third night in a row. (BBC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine
      • Ukraine reopens schools, restaurants, and gyms as a tough lockdown aimed to prevent a new wave of COVID-19 was ended. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain
      • Bahrain approves the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine for emergency use in the country. (Al Jazeera)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong approves the BioNTech vaccine for emergency use in the city. (The Standard)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia reports 9,994 new cases and 10,678 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 809,488. (detikHealth)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Turkey receives 6.5 million doses of the Sinovac Biotech vaccine. (Daily Sabah)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
    • COVID-19 vaccine
      • The Therapeutic Goods Administration approves the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine for use in Australia. (ABC Australia)
    • Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, 501.V2 variant
      • Australia suspends their travel bubble with New Zealand for the next 72 hours after New Zealand's first community case in months was confirmed to be of the 501.V2 variant from South Africa. (BBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe
    • Zimbabwe surpasses 1,000 deaths from COVID-19. (Sowetan Live)
  • COVID-19 vaccine
    • Moderna says that their vaccine would work against the new variants found in South Africa and the United Kingdom. (Reuters)

International relations

• Greek–Turkish relations, Aegean dispute, 2020–2021 East Mediterranean crisis
  • The Greek and Turkish governments conduct the two countries' first direct dialogue regarding the dispute since 2016. (AFP via IBTimes)

Law and crime

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion, COVID-19 pandemic in Nevada
  • The United States Supreme Court declines to hear a case from the Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, a church in Dayton, Nevada, that faces restrictions from Governor Steve Sisolak, to consider how far the state should go when imposing restrictions on places of worship. (NBC News)
• Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump
  • The article of impeachment for former U.S. President Donald Trump is brought to the United States Senate, officially triggering the trial, which is scheduled to begin on February 8. (MSN)
• Transgender personnel in the United States military
  • President Joe Biden repeals the Trump administration's decision to ban transgender people from serving in the United States military. (The Guardian)
• Mexican drug war
  • Nineteen people are found dead in two vehicles in Camargo, Tamaulipas, near the Mexico–United States border. The victims, who were likely undocumented migrants, were shot and then set on fire. (BBC News)
• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
  • Brandon Straka, the WalkAway movement founder and "Stop the Steal" activist who spoke at a rally held by pro-Trump supporters, is arrested on a felony charge of interfering with police during the storming of the United States Capitol. (Politico)
• Adass Israel School sex abuse scandal
  • Malka Leifer, the former principal of a Melbourne school who faces 74 charges of child sexual abuse, is extradited to Australia following a six-year delay of the case that allowed for her to be a fugitive in Israel. (AFP via France 24)
• A driver rams pedestrians with his vehicle during a series of hit-and-runs attack in Portland, Oregon, killing a person and injuring five others. (Oregon Live)
• Two Swedish filmmakers, who filmed the wreck of the MS Estonia that sank in 1994 for a documentary, face trial for violating a treaty that prohibits visiting the site. (AFP via RTE)
• The Canada House of Commons votes to call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to label the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization. (Bloomberg)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Italian government crisis
  • Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is set to hand in his resignation tomorrow, due to an ongoing political crisis which began on January 13. (BBC News)
• Politics of Estonia
  • Kaja Kallas wins the support of the Riigikogu to become the new Prime Minister, the first woman to do so. (ERR)
• Cabinet of Joe Biden
  • The United States Senate votes 84–15 to confirm Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, making her the first woman to serve as head of the Treasury Department. (MarketWatch)