Armed conflicts and attacks

• Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • A Palestinian man, attempting to stab two soldiers at a road junction near Nablus in the West Bank, is shot and killed by an Israeli commander. (Reuters)

Disasters and accidents

• Tornadoes of 2021
  • List of United States tornadoes in January 2021
    • An EF3 tornado hits Fultondale, Alabama, killing one person and injuring 30 others. (AP)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
        • President Joe Biden orders an additional 200 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed by the end of August. (NBC News)
        • Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff receive their second doses of Moderna's vaccine at the National Institutes of Health center in Bethesda. (The Independent)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Alaska, Variant of Concern 202012/01
        • Alaska reports its first case of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2. (Newsminer)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Kentucky, Variant of Concern 202012/01
        • Kentucky reports its first two cases of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2. (AP)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin, face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
        • The Wisconsin State Senate votes to repeal the statewide mask mandate imposed by Governor Tony Evers. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Barbados
      • The Caribbean Public Health Agency reports the presence of B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Barbados. (Government Information Service Barbados)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia surpasses one million cases of COVID-19. (Al Jazeera)
      • A record 10,868 recoveries are reported in the past 24 hours. (detikHealth)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran approves the Sputnik V vaccine for use in the country. (Ynet News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
      • Thailand reports a record of 959 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, including 914 cases in Samut Sakhon reported yesterday evening, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 14,646. (Bangkok Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
      • The United Arab Emirates reports a record 3,601 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 285,147. (Arab News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan
      • Uzbekistan lifts its restrictions aimed to combat the spread of COVID-19 and announces that concert halls will be allowed to reopen at 50% capacity. (Trend)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
      • The government extends the Level 5 lockdown restrictions until March 5. They also agree to impose a 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine for all travelers without negative COVID-19 test results as well as all travelers from Brazil and South Africa. (RTÉ)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Portugal reports a record 291 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 11,012. (Expresso)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • The United Kingdom surpasses 100,000 deaths from COVID-19, becoming the fifth country to do so after the United States, Brazil, India, and Mexico. (BBC News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Peru
      • President Francisco Sagasti announces a total lockdown in the capital Lima and nine other regions following a significant increase in COVID-19 cases. (Al Jazeera)
      • The Cayetano Heredia University says that a volunteer in the local trial of a coronavirus vaccine produced by China's Sinopharm Group has died from COVID-19-related pneumonia. The university said that the volunteer had received the placebo. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia
      • The Minister of National Defense of Colombia, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, dies after contracting COVID-19. (Yahoo News)
  • The number of worldwide confirmed COVID-19 cases surpasses 100 million. (NBC News)
• 2020–21 H5N8 outbreak
  • The highly pathogenic H5N8 avian influenza is reported in two backyard hobby grey crowned cranes in Central Italy, who are killed along with ten healthy birds to prevent spread. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
  • Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael R. Sherwin announces that 400 suspects have been identified and 135 people have been charged in connection to the storming of the United States Capitol. (ABC News)
• 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest
  • Samyukt Kisan Morcha protestors storm the Red Fort in Delhi, clashing with police. One protestor is killed and more than 80 police officers are injured. Protest leaders blame the violence on "rogue elements", and say they will continue to dispute the government's agriculture acts. (BBC News)
• Trump administration family separation policy
  • Acting United States Attorney General Monty Wilkinson announces that President Biden has rescinded the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy, which led to the separation of over 3,000 migrant families on the Mexico–United States border. (The Washington Post)
• Colombian businessman Alex Saab, an affiliate of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro who is charged in the United States for alleged money laundering, is placed under house arrest in Cape Verde. (AFP via Manila Standard)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Italian government crisis, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics
  • Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigns amid a political crisis over the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. (BBC News)
• Cabinet of Joe Biden
  • The United States Senate votes 78–22 to confirm Antony Blinken as the 71st Secretary of State. (AP)