Armed conflicts and attacks

• Somali Civil War
  • Sixteen people are dead and eight injured after three bombs explode in Balad, Mogadishu and Dinsoor. The attacks are claimed by Al-Shabaab. The deadliest attack is in Balad, which result in 14 soldiers killed. (Anadolu Agency)

Business and economy

• Boeing 737 MAX groundings
  • The European Aviation Safety Agency clears the Boeing 737 MAX passenger airliner to return to service in European Union airspace. (AFP via Barron's)
• GameStop short squeeze
  • A short squeeze causes GameStop stock to increase tremendously after Reddit users predicted a hedge fund closure over the last week. (The Guardian) (AP)

Disasters and accidents

• Dschang bus-truck crash
  • A collision between a bus and a truck in Dschang, West, Cameroon, kills 53 people and leaves 29 others injured with severe burns. (AFP via Manila Bulletin)
• Mount Merapi on Java, Indonesia, erupts. No casualties have been reported. (The Guardian)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey, Variant of Concern 202012/01
        • New Jersey confirms their first death from the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a person who had "significant underlying conditions." (Patch.com)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Alabama, Variant of Concern 202012/01
        • Alabama confirms their first three cases of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in two children and an adult from Montgomery and Jefferson counties. (U.S. News & World Report)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
      • Mexico reports a record 27,944 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to over 1.8 million. (Business Standard)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • President Joko Widodo receives his second dose of the Sinovac Biotech vaccine. (Antara News)
      • Indonesia reports a record 387 deaths and 10,974 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide totals to 28,855 deaths and 831,330 recoveries. (detikNews)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
      • Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launches a vaccination programme in Bangladesh using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. (All India Radio)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar
      • Myanmar begins a vaccination programme using the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. Healthcare workers are the first people to be vaccinated. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal
      • Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli launches a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in Nepal beginning with 430,000 frontline and healthcare workers. (The Kathmandu Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus
      • Cyprus announces a cautious easing of the second nationwide lockdown beginning February 1 following a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases that peaked after Christmas. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia, Variant of Concern 202012/01
      • North Macedonia reports their first case of the B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a person with no known travel history who recovered on January 22. (Xinhua)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Norway
      • Prime Minister Erna Solberg announces the closure of all borders for non-essential travel beginning January 29 in an attempt to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants into Norway. (Forbes)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malta
      • Prime Minister Robert Abela announces the imposition of new measures to stop the curve: restaurants, kiosks, and snack bars must remain closed for the entire month of February from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., bars are completely closed, recommends that schools postpone the two days of school holidays for Carnival. (Times of Malta)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces the introduction of 10-day hotel quarantine for travellers from 30 high-risk countries, including Brazil, Portugal, South Africa, and all South American nations due to spread of variants of SARS-CoV-2. (The Daily Telegraph)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
      • Morocco receives half a million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine. (Morocco World News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
      • South Africa approves a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for emergency use in the country. (Deccan Herald)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Chile
    • Chile's health regulator approves a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca for emergency use in the country. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot
  • One of the fourteen men accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer pleads guilty in a federal court and agrees to testify against his co-defendants. His sentencing is scheduled for July 8. (MLive.com)
• a 16-year-old far-right extremist boy is arrested in Singapore for plotting attacks against two mosques on the anniversary of the deadly 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. (Al Jazeera)
• In the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, 100 Hindu activists attack a prayer gathering in the Catholic media center. (UCA News)

Politics and elections

• Statehood movement in the District of Columbia
  • Democrats in the United States Senate introduce a bill that would make Washington, D.C. the 51st state. (CBS News)
• Decommunization in Ukraine
  • In accordance with decommunization laws, the last statue of Vladimir Lenin in the country (excluding territories currently annexed by Russia or occupied by separatists) is demolished in Odesa Oblast. (Svoboda Radio)