Portal:Current events/2021 January 21

January 21, 2021 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Syrian civil war
- American-led intervention in the Syrian Civil War
  - A United States convoy consisting of 40 trucks and armored vehicles enters northeastern Syria from Iraq via the Al Waleed crossing. (i24 News)
ISIL insurgency in Iraq
- 2021 Baghdad bombings
  - A suicide attack at an open market in Baghdad, Iraq, kills at least 32 people and injures 110 others. Attacks have been rare in the country since the 2017 military defeat of ISIL, making this incident one of the deadliest since then. (Reuters)
Central African Republic Civil War
- The Central African Republic government declares a 15-day state of emergency after rebels attempt to surround and blockade the capital Bangui. Pro-François Bozizé loyalists and anti-balaka militias now control around two-thirds of the war torn nation. (Al Jazeera)

Arts and culture

Events affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- COVID-19 pandemic in England
  - Organisers announce that the Glastonbury Festival has been cancelled for the second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (The Guardian)
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on entertainment, COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
- Dubai suspends all entertainment permits issued by the emirate for establishments due to an increase in violations of COVID-19 health protocols. (Khaleej Times)

Disasters and accidents

Sriwijaya Air Flight 182
- Indonesian authorities, led by Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, officially end the search for remaining victims and debris from Sriwijaya Air Flight 182, which crashed into the Java Sea on January 9, killing all 62 people on board. (The Washington Post)
2021 Kharkiv fire
- Fifteen people are killed and eleven others injured in a fire at a nursing home in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (BBC News)
Five people are killed in a fire at a Serum Institute of India facility in Pune, Maharashtra, India. (BBC News)
A truck carrying sticks of gelatin explodes at a boulder-crushing facility in Abbalagere in Shivamogga district, Karnataka, India, killing eight workers. (India Today)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Alabama
      - Alabama Governor Kay Ivey extends the statewide mask mandate to March 5. (San Francisco Chronicle)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee, Variant of Concern 202012/01
      - Tennessee reports their first two cases of a more contagious variant of SARS-CoV-2 that was first identified in the United Kingdom. (WSMV-TV)
    - Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      - President Joe Biden signs an executive order requiring usage of masks in airports and on airplanes, trains and buses. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
    - Mexico reports a record 22,339 newly confirmed cases and 1,809 deaths in the past 24 hours. (ABC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Trinidad and Tobago, Variant of Concern 202012/01
    - Trinidad and Tobago reports their first case of the B.1.1.7 variant in a person returning from the United Kingdom. (Daily Express)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal reports a record of 221 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,686. (DGS)
    - The government announces the closure of all schools, kindergartens and universities for two weeks beginning tomorrow due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, as well as the emergence of the Variant of Concern 202012/01. (The Portugal News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary, COVID-19 vaccine
    - Hungary approves the use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine and Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, becoming the first European Union member state to approve the Russian vaccine. (BBC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
    - The Dutch House of Representatives votes to impose a curfew from 9.00 p.m. to 4.30 a.m. beginning January 23. (Euronews) (RTL Nieuws)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
    - Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announces that as part of an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, museums and libraries will reopen beginning tomorrow, while theatres and cinemas will be allowed to accommodate more patrons. In addition, colleges, sports schools and children's clubs will resume in-person attendance, but university students will continue studying remotely. (The Moscow Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
    - Spain reports a record 44,357 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,456,675. (La Vanguardia)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia reports a record 346 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 27,203. (detikHealth)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka
    - Sri Lanka reopens to foreign tourists after a nearly 10-month pandemic closure, however tourists are required to receive multiple testings and follow quarantine measures that have been put in place. (AP)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand's Food and Drug Administration approves the emergency use of the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. 50,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in February. (Bangkok Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  - COVID-19 vaccination in Argentina
    - President Alberto Fernández receives a dose of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, a day after the usage of vaccines for people over the age of 60 was approved by the country's health regulator. (La Nacion)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
  - South African Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu dies due to COVID-19. (CNN)

International relations

European Union–Russia relations
- The European Court of Human Rights rules that Russia was responsible for a series of human rights violations during its 2008 war with Georgia. (The Guardian)
Syria–United States relations
- Bashar al-Jaafari, Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations, called on Biden to change US foreign policy in Syria, which is nearing 10 years of civil war. During a session of the UN Security Council, Jaafari accused the United States of using the multi-sided war to steal the country's oil reserves and other natural resources. (Middle East Eye)

Law and crime

Japanese nationality law
- The Tokyo District Court upholds a ban on dual citizenship of Japan and another country, rejecting appeals for damages claiming that the law was unconstitutional. (AFP via Japan Today)
A Vatican tribunal convicts two former executives of the Institute for Religious Works (the IOR, commonly known as the Vatican bank) on embezzlement and money-laundering charges. Angelo Caloia, who was president of the IOR from 1999 to 2009; and two lawyers who had acted as IOR consultants, were found guilty of arranging to profit from the sale of Vatican properties. (AP)

Politics and elections

Presidency of Joe Biden, Efforts to impeach Joe Biden
- Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduces six articles of impeachment against newly-inaugurated President of the United States Joe Biden, alleging an "abuse of power" when Biden served as Barack Obama's Vice President. (The Independent)
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on politics, COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia
- Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh resigns a day after thousands in Ulaanbaatar protested against the way authorities behaved with a COVID-19-infected mother and her newborn baby. (CNA)
2020–21 Rideau Hall workplace review
- Julie Payette resigns as Governor General of Canada following a review that cites allegations of a toxic work environment at Rideau Hall. Chief Justice of Canada Richard Wagner will carry out the duties of that office as Administrator of Canada until the Crown appoints a new Governor General. (CBC)
Politics of Palau
- Surangel Whipps Jr. assumes the office of President of Palau succeeding Thomas Remengesau Jr.. (The Guardian)

Science and technology

Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
- United States district judge for the Western District of Washington Barbara Jacobs Rothstein rejects a lawsuit filed by Parler requesting reinstatement on Amazon. (Reuters)
- House Oversight Committee chairwoman Carolyn Maloney calls for the FBI to investigate Parler for their role in the storming of the United States Capitol. (The Independent)

Sports

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- 2020 Summer Olympics, COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
  - International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach says that the Summer Olympics will be held in July, despite a state of emergency currently being declared in Tokyo. (The Guardian)
FIFA warns top-division European football clubs and their players against participating in the proposed European Super League, threatening them with a ban from all FIFA-sanctioned competitions. (AFP via Scroll)