Portal:Current events/2021 January 27

January 27, 2021 (Wednesday)

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)