Portal:Current events/2022 January 28

January 28, 2022 (Friday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis
- Russia–NATO relations
  - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that Russia is not interested in starting a war after U.S. President Joe Biden warned Ukraine that Russia may invade Ukraine in February. (NBC News)
  - At a special Pentagon press briefing, United States Army General Mark Milley and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine would be "horrific" and could result in "significant casualties". (Reuters)
- Belarus–NATO relations
  - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says that Belarus might go to war if they or Russia are attacked. Lukashenko also insists that his country does not want to go to war with Ukraine. (Politico.eu)
Insurgency in Balochistan
- 2022 Kech District attack
  - Ten Pakistan Army soldiers are killed in an insurgent attack in Kech District, Balochistan, Pakistan. The separatist Baluch Liberation Front claims responsibility for the attack. The army says that it has killed one of the attackers and arrested three others in a clearance operation. (Reuters)

Business and economy

Chinese espionage in the United States
- The Federal Communications Commission votes unanimously to revoke the authorisation of China Unicom to operate in the United States, citing national security and espionage concerns. The Chinese telecommunications operator must stop providing telecoms services in the U.S. within 60 days. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

The Fern Hollow Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, collapses, causing a gas leak. Ten people are injured, none of them seriously. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - The Philippine Department of Tourism announces the lifting of quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated tourists from countries under its visa waiver program, effective February 10. (AFP via NDTV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
    - South Korea reports a record for the third consecutive day of 16,096 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 793,582. (Yonhap News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
    - Brazil reports a record for the third consecutive day of 228,954 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 24.7 million. (Business Standard)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Chile
    - Chile reports a record 26,727 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2.075 million. (Xinhua News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales
    - New South Wales reports its first case of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant BA.2 sublineage. (The Guardian)
  - Australia reports a record 98 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including a record 35 deaths in New South Wales. (SBS News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
  - Russia reports a record for the eighth consecutive day of 98,040 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11.5 million. (ABC News)

International relations

2022 Burkinabé coup d'état
- The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States agree to suspend Burkina Faso's membership in the bloc in response to the coup d'état. (AFP via RFI)
Foreign relations of Rwanda, Foreign relations of Uganda
- The Rwandan foreign ministry announces the reopening of the country's border crossing with Uganda following political tensions between the two countries that led to the closure of the border crossing for three years. (AFP via Seychelles News Agency)