Portal:Current events/2022 January 6

January 6, 2022 (Thursday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2022 Kazakh protests
- Twenty-six anti-government protestors are killed during a military operation in Almaty. The death toll of security forces increases to 18 with two of the officers being beheaded. (BBC News)
- Explosions and heavy gunfire are reported near the main Republic Square in Almaty. (The Independent)
- The Collective Security Treaty Organization military alliance approves what it describes a peacekeeping mission in Kazakhstan in response to an official request for military assistance from Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. (Yahoo! Finance Canada)
- Russian-led CSTO forces enter Kazakhstan in order to help the government restore control of the country, according to a statement from Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova. (Al Arabiya) (The Guardian)
Two journalists are killed and their bodies burned during a gang attack in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. (BBC News)

Disasters and accidents

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake hits Nicaragua. (AP)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
    - Travel during the COVID-19 pandemic
      - Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam announces a travel ban from eight countries with high SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases from January 8 to January 21. (Al Jazeera)
    - High-risk establishments such as bars and gyms will be closed from January 7, while dining in restaurants will be banned after 6 p.m. (South China Morning Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
    - Iraq reports its first five cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in the northern city of Duhok, in Iraqi Kurdistan. (Al Arabiya)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
    - Israel reports a record for the second consecutive day of 16,115 new cases of COVID-19. (The Jerusalem Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - The United States Armed Forces order all personnel stationed in Japan to wear masks when traveling off-base amid criticism of their handling of the increase in COVID-19 cases in areas where they are based in large numbers, such as Okinawa and Iwakuni. (ABC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, COVID-19 vaccination in Malaysia
    - Malaysia grants conditional approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be used in children between the ages of 5 and 11 years. (New Straits Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
    - Pakistani president Arif Alvi tests positive for COVID-19 for the second time. (Business Recorder)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand raises its COVID-19 Alert level to level four following a rapid increase in cases caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (Bangkok Post)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy reports a record for the third consecutive day of 219,441 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 6.97 million. (Anadolu Agency)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
    - Turkey reports a record for the second consecutive day of 68,413 new cases of COVID-19. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine, COVID-19 vaccination in Ukraine
    - Ukraine begins administering booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine for all adults who received their second dose at least six months prior. (Ukrinform)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
    - Argentina surpasses 6 million cases of COVID-19 after reporting a record for the third consecutive day of 109,608 new cases of COVID-19. (NHK World-Japan)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Peru
    - Peru raises its pandemic Alert level in 24 provinces from "moderate" to "high", resulting in an extended curfew between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., as well as tightened capacity limits in shopping centers, banks and restaurants. This comes as the number of daily COVID-19 cases increased 25% from the previous week. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Northern Territory
    - The Northern Territory imposes a lockdown until Monday for people over the age of 16 years who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 after the territory reported a record 256 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (ABC News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria
    - Density limits are reintroduced to hospitality and entertainment venues and non-urgent elective surgeries are paused as cases and hospitalisations rise in the state. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois, Strikes during the COVID-19 pandemic
    - The Chicago Public Schools announces that schools in Chicago, Illinois, has been canceled for a third consecutive day as teachers in the city go on a strike over COVID-19 protocols. (National Review) (Chicago Tribune)
2020–2022 H5N8 outbreak
- A 79-year-old man in Buckfastleigh, Devon, becomes the first person in the United Kingdom to test positive for bird flu. (The Guardian)

Law and crime

COVID-19 pandemic in France, Vaccine passports during the COVID-19 pandemic
- The French National Assembly votes 214−93 with 27 abstentions to approve a bill to transform the COVID-19 health pass into a vaccine pass, which would require people over the age of 12 years to show proof of vaccination in order to enter most public places and use inter-regional public transport. The bill will be debated in the Senate early next week and is expected to come into effect later this month. (Euronews)
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte signs into law a bill outlawing child marriage, with violators facing up to 12 months in prison. Some portions of the law will not go into effect for one year in order to allow Muslim and indigenous communities to prepare. (South China Morning Post)
United States President Joe Biden blames former President Donald Trump squarely over his role in the January 6 United States Capitol attack. (CNN)

Sports

2022 Australian Open, Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports
- 2021 Men's Singles champion Novak Djokovic is detained by the Australian Border Force for failing to provide a valid medical exemption to explain his not being vaccinated against COVID-19 under federal guidelines. The Victoria State Government and Tennis Australia had previously approved Djokovic's exemption under their own guidelines, which was not endorsed by the federal Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. (The Guardian)