Portal:Current events/2021 January 20

January 20, 2021 (2021-01-20) (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

• War in Afghanistan
  • 2021 Afghanistan attacks
    • Three Afghan soldiers are killed and four others are wounded in an attack on their vehicle by unidentified gunmen in Herat Province. (Tolo News)

Arts and culture

• Events affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
  • Dublin cancels their annual Saint Patrick's Day festival for the second year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will instead be held virtually on a special online TV channel. (RTÉ)
  • Cork, Limerick, and Ennis have all cancelled their respective Saint Patrick's Day parades for the second year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (RTÉ)

Disasters and accidents

• 2021 Madrid explosion
  • An explosion caused by a gas leak at a residence for priests in Madrid, Spain results in three fatalities and injures eleven others. It also partially destroys the residence. (Reuters)
• A boat carrying migrants from West Africa capsizes in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya, resulting in 43 fatalities. (France24)
• An explosion caused by coal dust and air in a thermal power plant in Angren, Uzbekistan kills three workers and leaves three others injured. (Xinhua)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
      • The Netherlands bans all flights from the United Kingdom, South Africa and all South American countries beginning January 23 in order to reduce the spread of more contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2. (NL Times)
      • Prime Minister Mark Rutte issues a statement that would ask the parliament to vote regarding a weekend curfew from 8.30 pm to 4.30 am in a parliamentary debate that will begin tomorrow. (Dutch News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Andorra
      • Andorra begins its vaccination campaign against COVID-19. (Periòdic d'Andorra)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Portugal reports a record 14,647 new confirmed cases and 219 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide totals to 581,605 confirmed cases and 9,465 deaths. (Bloomberg) (SIC Notícias)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Russia
      • The Russian Direct Investment Fund files the registration of the Sputnik V vaccine with the European Medicines Agency with the first review expected in February. (The Moscow Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • Spain reports a record 41,576 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,412,318. (Eldiario.es)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • The United Kingdom reports a record 1,820 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 93,290. (ITV)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • India begins exporting the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to many developing countries, beginning with Bhutan and Maldives. Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles are also among the countries that will receive batches of the vaccine. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia reports a record 9,755 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 763,703. (Okezone)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon
      • Lebanon reports a record 61 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 2,084. (The961)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • The government reaches an agreement with Pfizer for an additional 12 million doses of their vaccine. (The Japan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
      • Beijing impose a partial lockdown in five neighbourhoods after two cases in Daxing were linked to B.1.1.7 variant found in the United Kingdom. (AFP via Barron's)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • The Philippines surpasses 10,000 deaths from COVID-19. (GMA News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya
      • Acting Health Director-General Patrick Amoth confirms the first case of the 501.V2 variant in two people who had traveled to South Africa. (Kenyans.co.ke)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe
      • Zimbabwe's International Trade and Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo dies due to complications from COVID-19. (News24)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Chile
    • Chile approves the CoronaVac vaccine developed by Sinovac for emergency use in the country. (MedicalXpress)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • President Joe Biden signs a executive order mandating face masks on federal property and during interstate travel. The order is expected to last for 100 days. (Reuters)
• 2020–21 H5N8 outbreak
  • Iraq reports an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu in the city of Samarra. (Reuters)

International relations

• China–United States relations
  • The Chinese foreign ministry places sanctions on 28 members of the outgoing Trump administration, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Advisor John Bolton, and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon. The sanctions are believed to be in response to Pompeo's announcement on Tuesday that the internment of Muslim Uyghurs constitutes genocide. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• Presidency of Joe Biden
  • Inauguration of Joe Biden
    • Joe Biden is officially sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. (BBC)
    • Kamala Harris is officially sworn in as the 49th Vice President of the United States, making her the first woman, first half-black/half-Indian American in United States history to hold the office. (The Washington Post)
    • Donald Trump becomes the first outgoing president not to attend his successor's inauguration since Andrew Johnson, who did not attend Ulysses S. Grant's inauguration in 1869. (The New York Times)
  • Biden signs his first executive orders, reversing numerous Trump administration policies and decisions, including rejoining the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization, as well as several immigration issues such as funding for the United States–Mexico border wall. (BBC) (NBC News) (The Guardian)

Month

January 2021

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January 21