Portal:Current events/2021 January 18

January 18, 2021 (2021-01-18) (Monday)

Business and economy

• Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
  • Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announces a new economic assistance package named PERMAI (Malaysian Economic and Rakyat Protection Assistance Package) worth RM15 billion in order mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the Malaysian economy. (CNA)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong
      • Hong Kong reports 107 new confirmed cases, which is the first time in nearly a month that triple digit cases are reported. The sudden rise in cases is driven by an outbreak among ethnic minorities. It makes the total of confirmed cases in the city to 9,664. (South China Morning Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia reports a record 9,475 recoveries, including 2,802 from Jakarta, bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 745,935. (detikNews)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • Japan detects the likely community spread of the B.1.1.7 variant in three people in Shizuoka who had no travel history in the United Kingdom. (The Japan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal
      • Nepal reports the first case of new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in three people who travelled from the United Kingdom three weeks ago had infected with this variant. (The Kathmandu Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkmenistan
      • Turkmenistan registers the Sputnik V vaccine despite having no confirmed cases in the country, according to Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). It becomes the first country in Central Asia to approves a Russian-made vaccine. (RFE/RL)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
      • The Czech Republic confirms the detection of B.1.1.7 variant that originated from the United Kingdom. (CTK)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Greece
      • Hair salons, health centers, car inspection stations, and non-essential shops in Greece reopens for the first time since November 2020 after the government took steps to ease a nationwide lockdown in order to revitalize the retail sectors with heavy restrictions. (Anadolu Agency)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Portugal reports a record 167 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,028. (SIC Noticias)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • Spanish Health Ministry reports a record 84,287 new cases in the country over the weekend, pushing the incidence rate in the past 14 days to 689 per 100,000 people and brings the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,336,451. (elDiario.es)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      • Outgoing President Donald Trump signs a executive order that lifts travel restrictions on Brazil, the United Kingdom, China, and Europe. However, as Joe Biden is expected to take office on Wednesday, the restrictions are expected to remain in place. (Reuters) (CNN)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland, COVID-19 vaccine
      • Maryland Governor Larry Hogan receives the Moderna vaccine at the State House. (The Washington Post)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco
    • Morocco reports its first case of the B.1.1.7 variant in the Port of Tangier Med, in the northern part of the country. (Morocco World News)
  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment
    • The International Energy Agency reports that global methane emissions in 2020 amount to about 70 million metric tons, which is 10 percent lower than the estimate amount of methane emissions in 2019. The agency cites the decline in industrial activities, as a result of the pandemic, and the introduction of new emission regulations for the reduction in emissions. (Bloomberg)

International relations

• Germany–Russia relations
  • Germany condemns the arrest of opposition politician and activist Alexei Navalny upon his return to Russia yesterday. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas calls the arrest "utterly incomprehensible" and calls for his immediate release. Likewise, British, Danish, and other European diplomats condemn the detention. (DW)
• South Korea–United States relations
  • South Korean President Moon Jae-in urges incoming U.S. President Joe Biden to learn from the policies, both positive and mistakes, of Donald Trump towards North Korea and says that the North has a "clear willingness to denuclearize if Washington and Pyongyang could find mutually agreeable steps to decrease the nuclear threat and ensure the North's security". (AP)

Law and crime

• The COO of Samsung, Lee Jae-yong, is sentenced to two and a half years in prison on charges of bribery. Lee was convicted of bribing former South Korean President Park Geun-hye and was arrested immediately in the courtroom following the verdict. (The New York Times)
• The Tunisian interior ministry deploys the national guard in several cities across the country and reports that a total of 632 people have been arrested following a series of riots since January 15, a day after the government imposed a nationwide lockdown in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases. (AFP via Daily Sabah)

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