Portal:Current events/2021 January 20

January 20, 2021 (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 street parade for the second time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will now be held virtually from March 12–17 on the special online TV channel "SPF TV". (RTÉ)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Madrid explosion
- An explosion caused by a gas leak at a residence for priests in Madrid, Spain, leaves three people dead and eleven others injured and partially destroys the building. (Reuters)
43 people die after a boat carrying migrants from Western Africa capsizes in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. (France24)
An explosion caused by coal dust and air in a thermal power plant in Angren, Uzbekistan, kills three workers and injures three others. (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 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 travelled 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)
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 Black person, and first Asian-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)
- 117th United States Congress, 2020 United States Senate election in Georgia, 2020 United States Senate special election in Georgia
  - Harris, in her role as President of the United States Senate, swears in Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California to the Senate, giving the Democrats an effective majority in the Senate as well as the White House and House of Representatives, and elevating Chuck Schumer to Majority Leader. Harris also swears in Patrick Leahy for his second tenure as president pro tempore. (USA Today)