Portal:Current events/2021 January 24

January 24, 2021 (Sunday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Mali War
- Six Malian troops are killed and 18 others are injured in simultaneous jihadist attacks in the central Mopti Region. The military also stated that around 30 militants were also killed in the clashes. (Al Jazeera)

Disasters and accidents

2021 Tocantinense aviation disaster
- A plane crashes in Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil, killing four Palmas Futebol e Regatas footballers, their team's president, and the pilot. (CNN Brasil)
Eleven of the miners who went missing two weeks ago in Qixia, Shandong, China, after the gold mine where they worked collapsed, are rescued alive. Another miner is found dead, while ten others are still missing. (BBC)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C., Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
      - Around 38 United States Capitol Police officers have tested positive for COVID-19 since the storming of the United States Capitol. (CNN)
    - The United States surpasses 25 million cases of COVID-19. (NPR)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
    - Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announces that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and is receiving medical treatment. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
    - Israel reports several cases of a faster-spreading variant of SARS-CoV-2, which was recently discovered in the United States. (Haaretz)
    - Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
      - The Israeli cabinet agrees to close Ben Gurion International Airport and ban all incoming and outgoing international passengers from the airport, beginning at midnight tomorrow. Cargo flights, medical evacuations and firefighting flights are exempted from this rule. (The Washington Post)
    - Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
      - Clashes broke out in three cities across Israel as police attempted to enforce coronavirus lockdown restrictions in a number of ultra-Orthodox communities. Israel is currently in a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. (Times of Israel)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia reports a record 4,427 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 141,446. (The Edge Markets MY)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France, Travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic
    - France imposes new border restrictions that require travellers from other European Union countries arriving by air or sea to present negative PCR test results obtained in the previous 72 hours. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Netherlands, Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
    - Rioting youths torched a COVID-19 testing center and threw fireworks at police in the fishing village of Urk overnight into Sunday. (DW)
    - Rioters set fires in the center of Eindhoven and pelted police with rocks at a banned demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures. Police also faced off with curfew-defying crowds in The Hague, Amsterdam, Enschede, Venlo, Stein, Roermond, Oosterhout, Breda and elsewhere across the Netherlands. More than 100 people have been arrested. It was the worst violence to hit the Netherlands since the pandemic began and the second straight Sunday that police clashed with protesters in Amsterdam. The country has been under a lockdown since December. (AP) (BBC) (Tasnim)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal reports a record 275 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 10,469. (DGS)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia
    - Serbia reports their first case of the B.1.1.7 variant in a person who travelled from London and later began experiencing mild symptoms. (N1)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt
  - Egypt launches a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 with the first doses of Sinopharm's vaccine given to healthcare workers in Ismailia. (AP)
- COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
  - New Zealand health officials report the first community case of COVID-19 in more than two months in a person who travelled from Europe. (Sydney Morning Herald)

International relations

Russia–United States relations, 2021 Russian protests
- The Russian government accuses the United States of "interfering in Russian domestic affairs" after some U.S. officials criticized the police crackdown on protests backing jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. (RFERL)
Cross-Strait relations
- For the second consecutive day, Taiwan reports an incursion of its air defense identification zone by China's People's Liberation Army Air Force. The incursion involved 12 fighter jets, two anti-submarine aircraft and a reconnaissance plane. Taiwan deployed air defence missile systems in response, according to a statement from the Ministry of National Defense. (BBC)
Israel–United Arab Emirates relations, Israel–United Arab Emirates normalization agreement
- Israel opens an embassy in Abu Dhabi, four months after the signing of the agreement, while the United Arab Emirates approves the establishment of an embassy in Tel Aviv. (AFP via Dawn)

Law and crime

Central African Republic Civil War
- The Central African government renders custody of an alleged Séléka commander to the International Criminal Court, where he is expected to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. (AFP via Macau Business)
List of mass shootings in the United States in 2021
- A mass shooting in Indianapolis, Indiana, leaves six dead and one injured. (WXIN-TV)
American manufacturer Tesla files a lawsuit against one of its former software engineers for allegedly copying confidential computer scripts onto a personal file hosting service. The former employee denies the company's allegation, claiming he transferred the files by mistake. (AFP via ABS-CBN News)

Politics and elections

Politics of Estonia
- The two major political parties Reform Party and Centre Party agree to form a government, whose Prime Minister will be Kaja Kallas, who will become the first female to take the office. She is succeeding Jüri Ratas, who resigned following a corruption scandal that involves his party. (Politico)
2021 Portuguese presidential election
- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is reelected with 60.7% of the vote in Sunday's election. (ABC News) (DW)
Proposed second Scottish independence referendum
- Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says she intends to hold a "legal referendum" on independence since Brexit removed Scotland from the European Union against its will. Another referendum would require the approval of the United Kingdom's government, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson opposes. (ABC News) (Bloomberg)

Science and technology

SpaceX successfully launches a record 143 satellites into orbit on a single rocket in its Transporter-1 mission. The payload consisted of 120 CubeSats, 12 microsatellites, 10 Starlink satellites, and 1 transfer stage. It is also the maiden flight of the SHERPA-FX satellite dispenser. (BBC)

Sports

2020 NFL season, 2020–21 NFL playoffs, Super Bowl LV
- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Green Bay Packers, 31-26, winning the 2020 NFC Championship and advancing to the Super Bowl. With the Super Bowl being held at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, this will be the first time a NFL team will play the championship game on their home field. They will play the Kansas City Chiefs, who beat the Buffalo Bills 38-24 in the 2020 AFC Championship. (AP) (ESPN)