Portal:Current events/2021 January 13: Difference between revisions

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian Civil War
    • Israel carries out a wave of airstrikes on Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, near its border with Iraq. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 57 people have been killed and 28 others wounded in at least 18 Israeli airstrikes, saying several Iranian arms depots were hit. A senior U.S. intelligence official says the air raids were carried out with "intelligence provided by the U.S." (Daily Sabah)
• Central African Republic Civil War
  • Pro-François Bozizé forces attack the Central African Republic capital of Bangui, with fighting reported on multiple fronts, according to Prime Minister Firmin Ngrébada. A Reuters witness reports explosions and helicopters circling over the city. (Reuters)

Business and economy

• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
  • Mayor Bill de Blasio announces New York City will end contracts with the Trump Organization claiming President Donald Trump's "inciting an insurrection against the U.S. government clearly constitutes criminal activity." (The New York Times)
• George Floyd protests in Australia, List of name changes due to the George Floyd protests
  • Dairy company Saputo announces that Coon cheese, its brand of cheddar cheese in Australia, will be rebranded as "Cheer" cheese, in response to a 20-year campaign by indigenous rights activist Stephen Hagan to remove the usage of the word "Coon", in reference to a racial slur. The replacement products will be released in July. (AFP via Manila Standard)
• Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica announces that it will sell its cell sites in Europe and Latin America, which are owned by its subsidiary Telxius, to American company American Tower for an estimated €7.7 billion (US$9.4 billion). (Buenos Aires Times)

Disasters and accidents

• A Sudanese Air Force helicopter crashes shortly after taking off in Sudan's al Qadarif state, near the border with Ethiopia, with the three-person crew surviving the crash, according to officials. (TRT World)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, COVID-19 vaccine
      • President Joko Widodo receives the first dose of the vaccine candidate developed by Sinovac Biotech. (CNA)
      • Indonesia reports a record 11,278 new cases and 306 deaths in the past 24 hours, brings the nationwide total to 858,043 confirmed cases and 24,951 deaths. (CNN Indonesia)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq
      • Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi imposes travel and entry bans on 20 countries reported to have new variants of SARS-CoV-2. (Xinhua)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
      • The government expands the state of emergency to seven prefectures, including Aichi, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Kyoto, as the country surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19. (ABC News)
      • Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also announces the suspension of business travel agreements with 11 countries/regions and restrict entry for all non-resident foreign nations from tomorrow in effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Nikkei Asia)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan
      • Jordan begins a vaccination campaign, with priority given to healthcare workers, people with chronic illnesses, and those over the age of 60. (Arab News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
      • Mainland China reports 115 new cases in the past 24 hours, which is the biggest single-day increases for the country in more than five months, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 87,706. (The Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines, Variant of Concern 202012/01
      • The Philippines reports the first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from the United Kingdom in a Quezon City resident who arrived from the United Arab Emirates on January 7 yielded positive genome sequencing results. (ABS-CBN News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, 501.V2 variant
      • Taiwan reports the first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from South Africa in a Swazi man in his 30s who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on January 1. (Taiwan News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates
      • The United Arab Emirates reports a records 3,362 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 239,587. (The National)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Prime Minister António Costa announces that a strict new lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19 will come into force on January 15, which is similar rule to this first lockdown seen in March and April. The only exception is all schools will remain open. (The Portugal News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Spain
      • Spain reports a record 38,869 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,176,089. (El Mundo)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Turkey approves the emergency use of vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
      • The United Kingdom reports a record 1,564 new deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 84,767. (BBC)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi, COVID-19 vaccine
      • Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves receives the vaccine live on Facebook. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico, Variant of Concern 202012/01
      • New Mexico reports the first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a man in his 60s who recently traveled to the United Kingdom in December tested positive of this variant. (KUTV)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin, Variant of Concern 202012/01
      • Wisconsin reports the first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 originated from the United Kingdom. (WDJT-TV)
    • The U.S. surpasses 23 million cases of COVID-19, just four days after surpassing 22 million cases. (CNN)

International relations

• North Korea–South Korea relations
  • Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, criticizes South Korea over their tracking of a military parade to be held in Pyongyang during the weekend, defining South Korean officials as a "weird group hard to understand" and the "idiot and top of the world's list in misbehaviour". South Korean President Moon Jae-in says his position to establish talks with North Korea remains unchanged. (NDTV)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
  • American Olympic gold-metal swimmer Klete Keller is charged for storming the United States Capitol. (CBS News)
  • Robert Keith Packer, a Virginia man known for wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt, is arrested for storming the Capitol. Additionally, Rocky Mount police officers Thomas Robertson and Jacob Fracker are also arrested. (The Washington Post)
  • Proud Boys supporter Eduard Florea is arrested in New York for threatening to lead an armed caravan to Washington, D.C. Additionally, Florea also threatened the life of Senator-elect Raphael Warnock. (WNBC) (Fox News) (New York Daily News)
• Capital punishment in the United States
  • Shortly after midnight, the federal government executes Lisa Marie Montgomery by lethal injection for the 2004 murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, after the Supreme Court vacated the last stay on her execution. Montgomery is the first woman to be executed by the federal government since 1953. (Reuters)
• Aftermath of the poisoning of Alexei Navalny
  • Opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny announces he will return to Russia on Sunday, despite risks of being incarcerated upon his return. Navalny says the charges against him are "fabricated". (Reuters)
• Flint water crisis
  • Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is charged with two counts of willful neglect of duty in connection with the Flint water crisis, which left residents with contaminated water and a Legionnaires outbreak. (AP) (Business Insider)

Politics and elections

• Corruption in Estonia
  • Prime Minister Jüri Ratas announces his resignation after the Prosecutor General suspected his Estonian Centre Party of "criminal involvement" in an influence peddling scandal involving businessman Hillar Teder. (Daily Sabah)
• Second impeachment of Donald Trump
  • The U.S. House of Representatives impeaches President Donald Trump for "incitement of insurrection". (BBC)
  • After being impeached, Trump releases a video statement from the White House condemning the rioters who stormed the United States Capitol. (Bloomberg.com)

• List of Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives
  • The Illinois House of Representatives elects Democrat Emanuel “Chris” Welch the first African American Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, ending the era of Democrat Michael Madigan as 67th and 69th Illinois Speaker, having served 18 terms as Speaker for all but two years since 1983, the longest serving legislative leader in United States history. (Politico) (The Hill)

Science and technology

• Donald Trump on social media, Censorship by Google
  • Google-owned YouTube says it has suspended U.S. President Donald Trump's account from uploading new videos or live streaming content for the next seven days, and may extend the suspension, saying the channel had broken its rules over incitement to violence. (BBC)

Sports

• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, Variant of Concern 202012/01
  • English cricketer and all-rounder Moeen Ali, who was tested positive for COVID-19 ten days ago, confirms he is infected with a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, which makes it the first case of the UK variant in Sri Lanka. (The Times of India)