Armed conflicts and attacks

• Syrian civil war
  • A car bombing kills at least five people and injures 22 others in the Turkish-occupied town of Afrin in northern Syria. Turkey's Ministry of National Defense accuses the Kurdish-led YPG of being behind the attack. (Reuters)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Maryland, 501.V2 variant
        • Maryland confirms its first case of the 501.V2 variant from South Africa, becoming the second U.S. state to do so after South Carolina. (Politico)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in South Carolina, Variant of Concern 202012/01
        • South Carolina reports its first case of the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom. The patient is a person from the Pee Dee region who previously travelled internationally. (WLTX-TV)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba
      • Cuban authorities announce that the country will tighten its measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and require all tourists to isolate after visiting the island until they test negative. (AP)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia reports a record 14,518 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, 4,601 of which are from West Java, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,066,313. (detikHealth)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
      • Iran imposes a 14-day quarantine upon arrival for all travelers from Europe. (Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record 5,728 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 209,661. (New Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan
      • Taiwan reports its first death from COVID-19 since May 2020 in a woman in her 80s. (Focus Taiwan News Channel)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Uzbekistan
      • Uzbekistan reports its first case of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a 10-year-old child who travelled with her family to the United Arab Emirates last week. (Xinhua)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam
      • Vietnam approves the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. (The Straits Times)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria, COVID-19 vaccine
      • Algeria begins its vaccination program using Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. (ABC News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Tunisia, COVID-19 vaccine
      • Tunisia becomes the third country in Africa to register the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine after the country approves the vaccine for one year. (Al-Arabiya)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    • The Italian Medicines Agency approves the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in Italy for all adults but recommends that other vaccines be given to people aged over 55. (Daily Sabah)

International relations

• Economic effects of Brexit
  • The United Kingdom announces that it will apply to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which forms a trade bloc of 11 Asia-Pacific nations. The UK will be the first non-founding country to apply to join the bloc. (BBC News)

Law and crime

• Capital punishment in Iran
  • Iran hangs Javid Dehghan, the former leader of the Salafi jihadist group Jaish ul-Adl, for the murder of two Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. (Reuters)