Portal:Current events/2021 January 6

January 6, 2021 (Wednesday)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in China
    - Members of the World Health Organization investigating the origins of the pandemic are denied entry to China. (Al Jazeera)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
    - Indonesia reports a record 8,854 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 788,402. (detikHealth)
    - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartanto announces two-week restrictions in parts of island of Java and Bali on January 11. It includes limited opening hours for malls, advisement to work from home by 75%, and limited capacity for restaurants and places of worship. (Okezone.com)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
    - Tokyo reports a record 1,591 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the prefecture to 66,343. (The Japan Times)
    - Nationwide, a record more than 6,000 new cases are reported in Japan in the past 24 hours. (NHK World)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia reports a record 2,593 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 125,438. (Malay Mail)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
    - Czech Republic reports an all-time high of 17,278 new cases in the past 24 hours, 7,965 are from Prague, bringing the nationwide total of cases to 776,967. (Prague Morning)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malta
    - Malta reports a daily record with 224 confirmed cases. (Times of Malta)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
    - The Netherlands begins a vaccination programme against COVID-19 with a nurse becoming the first person to be vaccinated using Pfizer's tozinameran vaccine. (RTL Nieuws) (Swiss Info)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
    - Portugal reports a record of 10,027 new daily cases, bringing the nationwide cumulative count of confirmed cases to 446,606. (DGS)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in San Marino
    - San Marino reduces the activity hours of bars and restaurants, which must close at 5:00 pm until January 15 and the curfew will begin at 10:00 pm local time. (San Marino TV)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Slovenia
    - Slovenia reports an all-time high of 3,354 cases in the past day. Cumulative numbers pass 130,000 cases. (RTVSLO)
  - The European Medicines Agency approves the emergency use of Moderna's vaccine. (CNBC)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - Health officials in Australia announce that the country will bring forward by two weeks to early March in their vaccination rollout plans. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Hong Kong national security law
- Police in Hong Kong arrest over 50 pro-democracy activists and politicians under charges of the national security law. The arrests include Democratic Party former lawmakers James To and Lam Cheuk-ting as well as activist Lester Shum and League of Social Democrats (LSD) former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung (better known as Long Hair) and its vice-chair person Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit. (Reuters) (RTHK)
A judge in the United Kingdom denies bail to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange days after his extradition to the United States was blocked. The judge cited the risk of Assange escaping the process or refusing to surrender to court if asked to do so. Assange's lawyers will appeal the decision whereas the U.S. Department of Justice continues to seek his extradition. Assange's partner urges the US to pardon him. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

2020 United States Senate elections
- 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia, 2020–21 United States Senate special election in Georgia
  - News networks project that Democrat Raphael Warnock will defeat Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler, making him the state's first African-American Senator. Warnock claims victory, while Loeffler refuses to concede the race and vows to "fight on". The race between David Perdue and Jon Ossoff remains too close to call. (CNBC) (BuzzFeed News)
Venezuelan presidential crisis
- The European Union withdraws the recognition of Juan Guaidó as the interim President of Venezuela. (Europapress)