Portal:Current events/2021 January 4

January 4, 2021 (Monday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

Kivu conflict
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
  - Twenty-two people are killed during an Allied Democratic Forces mass stabbing at a village in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario
      - Ontario reports three new cases of the new Alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2 that originated in the United Kingdom. (Global News)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
      - Michigan surpasses 500,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. (WEYI-TV)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Mississippi, COVID-19 vaccine
      - Officials in Mississippi announce a plan to distribute vaccines for people over 65 years of age. (San Francisco Chronicle)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in New Mexico, COVID-19 vaccine
      - According to the New Mexico Department of Health, over 230,000 people in the state have signed up to receive vaccinations. (AP)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in New York, Variant of Concern 202012/01
      - New York reports its first case of the new SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant in a man in his 60s from Saratoga County who tested positive for COVID-19 despite having no travel history. (WNBC-TV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Austria
    - Austria abandons a plan to allow anyone with a negative test result to exit the lockdown a week early, instead extending strict measures and keeping restaurants and non-essential shops closed until January 24. (RND)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, COVID-19 vaccine
    - Contrary to the strategy adopted by the United Kingdom, Spain is expected to maintain its plan to administer two doses per person of the COVID-19 vaccine tozinameran, which is the recommendation of the manufacturer Pfizer-BioNTech. Germany is also considering the single-dose strategy. (Reuters)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
    - COVID-19 pandemic in England
      - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces a third nationwide lockdown in England beginning at midnight. All schools and universities will be closed until mid-February and people will only be allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons like shopping and exercise. (BBC News)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland
      - Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announces that a lockdown in level four areas such as mainland Scotland will begin at midnight, and that there will be a legal requirement to stay at home for the remainder of the month. Schools will also remain closed. (The Guardian)
    - The United Kingdom reports a record 58,784 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,713,563. (Sky News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon
    - The Lebanese Government announces a 25-day nationwide lockdown in the country beginning January 7 in order to reduce the increase in COVID-19 cases that occurred during the holiday season. A curfew from 6:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. local time will also be in effect until February 1. (ABC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
    - Malaysia surpasses 500 deaths from COVID-19. (The Star)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand
    - Thailand reports a record 745 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,639. (Bangkok Post)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam, COVID-19 vaccine
    - Vietnam agrees to buy 30 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine. (7 News)

International relations

Iran–South Korea relations
- Iran's Revolutionary Guard seizes a South Korean-flagged ship in the Persian Gulf over alleged oil pollution and environmental hazards. The ship was travelling from Saudi Arabia to the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. (Arab News)
United States and the International Criminal Court
- United States District Judge Katherine Polk Failla blocks the Trump administration from imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court. (Reuters)

Law and crime

Trump–Raffensperger phone call
- United States Representatives Ted Lieu and Kathleen Rice urge Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher A. Wray to open a criminal investigation into President Donald Trump's phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for violating state and federal laws. Additionally, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announces that her office is ready to investigate Trump after his call with Raffensperger. (CBS) (The Hill)
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- British Member of Parliament Margaret Ferrier is arrested after breaching COVID-19 restrictions. (The Times)
2020 United States election protests
- Proud Boys chairperson Enrique Tarrio is arrested for destroying a Black Lives Matter sign at the Asbury United Methodist Church during a protest in Washington, D.C., last month. (NBC)
Crime in Malaysia
- A Malaysian coroner concludes that 15-year-old French-Irish tourist Nora Quoirin, who disappeared in August 2019 while vacationing at a resort in Seremban and whose body was found in a nearby jungle ten days later, had died by misadventure. Quoirin's family questions the verdict, saying that evidence suggests that her death was caused by abduction, homicide, or sexual assault. (France 24)
A judge in the United Kingdom blocks the extradition of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, citing that it would be "oppressive" to his mental health and also cites the likelihood of Assange committing suicide if he is sent to the United States. If convicted in the United States, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says that his country is willing to provide political asylum to Assange. (DW) (Anadolu Agency)
Crime in Nigeria
- Kidnapped Auxiliary Bishop Moses Chikwe, of the Owerri Archdiocese in Nigeria, is freed by his captors. Kidnapped last Sunday, police allege that no ransom is paid. International condemnation includes Pope Francis, during his new year message calling for Bishop Chikwe's release. While in Imo state, a Catholic women's organization, stage a peaceful protest at the Imo state government house, calling on Governor Hope Uzodinma, to quicken action for the release of the Auxiliary Bishop. (Vanguard, Lagos)