Cabinet of Joe Biden The United States Senate votes 84–15 to confirm Janet Yellen as Treasury Secretary, making her the first woman to serve as head of the Treasury Department.
Politics of Estonia Kaja Kallas wins the support of the Riigikogu to become the new Prime Minister, the first woman to do so.
2021 Italian government crisis Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte is set to hand in his resignation tomorrow, due to an ongoing political crisis which began on January 13.
House of Commons The Canada House of Commons votes to call on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to label the Proud Boys as a terrorist organization.
MS ''Estonia'' Two Swedish filmmakers, who filmed the wreck of the MS "Estonia" that sank in 1994 for a documentary, face trial for violating a treaty that prohibits visiting the site.
Portland A driver rams pedestrians with his vehicle during a series of hit-and-runs attack in Portland, Oregon, killing a person and injuring five others.
Adass Israel School sex abuse scandal Malka Leifer, the former principal of a Melbourne school who faces 74 charges of child sexual abuse, is extradited to Australia following a six-year delay of the case that allowed for her to be a fugitive in Israel.
Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol Brandon Straka, the WalkAway movement founder and "Stop the Steal" activist who spoke at a rally held by pro-Trump supporters, is arrested on a felony charge of interfering with police during the storming of the United States Capitol.
Mexican drug war Nineteen people are found dead in two vehicles in Camargo, Tamaulipas, near the Mexico–United States border. The victims, who were likely undocumented migrants, were shot and then set on fire.
Transgender personnel in the United States military President Joe Biden repeals the Trump administration's decision to ban transgender people from serving in the United States military.
Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump The article of impeachment for former U.S. President Donald Trump is brought to the United States Senate, officially triggering the trial, which is scheduled to begin on February 8.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religion The United States Supreme Court declines to hear a case from the Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, a church in Dayton, Nevada, that faces restrictions from Governor Steve Sisolak, to consider how far the state should go when imposing restrictions on places of worship.
Government The Greek and Turkish governments conduct the two countries' first direct dialogue regarding the dispute since 2016.
COVID-19 pandemic Moderna says that their vaccine would work against the new variants found in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Australia suspends their travel bubble with New Zealand for the next 72 hours after New Zealand's first community case in months was confirmed to be of the 501.V2 variant from South Africa.
Indonesia reports 9,994 new cases and 10,678 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 809,488.
Ukraine reopens schools, restaurants, and gyms as a tough lockdown aimed to prevent a new wave of COVID-19 was ended.
More than 180 people were arrested in 10 Dutch cities as protesters against the curfew and lockdown clashed with riot law enforcement overnight for a third night in a row.
Austria begins to require people aged 14 or older to wear FFP2 masks in shops, pharmacies and hospitals, as well as on public transport.
Spain reports a record 93,822 new confirmed cases over the weekend, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,593,582.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces that the second state of emergency in the province will be extended to February 8.
Virginia reports their first case of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a person from Northern Virginia with no recent travel history.
Nevada reports their first case of the B.1.1.7 strain of SARS-CoV-2 in a person with no recent travel history.
Minnesota reports the first U.S. case of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 found in Brazil. The patient is a Twin Cities resident who traveled to Brazil.
California Governor Gavin Newsom lifts the regional stay-at-home order in all areas statewide, including three areas where ICU capacity remains under 15%.
President Joe Biden signs an order banning travel from South Africa due to fears of the 501.V2 variant; the ban is expected to take effect on January 30. Additionally, Biden also extends travel restrictions to Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and other European countries, which were expected to expire tomorrow under an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
Miners Nine of the miners who went missing during a mine collapse in Qixia, Shandong, China, are found dead by rescue workers. Yesterday another miner was found dead, bringing the death toll to 10, while eleven others were rescued alive. Another miner is still missing.
2020–21 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season Cyclone Eloise leaves at least thirteen people dead and more than 8,000 people homeless after making landfall in central Mozambique. Major flooding is also reported in Eswatini, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
COVID-19 pandemic South Korea records its worst annual economic growth since 1998 following the Asian financial crisis. Its gross domestic product contracted 1.0 percent in 2020 from 2019.
British multinational retailer Debenhams announces that it will permanently close all of its brick and mortar stores in the United Kingdom, with the loss of 12,000 jobs, after being bought by online fashion retailer Boohoo.com.
Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Two senior leaders of the Tehrik-i-Taliban and three other militants are killed during two separate security operations in North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.