COVID-19 pandemic Merck & Co. and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics sign an agreement with UNICEF to distribute up to 3 million courses of their COVID-19 antiviral pill molnupiravir to 100 low and middle-income countries in the first half of the year.
Brazil reports a record 137,102 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 23,211,894.
The Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and his deputy Edgar Peña Parra both test positive for COVID-19.
Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain Yolanda Díaz and Minister of Science and Innovation Diana Morant both test positive for COVID-19.
Bulgaria reports a record 9,996 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 830,604.
Nepal reports a record 10,258 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 972,198.
Hong Kong orders the culling of 2,000 small animals, such as hamsters, chinchillas and rabbits, closes pet shops, and sends 100 people to a quarantine camp after nearly a dozen hamsters imported from the Netherlands and sold at Little Boss pet shop were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant which also spread to two people.
Microsoft Microsoft announces that it will acquire gaming company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. If the acquisition is successful, Activision Blizzard will become part of Xbox Game Studios, which will become the world's third-largest gaming company behind Tencent and Sony Interactive Entertainment.
Puerto Rican government-debt crisis A federal judge signs a plan to restructure Puerto Rico's economy, allowing it to start repaying debt to creditors and lifting it out of bankruptcy.
Argentine debt restructuring Argentine minister of economy Martín Guzmán warns that the International Monetary Fund will "lose legitimacy" if it fails in negotiations with the country, with Guzmán citing his country's growth of nearly 10 percent as an argument.