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January 2, 2021 (Saturday)
3.5 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Eleven Hazara coal miners are kidnapped near their mine and then killed nearby by Islamic State militants in Machh, Pakistan.
Two French troops are killed when their armoured personnel carrier hits a roadside bomb in Ménaka, Mali. It is the second attack in the past few days that targeted French troops, the first being the December 28 JNIM-claimed bombing that killed three French soldiers.
Five people are killed, including two Turkish nationals, after an al-Shabaab suicide bomber blew himself up near the Mogadishu-Afgooye road construction work. Fourteen people are wounded, including four other Turkish citizens.
Arts and culture
Pope Francis accepts the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Richard B. Higgins, the episcopal vicar for veterans affairs of the Archdiocese for the Military Services. During his career, Bishop Higgins’ is vicar for veterans affairs and responsible for more than 200 chaplains serving at over 150 VA hospitals in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam. His retirement at age 75 is announced in Washington by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio to the United States.
Disasters and accidents
Rescue workers find the bodies of four people who went missing during a landslide in Gjerdrum, Viken, Norway, on December 30. Six people are still missing.
Three people are killed when a small plane crashes into a house in Lyon Township, Michigan, United States.
Health and environment
The UK reactivates emergency critical-care COVID-19 hospitals amid a surge in both cases and hospitalizations.
The government announces a one-week closure of all shops that were allowed to reopen during the holiday season, as well as all places of worship beginning tomorrow in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases ahead of the reopening of schools on January 11. A curfew from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time will also be imposed.
Malaysia reports a record 3,321 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 94,492.
South Korea reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 when a person who travelled from South Africa on December 26 later tested positive for COVID-19.
Vietnam reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 when a 44-year-old woman who travelled from the United Kingdom later tested positive for COVID-19 while in quarantine on December 24.
Victoria closes its land border with New South Wales due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, after several months of open borders. Meanwhile, New South Wales makes wearing masks in public mandatory, while also easing restrictions for southern suburbs of the Northern Beaches as the number of cases in those areas decrease.
Palau receives 2,800 doses of the Moderna vaccine in a special contribution from the United States. The government announced that it will vaccinate healthcare workers first and then vaccinate seniors and people with medical conditions.
New York surpasses one million cases of COVID-19, becoming the fourth state to do so after Texas, California, and Florida.
Law and crime
Kazakhstan formally abolishes the death penalty, making a two-decade freeze on executions permanent, according to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office releases footage of deputies executing a search warrant on the last known address of Dolal Idd, as well as a raid on his family's house.
Authorities in Pakistan arrest Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, alleged leader of the Lashker-e-Taiba group, which is blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
The homes of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are vandalized after the government failed to pass the CASH Act, a bill that would increase direct payments from $600 to $2,000.
Saïd Bouteflika, the brother and special advisor of former Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is cleared of conspiracy charges following a retrial. Saïd Bouteflika had been sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2019 for "undermining the authority of the armed forces" and "conspiring against the authority of the state" following his brother's resignation in the context of the 2019–20 Algerian protests.
Politics and elections
The electoral commission of Niger declares that a second round of the presidential election will take place on February 21 after no candidate received a majority of the vote. The two candidates will be former minister Mohamed Bazoum, the leader of the ruling Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism, who won the first round with 39.33 percent of the votes, and former president Mahamane Ousmane, who won 16.99 percent of votes.
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