Israel carries out a wave of airstrikes on Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zor Governorate, near its border with Iraq. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that 57 people have been killed and 28 others wounded in at least 18 Israeli airstrikes, saying that several Iranian arms depots were hit. A senior U.S. intelligence official says that the air raids were carried out with "intelligence provided by the U.S."
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January 13, 2021 (Wednesday)
5.6 minutes to read
Armed conflicts and attacks
Pro-François Bozizé forces attack the Central African Republic capital of Bangui, with fighting reported on multiple fronts, according to Prime Minister Firmin Ngrébada. A Reuters witness reports explosions and helicopters circling over the city. The attack is successfully repelled by the Central African Armed Forces.
A Rwanda Defence Force peacekeeper is killed in a rebel attack, according to MINUSCA officials.
Business and economy
Mayor Bill de Blasio announces that New York City will end all contracts with the Trump Organization claiming that President Donald Trump's incitement of "an insurrection against the U.S. government clearly constitutes criminal activity."
Dairy company Saputo announces that Coon cheese, its brand of cheddar cheese in Australia, will be rebranded as "Cheer" cheese, in response to a 20-year campaign by indigenous rights activist Stephen Hagan to remove the usage of the word "Coon", in reference to a racial slur. The new branding will be released in July.
Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica announces that it will sell its cell sites in Europe and Latin America, which are owned by its subsidiary Telxius, to American company American Tower for an estimated €7.7 billion (US$9.4 billion).
Disasters and accidents
A Sudanese Air Force helicopter crashes shortly after taking off in Sudan's Al Qadarif state, near the border with Ethiopia, with the three-person crew surviving the crash, according to officials.
Health and environment
President Joko Widodo receives the first dose of the vaccine candidate developed by Sinovac Biotech.
Indonesia reports a record 11,278 new cases and 306 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 858,043 confirmed cases and 24,951 deaths.
Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi imposes travel and entry bans on 20 countries reported to have new variants of SARS-CoV-2.
The government expands the state of emergency to seven prefectures, including Aichi, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Kyoto, as the country surpasses 300,000 cases of COVID-19.
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announces the suspension of business travel agreements with 11 countries and regions and also restricts entry for all non-resident foreign nationals beginning tomorrow in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Jordan begins a vaccination campaign, with priority given to healthcare workers, people with chronic illnesses, and those over the age of 60.
China reports 115 new cases in the past 24 hours, the largest single-day total in more than five months, bringing the nationwide number of confirmed cases to 87,706.
The Philippines reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from the United Kingdom in a person who travelled from the United Arab Emirates to Quezon City on January 7 and later tested positive.
Taiwan reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from South Africa in a Swazi man in his 30s who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on January 1.
The United Arab Emirates reports a record 3,362 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 239,587.
Belgium reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 from South Africa in a person from West Flanders with no travel history.
Prime Minister António Costa announces that stricter lockdown measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 will begin on January 15. There will be more exceptions to the new restrictions than there were during the first national lockdown in March and April 2020.
Spain reports a record 38,869 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,176,089.
The United Kingdom reports a record 1,564 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 84,767.
Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI receive their firsts doses of COVID-19 vaccine on the first day of the vaccination campaign in the Vatican City.
New Mexico reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a man in his 60s who traveled to the United Kingdom in December and later tested positive for COVID-19.
Wisconsin reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that originated in the United Kingdom.
The U.S. surpasses 23 million cases of COVID-19, just four days after surpassing 22 million cases.
International relations
Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, criticizes South Korea over their tracking of a military parade that will be held in Pyongyang during the weekend, defining South Korean officials as a "weird group, hard to understand" and the "idiot and top of the world's list in misbehaviour". South Korean President Moon Jae-in says his position to establish talks with North Korea remains unchanged.
Law and crime
American Olympic gold-medal swimmer Klete Keller is charged with participating in the storming of the United States Capitol.
Robert Keith Packer, a Virginian known for wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt, is arrested for storming the Capitol. Additionally, former Rocky Mount, Virginia police officers Thomas Robertson and Jacob Fracker are also arrested.
Proud Boys supporter Eduard Florea is arrested in New York for threatening to lead an armed caravan to Washington, D.C. Additionally, Florea also threatened the life of Senator-elect Raphael Warnock.
Shortly after midnight, the federal government executes Lisa Marie Montgomery by lethal injection for the 2004 murder of Bobbie Jo Stinnett, after the Supreme Court vacated the last stay on her execution. Montgomery is the first woman to be executed by the federal government since 1953.
Opposition politician and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny announces that he will return to Russia on Sunday, despite risks of being incarcerated upon his return. Navalny says that the charges against him are "fabricated".
Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is charged with two counts of willful neglect of duty in connection with the Flint water crisis, which left residents with contaminated water and a Legionnaires outbreak.
Rioting erupts overnight in the Belgian capital Brussels following the death of a 23-year-old black man in police custody, who was reportedly arrested for violating local COVID-19 restrictions. A police station was set on fire in north of the city, and King Philippe's vehicle was attacked while travelling through the area.
Politics and elections
The U.S. House of Representatives impeaches President Donald Trump for "incitement of insurrection".
After being impeached, Trump releases a video statement from the White House condemning the rioters who stormed the United States Capitol.
Prime Minister Jüri Ratas announces his resignation after the Prosecutor General suspected his Estonian Centre Party of "criminal involvement" in an influence peddling scandal involving businessman Hillar Teder.
The Illinois House of Representatives elects Democrat Emanuel "Chris" Welch as the first African American Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, ending the era of Democrat Michael Madigan as the 67th and 69th Illinois Speaker, having served 18 terms as Speaker for all but two years since 1983, the longest serving legislative leader in United States history.
Science and technology
Google-owned YouTube says that it has suspended U.S. President Donald Trump's account from uploading new videos or live streaming content for the next seven days, and may extend the suspension, saying that the channel had violated its rules over incitement to violence.
Sports
English cricketer and all-rounder Moeen Ali, who tested positive for COVID-19 ten days ago, confirmed that he was infected with a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, which makes this the first case of the UK variant in Sri Lanka.
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