January 16, 2022 (Sunday)

Somali government spokesperson Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu is injured in a suicide bombing in Mogadishu.

Authorities say that gunmen have killed more than 50 people, including two soldiers and a police officer, in a raid on a village in Kebbi State, northwestern Nigeria. Security forces were forced to flee the area, leaving the militants to burn down shops and kidnap women and children.

Military personnel from the Swedish Armed Forces are deployed to the island of Gotland in response to fears that Russia may attempt an invasion of Swedish territory amidst tensions between NATO and Russia over their intention to invade Ukraine.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries announces that the United Kingdom's state broadcaster BBC will be reformed, with the television licence fee being abolished in 2027. Funding of the BBC will also be frozen for the next two years.

The Australian Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force send aircraft to assess the damage in Tonga as communications continue to be disrupted in the Pacific islands.

Satellite imagery of Hunga Tonga shows that most of the volcanic island was destroyed by the eruption.

Thailand reports its first confirmed death related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a 86-year-old woman who died last month in Songkhla Province.

Denmark reopens cinemas, zoos, museums and theatres as well as allowing limited number of spectators in indoor and outdoor sports despite the rising number of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases in the country.

The French National Assembly votes 215–58 to give a final approval of mandatory vaccine pass that will require people aged above 16 years to be fully vaccinated in order to enter public places and long-distance public transport. The new law regarding vaccine pass will take effect in coming days once the law gets approved from the Constitutional Council.

Serbians votes in a referendum on whether to approve a constitutional reform that would bring the Serbian judicial system closer to the model required for the country to join the European Union.

Djokovic is deported from Australia, and disqualified from the Australian Open. He is replaced with Salvatore Caruso from Italy.

The Federal Court of Australia confirms the lawfulness and legality of the visa cancellation and deportation order against Novak Djokovic issued by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship Alex Hawke. Djokovic's lawyers are considering legal recourse while Djokovic himself has said that he is disappointed with the decision but will cooperate with Australian authorities.