Two French Army personnel are killed when their armoured personnel carrier hit a roadside bomb in Ménaka, Mali. It is the second attack in the past few days that targeted French military personnel, the first being the December 28 JNIM-claimed bombing that killed three French military personnel. (Al Jazeera)
The United Kingdom reports a record 57,725 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, the highest daily total since the beginning of the pandemic. Another 445 deaths are also reported, bringing the country's death toll to 74,570. (Sky News)
The United Kingdom reactivates emergency critical-care COVID-19 hospitals amid a surge in both cases and hospitalizations. (Reuters)
Gibraltar imposes a second lockdown for the next 14 days beginning at 10:00 p.m. local time (21:00 GMT) today, in order to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. (Barron's)
The Government of Greece 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. (Ekathimerini)
Vietnam reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 when a 44-year-old woman who traveled from the United Kingdom later tested positive for COVID-19 while in quarantine on December 24. (The Straits Times)
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. (The Guardian)
Palau receives 2,800 doses of the Modernavaccine 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. (RNZ)
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% of the votes; and former president Mahamane Ousmane, who won 16.99% of votes. (Al-Ahram)