Business and economy

• Automotive manufacturers Fiat Chrysler and PSA finalize their 50-50 merger agreement, founding Stellantis. The new corporation becomes the world's fourth largest auto maker by volume. (AFP via RTL)

Disasters and accidents

• Five people die of carbon monoxide poisoning during an accident at a nursing home in Lanuvio, Lazio, Italy. Seven other people are hospitalized in critical conditions. (Il Fatto Quotidiano)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in North America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
      • COVID-19 pandemic in California
        • Los Angeles County surpasses one million cases of COVID-19, becoming the first county in the United States to do so. Additionally, the county also reported their first case of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2, a man who spent time in the county and is currently quarantine in Oregon. (NBC News)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan
        • The first strain of Variant of Concern 202012/01 in Michigan is discovered in a Washtenaw County woman who had traveled from the United Kingdom. (WEYI-TV)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Louisiana
        • Louisiana reports the first case of Variant of Concern 202012/01 originated from the United Kingdom in Greater New Orleans area. (Office of the Governor of Louisiana)
      • COVID-19 pandemic in Wyoming
        • The first case of UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Wyoming is detected in Teton County in a man who had no known travel history. (Casper Star Tribune)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
      • Canada surpasses 700,000 cases of COVID-19. (Global News)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the world's largest vaccination programme against COVID-19 in India, which aims to vaccinate more than 1.3 billion people. A sanitation worker is the first person to receive the vaccine. (BBC)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
      • Indonesia reports a record 14,224 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 896,642. (CNN Indonesia)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia
      • Malaysia reports a record 4,029 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 155,095. (New Straits Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan
      • The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) approves a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca for emergency use in the country. (Livemint)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Denmark
      • Denmark reports the first case of new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that originated in South Africa in a person who travelled to Dubai, according to Statens Serum Institut. (Politiken)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
      • Portugal reports records for both daily counts of new cases and deaths, with 10,947 new cases and 166 deaths, bringing the nationwide cumulative totals to 539,416 confirmed cases and 8,709 deaths. (DGS)(Reuters)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia
      • Serbia receives one million doses of a vaccine developed by Sinopharm in Nikola Tesla Airport, to become the first European country to receive a Chinese-made vaccine. (AFP via Barron's)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey
      • Vice President Fuat Oktay receives the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in a hospital in Ankara. (Anadolu Agency)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in South America
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
      • Argentina receives the second batch of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine. (U.S. News & World Report)
      • Argentina reports the first case of more infectious B.1.1.7 variant in a man who travelled from the United Kingdom in late December without symptoms of the disease. (MedicalXpress)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil, COVID-19 vaccine
      • The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency announces that the country has returned documents from União Química seeking approval for Russia's Sputnik V vaccine as it didn't meet the criteria. (Reuters)

International relations

• Qatar–Saudi Arabia relations, Qatar diplomatic crisis
  • Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud announces that Saudi Arabia will re-open its embassy in Qatar in the coming days, after a diplomatic crisis that saw the nations severing ties for three years. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol
  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation announces that far-right activist Tim Gionet, commonly known as Baked Alaska, has been arrested in Houston for illegally storming the United States Capitol. (New York Times)
• Capital punishment in the United States
  • The federal government carries out its final execution under the Trump administration, executing convicted murderer Dustin Higgs by lethal injection at USP Terre Haute. (Reuters)

Politics and elections

• 2021 Christian Democratic Union of Germany leadership election
  • North Rhine-Westphalia minister-president Armin Laschet is elected leader of the Christian Democratic Union, one of the ruling parties in the Bundestag and the party of incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel. Laschet's election makes him a front-runner to be the party's candidate in the federal election in September. (AFP via The Local)
• 2021 Ugandan general election
  • The Electoral Commission of Uganda declares incumbent President Yoweri Museveni the winner of the presidential election, winning about 59% of the vote, while opposition leader Bobi Wine received 35% of the vote, according to the commission. (BBC)

Science and technology

• Discoveries of exoplanets
  • Scientists announce the identification of TOI-561b, one of the oldest planetary systems discovered in the Milky Way, via NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. (Digital Trends)