Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2021 Armenian coup d'état attempt, 2020−2021 Armenian protests
  • Protesters storm a government building in Yerevan, Armenia, to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. (Al Jazeera)
• War in Donbass
  • Ukraine reports multiple ceasefire violations, with one casualty. (UNIAN)
• Tigray War
  • BBC reporter Girmay Gebru is detained by Ethiopian soldiers along with four other people in Mekelle, Tigray, and they are sent to a military camp for unknown reasons. (BBC News)
• Operation Madago Raya
  • A gunfight erupts between Indonesian Army and East Indonesia Mujahideen in the Andole Mountain area, Poso Regency, Central Sulawesi, resulting in the death of a soldier and two militants. (Kaili Post)
• War in Afghanistan
  • The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction releases a report accusing the United States of wasting billions of dollars in Afghanistan on buildings and vehicles that were either abandoned or destroyed. The agency says only $343.2 million worth of vehicles and buildings were in good condition. (VOA)

Disasters and accidents

• Three members of the Panamanian diplomatic corps in Colombia are killed after the overflow of the Río Frío drags the vehicle they were traveling in. (Infobae)

Health and environment

• COVID-19 pandemic
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
    • COVID-19 pandemic in India
      • COVID-19 vaccination in India
        • Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives his first dose of the Bharat Biotech Covaxin vaccine. (Hindustan Times)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
      • COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines, COVID-19 vaccination in the Philippines
        • The Philippines begins its vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine donated by China, with the first doses administered to healthcare workers in Metro Manila. (Bloomberg)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan
      • Jordan approves the emergency use of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Roya News English)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Syria
      • Syria begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19. Medical health workers are the first to receive the vaccine. (Reuters)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
    • COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
      • The Czech Republic begins a stricter nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš last week with more police officers and soldiers deployed to enforce the restrictions. (U.S. News and World Report)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in France
      • France raises age limit for those who receive Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to those aged below 75. (France 24)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Finland
      • Finland declares a state of emergency amidst an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Sanna Marin says that the emergency controls will allow the government to close schools and restaurants and limit movement between regions. (Euro Weekly News)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia
      • Slovakia receives the first shipment consisting 200,000 doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine as it signed an agreement to secure two million doses. (Euronews)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana
      • President Nana Akufo-Addo, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, and their spouses receive their first doses of the vaccine from the COVAX initiative as Ghana begins a vaccination campaign against COVID-19. (BBC Pidgin)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Ivory Coast
      • Ivory Coast begins its mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19 using the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine delivered by the COVAX initiative. Health workers, teachers, and members of the armed forces are the first to receive the vaccine. (AP)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe
      • President Emmerson Mnangagwa announces a slight easing of the lockdown in Zimbabwe amidst a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases. Intercity travel is resumed, and small and large businesses have been allowed to reopen. (EWN)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
    • COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
      • It is reported that former U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at the White House prior to their departure on January 20. (The Washington Post)
    • COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, 501.V2 variant
      • Florida reports its first case of the 501.V2 variant first detected in South Africa. (Clickorlando.com)
  • COVID-19 pandemic in Venezuela
    • Venezuela approves the emergency use of Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine. (El Comercio)

Law and crime

• Aftermath of the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, 2021 Myanmar protests
  • Ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi appears in court to hear two more charges against her. The charges are a colonial-era penal code prohibiting publication of information that may "cause fear or alarm", and a telecommunications law stipulating licenses for equipment. Meanwhile, police disperse protesters with tear gas and stun grenades. (Reuters)
• 2021 Onești stabbing
  • Two workers are stabbed to death during a hostage-taking incident in an apartment building in Onești, Romania. The attacker, a man in his 60s, had a 12-year dispute with the company that was running the building, of which he was the former owner. (Digi 24)
• Nicolas Sarkozy corruption trial
  • Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is sentenced to three years in jail for corruption, after being found guilty of trying to offer a job to a magistrate in return for information about a criminal inquiry into his political party. (BBC News)
• Barçagate
  • Former president of FC Barcelona Josep Maria Bartomeu is arrested while Mossos d'Esquadra search the FC Barcelona offices. Three other senior staff members are also arrested. (The Guardian)
• 2021 Texas power crisis, February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm
  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton files a lawsuit against Griddy, accusing them of charging Texans "outrageous amounts" after the winter storm that resulted in power outages for millions in the state. (Newsweek)