Portal:Current events/2022 January 5

January 5, 2022 (Wednesday)

Armed conflicts and attacks

2022 Kazakh protests
- A nationwide state of emergency is declared in Kazakhstan. (Sky News)
- Eight police officers are killed and 317 others injured in clashes between protesters and security forces. No figures on civilian casualties have been released. (Reuters)
- The presidential residence and offices of Äkim of Almaty Bakhytzhan Sagintayev are set on fire by protesters. (AP)
- The government of Kazakhstan resigns following the protests, with Alihan Smaiylov becoming acting Prime Minister. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also announces the reintroduction of the price cap on liquefied petroleum gas. (Deutsche Welle)
- President Tokayev dismisses former president and Security Council of Kazakhstan Chairman Nursultan Nazarbayev. Protesters also seize control of Almaty International Airport with all flights to and from the airport being cancelled. (Reuters)
- President Tokayev requests military assistance from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, saying that "terrorist gangs are overrunning strategic facilities across the country." (Trend News Agency)
Kivu conflict
- Two soldiers and 18 rebels are killed in a clash between Banyamulenge rebels and government forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Al Arabiya)

Arts and culture

79th Golden Globe Awards
- It is announced that the upcoming Golden Globe Awards will be held without a live audience or celebrities due to COVID-19 concerns. (Vanity Fair)
64th Annual Grammy Awards
- The Grammy Awards is postponed amidst concerns of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (CNBC)

Disasters and accidents

2022 Philadelphia apartment fire
- Twelve people are killed and two others are injured in a fire at a row house converted into apartments in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. (ABC News)
Fourteen people are killed and three others are injured by a landslide at a construction site in Bijie, Guizhou, China. (Al Jazeera)

Health and environment

COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
  - COVID-19 pandemic in India
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Maharashtra
      - Mumbai reports a record 15,166 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (Deccan Herald)
    - COVID-19 pandemic in Rajasthan
      - India reports its first confirmed death related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in a 73-year-old man who died last week at a hospital in Udaipur, Rajasthan. (The Economic Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Israel
    - COVID-19 vaccination in Israel
      - Israeli President Isaac Herzog and his First Lady Michal Herzog receive their fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as Israel launched the second booster dose vaccination campaign. (i24NEWS)
    - Israel reports a record 11,978 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,423,289. (Al Arabiya)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
    - Iloilo City reports its first case of the Omicron variant in a 46-year-old man who traveled from Kenya. (Rappler)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, COVID-19 vaccination in Singapore
    - Singaporean Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announces that COVID-19 vaccine booster shots will be mandatory beginning on February 14 in order for people to maintain fully vaccinated status. (CNBC)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, COVID-19 drug development
    - South Korea signs an agreement to buy an additional 400,000 doses of Pfizer's Paxlovid COVID-19 drug. (CNA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
    - Italy reports a record for the second consecutive day of 189,109 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 6,566,947. (Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata)
    - The Draghi Cabinet signs a decree that makes COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for people over the age of 50 years and also mandates that public and private sector workers of this age group need to show proof of vaccination or recovery or face fines of between €600 and €1,500 beginning on February 15. (The Guardian)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in France
    - France reports a record for the second consecutive day of 332,252 new cases of COVID-19, which is also the highest daily total recorded in any European nation since the beginning of the pandemic. (France 24)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands
    - The Netherlands reports a record 24,590 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. (NL Times)
  - COVID-19 pandemic in Poland
    - Polish President Andrzej Duda tests positive for COVID-19 for the second time. He previously tested positive in October 2020. (Voice of America)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina
  - Argentina confirms their first locally transmitted cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. (Buenos Aires Times)
  - Argentina reports a record for the second consecutive day of 95,159 new cases of COVID-19. (India Today)
  - The government implements self-testing in order to avoid queues at testing centers. (Buenos Aires Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
  - Australia announces rapid antigen tests will be made free to concession card holders amid a nationwide shortage, but resists calls for universal free access. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
  - COVID-19 vaccination in the United States
    - The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endorses the use of booster shots of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children as young as 12. (CNN)

International relations

2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis, Belarus–Lithuania relations
- The Lithuanian government announces that it will not extend the state of emergency at the border with Belarus. (Reuters)