France reports a record 464,769 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (Anadolu Agency)
Hong Kong orders the culling of 2,000 small animals, such as hamsters, chinchillas and rabbits, closes pet shops, and sends 100 people to a quarantine camp after nearly a dozen hamsters imported from the Netherlands and sold at Little Boss pet shop were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant which also spread to two people. (Bloomberg)
Japan reports a record 32,197 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (The Mainichi)
Merck & Co. and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics sign an agreement with UNICEF to distribute up to 3 million courses of their COVID-19 antiviral pill molnupiravir to 100 low and middle-income countries in the first half of the year. (Thomson Reuters Foundation)
Microsoft announces that it will acquire gaming company Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. If the acquisition is successful, Activision Blizzard will become part of Xbox Game Studios, which will become the world's third-largest gaming company behind Tencent and Sony Interactive Entertainment. (Reuters)
Nepal reports a record 10,258 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 972,198. (La Prensa Latina)
Bulgaria reports a record for the second consecutive day of 11,181 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 841,785. (Bulgarian Press Agency)
Germany reports a record 112,323 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (Deutsche Welle)
Mexico reports a record for the second consecutive day of 60,552 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,495,310. (Bloomberg)
Twenty-nine people are killed during a stampede at an open-air Pentecostal church in Monrovia, Liberia. The stampede was triggered by panic after gangsters entered the prayer ground after a collection. (BBC News)
Vietnam reports its first three locally transmitted cases of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Ho Chi Minh City. (Hanoi Times)
2022 Lahore bombing Two people are killed and 26 others injured by a bombing in Anarkali, Lahore, Punjab. (Al Jazeera)
COVID-19 drug development The Medicines Patent Pool signs an agreement with 27 pharmaceutical companies in 11 countries to produce both raw ingredients and finished products of Merck & Co.'s Molnupiravir COVID-19 drug, which will be used in 105 low- and middle-income developing countries. (France 24)
COVID-19 drug development The Therapeutic Goods Administration grants provisional approval for Pfizer's Paxlovid COVID-19 drug and Merck & Co.'s Molnupiravir COVID-19 drug. (News.com.au)
Germany reports a record for the second consecutive day of 133,536 new COVID-19 cases. (Anadolu Agency)
Japan reports a record for the third consecutive day of 46,199 new COVID-19 cases and surpasses two million cases of COVID-19. (Nippon.com)
Nineteen-year-old Belgian-British pilot Zara Rutherford returns to Kortrijk, Belgium, to complete her five-month circumnavigation, becoming the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world. (CNN)
Romania reports a record 19,105 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,964,021. (Agerpres)
Thailand decides to resume its quarantine-free travel for all vaccinated travellers beginning on February 1 due to low hospitalization and death rates despite the surging COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant. (Nikkei Asia)
The Medicines Patent Pool signs an agreement with 27 pharmaceutical companies in 11 countries to produce both raw ingredients and finished products of Merck & Co.'s Molnupiravir COVID-19 drug, which will be used in 105 low- and middle-income developing countries. (France 24)
The Therapeutic Goods Administration grants provisional approval for Pfizer's Paxlovid COVID-19 drug and Merck & Co.'s Molnupiravir COVID-19 drug. (News.com.au)
Two people are killed and 26 others injured by a bombing in Anarkali, Lahore, Punjab. (Al Jazeera)
Australia reports a record 88 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including a record 46 deaths in New South Wales, thereby bringing the nationwide death toll to 2,976. (SBS News)
Japan reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 49,854 new COVID-19 cases. (Jiji Press)
Pakistan reports a record 7,678 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1.35 million. (Anadolu Agency)
Poland reports a record 36,665 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,443,217. (Polskie Radio)
Romania reports a record 19,649 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (ABC News)
Russia reports a record 49,513 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 10,987,774. (Barron's)
Japan reports a record for the fifth consecutive day of 54,576 new COVID-19 cases, including a record 11,227 new cases in Tokyo and a record 7,675 new cases in Osaka Prefecture. (Kyodo News)
Poland reports a record for the second consecutive day of 40,876 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,484,095. (Polskie Radio)
Romania surpasses two million cases of COVID-19. (Digi24)
Russia reports a record for the second consecutive day of 57,212 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11.04 million. (The Times of India)
Singapore reports its first confirmed death related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in an unvaccinated 92-year-old woman. (The Straits Times)
At least 16 people are killed and eight others are injured in a fire caused by fireworks at a nightclub in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Al Jazeera)
Russia reports a record for the third consecutive day of 63,205 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11.1 million. (Anadolu Agency)
Yaoundé nightclub fire At least 16 people are killed and eight others are injured in a fire caused by fireworks at a nightclub in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (Al Jazeera)
A fire at a nightclub in Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia, following an armed clash between two groups, kills at least 18 people. (AFP via France 24)
At least 31 ethnic Dinka people are killed in clashes with suspected Murle armed youth in Jonglei State, South Sudan. (AP)
China lifts its lockdown for 13 million people in Xi'an as the number of COVID-19 infections decreases in the city. (AP)
Egypt's drug regulator issues an emergency use authorization for Merck's Molnupiravir anti-COVID-19 drug. (Ahram Online)
Eight people are killed in a crowd crush at Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon. (CNN)
Ethnic violence in South Sudan At least 31 ethnic Dinka people are killed in clashes with suspected Murle armed youth in Jonglei State, South Sudan. (AP)
In the first round of voting, two-thirds of electors cast blank ballots. (Euronews)
Russia reports a record for the fourth consecutive day of 65,109 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11,173,300. (The Moscow Times)
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation gives the final approval for use of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine for people over the age of 18 years. The rollout of the vaccine will begin on February 21. (ABC News Australia)
A prison riot in the Mexican state of Colima results in the deaths of nine inmates and seven others being injured. (ABC News)
Bulgaria reports a record 12,399 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 903,676. (Bulgarian News Agency)
Four victims of a shooting are found dead inside a home in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The shooting is believed to have happened the night before, and the victims are believed to have known each other. (CTV News)
France reports a record 501,635 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (The Connexion)
History of COVID-19 vaccine development Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech begin a clinical trial to test the safety and immune response of their Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine for adults under the age of 55 years. (NPR)
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech begin a clinical trial to test the safety and immune response of their Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccine for adults under the age of 55 years. (NPR)
Russia reduces the mandatory isolation period for close-contact COVID-19 patients to seven days amid an unprecedented increase in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases with the country reporting a record for the fifth consecutive day of 67,509 new COVID-19 cases. (AP)
South Korea reports a record 8,571 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 749,979. (Yonhap News Agency)
The Czech Republic reports a record 30,350 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (Reuters)
Battle of al-Hasakah The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces recapture a prison in al-Hasakah from Islamic State. (Al Jazeera)
Brazil reports a record 224,567 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 24.5 million. (Reuters)
Germany reports a record 164,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (Al-Arabiya)
Hungary reports a record 20,174 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 1,471,276. (Daily News Hungary)
Poland reports a record 53,420 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 4,637,776. (Polskie Radio)
Russia reports a record for the sixth consecutive day of 74,692 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11.3 million. (The Moscow Times)
South Korea reports a record for the second consecutive day of 13,102 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 762,983. (The Korea Herald)
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces recapture a prison in al-Hasakah from Islamic State. (Al Jazeera)
The Malian junta demands that Denmark withdraw its forces from the country, saying they were never given authorization to participate in the ongoing European-led peacekeeping operations. (AP)
2022 Dnipro shooting Five people are killed and five more are injured in a mass shooting at a Yuzhmash production facility in Dnipro, Ukraine, after a member of the Ukrainian National Guard opens fire. (The Straits Times)
Finland reports its first ten cases of the Omicron sub-lineage named BA.2 sublineage in Southwest Finland. (Yle News)
Five people are killed and five more are injured in a mass shooting at a Yuzhmash production facility in Dnipro, Ukraine, after a member of the Ukrainian National Guard opens fire. (The Straits Times)
Germany reports a record for the second consecutive day of 203,136 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 9.2 million. (Anadolu Agency)
Russia reports a record for the seventh consecutive day of 88,816 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 11,404,617. (Azeri Press Agency)
South Korea reports a record for the third consecutive day of 14,518 new COVID-19 cases, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 777,497. (Asian News International)
Spain reports its first two cases of the Omicron sub-lineage named BA.2 sublineage in Catalonia. (The Olive Press)
The European Medicines Agency conditionally approves the use of the Pfizer anti-COVID-19 oral drug Paxlovid for high-risk adult patients. (France 24)
The United States rejects Russia's demand that Ukraine be barred from joining NATO. (BBC News)
Turkey reports a record 82,180 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
2022 Burkinabé coup d'état The leaders of the Economic Community of West African States agree to suspend Burkina Faso's membership in the bloc in response to the coup d'état. (AFP via RFI)
Australia reports a record 98 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, including a record 35 deaths in New South Wales. (SBS News)
