Year of Variants: Stubborn virus marks momentous 2021 (January)

ANKARA (AA) - The signing of a reconciliation deal by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt with Qatar to end a three-year feud, the US House of Representatives voting to impeach President Donald Trump and US aerospace company SpaceX setting a new record with the successful launch of 143 small satellites into space marked the top news stories globally in January.

JANUARY

Jan. 1

- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announces country's aim to make 2021 a year of recovery and reforms in various domains.

Jan. 2

- At least 100 civilians killed after terrorists attack two villages near the Malian border in southwestern Niger.

- Kane Tanaka, a Japanese woman recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living person, celebrates her 118th birthday; she was born on Jan. 2, 1903.

Jan. 3

- A shooting at a church in the US state of Texas leaves one dead and multiple people injured.

Jan. 4

- Britain rolls out the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine as an 82-year-old man with underlying health conditions becomes the first person to receive the jab.

- Faustin-Archange Touadera wins second term as president of the Central African Republic.

Jan. 5

- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt sign a reconciliation deal with Qatar during the Gulf Cooperation Council summit after a feud that lasted more than three years.

Jan. 6

- Pro-Donald Trump rioters storm the US Capitol as lawmakers were set to sign off on President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory in what was supposed to be a routine process heading to Inauguration Day.

- Sudan signs a US-sponsored deal to normalize relations with Israel.

Jan. 7

- President-elect Joe Biden formally becomes 46th president of the US after Congress certifies votes of the Electoral College.

- American electric carmaker Tesla CEO Elon Musk surpasses Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to become world's richest person.

Jan. 8

- SpaceX launches a Turkish communications satellite into orbit.

- 2020 recorded as warmest year in Europe, according to European Union's climate monitoring service.

Jan. 9

- An Indonesian passenger aircraft with 62 people on board crashes into the sea after taking off from the capital Jakarta.

- US lifts self-imposed restrictions on executive branch agencies’ interactions with counterparts from Taiwan.

Jan. 10

- Kyrgyzstan’s former Prime Minister Sadyr Japarov wins presidential elections, according to unofficial results.

- Talks fail between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the filling and operations of Ethiopia’s dam on the Nile River.

Jan. 11

- The leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia sign a pact to develop economic ties and infrastructure to benefit the entire region after they met two months after a cease-fire was declared for the Caucasus' Nagorno-Karabakh region, ending the conflict.

Jan. 12

- In an apparent parting shot to its conservative base, the Trump administration re-designates Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism, claiming Havana grants safe harbor to international terrorists.

Jan. 13

- The House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump on a single article of incitement of insurrection, making him the first president in US history to be impeached twice.

- Hundreds of demonstrators gather in Brussels to protest the death of Ibrahima Barrie, who was killed in police custody.

Jan. 14

- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

- Just days before leaving office, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unveils plans to designate Yemen’s Houthi rebels a foreign terrorist organization.

Jan. 15

- A new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile is among the weapons displayed at a military parade in North Korea.

- The Dutch government resigns, rocked by a childcare benefit scandal.

- At least 90 people are dead and more than 600 injured after a magnitude-6.2 earthquake strikes Majene city in Indonesia’s West Sulawesi province.

Jan.16

- A team of Nepali mountaineers becomes the first to summit K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in the winter.

Jan. 17

- Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who received treatment in Germany after an alleged poisoning, is arrested in Moscow upon his return.

Jan.18

- China announces imposing sanctions on US officials for enhanced engagements with Taiwan.

- Brazil’s Sao Paulo state administers COVID-19 vaccine on the first person in the country following approval of emergency use of AstraZeneca and CoronaVac.

Jan. 19

- US accuses China of committing “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” in its treatment of Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in the autonomous Xinjiang region.

- US death toll from COVID-19 surpasses 400,000.

Jan. 20

- US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris officially sworn into office.

Jan. 21

- At least 32 people killed in twin suicide attack that rocks busy commercial market in Baghdad.

Jan. 22

- Uganda People’s Defense Forces claims it killed 189 al-Shabaab fighters in an operation in Somalia.

Jan. 23

- A Turkish cargo ship with 19 crew members is hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea.

Jan. 24

- US aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company SpaceX successfully launches 143 small satellites into space, setting a new record for a single rocket.

Jan. 25

- Nationwide demonstrations in the Netherlands against new measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus spark clashes between protesters and police.

Jan. 26

- At least one protester is dead and more than 80 police officers injured as farmers protesting agricultural reforms break through police barricades to storm the historic Red Fort in the Indian capital.

- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte submits resignation.

Jan. 27

- Angry coronavirus lockdown protesters and police clash in Lebanon, leaving one dead and 235 wounded.

- Israeli army destroys natural reserve and uproots at least 10,000 trees in military campaign in northern West Bank.

Jan. 28

- US lawmakers criticize broker application Robinhood after it restricts users from trading stocks that were pushed to unprecedented high levels by individual retail investors.

Jan. 29

- With Mexico becoming the third country in terms of the number of COVID-19 deaths in the world, the Americas surpass dramatic milestone of 1 million casualties.

- Hungary becomes first EU state to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed in China.

Jan. 30

- At least 12 security personnel killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan.

- Amid constant opposition and concerns by international communities and rights defenders on safety grounds, Bangladesh relocates a fourth batch of Rohingya refugees to a remote island in its southern sea.

Jan. 31

- More than 5,000 people are arrested in new protests across Russia demanding the release of opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

- At least 20 people are killed, including children, and others wounded in terrorist attacks in Syria’s northern towns of al-Bab, Afrin and Azaz.