December 31, 2020 (Thursday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- Allied Democratic Forces insurgency
- Allied Democratic Forces militants kill at least 25 people in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Local officials say most of the victims were farmers working in the fields, and that some victims were decapitated. (DW)
Arts and culture
- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces a change, effective January 1, to the wording of the country's national anthem, in which the word "young" in the second line "For we are young and free" is changed to "one", in an effort to reflect the country's long indigenous history. (BBC News)
Disasters and accidents
- Mining in Papua New Guinea
- Two people are confirmed dead and 15 others are feared dead after a landslide at an informal alluvial mining camp in Goilala District, Central Province, Papua New Guinea. (RNZ)
- Migrants' African routes
- The Algerian Civil Defence says that 20 people were killed and 11 others injured when a vehicle carrying illegal migrants overturned in Tamanrasset. Tamanrasset is a crossing point for illegal migrants from neighboring countries, specifically Mali and Niger. (AFP via Channelstv)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- COVID-19 pandemic in England
- A further 20 million people in England are placed into Tier 4, the level with the strictest COVID-19 restrictions. All secondary schools in England are to remain closed for an additional two weeks. (BBC News)
- The United Kingdom reports a record 55,892 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 2,488,780. (ITV)
- COVID-19 pandemic in England
- COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium
- Health officials report that at least 26 residents of a retirement home in Mol have died from complications related to COVID-19 since a volunteer dressed as Sinterklaas, who later tested positive for the virus, visited the home on December 5. Officials, however, have not confirmed that the volunteer was the source of the outbreak at the home, where 85 others have also tested positive. (AFP via The Straits Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic
- The Czech Republic reports a record 16,939 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 718,661 as the positivity rate reaches 52%. (Irozhlas)
- COVID-19 pandemic in France
- France reports their first case of a more contagious variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a man who travelled from South Africa to the Haut-Rhin region and later tested positive for COVID-19. (The Straits Times)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
- Portugal reports a record 7,627 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 413,678. (SIC Noticias)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, COVID-19 vaccine
- China approves BBIBP-CorV made by Sinopharm for general use, after the vaccine was considered to be 79.34% effective. (CNN)
- The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2. The patient is a 23-year-old woman who travelled from the United Kingdom to Shanghai on December 14 and later tested positive for COVID-19. (France 24)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia
- Indonesia receives their second shipment of 1.8 million doses of CoronaVac from Sinovac. (Jakarta Globe)
- Indonesia also reports a record 7,356 recoveries in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total of recoveries to 611,097. (Berita Satu)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Japan
- Tokyo reports a record 1,337 new cases in the past 24 hours. It is the first prefecture to surpass 1,000 daily cases since the beginning of the pandemic. (The Asahi Shimbun)
- Nationwide, a record 4,520 new cases are reported in Japan in the past 24 hours. It is the first time that the country has reported more than 4,000 daily cases since the beginning of the pandemic. (NHK World)
- COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea
- South Korea imposes the highest level of social distancing measures at prison facilities nationwide. These restrictions will remain in effect until January 13. (Yonhap News Agency)
- COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, COVID-19 vaccine
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, Variant of Concern 202012/01
- Florida confirms its first new case of the new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that originated in the United Kingdom. The individual is a Martin County man with no history of travel. (The Hill)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Florida, Variant of Concern 202012/01
- COVID-19 pandemic in Australia
- Victoria tightens their restrictions as three new cases are reported, bringing the total number of cases in the state to six. Under the new restrictions, in-home gatherings will be limited to 15 people, masks must be worn indoors, and people are advised to stay out of the Melbourne city centre on New Year's Eve. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil
- Brazil detects their first two cases of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that originated in the United Kingdom. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
- COVID-19 vaccine
- The World Health Organization lists the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use. (Reuters)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
International relations
- Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union, Trade negotiation between the UK and the EU
- The EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement enters into force at 23:00 GMT, formally ending the Brexit transition period. (BBC News) (The Independent)
- Spain–United Kingdom relations, Effect of Brexit on Gibraltar
- Spain and the United Kingdom reach an agreement to keep Gibraltar in the European Union's Schengen Area as freedom of movement between the EU and UK is due to end. (The Guardian)
Law and crime
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- 2020–2021 United States racial unrest, Dolal Idd protests
- The authorities arrested dozens of protesters in Minneapolis as they demanded answers into the fatal police shooting of 23-year-old Dolal Bayle Idd on December 30. The protests came after the body camera footage from a deadly traffic stop was released. At least 15 people were detained for allegedly rioting and 21 people were cited and released. (KSTP-TV)
- Hong Kong national security law
- The Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong orders pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to return to prison on national security law grounds, after a ruling by a lower court released him on bail. Chinese state media had labeled Lai's release as "unbelievable". (Bloomberg)
- 2020 Malian coup d'état
- Authorities in Mali charge six people, including former prime minister Boubou Cissé, with an "attempted coup". (AFP via Barron's)
Politics and elections
- COVID-19 pandemic in North America
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia, 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia
- U.S. Senator David Perdue and his wife test negative for COVID-19, but will quarantine ahead of his upcoming runoff matchup against Jon Ossoff after coming into contact with a person in his campaign who later tested positive for the virus. (CBS News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia, 2020–21 United States Senate election in Georgia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Canada
- Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips resigns following his trip to Saint Barthélemy while the province was in a lockdown. (BBC News)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
- Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko suggests that the country would hold a referendum on constitutional reforms. (Al Jazeera)
Sports
- Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. (Formula One)