January 15, 2022 (Saturday)
Armed conflicts and attacks
- 2022 Kazakh protests
- The death toll from the civil unrest in Kazakhstan increases to 225, including 19 members of the security forces, according to a statement from the Prosecutor General's Office. (Reuters)
- Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis
- An armed man claiming to be the brother of Pakistani Al-Qaeda suspect Aafia Siddiqui holds congregants hostage at Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, United States. He is later shot and killed by police. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) (Jerusalem Post)
Disasters and accidents
- 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption and tsunami
- Tonga is hit by ashfall and a tsunami after the eruption of Hunga Tonga, destroying homes as locals struggle to find higher ground. Major flooding is reported in the capital Nukuʻalofa. Shock waves from the eruption are detected as far away as Alaska, United States. Other Pacific countries have also advised their citizens to seek higher ground. Internet access has reportedly been disrupted in Tonga. (The Sydney Morning Herald) (The Guardian) (VOA)
- King Tupou VI is evacuated from the Royal Palace by His Majesty's Armed Forces. (CNN)
- Two people are killed by a small tsunami in Lambayeque, Peru. (Bio-Bio Chile)
Health and environment
- COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
- Iran reports its first three confirmed deaths related to the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in people from the cities of Tabriz, Yazd and Shahrekord. (CNA)
- COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines
- The Philippines reports a record for the third consecutive day of 39,004 new cases of COVID-19, thereby bringing the nationwide total of confirmed cases to 3,168,379. (Rappler)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Iran
- COVID-19 pandemic in France, COVID-19 vaccination in France
- France restricts the validity of health pass for fully vaccinated people to seven months after received their second dose and require them to receive booster dose. (Deutsche Welle)
- COVID-19 pandemic in Asia
International relations
- 2022 Serbian constitutional referendum, Kosovo–Serbia relations
- In an extraordinary session, the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo votes to ban Kosovo Serbs from voting in Serbia's upcoming constitutional referendum on Kosovan territory. (Reuters)
Sports
- 2021 NFL season
- 2021–22 NFL playoffs
- In American football, the Cincinnati Bengals defeat the Las Vegas Raiders, 26-19, ending their 31-year playoff drought and winning a playoff game for the first time since 1991. (BBC Sport)
- 2021–22 NFL playoffs