WORLD
Macron meets von der Leyen as France kicks off EU Council Presidency
At a press conference, Macron outlined the French Presidency's agenda and said that Paris will focus on promoting the EU in the international community, pushing the digital transformation and protecting the EU's external borders, Xinhua news agency reported. Von der Leyen recalled the solidarity between European countries during the pandemic.
Putin discusses Kazakhstan with leaders of CSTO member states by phone
"The Russian President had telephone conversations with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan," Xinhua news agency quoted Kremlin as saying. A joint CSTO peacekeeping force has arrived in Kazakhstan to take part in maintaining order, the Kazakh presidential press service said Friday, adding that they came only for a limited time to ensure the protection of strategic facilities.
NATO ready for meaningful dialogue with Russia: Stoltenberg
Addressing a press conference following the extraordinary meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Stoltenberg on Friday said that the meeting addressed Russia's military build-up around Ukraine and the implications for European security, Xinhua news agency reported. He said Russia's actions "seriously undermine the security order" in Europe. "NATO remains committed to our dual-track approach to Russia: strong deterrence and defense, combined with meaningful dialogue."
Pelosi invites Biden to deliver State of the Union address on March 1
"Indeed, this past year has been historic: with the life-saving American Rescue Plan, once-in-a-century Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and, soon, the truly transformational Build Back Better Act," Pelosi wrote in a letter to Biden. "In that spirit, I am writing to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 1, to share your vision of the State of the Union," Pelosi wrote.
Imran proven a thief and liar, must resign: Pak Oppn
The Opposition leader said that under the Constitution of Pakistan and its laws, "no thief can be a Prime Minister". "Imran Niazi, who has been proven a thief and a liar under the law, must resign," said Sharif, who is the President of Pakistan Muslim League (N). "A person who hides facts, steals, and lies, cannot hold constitutional, governmental or political office," he said in a statement shared by PML-N on Twitter.
PLA to give out stones taken from Galwan Valley on Chinese social media
PLA will give lucky winners a special gift sent by the command - a stone taken from the Galwan Valley, Global Times reported. The PLA theater command opened its official account on Twitter like Sina Weibo on Friday and released a notice that on February 1 it will randomly choose 10 lucky netizens from those who reposted the notice and send them a stone from the Galwan Valley as a present.
US initial jobless claims rise to 207,000
In the week ending January 1, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased by 7,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised level of 200,000, according to a report released by the department's Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS). The four-week moving average, a method to iron out data volatility, increased by 4,750 to 204,500, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.
LA County reports highest daily Covid spike
The County's Department of Public Health said in a statement that the latest figure, breaking the previous record of 27,091 set on December 31, is far higher than last winter's peak average of 16,000 cases per day, reports Xinhua news agency. Currently, there are 2,661 people hospitalized in the county, and more than 17 per cent of those getting tested are positive for the virus.
On anniversary of US Capitol riots, divided nation grapples with fallout
Speaking in Washington on Thursday, the anniversary of the attack by Trump's supporters on Congress, he called him a "defeated President" who did "nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, the nation's Capitol under siege".He pointedly refused to mention Trump's name in his speech at the Capitol while making the most direct attack on him so far.
As internal Senate wrangling abates, approval of US envoy to India could proceed
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee that heard testimony from him and questioned him last month could vote on his nomination "in the next week or two", according to Punchbowl News, an authoritative news outlet covering Congress.
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