China defended on Tuesday its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it will continue to communicate and cooperate with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in curbing the virus. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remark after an independent panel for pandemic preparedness and response said that China could have applied public health measures مزید پڑھیں

United States President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on day one of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the US without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies. The legislation puts Biden on track مزید پڑھیں

First Lady Melania Trump in her farewell message urged Americans to be passionate but reminded them that “violence is never the answer” as she and her husband are set to leave the White House. In a formal, six-minute speech recorded on video, she made only a fleeting reference to her husband as she paid tribute مزید پڑھیں

Norway has expressed concern about the safety of the corona vaccine made by US company Pfizer Inc as 29 elderly people died after being vaccinated. “The latest figure adds six to the number of known fatalities in Norway, and lowers the age group thought to be affected to 75 from 80,” Bloomberg reported. According to مزید پڑھیں

US President-elect Joe Biden has inducted a second Pakistani American, Salman Ahmed, into his foreign policy team, said a statement issued on Friday. Mr Ahmed, who served as head of strategic planning in the Obama National Security Council, is joining the US State Department as director policy planning. Last month, Mr Biden announced that another مزید پڑھیں

United States President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to immediately ask Congress to offer legal status to an estimated 11 million people in the country has surprised advocates given how the issue has long divided Democrats and Republicans, even within their own parties. Biden will announce legislation on his first day in office to provide a path مزید پڑھیں

Germany’s Christian Democrats elect a new chairman on Saturday, aiming to unite their conservative party behind a new leader who they hope can succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor when she steps down after federal elections in September. At stake is the leadership of Europe’s biggest economy in the era after Merkel, who has vowed not مزید پڑھیں

Russia’s foreign ministry said Friday it is withdrawing from the Open Skies treaty, undermining the post-Cold War defence accord that allows its signatories to carry out unarmed surveillance flights over each other’s territories. Citing “lack of progress” on maintaining the functioning of the treaty after the United States withdrew from it last year, the ministry مزید پڑھیں

US prosecutors now believe supporters of President Donald Trump planned to “capture and assassinate elected officials” in their siege of the Capitol building last week, according to a new court filing. The filing, submitted by Justice Department lawyers late Thursday, sought the detention of Jacob Chansley of Arizona, the QAnon conspiracy theorist pictured in the مزید پڑھیں

A 6.2-magnitude earthquake on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island killed at least seven people, injured hundreds and damaged many buildings on Friday, the country’s disaster mitigation agency said, as panicked residents fled to safer areas. The epicentre of the quake was six kilometres (3.73 miles) northeast of Majene city at a depth of 10 kilometres. Initial information مزید پڑھیں