SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars resumed their upward march on Thursday as domestic data spoke of...

LONDON: Bitcoin slumped 10% on Thursday to a 10-day low, retreating further from record highs, with traders citing...

GENEVA: The United States said on Thursday it would resume its funding for the UN's health agency as President Joe...

• The pandemic has killed and infected more people in the United States than anywhere in the world, and left millions out of work due to lockdowns.

• Just across the Gulf from Iran, Bahrain is a longstanding Western ally and home to the US Fifth Fleet.

• The administration also plans to invoke the Defence Production Act to boost supply of personal protective equipment, lab equipment and to maximize vaccine production.

• Under Trump, tensions with China plunged to a nadir over trade, security, technology, the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic and human rights.

Biden promised the deportation moratorium on the campaign trail. “For 100 days, starting January 22, 2021, DHS will pause removals for certain noncitizens ordered deported to ensure we have a fair and effective immigration enforcement system focused on protecting national security, border security, and public safety,” DHS said in a release announcing the memo.

• Trump has not publicly conceded defeat and spent the months since November's election falsely claiming he was cheated out of a second term.

• U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed the U.S. return to the Paris accord but added: “There is a very long way to go. The climate crisis continues to worsen and time is running out to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and build more climate-resilient societies that help to protect the most vulnerable.”

• The jets are a major component of a $23 billion sale of high-tech armaments from General Atomics, Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Technologies Corp to the UAE announced this fall.

• The vote was 84-10, with all the “no” votes coming from Republicans.

• The controversial ban was introduced during Trump’s first week in office and restricted travel from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
• "These are just all starting points," Biden said, as he signed 15 executive actions on his first day in office.

• Trudeau said he was "disappointed" by the move, which came shortly after Biden took office.

• He urged the pro-government legislature, the National Assembly, to "take initiatives" towards a "new beginning" with Washington.

• The process has been stalled ever since, despite a third encounter in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula.

• Mexico welcomed the move, as well as his other immigration-linked reforms.

• The ruling Democratic Progress Party described it as "a new breakthrough in 42 years".

• Veteran and incoming presidents along with campaigning hopefuls have long sought to lean on star power and song to bolster their images.

• Hong Kong rose for a sixth successive day to breach 30,000 points for the first time since April 2019.

GENEVA: China confirmed Wednesday that it had detected the UK variant of the coronavirus, joining at least 60 other...

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: Israel has invited tenders for more than 2,500 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem and...

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Wednesday said Pakistan was looking forward to engage with the new...

NEW YORK”: The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit all-time highs on Wednesday as Joe Biden prepared to take charge as...

LAHORE: Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Sirajul Haq has said the rulers are reluctant to raise strong voice against...

NEW YORK: Oil rose on Wednesday on expectations that US President Joe Biden’s administration will deliver massive...

MILAN/FRANKFURT: European stocks rose on Wednesday after chip equipment maker ASML and Swiss luxury group Richemont...

WASHINGTON: Democrat Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States on Wednesday, vowing to end the...

LONDON: The euro struggled to join a broader risk rally against the dollar on Wednesday as analysts said the risk of...