World

• Britain reported a record daily number of deaths with 1,820 people dying within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test.

• "This is America's day, this is democracy's day. A day of history and hope," he said on the steps of the US Capitol after his swearing-in.

• The United States faces "a rise of political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism, that we must confront, and we will defeat,".

• "Congratulations to Joe Biden on being sworn in as President of the United States and to Kamala Harris on her historic inauguration," Johnson tweeted.

• "It is a day of history and hope and I look forward to forging ever closer ties between our two great nations."

• "We need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter. We're entering what may be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus,"

• I look forward to working with you to further strengthen the US-Israel alliance, to continue expanding peace between Israel and the Arab world and to confront common challenges.

• "This is our historic moment of crisis and challenge and unity is the path forward. And we must meet this moment as the United States of America."

• The National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology, or ANMAT, Argentina's regulatory body.
• the vaccine "is within an acceptable margin of safety and efficacy for the age group over 60 years."

• Prices rose 1.3% in Victoria, 1.2% in Halifax and 1.2% in the national capital region of Ottawa-Gatineau. The index was down 1.1% in Quebec City.
• On an annual basis, the index was up 9.4% in December, the fifth consecutive acceleration and the strongest 12-month gain since November 2017.

• Headline inflation was below analyst expectations for inflation to remain at November's 1.0% rate. Consumer prices fell 0.2% on the month.
• The Canadian dollar was trading 0.3% higher at 1.2692 to the greenback, or 78.79 US cents as investors bet on hefty US fiscal stimulus.

• The orders will mark the start of a major policy reversal in the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter behind China.
• We got off track very severely for the last four years with a climate denier in the Oval Office," said John Podesta.

• Trump, who refused to accept his defeat for more than two months, never congratulated Biden on his victory.

• La Sexta TV quoted government sources saying it may have been a gas leak.
• Smoke plume was observed in the neighborhood after the blast, the witnesses reported.

• Videos and images of the blast went viral on social media, show smoke coming out from a building and rubble scattered in a central street of Madrid.
• Several floors of the building in the capital's Toledo Street have been affected by the blast.

• "They wouldn't roll out something that could backfire on them," he said. "I feel like there's too many eyeballs on this for the Chinese to not be relatively sure."
• China is stepping up its vaccinations as several countries including Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey begin mass vaccination programmes using its vaccines.

• Mitsotakis was speaking ahead of a parliamentary vote on a bill extending Greece's western territorial waters to 12 nautical miles from six currently.
• "We will attend with optimism, self-confidence," Mitsotakis said, but there would be "zero naivety" from Athens about the talks.

• We will be able to continue paying off debts to renewable energy producers with the help of this tool.
• Ukraine is currently in a talk with the IMF mission to unlock loans under a $5 billion programme.

• The figures come from Britain's CHAPS high-value payments data and cover the proceeds of recent credit and debit card payments made by payments processors to around 100 major retailers.

• Last week, Pfizer said a similar laboratory study showed the vaccine was effective against one key mutation, called N501Y.
• Among the 11 authors of the study are Ugur Sahin and Oezlem Tuereci, co-founders of BioNTech. Sahin is chief executive and his wife Tuereci is chief medical officer.

• Rosen, 62, a former deputy transportation secretary under President Donald Trump who was sworn in as deputy attorney general in May 2019.
• Rosen told Reuters at the time he would continue "to do things on the merits and to do things on the basis of the law and the facts."

• "There should not be any tariffs on internal UK trade," Northern Ireland Minister Brandon Lewis told parliament. "I will be very happy to engage with the sector directly."

• Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar exchanged, today, January 20, 2021.
• Egypt reopened its airspace to Qatari flights on Jan. 12 and flights between the two countries were resumed.

• As I said when I spoke with him on his election as President, I look forward to working with him.

• It is not easy for us... We can only vaccinate with that which has been delivered.
• The spread of the virus has slowed in Germany in recent weeks, with rise in new cases up by 15,974 to 2,068,002.

Trump, 74, will bid farewell to the White House hours before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated. Trump and his wife, Melania departed the South Lawn on the Marine One helicopter for Joint Base Andrews in suburban Maryland, where he presided over a military-style sendoff before boarding Air Force One one last time to fly to Florida.

• Operators say the embittered leader could use his accounts to foment more unrest aimed at Biden's inauguration on Wednesday.

• The unnamed man, who had lived with his wife and their four children near the Syrian city of Idlib.
• We managed to find him and bring him back to Italy ... we were also able to get his wife and children out of a crisis area.

• President Xi Jinping presides benevolently over the hall from life-sized photos, unmistakably the marshall of the virus response.

• A total of 22 workers were trapped underground in the Hushan gold mine on the outskirts of Yantai.
• China has deployed 16 professional rescue teams and dozens of medical personnel to try to save the miners.

• In its weekly update, the WHO announced the strain first found in the UK was now in 10 more countries than seven days ago.

• Russia's sovereign wealth fund RDIF has filed for registration of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in the European Union and expects it to be reviewed in February.
• The Sputnik V vaccine has been approved in Argentina, Belarus, Serbia and several other countries.

• Blinken said the United States remained "clear-eyed about the Huthis".

• We will shortly submit our formal request to join this free trade area.
• The CPTPP is a trade agreement that removes most tariffs between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

• Kabul is pushing for a permanent ceasefire and to protect governance arrangements in place.

• On Sunday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab led criticism of Perry's involvement as "pretty mercenary".

• The sanctions targeted Iran's vital oil sales and international banking ties, plunging its economy into a deep recession.

• French Finance Minister hailed Yellen's comments as marking "a real change in position on the taxation of digital giants."

• The NHS is under unprecedented pressure (and) the entire British state is trying to fight COVID to roll out the biggest vaccination programme in the history of our country.
• The idea that we should now concentrate ... vast state resources to an inquiry now.

• To coincide with Saturday's launch of the vaccination campaign, Vardhan changed his Twitter banner to "vaccines work: stay informed, stay safe".

• After days without any sign of life, a handwritten note was sent up on a metal wire that rescuers had dropped into the mine on Sunday.

• Gorbachev said that after the New START accord is extended, "a more ambitious treaty" can be negotiated within several years as new types of weapons are developed.

• Neither Trump nor his relatives were listed, amid speculation he could use the legally dubious tactic of a preemptive pardon to fend off future charges.

• Biden is expected to be more measured in tone and knit back together tattered alliances on the global stage.

• In his confirmation meeting with the Senate Armed Services Committee, Lloyd J. Austin, President Biden's nominee for Secretary of Defense, laid out the new administration's international cooperative strategy across the global sphere, including Pakistan.
• Austin mentioned that "Pakistan will play an important role in the political settlement in Afghanistan", adding that he would "focus on our shared interests which include training future Pakistani military leaders".

• Bali authorities made wearing a face mask in public mandatory last year as Indonesia battled a raging Covid-19 outbreak.

• Charles Michel said the moment should be seized to form a new "founding pact" between democratic powers.

• The EU's independent corruption watchdog confirmed this month that it was investigating Frontex over the allegations.

• Biden's staff said he wanted to hit the ground running given the deep health and economic challenges facing the country.

• Pfizer said last Friday it would delay shipments of vaccinations over the next three to four weeks due to works at its key processing plan in Belgium.

• Foreign Minister said that the "Pharmacy of the World will deliver to overcome the COVID challenge".

• Navalny was detained in a Moscow airport after returning for the first time since he was flown to Berlin in August following a poisoning attack.

• Steinmeier said America's institutions had proven their strength in the face of "great tests" and "hostility" during Trump's term.

• While a transition of power will occur much as it has for more than two centuries, this inauguration is unlike any other.

• China reported 103 new cases on Wednesday, including seven more in Beijing.

• Macron has gone further than any of his predecessors in recognising French crimes in Algeria.

• The two flight attendants are accused of failing to report a crime and face one-year sentences.

• Biden has indicated that his administration will restore Washington's pre-Trump policy of opposing settlement expansion.

• Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, assuming the helm of a country beset by deep political divides and battered by a raging coronavirus pandemic.
• Biden, 78, will become the oldest U.S. president in history at a scaled-back ceremony in Washington that has been largely stripped of its usual pomp and circumstance.

• "Today is more than a transition. Today is an opportunity to rejuvenate our transatlantic relationship, which has greatly suffered in the last four years. In these years, the world has grown more complex, less stable and less predictable".

• Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the incoming U.S. administration on Wednesday to return to a 2015 nuclear agreement and lift sanctions on Tehran, while welcoming the end of “tyrant” President Donald Trump’s era.
• U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Wednesday, has said the United States will rejoin the pact, which includes restrictions on Iran’s nuclear work, if Tehran resumes strict compliance.

• China reported 103 new cases on Wednesday, including the seven in Beijing.

• Biden's pick for secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, said at a Senate confirmation hearing that Trump's policies had made Iran "more dangerous."

• Anthony J. Blinken, President-elect Biden's chosen candidate for Secretary of State was asked about the incoming administration's approach to key foreign policy issues.

• People briefed on the matter said Tuesday it was unlikely any deal would be reached before Trump leaves office on Wednesday. The Treasury Department did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

• She also received the endorsement of all former Treasury secretaries, from George Schultz to Jack Lew, who urged senators in a letter to swiftly confirm Yellen's nomination.

• A week ago, it was reported in 50 countries.
• The South African variant has been reported in 23 countries and territories, WHO said.

• Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato made the comment at a news conference in response to a question about media reports that the government was considering doing so as early as in May.

• The government had sufficient funds with about 500 billion baht available under the borrowing plan, said Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.

• The health ministry also confirmed 18,894 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 1,668,396.

• Ligado did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Tianmu News, a news portal under Zhejiang Online.

• Eight of the new infections were imported from abroad, the country's COVID-19 taskforce added at a briefing.

• Dubai has become a favored holiday destination for Israeli tourists but poor behavior has blackened Israel's international image
• Most Israeli nationals have been found involved in stealing light fittings, cooking in hotel rooms and damaging luxury vehicles

• Kodak Black, 23, who was born Bill Kahan Kapri, is in federal prison for making a false statement in order to buy a firearm.

• Chung has said Bolton's accounts were "inaccurate" and "distorted," without elaborating.

• The reported death toll rose by 1,148 to 48,770, the tally showed.

• Conte overcame a similar confidence motion in the lower house on Monday. Had he lost either vote, he would have had to resign.

• The number of coronavirus cases has risen across all US regions and on Tuesday crossed 24 million since the pandemic started.

• Over the first three months of the year, more than 21 million total doses are expected from US drugmaker Pfizer Inc , China's CanSino Biologics Inc, Britain's AstraZeneca, and Sputnik V.

• The Mexican government has promised to make vaccinations available free of charge across the country of almost 129 million people -- a massive logistical challenge -- starting with frontline health workers.

• Under questioning from Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a fellow Democrat, Blinken promised to consider the rights of women and girls whose freedoms were severely curtailed during the Taliban's 1996-2001 regime.

• "We need an urgent change from private motorised traffic to public and active transportation (and) a reduction of emissions from industry, airports and ports," she said.

• The political and technical challenges are great, and there will be pressure on Biden not to cut fossil fuels loose too quickly -- particularly natural gas, which has helped the US lower its net emissions for a decade and is seen as a crucial "bridging" energy.

• In late December, Hamas and Islamic Jihad staged joint military exercises in the coastal territory, during which they fired rockets out to sea, in the first exercise of its kind.

• Austin remained vague about specific projects he would undertake as head of the US military, but in his written responses to the senators, he said he planned to re-examine outgoing President Donald Trump's proposals to pull US troops out of Germany and Somalia.