Category: WORLD NEWS

 US President-elect Joe Biden has said that his administration would be the most diverse than it has ever been both in the Cabinet and inside the White House. Biden, 78, is due to take over as the 46th US President on January 20. African-American groups have been asking Biden, a Democrat, to nominate one of them among the big four: Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, Defence Secretary and Attorney General. It will be the most diverse Cabinet and the main spots in both White House as well as in cabinet…

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A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday refused to hear President Donald Trump’s lawsuit attempting to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the battleground state, sidestepping a decision on the merits of the claims and instead ruling that the case must first wind its way through lower courts. In another blow to Trump, two dissenting conservative justices questioned whether disqualifying more than 221,000 ballots as Trump wanted would be the proper remedy to the errors he alleged. The defeat on a 4-3 ruling was the latest in a…

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President-elect Joe Biden is facing escalating pressure from competing factions within his own party as he finalises his choice for secretary of defense. Black leaders have encouraged the incoming president to select an African-American to diversify what has so far been a largely white prospective Cabinet, while others are pushing him to appoint a woman to lead the Department of Defense for the first time. At the same time, a growing collection of progressive groups is opposing the leading female contender, Mich le Flournoy, citing concerns about her record and…

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Joe Biden on Monday got his first look as president-elect at the President’s Daily Brief, a top secret summary of US intelligence and world events a document former first lady Michelle Obama has called The Death, Destruction, and Horrible Things Book.” Biden has already had eyes on different iterations of the so-called PDB, which is tailored to the way each president likes to absorb information. More than a decade ago, Biden read President George W Bush’s PDB during Biden’s transition into the vice presidency. After that, he read President Barack…

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Mexican officials said Sunday they want to prosecute former security chief Genaro Gar Luna in his own country, despite the fact he faces trial in the US for allegedly protecting a drug gang. The action follows a US decision to drop charges against another former top Mexican official accused of drug links, ex-Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos, and leave any prosecution up to Mexico. A federal official told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Attorney General’s Office had issued an arrest warrant on Friday for former Public Security Secretary Garc…

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 US President Donald Trump has said he would leave the White House if the Electoral College declares Joe Biden the winner of the November 3 elections, even as he reiterated unsubstantiated claims about widespread voter fraud. In his Thanksgiving Day remarks, he, however, said it will be a mistake if the Electoral College were to elect Biden. “It’s going to be a very hard thing to concede,” Trump told reporters on Thursday when asked during a press call at the White House what he will do if the Electoral College…

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As President-elect Joe Biden started rolling out his administrative team, one voice has been notably silent: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Senate Republicans will hold great sway in confirming or denying Biden’s Cabinet nominees, regardless of which party controls the narrowly split Senate after runoff elections. But key Republican senators, including the GOP leader, are keeping quiet, for now, choosing their battles ahead. In announcing his national security team, Biden appealed Tuesday to the Senate to give the nominees a prompt hearing” and “begin the work to heal and unite…

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US President-elect Joe Biden is planning to nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yallen as his Treasury Secretary to lead his economic response to the raging coronavirus pandemic, which has wreaked havoc on the world’s biggest economy and led millions of Americans to lose their jobs. A formal announcement on 74-year-old Yellen would be made soon, according to The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. The Treasury Secretary is fifth in the presidential line of succession. If confirmed by the Senate, Yellen would be the first woman to hold…

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Prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said Monday that he plans to plead guilty to charges related to a demonstration outside police headquarters during anti-government protests last year. Ahead of a court hearing Monday, Wong said that he and fellow activist Ivan Lam would both plead guilty to organizing, taking part in and inciting protesters to join an unauthorized protest outside police headquarters in Wan Chai last June. Both Wong and Lam were members of the now-disbanded Demosisto political party. I am persuaded that neither prison bars, nor election…

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Pfizer said Friday it is asking US regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, starting the clock on a process that could bring limited first shots as early as next month and eventually an end to the pandemic — but not until after a long, hard winter. The action comes days after Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech announced that its vaccine appears 95 per cent effective at preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease in a large, ongoing study. The companies said that protection plus a good…

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