Thursday, January 21, 2021

Daily News Brief

*) Newly sworn-in president takes US back to agreements revoked by Trump US President Joe Biden has returned the country to the international climate agreement, suspended a ban on Muslims entering the US, and issued a series of other executive orders on his first day in office. Within his first hours on the job, Biden made good on several campaign and post-election pledges. Some of the president’s decisions can be seen as modest, but experts warn there still could be legal challenges. Biden's choices are in stark contrast to former president Donald Trump's actions, as the former president took America out of global deals and challenged allies at home and abroad over policies. *) Biden pledges to vaccinate 100 million people in 100 days President Biden has pledged to vaccinate 100 million people in 100 days. His bold statement comes after the United States passed the somber milestone of 400,000 deaths from the virus and recorded more than 24 million infections. The new president also proposed a 1.9 trillion dollar Covid-19 relief package, which White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says will be based on an assessment of people's specific needs. *) Kamala Harris's ancestral village celebrates in India Celebrations over the inauguration extend all the way to Kamala Harris's ancestral village in India. The new vice president’s maternal grandfather is believed to have been born in a village near the southeast coast, more than a century ago. Harris, who was born to an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, visited the village when she was five. Harris becomes the first woman, first Black American and first Asian American to win for Vice President. *) Police use tear gas on ongoing anti-Moise rallies Police in Haiti have used tear gas in clashes with protesters demanding the resignation of President Jovenel Moise. One woman was reported to have been shot in the arm and others were wounded by rubber bullets during the violence. Opposition leaders organising the ongoing protest movement are pushing for Moise to step down in early February as Haiti's economic and social woes deepen. Moise has said his term will end in February 2022 and that he is open to dialogue with the opposition. And finally… *) Last heir of Ottoman Empire dynasty dies at 90 The last surviving heir of the House of Osman, the royal dynasty that once ruled the Ottoman Empire has died at age 90 in Syria. Prince Dundar Abdulkerim Osmanoglu passed away at a hospital on Monday in the Syrian capital Damascus, where he had been receiving treatment, his family said in a statement. Osmanoglu was the grandson of Prince Mehmet Selim Efendi, son of Abdulhamid II, the legendary Ottoman sultan credited with prolonging the survival of the Ottoman Empire.