New York [US], January 20 (ANI): India on January 16 began its mammoth coronavirus vaccine rollout by administering 207,229 shots on the first day with the help of hundreds of thousands of health workers who were trained and assisted by the UN agencies.

New Delhi [India], January 20 (ANI): With a promise to 'heal' America, which in recent months witnessed a chaotic election and messy transition of power, Joseph R Biden will take the oath to become the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI/Sputnik): US Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken committed to keeping the American embassy in Jerusalem and continuing to view the disputed city as the capital of Israel.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI/Sputnik): President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, said during his Senate confirmation hearing that he will review the US force presence in the Middle East to address challenges from Russia and China.

Ankara [Turkey], January 20 (ANI): Turkey started mass vaccination against COVID-19 with China's 'Sinovac' vaccine but its orders for the vaccine suffered many delays, which led to the Turkish opposition questioning whether Ankara was being punished for dragging its feet in ratifying an extradition treaty it had signed with Beijing that could affect its Uyghur diaspora, Nikkei Asia reported.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): The United States has an "urgent" responsibility to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon, said state secretary nominee Antony Blinken, adding that the upcoming Biden administration is "a long way" from executing its plan to return to the Iran nuclear deal.

Berlin [Germany], January 20 (ANI/Sputnik): Germany will extend and strengthen the coronavirus-related restrictive measures until February 14, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): US President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Tuesday (local time) paid tribute to the thousands of lives lost to the COVID-19 pandemic at a memorial held by the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial at the National Mall in Washington.

Paris [France], January 20 (ANI/Xinhua): France registered 23,608 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its accumulative total since the outbreak of the epidemic to 2,938,333, data from the health authorities showed on Tuesday.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): India and the United States have "very strong" potential to work together and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been a "very strong" advocate of renewable energy and different technologies, said US Secretary of State nominee Antony Blinken on Tuesday.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): US President Donald Trump, in his farewell address on Tuesday, highlighted his accomplishment as president and offered luck as well as "best wishes" to the incoming administration.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): US President-elect Joe Biden has landed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on the eve of his inauguration in Washington.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): China poses the most significant challenge "of any nation-state to the United States", said Anthony Blinken, President-elect Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of State, adding that the means of confronting Beijing are "fully within our control".

London [UK], January 20 (ANI/Sputnik): The United Kingdom's COVID-19 death toll rose by 1,610 on Tuesday, the largest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic, the UK Department for Health and Social Care said.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): In a parting shot against China and Russia, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo on Tuesday (local time) claimed that India and Brazil have understood that Beijing and Moscow are threats to their people.

Delaware [US], January 20 (ANI): US President-elect Joe Biden got emotional as he bid goodbye to his home state of Delaware before departing for Washington on the eve of his inauguration ceremony.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): US Vice President Mike Pence is not expected to attend President Donald Trump's departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, CNN reported citing two Pence sources.

Washington [US], January 20 (ANI): In a final blow to Beijing, the outgoing Trump administration on Tuesday (local time) determined that China has committed genocide against Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang and said that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must be held accountable for its acts against humanity.

New Delhi [India], January 20 (ANI): Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Tuesday said that India has not only mainstreamed "Indo-Pacific", but also encouraged others to perceive and define the region to its full extent.

Taipei [Taiwan], January 20 (ANI): Denmark's parliament is reportedly considering a resolution to support Taiwan's bid to return to the World Health Organization (WHO), despite opposition from China, according to Danish media and Taiwan's representative office.