USA

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office on Saturday issued revised guidelines for indoor church services after the Supreme Court lifted the state’s ban on indoor worship during the coronavirus pandemic, but left in place restrictions on singing and chanting.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arguments begin Tuesday in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump on allegations that he incited the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

A look at five key questions about what to expect when senators hear the case against the former president in the very chamber that was besieged by insurrectionists :

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WILL TRUMP BE CONVICTED?

It’s unlikely. While many Republicans were harshly critical of Trump for telling supporters to “fight like hell” and go to the Capitol, their criticism has since softened.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When a Halloween party sparked a COVID-19 outbreak at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, school officials conducted rapid screening on more than 1,000 students in a week, including many who didn’t have symptoms.

Although such asymptomatic screening isn’t approved by regulators and the 15-minute tests aren’t as sensitive as the genetic one that can take days to yield results, the testing director at the historically Black college credits the approach with quickly containing the infections and allowing the campus to remain open.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 06 (APP): The 74-members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) have selected an interim Prime Minister and President of its new executive council, marking what the United Nations Special Representative called another “historic moment” on the road to unification of the war-torn country and national elections in December.

The winning slate at talks in Geneva, saw Mohammad Younes Menfi, selected President of the presidential council, where he would serve with Mossa Al-Koni, and Abdullah Hussein Al-Lafi.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 06 (APP): A new United Nations report has acknowledged the action taken by Pakistani government against individuals engaged in terrorist activities, and goes on to say that terror group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was responsible for over 100 ‘cross-border’ attacks within three months last year.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 1,000 U.S. troops will be deployed to assist with a nationwide vaccination rollout amid fears of a new surge in infections and deaths caused by multiple new COVID-19 strains.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has approved a request for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to "augment and expedite" the vaccination efforts, Andy Slavitt, senior adviser to the White House's coronavirus response team, said at a news conference on Friday.

06 Feb 2021; MEMO: The US Senate has voted at dawn on Friday in favour of keeping the US embassy in Jerusalem.

Senator Bill Hagerty disclosed in a written statement that the Senate voted 97-3 to pass a bill presented by his Republican colleague Jim Inhofe.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stacey Plaskett couldn’t cast a vote last month when the House impeached former President Donald Trump. But she can help prosecute him.

The non-voting delegate from the Virgin Islands is among the impeachment managers selected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to argue the case that Trump incited a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. It’s an extraordinary moment that places Plaskett in the center of just the fourth impeachment trial of an American president.

06 Feb 2021; MEMO: The US State Department on Friday condemned accusations made by Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, regarding US involvement in orchestrating the failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.

The US State Department declared in a statement: "The United States did not participate in the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey and has immediately condemned it. The recent statements made by senior Turkish officials stating the exact opposite are completely untrue."

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s administration is moving to revoke the designation of Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist group, citing the need to mitigate one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

President Donald Trump’s administration had branded the Iranian-backed Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, a move that limited the provision of aid to the beleaguered Yemeni people, who have suffered under a yearslong civil war and famine.