US President Joe Biden has laid out a sweeping investment plan for jobs, education and social care in his first speech to a joint session of Congress.

Delivered on the eve of his 100th day in office, the Democrat pitched some 4 trillion dollars in spending – the largest overhaul of US benefits since the 1960s according to analysts.

He called it a “once in a generation investment in America itself”. But the plans face a battle in Congress before they can become law. There has been widespread opposition to the proposals from the Republican Party, which is unlikely to back tax increases and more government spending. And while there is a slim Democratic majority in both houses, there has been division among the party over how far to go with the plans.

ELSEWHERE – China has launched a key module of a new permanent space station, the latest in Beijing’s increasingly ambitious space programme.

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The Tianhe module – which contains living quarters for crew members – was launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Centre on a Long March-5B rocket.  China hopes to have the new station operational by 2022.

The only space station currently in orbit is the International Space Station, from which China is excluded.

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A federal investigation has been launched into policing practices in the city of Minneapolis, a day after one of its former officers was convicted of the murder of George Floyd.

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Attorney General Merrick Garland said the justice department will look at whether there has been a pattern “of unconstitutional or unlawful policing.
It follows national outrage over the killing of Floyd by Derek Chauvin.

The former officer was convicted of all charges on Tuesday.
Chauvin was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd, an unarmed African American, was pronounced dead an hour later. The footage sparked protests across the country, and calls for police reformation.

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Britain will today set out plans to restart international travel, using a “traffic-light” system as the country cautiously emerges from lockdown.

The announcement comes as the UK has set a tentative date of May 17 to relaunch international travel. Downing Street said in a statement that travel destinations will be ranked green, amber or red according to virus risk, with the government to provide more details today.

International travel is currently banned except for a handful of permitted reasons. This has created massive pent-up demand for summer holidays abroad.

ELSEWHERE – At least 101 people have died after flash floods and landslides hit Indonesia and East Timor.

Torrential rain sparked widespread destruction in the South East Asian neighbours, with water from overflowing dams submerging thousands of homes. The affected area stretches from Flores island in eastern Indonesia to East Timor. In Indonesia alone, 80 people have died with dozens still missing, while officials are warning the toll could still rise.

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Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has become the world’s first recipient of a coronavirus vaccine from Covax, a global scheme to procure and distribute inoculations for free for poorer countries.

Speaking before receiving a shot of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in a live broadcast, the 76 years old president said it was important that he sets the example to show that the vaccine is safe by being the first to take it.

Reports say Ghana’s food and drug authority had last month authorized the Indian-made vaccine and Russia’s Sputnik V, as the government aims to target 20 of its 30 million population by end of the year.

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IN U.S; Former president Donald Trump has told conservatives that he was considering running for president again in 2024, as he reasserted dominance over the Republican Party and warned of a “struggle” for America’s very survival.

In a keynote speech — his first since leaving the White House on January 20 — Trump repeated his claims that he won the election instead of President Joe Biden, and hammered establishment Republicans who voted against him in the latest impeachment drama.

Banned from Twitter and other social media, Trump has maintained a low post-presidential profile at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

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U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has nominated Gary Gensler to serve as the commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A statement from his campaign group, says Biden also nominated Federal Trade Commission member Rohit Chopra to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

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Meanwhile the U.S will hold its 59th inaugural ceremony to swear in President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Wednesday January 20.

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Afghanistan has launched a nationwide campaign to administer the polio vaccine to nearly 10 million children under the age of five.

According to a public relations officer for the anti-polio campaign, Mir Jan Rasikh, 65,000 health workers will implement the campaign over a five-day period.

Last year, 3.4 million children were deprived of the vaccine across the war-torn country. As a result, at least 56 Afghan children contracted the crippling disease.

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ELSEWHERE, the United States and several European governments have demanded the release of opposition politician Alexei Navalny from Russian detention.

The 44-year-old Navalny was detained by police soon after his flight from Germany landed in Moscow on Sunday. The activist was returning to the country five months after he was almost killed in a nerve-agent attack he blamed on Russian authorities.

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