WORLD

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday (February 1) that a statement by President Joe Biden about the military coup in Myanmar is directed at all countries in the region when asked if it was directed at China.

On Sunday, the White House put out a statement saying the United States opposes any attempt to alter the outcome of recent elections or impede Myanmar's democratic transition and will take action against those responsible if these steps are not reversed. Biden also released a separate statement on Myanmar on Monday.

Western leaders condemned the coup by Myanmar's military against Aung San Suu Kyi's democratically elected government and hundreds of thousands of her supporters took to the social media to voice their anger at the takeover.

A group of 10 Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled their plan for a smaller economic relief
package ahead of an afternoon meeting with President Joe Biden. The outline significantly
curtails spending on numerous top Biden priorities, including a fresh wave of stimulus checks for
Americans and unemployment insurance.
The group made up of mostly centrist Republicans is pushing Biden to strike a bipartisan deal on
a more targeted rescue plan to fight the mounting economic and public health toll caused by the
pandemic. The size is less than a third of the $1.9 trillion proposal that the Biden administration
put forward earlier this month.

A member of the Afghan government's peace negotiating team has warned the Taliban they must resume talks. It said the government could recall the team before a deal is reached in case the peace talks are not resumed soon in Qatar.

Government negotiator Rasul Talib said in a news conference the team was waiting for the return of the Taliban leadership to Doha, where a second round of peace talks began this month but have made little progress. He asked the Taliban to return to the negotiating table.

The Taliban leadership has recently been in Iran and Russia for discussions on the negotiations. Also, new US President Joe Biden's administration has said it plans to review the peace agreement signed last February between the US and the Taliban.

Newly elected U.S. President Joe Biden is making some radical changes in the administration and policies. In another step, he signed an executive order to reverse Trump-era policy to reopen Obamacare health coverage.

A week after his inauguration, US President Joe Biden has withdrawn a Trump-era rule rescinding work authorisation for H4 visa holders, who are spouses of those possessing H-1B work visas, with majority being highly-skilled Indian women.

An H-4 visa is issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to immediate family members (spouse and children under 21 years of age) of the H-1B visa holders, most of whom are Indian IT professionals.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.