WORLD

Pope Francis on Sunday voiced his displeasure on the Capitol Hill violence that took place on December 6 and asked Americans to "protect democra values". The attack on the Capitol Building on Wednesday left five people dead including police officer. Pope said the violence was "self-destructive".

"I repeat that violence is self-destructive, always. Nothing is gained by violence and so much is lost," the pope said in his Sunday address.

US authorities and agencies are in process of identifying, arresting and charging people who were involved in US Congress break-in. Dozens have been charged in last few days. FBI has even asked the public to help identify those involved in violence. There is a proliferation of images and videos of the attack.

Democrats are increasingly eyeing a second impeachment of President Trump in the wake of Wednesday’s violent takeover of the Capitol by his supporters if Vice President Pence and Trump’s Cabinet officials do not remove him from office under the 25th Amendment.

President-elect Joe Biden is forging ahead with his transition to the White House, with plans to introduce more nominees during an event Friday in Wilmington, Del. The Democrat has nearly finished naming his Cabinet.

Trump promised a smooth transition in a video message posted Thursday on Twitter, saying that his supporters had pursued post-election challenges in good faith, but “now tempers must be cooled and calm restored.”

Facebook banned President Donald Trump from the platform "indefinitely" due to his efforts to incite the violence in the US capital this week, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday. Zuckerberg said the 24-hour ban announced Wednesday was extended because of Trump's "use of our platform to incite violent insurrection against a democratically elected government."

The announcement came the day after the outgoing US leader was locked out of all major social media platforms due to his false claims about the legitimacy his loss to President-elect Joe Biden, and for inciting the angry mob that stormed the US Capitol.

His favorite megaphone, Twitter, blocked him for 12 hours, but it was unclear Thursday if the ban had been lifted.

Snapchat confirmed Thursday that it locked Trump out of the photo sharing platform amid concerns over his dangerous rhetoric.

An expert mission to China to probe the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic was in disarray Wednesday after Beijing denied entry to the World Health Organization team at the last minute despite months of painstaking negotiations.

Ten experts were due to arrive in China this week for the delicate, highly politicised task of establishing how and where the virus jumped from animals to humans.

But with a number of the team already in transit, China denied them entry visas, prodding WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to say he was "very disappointed".

China is determined to control the origin story of the virus, which has killed more than 1.8 million people around the world and laid waste to global economies.

Former US president Barack Obama has warned of threats to the fundamental principles of America's democracy, a day after the emergence of the leaked audio in which President Donald Trump was heard telling Georgia's top election official to find over 11,000 votes to reverse President-elect Joe Biden's win in the 3 November poll.

Obama’s remarks came on the eve of the crucial Senate election in Georgia wherein both the seats are up for grab.

“Tomorrow is Election Day in Georgia and the stakes could not be higher. We’re seeing how far some will go to retain power and threaten the fundamental principles of our democracy. But our democracy isn’t about any individual, even a president—it’s about you,” Obama said in a series of tweets on Monday, without naming anyone.