White House pushes China to cut surplus by $100 billion

Asked about US involvement in a move by the Australian government to scrap a state's deal to join China's Belt and Road Initiative, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says, "how we can work together as a global community and in a coordinated fashion as it relates to China is part of nearly every discussion the President has with a European partner or country in the region."

The United States will release up to 60 million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says at her daily briefing. The Food and Drug Administration will perform quality checks over the next few months on US-produced doses before they are sent abroad, she adds. But, she explains, "Just to be clear, right now we have zero doses available of AstraZeneca."

In 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday', director Lee Daniels focuses on a period of Holiday's life that was marred by government persecution. The blues singer persisted in performing protest song "Strange Fruit", a wrenching description of the racist and murderous practice of lynching. Her act of resistance attracted unwanted attention from the authorities. FRANCE 24's film critic Lisa Nesselson tells us how the biopic argues for Holiday's rightful place as a civil rights activist as well as a gifted entertainer.

More than 13,000 Nigerian students currently studying in the United States.

The outgoing German chancellor is set to travel to Washington for talks with the US president on COVID, climate change and bilateral ties.

US President Joe Biden meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg before the start of the NATO heads of state summit in Brussels and says he wants "all of Europe to know that the United States is there," with respect to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Article 5 provides that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.

"Pride is back at the White House," US President Joe Biden tells a group of gay rights activists, transgender military service members and youth, and officials during a commemoration of the month that celebrates LGBTQ life in America. Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg - the first-ever openly gay cabinet member - warn against the rise in anti-LGBTQ legislation in statehouses across the US.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says the United States holds China's Ministry of State Security responsible for "malicious cyber activities" and reserves the option "to take additional actions" in response.

Hundreds of Cuban Americans, political refugees and activists marched on the US capital Monday to protest against the Cuban government and its crackdown on anti-communist demonstrations earlier this month.

Democracy and human rights were the focus of talks between the US president and Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Washington, DC.

"We're not going back to the shutdowns of March of 2020," says White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, as the US national average of daily coronavirus cases tops 60,000 and is rising rapidly.

The White House announced plans to hold a virtual summit for democracy in December. Leaders of the world's democracies are set to take part.