White House pushes China to cut surplus by $100 billion

In a rare move among Silicon Valley giants, over 200 employees at Google and its parent company Alphabet have formed a labor union. Their move coincides with growing scrutiny of influential high-tech operators worldwide.

As Joe Biden becomes the new president of the United States after a bitterly contested election, Inside the Americas takes you to Washington and to his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. In this special edition of the show, our team meets some of the people who made Biden the man he is today. We also discover the places where the president-to-be spent his time, such as the train that took him to Washington every day when he was a young senator.

US First Lady Jill Biden thanks educators for their "heroic commitment" during the Covid-19 pandemic, a day after Joe Biden's inauguration. "I have never felt prouder of our profession," says the community college teacher, who will continue to teach after moving into the White House, making her the first First Lady to retain a full-time job.

The reversal of democratic progress in Myanmar "will necessitate an immediate review of our sanctions' laws and authorities, followed by appropriate action," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki says after US President Joe Biden called on Myanmar's military to relinquish power immediately and ordered a review to consider reimposing sanctions lifted during the nation's transition to democracy.

The US Senate confirms Joe Biden's pick for secretary of transportation in a 86-13 vote, making Pete Buttigieg the first openly gay member of a White House cabinet.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki assures the world's media that the Bidens' dogs won't be away from the White House for long, saying their banishment to Delaware was planned before a "biting incident" involving one of the hounds, and they will return "soon". She adds that there's no plan to replace them with a cat, yet.

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.