Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the incoming US administration on Wednesday to return to a 2015 nuclear agreement and lift sanctions on Tehran, while welcoming the end of “tyrant” President Donald Trump’s era.

President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Tuesday he believed President Donald Trump was right in taking a tougher approach to China - even if he did not agree with all his methods - and endorsed the assessment that it was committing genocide in Xinjiang.

Some British hospitals look like war zones with doctors struggling to cope with an influx of patients infected with COVID-19, the government’s top scientific adviser said, as the death toll rose by a record daily amount towards 100,000.

The White House announced early Wednesday that Donald Trump was pardoning his former chief strategist Steve Bannon and 72 others. The last-minute clemency came just hours before president-elect Joe Biden's inauguration ceremony was set to begin. Trump also commuted the sentences of 70 people.

The UK coronavirus strain has been detected in at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, 10 more than a week ago, news wires reported. The South African strain, which like the UK one is believed to be more infectious, has now been reported in 23 countries and territories, the WHO also announced in its weekly update.

Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday. Along with Biden, Kamala Harris will take oath as the first woman Vice President. The inauguration ceremony will start at 10:30 am (15:30 GMT), news wires reported. Hundreds of thousands of people usually attend the ceremony, but this time around there will only be a small crowd due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that has now killed more than 400,000 Americans.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said he would like to invite the rival leaders on Cyprus to an informal meeting “as soon as practicable,” but he warned that this meeting must be different. It has to help clarify “the true extent" of their common vision “and outline steps necessary to chart a way forward,” Guterres believes. He also warned in a report to the UN Security Council that “time is working against a mutually acceptable political settlement in Cyprus.”

Trying to repair his tarnished legacy, President Donald Trump trumpeted his administration’s accomplishments and wished his successor luck in a farewell video as he spent his final full day in office preparing to issue a flurry of pardons in a near-deserted White House, surrounded by an extraordinary security presence outside.

Central Washington is an armed fortress, fenced off with razor wire and surrounded by 25,000 National Guard troops ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, a stark contrast to previous inaugurations, when the United States capital erupted in days of celebration.

Israel on Tuesday confirmed a record 10,021 new coronavirus cases, the Health Ministry said, as the country continues to vaccinate its population at breakneck speed.