In pandemic, word definitions shift and new lexicon emerges, an AP team reported. Newscasts bring word of “hot zones” and “lockdowns.” Conversations are littered with talk of “quarantines” and “isolation.” Leaders urge “social distancing” and “sheltering in place” and “flattening the curve.” In an instant, our vocabulary has changed — just like everything else.

The Trump administration pressed on Tuesday for enactment of a $1trn stimulus package, possibly to include $1,000 direct payments to individual Americans, to blunt the economic pain from a coronavirus outbreak that has killed over 100 people in the country. With cases of the respiratory illness reported in all 50 states and the total number of known US infections surging past 6,400, millions of Americans hunkered down at home instead of commuting to work or going to school.

The ninth presidential TV debate of the top six candidates running for the Democratic nomination to take on US President Donald Trump in November was marked by the first appearance in the race of Michael Bloomberg. The former Republican New York mayor faced joint criticism from all his rivals on the stage in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The European Union rejected on Tuesday parts of the new US peace plan for the Middle East, saying it has broken with “internationally agreed parameters”, and any Israeli annexation of Palestinian land would be subject to challenge. President Donald Trump’s plan, announced last week, was warmly welcomed by Israel and rejected outright by the Palestinians.

The US President Donald Trump's long-awaited Middle East plan, which he presented on Tuesday, was welcomed as expected by Israel, but firmly rejected by Palestinians. The UN also renounced Trump's 'deal of the century' and reiterated its commitment to the resolutions for two-state solution with the boundaries in place before the 1967 war, when Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza. The EU took a pending position saying that it will study and assess the proposals put forward by Trump.

The United States will impose painful tariffs on imports from the EU unless the block agrees to a trade deal, US President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday, news wires reported. "Europe has been very, very tough to deal with," Trump told US broadcaster CNBC at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, one day after meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen there.

Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump have agreed to extend negotiations on a dispute over a French tax on digital giants to the end of the year, postponing Washington's threat of sanctions against Paris, AFP reported, citing French officials on Tuesday. A French diplomatic source said the French and US leaders, who spoke by telephone on Sunday, agreed to give negotiations a chance to "find a solution in an international framework" and avoid "a trade war that will benefit no one". On 7 January Paris and Washington had given themselves 15 days to reach a deal to avert the US threat of duties on up to $2.4bn of French goods.

The World Economic Forum unveiled the programme for its 50th Annual Meeting, which will take place from 21 to 24 January in Davos, Switzerland. The overarching theme is “Stakeholders for a cohesive and sustainable world”, Klaus Schwab, founder and Executive Chairman of the WEF, said on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites “very hard” if Iran attacks Americans or US assets after a drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani and an Iraqi militia leader, as tens of thousands of people marched in Iraq to mourn their deaths.

The US House gaveled in for a historic session on 18 December night to impeach President Donald Trump on allegations that he abused his power and obstructed congressional efforts to investigate his actions. In a vote that will leave a lasting mark on his tenure at the White House, Trump has now become the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors.