Amazon appears to have taken an early lead making in-roads with the Biden camp, while Tech is strengthening relationships in case of a Biden victory to ensure they have a voice in an onslaught of federal and state investigations into their business practices.

Lebanon and Israel have agreed to a framework for US-mediated talks aimed at ending a long-running dispute over a border that has been the frontline of several conflicts.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has told a German magazine he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind his suspected poisoning, adding that he is not afraid and would return to Russia to resume campaigning.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has appreciated China as one of the most valued partners of Bangladesh for its socio-economic development and the continued Chinese support to Bangladesh during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Britain’s House of Commons has approved legislation that gives ministers the power to break its divorce deal with the European Union, despite the threat of legal action from Brussels and unrest within the governing Conservative Party.

An Indian court yesterday acquitted top ruling party leaders of conspiracy related to the mob demolition of a flashpoint mosque 28 years ago that sparked communal riots which left more than 2,000 dead. Here is a timeline relating to the mosque dispute:

First US Presidential Debate in Quotes

Armenia and Azerbaijan vowed to keep fighting and rejected international calls for negotiations yesterday as clashes over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region raged for a fourth day.

Kuwait’s new emir was sworn in at parliament yesterday as the country prepared to lay to rest late ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who helped steer the US-allied Gulf state through some of the Middle East’s most turbulent decades.

Japan’s defence ministry yesterday unveiled a record $52-billion budget request in a push to maintain military readiness under pressure from China and North Korea.

Timothy Ray Brown, the first person known to have been cured of HIV when he had a unique type of bone marrow transplant, has died in California after relapsing with cancer, his partner said. Brown, born on March 11, 1966, became known as the “Berlin Patient” after his HIV was eradicated by treatment there in 2007.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said yesterday it is time for countries to start using money from their national Covid-19 recovery and response plans to help fund the World Health Organization’s global vaccine plan.

British broadcaster David Attenborough yesterday led a call from conservation groups for the world to invest $500 billion a year to halt the destruction of nature, warning that the future of the planet was in “grave jeopardy”.

More than 60 million people in India -- 10 times the official figure -- could have contracted the novel coronavirus, the country’s lead pandemic agency said, indicating the so called herd-immunity is still a far cry from ground reality.

A Russian court has abruptly handed Yuri Dmitriev, a historian of Stalin-era crimes, a 13-year jail term after overturning an earlier sentence on charges that his supporters say were fabricated to punish him for his work.

Saudi Arabia plans to cut spending by 7.5% in next year’s budget to 990 billion riyals ($263.94 billion) but expects the economy to return to growth as its management of the coronavirus crisis improves.

Flemish liberal leader Alexander De Croo will be Belgium's new prime minister at the head of a seven-party coalition government, it was announced Wednesday -- 16 months after an inconclusive election.

World Bank President David Malpass said on Tuesday he is seeking board approval for a $12 billion coronavirus vaccine financing plan to help poor and developing countries secure a sufficient share of vaccine doses when they become available in the coming months.

US security officials are warning that violent domestic extremists pose a threat to the presidential election next month, amid what one official called a “witch’s brew” of rising political tensions, civil unrest and foreign disinformation campaigns.

The slaughter of cattle will soon be banned in Sri Lanka, the government said yesterday, in a move widely viewed as a concession to increasingly influential Buddhists in the ruling party.