Emergency impose in California due to the vast spreading Coronavirus

California has declared a state of emergency after announcing its first coronavirus death, bringing the US death toll from the disease to 11.The 71-year-old man, who died in a hospital near Sacramento, had underlying health conditions and had been on a cruise ship, said officials. The White House moved on Wednesday to expand testing nationwide for the disease.There are now at least 150 reported US patients with Covid-19 in 16 states.Worldwide, authorities have confirmed more than 92,000 cases of the virus, of which more than 80,000 are in China. More…

The Taliban is willing to meet Afghan officials but only on the question of releasing prisoners,

The prisoner release dispute has emerged as a fresh impediment to peace negotiations between the Islamist insurgents and the Afghan government that are to begin on March 10. A prisoner swap arrangement was part of a U.S. troop withdrawal agreement between the United States and the Taliban signed on Saturday. “The Taliban delegation has not met with the government delegation in Qatar, but authorities responsible for prisoners on both sides could meet to discuss the issue,” the Taliban’s Doha office spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, tweeted.