THE NEW YORK TIMES

To Deter Iranian Attacks on U.S. Troops, Pentagon Orders B-52 Flights to Middle East

WASHINGTON — Two American B-52 bombers flew a show-of-force mission in the Persian Gulf on Thursday that military officials said was intended to deter Iran and its proxies from carrying out attacks against United States troops in the Middle East amid rising tensions between the two countries.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Biden’s Choice for Pentagon Faces Questions on Ties to Contractors

Retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III serves on the board of Raytheon, one of the world’s largest weapons makers, and is a partner in an investment firm that buys military suppliers.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Covid-19 Live Updates: Britain Begins Vaccinating Citizens

Britain’s National Health Service delivered its first shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Tuesday, opening a mass vaccination campaign with little precedent in modern medicine and making Britons the first people in the world to receive a clinically authorized, fully tested vaccine.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Scandal Dogs China’s ‘King of Vaccines,’ Partner to AstraZeneca

THE NEW YORK TIMES

U.S. Job Market Slowed Further in November: Live Updates

AL JAZEERA

Saudi Arabia, Qatar near agreement in Gulf crisis: Sources

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are close to striking a preliminary agreement to end a dispute that has pitted the Gulf neighbours against each other for more than three years, sources told Al Jazeera.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Covid-19 Live Updates: U.K. Becomes First Country to Approve Pfizer Vaccine

LONDON — Britain gave emergency authorization on Wednesday to Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, leaping ahead of the United States to become the first Western country to allow mass inoculations against a disease that has killed more than 1.4 million people worldwide.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

In Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Deal, Putin Applied a Deft New Touch

The iron-fisted tactics used against Georgia and Ukraine seem to have fallen out of favor, replaced by a more subtle blend of soft power and an implicit military threat.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Covid-19 Live Updates: Moderna to Seek Emergency F.D.A. Approval for Vaccine

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Pushed by Pandemic, Amazon Goes on a Hiring Spree Without Equal